Page 1
Yuzuha on the ground.
The insect's claws buried in her back. Blood spreading across the floor beneath her.
Mabu runs toward her.
"No — no — NOOO—"
His sword tears through the insect. It splits in two. Falls.
He drops beside her. His hands fill with her blood.
The grief on his face is absolute. He holds it in.
Page 2
He raises his head.
Around him, soldiers are being consumed one by one in the worst ways imaginable. The darkness is full of sounds.
Mabu closes his eyes.
He breathes.
Calm. Remember — calm.
ENOUGH.
The Stone Mantle appears across his hands. One fast leap.
Page 3
A soldier on the verge of death. A punch tears through the insect from the side.
Mabu appears. He doesn't stop.
Punch. Another. Another.
An insect charges him — claws rake his chest. He answers. It dodges. It grabs him by his shirt. It lifts him into the air.
Page 4
It drives him into the ground. Stone cracks beneath him.
"What in—"
He rises. He throws a hard punch — the insect blocks it. He grabs his sword with the other hand. Drives it through the creature's face.
He turns to the soldiers:
One of them speaks:
"The horses are at the far end of the tunnel. Everyone move. Now."
Page 5
Mabu runs between the insects — killing them one by one. He reaches Yuzuha. He lifts her onto his back with both arms.
The tears in his eyes don't fall. He holds them in.
Her blood soaks through to his back. He keeps moving.
He mounts the horse in one motion. He rides.
The path is narrow. The insects are behind them. Mabu at the front.
Light on the horizon.
Page 6
They emerge from the tunnel.
The sun hits their faces like a warm strike.
Behind them, the insects reach the entrance. They recoil. The sunlight burns their bodies. They retreat into the dark.
Mabu stops. He looks behind him.
A hundred soldiers, roughly. No more.
He dismounts. He sits on the ground. He lays Yuzuha beside him — carefully.
Page 7
A man sits beside him immediately. Face calm despite everything. He pulls bandages from a side bag.
"By the way — my name is Haino. I'm a doctor."
Mabu looks at him with eyes that don't understand.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
He begins working without waiting for permission.
Page 8
He removes part of Yuzuha's armor. He bandages the wound — fast, precise. He applies something to slow the bleeding.
"The Wall isn't far. They have medical facilities there. If we arrive quickly, I can save her."
He looks directly at Mabu.
Mabu answers in silence.
Page 9
Mabu stands. He looks at the soldiers scattered across the ground. Faces in the dust. Bodies trembling.
He breathes deep.
"Let's go. We move toward the Wall."
No one moves.
He walks between them. He grabs one by the shoulder. He tries to pull him up.
The man falls again.
Mabu's voice cracks slightly.
"Get up."
Page 10
"Get up. We have to go."
One of them raises his head: "Why? What is there left for us?"
Mabu sits in front of him. Looks at him directly.
"The girl behind me is dying right now. Our friends are dying at the Wall right now."
He stops.
"And those insects will adjust to the sunlight eventually. And they'll come out. And they'll kill you here — one by one."
Page 11
Silence.
Then:
"Don't you have someone you want to go back to?"
No shout. No fire. Just a question.
"I'm going regardless."
He stands.
"Who's coming with me?"
One moment of silence.
Then one soldier stands. Then another. Then a group.
The rest remain on the ground.
Mabu looks at them for one moment — then kneels beside Yuzuha. She's unconscious. He brushes the hair from her face.
Page 12
He lifts Yuzuha carefully and places her with Haino on Haino's horse.
Haino: "When we arrive, I go straight to the medical room. I'll take care of her."
He looks at Mabu.
"But you have a bigger task when we get there."
"Take care of the rest."
He drives his fist once against his own chest. Mabu nods.
They ride.
Page 13
Above the Wall, a soldier watches the battle from above.
"Can you tell which side is advancing?"
"I can't tell — the numbers are too great."
He looks behind him.
He spots a small formation moving from the north at speed.
"Who are they?" He squints. "I don't know — maybe support."
The soldier beside him slaps the back of his head: "That's far too small to be any support force. But they're coming from our direction — they might be allies."
"Open the gate."
Mabu's face passes through the opening. He throws a glance at Haino. Nods toward him.
He turns forward. His face is set.
Page 14
Karki sees him.
He runs toward him. He throws his arms around him with his full weight — tears on his face.
"You're alive. You're alive, Mabu."
Mabu grips his shoulders: "I'm here. Right in front of you."
He looks past him — Totoki on the ground, clutching his chest.
"What happened to him?"
Karki: "I don't know. Suddenly he started hurting from the inside. It didn't stop."
Page 15
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Heavy, slow footsteps.
Mabu turns.
A tall man. Golden armor stained with blood. He pulls a massive sword slowly from one of the bodies — deliberately.
He raises his head. He points at Mabu with one finger.
"Your turn."
At the medical room, Haino rushes in with Yuzuha — lays her on the table — tears the bandage open.
The wound is serious.
"Where is the field doctor?! Where is he?!"
He pushes through to the next room. Dozens of injured soldiers. He stops.
"The doctor isn't here. He's hiding."
Haino turns. He drives his fist into the table.
"THEN I'LL DO IT MYSELF."
Karki grips his axe.
Mabu places a hand on his shoulder.
"You protect Totoki."
He looks at the armored man.
"I'll handle the rest."
Page 16
Mabu walks toward the armored man slowly.
The armored man walks toward him slowly.
The distance shrinks.
Five meters.
Three.
One.
Mabu accelerates — drives his sword into the man's stomach. The blade doesn't go through. Like hitting stone.
Mabu looks at his sword. Then at the armored man.
Page 17
The armored man swings his sword with sudden speed.
Mabu leaps — steps on the blade mid-air.
A kick into the man's face.
The armored man steps back. Just one step.
He looks at Mabu.
A punch launches.
BOOM.
Mabu hits the mud and rolls. He coughs blood. His armor splits.
He smiles — blood in his mouth.
"You're strong."
Page 18
He stands.
He throws his sword to the side. He claps his hands together.
He raises his head.
He moves.
The armored man throws his sword aside as well. He takes his stance.
"As you wish."
Page 19
A punch from Mabu. The armored man deflects with his forearm.
Immediate return — a punch from the armored man. Mabu dodges by a hair.
Mabu's left punch. The armored man catches it with his palm.
Mabu yanks his hand free and hits from the right. It lands.
The armored man staggers. He answers with a horizontal punch.
Mabu takes it in the chest. Steps back twice. Doesn't fall.
Page 20
They accelerate.
Punch. Return. Punch. Return.
The sounds layer over each other. Mud flies. The soldiers around them automatically step back one pace.
Mabu dodges with his whole body. He grabs the armored man's wrist. Pulls him forward. Headbutt.
The armored man staggers back. He answers with a kick to Mabu's side. He flies sideways.
Mabu's face hardens.
He remembers the insect's movement — the grip, the arc.
He grabs the armored man's wrist. He lifts him into the air.
And drives him into the ground.
Page 21
The armored man crashes. He rises from the earth.
Mabu's armor is half-shattered. His face covered in blood and mud.
The armored man stands in front of him. His armor has begun to crack at the edges.
For the first time.
Mabu sees it.
Something shifts in his eyes.
Page 22
Mabu launches — faster than before.
A punch to the chest. New crack.
A punch to the shoulder. Another crack.
The armored man answers with force. Mabu takes the hit and strikes in the same moment.
Both step back one pace. Both breathing in ragged bursts.
Page 23
Mabu screams and charges.
The Stone Mantle blazes across both hands.
Punch. Penetration.
The armored man — a knife from his hip — slashes Mabu's side. Blood pours.
"You coward—"
Mabu screams and drives forward.
Punch. Deeper penetration.
Punch. A crater in the armored man's face.
Another punch. Deeper.
Punch. Punch. Punch.
The armored man hits the ground.
Mabu keeps going. He doesn't stop.
Until nothing visible remains.
Page 24
Mabu drops to one knee.
He breathes deep. His breath turns to mist in the cold air.
Silence.
Then — the sound of slow clapping. Three times.
Mabu raises his head.
Bayki stands a few meters away. Breathing deep. On his face — a smile unlike any he has worn before.
"You are my perfect opponent."
He places his hand over his heart.
"Finally."
Continued in Chapter Nineteen