The three captains circled Hinata again, their breaths steady, their eyes sharp.
This time, far more focused.
Lister muttered under his breath, muscles tight.
"John… don't lose focus."
John nodded, spear trembling slightly in his grip but his expression hard.
He had already tasted Hinata's speed.
He knew this wasn't a normal fight.
Amaya's voice was cold and firm.
"We end him together."
Hinata tilted his head, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Good. Make it interesting."
They struck in perfect unison.
Amaya's scythe curved toward Hinata's ribs.
Lister's greatsword fell from above with crushing force.
John's spear shot forward like lightning, aimed straight for Hinata's heart.
Any normal man would've been shredded.
But Hinata flowed between them—a shift of the shoulder, a slide of the foot, a twist of the torso.
He slipped past Lister's blade.
He ducked under Amaya's swing.
He tilted away from John's spear by the width of a breath.
A sharp grin formed on his face.
"Are you three really captains?"
John's jaw clenched.
He refused to be made a fool of.
He lunged again—fast, sharp, precise.
This time, Hinata turned toward him fully.
The amusement vanished.
In the next instant—
He moved.
To the captains, Hinata simply disappeared.
"John—!!" Amaya screamed.
But her voice was already too late.
Hinata reappeared behind John.
His blade was already buried through John's chest from the back, the tip jutting out under his ribs.
John's eyes widened, breath catching.
His fingers loosened from his spear.
Blood dripped from his lips as he stared ahead in shock.
Hinata leaned slightly toward John's ear.
His voice was soft.
Almost gentle.
"Among the three of you… you were the first to relax."
He twisted the blade calmly.
"In a real battlefield… that's all it takes to die first."
He pulled the blade out swiftly.
John collapsed to his knees, breath breaking into small gasps.
His spear slipped from his fingers.
He tried to stand… but his legs were already gone.
Hinata stepped in front of him.
A clean silver arc cut through the air.
John's head separated from his body and dropped beside his knees.
Amaya froze.
Lister's whole body trembled—from fear.
Hinata flicked the blood off his blade and faced them calmly.
"Two of you left," he said, almost amused again.
"Come. Make this interesting."
John's head hit the ground with a dull thud.
Silence.
Lister didn't charge.
Amaya didn't scream.
They stepped back—slow, controlled—raising their weapons with the calm of warriors who understood exactly what they were facing.
A monster in human skin.
Lister wiped the blood from her lips, lowering her stance.
"…Stay sharp," he whispered.
Amaya nodded, one eye twitching but his grip steady.
Hinata only tilted his head.
"Smart. Rushing would've been suicide."
He shifted one foot, barely a millimeter—
—and both captains flinched.
Lister exhaled slowly.
"Don't let him vanish. Watch his feet."
Amaya set his stance.
"I know… I know."
Then—
Hinata moved.
Not with a sprint.
Not with a dash.
Just vanished.
"Right—!"
Lister tried to warn—
Too late.
Hinata's blade hummed past him, cutting a fine silver arc.
Lister felt a sting.
Then warmth.
He looked down—
blood sprayed from his forearm.
Hinata had carved a deep line through his hand and wrist, nearly severing it.
Lister roared in pain, stumbling back, barely keeping hold of his greatsword as blood rained from his fingers.
Hinata didn't even look at him.
He was already moving.
A blur.
A shadow.
Striking without hesitation.
Amaya sensed him behind her an instant before he appeared.
Her scythe swung backward with perfect reflexes—
and cut nothing but air.
Hinata's breath touched her ear.
"So… this is the end, I think."
Amaya's eyes widened.
She tried to turn—
SHIIIING—
A single clean flash.
A line of silver traced the air.
Blood sprayed in a perfect arc.
Amaya's head separated smoothly from her body, spinning once mid-air before falling with a heavy thud.
Her body remained standing for half a second… then collapsed beside it.
Lister froze.
His breath hitched.
His injured hand trembled violently.
His legs refused to move.
Hinata turned toward him, wiping his blade with two fingers, calm as if he had just finished a light warm-up.
"Your turn."
Amaya's head rolled to a stop.
Her blood hadn't even finished spreading before Lister roared and charged, lifting his greatsword with his uninjured hand, swinging downward with everything he had left.
Hinata didn't even raise his blade.
He simply stepped aside.
The sword slammed into the ground, cracking the stone.
Hinata looked at him with a small smile.
"You still think you can defeat me?"
Lister pulled the sword free, teeth grinding, sweat mixing with blood on his forehead.
He swung again — wider, heavier, desperate.
Hinata leaned back an inch.
The blade missed.
He leaned left.
Another swing missed.
He leaned right.
The last desperate slash cut through empty air.
Hinata chuckled softly.
"You're slow."
Before Lister could blink — Hinata vanished.
The giant captain's heart dropped.
Where—!?
Panic raced through his chest.
His instincts screamed, He's behind you!
Lister spun—
SHLICK
Pain exploded through his leg.
Hinata's blade carved deep across his thigh, nearly severing the muscle.
Lister collapsed, slamming onto one knee, sword digging into the ground to keep him from falling entirely.
He gasped, breath shaking, vision blurring.
He turned his head slowly—
And what he saw was not a man.
It was Hinata.
Walking toward him silently.
Step.
Step.
Step.
His shadow stretched long in the blood-soaked corridor.
His blade dripped calmly beside him.
His eyes were dead.
Lister felt something unfamiliar.
Not anger.
Not pride.
Pure fear.
I knew he was a monster…
But this much?
He might even be on par with Yoki…
Lister tried to move.
His fingers tightened on his sword—
But his body refused.
Every instinct he had left told him:
Run.
Escape.
Survive.
But he couldn't.
Hinata stopped just a step behind him.
Lister swallowed.
He forced himself to look over his shoulder—
And what he saw made his blood freeze.
Hinata's figure, blood-stained and silent, slowly raising his blade.
No mercy.
No hesitation.
A predator closing in for the kill.
Lister's eyes widened.
"No… no… stay back—!"
Hinata's voice was quiet.
"Goodbye."
When a sudden staggering figure appeared at the end of the hall.
Hinata froze mid-step.
A familiar voice called out, weak and strained.
"H… Hinata…"
Hinata turned sharply.
"Oxel?"
Oxel limped forward, armor shattered, blood pouring from a deep cut along his ribs.
One of his eyes was half-swollen, and his breathing uneven — he looked like he had been through a nightmare.
Hinata immediately sheathed his blade and sprinted toward him.
"What are you doing here? You're injured," Hinata said, gripping Oxel's arm before he could fall.
"You shouldn't even be here."
Oxel coughed, wiping blood from his lips.
"I… came when I heard the capital was under attack… I couldn't sit still."
Hinata's expression softened for a brief moment — something extremely rare for him.
"Tch… idiot. You'll die like this."
Oxel smiled bitterly.
"I know."
Lister, still kneeling behind them, watched the scene with hollow eyes.
His will to fight was gone completely.
But before Hinata could say anything else—
A cold breeze swept across the hall.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Soft.
Almost silent.
Hinata and Oxel both turned.
From the shadows, a man in white emerged.
A long white cloak trailed behind him, edges soaked in fresh blood.
His face hidden behind a pale mask, smooth and expressionless.
His sword hung loosely in his hand.
The White Leader.
The hall seemed to freeze around him.
Oxel grit his teeth.
"Hinata… don't underestimate him," he warned, voice shaking.
"He's strong — too strong. I… I couldn't even see his attacks."
Hinata narrowed his eyes slightly.
If Oxel — a top captain — said this man was overwhelming, then he was no ordinary enemy.
But Hinata's lips curled slightly.
Still… stronger than me?
I don't think so.
Hinata shifted his stance subtly, guarding Oxel with his body.
The White Leader finally stopped a few steps away.
Hinata and the masked man faced each other —
silent, cold, unreadable.
The temperature seemed to drop.
Dust floated in the air, unmoving.
Two monsters.
One calm.
One unreadable.
Hinata said quietly,
"…So you're the one behind all this."
The White Leader tilted his head slightly — almost curious.
No words.
No expression.
Just a silent ghost staring at him.
Hinata's eyes sharpened.
The air between them tightened.
The next clash would not be like fighting Lister or Amaya.
This was different.
Two predators.
Two killers.
Standing face to face.