The ocean was back, cold and infinite.
In the crushing dark of the deep, Kaito's eyes snapped open. He wasn't drowning. He was standing atop the highest spire of the Government Sector, the full moon hanging behind him like a silent, glowing witness.
"I don't want to fight," he whispered to the wind. "I don't want to kill."
But the words felt hollow against the iron in his veins. He had made a promise. A single tear escaped, cutting a hot trail through the cold air. Under the brilliant light of the moon, the "Shadow Fang"—the man who terrified an entire nation—sobbed.
"Mother... Mom..." his voice broke, a raw, jagged sound echoing over the rooftops. "I love you. Even if you aren't here... I will fulfill it. I will fulfill the promise!"
The Cost of a Shot
The dream shattered. The reality of the Residential Sector rushed back—the smell of gunpowder, the heavy breathing of monsters, and the cold weight of his silver threads.
Kaito blinked, realizing his cheeks were actually wet. He hadn't just cried in the dream; he had been crying in front of his enemies. He wiped the salt from his face with the back of his hand, his eyes transitioning from the grief of a son to the lethality of a surgeon.
"Are you crying out of fear?" Hakimo barked, a cruel grin spreading across his scarred face. "It's valid! You're facing the strongest now, boy!"
Kaito didn't answer with words. He flicked his wrists, the silver threads singing as they hummed through the air. "Come on," he whispered.
Hakimo charged like a bull, his massive sword leveled to cleave Kaito in two. Simultaneously, Kashishima fired two consecutive shots, the muzzle flashes lighting up the street.
Kaito moved with frantic precision. He wove the threads into a shimmering web, catching the heavy edge of Hakimo's blade. With a guttural growl, Kaito pulled. The silver silk acted like a high-tension saw; the Sea King's legendary sword didn't just break—it was sliced into a dozen jagged pieces.
But the distraction cost him.
Kaito managed to deflect one of Kashishima's bullets with a flick of his thread, but the second one was too fast. Crack. The lead slug grazed Kaito's cheek, opening a deep, jagged red line. Blood finally dripped from the Shadow Fang's face.
He knew he couldn't play defense at long range forever. Kaito drew his iron revolver and fired twice in a heartbeat.
Thud. Thud.
The shots were perfect. Both of Kashishima's hands were pierced. The Guild Leader's revolvers clattered to the cobblestones as he fell to his knees, screaming in a mixture of agony and disbelief.
"My hands! My hands!" Kashishima wailed, his power stripped away in a second.
But as Kaito focused on disarming the leader, he left his back open. Hakimo, though weaponless, was still a Sea King. He lunged, delivering a colossal, bone-shattering punch into Kaito's ribs.
Kaito was launched backward, his lungs collapsing as he hit the ground. He coughed, spitting a mouthful of crimson blood onto the dirt. He struggled to find his feet, his vision swimming.
Then, the air grew cold again.
A new figure blurred into existence from the Hunter's Guild. Yuri Tamako, the teenage prodigy of Machinora Kanjo's circle, appeared like a vengeful spirit. Without a word, she delivered a horizontal slash with her katana across Kaito's back.
The blade bit deep. Blood sprayed across the street in a violent arc. Kaito collapsed face-first into the ground, his blood pooling beneath him, staining the white shirt his mother had once mended.
Is this the end? Kaito's mind began to fade. Sorry, Mother... I couldn't fulfill it...
Images flashed behind his eyes: playing in the park with Hana Satomi... the smell of her perfume... then the transition to his sister, Hana, tilting her head and making that cute, demanding face for ice cream.
His fingers twitched in the blood.
"You can kill a man," Kaito whispered, his voice rising from a rasp to a roar. "BUT YOU CANNOT KILL A WILL!"
He pushed himself up, his laughter erupting—not the laughter of a baker or a brother, but the mad, terrifying cackle of a man who would burn the world to keep a promise. He looked at the three of them, his eyes glowing with a feral, unbreakable light.
"I carry her Will," he shouted, the threads around his fingers beginning to glow. "SO I CANNOT DIE!"