The battlefield had already been torn apart.
Cracked asphalt. Collapsed walls. Heat still lingering in the air from the Ox's destruction.
And at the center of it—
Two figures.
Watching and waiting.
Oden exhaled slowly.
Then—
He moved his hand.
One of his blades vanished, slipping seamlessly into the mouth of a serpent that coiled briefly at his side before disappearing beneath the ground.
One sword remained.
His stance changed instantly.
Lower.
Sharper.
Lighter.
Across from him, Mei Mei noticed.
"…Oh?" she murmured.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're… faster like that?"
Oden didn't answer.
But the air around him shifted.
Subtly.
Dangerously.
He stepped forward.
Then vanished.
The ground beneath his feet cracked—
But the sound came after he was already gone.
Mei Mei's pupils shrank.
"—!"
Too fast.
Her instincts screamed.
She swung—
A preemptive arc.
Her axe tore through the air with devastating force—
But—
Nothing.
Empty.
Behind her—
A presence formed.
Cold.
Precise.
Oden's voice came quietly.
"I'm sorry."
Her body reacted before her mind could catch up. She twisted, bringing the shaft of her axe up defensively—
CLANG—
The strike landed.
Barely.
The force alone sent her skidding across the street, boots carving lines into the ground as she fought to stabilize herself.
"…You've gotten faster," she said, breath steady, but tighter now.
Oden stepped forward again.
"I don't have time," he said.
His grip tightened slightly on his blade.
"I need to go deal with something else."
A pause.
His gaze settled on her.
"But you won't let me leave unless I kill you."
Silence.
Mei Mei smiled faintly.
"…That's correct."
Oden nodded once.
"Okay."
And then—
He disappeared again.
This time—
There was no warning.
No distortion.
No build-up.
Just—
Movement.
Pure.
Violent.
Speed.
Mei Mei's world slowed—
Her eyes tracked—
Barely—
A flicker—
A line—
A cut forming in space itself—
Her instincts screamed louder than ever before.
He's going for my neck—
Her body tensed—
But she knew—
She wouldn't make it.
Not this time.
For the first time—
Fear crawled up her spine.
Cold.
Real.
Then—
A whisper.
"Sister."
Space folded.
The world shifted.
And—
The blade cut through nothing.
Oden stopped mid-motion.
His sword hummed faintly in the empty air where her neck had been a fraction of a second ago.
His eyes narrowed.
"…What?"
The battlefield was still.
No presence.
No cursed energy.
No trace.
Just absence.
Oden slowly lowered his blade.
"…That wasn't speed."
A pause.
"…That was something else."
His gaze flicked across the area once more.
Then he clicked his tongue.
"Tch."
"…Whatever."
He turned away.
"She's out of the way."
He adjusted his grip on his sword.
Exhaled once.
Then looked upward.
Toward the rooftop.
Toward the overwhelming presence he could still feel from afar.
Satoru Gojo.
Even from here—
It was obvious.
Different.
Heavy.
Unreachable.
Oden rolled his shoulder slightly.
"…I've used a bit more than I wanted."
A pause.
His expression didn't change.
"But I still have a lot."
His gaze sharpened.
"…Still."
A small exhale.
"This is him."
No arrogance.
No underestimation.
Just acknowledgment.
"The strongest sorcerer in the world."
Oden tightened his grip on his blade.
Then—
He stepped forward.
And vanished into the city—
---
The room was quiet, too quiet.
A stark contrast to the chaos they had just escaped.
Bangkok stretched out beyond the hotel window in a sea of neon and restless motion, but inside the room, time felt suspended.
Mei Mei sat on the edge of the bed, one leg crossed over the other, her usual composure fractured. Her chest rose and fell in uneven breaths, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to her skin. Her grip on her axe had loosened, no, not loosened. She had let go.
That alone was enough to say everything.
Ui Ui stood beside her, hands clasped tightly, eyes wide with concern.
"Sister…" he whispered, almost reverently. "You're safe now."
She didn't respond immediately.
Instead, she exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through her hair.
"I almost died."
The words were quiet. Honest.
Ui Ui stiffened.
"That's not true," he said quickly, stepping closer. "You had everything under control. That boy, he only caught you off guard. If I hadn't intervened, you still would've—"
"Ui Ui."
Her voice cut through his rambling.
He froze.
Mei Mei turned her head slightly, her sharp eyes meeting his.
"I almost died."
There was no room for interpretation this time.
Silence followed.
Then, slowly, very slowly her lips curved into a faint smile.
"…So thank you."
Ui Ui blinked.
Then flushed immediately, his entire face turning red.
"S-Sister—! That's only natural! I exist to serve you. Your safety is my highest priority—!"
She chuckled softly, leaning back against the bed.
"Relax. You did well."
Ui Ui practically melted on the spot.
But Mei Mei wasn't looking at him anymore.
Her gaze had drifted… elsewhere.
"…That boy."
Her voice dropped, thoughtful now.
"Oden."
Ui Ui's expression tightened slightly.
"He was dangerous," he said carefully. "But not more than you."
Mei Mei didn't answer right away.
Instead, she tapped her fingers lightly against her thigh, recalling the fight. The movements, the precision, the terrifying clarity in his decisions.
"…He reminds me of Satoru Gojo."
Ui Ui blinked in shock.
"What?"
"That overwhelming presence, power," she continued. "That certainty."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"But without the arrogance."
That was the difference.
Gojo stood at the top and knew it.
Oden… simply moved like he belonged there.
Mei Mei's lips curled faintly.
"…I like it."
Ui Ui's expression dimmed, just a little.
"I can be like that too," he said quickly. "I can improve. I can become stronger, more useful—"
Mei Mei glanced at him.
Then smiled.
"You're already useful."
Ui Ui froze again.
Then beamed.
But her gaze drifted once more, her voice lowering into something almost… dangerous.
"…Still…"
She licked her lips faintly.
"There's something about him…"
---
Elsewhere—
The city of Tokyo trembled.
Buildings cracked. Roads split. The air itself felt heavy.
And at the center of it all—
A massacre.
"Is that all?"
Satoru Gojo stood amidst ruin, his blindfold fluttering slightly as cursed energy distorted the space around him.
In front of him—
Miguel staggered.
Blood dripped from his mouth, his breathing ragged. The black rope in his hand flickered with residual energy, its effects barely slowing Gojo anymore.
Curses lunged from all directions. Grotesque, shrieking things born from fear and hatred.
Gojo didn't even look at them.
They simply… stopped.
Crushed.
Erased.
"Honestly," Gojo sighed, tilting his head slightly. "I expected more from someone entrusted with holding me back."
Miguel gritted his teeth.
"Tch… You talk too much."
He lunged forward again, black rope whipping through the air, distorting space where it passed.
For a moment—
Just a moment—
Gojo's Infinity flickered.
Miguel's strike almost reached him.
Gojo's smile widened.
"There it is."
And then—
Impact.
A single punch.
Miguel's body folded as he was sent crashing through layers of concrete, the ground shattering beneath him.
The curses around them dispersed in fear.
Gojo stepped forward slowly, hands in his pockets.
"You're interesting," he admitted. "But not enough."
Miguel coughed, trying to push himself up.
His vision blurred.
His body screamed.
He couldn't win.
That much was clear.
"…Damn brat," he muttered under his breath.
Then—
A shift.
Subtle.
But undeniable.
Gojo stopped.
His head tilted slightly.
"…Hm?"
Behind him—
A presence.
Heavy.
Wild.
Familiar.
Miguel's eyes widened slightly.
"…You idiot…"
Footsteps echoed against broken concrete.
Oden emerged from the smoke.
His white blindfold fluttered lightly. The small serpent around his neck shifted, its tongue flicking as it observed the battlefield through shared vision.
He walked past Miguel without a word.
Then stopped.
Facing Gojo.
For a brief moment—
Silence.
Then Oden spoke.
"…You hit pretty hard."
Gojo smiled.
"And you took your time getting here."
Oden rolled his shoulders slightly, as if loosening up.
"I was busy."
A pause.
Then—
"I'm here to kill you."
The air tightened.
Gojo's smile didn't fade.
If anything—
It deepened.
"Good," he said.
Finally.
Something interesting.
---
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