CHAPTER 28 — AFTER THE BLAST
The explosion faded slowly.
Fire still burned in scattered patches across the ruined battlefield. Smoke rose in thick columns, swallowing what remained of the street and the shattered buildings around it.
For a moment—
There was silence.
Far from the center of the destruction, Aoi's voice broke first.
"Tokita!"
Nezuko's voice followed immediately.
"Tokita!"
Their voices overlapped, sharp with panic.
Beside them, something shifted.
Kaito.
His fingers twitched against the ground. His breathing was uneven, but present. Slowly, painfully, his eyes began to open.
"…What… happened…?" he muttered weakly.
Back on the battlefield—
Ragnar stood amidst the destruction.
He wasn't laughing loudly.
Just a low, satisfied chuckle under his breath.
"Seriously…" he muttered, shaking his head slightly. "You really got distracted in the middle of a fight with me?"
He exhaled, almost disappointed.
"That's the biggest mistake of your life."
A faint smirk crept across his face.
"Actually…" he added quietly, turning away, "you don't have a life anymore."
He began to walk.
Slow. Casual.
"It was fun while it lasted, Tokita," he said without looking back. "Don't worry. I won't forget your name."
A pause.
"Or who you were."
Then—
Something moved.
Behind him.
From within the smoke.
A figure stepped forward.
Slowly.
Casually.
Dust and ash slid off his shoulders as he walked through the fading haze.
Tokita.
His clothes were partially burned. Scratches marked his skin. Smoke curled faintly from his body.
He coughed once, brushing debris off his shoulder.
"…Man," he said, voice low but clear, "did you really have to go that far?"
Ragnar stopped walking.
For the first time—
Completely still.
A drop of sweat traced down the side of his face.
He turned.
Slowly.
Tokita stood there.
Alive.
Ragnar's eyes widened—just slightly.
Inside his mind, something shifted.
What… is this?
A strange, unfamiliar sensation crawled up his spine.
This feeling…
His heartbeat sharpened.
I've never felt this before…
A pause.
Then—
Is this… fear?
His lips curled.
Not in mockery.
Not in madness.
But in something far more genuine.
Excitement.
"…I knew it," Ragnar said, his grin widening. "I knew you wouldn't go down like that."
His body tensed.
"Hell yeah, Tokita."
Then—
He vanished.
A burst of speed.
He reappeared instantly, his leg sweeping toward Tokita with explosive force—
But it hit nothing.
Tokita had already moved.
Ragnar's eyes shifted—
Too late.
Tokita was beside him.
Low stance.
Body aligned.
Fist already in motion.
The punch landed.
It drove straight into Ragnar's chin.
A sharp, cracking sound followed—subtle, but real.
For a split second, his jaw shifted unnaturally.
Then—
The force detonated.
Ragnar's body was launched.
The air itself split under the pressure. A straight line of destruction tore through the city in the direction of the impact—buildings collapsing, the ground ripping apart as the shockwave carved its path forward.
The sound echoed across the entire region.
Even far beyond the battlefield, the wind carried the aftermath.
Ragnar crashed.
Hard.
Tokita lowered his arm slowly.
His expression didn't change.
But his thoughts did.
…That was careless.
His gaze shifted slightly.
Losing focus… against someone like him…
A pause.
That won't happen again.
Then—
He remembered.
The civilians.
Tokita turned.
His eyes moved toward the edge of the ruined battlefield.
And what he saw—
Made him pause.
They weren't just a few.
There were more.
Far more.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Elderly.
Over a hundred civilians, gathered in fear, hiding behind broken structures, watching the aftermath of a battle they didn't understand.
Tokita's expression hardened slightly.
…They were here this whole time?
His fists clenched.
And I've been fighting like this…
For a brief moment—
Something like frustration crossed his mind.
If this continues… they'll die.
He stepped forward.
Not toward Ragnar.
But toward them.
"I need to move them," he muttered under his breath. "Before this gets worse."
He approached slowly.
Carefully.
Trying not to startle them.
"I'm not here to hurt you," he said, voice steady. "You need to leave this area. Now."
A gunshot rang out.
Tokita tilted his head slightly.
The bullet passed where his face had been.
Another shot.
This time—
He caught it.
Between his fingers.
The metal warped slightly under the pressure as he held it.
Then he dropped it.
It hit the ground with a soft sound.
"…Stop," Tokita said calmly. "I'm trying to help you."
"Stay back!"
A man's voice.
Shaking.
Terrified.
"You monster!"
Another voice joined.
"You're just like them!"
"Like the infected!"
"You destroy everything!"
"Inhuman freaks!"
"Stay away from us!"
The words came one after another.
Fear turning into anger.
Anger turning into rejection.
Tokita didn't move.
Didn't respond.
Behind the civilians—
Movement.
Low.
Unnatural.
Hungry.
Figures began to emerge.
Drawn by the noise.
By the destruction.
By the scent of fear.
The infected were coming.
Tokita's eyes shifted past the civilians.
He saw them.
Dozens.
Maybe more.
Approaching.
And the civilians—
Had no idea.
The battlefield had changed.
Again.