The air cracked.
Not metaphorically.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
Like something had split reality itself open.
"…Get back!" Daichi shouted.
His voice cut sharply through the chaos.
Maru stepped forward instantly, katana raised.
No hesitation.
Hikari's voice trembled slightly.
"…It's reacting…"
Ahead—
Oiwa's smile twisted.
Wider.
Wrong.
Unstable.
"…You brought… something else…"
Her voice echoed from every direction.
Layered.
Distorted.
Watching.
The masked figure stood still.
Dark cloak resting lightly around him.
White mask—
Its red lines faintly shifting, like something alive beneath the surface.
A katana held low.
Relaxed.
Controlled.
Then—
He moved.
Oiwa screamed.
The shrine responded instantly.
Walls bent inward.
Shadows stretched unnaturally.
The floor split beneath their feet.
Reality warped.
Twisted.
Broken.
She lunged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Enough to tear through everything—
But—
He stepped once.
Just once.
The attack passed him.
Missed completely.
CLANG
Steel met something unseen.
The impact rang sharply through the warped space.
A short counter followed.
Clean.
Minimal.
Exact.
Oiwa flickered.
Her form unstable.
"…YOU—!"
No reply.
No reaction.
No pause.
She flooded the hall with illusions.
Voices echoed everywhere.
Familiar.
Unfamiliar.
Memories.
Faces.
Wrong versions of everything.
"…Don't look!" Hikari yelled.
Her voice barely cut through the distortion.
Daichi staggered.
"…What is this—"
"…Ignore it!" Maru snapped.
But even she—
Was slowing.
The illusions pressed in.
Overwhelming.
Relentless.
But—
The masked figure walked forward.
Through it.
Like it wasn't there.
Untouched.
Unaffected.
Unreachable.
Oiwa froze.
Her distorted face twisted further.
Confused.
"…What… are you…?"
He didn't answer.
He moved.
A tight step forward.
Not fast—
Precise.
A cut that didn't chase.
Didn't swing.
Didn't force.
It simply—
Arrived.
Oiwa lashed out again.
Wild now.
Unstable.
Desperate.
The masked figure turned his shoulder slightly.
Minimal movement.
Perfect timing.
He slipped inside her range.
Too close.
Too controlled.
His blade rose.
At an angle—
She couldn't follow.
SHRK
CLANG
SHRK
Three movements.
Three strikes.
No hesitation.
No wasted motion.
Each one placed exactly where it needed to be.
The shrine shuddered violently.
The walls cracked.
The illusions flickered.
"You shouldn't be here!"
Oiwa screamed.
Her voice breaking.
But—
He was already there.
Closer.
Closer than she could react to.
Too close.
Too late.
SHRRK—
Silence.
Absolute.
Oiwa's form cracked.
Like glass.
Fractures spreading across her body.
Her expression—
Frozen between rage and disbelief.
"…This isn't… right…"
Her voice faded.
Her body unraveled.
Piece by piece.
Gone.
No explosion.
No scream.
No echo.
Just—
Gone.
Only the broken hall remained.
The warped space slowly settled.
The illusions faded.
Reality returned.
Maru lowered her blade slightly.
Her breathing uneven.
"…What… was that…"
Daichi swallowed hard.
His grip on the hammer tightened.
"…The rumor…"
A pause.
"…Night Hunter…"
The masked figure turned.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
"…Wrong."
The word cut through everything.
Clean.
Sharp.
Everyone froze.
"…Not that."
A slight tilt of the head.
The mask shifted faintly in the light.
Unnatural.
"…Call it what you want."
A step forward.
Calm.
Controlled.
"…But if you need a name—"
A pause.
Just enough to let the moment settle.
Then—
A thin, cold edge entered his voice.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just—
Final.
"…Lie Hunter."
Silence.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Because that name—
Felt right.
Felt wrong.
Felt dangerous.
The next instant—
He was gone.
No sound.
No trace.
Just—
Absence.
Hikari's voice came out softly.
Barely above a whisper.
"…What is he…?"
No one answered.
Maru stood still.
Katana lowered.
Eyes fixed on where he had stood.
Silent.
Because this time—
Even she didn't know.
Outside—
The wind moved through the shrine.
Cold.
Slow.
Carrying a new name into the city.
One that would spread.
One that would grow.
One that would change everything.
Lie Hunter.
End of Chapter 29