The wind didn't move.
It shuddered.
Like something unseen had just stepped into the world.
Ren took one step forward.
"…That's enough."
Gorvath's grin widened slowly, its jagged teeth catching what little light broke through the trees.
"So you finally decided to move…"
Its voice dragged, amused… curious.
"…I was beginning to think you were just for show."
Behind him, Aikari forced herself up, her breathing uneven, pain still pulsing through her ribs.
"Ren… don't…"
Her voice shook—not from fear of Gorvath.
But from him.
Gorvath tilted its head slightly.
"Oh?" it said. "She knows."
Before anyone could react—
It vanished.
A blur—
A distortion—
Then—
CRACK.
Aikari's body lifted off the ground.
Gorvath's hand wrapped tightly around her throat.
Her eyes widened instantly, fingers clawing at its arm as her feet kicked uselessly beneath her.
"A–!"
No air.
No breath.
Ren froze.
Gorvath held her up like nothing, its grip tightening just enough to make her struggle.
"You're all weak," it said calmly. "But this one…"
It leaned closer, its voice dropping to a whisper near her ear.
"…this one breaks so easily."
Aikari's vision blurred.
Her hands trembled.
Her strength—fading.
Not… like this…
Her eyes shifted—just barely—
Toward Ren.
I don't want… to be the one… he has to save again…
Her grip weakened.
Her body started to go still.
"…Ren…"
That was all it took.
The air collapsed inward.
Daiki felt it first.
"…What the hell… is this…?"
Electricity around his hands flickered—then died.
Shin's eyes widened, his stance breaking for the first time.
"…Pressure…?"
Kuroha didn't speak.
But her shadows recoiled.
Ren's head lowered.
His breathing… changed.
Slower.
Heavier.
"…Let her go."
Gorvath laughed.
"Or what?"
Silence.
Then—
Ren's right eye…
Opened.
Just slightly.
A thin line of light cut through the darkness beneath his eyelid.
Not bright.
Not warm.
Cold.
Ancient.
Unforgiving.
The ground beneath him cracked.
Gorvath's smile… twitched.
"…Ahh."
Its grip on Aikari tightened instinctively.
"…So that's it."
Ren moved.
No wind-up.
No warning.
He was just—
There.
In front of Gorvath.
For the first time—
Gorvath's eyes widened.
Ren's hand closed around its wrist.
And stopped it.
Completely.
The forest went silent.
"…I said," Ren's voice dropped—lower than before, layered with something that wasn't entirely his—
"…let her go."
Gorvath tried to pull back.
It didn't move.
"…What are you—"
Ren squeezed.
CRACK.
Gorvath's arm twisted unnaturally, a deep fracture tearing through it as Aikari dropped from its grasp.
She fell—
But never hit the ground.
Ren caught her with his other arm, pulling her close for just a second—just enough to make sure she was breathing.
"…You're safe," he said quietly.
Then he let go.
And stepped forward.
Aikari collapsed to her knees behind him, coughing hard, air finally rushing back into her lungs.
"…R–Ren…"
Her voice trembled.
But he didn't turn back.
Gorvath staggered, its broken arm twitching, already beginning to mend.
"…You… bastard…"
Ren stood still.
One eye barely open.
The other still closed.
"Touch her again…"
He tilted his head slightly.
"…and death won't be enough for you."
The words didn't sound like a threat.
They sounded like a promise.
Gorvath roared.
And charged.
This time—
Ren didn't wait.
The ground shattered beneath his step.
Steel flashed—
His blade drawn in a single motion.
The clash was instant.
Violent.
Gorvath swung—
Ren slipped past it like it was nothing.
A single strike—
SLASH.
Gorvath's chest split open.
It stumbled—
Regenerated—
Attacked again—
Faster.
Harder.
Desperate.
Ren met every movement with precision.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Each strike—
Cleaner.
Deeper.
Closer to the end.
Daiki stared, wide-eyed.
"…He's… destroying it…"
Shin clenched his jaw.
"…No… he's not even trying."
Kuroha watched silently.
But her eyes narrowed.
"…That power…"
Gorvath lunged one last time—
Screaming—
Unstable—
Ren stepped forward.
And drove his blade straight through its chest.
Time slowed.
Gorvath's body locked in place.
Its mouth opened—
But no sound came out.
Ren leaned in slightly.
That one eye glowing faintly.
"…You should've run."
The blade ignited.
Not with fire.
But something deeper.
Something that burned beyond flesh—
The soul.
Gorvath's body began to break apart from the inside out.
Cracking.
Fading.
Erasing.
"No—WAIT—!"
Too late.
In seconds—
There was nothing left.
Silence returned to the forest.
Ren stood there.
Still.
Then—
His grip tightened on the blade.
The air shifted again.
Darker.
Heavier.
Behind him—
Aikari looked up.
Her breath caught.
"…Ren…?"
His eye…
Didn't close.
And something else…
Was starting to look out through it.