Yuzuru blinked slowly.
"Analysis: description accurate. Yuzuru is satisfied."
Gabriel opened his eyes.
"For the category of everyday life… Yuzuru edges ahead slightly."
"WHAT—?!" Kaguya gasped, stepping back half a pace.
Yuzuru lifted his chin slightly.
"Statement: victory confirmed."
But Gabriel wasn't finished. His gaze remained on the two plates.
"However…"
Both fell silent.
A gust of wind blew in through the broken window, lifting the edges of their aprons.
"This is merely a judgment of the dishes," Gabriel continued calmly. "Not a determination of which Yamai is the 'real' one."
Silence descended like a theater curtain.
Kaguya clenched her fists, trembling between frustration and excitement.
Yuzuru stared at his omurice, expression still neutral—but his shoulders relaxed slightly.
From that moment on, their day became an endless series of competitions.
Stage, kitchen, rooftops, empty corridors, quiet streets—wherever they went, Gabriel was dragged along.
To judge.
To observe.
To decide.
Yet one thing never changed.
He always gave an answer.
Except for the one question they feared the most.
Who the true Yamai should be.
Night fell slowly, swallowing the city sky. The moon hung pale, the night wind blew gently, and a thin, cold mist swept across the rooftops of long-abandoned districts.
On one of those rooftops, the notes of Moonlight Sonata drifted through the air.
Gabriel's fingers moved calmly over the piano keys he had shaped from dark matter—dim white, like a forgotten light.
The music was cold, clear, yet held something profound within it.
His mind raced.
The day… had been enjoyable.
Absurd. Exhausting. Nonsensical.
But enjoyable.
It reminded him faintly of the days spent with Seven Shadow—the times when the world had felt like a grand stage for a play only they could understand.
A thin smile traced his lips.
Elsewhere, the twin Spirits were resting—or more accurately, strategizing for the next "competition."
Their duel had never truly ended. It simply took on new forms.
Then—the movement of the wind changed.
Gabriel paused mid-note.
He sensed a Ki he knew.
Kaguya.
Her Reiryoku surged forward… but it was unstable. A faint tremor rippled through it, unlike the usual competitive spirit she carried.
Moments later, she landed on the rooftop.
Her shoes touched the cracked concrete.
Gabriel stopped playing. The final note hung in the air, then vanished along with the mist.
He stood slowly and turned.
"Storm Princess, Kaguya," he said calmly. "Why does Ash sense the wind of your soul roaring at dusk?"
Kaguya clasped her right arm.
Her eyes were not as bright as usual. Each step seemed measured twice over, weighed with hesitation.
Silence stretched for a few seconds.
"Uh…" her voice was quiet, almost ill-suited to her usual theatrical style. "The next… competition…"
She lowered her head.
"Please… choose Yuzuru as the winner."
The night wind seemed to pause.
Kaguya lifted her head. Her eyes were serious—without any pretense.
She raised her right hand, revealing the symbol of three pairs of wings on the back of her hand.
"For the price of breaking this contract," she continued softly, "I am willing to pay whatever it takes. So… make Yuzuru the winner."
A thin mist drifted past them.
Gabriel did not respond.
From beneath his white bangs, his eyes remained closed. His face calm—giving no judgment, offering no refusal.
Only silence.
Then Kaguya tensed.
She felt something approaching from afar.
Yuzuru's Reiryoku was closing in.
Her reflexes quickened. She stepped back, then turned.
"Sorry for the intrusion," she murmured softly—almost inaudible.
In the next instant, her body shot forward, leaving a thin whirlwind behind her.
The rooftop fell silent again.
Only the moon.
The mist.
And Gabriel, still standing motionless, as if his thoughts had drifted far deeper than that night itself.
Soon after, another current of wind parted the night mist—more stable, more orderly.
Yuzuru landed on the rooftop without any exaggerated sound. His gaze fixed on Gabriel, expression as calm and still as the surface of a lake.
In his mind, the recent encounter with Kaguya was likely just a conversation full of style about rules—something he deemed inefficient.
Or perhaps a scheme, considering they shared the same traits.
If it was a scheme, then so be it.
After all, Yuzuru's purpose in coming here was not to win.
"Statement," he said flatly. "Yuzuru has a request."
Gabriel remained silent, observing from beneath his white bangs.
Yuzuru raised his left hand, revealing the symbol of three pairs of wings.
"Request: in the next competition, declare Kaguya the winner."
The night wind stirred gently.
"Addendum: Yuzuru accepts any consequences for violating the contract. Priority: Kaguya's victory."
There was no hesitation in his voice.
No excessive emotion.
Only decision.
Gabriel still didn't respond.
Just like five minutes ago.
Silence hung for several seconds.
Yuzuru waited, then concluded on his own.
"Analysis: the Judge is considering. Yuzuru will take his leave."
He turned without another word.
His body lifted by the wind and shot off, ready for the next competition—unaware that the conversation that just took place carried a significance far deeper than mere tactics.
Meanwhile, Gabriel's mind continued to spin rapidly, puzzled over what could possibly be paid for something so lavishly wrapped in nonsense.
If he agreed, what would they pay with?
Even one of them could lose their life as a consequence of that choice.
{Note: by the way, if you don't talk to him, Yuzuru really is like an AI 🤣}
***
Several hours had passed.
At the edge of a cliff, deep within the silent forest, Gabriel stood as a mere spectator—watching two Spirits from the same root challenge their own fates.
In the sky, Kaguya and Yuzuru clashed.
The Angels Raphael each shone brilliantly.
Kaguya swung El Re'em.
Compressed gusts of wind exploded like kinetic cannons, unleashing storms that tore through the earth and uprooted trees without mercy.
A colossal tornado formed behind her, as if nature itself were forced to acknowledge her superiority.
Yet on the other side, Yuzuru moved lightly, silently, gracefully, like a leaf untouched by the storm.
Every gust she unleashed was passed with only a hair's breadth to spare.
Then, without a change in expression, he countered.
El Na'ash shot forward.
The long chain twisted through the air like a metallic serpent, its spearhead slicing space with deadly precision.
Even though El Re'em seemed dominant in scale, Kaguya danced between its attack trajectories with extraordinary speed.
Neither had the upper hand.
Neither was pressured.
It was as if, from the very beginning… they were never destined to defeat one another.
Beneath the chaos, Gabriel exhaled softly, his thoughts drifting somewhere far away.
After a few moments, both of them stopped.
Hovering face-to-face a hundred meters apart, the air around them still quivered from the residual impacts of their power.
"Heheh…" Kaguya grinned confidently. "If you keep dodging, I'll declare myself the true Yamai!"
Yuzuru looked at her impassively.
But before any response could be voiced, an idea sparked in Gabriel's mind.
He raised his hand toward the empty air.
Cracks of light appeared in the void, and Ragnarok was drawn forth—a pale white shovel with glowing red circuits, as if reality itself was reluctant to release it.
"Mana Zone."
The air shifted.
"Thirty Unit: Output Realese."
Instantly, the Mana in the surrounding area submitted. Thirty Units were unleashed at once—not exploding, but pressing down on everything around them.
A stream of pale white Mana crawled along the blade of Ragnarok.
"Zetten."
[- Dark Matter Magic: Michael Endschneide des Leerenlichts -]
Gabriel swung.
Simple.
No intent to kill.
No emotion.
Slash.
The sky split.
A vertical strike tore through the forest as far as the eye could see—earth and trees cleaved, clouds sliced like thin fabric.
Even the silhouette of distant mountains was cut, leaving a straight line of destruction unnatural to this world.
The wind stopped.
The sounds ceased.
Kaguya and Yuzuru turned simultaneously.
Gabriel stood casually, the shovel resting on his shoulder.
"What is it, pale judge?" Kaguya asked with a crooked smile. "Did you witness some cheating between us?"
She glanced toward Yuzuru.
"Then… it must be Yuzuru."
Yuzuru looked at Gabriel.
"Judgment requested: however, that recent intervention… is not part of the duel's rules."
"The judge has decided," Gabriel said calmly, his voice falling like the hammer of fate.
Both Spirits fell silent.
The wind in the sky ceased its whispering. The world seemed to hold its breath.
Deep in her heart, Kaguya hoped that decision would confirm Yuzuru as the true Yamai.
On the contrary, in the unspoken silence, Yuzuru secretly wished for Kaguya to be chosen.
"You are both Yamai. So Ash chooses both of you."
"Eh…?"
Kaguya's eyes widened, her confidence crumbling in an instant.
Yuzuru floated a step closer, his gaze sharp yet calm.
"…Reason," he asked briefly.
Gabriel gave a faint smile.
From his back, three pairs of pale white wings unfurled.
They beat slowly, lifting his body as he hovered toward them.
"Hold each other's hands," he said softly. "Let Ash show the truth to you."
___
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