The moment I crushed the bck gem, the world seemed to pause.

  The battlefield, once filled with cshing swords, roaring Oni, and the desperate cries of Kosei’s warriors, fell into an eerie silence.

  Then—she arrived.

  A bck tear in the sky rippled open, and from within, she stepped forward.

  Reika.

  She was breathtakingly inhuman, her impossibly tall, divine form stepping onto the blood-soaked battlefield with an air of complete indifference. Her long, silky bck kimono, embroidered with golden patterns, flowed effortlessly around her, while her sheer bck stockings and sandals barely disturbed the ground beneath her despite her overwhelming presence.

  Her purple eyes, cold and unreadable, flicked zily across the battlefield—not with curiosity, not with interest, but with utter boredom.

  She had seen this all before.

  And she did not care.

  The entire War Cn army froze, their monstrous forms suddenly motionless, as if their very existence had been reduced to insignificance in the presence of something far beyond them.

  And standing at the front of them all—Akagawa Kaida .

  The War Queen.

  She was formidable in her own right, her toned, feminine figure glistening with sweat and battle scars, her scanty leather armor revealing the hardened, perfect physique of a warrior. Her long leather boots pressed into the blood-drenched dirt, her crimson eyes narrowing as she gred up at Reika.

  She did not cower.

  But she did not attack either.

  Because Kaida had fought Reika before.

  And she had lost.

  Reika and Kaida: A Conversation of Gods

  "Tch." Kaida rolled her shoulders, shifting her stance. "And here I thought this night was going to be fun."

  Reika said nothing, her eyes flicking down at Kaida as if she were examining a mildly interesting insect.

  Kaida’s lips curled. "What? No gloating? No threats? I figured you'd at least tell me to kneel or something."

  Reika sighed. A slow, soft, exhausted sigh, as if she had been dragged into this world’s problems against her will.

  "Why would I waste words on something so… fleeting?"

  Kaida’s eyebrow twitched.

  "Oh?" she mused, tilting her head. "That so? Well, I hate to break it to you, oh mighty Demon Queen, but this world is far from fleeting."

  Reika smirked—a small, almost imperceptible shift of her lips.

  "You’re still here, aren’t you?" she said zily.

  Kaida clenched her jaw, but then exhaled sharply, shaking her head.

  "So what is it, then?" Kaida asked, folding her arms. "You coming to cim this city for yourself?"

  Reika tilted her head, staring at the burning walls of Kosei with all the fascination of someone watching water boil.

  "Cim?" she repeated, as if the very concept was foreign to her.

  Then she let out a small ugh, brushing back a strand of her raven-bck hair.

  "You misunderstand, Kaida. I don’t want it."

  Kaida’s eyes narrowed. "Then why are you here?"

  Reika’s bored gaze shifted, her lips barely parting as she spoke the only truth that mattered.

  "Because he called me."

  She didn’t need to expin who she meant.

  Kaida’s eyes flickered toward the city, realization dawning.

  "…Him?"

  Her lips pressed into a thin line.

  For a long, tense moment, the two women—two monstrous forces of destruction—simply stared at one another.

  Then Kaida huffed, stepping back.

  "Tch. Fine. You can have your little human."

  Her Oni warriors hesitated, gncing at their War Queen for orders.

  "What are you all waiting for?" Kaida growled, flicking her hand. "We’re leaving."

  The army began their retreat, stepping away from the battlefield.

  But before she fully turned away, Kaida cast one st gnce at Reika, her expression unreadable.

  "You know," she muttered, "I almost miss fighting you."

  Reika didn’t answer.

  And then—Kaida was gone.

  The War Cn vanished into the night, leaving behind only silence.

  For a moment, the city held its breath.

  Then Reika turned her gaze to Kosei.

  Reika’s Entrance into the City

  The barrier of Kosei still flickered, its damaged form trying desperately to hold itself together.

  Reika blinked slowly, as if she had only just noticed it.

  Then, with utter indifference, she raised her hand—

  And pushed her fingers into the barrier.

  The entire city shuddered.

  The monks maintaining it cried out in pain, their bodies colpsing as the energy drained from them.

  The magical dome fractured like gss—and then shattered completely, fading into nothingness.

  Kosei was defenseless.

  Reika stepped forward, her sheer presence alone sending soldiers stumbling back in terror.

  Some fell to their knees, too afraid to move.

  Others dropped their weapons, realizing that resisting was meaningless.

  With a zy flick of her wrist, Reika brushed her hand against the city’s walls—

  And the stone crumbled like brittle parchment, entire sections colpsing with zero effort.

  She wasn’t attacking.

  She was simply too big for this world’s structures to withstand her presence.

  The Prison Colpses

  Down below, Masanori and Rin stared up in horror as the ceiling cracked above us, dust raining down like sand.

  "What the hell is—" Masanori started.

  And then—the entire building was gone.

  Not exploded.

  Not burned.

  Just gone.

  One moment, we were trapped beneath thick stone walls.

  The next, the roof was open sky, the cold night air rushing in as I stared up at a face far, far above me.

  Reika stood over us, her towering form blotting out the moonlight, her purple gaze lowering to meet mine.

  Her expression didn’t change.

  She reached down—her delicate, elegant fingers slipping through the rubble like a hand scooping water—and plucked me from the ruins as if I weighed nothing.

  Masanori and Rin barely had time to react before she grabbed them too, cradling all three of us in the palm of her hand like small, fragile creatures.

  She examined us, tilting her head slightly.

  Then—her lips parted.

  "Who are your little friends?"

  Her voice was calm.

  Curious.

  And absolutely, terrifyingly indifferent.