It was as if the world had decided to laugh at El. Yuri, with his constant jokes, only worsened El's mood, making her even more upset.
Yuri's voice intruded again in an annoyingly teasing tone. 'So you don't want to marry a woman of extraordinary beauty like Seitenshi? Or, perhaps... do you prefer loli? Loli killer... Kyaa, I feel insecure, Oni-san no ecchi!'
El's brow furrowed in suppressed anger, his frustration boiling over. 'That's not it! My type is a 23-year-old, long-haired woman! Seitenshi is definitely not my type!' She retorted in a harsh tone in her mind, trying to defend her argument.
However, Yuri never lost an argument. "So, that means you're going to break your promise to marry Seitenshi after she finds out you're playing in bed?"
"Hihi... You're such a piece of trash!' Yuri added with a small laugh that sounded like a dagger piercing El's pride.
El fell silent, his lips pressed tightly together despite her raging thoughts. 'This girl... always manages to shut me up!' he thought in frustration, admitting that he never won against Yuri's pranks.
Yuri continued in a cheerful tone, adding salt to El's wounds. "Oh, thank you for the compliment. Ah, and well... the next time you guys start making out, I'll go away. May you guys be happy and have many children! Don't get tired of making children!"
El was speechless, not answering anything else. Not because he lost the argument, but because his mind was torn between controlling the power he used to fly through the sky, thinking about his future with Seitenshi and his anger at Yuri.
Without El realizing it, only Yuri could make him feel emotions again. This was because Yuri's fragment was a part of his soul now, like a one-way mirror.
In the silence, some urgent questions suddenly appeared in his mind. Can I love him wholeheartedly after this marriage?
El's frozen heart was heavy with the fact that her soul had been damaged for so long, weighed down by darkness and loss, that madness might come to her.
However, one thing was certain: El would not break a promise. His heart without a doubt, he was determined to fulfill his responsibilities, both as a man and as someone he had promised to protect.
The dark night sky was the perfect backdrop for El's slowing movement, approaching his destination, the outer area of the untouched forest city.
Yasuwaki Tukutou, who still hangs helplessly in El's grasp, feels an increasingly suffocating fear in his chest.
Every second that passes feels like an endless nightmare to Yasuwaki, especially when he realizes that they are about to land.
However, Yasuwaki's attention is drawn to something even more terrifying. "Susano'o," El murmurs in a low voice that is full of calm, but feels like a threat.
In an instant, dark purple energy exploded out of El's body, flowing like a dense mist that carried an aura of destruction and creation.
The energy began to form the skeletal figure of a giant rib cage, looking solid, as if it was created from a material harder than steel.
The energy bones glow dimly in the moonlight, giving the impression of mythological creatures rising from the darkness.
Yasuwaki's eyes widened, his mouth opened soundlessly. His fear reached a peak, making him forget to even breathe properly.
The massive skeleton is not only protection, but also a symbol of irresistible force, and further emphasizes to Yasuwaki that he is utterly insignificant before El.
El repositioned himself nimbly, him body swooping sharply over the 20th monolith. The night wind was piercing, but nothing was more frightening than El's landing.
DUM!
With incredible speed, El hit the ground perfectly, sending dust swirling around them. The vibrations from the landing are felt all the way to the bottom of Yasuwaki's body, which is trembling with fear.
Yasuwaki was speechless, only able to stare with eyes full of terror, "A-argh..." he said in fear.
El stood quietly, Susano'o's skeleton surrounding his like an eternal guard. Yasuwaki knows, this night is not just about survival, it is a night where he witnesses a power that cannot be explained by logic.
In the quiet shade of the dark forest, El throws Yasuwaki's body with ease, sending him tumbling several times before the man's body comes to a violent halt as it hits a large tree.
"Ugh..." Yasuwaki winces, pain radiating from his fractured back.
His breath was ragged, his eyes bulged angrily, but his body trembled uncontrollably. "W-who the hell are you? What do you want with me? I'm Seitenshi-sama's former bodyguard! I'll make you regret it!"
However, El did not answer directly. His gaze was cold and heartless, his Rinnegan eyes emitting a sinister aura, like an overflow of power from the afterlife.
The pressure from Rinnegan's pair of eyes was so terrifying that Yasuwaki, who was angry before, now shuddered in fear. Cold sweat poured down his temples, his body shivered, and unconsciously... he wet his pants.
"You're just a former bodyguard?" El's voice sounded calm but threatening, cold as piercing ice. "Someone like you... is called my wife's bodyguard? You must be crazy."
The words are like daggers piercing Yasuwaki's pride. Slowly, he tries to get up despite his trembling knees.
His face now changed, anger replacing his fear. "How dare you insult Seitenshi-sama! You say you're her husband? What nonsense! You're just a cheap liar! Aren't you afraid of the lies you told?!"
El took a slow breath, his gaze unchanged. "If you don't believe me, that's your business." Her voice remained cold, no emotion implied.
Without saying much, El raised his hand. From the center of his palm, a black rod emerges a black emitting iron. With a quick movement, El threw it at Yasuwaki.
CRACK!
The black rod pierces Yasuwaki's left calf, shattering the bone like a ceramic tile dropped from a height.
Fresh blood gushes from the wound, soaking the ground below. "ARGH!" Yasuwaki screams in pain, clutching his calf with shaking hands.
The excruciating pain makes his body tremble, and his cries of pain echo through the silence of the forest.
El paid no more attention. Without saying a word, she turns around, her body disappearing into the darkness of the forest, leaving Yasuwaki still lying on the ground.
However, the silence was soon broken. The sound of a terrifying roar is heard in the distance, accompanied by the sound of heavy steps coming closer and closer. Yasuwaki turns his head in panic, his breath catching. Gastrea.
From the darkness, a huge, monstrous figure emerges: a Gastrea Stage 2, Spider model. Its body is covered in forest darkness towering on sharp legs, while its blazing red eyes stare mercilessly at Yasuwaki.
The gastrea makes a deafening hissing sound, its steps shaking the ground as it approaches its prey.
Yasuwaki tries to get up, but his body keeps falling, his badly injured calf leaving him helpless.
Yasuwaki's eyes widened in fear as the monster drew closer. "N-no... Don't!" his voice was weak, barely audible.
The gastrea showed no mercy. With a swift movement, one of its sharp legs pierces Yasuwaki's body, penetrating his flesh and bone all at once. Yasuwaki screams one last time, his voice echoing before being cut off.
The Gastrea Spider lifts Yasuwaki's helpless body, then, greedily, begins to devour him. The sound of shattering bones and chewing flesh filled the air, leaving behind a tragic image of a man who ended up as a meal in the cold night.