Hinata paced a slow half-circle around the firepit, boots crunching against the gravel with deliberate weight.
He didn't sit.
Didn't need to.
The way the air shifted around him made it clear: he was the highest authority here.
"I've already reviewed the first shadow report," he said. "But I want to hear it from the two of you."
Asmodeus leaned forward, elbows on his thighs, posture uncharacteristically focused.
I adjusted the blanket on me, the weight of everything still pressing in behind my ribs.
We talked.
Piece by piece.
About the slime rain.
About the ambush.
About the corrupted mutations and the glyphs that sparked just before the King Slime changed.
When it was done, Hinata let the silence settle—just long enough to measure how each of us held it.
Then he turned toward Eldric.
"You'll be returning home."
Eldric blinked. "What—?"
Hinata raised a hand. Three of his personal shadows materialized out of the perimeter fog—one already moving toward the soldier group with silent purpose.
"Your injuries aren't minor," Hinata said, voice sharp but not unkind. "And this was never meant to involve House Albrecht beyond observation. Your duty ends here."
Eldric's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue. "And my father?"
"I'll speak to him myself." Hinata's eyes narrowed slightly. "Directly. I'll make it clear your injury wasn't the result of negligence—but an encounter with an unknown, corrupted celestial construct."
One of the soldiers swallowed audibly.
Eldric hesitated. Then gave a tight nod. "Understood."
"You're not being dismissed," Hinata added, quieter. "You're being protected."
He turned back toward me.
"And that's becoming a more complicated task by the hour."
Hinata stood at the edge of the camp, arms crossed, eyes sharp beneath the dim canopy light.
He didn't say anything at first.
Just looked.
Then—
His gaze drifted past us all.
And narrowed.
"…Where's Rei?"
That single question lanced through the air.
My heart skipped.
Asmodeus glanced at me, then back at his father.
"Haven't seen him afte we entered the cave. Said he was going to the west perimeter," he said. "Said he'd take first watch."
Hinata didn't say anything right away.
But the weight of his silence pressed down like a falling sky.
"He wouldn't," he said quietly. "Not without checking with me. Or her."
His eyes landed squarely on me.
I tried not to flinch.
"He's not the type to go rogue," Hinata continued. "And he's never let Chiori out of arm's reach for more than a few minutes at a time."
My mouth was dry.
"I told him to rest," I lied. "He was injured too. He said he needed time."
Hinata tilted his head, watching me.
"No limp. No strain in his stance. And you—" He turned to Asmodeus. "You didn't try to stop him?"
Asmodeus rubbed the back of his neck. "He didn't exactly ask."
"And neither of you found that strange?" Hinata asked.
He wasn't raising his voice.
That somehow made it worse.
Asmodeus sighed. "Look, I thought he was acting off, yeah. But we just fought a giant slime. Maybe we're all a little off."
Hinata's gaze flicked toward the shadows outside the wardline.
Toward where "Rei" had gone.
He turned back toward the fire.
But then—
His hand flicked.
So fast I barely saw it.
Wind cut the air, sharp and silent—a needle-thin arc of compressed mana shooting straight for my throat.
I didn't even have time to gasp.
But someone else did.
Steel met wind.
A blast of pressure cracked outward as a slender staff caught the strike mid-flight, deflecting it with a shimmer of layered sigils.
The blow vanished harmlessly into the earth.
I spun around—
She was already standing there.
Back straight. Shoulders squared.
White-blonde hair catching the firelight.
Cool blue eyes locked on Hinata.
Unflinching.
Silent.
Lilith.
Hinata let out a soft breath.
Then smiled.
"Of course," he said. "You never left her side."
Lilith didn't answer.
But she stepped forward and gave a proper, formal bow—the kind you only give to a superior officer.
"Lilith, my Lord" she said clearly. "From House Tomaszewski. Formerly known as Reilan Gintama, Personal guard to Chiori Tomaszewski."
There wasn't a single crack in her voice.
Even though every soldier was staring now.
Even though Eldric's eyes were wide, trying to process the shift—the name, the gender, the presence as he was still being taken away.
Hinata studied her.
Then gave a slow nod of respect.
"Now it makes sense."
Lilith held her stance—chin lifted, voice steady—as if she'd always meant to reveal herself this way.
But I felt the breath catch in my throat anyway.
Because hearing her say it out loud?
"Lilith."
It hit different.
Not whispered.
Not hidden.
Not just for us.
Out loud. In front of Hinata. In front of everyone.
Asmodeus let out a low, slow whistle—somewhere between impressed and horrified.
"Well," he muttered. "So much for subtlety."
I couldn't stop staring at her.
My pulse pounded like thunder in my ears.
She'd just declared her full name just like that.
With poise.
With power.
With purpose.
Asmodeus stepped forward, rubbing a hand through his hair.
"You could've at least let me take the hit," he grumbled.
"Too slow," Lilith replied coolly, without even glancing at him.
That pulled a half-smirk from him. "Guess that confirms it. Definitely Rei."
Behind us, the soldiers still hadn't said anything.
Eldric looked stunned. Not angry—just like he was trying to piece together five different timelines all at once.
Hinata didn't interrupt.
But his eyes flicked—briefly—to the edge of the camp, where one of his shadows still lingered, steadying Eldric with a gloved hand on his arm.
His voice, when he spoke again, was quiet. Almost idle.
"…Why are they still here?"
The shadow stiffened.
"My apologies, Lord Saegusa."
And just like that—
They vanished.
In a flicker of shadow and sigil light, Eldric and the four remaining soldiers were gone—pulled into transport by House Saegusa's personal extraction protocol. A clean exit. No spectacle.
Only the five of us remained.
The fire crackled softly, the flames flickering like they knew the room had just narrowed.
Hinata let out a breath.
And turned back to us.