As day bled into night, the moon rose, its golden glow dragging shadows into the crater, an arena carved for death.
Nox still had the stamina to fight. If he had to, he could. But he was tired.
Not in body.
In mind.
Facing another person, not a demon, not a dreknar, but a human, gnawed at him in ways claws and fangs never could.
He had been ready to kill Shuri. Ready to end her life. It was survival, life and death. But the thought of snuffing out the light from her eyes,of turning her into nothing but a corpse to rot.
That terrified him more than dying himself.
When he fought Rios, he hadn't felt this. Maybe because Rios had seemed more monster than man.
No. That was no excuse. If the thought of killing didn't break him, even for someone like Rios, then something inside him was already broken.
Nox swallowed hard. He prayed he'd never face that choice again.
Shuri whipped her head left and right, scanning the shattered crater.
"Where is she? Where's Gelly?"
Her eyes swept the wreckage. Did that boy's insane attack finish kill her?
The thought stabbed her chest. The idea of Gelly dead, it couldn't be. It can't be.
Her jaw tightened. Anger surged, not bravado this time, but raw, seething rage. Her aura flared, blasting outward like fire stoked by wind.
"I thought I told you to calm down."
Ren's voice slid through the tension, lazy, almost bored. His black-and-white hair shimmered faintly under the fractured moonlight.
"Out of my way!" Shuri snapped, pointing at Nox with a trembling hand. "I still have business with that bastard!"
Nox's chest tightened. Her words hit harder than her fists. His legs wanted to carry him behind Ren and stay there. Just thinking about killing her again made him sick.
"You think you can kill Gelly and walk away?" Shuri's voice shook. "No. One of us dies here. Either you, or me."
"Gelly? The girl with the poles?" Ren tilted his chin casually. "She's up there with the boy, Soren, was it? Safe. Breathing. So…" His lips curled into a smile. "…we don't need to fight anymore."
Nox sagged halfway behind him, voice weak. "She's safe. Just… stop."
Ren shrugged. "See? No need for more blood. Besides…" His grin sharpened. "…you're really beautiful. Killing you would be such a waste."
Shuri froze.
The words weren't cruel. Not mocking. Just simple, heavy, and terrifyingly honest.
Yet his aura barely flickered. No malice, no strength. He stood tall, wiry, almost fragile, his lashes split, black on one eye, bone white on the other. His presence was strange, too light to be threatening.
Almost.
Shuri clenched her fists, legs bending. "Don't play games with me."
"Stop."
Ren's voice didn't rise. No threat. Just a word.
And it froze her.
He turned his head toward the crater wall. Eyes narrowed.
"You hid through the whole fight," Ren murmured. "Why show yourself now?"
Shuri blinked. Nox stiffened.
Who's he talking to?
The dreknar's corpse twitched.
From its broken body leaked a thick, black mist. Ominous. Crawling. It slithered up the crater wall like living shadow.
Both Shuri and Nox went pale.
The fog gathered, folding inward, taking shape. Limbs. A body. Boots, trousers, a black tunic. Wrinkles carved deep around pale eyes. Hair pale as milk. A tall, lean frame, elegant and cruel.
The air rotted around him.
Ren tilted his head, calm as ever.
"Lost control from excitement? Or did you just want to be seen?"
Nox's gut twisted. That aura, he knew it. The same suffocating malice as Serus.
This wasn't a man.
This was a Demon Lord.
Nox's blood froze. The same nightmare Raizen fought that day. Pale-haired. Hollow-eyed.
The figure's lips cracked into a grin. His voice rasped dry and mocking.
"My name is Vox. Weak scum mean nothing to me. My eyes are only for him."
His finger pointed, straight at Nox.
Nox's chest hollowed. Me? Why always me?
"Boy," Vox thundered, "let us cross fists. Your power intrigues me."
Shuri's instincts screamed to run, but her pride held her in place.
Nox's voice cracked. "Why… why me?"
But before Vox could answer.
"Scum?"
Ren's grin widened, his tone playful. "Excuse me, Mr. Demon Lord. Vox, was it? My name is Ren. Do I need to tattoo it on my forehead? I've been saying it all evening."
Vox's eyes narrowed, annoyed.
Ren's grin faded. His voice sharpened.
"My master placed this boy in my care. So if you want him," His face dropped into a hollow mask. "you'll have to go through me."
A short silence ensued.
Then Vox's laugh shattered it. A jagged, echoing roar.
"Through you? I can barely feel your iora. No malice, no strength. Even those rings on your fingers, empty trinkets. Look in the mirror, fool. You are not the man you pretend to be."
Shuri trembled. He was insane. He'd die here.
Nox saw it too. The recklessness. The madness Raizen had warned about.
Ren wasn't just an idiot. This wasn't just recklessness.
It was something worse.
His smile crept back, calmly, and too wide.
He raised his hands slowly.
Clink.
Three rings slid free from his fingers.
The air shifted, heavy, suffocating.
A crushing weight slammed into the crater. The sky darkened. Iora, malice, raw pressure, vast and unrelenting.
Shuri's knees buckled. Nox's chest seized, breath choking out.
Ren's aura clashed with Vox's, storm against storm. The ground split beneath them.
He slipped his hands into his pockets. Calm. And walked towards Vox, with each step he took. The earth shattered beneath his boots.
Ren stopped in Vox's shadow. Tilted his head, and smiled.
Then spoke words that split the night.
"I. Am. Him."