Reika reached for me again.

  Her long, elegant fingers curled around my torso, the warmth of her skin seeping through the fabric of my clothes as she lifted me from the polished obsidian armrest of her throne.

  There was no hesitation in her movements, only the fluidity of someone who had done this before—who had held power in the palm of her hand so effortlessly that it no longer required thought.

  As she stood, the entire throne room seemed to shrink beneath her movements, the weight of her presence settling over the vast pace like an undeniable force.

  Her kimono shifted with every step, the golden embroidery catching the violet torchlight, the high slit along her thigh revealing fleeting glimpses of her long, stocking-cd legs.

  With me held securely in one hand, she stepped through the pace gates and into the open air of the Demon Realm.

  Then—she began walking.

  The nd stretched before us, a vast, twisted expanse of ashen fields, bckened forests, and rivers of molten gold.

  Reika moved through it with ease, her every step creating subtle tremors in the ground, yet there was a grace to her stride—a sensual, effortless dominance that made even the unnatural ndscape seem like it bent to her presence.

  For a while, she didn’t speak.

  She simply walked, carrying me as if it were the most natural thing in the world, her fingers shifting slightly against my side as if adjusting to my presence.

  Then—she sighed.

  "It’s been a while since I’ve done something so mundane," she murmured.

  I gnced up at her. "You mean carrying someone? Or walking through the countryside?"

  She smirked, a faint, amused expression that softened the otherwise imposing elegance of her face.

  "Both."

  She looked ahead again, her amethyst eyes gleaming in the dim twilight of this world.

  "Do you remember back in our world? How I used to compin about commuting?"

  I actually ughed at that.

  "Yeah. You always said public transportation was a 'waste of time' and that walking was 'tedious.' You wanted to be chauffeured everywhere."

  She gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. "Funny how things change."

  Her long strides carried us effortlessly across the ndscape, and for a moment, I almost forgot that this was the Demon Realm—that she wasn’t just the same Reika from before, but something far beyond human now.

  Something unknowable.

  By the time we reached the edge of the shogunate countryside, the world had shifted once again.

  Gone were the twisted mountains and abyssal rivers.

  Instead—rolling rice fields stretched beneath the dim light of dusk, wooden houses nestled between vast patches of farmnd, distant plumes of cooking smoke curling into the air.

  It was almost… peaceful.

  But then—the vilgers saw her.

  And that peace shattered instantly.

  A farmer, standing knee-deep in a rice paddy, dropped his basket with a strangled gasp, his face draining of color.

  Women carrying baskets of grain screamed, their voices cutting through the evening stillness as they turned and fled toward their homes.

  Children, their tiny figures barely more than shadows against the setting sun, abandoned their games and ran, their terrified cries echoing across the fields.

  Even the animals sensed the shift—oxen pulling carts bucked and bolted, their owners desperately trying to rein them in.

  To them, she wasn’t just a giant woman.

  She was a monster.

  The Demon Queen who had annihited the strongest fortress in the region.

  And now—she had returned, carrying a human like a trophy.

  I felt the slow, controlled rise and fall of her chest, as if she had already expected this reaction.

  "Dramatic as always," she muttered.

  Then—she lowered me to the ground.

  Her fingers uncoiled, the warmth of her skin fading as she released me, letting my feet touch the earth once more.

  I took a deep breath and turned toward her.

  Her towering form stood against the twilight sky, her gold-trimmed kimono flowing gently in the breeze, her expression calm, unreadable.

  I hesitated—then finally spoke.

  "Reika."

  She tilted her head slightly. "Hm?"

  I clenched my fists.

  "Could you… could you stop hurting people?"

  She blinked, caught off guard for the briefest moment.

  Then—she smiled.

  Not mocking. Not cruel.

  But something softer.

  "I could try."

  A pause.

  "But no promises."

  I exhaled slowly.

  It wasn’t the answer I wanted.

  But it was the best I was going to get.

  And then—she turned and walked away, leaving only her giant footprints in the dirt as proof that she had ever been here.

  She didn’t say goodbye.

  She simply lost interest and left.

  And for the first time since I had arrived in this world—I was truly alone.

  The aftermath of the battle was still fresh by the time I reached the castle.

  The fortress stood, but barely. Its walls were cracked, some completely colpsed, its once-proud banners now torn and stained with blood.

  The courtyard was filled with the wounded, soldiers clutching their bandaged limbs, medics moving quickly between the injured, their faces lined with exhaustion. The dead were still being counted, their bodies id in rows, covered with white cloths that fluttered in the evening breeze.

  And yet—for all the destruction, the castle still lived.

  Men hauled wood and stone to rebuild. Survivors cleared rubble, tending to what remained.

  I barely made it past the front gates before I heard a sharp gasp of disbelief.

  "Impossible!"

  I turned just in time to see patrol captain Masanori staring at me, his face a mixture of shock and something bordering on fear.

  "Jin!"

  He strode toward me, his hands gripping my shoulders with staggering intensity, as if trying to confirm I was real.

  "You're alive?" he asked breathlessly. "She didn’t… she didn’t eat you?"

  I sighed.

  "No, she didn’t eat me."

  Masanori stared for a long moment, then exhaled sharply, muttering a curse under his breath.

  "We saw her take you," he said. "We thought you were gone. That you had been… devoured."

  I hesitated.

  How was I supposed to expin this?

  That the Demon Queen of legend had simply… carried me home like a lost pet? That she had walked me across entire ndscapes, enjoying the scenery like it was just another evening stroll?

  "She let me go," I said instead.

  Masanori didn’t look convinced, but he grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the inner castle gates.

  "Come," he said firmly. "Shogun Hoshikawa needs to hear this himself."

  I followed, the weight of the bck gem in my palm a cold reminder of what I had left behind.

  I had asked her to stop hurting people.

  But the truth was—I wasn’t sure if she ever really could.