The beach was still.
Too still.
Like the world itself was waiting to see if it was safe to move again.
Takeru stood in the center of it all.
Blood streaked across his face.
His breathing steady.
His eyes finally… softer again.
He wiped a bit of blood from his cheek with his sleeve.
Slow.
Almost casual.
Then he looked back at the group.
"…Y'all okay?"
Yuji blinked.
"…Uh…"
Megumi was still staring at the destruction.
"…Define 'okay.'"
Hakari slowly raised a hand.
"…I'm alive, so yes."
Kirara nodded.
"…Emotionally? No idea."
Nanami exhaled.
"…Physically functional."
Kento Nanami
Higaruma adjusted his stance slightly.
Hiromi Higuruma
"…Everyone survived."
Gojo glanced around the battlefield, then back at Takeru.
Satoru Gojo
"…Barely counts as a 'conversation' anymore."
Geto crossed his arms.
Suguru Geto
"…This is a massacre that learned manners halfway through."
Takeru nodded slowly.
Processing.
Then—
he spoke again.
Same calm tone.
"Good."
A pause.
"Because if you ain't…"
His eyes drifted slightly toward the horizon.
"…then I'm gonna have a very 'friendly' conversation with a big group."
Silence.
Yuji immediately straightened.
"…Wait wait wait—what does 'friendly' mean in his vocabulary?"
Megumi didn't answer.
Because he already knew the answer was bad.
Hakari whispered.
"…I think it means round two."
Kirara nodded.
"…Definitely round two."
Fred slowly raised a sign from the sand.
It was smudged.
Barely readable.
"Please say 'friendly' normally next time."
Takeru stretched his shoulder slightly.
The tension in the air finally easing again.
"…Alright."
A pause.
"Let's go check injuries."
And just like that—
the same person who erased an army moments ago was already switching back into caretaker mode.
Like nothing about him had ever been strange.
But everyone knew better now.
Because they had seen the difference.
Between "talking Takeru"
and "ending Takeru."
And nobody wanted the second one again.