The wind was crisp against my skin as we stood on the outskirts of Kosei, far beyond the grand city’s ruined walls.

  The battlefield was nothing more than a distant memory now, fading into the darkness behind us. Ahead, the nd stretched out into rolling hills and quiet countryside, untouched by war—for now.

  Reika had brought us here, but she still stood at her immense, impossible height, her sheer presence dominating the ndscape. She barely seemed to notice, her bored amethyst eyes drifting toward the horizon, as if everything she saw was equally meaningless.

  Then—she sighed softly, as if she were exhaling the weight of the world.

  And with that, her form began to shift.

  A pulse of dark energy radiated from her skin, but it wasn’t violent. It was quiet, controlled—like the soft ripples across a still ke.

  Slowly, the towering divine figure before me began to shrink, her impossible proportions colpsing inward, her overwhelming form reducing to something that fit within this fragile world.

  By the time the magic faded, she stood at just a little over two meters tall, her silky bck kimono fluttering lightly in the breeze, her presence still powerful but no longer suffocating.

  I blinked.

  Then, before I could overthink it—I stepped forward and hugged her.

  A Moment of Warmth

  For a brief moment, Reika did not react.

  Her body was cool to the touch, like silk beneath my fingers, her frame taller but no longer untouchable.

  I felt her stillness, the faint, measured rise and fall of her chest.

  Then, in the quietest whisper, she spoke.

  "…I have not been hugged in a long time."

  Her voice was softer than usual—absent of its usual boredom or amusement.

  I pulled back slightly, looking up at her. Her face was unreadable, but something about her amethyst gaze seemed distant, searching.

  I tried to force a smile. "Well, someone had to do it."

  Her lips curved—just barely.

  Then, the warmth of the moment shattered.

  Rin’s Rage

  "You’re disgusting."

  Rin’s voice was sharp as a bde, cutting through the quiet like thunder.

  I turned, and she stood a few feet away, her hands clenched into fists, her entire body trembling.

  Her usual composure—the controlled, measured calm of an Onmyoji—was nowhere to be seen.

  Her dark blue eyes burned with hatred.

  "Do you think that changes anything?" she hissed, staring straight at Reika. "Do you think you can just—just shrink yourself down and pretend you’re one of us? That you’re human?!"

  I inhaled sharply. "Rin—"

  "Shut up, Jin."

  Her breath hitched.

  "She killed my parents."

  Silence.

  For a long, excruciating moment, no one spoke.

  Then—Reika tilted her head slightly, her eyes settling on Rin, but there was no change in her expression. No guilt. No remorse.

  Just the same calm detachment as always.

  "Go ahead, then," Reika murmured. "If you wish to strike me, do it."

  Rin stiffened.

  "What?"

  Reika lifted her hand slightly, gesturing toward her own chest.

  "Attack me."

  Rin’s fingers twitched toward her talismans, her spiritual energy flickering in the air around her.

  But she didn’t move.

  Because she knew.

  We all knew.

  It wouldn’t matter.

  She could pour every ounce of strength she had into a single strike, and it wouldn’t leave a scratch on Reika’s skin.

  Still, Reika’s lips curved slightly, her tone almost teasing.

  "Come now, Rin. I insist."

  Rin trembled, her breathing shallow, her shoulders tensed like a drawn bowstring.

  Then, suddenly—the anger drained from her eyes.

  Not because she had forgiven.

  Because she had realized how pointless it was.

  She exhaled shakily, stepping back.

  "You’re a monster."

  Reika watched her in silence for a moment before responding.

  "If it makes it easier for you," she said softly, "then think of me like a natural camity."

  Rin froze.

  "What?"

  Reika’s bored gaze drifted to the sky, as if the conversation had already begun to lose her interest.

  "When a storm destroys a vilge, do you take revenge on the wind?"

  Rin stared at her, disbelief flickering across her face.

  "You… you’re comparing yourself to a force of nature?"

  Reika’s eyes flickered downward again, her voice calm and absolute.

  "Yes."

  Rin gritted her teeth, but she didn’t argue.

  Because how could she?

  How could she fight something that wasn’t even capable of seeing her as an equal?

  How do you take revenge on a hurricane?

  The Tavern Incident

  We walked for a while in silence.

  Eventually, we reached a small vilge, nestled between the hills—a quiet, peaceful pce untouched by war.

  The people watched warily as we entered, their eyes lingering on Reika’s unearthly beauty and her unnatural presence.

  But they did not recognize her at first.

  At least, not until we stepped into a small, dimly lit tavern.

  We took a table near the back.

  The tension was heavy, the air thick with unspoken words.

  Then, a group of men sitting across the room stiffened.

  "Hey…" one of them muttered.

  "That woman… she looks familiar."

  Another one whispered under his breath. "No, it—it can't be, right? The Demon Queen wouldn’t just be sitting here in a tavern."

  But doubt had already seeded itself into their minds.

  And doubt, mixed with liquor and bravado, could be dangerous.

  One of them—a burly man with a scar across his cheek—rose from his seat, his fingers tightening around the handle of his bde.

  "If it really is her…" he muttered. "She’s human-sized now, isn’t she?"

  Masanori noticed them first.

  "Jin." His voice was low. Warning.

  I turned just in time to see the man lunge.

  The Fool’s Mistake

  The tavern’s dim glow flickered against the aged wooden beams, the air thick with the scent of liquor and quiet tension.

  It had started with whispers.

  "It can’t be."

  "But look at her… the bck kimono, the way she carries herself."

  "The Demon Queen wouldn’t just be sitting in a tavern like this… would she?"

  At first, the men seated at the far end of the room only exchanged wary gnces, their hands hovering near their weapons. But the longer they stared, the more the doubt grew.

  And then doubt became bravado.

  A scarred man—a veteran, judging by the faded armor on his shoulders—smmed his sake cup down.

  "If it really is her, she’s human-sized now, isn’t she?" His voice was a growl, his breath thick with drink. "No reason to be afraid of a woman who’s no bigger than us."

  Another man—a younger warrior with calloused hands—grinned darkly. "Right. We’d be doing the world a favor."

  The third man, a former soldier from Kosei’s ranks, clenched his fists. "She destroyed our city. We can’t just let her sit here like she belongs."

  I saw it too te.

  Three men stood at once, their hands reaching for their bdes.

  Reika sighed.

  And then they moved.

  The first man lunged, his sword already mid-swing—

  But he never reached her.

  A bck tendril of energy shed out from Reika’s fingertips, a thin, elegant wisp of darkness that wrapped around his throat like a serpent.

  He froze mid-stride, his eyes bulging as the tendril lifted him off his feet, suspending him effortlessly in the air.

  Then, with a zy flick of Reika’s wrist, he was sent crashing into the far wall, his body splintering a wooden beam on impact before colpsing onto the floor in a heap of groans and curses.

  The second man hesitated—but only for a moment.

  He threw a dagger, aiming for her throat.

  Reika didn’t move.

  The dagger stopped midair, suspended inches from her skin, as if caught by an invisible force. It hovered there, trembling, before it slowly turned back toward the man who threw it.

  His eyes widened in horror.

  Then—it shot forward.

  The bde buried itself into the wooden pilr beside his face, so close that a thin trickle of blood ran down his cheek from where it grazed him.

  He stumbled back, his entire body shaking.

  The third man—the Kosei soldier—made the mistake of trying to run.

  Reika’s hand lifted slightly, her fingers curling.

  The door smmed shut on its own, the wood warping and twisting, sealing itself shut. The air grew heavier, an unseen force pressing down on the entire tavern, like the room itself was caught in the palm of a giant.

  Every person in the building felt it—the weight of something greater, untouchable, inescapable.

  The fleeing man colpsed onto his knees, gasping, his body unable to move.

  Reika exhaled softly, twirling a finger idly in the air.

  The tendrils of energy slowly retreated, but the fear they left behind lingered.

  She stood up, her kimono shifting elegantly around her, her sheer presence consuming the room.

  Then, she took a single step forward.

  The wooden floor beneath her foot cracked.

  She lowered her gaze, her expression as unreadable as ever.

  "This is the extent of your strength?" she murmured.

  Her voice wasn’t mocking.

  It was disappointed.

  The men on the floor couldn’t speak, couldn’t look up—they simply shook in silence, their hands pressed against the wood, as if hoping it would swallow them whole.

  Finally, Reika sighed again, brushing a strand of raven-bck hair from her cheek.

  "You all are so desperate to challenge me."

  She reached down, and for a moment, I thought she was going to crush the nearest man under her heel.

  But instead—

  She lifted a sake bottle from the table and poured herself a cup.

  Then, with all the grace of a noblewoman, she sat back down.

  The tension in the room remained suffocating, but she had already moved on.

  "Are we finished?" she asked boredly, raising the sake cup to her lips.

  No one answered.

  No one dared.