The chaos of Block 51 was escalating. Every corner of the ghost town shook with the roars of demons, the crash of buildings, and the shouts of exhausted exorcists locked in battles that seemed impossible to win.
Jay, Sota, and Masato circled the scythe-armed demon in a dimly lit building, the walls cracked from earlier exchanges. Jay slashed forward, his demon arms glowing faintly as they carved through the air. But the demon twisted at the last instant, spinning on its clawed feet, its scythe-hand grazing Jay's cheek. A thin cut opened and healed instantly, but the sting reminded him how close he'd come to losing his head.
Masato commanded his shadows, summoning black serpents from the floor. They lashed upward, hissing as they coiled around the demon's legs. For a heartbeat it seemed like the monster might be trapped—until it launched itself into a backflip, twisting through the air with almost acrobatic grace. The shadows slipped away, striking only empty floorboards.
"Damn it!" Masato snarled, sweat dripping down his temple.
Sota's eyes darted back and forth, his precognition struggling to keep up. His glimpses of the future were fractured, blurry—like looking through broken glass. "He's too fast!" Sota shouted. "Even when I see his moves, by the time I call them out, he's already changed!"
The demon cackled, swinging its scythes in wide arcs. Each strike hummed with black energy. Jay and Sota ducked low, the blades hissing past them, carving deep trenches into the walls. The sound alone made Jay's chest rattle.
They regrouped, backs nearly pressed together. The floor was littered with debris, cracks spreading like veins across the ground.
"This thing's toying with us," Jay muttered, his claws flexing.
"And it's not even breaking a sweat," Masato added grimly.
The demon's grin widened. "Correct. This is me… playing."
It lunged again, faster than before. The three scrambled to survive, but every near miss only hammered home how outmatched they were.
Across the town, Aiko, Rin, Tsubasa, and Kenshin were locked in their own stalemate against the towering four-armed brute.
Every attack they launched was blocked or countered. Aiko teleported across its body, striking at pressure points, but each time the demon simply raised a slab of pavement to intercept her blows.
Rin's ice walls shattered the moment the demon flexed its strength. Her breath came in ragged gasps, frost clinging to her arms from the sheer output of energy. "It's… like punching a mountain."
Kenshin slashed again and again, his twin blades glimmering. For a moment he thought he'd carved through its skin—only to see bloodless scratches that closed almost instantly. Then the demon's upper fists came down in a shockwave strike, blasting him back across the street.
Tsubasa rained down feathers from above, hundreds of them piercing the air. Some lodged into the demon's flesh, but shallow wounds weren't enough. The creature laughed, shaking off the blows as though they were mosquito bites.
The four regrouped, panting, bruised, and increasingly desperate.
"This thing's just a wall," Kenshin spat, planting one sword in the ground to steady himself.
"And it's not moving," Aiko growled. "No matter what we do."
The demon slammed its fists together, the sound booming like a drum. Its grin stretched wide, mocking them.
Ryuji's fight was no better.
He hurled fireball after fireball into the air, aiming for the spider demon skittering above. But every strike missed, scorching only webs or rafters.
"Stop moving, you ugly freak!" Ryuji roared, his patience fraying.
The demon clung to the ceiling, its six spider legs moving with unsettling precision. "If I stop, little flame, the game ends too soon. And I want to savor your despair."
Ryuji's chest heaved with rage. Then he changed tactics.
Flames burst under his shoes, roaring upward. The ground cracked beneath the heat as he shot into the air like a rocket. His body blurred, streaks of fire trailing as he rose toward the demon.
"Fine! If you won't come down… I'll come up!"
The spider hissed, swinging away across its web. Ryuji pursued, bursts of flame keeping him aloft. He darted left and right, faster now, until finally—he was right in front of its face.
"Burn."
He thrust his palm forward, fire coalescing in his hand. But before he could unleash it, the demon spat a glob of webbing larger than any before. It engulfed him midair, sticky strands wrapping around his limbs, his chest, his face.
"Wha—?!"
Gravity took hold. Ryuji plummeted, smashing into the ground with a sickening thud. His back screamed in pain, his body pinned beneath layers of webbing. He struggled, flames sparking in his palms, but the silk smothered them. No matter how much fire he poured out, the webs remained intact.
The spider demon descended slowly, savoring his agony. Its four eyes glowed with sadistic delight. "Seems like the fly has finally been caught," it purred.
Ryuji thrashed harder, desperation clawing at him. His flames sputtered and failed. His breath came in ragged gasps, tears threatening to spill.
"No… not like this."
He shouted every curse word he could muster, his voice breaking. But no amount of swearing could change the fact that he was helpless, his arms bound, his body wrapped tight.
The demon's silk wrapped around him further, coiling tighter with every second.
In his terror, Ryuji's vision darkened.
"You can't give up now."
Ryuji froze. The voice wasn't the spider's.
In the blackness of his mind, he saw him. His best friend.
Joel stood there, just as he had the last night they'd spoken—warm smile, kind eyes.
"You still haven't fulfilled your revenge," Joel said.
"I'm sorry, Joel." Ryuji's voice cracked. "I'm not strong enough. I'm trying to burn these webs but… nothing works. I'm pathetic."
Joel's smile faded. His words sharpened. "If you can't defeat this demon, how are you going to defeat the one who killed me?"
Ryuji's chest tightened. The image shifted.
He was back in the alley that haunted his nightmares. Joel's lifeless body lay sprawled in a pool of blood, his chest carved with deep gashes.
And above him stood a man.
A man with red glowing eyes. A grin that dripped with madness.
The stranger clutched a kitchen knife, stained crimson. He stabbed Joel's corpse again and again, laughing as he licked the blood from the blade.
"Stop!" Ryuji had screamed back then, his voice tearing from his throat. "Get away from him!"
The memory seared itself into his skull. The helplessness. The rage. The failure.
Back in the present, Ryuji's fury ignited like oil on fire.
"I won't… fail again."
The flames within him surged, hotter than ever. His body shook, his vision blurring with tears and rage. The webs binding him began to smoke.
The more he struggled, the brighter the fire burned. His red flames shifted, glowing brighter—then turning blue.
The cocoon dissolved.
The spider demon recoiled, its many eyes widening in shock. "Impossible…"
Ryuji stood, wreathed in azure fire that danced across his skin like a living entity. His aura pulsed with raw, searing power. The ground beneath him cracked, unable to withstand the heat.
The spider spat more webs, but they disintegrated the instant they touched his flames.
"You're done."
With inhuman speed, Ryuji blurred forward. One moment he was on the ground, the next he was in the spider's face. The demon tried to leap away, but Ryuji grabbed one of its legs.
The scream that erupted shook the room. Blue flames ate into the demon's flesh, searing deep. It tried to shake him off, slamming the leg against the wall, the floor—but nothing extinguished the fire.
Ryuji leapt upward, blasting it point-blank with a torrent of blue flame.
The demon shrieked, its body writhing, thrashing violently. But the fire consumed it, devouring flesh and bone alike.
Its form collapsed, writhing in agony until it finally burst apart, dissolving into a black mist.
Ryuji stood there, chest heaving, his body still cloaked in blue fire. His eyes glowed faintly, his rage smoldering but controlled—for now.
The battle was over.
Silence fell.
Ryuji turned toward the ceiling, where several of his classmates were still hanging, trapped in cocoons. He raised his hands carefully, summoning smaller flames. This time, instead of raw power, he shaped them gently. The silk melted away harmlessly, and his classmates fell free, groaning but alive.
"Ryuji…" one of them whispered, awe and fear mixing in their voices.
He didn't answer. His gaze swept the room, and then he spotted it.
On a dusty desk sat a scroll, its black stripes clear in the dim light.
Ryuji walked over, the flames still licking around his body. He picked up the scroll, staring at it for a long moment.