The sky over Kagetora was darkening, the st remnants of daylight fading behind the mountains.
Inside the quiet walls of the residence where I had been staying, I sat near a modest fire, watching its embers pulse in the dim light. The air carried the scent of burnt wood and something faintly metallic—the lingering remnants of war.
It had been days since I returned from the ruins of Tenshu, but the world hadn’t stopped moving. There were whispers of unrest, rumors of a great battle lost in the west, and unease settled deep within the bones of every warrior who passed through the stronghold.
Something had changed.
And I knew exactly who was responsible.
Mayume.
But she had disappeared—her presence a shadow in my mind, lingering but unseen.
I should have known she wasn’t finished.
A Familiar Face
"You seem troubled."
The voice was soft—gentle, even.
I looked up.
Akari stood at the threshold, smiling.
For a moment, I froze.
Everything in me screamed that this wasn’t possible.
She had revealed herself as Mayume.
She had betrayed us.
She had tried to kill Masanori and Rin—had nearly taken me for herself.
But there she was.
Small. Delicate. Human.
Dressed in simple travel robes, her expression carrying nothing but warmth and concern.
"You look like you’ve seen a ghost," she teased, tilting her head slightly.
"We watched you turn into a damn demon," Masanori muttered darkly, stepping beside me, his hand instinctively hovering over the hilt of his bde.
Rin wasn’t as composed—she had already drawn her weapon, her golden eyes sharp with suspicion.
"You’re not real," she said coldly. "You’re pying another trick."
Akari—no, Mayume—ughed softly, her delicate hand rising to her lips.
"Come now, is that any way to greet an old friend?" she said, her voice still that same gentle lilt that had once fooled us before.
I clenched my fists.
"Why are you here?"
She sighed, stepping forward, her gaze gliding over the three of us with a softness that felt almost mocking.
"I missed you," she said simply.
Rin scoffed. "Try again, liar."
"I missed… this." Mayume’s violet-gold gaze met mine, something deep and unreadable in her eyes. "The banter. The warmth. The illusion of peace."
Masanori’s grip on his sword tightened. "You don’t belong here."
"Oh? And yet—" she took another step closer, her eyes never leaving mine, "—here I am."
Pying the Game—No More
The fire crackled softly between us, casting flickering shadows across the dimly lit room. Mayume—still in her false guise as Akari—sat across from me, her delicate fingers tracing idle patterns on the wooden table.
Her violet-gold eyes never left mine.
"To see you."
Her voice was soft, almost affectionate, but there was something else underneath—something cold and calcuting.
"And?" I pressed.
Her smile widened, the flickering light catching on her lips as she tilted her head just slightly.
"To remind you that I can."
A sudden chill shot down my spine.
I had less than a second to react.
Before the world exploded.
The Unveiling of a Demon Queen
The shift was instantaneous.
One moment, Akari’s form was small and fragile—a lie wrapped in the illusion of warmth.
The next—it shattered.
Her body expanded, surging upwards, her robes splitting apart into waves of flowing violet silk, her golden ornaments shimmering as her form twisted into something far greater than human.
The room wasn’t rge enough to contain her.
Wood splintered. Walls groaned. The ceiling crumbled.
Then—the entire building colpsed.
I barely had time to react before the world came crashing down around me.
Crushed Beneath Her Power
I hit the ground hard, coughing as dust and debris rained down. A sharp cry to my left—Rin, struggling beneath a colpsed beam.
Masanori had rolled clear just in time, his sword drawn, his expression set in cold fury.
But we weren’t the ones in control.
She was.
Mayume stood amidst the wreckage, her full form towering above us, her silks flowing around her as if they were untouched by the destruction she had just caused.
The firelight caught on her long, pale limbs, the way her curves were wrapped in elegance yet exuding a terrifying presence.
She wasn’t just bigger than us physically now—she was something untouchable.
Rin coughed, her hands struggling to lift the heavy beam off her legs. Blood trickled down her forehead.
Masanori was already moving to help her—but Mayume’s gaze flickered down toward them, and with a single movement of her fingers, the debris shifted on its own, rising into the air like weightless paper before being flung aside.
A smirk touched her lips.
"I wouldn’t want to break you too quickly."
Rin shoved herself to her feet, katana in hand, her eyes bzing.
"You bitch—!"
Before she could charge—Mayume moved.
A simple flick of her wrist—and Rin was sent crashing into a wall.
She gasped, her body smming against the cracked wood, her sword falling from her grasp as she crumpled to the ground.
Masanori roared, charging—but he barely got a step before Mayume raised her foot and pnted her boot lightly against his chest.
Not enough to crush him.
Just enough to remind him that she could.
He froze, his breath caught in his throat, his hands straining against the sheer force pinning him down.
Mayume sighed.
"Humans are always so eager to fight battles they cannot win."
The Warriors of Kagetora Arrive—Too Late
The noise had drawn attention.
From outside, the thunder of approaching warriors filled the air. Samurai and Onmyoji, their armor glistening in the torchlight, stormed into the ruined courtyard, weapons raised.
They stopped short at the sight before them.
A towering demon queen standing amidst the ruins.
Their commander shouted orders.
"Surround her!"
Mayume didn’t even turn to acknowledge them.
She simply tilted her head—
And suddenly, half the men colpsed.
No attack. No motion.
Just a silent, unseen force pressing them into the dirt, their weapons trembling in their hands, their minds buckling under something far beyond their understanding.
The remaining warriors hesitated.
And in that hesitation—she struck.
A wave of violet energy pulsed outward, smming into them like an invisible storm, sending armored bodies crashing into buildings, walls, scattering like leaves in a hurricane.
Mayume sighed, shaking her head.
"I don’t have time for this."
Jin's Blood—The Key to Another World
Then—before I could react, a force wrapped around my body, lifting me into the air.
Not her hands.
Her magic.
I gasped, my limbs locked in pce, a golden-violet aura surrounding me, twisting around my arms and legs, suspending me in front of her like a helpless offering.
Her gaze met mine.
"You always make this difficult, Jin."
My chest tightened.
"W-What are you doing?"
She tilted her head.
"Taking what I need."
Pain.
It started as a dull throb in my veins—then spiked into something sharper, deeper.
My blood burned.
I felt it rise to the surface, pulled by some unseen force, slipping out of my skin as if the very air was draining me.
Dark crimson droplets floated between us, swirling into the air like stolen lifeforce, gathering into a small, pulsing orb in the palm of her hand.
I gasped, my vision blurring slightly.
"S-Stop—!"
Mayume smirked.
"Oh, Jin. You should be grateful."
She leaned in, her massive presence engulfing me, her lips almost brushing my ear.
"I’m letting you live."
A shudder ran through me.
"Why?" I gritted out, my limbs trembling.
Her fingers tightened around the floating orb of my blood, her expression calm, almost amused.
"Because I want you to see it."
She lifted the sphere higher, letting the light catch on its surface—a shimmering, ethereal glow woven through the blood, a signature of something unnatural.
"This," she whispered, "is the key."
My chest tightened further.
"The key to what?" I managed to choke out.
Mayume’s smirk widened.
"To a door between worlds."