A crisp click.
His arm fractured into piece after piece, the detonation creeping from wrist to shoulder to chest—and the fire didn't just shatter flesh. It seared the soul.
"Reverse Cursed Technique."
Kaede's heart lurched. He channeled cursed energy—but the chain reaction wouldn't stop. Gritting his teeth, he drew a semicircle of energy at the shoulder and severed the half-destroyed arm himself.
The arm hit the floor. Before it was fully reduced to ash, the cursed energy trapped inside erupted, igniting the fine-straw tatami beneath it.
But that brief delay was all it took. A tiny tank was already pressed against his face, held in Killer Queen's hand. The skull's hollow eyes stared into him, and a rasp crawled from its throat:
"Eyes on me."
BOOM—
What exploded wasn't Kaede—it was the floor beside him. Sheer Heart Attack dove from above, the pressure wave pulverizing the tatami and the boards beneath it, blasting dark-blue flames through the debris.
Tai Guang.
Innate Technique: Detection.
When he'd struck Sheer Heart Attack, Kaede had already activated Tai Guang's technique, mapping every capability and weakness of the little tank.
It prioritized the hottest nearby object.
That was why Kaede had ignited the tatami. The flames licked at his feet, then roared outward, devouring the wooden door frame, belching thick smoke. Embers drifted upward while outside the window a downpour raged—fire and rain in sharp contrast.
The sorcerers had nearly reached the foot of the mountain. They'd already dealt with every last one of Kaede's curse users.
Killer Queen pressed the advantage. It pulled back its arm, recalling the rampaging Sheer Heart Attack. Its blood-red slit pupils contracted. Its ears twitched. It planted a hand on the ground, legs coiling, hairline cracks splintering beneath its feet, and then—
It accelerated.
A flash of light—those crimson-lit slit pupils were suddenly inches from Kaede's face. One stomp killed its momentum, and the belated pressure wave caught up a beat later, bending every flame it passed.
Kaede steadied himself. His soul extended outward from his shoulders, and the Devourer and Fushi Spirits pushed free of his body, forming two pitch-black arms made entirely of spiritual matter.
Pink arms and black arms traced line after line through the air—crossing, parting, crossing again. Every collision detonated. Every separation kicked up a shockwave. Pure, head-on carnage. Blow for blow. Wound for wound.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
Kaede screamed, throwing every last drop of cursed energy into the exchange against Killer Queen.
Every strike injected curse-poison. Every strike cost him an arm—and a new Spirit stepped up to replace it. In the span of a heartbeat they'd traded several blows. Three Spirits fell.
The Devourer. Fushi. Chuhui. All destroyed.
And in return, the curse-poisons of Fear, Loathing, and Love had been pumped into Killer Queen's body—seeping into Kira's mind as phantom visions. The moment his composure cracked, even a hairline fracture, the toxins would use that emotion as a catalyst and devour his soul.
The sorcerers were almost back. This was his only chance at victory.
But he was destined for disappointment.
Kira stood behind Killer Queen, and his expression was serene. Serene as though it were the most natural thing in the world—as though nothing could stir him.
Serene... in a way that didn't seem human.
Only his fingernails—growing. Longer, and longer still.
"My name is Nanami Kira. I'm thirty-three years old."
"I don't need intense joy... nor do I feel any deep despair."
"A plant-like existence, a quiet life—that is my goal. I must keep my emotions level. And whenever my nails start to grow, whenever my emotions begin to stir, I do one thing. It always restores my calm."
"I believe tranquility is the root of all happiness. Your true body is a beautiful young woman, isn't it? I saw the shape of those soul-arms just now. A girl's hands."
"I'll take very good care of her."
This lunatic!
This monster!
BOOM—
Killer Queen's fist launched Kaede through the wall of fire, through layer after layer of walls, and straight into the central courtyard—straight into the downpour.
Rain hammered his body. The deluge bent the banana trees by the gate nearly flat. Wind tore through rows of cypress, thrashing them into a frenzy—like ten thousand demons dancing in the storm.
Kira stepped onto the crushed remains of the door, walked through the flames, and emerged from the hole in the wall one measured step at a time. His arms hung loose at his sides, nails still growing. Lightning split the clouds, and the flash settled in his eyes, bleaching his calm, deep blue irises to a ghastly white.
Only a demon's eyes could be that blue. Only a demon's eyes could be that terrifying.
"Y-you... stay away from me."
Kaede clutched his caved-in chest, half-kneeling on the ground, pupils trembling:
"Gakuganji's soul is still alive! If you blow me up now, he dies too!"
Still trying to crack Kira's composure. Still praying for the curse-poison to take hold.
But Kira tilted his head, and those deep blue eyes visibly brightened. He sounded delighted:
"You don't say? What a wonderful bonus."
"..."
Kaede knew then that nothing would reach Nanami Kira. This man was more cold-blooded than Kaede himself—more like a curse user than the actual curse user in the room.
Bastard!
He glared at Kira one final time, gathered every remaining shred of cursed energy, and expelled the Souls and Spirits from his body.
...He had no choice but to retreat. Abandon the body and run. This attempt had failed.
As for the scattered Souls and Spirits—however many could escape, so be it. He still had one Soul, the Shoushi—the Corpse Guard—stationed in his true body. Given time, he could recover.
Perhaps sensing Kaede's intent, Killer Queen lunged, shattering the wind and rain.
Kaede knelt on the ground, a black light blazing from his chest. It erupted outward, scattering in every direction.
One, two, three—three shadows. Two Souls and one Spirit.
Killer Queen leapt through the storm, as nimble as a cat in the night. Its red eyes traced a smooth arc through the downpour, fingertips brushing two of the shadows in succession.
Click.
BOOM—
One of the Three Souls—Tai Guang. The girl's silhouette thrashed in the flames, shrieking, until the fire consumed her entirely.
She dissolved into fragments. The fragments became embers and scattered on the wind.
One Soul and one Spirit escaped.
Kira stood alone in the rain, watching the two specks of shadow fade into the distance, watching the leaden night, watching the dark ridge of the mountain beyond.
He smiled. Calm as always.
"Brother Kira."
Todo dragged his failing body along the wall and stumbled out of the inferno:
"Should we chase them?"
"No. They're gone. Sorry—I couldn't hold them."
This is a lie.
"One more question."
Todo's consciousness was fading fast. He forced his head upright, locked eyes with Kira, and said with every ounce of focus he had left:
"If you'd already guessed the principal's identity, why didn't you expose him sooner?"
"I was afraid of tipping him off. And regardless of whether he was really the principal, we had to deal with the curse plague first. If I was wrong—if it wasn't bait—the consequences would have been catastrophic."
This is a lie.
"I was afraid more people would die. No ulterior motive."
This is a lie.