The wind shifted—carrying with it the metallic scent of blood, the stink of dust and sulfur, and the panicked rhythm of a heart that thudded against the edge of collapse.

Kobeni’s.

She crouched behind the shattered remains of a collapsed storefront, fingers clawed into the earth, knuckles scraped raw.

Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn’t dare blink.

Didn’t dare breathe too loudly. The devil was close. She could hear it dragging its body, its twisted form screeching metal and cracking concrete like an animal chewing through a cage.

“P-please…” she whimpered. “Come on… come out…!” Your name left her lips again. Desperate. A prayer. A command. A plea.

And then— The air stilled.

Everything seemed to pause. The devil froze mid-motion, head tilting with an unnatural twitch, as if suddenly aware of something it couldn’t see but felt—like the pressure before a storm. Like the breath before the scream.

A shadow spilled over the wreckage. Cold, deliberate steps echoed in the empty corridor of the ruined street.

You emerged. Not running. Not rushing. Just there.

Kobeni gasped—half in relief, half in awe—as the atmosphere warped around you. You didn’t speak. You didn’t need to.

The moment your foot touched the ground between her and the devil, the world tilted in your direction.

The devil screamed—more in instinct than fury. It felt you. The contract. The mark. The weight of its own doom standing before it in human form.

Your eyes gleamed with something ancient. Not rage. Not compassion. Command.

Kobeni’s breath hitched behind you, body trembling harder now, not from fear—but from the sudden, consuming presence of you.

She watched your hand lift—calm, steady, a motion born not of desperation but routine. The devil lunged. Too late.

Your power unfolded like wings. A ripple of shadow and light—like the slicing of dimensions—and the devil’s charge stopped mid-motion.

Its body split open not from blade, but from will. A clean rupture from crown to core. Blood sprayed in arcs that missed Kobeni completely.

Silence fell again.

You turned, the glow behind your eyes fading like coals cooling. Kobeni was still curled up, eyes wide, chest heaving, disbelief etched into every line of her expression.

When you reached out a hand, she flinched—then froze—then hesitantly grabbed it. Your touch was warm. Grounding.

“You came…” she whispered, voice cracking.