Just as Souta and Ren were about to slip out of the building's back door
BOOOOOM!!
The entire wall behind them exploded into shrapnel and dust.
A flash of blue lightning surged through the debris as Haruno stepped in, crackling with electricity. His eyes glowed violently, and his blade thrummed with volts of pure rage.
"I knew something was off with you," Haruno said, electricity dancing across his skin. "But now that I know you're a demon… I've got no choice but to put you down."
He turned to Souta and barked:
"Kill him, dammit!"
The dust cleared.
Junpai stepped in next, sword drawn, expression heavy with disappointment. "How could you, Ren…?"
Then came Airi, her spellbook floating beside her, runes flickering across its surface. Her eyes were teary but furious.
Ren stepped back. "It's me! I'm not a demon… please, I'm still Ren!"
His eyes darted to the last person entering the room
Arisa.
She stood silently for a moment. Then reached for her sword-gun, arm trembling.
"Let's kill the demon."
Something inside Ren cracked. His chest burned. "Arisa…?"
His voice broke.
Souta stepped in front of him, arms wide. "You're not touching him."
Haruno scoffed, eyes sparking. "Still acting like a fool over your femme lover, huh?"
He grinned. "That's exactly what I always hated about you."
Then Haruno vanished in a blink lightning trailing behind him.
ZAP!
He reappeared midair, blade swinging at Souta. But Souta was ready.
He unsheathed his sword and chanted in Latin:
"Ex oculis sanctis—aperi meam gladium!"
(From the holy eyes—unseal my blade!)
A burst of golden light shot out.
CLAAAAANG!!
Their blades collided with a shockwave, tearing the ground between them. Sparks flew as electricity clashed against divine energy.
Souta shouted as he blocked and countered, his blade glowing with sacred light.
Junpai joined the fray, swinging from the side. Souta twisted and deflected both blades in one smooth motion.
Airi raised her book, shouting a spell:
"Gravity Falls!"
A magical glyph pulsed under Souta's feet he began floating upward, gravity reversed.
Souta grunted, pulled a smoke bomb from his belt, and slammed it to the ground
POOF!!
A thick gray cloud engulfed the room, masking everything. Airi's spell lost focus
"What—?!"
And slammed into Junpai, launching him up and crashing into the ceiling.
Haruno lunged again, lightning faster than before. Souta spun, chanting the same spell once more, empowering his blade with a golden aura. He blocked Haruno's slash and pushed him back.
"I won't let you touch him!"
Suddenly
SWOOSH!!
A flash of violet light darted past Souta's shoulder.
"Shit—!!" Souta's eyes widened.
Arisa.
Her eyes glowed an ominous purple. She dashed past Souta, moving faster than before, blade drawn
"Ren—DIE!!"
Ren's instincts kicked in. He leaned back just as a gunshot zipped past his cheek—then ducked, narrowly avoiding her slashing blade.
The purple aura grazed his coat, searing the fabric.
He flipped backward, panting, eyes wide.
"Arisa said why…?"
But her eyes weren't the same. Controlled. Hollow. Betrayed.
The room exploded into chaos.
The clash between Ren and Arisa escalated into an all-out battle. Her movements blurred with speed, her blade slicing through the air like lightning.
Ren dodged each strike with increasing difficulty, but she was relentless. Her eyes were wet with tears, but her blade held no mercy.
"Arisa… it's still me," Ren gasped, catching her blade mid-swing. "I'm the same Ren you once cared for!"
Arisa trembled, her voice breaking through clenched teeth.
"I'm a Knight of the Ivory Cross… I have sworn to eliminate all demons that pass through my city. That… includes you."
"So die, demon."
With a sudden motion, Arisa stabbed Ren straight through the abdomen.
His eyes widened, breath caught—then softened.
He didn't attack back.
He… hugged her.
Her blade still buried in his gut, she stared in disbelief.
Ren smiled, blood spilling from his lips. "It doesn't hurt…"
He gently pushed her away. But something was wrong.
His veins began to glow crimson. The tattoo on his arm ignited in red light, pulsing with rage.
His wound… healed. Instantly.
Arisa stumbled back, her blade shattering inside his chest.
"I'm sorry…" Ren whispered.
"Wait—Ren!" she called out, reaching for him.
But then
BOOOOM!!!
A colossal explosion shattered the building from above. The rooftop collapsed in a fiery shockwave.
From the smoke descended a brutal high-ranking exorcist, his name whispered in fear across Kaigenshiro:
Sir Vandros of the Cross-Eclipse Unit.
"Got you now, demon!" he roared, slamming his massive greatsword into the ground, sending shockwaves that demolished half the hospital.
Innocents screamed. Floors crumbled. The entire ward began to collapse.
"I don't give a damn about casualties," Vandros sneered. "As long as I kill you, that's all that matters."
Souta, Haruno, Junpai, and Airi were flung through the air.
Airi, struggling, summoned a magical shield to protect them. But it wasn't enough.
Haruno staggered, then struck Souta in the neck with the hilt of his blade, knocking him out.
"Ren… I'm sorry…" Souta whispered before everything went dark.
Ren, half-buried under rubble, protected Arisa beneath him. Blood ran down his face as he rose again.
Then
He saw him.
From the ring of exorcists, one stepped forward.
Ren's heart froze.
It was the same man from years ago.
The one who attacked them… when his father, Shira Akagawa, was still alive.
The man smiled.
"Told you you'd end up just like him," he said. "Now I'll bury you right next to your father."
Ren's eyes trembled.
"You… you killed Shira…"
"We all did," the man smirked.
The exorcists began chanting in unison, a mass demon-exorcism spell, their crosses glowing with deadly intent.
Ren pulled Arisa behind him and growled:
"Let's dance then."
With a roar, Ren's arm erupted in red lightning. A blood sword materialized in his hand.
He slammed it into the ground
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The entire city block cracked open.
All the exorcists were blasted backward. Even Arisa was thrown aside.
Ren used his blood to catch her and gently land her on the ground.
Now it was war.
Vandros laughed, dodging Ren's slashes with inhuman speed. He activated his weapon and slammed it down
CLANK.
It broke. The blade shattered on Ren's body.
"What… the hell!?"
Ren grabbed Vandros by the throat, lifting him.
"You killed my father… ruined my life… and now you want me dead too!?"
Ren's blood surged through his palm, burning Vandros from the inside.
But Vandros only laughed.
"YES! That's it! Give in! Kill me, bastard!!"
Just as Ren raised his blade to strike
SLICE!
A massive blood blade came out of nowhere, slicing clean through Ren's arm.
"Aaaagh!!"
He was thrown backward, slamming into rubble.
His eyes widened as he saw the figure step forward.
Hair now half-white, half-black. Crimson irises. A grin that cut through shadows.
"That's what I've been waiting for," the man said. "You're finally becoming me."
> "You… You're a demon?!"
The exorcists panicked. Dozens launched fire spells at the newcomer.
But he raised his hand.
Blood pillars erupted from the ground like spears, impaling them all.
Blood rained from the ceiling.
He licked the blood off his fingers.
> "Mmm… delicious fear."
Ren turned to Arisa, still dazed on the ground.
"You all should go. Now."
Haruno burst from the rubble.
"Not until I finish what I started!"
He dashed forward, electricity sparking wildly, and slammed his blade into Ren's chest.
Ren grunted in pain, then summoned his new blood blade
"Let's see you block this!"
He hurled it into Haruno's arm. Then dashed, triple-kicked him in the jaw, followed by a brutal uppercut.
But the demon returned trapping them both inside a crimson cage made of living blood.
"I'll be taking these two with me," the demon said with a grin.
Wings burst from his back, and he flew into the night, carrying Ren and Haruno within the cage.