The clash had devolved into chaos—not a duel anymore, but a maelstrom of motion, clashing wills, and unpredictable players.
Crow was starting to lose ground. Seko's relentless advance pushed him back step by step, each strike heavier than the last, his pressure unyielding. And then—something changed.
A shadow slid across the floor, stretching unnaturally.
She arrived without a word.
Tall. Radiant. Terrifying in her stillness.
Dark purple hair flowed like ink in water, her dull crimson eyes glinting with a predatory luster. Her figure was statuesque, her presence magnetic—elegance fused with raw, controlled power. No introduction. No theatrics. She simply raised her fist.
BOOM.
Seko was launched across the room. The impact cracked the air like thunder, his body crashing into a marble column hard enough to web fractures across its surface.
Crow, bloodied and breathless, looked up—and smirked faintly as she reached down to him. He clasped her outstretched arm, watching as his mangled limb reformed with grotesque ease, muscles and bone weaving back together in a swirl of dark, negative energy.
"…Raven," he muttered.
Akemi's playful energy with Violet vanished instantly. Her smile dropped into a razor-sharp line. "Negative energy," she warned. "Seko, be careful! She doesn't just channel it—she feeds on it."
Seko groaned, bracing himself against the floor. His vision swam, one eye twitching from the blow. He hadn't even sensed her move.
And then—
Violet disappeared.
No sound. No flash.
Just gone.
He reappeared right in front of Raven, golden eyes wide in awe. He stood there, paralyzed by her presence.
So beautiful... The thought drifted unbidden, his heart skipping a beat. Then, in the middle of combat, he took her hand and gently bowed—
—and kissed it.
CRACK!
Her fist met his jaw with devastating precision, and Violet shot backwards like a falling star. Light trailed behind him, his body tumbling through the air before colliding with the far wall, crashing through it in a glittering explosion of dust and fractured stone.
Seko and Crow both turned, necks snapping in unison to follow his arc.
A long silence followed.
Then—two synchronized sighs.
"…Anyway," Crow muttered, and flung his chakram again without missing a beat.
Seko twisted his body mid-rise, already dodging. The chakram sliced past him, shaving the fabric off his shoulder with millimeter precision. But he didn't flinch.
Instead, he used the weapon's returning momentum—spinning through the narrow gap in its arc and launching himself like a slingshot toward Crow, blade aimed straight for the throat.
Crow grinned. "Come on, then."
But the chakram had already begun its return flight—twisting, shimmering, changing angles mid-air.
Seko felt it coming from behind.
His instincts screamed: Up.
But before he could act—
Raven was already there.
Descending like a missile.
No time to dodge.
Every strike aimed at the skull.
"DUCK!!!" Violet's voice echoed through the hall—somehow, impossibly, he was back on his feet, gripping the chakram's rim with both hands, struggling against its magnetic force.
Seko didn't hesitate.
He dropped.
Violet twisted with all his strength, redirecting the chakram toward Crow—only for it to shimmer and vanish mid-flight, blinking back into Crow's palm.
CRACK!
Raven's fist connected squarely with the back of Seko's head.
Blood sprayed in a fine arc across the floor.
The impact echoed like a cannon blast, deep and final.
And for a brief, breathless moment—
The world went still.
Then—The worst outcome.
Seko bloodlusted.
He didn't roar. He didn't growl.But the way his head tilted unnaturally… the way his exposed skull pulsed with violent heat, and his crimson eyes gleamed beneath the cracking bone—It was clear.
He wasn't in control anymore.
Raven, backing away instinctively, felt her throat close."A-...Perhaps we should—Go now, Crow?" she muttered, unease shaking her words.
She turned to her partner—Only to see Seko already there, standing motionless beside Crow like a phantom.
Her breath caught."When did he—?"
CRACK!Seko lunged, his claws slicing toward Crow's head with a speed that blurred the air. It was nearly over.
But in a flash of light—Violet intervened, shouldering Crow out of the way just in time. Blood splattered from his forearm, where Seko had grazed him, but Crow was alive.
Raven exhaled sharply, just for a moment—But then Seko turned his head toward her.
His gaze landed on her like a death sentence.
Everything in her screamed run. Her legs trembled, but—She stepped forward instead, fists clenched.
Her punch was fast—But not fast enough.Not strong enough.
Seko was already within biting range.
His fangs gleamed inches from her neck.
SHZMMM!Crow, panic overriding all logic, bent space around Raven, dragging her out of Seko's range just in time. A ripple of distortion burst as she vanished from harm's way.
The rest of The Gatekeepers?They were gone.
None of them had the resolve to stay.
But Seko wasn't done.In the aftermath of Raven's escape, he ripped off his own arm, hurling it toward her—His sharpened vampiric claws aimed directly for her skull.
Before impact—A blazing torrent engulfed the arm in midair.
Izanami.Her divine flames roared, incinerating the flying limb in a spiral of holy fire.
But that wasn't his true target.
While everyone focused on Raven—Seko shifted again, sliding across the floor unnaturally, inhuman, toward Crow and Kiyomi.
Kiyomi raised her shields—Too slow.Crow tried bending space—Too late.
Seko was upon them, claws stretched—His kill was certain—
Until a hand caught him.
Seko's fangs pierced into Atama's arm, stopping everything.
Silence.
Seko drank.
It wasn't a brutal chomp, nor a violent rip.It was a slow, deliberate pull—like a starving man drinking from the world's last fountain.
Atama didn't flinch.His expression unreadable.
There was no hatred in his eyes.Only a quiet weight.A slight regret.
Seko's body began to tremble.He paused mid-suck…His bloodstained lips parted slightly… and his gaze locked with Atama's.
Something passed between them.
Something ancient.Something wordless.
And then—
Seko collapsed.Not unconscious—just limp, falling to his knees.
He hadn't finished the feed.He couldn't.
The monster faded.
"You wasted my snack."Atama muttered dryly, glancing at the limp form of Seko crumpled beside him, blood gently trickling from the shallow bite on his arm. The air was thick—torn between tension and relief.
Seko's fingers twitched against the ground. His throat moved."…T-thank you…"It was faint. Fragile. Real.
That was all.
The silence that followed was heavier than the chaos before.
Violet exhaled, brushing dust from his shirt and chuckling nervously.Kiyomi lowered her shields, her arms trembling slightly from fatigue.Izanami remained still, her divine flames flickering out behind her like a gentle curtain as the tension drained from her expression.
They had survived Seko's bloodlust.
Crow lay sprawled on the cracked floor, chest heaving, blood-drenched, but alive. His gaze slowly drifted upward—to the shattered ceiling. Beyond it:The moon.
Still whole.Still watching.
Beside him, Raven hadn't moved. Her body was frozen, but it wasn't exhaustion—it was fear. Her pupils shrank, her lips parted in horror, her fists clenched instinctively.
Because in the corner of her eye—She saw something.
No—someone.
Beyond the cracked walls and darkness... Madala Sujay stood.
Not physically.Not even truly present.
But real enough to be undeniable.
His pale, emotionless eyes stared straight at her, past every layer of her mind. He wasn't there to fight. Or move.Just to exist.
And that was enough.
Raven backed a step.
Then she heard it.
"I don't need to see you…"
She turned sharply—No one.Only shadows.
"I reside within you… not as your fear…"
A breath caught in her lungs. Her legs trembled.
"…But as Fear itself."
And then—A voice that didn't yell, didn't snarl, didn't roar—
"Sounds dramatic, doesn't it?"
Calm. Almost amused.And infinitely worse than rage.
Raven dropped to one knee, gasping for breath, clutching her chest as her heartbeat raged against her ribs.
She had faced demons.She had seen monsters.
But whatever that was…It wasn't just evil.
It was Beyond.