"That voice…"
Lucy's face lit up with excitement the moment she heard it.
Then, not far from her, a floating card began to tremble… and shatter.
Bang—!
Kaien and Mirajane appeared before everyone in a flash of light.
"Mirajane! …Kaien…?"
Lucy instantly recognized Mira, but when she looked at the silver-haired man standing beside her, she froze.
White hair, that handsomely sculpted face, and most of all—those icy blue eyes laced with pale fog…
Just one glance, and it felt like she could drown in them.
'So handsome…'
She wasn't even sure if this was Kaien anymore. She had seen him transform into different personas before—but this one was easily the most stunning yet. Her heart skipped a beat.
Mirajane, too, stared at Kaien in awe. This was the first time she'd seen this form. But no matter how he changed, her heart told her clearly—it was him.
"Tch… and I'd just drawn a winning hand."
Kaien looked genuinely annoyed.
He'd been losing since the moment they entered the casino. It made him wonder if Lady Luck had dumped him—or maybe he'd used up all his luck pulling SSR cards from the gacha.
And just when things started turning around—this mess happened.
"Kaien! They're trying to take Erza away!" Lucy shouted, snapping back to urgency.
"Yeah… I heard it all just now."
From their appearance and the conversation earlier, Kaien had already figured it out. These were the people from Erza's past—the ones she'd once known as friends during her time as a slave.
"Oi, you lot."
Kaien's voice was lazy, nonchalant.
"If you don't wanna lose teeth, hand Erza over now. That way, I might not beat you half to death."
Bang—!
Woolley pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Kaien, watch out!" Lucy cried.
Sure, mages could fire spells that far exceeded bullets in power. But they were still flesh and blood. One bullet to the head could still kill.
But Kaien didn't flinch. He didn't move. He didn't even blink.
The bullet… froze mid-air, hovering inches in front of him.
"What the—?!"
Everyone's eyes went wide.
Why was the bullet just suspended there?
"I don't believe it!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Woolley fired three more times in a row. Same result. Every bullet halted in front of Kaien like they hit an invisible wall.
Kaien yawned lazily.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
The bullets dropped to the floor one by one.
They were all in shock.
Milliana acted fast.
"Cat Rope Bind!"
Her enchanted rope shot forward—once wrapped around someone, it prevented them from using magic.
But just like the bullets, it stopped mid-air—frozen a few inches before reaching Kaien. No matter how Milliana pushed, it wouldn't move an inch closer.
"W-Why?!"
Kaien gave them a cool smile.
"It's simple. This is my Limitless."
"The closer something gets to me, the slower it becomes… like this. Until it's basically frozen. None of your attacks can reach me."
The Limitless technique was a hereditary technique of the Gojo Family, manipulating the very atoms of space to create an infinite divide. Only someone with the Six Eyes could use it—ordinary mages, even if they inherited the technique, could never activate it.
The core idea was simple: divide any distance into infinite segments. So even if something is just inches away… it might as well be unreachable.
Kaien was using Gojo's automatic passive version—constantly active, it automatically analyzed incoming objects based on speed, weight, strength, and threat level to determine if they should be halted or repelled.
"W-What?!"
Everyone looked horrified.
A technique like that made him practically untouchable.
"Bullets can't hit you, huh? But what about her?!"
Woolley suddenly turned his gun toward Lucy.
"Why is it me again?!"
Lucy yelped, nearly in tears. First he pointed the gun at her earlier, now again?
But before Woolley could pull the trigger—
The gun was gone.
"Huh?!"
Woolley looked up in shock.
Kaien was standing right in front of him, holding the pistol… his pistol.
Bang!
Kaien shot him straight in the leg.
"GAAAHH!!"
"Woolley!"
Everyone gasped as he dropped to his knees.
Kaien aimed at his other leg and pulled the trigger.
Click. Click.
"Out of bullets?" he muttered.
He casually tossed the gun aside—and punched Woolley in the gut.
BOOM!!
Woolley doubled over like a shrimp in boiling water, eyes bulging in pain as he flew backward, crashing through multiple gambling tables.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
"Woolley!! You bastard!!" Sho roared.
"Sho, stop!" Simon tried to intervene.
But Sho ignored him.
He flung card after card at Kaien.
Each one froze in the air—just like before.
"I already told you," Kaien said calmly, "your attacks can't touch me."
Then, in a flash—he teleported behind Sho and kicked him hard in the back.
"GUH—!!"
Sho went flying too, slamming into a row of slot machines.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Next was Milliana.
Kaien appeared in front of her, raised a hand, and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground.
"Stop… stop… Kaien…"
A weak voice spoke behind him.
"…Erza!"
Kaien paused.
The voice belonged to Erza.
Simon had woken her up—he'd realized from the moment Lucy called out Kaien's name who he really was. And when he saw Kaien move to kill, he knew it was over.
If no one stopped this now, in a few more seconds—everyone here would die.
Hearing Erza's voice, Kaien gently let go.
He dropped Milliana to the floor like she was weightless.
Cough! Cough!
Milliana gasped for air, terrified. In that moment—she realized just how fragile she was in his hands.
Like a newborn chick being pinched by a god.
If he'd wanted to, he could've crushed her throat with a twitch of his fingers.