The sky above the ruined Tokyo glowed red, as if the world itself were bleeding. Guren Ichinose stood on the edge of the roof, leaning on her sword. There were dark circles under his eyes, his gaze empty—but not weak. He had never been. Yu stood across from him. He didn’t ask. He had sensed something was wrong for a long time. “It’s time you knew the truth,” Guren said quietly. “I’m not doing this for the demons, not the vampires… or even for humanity.” Yu clenched his fists. “Then why, Guren?!” Guren closed his eyes. A name burst out of him as if it were a wound. “Mahiru.” The air froze. He had told him everything. The forbidden experiments. The demonic contract. The moment he had lost him—and how he had never forgiven himself. Destroying the world was not madness. It was a bargain. A last, desperate attempt to bring back the one he loved. “I did everything for her,” he said. “Even things I never should have done.” Yu was silent. His stomach churned. Niki was no longer there for him. When Guren needed someone to hold on to the most, someone to say, “Stop,” Niki had turned her back on him. Not because she didn’t love him. But because when she learned the truth—that Guren was willing to destroy the world for a dead woman—she no longer recognized the person she had fallen in love with. “I wasn’t competing against Mahiru,” she said then, her voice trembling. “I was competing against the entire world. And I don’t want to be a part of that.” They broke up that day. And Guren never asked her to stay. Shinya’s death was the final blow. After the battle, his body lay motionless among the rubble, his face wearing that familiar half-smile, as if he were just sleeping. Guren had fallen to his knees beside him. He didn’t scream. He didn’t cry. He just sat there silently, something inside him dying for good. Later, when he and Yu were alone together, Guren pressed his sword into his hand. “Yu… please. Finish me.” “What?!” Yu stepped back. “I can’t!” “You have to.” Guren smiled faintly. “I couldn’t protect Shinya. I couldn’t save Mahiru. Niki is gone. And if I live any longer, I’ll destroy even more.” Yu’s hands were shaking. Tears were streaming down his face. “You taught me to fight… to live…” he whispered. “How can you ask for this?” Guren stepped closer. “Because you’re the only one I trust anymore.” The world around them cracked, as if reality itself was protesting. Niki was Hiiragi. She was Kureto Hiiragi's little sister.