Dark clouds swallowed the sun.
The world dimmed.
Wind screamed across the shattered earth, carrying dust, leaves, and fragments of stone into the sky. Mountains trembled in the distance as if even nature itself understood what stood here.
Ren Hajime.
Jigen.
They both face each other beneath a dying heaven.
Their long hair flowed violently in the gale. One radiated a white serenity that seemed to calm the world itself. The other stood like a wound carved into existence, dark and silent, as though reality rejected his presence.
Far behind them, Kasumi sat beside the unconscious Miyuki, unable to look away.
His heart pounded.
"This is it… their final battle… Now, only Hajime-San can end this monster… Please… Hajime-San.
Win… Kill him."
Jigen's crimson eyes remained fixed upon Ren. Then he spoke, his voice calm, cold. Like an ancient truth buried beneath civilization.
"What do you gain from saving lives, Ren Hajime?"
A long crimson blade emerged from his hand. The sword looked less like metal and more like solidified blood.
The sky itself seemed to darken around it.
Jigen continued. "You save villages that will burn again."
The wind grew stronger.
"You comfort people destined to suffer again… You protect creatures that betray, exploit, and destroy one another without hesitation…"
His eyes narrowed. "Tell me..."
The sword pointed toward Ren.
"How many graves were created by your mercy?"
For a moment, silence ruled the battlefield.
Ren's eyes widened, because the question carried weight.
Because countless faces flashed through his mind— People he saved. People he failed. People who suffered anyway.
Then—
Jigen vanished.
The earth shattered beneath his feet. A crimson arc tore through the sky.
The sword descended, reality itself seemed to bleed. But before the blade could reach him—
Ren disappeared.
Jigen's eyes narrowed.
Then a voice came from behind him, calm, gentle, painfully human.
"You've mistaken suffering for meaning."
Jigen froze. "I hadn't seen it coming…"
Ren stood behind him.
"Pain is part of life… It was never life itself."
For a brief second— the wind weakened. As if the world itself listened.
Jigen remained still. Then he spoke without turning.
"Are you still clinging to humanity?"
He flipped backward. The air exploded. His black robes flowed beneath the dark sky as he hovered above Ren.
"Humans create pain faster than happiness… They wage wars, abandon each other, destroy everything they touch."
His crimson eyes glowed.
"And when all illusions are stripped away..."
His sword descended.
"Despair is all that remains."
The blade fell. But before impact—
CLANG.
The world shook.
Ren's sword met it. A shockwave erupted across the landscape.
The clouds split apart. Mountains cracked. Kasumi instinctively shielded Miyuki.
Then, Ren moved—
One step. One swing.
The sky split.
The sound barrier shattered. The air screamed.
The slash crossed Jigen's neck, yet nothing happened. The blade passed through him, like cutting mist, cutting emptiness.
Ren lowered his sword, his voice remained calm.
"Who are you to decide their lives are meaningless? You search for meaning as though it were buried somewhere beneath the world.
But… meaning isn't discovered. It is created."
For the first time since the battle began, Jigen felt resistance. Not from power, but from conviction.
He lowered his head slightly. Then landed upon the earth.
"...You still seek comfort in humanity… You save others. You protect them. But when your own family needed you..."
His crimson eyes lifted.
"You abandoned them."
Ren froze.
The words struck deeper than any blade.
Jigen continued. "You walk alone because you already know the truth."
The storm intensified.
"Attachment ends in suffering."
Silence.
Ren said nothing, because he couldn't.
A massive crimson sword emerged from Jigen's hand— Thirty feet long. A weapon so enormous it dwarfed the battlefield itself.
The air distorted around it. The mountains seemed insignificant beside its presence. Then—
SLASH.
The heavens screamed. The sword descended. The world split beneath its path.
Ren raised his blade.
The impact detonated across the valley. The ground collapsed. His body was launched backward through forests and stone.
Before he could recover— Jigen was already there, appearing above him.
"You already agree with me…"
The colossal blade descended again.
BOOM.
The surrounding mountains erupted.
Ren blocked it, his feet sank deep into the earth. The pressure alone shattered everything around them.
"You are simply afraid to accept it."
For several seconds, only the sound of destruction remained.
Then Ren smiled, sadly.
"You are right… I should never have abandoned them..."
A pause.
"I should have stayed… I should have prepared them."
The wind blew through his long hair. Then his eyes met Jigen's.
"But that's why you're wrong."
Jigen remained silent. Ren's voice lowered.
"You've watched humanity for centuries… You've witnessed every cruelty, every betrayal, every failure."
The white aura around him expanded, soft yet vast.
"But you've never truly lived among them… You've observed love. But you've never accepted it."
For the first time—
Jigen's expression changed, only slightly.
Ren smiled faintly, almost knowingly. "It seems… I was right."
For a moment, neither moved.
The apocalypse around them faded slowly.
Jigen's thoughts darkened. "I cannot continue fighting him like this. Without my Blood Demon Techniques, I cannot kill him...
But I have to enter the same world as him to use them… if I enter his world… His attacks can reach me."
Jigen slowly raised his hand toward the heavens.
The world answered.
Darkness spread across the sky. Clouds swallowed the sun whole. The day vanished.
A violent gale erupted across the mountains, uprooting ancient trees and sending entire cliffs crumbling into the abyss below.
His long black hair danced within the storm. Dark energy leaked from his body. Something that should never have existed.
A crimson medieval sword slowly emerged from his hand. The blade was enormous, ancient. Blood pooling down its surface on Jigen and the earth, as though reality itself was bleeding across the metal.
The surrounding space distorted, even light refused to touch it. Jigen's crimson pupils glowed within the darkness.
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"No more talk… Let's end this, Ren Hajime."
BOOM.
The earth exploded.
Jigen disappeared.
Kasumi's eyes widened.
The mountain beneath his feet collapsed from the acceleration alone.
He wasn't moving, he was erasing distance itself.
Ren immediately took his stance. Then—
For a split second—
His transparent world saw something beyond Jigen.
Something colossal. Something impossible.
A giant silhouette. A devil standing behind him. Its horns pierced the heavens. Its body stretched beyond the clouds. Countless dead crimson eyes opened across its flesh. The sight alone felt enough to drive a human insane.
Satan.
Then—
Blood splashed.
Jigen's eyes widened.
His wrists fell from his arms. Both hands crashed against the earth.
He stared.
The attack had already happened. Ren hadn't moved, or perhaps he had moved too perfectly to be perceived.
Jigen looked at the stumps.
Blood poured out. Then flesh crawled. Bones extended. Muscles reformed.
His hands regenerated instantly.
Without hesitation—
Jigen launched himself into the heavens.
Higher.
Higher.
Until he stood amongst the black clouds.
He raised one arm.
The sky split apart.
A gigantic skeletal hand emerged from the darkness.
Countless fingers stretched beyond the horizon. A hand so enormous that mountains looked microscopic beneath it.
The atmosphere screamed.
The pressure alone flattened forests.
Kasumi felt his lungs stop working.
Then—
Jigen lowered his arm.
The cosmic hand descended. The sky shattered.
The giant palm rushed toward Ren with enough force to erase entire cities.
Ren simply inhaled, calm, silent. Like sunlight itself.
Then he moved.
BOOM.
The earth exploded beneath him.
Ren shot into the sky.
One step. One slash.
A crimson line crossed heaven.
The gigantic hand stopped.
Silence.
Then—
The entire construct split into countless pieces.
The sky trembled. The clouds exploded outward.
Fragments of darkness rained across the world.
Before Ren could land—
Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands.
Skeletal arms erupted from the darkness around him. They twisted unnaturally, like dead gods reaching from another dimension.
One seized his ankle. Another wrapped around his waist. Another caught his sword arm.
Then hundreds more followed, locking him in place.
Jigen watched from above.
Expressionless. Cold. Absolute.
Ren remained calm. His fingers tightened around his sword. He brought the blade close to his face.
A deep breath.
The world became silent.
"SUN BREATHING… SECOND FORM."
Heat exploded.
"CLEAR BLUE SKY."
Ren spun.
Once.
The movement was beautiful. Perfect. Like the rotation of a star.
A circle of sunlight erupted around him. Flames engulfed the heavens—
Every skeletal arm, every shadow, every fragment of darkness is erased.
Thousands of burning cuts spread across the sky simultaneously. The cosmic constructs turned to ash.
Jigen watched silently. For the first time, a thought crossed his mind.
"His every attack is perfect… every movement, every angle, every breath… I am the devil incarnate. I stand beyond mankind, beyond demons, beyond living creatures.
But he's a human… How can someone so perfect like him exist?"
Ren descended, his feet touched the shattered earth. The storm itself seemed calmer around him.
The two looked at each other once more.
Jigen understood. "The truth was becoming obvious… My other abilities won't be enough… Perhaps demons may reach their limits one day, warriors may touch perfection.
But Ren Hajime...
...is the heaven above heavens."
Suddenly—
Ren vanished.
Jigen's instincts screamed.
Too late.
Ren materialized beside him.
The world froze.
His voice was calm. "You should have stayed hidden like Muzan…"
Jigen immediately swung his sword.
Ren's Nichirin blade glowed crimson, the color of a dying sun.
"SUN BREATHING."
Heat erupted across the battlefield.
"THIRD FORM… RAGING SUN."
SLASH. SLASH. SLASH.
The world disappeared.
Jigen's pupils shrank. His eyes widened.
I...
The first slash severed his arm.
Couldn't…
The second cut through his torso.
Even…
The third crossed his neck.
React…
Blood exploded across the battlefield.
His head separated. His arms fell. His body split apart. Chunks of flesh crashed onto the ruined earth. For the first time in centuries—
Jigen had been completely overwhelmed.
Kasumi's breathing stopped.
His mouth fell open. "Is… Is he really dead...?"
Jigen's severed head rolled across the ground. His eyes remained open. The pain was beyond imagination.
His flesh burned. His blood boiled. His cells screamed. The crimson blade continued devouring him long after the attack had ended.
Jigen's eyes are still wide. What did he exactly do…? It's… It's hurting too intensely… like my body is burning beyond limits, it's the most painful death a demon can ever get…
Now I understand… why even Kokushibo screamed in agony when he got attacked by red blade… And that's Yoriichi I'm fighting against…
Then, his eyes soften, slightly.
"I wanted to die in silence…"
Blood continued flowing from his wounds.
"Somewhere no one could reach me… Somewhere no one could see me…"
The wind carried his words away.
"So even I couldn't choose the manner of my death… Still… It's alright."
A faint silence followed.
"If I somehow survive..." For the first time, uncertainty entered his thoughts.
"...I don't know how I can face her again."
———————————————————————
Last night.
An ancient castle slept beneath the moon. Silver light flowed through open windows and across marble floors polished by centuries.
Everything was silent. Everything except one room.
Jigen sat upon the edge of a large white bed. The lights were off, only moonlight illuminated the room.
He sat motionless. Head lowered. Eyes fixed on the floor, as though listening to something far away.
Beside him sat Eliza, too close. Her shoulder pressed against his, her fingers lightly touching his sleeve.
She smiled softly.
"What happened?" Her voice was gentle, almost angelic. "You look lost..."
Jigen remained silent. For a moment, he almost answered honestly.
I thought that might be our final meeting…
Jigen says calmly. "Nothing… I was thinking that Midwinter is destined to die… I saw his lifespan. I will have to go and execute my plan—"
He stopped.
Eliza had already wrapped both arms around his. Her head rested quietly against his shoulder, holding him tightly.
Jigen stared forward. He thinks. "She knows exactly what I'm thinking… and yet, she isn't stopping me."
For a long time, neither spoke. Moonlight covered the room. The castle remained silent.
Then Eliza finally whispered.
"You know… The cruelest thing you ever did… was making me love you this much."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Jigen remained still.
"I used to think obsession was dangerous..." Her fingers tightened slightly around his arm. "...but one day it started looking exactly like devotion."
The moonlight reflected within her azure eyes. She lowered her gaze.
"Promise me something… Promise me that if you leave this world… you'll leave knowing you were loved completely."
Silence.
For a year, I spent most of my time away from her… But every time I had to return in two days, because she wouldn't survive any longer… Missions were one reason, but another reason was to make her detach from me… And it worked for a while.
But as time passed, she became even closer, more possessive… as if she already understood my plan…
Slowly, Eliza loosened her grip. Her voice became almost inaudible. "Just..."
She stopped, unable to name the fear itself.
Jigen finally spoke. "Stop acting like it's our last meeting…" His tone remained calm. "You are overthinking again…"
Eliza lowered her eyes, but neither of them believed those words.
She might be right… My final mission is to get killed by Ren Hajime. He is the only person capable of killing me… the one who can erase despair… If not him, then nothing can kill me…
Eliza slowly looked up, their faces were close. Very close.
Moonlight danced across her pale skin, her crimson lips just inches away from his rosy lips.
But before she could do anything—
Jigen stood. He walked toward the open window.
The night wind entered the room. His black hair moved gently in the moonlight. He stopped before the endless darkness outside.
Then turned his head. For the final time, he looked at her.
Moonlight transformed her into something unreal.
She looked less like a demon, less like an Upper Moon, and more like a forgotten goddess from an ancient myth.
White skin glowing softly beneath silver light. Long dark hair flowing across her shoulders. A delicate crown resting above azure eyes. Diamonds, silver ornaments shimmering in the moonlight. A white dress cascading around her like moonlit water.
Beautiful. Otherworldly. And unbearably lonely…
For the first time all night— Eliza looked nervous. Almost shy.
"Won't you..." She hesitated, her cheeks turned faintly red.
"Won't you spend our night together?" The question sounded fragile, as though she already regretted asking it.
Jigen looked away. "I truly apologize for disobeying you." His voice remained unchanged. "I'll have plenty of free time after this mission."
A lie, one she recognized immediately.
"But right now..." His gaze drifted toward the horizon. "I don't have enough time..."
Eliza lowered her head. A sad smile appeared.
"You always say that…
You don't care about me at all."
The words sounded playful, but her voice was breaking.
"Just like everyone else… I'm another object in your collection."
Jigen remained motionless. Eliza's eyes glistened.
"Why?" Her voice trembled. "Why do you always make me feel guilty for choosing you?"
Another tear formed.
"I know you." She smiled weakly. "I know you more deeply than anyone..." The tear finally fell.
"Nothing you do can change what I already know."
Moonlight reflected inside her eyes, beautiful, heartbreaking.
"I told you before." Her voice became softer.
"You are the only mistake I would choose again."
Jigen said nothing. Because he knew she meant it, and somehow that made it worse.
A faint smile appeared on Eliza's face. "You always obey me, don't you?"
She wiped her tears. Then looked directly at him, like a queen issuing her final command… or a girl begging the universe.
"I order you… to come back alive."
Silence.
The wind entered through the open window. Neither moved, neither looked away.
Then Jigen turned… and left.
The room became silent once more. Only moonlight remained, and Eliza.
I never understood why they trust me… I never asked them to understand me… If they always stayed away from me, they would never fall into the abyss.
I never told her to choose me… But even then, I vowed to protect her… Instead… I became someone who made her sad the most…
———————————————————————
In the Present Time.
Jigen's severed limbs slowly pulled themselves back together. Bone connected, muscle stitched itself. Blood crawled upward against gravity.
Yet the wounds remained.
The crimson burns left by Ren's blade refused to heal. Blood continued dripping from his mouth.
Then he stood, staggering.
"I can't die from this..."
Far ahead, Ren silently turned toward him. The wind howled across the shattered battlefield.
Jigen looked down at the burns covering his body.
"...Not before the Thirteenth Form..."
His fingers grasped his blood-soaked robes.
RIIIP!!!—
The black cloak tears away, beneath it stood a physique carved like a living weapon. Every muscle defined, every vein visible beneath pale skin. A perfect, aesthetic body. Blood ran across him like crimson rivers, yet his expression remained unchanged. Cold. Absolute.
From Jigen's perspective—
The world transformed.
Mountains disappeared. Trees vanished. Even colors ceased to matter. Everything became probability.
Millions. Billions. Trillions.
Infinite branching futures stretched before him.
Ren moving left. Ren moving right.
Ren attacking. Ren defending.
Ren winning. Ren dying.
Countless possibilities overlapped, yet one number remained visible.
Victory Rate: 1 out of 100.
His crimson eyes glowed.
"For the first time in centuries..."
The atmosphere around him twisted.
"...it feels interesting… There was no challenge for me in the world… But now..."
BOOM.
The ground exploded.
Jigen vanished.
Ren immediately shifted his stance. Suddenly—
The earth beneath him erupted.
A colossal dragon skull burst from underground, its jaws large enough to swallow a mountain. Jigen imitated it from Douma's ability.
It devoured Ren whole.
The landscape shattered. Kasumi's eyes widened. "What the—?!"
But before the jaws could close—
A golden flash erupted from inside.
The dragon's skull split perfectly in half.
Ren launched into the heavens.
His haori fluttered behind him. Calm. Untouched.
Waiting above him was Jigen.
A transparent sword rested in his hand. Invisible.
Ren's eyes narrowed."That blade… It can cut souls. I can't even touch it."
Jigen raised the weapon.
The probability world exploded around him—
Millions of futures merged. Millions of attack paths overlapped.
Then—
He swung.
From Ren's perspective— The sword moved once.
Yet countless slashes erupted simultaneously— Above. Below. Left. Right. Front. Behind. Every escape route vanished. Every possibility ended.
Slash.
Ren's soul split in half.
But the body dissolved.
An afterimage.
His gaze widened.
"SUN BREATHING... ELEVENTH FORM."
The sky shimmered.
"FAKE RAINBOW."
Ren materialized behind him.
Jigen turned instantly.
A devastating kick exploded into Ren's guard.
BOOOOOM.
He counters it from Eliza's instant teleportation.
The impact shattered the mountain behind them, yet he landed effortlessly.
Jigen descended from above. His hair whipped violently in the storm. Blood flew from his wounds.
Yet somehow, he looked even more terrifying now.
Jigen turns his hands into Vajrapradama Mudra — A gesture of absolute, unshakeable power.
Eyes glowing crimson.
">——SOUL NECROMANCER..."
The heavens darkened.
"FIRST PHASE…——<"
The world screamed.
Millions of black silhouettes erupted from the earth.
They climbed from oceans, mountains, shadows, and even the sky.
An endless army of souls.
Kasumi froze.
Every direction became darkness. Every direction became death.
Ren stood alone among them.
The countless spirits surged, one centimetre away from Ren.
Closer.
Closer.
Ren closed his eyes, breathed. Then opened them.
Golden fire ignited.
"SUN BREATHING."
The air became sunlight.
"SIXTH FORM."
The flames erupted.
"SOLAR HEAT HAZE."
WHOOOOOOM.
The battlefield vanished beneath sunlight.
Every soul burned, every shadow disappeared. The sky itself seemed cleansed.
But Jigen was already there.
His fist just one inch from Ren's skull.
The technique was copied from Akaza. Perfect, unavoidable.
Blood exploded.
Kasumi's heart stopped.
Then Jigen's eyes widened.
His own blood was flying.
Ren had already passed him, his crimson blade glowing.
Both shoulders severed. Wrists gone. Ankles split. Knees destroyed. Tendons sliced. Every vital joint cut apart in a single motion.
Jigen felt pain, real pain.
For the first time in centuries, his vision shook.
"I've died billions of times…in millions of different ways…"
His body trembled.
"...but not as painful like this."
Yet he refused to fall.
Jigen turns his hands into Hakini Mudra, blood dropping from his mouth uncontrollably, retina blood-red.
The atmosphere collapsed.
">——SOUL NECROMANCER… SECOND PHASE…!——<"
The sky tore open. Something emerged.
Millions of colossal entities poured from his body. Each different, each monstrous, each large enough to flatten cities.
A three-headed wolf larger than mountains lunged toward Ren. The earth shattered beneath its weight.
Ren simply jumped—
One foot landed atop its head, balanced on a single toe.
The wolf froze.
Every monster surrounded him. Their claws are inches away, fheir fangs open.
The entire sky became darkness.
Only Ren remained illuminated. His ponytail drifted gently, his expression serene.
Like a deity standing within chaos.
"SUN BREATHING… FOURTH FORM."
One slash.
"BURNING BONES, SUMMER SUN."
FLASH.
Everything disappeared— Every monster, every nightmare, every shadow.
Gone.
A single golden line crossed the battlefield.
Then—
Behind Jigen—
Blood exploded.
His skeleton became visible beneath his skin.
Sunfire spread through his body. Burning. Consuming. Destroying.
Even Kasumi felt sick watching it.
"This… I've never seen Hajime-San fight like this."
Yet Jigen still stood. Still breathing. Still refusing to die.
His sword rose.
Dark crescents exploded outward. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions.
Dark crescent blades emerge from his blade, coming towards Ren at lightning speed. Resembling Kokushibo's Moon breathing technique, but darker instead of lighter.
Jigen thinks. "No matter what… I'll… make him use the thirteen form…"
Ren slices all of those crescent blades, effortlessly.
Jigen leaps back, turning his hands into Dharmachakra Mudra.
">———SOUL NECROMANCER… THIRD PHASE———<"
Only five figures appeared. Yet every living thing froze.
One giant towered beyond the clouds, beyond mountains, beyond the horizon itself.
Maharaurava.
Its face stared down at the world.
Ancient. Cruel. Infinite.
Ren looks like a bacteria to it.
Kasumi is watching from behind a tree, holding unconscious Miyuki silently in his arms. He thinks. "He is… the one I saw at that time… How can Hajime-San's sword cut through him?"
Another shadow attacks Ren, but he dodges it. It's a shadow, demonic girl, two horns attached on her head.
Ren thinks, "They are not just ordinary spirits… I can sense their power rivals an upper moon demon…"
Suddenly, a figure materialized behind him—
Whoosh!
A figure passes through him.
Ren sidestepped, a thunderous light rips off the entire ground in half—
Ren's eyes widened. "What?! This pressure… It's even above the upper moons level… Who could it be?"
White eyes glow, a bluish, shadowy figure appears, having a giant mace and thunderous sword on his hands. An immense aura emanates from it.
——————
Ashkaroth
Age - ???
The Silent God
——————
Jigen's body floats in the air, high above the ground. He thinks.
"Ashkaroth can't be underestimated…
After all, I got the title 'The God Slayer' after killing him…"
All the 5 spirits attack at Ren simultaneously.
The sky vanished. The earth disappeared. Everything became destruction.
Ren closed his eyes, the world grew warm. Quiet. Peaceful.
Then—
His eyes opened.
"SUN BREATHING..."
The universe itself seemed to stop.
"THIRTEENTH FORM..!"
A single step.
One heartbeat. One flash.
Ashkaroth fell.
Maharaurava split apart.
The horned demon vanished.
The fourth died.
The fifth followed.
All before anyone could blink.
Then Ren appeared before Jigen.
Everything stopped— Wind. Sound. Time.
Jigen could only watch.
The blade descended—
Head. Brain. Eyes. Lungs. Heart. Liver. Spine. Arms. Legs. Every vital point. Every weakness. Every possibility destroyed.
Sunfire erupted from every wound.
For the first time, Jigen's eyes widened in pure agony.
The flames consumed him from within.
Kasumi immediately vomited, unable to watch further.
Jigen's body fell from the sky, like a dying star.
Booom.
The earth shattered beneath him.
Blood flooded the ground.
His bones continued burning, his flesh refused to heal.
Silence followed.
Kasumi stared, shaking.
"Did… did Hajime-San finally kill him?"
Ren sheathed his blade.
The flames vanished, the wind calmed, the sky slowly brightened.
Then he began walking toward Kasumi, as though nothing had happened.
"Matsunaga-kun." His voice remained gentle. "Let's go."
Kasumi looked from Ren...
...to the broken body lying in the crater.
"Did you kill him?"
Ren says calmly. "No… Even I cannot kill him."
The words sent a chill through the battlefield.
Ren's gaze remained fixed on the crater.
"But don't worry… He can no longer stop us."
But then, Jigen's body moved.
A twitch, spasm. Then another.
The corpse that should not have been moving struggled against the ground.
His eyes are completely destroyed, bleeding, his limbs attached to his body but twisted. Blood streamed endlessly from empty sockets.
His chest remained torn open. Fragments of ribs protruded through ruined flesh. The wounds left by the Sun Breathing still burned like molten cracks across his body, yet he moved.
Ren stopped.
Jigen slowly lifted his head, blood dripped from his mouth.
"Ren... Hajime… I knew..."
A cough. Blood splattered onto the ground.
"...I couldn't defeat you."
He staggered forward. One step, then another. His limbs bent at unnatural angles. Bones cracked beneath the skin… yet he kept walking.
"Even you… couldn't kill me…
How pathetic."
Ren's grip tightened around his sword. Jigen stopped before him.
A broken monster standing before something divine.
"You are the only one..." Blood continued flowing from his wounds. "...who can withstand it."
Ren's voice hardened. "What are you talking about? It's already over."
Then—
Jigen froze.
His body suddenly became still, completely still. His heart stopped.
Silence.
The wind disappeared. The clouds ceased moving. Even the flames consuming his wounds stopped flickering.
For one impossible moment, the world itself seemed to wait.
Then Jigen collapsed to the ground.
Kasumi stared. Ren narrowed his eyes. Neither understood what had happened.
Then— the corpse rose.
Not standing, not climbing, but rising. Like a puppet being pulled upward by invisible strings.
Blood poured from every wound, his feet dangled above the ground. His head hung low. Motionless. Dead.
And yet…
Something inside him had awakened.
———————————————————————
Far away.
In the Infinity Castle. An endless labyrinth of wood and darkness.
Muzan Kibutsuji stood beside Kokushibo. Silence lingered between them.
Then, Muzan spoke.
"Kokushibo… Today, Jigen will fight him. Do you think he will survive?"
Kokushibo says, knelt down, voice cold. "Muzan-Sama… He stands no chance against Yoriichi… Not even any demon. He must've died by now."
Muzan's eyes narrowed slightly. "Jigen knows Yoriichi cannot be killed by ordinary means."
Silence.
"And Jigen is not a man who walks toward failure without purpose…"
Kokushibo's brows furrowed, just slightly.
Muzan continued.
"That is why I find this interesting… If he truly went there intending to lose… Then perhaps, Jigen was never the one meant to fight…"
Kokushibo said, voice calm, deep. "That existence… Even Jigen kept it buried… If it truly emerges..."
His voice became lower.
"Then for the first time in centuries… I may witness something capable of changing Yoriichi's expression."
———————————————————————
Back on the battlefield.
The floating corpse finally raised its head.
A black aura erupted outward. Not demonic, not spiritual. Something older. Something that did not belong to any known category.
The sky darkened instantly. Clouds twisted into impossible shapes.
The stars vanished. The moon disappeared. The atmosphere became heavy, unbearably heavy.
Kasumi suddenly dropped to one knee. His lungs burned. "What..."
Blood ran from his nose. "I can't breathe..."
Then he looked toward Ren, and froze.
Ren's expression had changed, not from fear, but from cautious, really cautious. The kind reserved for something that should not exist.
Ren stepped forward.
"Matsunaga-kun." His voice was absolute. "Take Miyuki-Chan and leave."
Kasumi froze. "...Hajime-San?"
"Now."
The word struck harder than a scream. Ren never repeated himself. Yet—
"Run."
Kasumi's heart stopped.
Ren wasn't looking at him anymore. His eyes never left the figure standing ahead.
"...As far as possible… Do not come back."
In all these years, he had never heard Ren sound like that. Not once.
Without another word, he lifted Miyuki into his arms. Then ran as fast as he could.
Tch. I didn't want to abandon him. But I can't disobey Hajime-San…
Hajime-San, don't make us wait for too long…
Far behind him, the pressure only continued growing. The floating figure finally descended, its feet touched the ground.
The earth beneath them blackened instantly. The grass died. The stones cracked. Reality itself seemed unwilling to touch it.
Long obsidian hair spilled to its waist. Its ruined flesh slowly shifted, twisted, reshaped. Like something inside was wearing Jigen's body incorrectly.
Ren slowly lowered his stance. Every instinct sharpened, every sense focused.
"That is not Jigen…" The realization struck him immediately. "That is something else… Something wearing Jigen."
The being opened its eyes.
The sclera had become completely black. The irises glowed crimson. Blood flowed endlessly from them. Yet it did not blink. It simply stared, observing the world.
Like someone returning to a place they had not visited for centuries.
Jigen is known by countless names:
"The World Butcher", "The Saint of Slaughters", "Upper Moon Three", "The God Below God", "Crimson Monarch","The Last Sovereign", "The Emperor of Silence", "The Shadow Demon", "The Devil", "The Unanswer", "The King of Ending", "The End that Remains", "The Godless Constant", "Omnimalevolent Emperor", "The Shape of Ruin", "He Who Never Smiles", "The Ever-Hunger", "Absolute Hate", "The Living Abyss", "The Death", "The Eternal Devourer", "The Bleeding God", "The God-Slayer", "The Maw of Heaven", "Red Catastrophe", "Tyrant Beyond Mercy", "The Flesh Eclipse", "The Carrion Lord", "The One Who Ends Gods", "The Void", "The Witness", "The Adversary", "The Nameless Judge", "The Unmoving End", "The Pale Tyrant", "The Pale Tyrant", "The One Who Watches", The Last Observer", "The Hand of Ruin", "Malach Veyr", "The Witness of All Sins", "The Last Blesphemy"... And so on…
But…
There was one name above all others. A name even Jigen despised. A name buried beneath every title.
The Hollow King.
The creature slowly turned its head, its gaze swept across the world. Ancient. Cold. Inhuman.
Then, his thought emerged. "That bastard had sealed me for around fifty years… This existence is the biggest mistake created by that being whom they call God… yet they try to save it…"
The Hollow King's dark aura reaches the sky, too overwhelming even for Ren. Too ancient.
Ren thinks. "Who is this person…? I've never seen something like him… The aura he emanates… it suggests to me something ancient, omnimalevolent…"
Its gaze falls on Ren.
From its still distorted, bloodied vision—
It sees Ren more like a deity.
"Another god…? What kind of god is he? I've never seen him…"
Its voice sounded wrong. As though multiple voices were speaking beneath the words.
Now, it fully faced Ren. "Those who live without my knowledge, they exist without my permission…
He needs to die…"