Huh?
Yayoi's eyes widened in surprise. She had expected Ezakiel to cower, to tremble before her, overwhelmed by the sheer force of her newfound power. But instead, he stood there, calm and steady, his expression unreadable.
Her voice broke the tense silence. "Why aren't your legs shaking? Why don't you look weak and afraid?"
That was how her family had reacted when she showed them. Their faces had twisted in horror, their bodies trembling as they pleaded for mercy. But there was no mercy to give.
They had stood in her way, opposed her.
She had no choice.
And to be honest, it felt euphoric. The rush, the power, the sheer thrill of it all—it had been intoxicating. If only she had discovered her abilities years ago. How different would things have been?
Yayoi turned her attention back to Ezakiel, narrowing her eyes. "Why won't you answer? Did a cat catch your tongue?" she taunted, her voice laced with amusement.
Ezakiel took a slow, deep breath before finally speaking. His tone was almost casual, as if they were discussing the weather. "Well, this is quite the surprise," he mused. Then, his gaze shifted slightly to the five figures standing rigidly beside her—her so-called bodyguards. Their faces were blank, their limbs unnaturally still. Not a single twitch or reaction.
His eyes flickered with understanding. "Your guards… They're not moving. No reaction at all. Why is that?" He paused for a moment before adding, "They're not human, are they?"
Yayoi's mind raced. How does he know?
But there was no point in denying it. A smirk curled on her lips as she answered, "Yes, that is correct. They aren't people anymore. I killed them and turned them into my puppets."
She had planned to do the same to Rin. It would've been perfect—Rin, forever hers, an obedient doll, incapable of defying her. But then she hesitated. If she did that… would Rin still truly be Rin?
Her gaze softened as she turned toward Rin, who sat bound and helpless beside her sister. "Don't worry, dear," she said in a gentle tone, one that almost sounded affectionate. "I won't do such a thing to you. I want you to struggle when I'm done with him." Her smile widened, dark and cruel. "As for your sister… she will be nothing more than a personal slave, a toy to break and use however I see fit."
Terror filled Rin and her sister's eyes. Their bodies trembled, their muffled cries swallowed by the cloth gagging their mouths. If not for the tight ropes binding their hands and legs, they would have screamed, they would have run. But they couldn't. And Yayoi knew that all too well.
But just as she finished speaking, a sharp, searing pain tore through her body.
Her breath hitched.
Slowly, she looked down. A hand—pale, bloodied—had pierced through her back, tearing straight through her stomach. Her own blood dripped onto the wet ground, staining it crimson. Drops splattered onto Rin and her sister, their eyes widening further in shock and horror.
"How… did you do it?" Yayoi gasped, her voice weak, breathless.
Ezakiel leaned in slightly, his voice barely above a whisper. "You let your guard down."
Before she could react, his other hand plunged into her body, this time piercing through her chest. The force shattered bone, tore through flesh. His fingers dug into her, grabbing hold of her breast as he mercilessly ripped her apart.
Yayoi's eyes widened in shock, her mouth opening in a silent scream. Pain flooded her senses, overwhelming, unbearable. Blood spilled freely, staining the ground beneath her, pooling around her feet.
Ezakiel, however, barely spared her another glance. Instead, his gaze shifted toward Rin and her sister. Their terrified eyes were locked onto the gruesome scene before them, their bodies trembling, bound and helpless.
He exhaled sharply. "I'm sending you both back," he said, his tone urgent. "There's no time to explain now, but I will once you're safe."
His eyes flickered with power, and in an instant, Rin and her sister vanished, teleported away before they could even process what had happened.
The battlefield fell silent once more, save for the sound of blood dripping onto the wet ground.
"You can drop the act now," he said calmly. "I know what I killed was nothing more than a puppet."
At his words, the torn remains of Yayoi's body and the frozen figures of her guards began to dissolve into nothingness. The very air around them shifted, the ground vanishing beneath their feet as reality warped. Darkness spread, swallowing everything, turning the space into an endless void of pure blackness.
Then, the ticking of clocks echoed in the emptiness. Slow. Rhythmic. Unnatural.
One by one, clocks appeared, floating in the void around them. Grandfather clocks, pocket watches, massive gears—each suspended in midair, their hands moving at an uneven pace, some ticking forward, others backward. The sound grew louder, filling the vast abyss.
From the void, a figure emerged.
A woman, pale as the moon, with piercing red eyes and lips painted the color of midnight. She wore nothing but an oversized, plain white shirt, its fabric draping loosely over her slender frame, the long sleeves reaching far past her hands and the hem brushing against her bare feet.
Behind her, massive black wings stretched outward, their feathers shifting like shadows. Atop her head sat a broken halo, cracked and dim, and two shattered horns protruded from her skull.
Her gaze met Ezakiel's, unblinking. "How did you know?" she asked, her voice cool and unreadable.
Ezakiel smirked slightly. "I have my ways, Yayoi."
"So, my suspicion was correct." She tilted her head slightly. "Tell me… you aren't normal either, are you?"
"You could say that," he replied.
As the words left his lips, a dark aura began to seep from his body, thick and suffocating. The very fabric of the void trembled as his form shifted. His body stretched, growing larger, more imposing. The black mist solidified, taking shape—
And then, standing before her, was a towering figure.
A thirteen-foot-tall skeleton, its bones ancient and weathered, its eye sockets hollow yet burning with flickering blue flames. Long, layered black robes draped over its form, shifting like liquid shadows, swallowing the light around them.
The atmosphere grew heavy, the ticking of unseen clocks growing louder, faster.
Yayoi's crimson eyes gleamed with something between fascination and amusement.
"You will not get out of this alive. I promise you that," Ezakiel growled, clenching his bony fist.
Yayoi was about to respond with a sharp retort, but instead, she tilted her head and smirked. "Tell me… why did you decide to help her?"
Ezakiel tapped his skeletal fingers against his jaw, as if considering the question. "Why did I decide to help her?" he echoed. "That's something you shouldn't concern yourself with."
Yayoi's crimson eyes gleamed. "I knew it. There's something more to this." Her voice turned cold. "I suppose I'll just have to drag the answer out of you myself."
Ezakiel let out a low chuckle. "Then allow me to help you in that endeavor."
He opened his mouth, and in an instant, a roaring torrent of blue fire erupted from within, surging toward her like a raging flamethrower. The flames twisted and expanded, their heat so intense that the very air shimmered around them.
But Yayoi didn't move.
Instead, she calmly raised her index finger, pointing it directly at the incoming fire. The moment the flames touched her fingertip, they vanished—snuffed out as if they had never existed.
She slowly lowered her hand, unfazed.
Ezakiel narrowed his hollow eyes. "So… you can nullify my blue fire," he muttered. "That same fire can burn an entire building to ash in ten seconds… and yet, you erased it effortlessly."
He let out a low, thoughtful hum before raising both of his hands. "If fire won't work… then I'll just have to try something else."
The space around him trembled as sharp, jagged bone spikes materialized out of nothing, hovering in the air like spears. Without hesitation, he fired them all at once, each one whistling through the air at deadly speed.
Yayoi spread her arms wide, making no attempt to dodge. The spikes struck her directly—
And vanished the moment they made contact.
Ezakiel's glowing blue eyes widened in disbelief. "You can nullify my bone attacks too?!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with genuine surprise.
Yayoi smiled, tilting her head slightly. "It's because of my ability," she said smoothly. "I call it Undo Time."
Her crimson eyes gleamed as she continued, "It nullifies any attack thrown at me, erasing it from existence as if it never happened in the first place. By manipulating fate and destiny, I simply make it so that your attack was never even made."
She didn't need to explain it to him—he wasn't owed an answer. But she did so anyway, just to let the weight of it sink in. She wanted him to understand just how utterly outmatched he was.
"I see…" Ezakiel murmured. "I'll admit, that's quite a troublesome ability." He paused before adding with a smirk, "But I have a trump card of my own."
Yayoi raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? And what would that be?"
Ezakiel let out a low chuckle. "Why should I tell you that?"
Her smirk widened. "That is… if you can even use it."
Without warning, she raised her hand, and a barrage of ice shards erupted from her fingertips, sharp as blades and fast as arrows. Ezakiel swiftly took to the air, dodging the attack as the shards streaked past him. Some struck the floating clocks scattered around the void, shattering them into glimmering fragments.
But before he could regain his footing, Yayoi suddenly launched herself forward, closing the distance between them in an instant. Her fist was drawn back, charged with enough force to shatter his skeletal form completely.
Yet, just before her punch could land, Ezakiel vanished.
In a blink, he reappeared several feet away, having teleported at the last possible second. Yayoi's fist, instead of hitting him, collided directly with one of the massive floating clocks—no, several of them.
The impact sent shockwaves through the void as the clocks shattered on impact, their broken gears and glass fragments scattering around her. The force of the collision sent her tumbling backward, falling through the darkness.