Seishiro Temple, its ancient stone spires rising from the mountain fog like the bones of a slumbering giant. Intricate carvings cover every surface, each figure etched with a precision that borders on obsession.
Below, a lone figure—hooded in deep scarlet—scales the walls gracefully, making not a sound despite the sheer drop below. She lands on the temple roof, footsteps like whispers on stone...
The girl's slim silhouette stands out against the temple's shadowy backdrop, wrapped in a hooded cape that seems at home here. From underneath the hood, green eyes survey the surroundings, sharp like a hawk's. Her hood falls back to reveal jet black hair secured in a tight ponytail, her face hardened by the constant life of a rogue hunter.
A massive cleaver similar to a sword axe hangs at the girl's hip, its weight comforting in a world where shadows lurk even in broad daylight.
As the girl walks along the rooftop's edge, a gust of wind lifts her cloak, revealing the rest of her outfit. It's all functional: a loose-fitting training kimono, practical boots, and a belt bearing various pouches and hidden weapons.
While the girl may look like a typical hunter, there's something more in her gaze—a curiosity that seems out of place. She's not here for the typical reasons...
The rogue hunter's fingers trace an ancient inscription along Seishiro Temple's weathered wall—symbols pulsing faintly under her touch like a fading heartbeat. "This script… it's older than the Hunters' records," she mutters to herself, green eyes narrowing. A trap? A warning? Her grip tightens on the cleaver at her hip just as—
"Oi. Trespassing's bad manners."
She whirls, blade half-drawn before freezing at the sight of two figures materializing from shadow:
- Brother 1: White hair like shards of ice, yellow eyes glinting with amusement. His katana rests lazily over his shoulder, but the way his thumb tests the edge screams professional.
- Brother 2: Dreads sway as he cracks his neck, bandaged arms flexing around twin chains. His grin is all teeth beneath that goatee. "Especially when you ain't invited."
The girl doesn't retreat. Instead, she flicks her hood back fully—revealing scars that mirror the temple carvings. "Rogue Hunters don't wait for invitations," she counters smoothly… right as distant shouts echo up the mountain path. Hunters. Real ones this time—not outcasts playing pretend war like these two fools before her are pretending they aren't running from their own past either...
Ryo watches Yua, amused at her fascination with human things that should be mundane: vending machines, traffic lights, even a simple arcade game. She's like a child in a candy store, and he's the chaperone. When she's finally had her fill, he offers his hand with a grin.
"Ready for the main event?"
Yua rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. "Main event? More like main bore," she retorts dryly, but the corners of her mouth twitch with suppressed amusement.
Ryo just laughs. "Come on, don't be like that. I know you secretly love it here."
Yua clicks her tongue and looks away sharply, arms still crossed. "Tch. You're imagining things." But she doesn't pull away when he nudges her shoulder playfully—nor does she protest as they weave through the bustling streets together, neon lights reflecting in her normally stoic eyes with something almost like… wonder?
Then—like clockwork—she catches herself and scowls.
"...Stop grinning like an idiot. This means nothing."
Ryo just chuckles under his breath, hands in pockets as he leads them toward their next stop—
As Yua watches Ryo browse through the arcade, something about his easy banter and genuine curiosity about every mundane gaming console… makes her chest feel strange.
She shoves the feeling back aggressively, telling herself it's nothing. Just a reaction to the noise, the lights, the people rushing past… but her gaze keeps drifting to him. Like magnets unable to pull away for too long.
When he catches her watching, her cheeks flush. "What?"
Yua huffs, immediately crossing her arms and turning her head to the side—chin slightly raised as if daring him to comment.
Ryo grins, unfazed. "You're staring."
"I was analyzing." Her voice is flat, but there's a faint tinge of pink creeping up her neck that absolutely betrays her.
Ryo laughs—soft, warm—before nudging her shoulder lightly with his own. "Sure, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
"Well, well. This is a surprise."
Ryo's shoulders stiffen at the voice. He knows it all too well. Even so... he turns slowly, one hand instinctively going to Yua's arm to pull her back just a step.
Kairos looms against the rooftop horizon, lit only by the city's glow.
Yua's eyes narrow, recognition flashing like steel in her gaze. "You..."
The air between them thickens with unspoken history—old battles, broken trust. Kairos merely smirks, tilting his head as if enjoying the reaction he's stirred.
"Miss me?"
Yua: "What are you doing here, Kairos? You don't just 'visit' the human realm for fun." Her voice is steel—sharp and unyielding.
Kairos tilts his head, that infuriating smirk still playing on his lips. "Straight to business, as always." He steps forward lazily, hands tucked into the sleeves of his tattered kimono—but there's nothing casual about the way Ryo tenses at even that slight movement.
Then Kairos' yellow eyes flicker to Ryo briefly before landing back on Yua with amusement. "You haven't told him yet? How cruel."
A pause—too long—before he finally answers her question:
"...I'm hunting for something far more interesting than you two. But while I'm here..." His fingers twitch toward a talisman sewn into his sleeve. "—let's test if this human still has luck on his side."
Yua's eyes flash, frustration burning through her usual control.
"This is unnecessary." Her voice cuts like ice. "You could have just walked away. You chose this."
Kairos exhales—almost a laugh—but there's no warmth in it. "Walked away? Like you did?" The talisman between his fingers hums with corrupted energy as he tilts his head, mocking. "You abandoned the Hunters' code for this… weakling?"
Yua doesn't flinch at the insult—instead, she steps in front of Ryo with lethal quietness. "...I made my choice. Now stand down. Before I remind you why I was ranked higher than you ever were."
Kairos' smirk sharpens. "Training from Kiyara and Gentoki getting to your head?" He mockingly brushes some dirt off her shoulder. "I see your ego's still inflated."
Her eyes darken. "Your jealousy is showing again, Kairos. I earned my rank."
Kairos' mocking smile finally snaps.
"You—! All you ever cared about was the mission. Duty. Loyalty." His voice rises with each word, frustration boiling over. "So why?! Why throw it away for some useless human?!"
Yua doesn't back down—but for the first time, her answer isn't an immediate blade or insult. It's something quieter... more dangerous.
"...Maybe I realized not everything worth fighting for comes stamped with orders."
Yua's words land like a blade in the silence.
Kairos stiffens—just for a split second—before his smirk returns, jagged and bitter. "Obsessed?" He barks out a laugh that sounds more like a snarl. "Don't flatter yourself. You're just another failed soldier. But you were supposed to be better."
The last part slips out before he can stop it, raw and unchecked. His jaw clenches hard enough to hurt—regret flashing across his face before he smothers it back under cold amusement.
"...Doesn't matter now." He raises his hand, talisman glowing between his fingers as corrupted energy crackles through the air between them. "Let's see if your new loyalty is worth half as much as your old one."
Yua's eyes narrow at the sight of Kairos' blade, hand instinctively moving toward her blade—only to pause as Ryo steps forward, fists raised.
Kairos laughs—a sharp, cold sound in the sudden tension. He raises his blade, its serrated edge glinting in the gloom. "So this is your guard dog now?" he drawls, eyeing Ryo with amusement before turning his hand to Yua. "Where's your Kizugami? Or did you lose it like your principles?"
Fragmented memories surge through Ryo—the suffocating stench of burning stone, the deafening crack as his Kizugami splintered under Kyōrei's strike. The way its shards embedded in his palms like glass, blood dripping onto the ruined streets of Serenia as he forced himself to stand anyway.
(No weapon left. Just teeth and fists.)
Back in the present, Kairos clicks his tongue at Ryo's silence. "Pathetic." He levels his blade directly at Yua's throat—close enough that a single twitch could draw blood. "This is what you abandoned everything for? A human who couldn't even keep hold of a rogue hunter?"
Yua doesn't flinch... but her fingers twitch toward where her own cleaver should be—and suddenly Kairos' taunting grin widens with realization:
"...Wait. You don't have one either now, do you?" His laugh is vicious with triumph as corrupted energy coils around them both like a noose tightening—
"—Then this ends here."
Kairos lunges, blade carving through the air with a whistle of death—his voice a snarl laced with twisted amusement:
"Let's see if your human instincts are faster than my steel!"
The rooftop tremors under the force of his strike—just as Ryo shoves Yua back and—!
🌀 End Of Chapter Eighteen