Kagetsu shifted his attention to the two girls—Zara and Briar.
Briar, the youngest of the five, had green ponytailed hair and dressed identically to Zara, wearing a short skirt that ended just above her knees.
For a time, Zara and Briar's abilities made them the best combat duo in Crimson Vanguard—the perfect balance of offense and defense. That was until Zaheer and Ryder stole the title.
Kagetsu smirked.
"About that date?" he asked casually.
"You never gave me an answer. I might seem a little rough around the edges, but trust me, I know how to handle a lady. So what d'you say? Tuesday night, just the two of us? Hell, bring your friend along if you like—I don't mind dating two girls at once."
He sluggishly raised a hand behind his neck, his crimson eyes filled with boredom as he waited for a response.
Zara barely heard his words. She was still reeling from a single, chilling realization—the only reason she was still alive was because Kagetsu told Dante not to touch her.
Her jaw clenched in frustration.
"Are we even fighting people... or monsters?"
The silence stretched.
Then Zara spoke, her voice cutting through the air like a blade.
"You want an answer?"
She raised two fingers, twirling them in a circular motion.
Immediately, three golden portals materialized—one above her, one to her left, and one to her right.
Her eyes shone with a divine golden glow.
With a sharp thrust of her arm golden beams erupted from the portals, raining destruction upon Kagetsu.
Briar reacted instantly. Raising her arms, she conjured a powerful veil—its surface shimmering like glass—shielding both herself and Zara from the onslaught.
The portals, however, remained outside the veil, still firing relentlessly at Kagetsu.
Yet, before the beams could even touch him, a dark veil flared from Kagetsu's body, its edges outlined in pure black.
The attacks collided against the barrier… and vanished.
Zara's barrage of golden beams came to an abrupt halt. Kagetsu still stood there—unscathed. His posture remained unchanged, one hand lazily resting behind his neck, his expression unreadable.
A slow sigh escaped his lips. "You guys really don't learn, do you?" His voice carried a bored drawl, as if this entire ordeal was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
"First, Dante asked, and you chose violence. Two of your friends lost their heads. Then, I asked… and here we are again, making the same mistake." He shook his head in mock disappointment.
"Well, since you've made your choice—not to go on a date with me, by the way, foolish decision—" he pointed out, voice laced with amusement. "I guess I'll start with you. Something about that ponytail of yours reminds me of my mom… God, I hate that woman."
He stretched his left arm outward, fingers splaying lazily. A thick, black smoke swirled into existence, writhing around his palm before compressing into a single, dense, inky sphere at the center of his palm.
Kagetsu's crimson eyes narrowed slightly, his lips pursed in a half-smirk as he took aim at Briar. The veil around her didn't concern him in the slightest.
Then—a thin black line shot out from his palm.
In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the front of the veil, Briar's forehead, and out the back—leaving behind nothing but a tiny hole.
"Headshot," Kagetsu chuckled, his voice dripping with amusement.
The veil flickered, then vanished entirely.
Briar's body hit the ground with a dull thud, blood pooling beneath her lifeless form.
Zara's breath caught in her throat. The one person she could stand against the world with… was gone. Instantly.
Kagetsu's aim shifted. His arm adjusted slightly, aligning with Zara—then lowered just a bit.
She didn't notice.
Her gaze was still locked onto Briar's lifeless body, her once-unshakable confidence now shattered. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps, barely enough to fill her lungs.
A sickening feeling churned in her gut, spreading like poison. Kagetsu hadn't even touched her. Not yet.
Then, the pain came.
A sharp, searing agony shot through both knees. Kagetsu's attack punctured her right knee first, then twisted unnaturally, piercing through the back of her left knee before tearing out the front.
A strangled scream ripped from her throat as her body collapsed onto the cold ground.
But it wasn't over.
The black shot didn't stop—it tore through her right shoulder, then her left, carving through muscle and bone with terrifying precision. It spiraled through her gut in a vicious pattern, leaving five gaping holes in its wake. Blood trickled from her lips, her body trembling as life drained from her.
Kagetsu approached without urgency, his movements slow, almost lazy. He barely lifted his feet as he moved, as if even walking took too much effort.
Then, he squatted down, bringing his towering presence to her level. With a casual grip, he tilted her chin upward, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"How about that date?"
Zara asked her breath hitched, voice trembling a last hopeless attempt to save her life.
Kagetsu's lips curled into a smirk.
"You want an answer?"
His tone was mocking, teasing, perfectly mirroring the exact words she had spoken not even a minute ago.
Before she could react, the black shot still hovering in the air struck again.
It pierced through the left side of her skull and out the right.
Her body went limp instantly—lifeless, empty.
For a brief moment, Kagetsu's crimson eyes lingered on her bloodied face.
His expression almost betrayed something, a flicker of pity? Regret?
Then, the silence shattered.
A loud, menacing laugh erupted from him, echoing through the streets—mocking, untamed, utterly monstrous.
"She had all this time to say yes, and yet she didn't. Hey, Dante, can you believe this?" Kagetsu's voice still carried laughter, his amusement undiminished even in the face of death.
Dante barely spared a glance. "Impressive. That leaves just one more."
His gaze shifted toward Landon—but Landon was gone.
A massive shadow loomed over Kagetsu, stretching across the bloodstained ground. His crimson eyes flicked upward.
Landon hovered above, his wings spread wide, fury carved into his face. The lock of hair that once concealed his left eye was gone, revealing a pair of eyes seething with pure, demonic rage.
Both hands gripped the lower half of his sword tightly from the hilt, his entire body coiled with unrestrained fury.
"YOU BASTARD!!!"
Landon's voice thundered like an explosion, shaking the very air around them.
And for the first time in Kagetsu's life—he felt it.
That cold, unfamiliar sensation.
Fear.