Chapter 313: Got You, Uncle

Mae-hwa’s demonic pressure flooded the plaza.

Neither woman slowed down.

Erika rushed forward with Alpha Mode driving her body to eighty percent output, the crimson eyes of her wolf mask blazing as she brought July’s sword around with both hands. Mae-hwa charged from the opposite direction, her folding fan surrounded by a violently compressed mass of wind. The pavement cracked beneath their feet as the distance between them disappeared.

Sword and fan were about to collide.

And then something entered the space between them.

Erika didn’t even see the figure arrive.

One moment, Mae-hwa was directly in front of her. The next, someone was standing between them, perfectly positioned in the path of both attacks.

Two bare hands rose.

One caught Erika’s sword.

The other stopped Mae-hwa’s fan.

BOOOOM!

The collision erupted through the plaza.

A massive shockwave exploded outward from the three figures, throwing dust, glass and loose debris across the street. The remaining windows in the nearby buildings shattered as the wind blasted through them, while several White Wolf soldiers were forced to lower their bodies and brace themselves against the pressure.

Erika’s eyes widened behind her mask.

Her sword wasn’t moving.

Alpha Mode was still pouring power through her body. She was using eighty percent output, both hands were gripping the weapon, and all the momentum from her charge had gone into that strike.

Yet someone had stopped it with one bare hand.

"What...?"

Even Mae-hwa looked stunned.

The tremendous wind surrounding her fan scattered around the newcomer’s other hand, unable to push him backward even a single step. For a few seconds, the stranger simply stood between them while the remaining force from their attacks tore through the surrounding plaza.

Erika finally got a proper look at him.

A black kimono covered his body, contrasting sharply with the smooth white mask hiding his face. There was no visible expression to read and no unnecessary movement in his posture. He had simply appeared between an Agency captain and an Upper Blood Demon at the moment of their strongest collision and stopped both attacks as though separating two people in an ordinary argument.

Erika’s grip tightened.

An Elite Demon...

Not merely one of them.

The man standing before her was the head of the Elite Demons.

He released Erika’s sword first, then turned his masked face toward Mae-hwa.

"Enough, Mae-hwa."

Mae-hwa’s pink eyes immediately narrowed.

The rage that had consumed her only moments earlier hadn’t disappeared. Blood still marked the cut across her cheek, and the sight of Erika seemed enough to make her demonic energy rise again.

"Move."

The Elite Demon didn’t.

"His Majesty has ordered every Upper Blood Demon to withdraw."

Mae-hwa stared at him.

"I don’t care."

She tried to step around him, her murderous gaze immediately returning to Erika.

"I’ll kill this woman first."

The Elite Demon’s hand moved.

He didn’t attack Mae-hwa. He merely placed himself in her path again, making it clear that she wasn’t going anywhere.

"That wasn’t a request."

The calmness of his voice contrasted sharply with Mae-hwa’s rage.

"Every Upper Blood Demon has already been summoned to the Ritual Hall. You’re the only one who hasn’t arrived."

Mae-hwa stopped.

Erika noticed the change immediately.

The fury remained in Mae-hwa’s eyes, and her fingers still trembled whenever they brushed against the cut on her cheek, but something else had appeared beneath that anger.

"...Everyone?"

"Everyone."

Mae-hwa’s eyes narrowed.

For the first time since the Elite Demon appeared, she seemed to forget about Erika completely.

Her gaze shifted toward the distant city, as though looking at something far beyond the ruined plaza.

"Wait..."

She touched the blood on her cheek again.

"If everyone has already gathered there..."

The anger in her expression slowly began to disappear.

Erika watched cautiously, sword still raised. Only moments ago, Mae-hwa had been furious enough to scream that she would tear Erika’s face off. Now that rage was being replaced by something entirely different.

Excitement.

Mae-hwa looked down at the blood on her fingertips one final time before slowly raising her head.

Her smile returned.

Not the furious expression from moments ago, but that same beautiful, unsettling smile she had worn when she first appeared before the White Wolf Division.

"So it’s finally starting."

The Elite Demon gave a small nod.

"Yes."

For a brief moment, only the wind moving through the devastated plaza could be heard. Then the masked demon spoke in the same calm voice.

"The ritual is about to begin."

Erika’s expression changed beneath her mask.

"Ritual...?"

Her crimson lenses remained fixed on the two demons as her mind immediately began working through everything that had happened tonight.

What ritual are they talking about?

Then her eyes widened.

The invasion.

The demons attacking multiple locations, the communication failures, civilians being slaughtered, Agency forces being dragged into battles across the city—everyone had naturally assumed that the attacks themselves were the objective.

But what if they weren’t?

What if this entire invasion was nothing more than a blindfold?

A massive distraction designed to keep the Agency occupied while the demons prepared something else entirely.

The realization sent a chill through Erika.

Before she could think any further, Mae-hwa clicked her tongue and looked toward her.

"Then let me kill her first. It won’t take long."

Her fan opened slightly.

The Elite Demon immediately answered.

"No."

Mae-hwa frowned. "Why not?"

The masked demon slowly turned his head toward Erika. She instinctively tightened her grip around July’s sword when his featureless white mask settled upon her.

"The Demon King ordered us to leave everything behind and return immediately. We are not to waste any more time fighting."

His attention returned to Mae-hwa.

"We’re running out of time."

Mae-hwa’s expression darkened.

"Tch."

Her pink eyes returned to Erika. The small cut across her cheek remained visible, and the irritation in her expression made it obvious that she hadn’t forgotten it.

"How fortunate."

Erika tightened her grip on July’s sword.

Mae-hwa smiled, although murderous irritation remained behind it.

"It seems the Demon King has saved your life, Captain."

Erika’s crimson lenses remained fixed upon her.

"Funny. I was about to say he saved yours."

Mae-hwa’s smile twitched.

For several seconds, the two women simply stared at one another.

"...I really hate you."

"Good."

The Elite Demon released a tired sigh.

"Mae-hwa."

"Fine, fine."

Mae-hwa closed her fan with a sharp snap.

"Let’s just go."

The Elite Demon moved first.

Something strange distorted the space around his body. Erika couldn’t identify whether it was magic, demonic energy, or some technique she had never encountered before. Mae-hwa stepped closer to him, and before Erika could properly understand what was happening, both figures disappeared.

There was no dramatic explosion.

No obvious trail to follow.

One moment they were standing there.

The next, they were gone.

Erika remained motionless with her sword raised, staring at the empty space where they had been.

She couldn’t pursue them.

That realization frustrated her more than she wanted to admit.

It was the first time Erika had personally encountered one of the Elite Demons, the beings reported to serve as protectors of the Demon King and merely standing near that masked figure had made every instinct in her body scream at her to create distance.

He had stopped her eighty-percent Alpha Mode strike with his bare hand.

At the same time, he had stopped Mae-hwa.

And judging by his reaction, neither had required much effort.

Erika slowly lowered her sword.

But the Elite Demon wasn’t the problem she needed to focus on right now.

"The ritual..."

Her gaze sharpened.

Something was about to happen.

"July!"

Vice-Captain July immediately approached. "Captain!"

"Contact the Agency. Now."

July noticed the urgency in her voice.

"What should I report?"

"Everything." Erika turned toward her. "Tell them we have reason to believe this invasion is a distraction. The demons are preparing some kind of ritual, and every Upper Blood Demon has been ordered to gather at their War Hall."

July’s eyes widened.

"A ritual?"

"We don’t know what kind."

That was precisely what worried Erika.

She brought one hand toward her mouth and bit against the side of her finger as she tried to think. If the demons had been willing to launch an invasion of this scale merely to distract the Agency, then whatever they were preparing had to be important.

Possibly more important than the invasion itself.

"Send it as an emergency report," Erika continued. "Tell them the Demon King personally ordered his forces to stop wasting time and withdraw. Whatever they’re preparing, they’re running out of time."

"Yes, Captain."

July immediately reached for her communication device.

Erika looked across the devastated plaza. Wounded White Wolf soldiers were helping one another, the controlled men remained unconscious, and the destruction left behind by Mae-hwa stretched across the surrounding streets.

All of this...

And it might have been nothing more than a diversion.

Erika clenched her fist.

"We have to hurry."

July glanced toward her.

Erika stared in the direction where the two demons had disappeared.

"Because we don’t even know what this ritual means yet."

_________

Yuno City Street

Zeri’s tentacles were gone.

His attention was completely fixed on Yuuta, exactly as they had planned. After having his regenerated tentacles cut apart again and again, Zeri had finally retracted them and returned his arms to normal, choosing to face Yuuta directly.

And Raven had been waiting for exactly this moment.

Yuuta tightened his grip around the aura-covered sword as he launched himself high into the air. Zeri’s golden eyes followed him upward, his entire focus locked onto the descending human in front of him.

Yuuta drew in a breath and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"RAVEN, NOW!"

The shadow behind Zeri moved.

Raven emerged from it instantly.

There was no hesitation. Despite her injuries and exhaustion, she exploded out of the darkness with her remaining sword already drawn back. Black Fusion still covered the blade, its dense black aura crawling along the edge as she aimed directly for Zeri’s exposed neck.

For a fraction of a second, everything seemed perfect.

Zeri’s tentacles were gone.

His back was exposed.

His attention was on Yuuta.

Raven’s sword was already moving.

Then Zeri smiled.

"Caught you."

Yuuta’s eyes widened.

"Raven, be careful!"

Raven heard him, but it was already too late.

Something tore through Zeri’s clothes.

Several tentacles suddenly erupted from his back.

Raven’s eyes widened behind her mask. She had been watching his arms this entire time because that was where the tentacles had always emerged before. Neither she nor Yuuta had considered that Zeri might be able to produce them from somewhere else.

One tentacle shot through Raven’s shoulder.

Another pierced through her side near her hip.

"AAH!"

Her attack stopped instantly.

The force lifted Raven from the ground, leaving her suspended behind Zeri. Blood ran down the tentacles as her fingers trembled around the hilt of her sword.

Zeri’s smile widened.

Their plan had failed.

Or at least, that was what Zeri thought.

Raven’s crimson lenses shifted upward.

Yuuta was still falling.

She couldn’t reach Zeri anymore. Her body had been caught before she could complete the strike, but the weapon in her hand still carried Black Fusion.

Raven gritted her teeth through the pain.

"Sir!"

She released the sword and threw it upward with every bit of strength she had left.

Yuuta saw it spinning toward him.

His hand moved instinctively.

He caught Raven’s sword.

The black aura surrounding the weapon immediately surged beneath his fingers. Yuuta was still descending directly toward Zeri, and the sudden change finally wiped the smile from the High Demon’s face.

Zeri’s golden eyes widened.

That was the plan?

The tentacles holding Raven immediately moved. Zeri tried to redirect them toward Yuuta, intending to tear his head from his shoulders before he could get close.

Then his body froze.

Only for an instant.

That same strange sensation returned.

His heart seemed to stop.

His fingers refused to move.

Even the tentacles emerging from his back became unnaturally still as his instincts screamed at him again. It was the same incomprehensible reaction he had experienced earlier—the same momentary fear his body seemed to understand even when his mind didn’t.

And one moment was all Yuuta needed.

He came down.

The black aura surrounding Raven’s sword mixed against the pressure of Yuuta’s own power as he swung with everything he had left.

The blade crossed Zeri’s neck.

Yuuta landed heavily behind him, nearly collapsing as his exhausted legs struggled to absorb the impact. He drove one hand against the road to keep himself upright, breathing violently while the sword remained clenched in his other hand.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Zeri was still standing.

His head remained on his shoulders.

Raven stared at him.

Yuuta slowly looked back.

Zeri blinked before touching his neck. There was only a thin line running across it.

Then his familiar smile returned.

"You missed, Uncle."

Yuuta said nothing.

Zeri opened his mouth to continue.

"But I have to admit, that was actually pretty..."

His vision tilted.

Zeri stopped.

"Huh?"

The plaza suddenly seemed to rotate.

The buildings moved sideways. The road appeared above him, then below him, then above him again. Zeri’s golden eyes moved in confusion as the entire world continued turning around him.

What... happened to me?

The thin line across his neck opened.

His head slipped from his shoulders.

It struck the pavement and rolled.

Once.

Twice.

Then several more times before finally slowing near the shattered remains of the road.

Zeri’s headless body remained standing for another second before collapsing.

Raven stared.

She had forgotten about the pain in her shoulder and side.

A High Demon.

Yuuta had just beheaded a High Demon.

The implications were almost impossible for her to process. Zeri was a High Demon candidate, a monster whose power already placed him far beyond the Upper Blood Demons Raven was accustomed to facing. Even with the Shadow Corps, Black Fusion, the Aesthor Stone and everything they had thrown at Zeri, they had barely managed to injure him.

Yet now his head was lying on the road.

Raven finally pulled herself free after the tentacles holding her went limp. She dropped painfully onto one knee, pressing a hand against her wounded side before forcing herself back onto her feet.

Her eyes moved toward Yuuta.

He was sitting on the road several meters away, completely exhausted. The temporary energy from the recovery potion had already been pushed far beyond its limit. His chest rose and fell heavily, sweat covered his face, and his hand could barely keep hold of the sword.

Raven gave a breathless laugh.

"I can’t believe that actually worked."

Yuuta raised his head.

"We did it, sir," Raven continued, still struggling to believe the words herself. "We actually did it."

A tired smile appeared on Yuuta’s face.

"I know."

He took another heavy breath.

"Didn’t I tell you? We’d survive together."

Raven stared at him for a moment before a faint smile appeared beneath her mask.

"Yes."

Her shoulders finally relaxed.

"We survived."

Something moved behind her.

Yuuta saw it.

His smile vanished.

A tentacle exploded forward.

It tore through Raven’s abdomen from behind.

Her entire body jerked.

There wasn’t even enough time for her to scream. The attack had come so suddenly that Raven could only stare downward in disbelief at the tentacle protruding from her stomach.

Yuuta’s crimson eyes widened.

"RAVEN!"

The tentacle violently pulled free.

Blood scattered across the pavement as Raven’s body folded forward, but before she could fall, another movement sent her flying across the street.

CRASH!

Raven smashed through the damaged wall of a nearby building and disappeared beneath a cloud of dust and broken concrete.

"Raven!"

Yuuta tried to stand, but his exhausted body nearly gave out beneath him. He caught himself with one hand before looking toward Zeri’s corpse.

His breathing stopped.

The body was still headless.

Zeri’s head was still lying on the ground.

But the tentacles were moving.

They twisted around the headless body like living snakes, slowly rising from its back even though the person they belonged to should have been dead.

Yuuta stared at them in disbelief.

"No..."

He forced himself onto one knee.

"That’s impossible."

His eyes moved between the headless body and the blood covering Raven’s sword.

"I cut off his head..."

There was no mistake.

He had felt the blade pass completely through Zeri’s neck. He had watched the head fall. It was lying several meters away from the body right now.

"So how...?"

Something beside him made a faint sound.

Yuuta froze.

His crimson eyes slowly moved toward it.

Zeri’s severed head had rolled to a stop only a short distance away.

It was facing him.

For a moment, Yuuta simply stared into those golden eyes.

Then Zeri’s lips moved.

A smile slowly spread across the severed face.

"Got you, Uncle."

To Be Continued...