Subaru didn't know how much longer his body would hold out. Gashes, holes, shattered bones—he was a ruin barely standing. And yet, something deeper than pain forced him upright.
A single desire.
Not to win. Not even to live.
But to make Reid Astrea move. To make the Sword Saint acknowledge him enough to take a step back.
"—Sffhhhhh…"
He let air whistle through clenched teeth, smothering a pained groan.
"Bah—come on then, black-hair." Reid drawled, balancing chopsticks between his fingers like a pair of blades. "What're y'waiting for? Or y'still star-struck I bumped you up from 'small fry'? Don't make me change my mind, you."
…Right. He had said that hadn't he.
Was it because I held my own against Gluttony? …But he mocked that too.
Subaru didn't let the confusion linger. His body lurched forward in a mad dash that took all the strength in his body to simply keep him from collapsing. Mid-charge, his legs unwound in a sudden burst, his heel lancing upward toward Reid's face—
—only to be caught effortlessly between two wooden sticks.
Reid's eyes gleamed with a cruel sort of amusement. He blocked Subaru's follow-up kick with his forearm, the impact echoing sharp against his skin but failing to make him budge.
"Not too shabby, black-hair. Y've grown a little since our last dance—"
He twirled the chopsticks back beside his head, his aura sharpening and strength surging as muscles tensed.
Then—
THRUST!
The strike shot forward like a spear—but instead of Subaru's body folding under it like it had many times before, a metallic—CLANG—rang out. Reid blinked, feeling the reverberation crawl up his arm.
The chopsticks had struck a jet-black shield of congealed darkness on Subaru's chest. The surface rippled, then lashed horizontally like a jagged tentacle to the point where Reid had to dip low in a sudden dodge to evade—
"—Hm?"
His eyes widened further as something coiled around his shin. Subaru's cursed fist screamed past his chin, purple energy detonating in the air. Reid clicked his tongue and suddenly backstepped, clearing the purple beam that scorched the wall behind him with unparalleled instinct.
When he looked back, Subaru was standing with his chest heaving, eyes wide, fist still trembling from the release.
"…What're you staring at me for like that, you? Never seen red-hair or somethin', you?" Reid snorted.
Subaru said nothing at first. Then his bloodied finger lifted, pointing straight at the Sword Saint.
"…You moved."
"?!"
Reid blinked. His gaze dipped to the ground. Sure enough—he'd taken a single step back. Not much. Barely a stride. But still—he had moved.
"Bahhh—fuckin' hell. Why'd you have to say that shit out loud, you? Spoiled my mood y'bastard..." Reid scratched his cheek, glaring. "So what now, eh?"
Subaru's pupils were pinpricks, but his stare was unshakable.
"…We pick up right where we left off."
A grin split Reid's face, jagged and feral.
"Hah—HAHAHAHA! You—you—you bastard!" He howled, stomping the ground like a child in glee. "What the fuck were y'doin' back in that trial room, eh? You weren't even half this interestin' back then! Fine—"
The glint in his eye hardened. For the first time, Reid slipped into something resembling a stance—loose, casual, but undeniably a stance.
Subaru cackled in reply, blood spilling from his teeth.
Why wouldn't he? He'd done it. He'd manage to make the first Sword Saint acknowledge him.
"Stick-swinger, Reid Astrea."
"…Natsuki… Subaru. Remember… it well."
For a moment, silence.
Then Reid moved.
Not a blur. Not even speed. He simply wasn't there, and then his face was in front of Subaru's. Chopsticks poised like fangs, an inch from Subaru's eye. But why did Subaru not respond? Reid doubted he was moving to fast for him, sure he was holding back a bit less than before but Subaru should still be able to see him move.
Then he realized just what's going on, the chopsticks halting in place at the last possible moment.
"Ah—" Reid clicked his tongue. "Shame, you. Finally got interestin'… only to keel over now, you."
It wasn't surprising. Not really. Subaru had already hit his ceiling, shattered it, and clawed his way past. His body was long past its limit. The pool of blood at his feet proved it, spreading wider by the second. His knees buckled, and he collapsed, wheezing with each half-broken breath.
"U—urgh…"
He couldn't even lift an arm. Every muscle screamed, every nerve burned. All that was left was to wait for death's scythe to carve him apart again.
"—Tch. An annoyin' one ended up comin' here."
Reid's voice. Sharp. Not irritated.
But not aimed at Subaru.
…What?
The answer came an instant later.
A blast of pure white light cut through the dark like a divine spear—straight for Subaru. He had no chance of dodging. No chance of surviving.
CLANG—!
The light split apart before it could erase him, white sparks raining across his vision. Subaru blinked, confused, as Reid Astrea casually lowered his chopsticks, scoffing.
Red glints shimmered in the shadows ahead. Then, one after another, countless legs clicked against stone, moving in eerie, perfect rhythm.
It emerged. A colossal brown scorpion, its body plated in thick armor, pincers clicking with lethal promise. Crimson compound eyes locked not on Reid—but on Subaru.
…A scorpion? Here? How—?
It didn't matter. The witchbeast bent low, stinger poised, ready to charge. Reid didn't move, but the thing already ignored the Sword Saint entirely, single-minded in its obvious bloodlust for Subaru.
Then—
A crack of vermillion light seared through the wall to Subaru's right. The bricks shuddered, split, then collapsed as fire and dust erupted through the corridor. Rubble rained down, bouncing harmlessly from the scorpion's shell.
Subaru's vision swam. The edges of the world went black.
Through the hole stepped a figure, sliding in with a casual grace.
Gojo Satoru.
His six eyes flicked fast—first to Reid, sharp and calculating. Then to Subaru, grimacing at the bloody ruin on the floor. Finally, his gaze hardened on the titanic scorpion blocking the way.
"…Shaula."
His voice was flat. Heavy.
Subaru's eyes went wide, his fogging mind struggling to grasp it.
Shaula…? No… she… she betrayed us?
A traitor? Shaula of all people?
'I love you.'
And then, nothing. That was the last thought Natsuki Subaru managed before death's cold hand gripped him by the throat and dragged him down into silence.
—————————————————————
He couldn't bring himself to feel anger at Shaula's supposed betrayal. Even now, with the tower spiraling into chaos, the thought felt absurd. This brown-haired girl, who clung to him like a kitten terrified of abandonment, who looked at him as if he were the sun itself—could she really be an enemy?
She believed with every fiber of her being that he was her master, returned after four hundred years of solitude.
Betrayal? From her?
Subaru's gaze drifted across the endless sea of sand, his forearms pressing against the cold, unyielding metal of the balcony railing. The fierce wind whipped his black hair against his face, stinging his eyes, but he didn't blink. He turned his head, locking eyes with Shaula.
She stood there, hands clasped behind her back, smiling with that same blinding, unconditional reverence.
Was it an act? A façade constructed by the tower?
Even having seen the evidence, his heart refused to accept it. His jaw tightened, teeth grinding together as he inhaled the dry air. He had to know.
"Shaula… if I ordered you to kill yourself right now, would you do it?"
"Mmhm! If Master asked me to die, then I'd just die! Easy-peasy!"
The velocity of her answer sent a shard of ice through his chest. There was no hesitation. No survival instinct. Just absolute, terrifying obedience. Subaru's expression didn't harden into indifference; it cracked into a grimace of pain.
"I see…"
"If Master really wants me to disappear, all he has to do is say the word!" She chirped brightly, pressing a hand to her ample chest, her eyes shimmering with devotion. "This body, this soul, every little bit of me belongs to Master! I am Shaula, the Starkeeper of the Watchtower. I exist only for you! Though… maybe now's a bad time for dying, with all the noise downstairs, hehe~"
Her voice was unwavering. It was the truth. It was a truth so heavy it made him want to vomit. He looked away, letting out a ragged sigh.
Below them, the tower was descending into madness. Reid's trial had collapsed into a brawl, and the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony was tearing through the sanctuary. Advancing the 'normal' way was no longer an option. But then again, since he and Gojo-sensei had arrived in this world, 'normal' had been the first thing to die.
"Shaula." Subaru spoke her name with a heaviness that made her ears twitch. "You can turn into a giant scorpion, can't you? Is that your true form?"
She tilted her head, a playful pout on her lips. "Mmm~? So Master's memory isn't that bad after all, despite being an old geezer! Yup, I can! But I hate it. Master made me so cute in this form, why would I wanna ruin it with that gross, buggy body?"
Subaru pressed a hand to his forehead, the headache behind his eyes throbbing. "…This is too damn troublesome."
He stepped away from the railing, closing the distance between them. He didn't look cold anymore; he looked intense, his nasty eyes narrowing with the focus of a man trying to solve a puzzle that was currently eating his friends.
"Shaula. Tell me the rules of the tower."
For the first time, her smile faltered. The corners of her mouth twitched downward, and she swayed, clearly unsettled.
"O-Okie… First rule: You can't leave without completing the trials. Second rule: You can't break the rules of the trials. Third rule: No disrespecting the library! Fourth rule: Never, ever cause destruction to the tower itself. And that's it! All done!"
Her sing-song tone rang hollow, like a bell with a crack in it.
Subaru leaned forward, invading her personal space. "Then what about the fifth rule?"
Her pupils dilated. A flicker of genuine panic flashed across her face, quickly buried beneath a strained grin. "Mnnn... Fifth? Master, Master~ are you forgetting how to count? I'm not great with numbers either, but I know there's no fifth rule!"
"Don't lie to me." Subaru's voice was low, authoritative. "Shaula. Tell me."
"Mmnnn… M-Master… when you look at me like that…" She hugged herself, shivering, her voice dropping to a whisper that sounded frighteningly young. "I can't. I can't tell you. Nuh-uh. It's forbidden. Besides… it doesn't matter. It's nothing important~"
"It matters to me. To me, and to Gojo-sensei. If it wasn't important to conquering this tower, it wouldn't exist."
She inhaled sharply, a sound like a sob caught in her throat. "If I tell you… then you'll figure out the trial. You'll conquer it. And then—then Master will leave again." Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "I waited four hundred years. Four hundred years, all alone in the sand! If you go again… I'll be alone. I don't… I don't want that… I want to be with Master!"
Her body trembled, the mask of the cheerful Starkeeper shattering to reveal the lonely child beneath.
"Shaula—"
"Ah."
The sound escaped her lips—a gasp of pure shock. Her body went rigid.
Her eyes, usually so warm, contracted into vertical slits. The atmosphere around her grew heavy, suffocating.
"Ahh— ahh… no, no… Master… Master, Master, Master!! Someone—someone has violated the rules, hrk—"
Subaru's mind raced. Below. It had to be the chaos with Reid and Gluttony. The tower's systems were reacting. He had expected this, but he hadn't expected it to hurt to watch.
"I'll… I'll become a killing machine soon, Master…!" She clawed at her own arms, drawing blood. "One with no feelings, no heart… and I'll… I'll kill Master… I don't wanna, I don't wanna do that—so…"
Subaru lunged forward, gripping her shoulders to keep her upright. She felt incredibly hot, feverish. Shaula gripped his forearms in return, her strength crushing, enough to snap bone if she hadn't been holding back.
Within her eyes, the dark pupils split. Three irises formed, rotating, pulsating red. The transfiguration was beginning.
"Ma—ha… Master! If… if you tell me to do it… to kill myself now, I can still—!"
"What is the fifth rule?!" Subaru shouted over the rising sound of steam hissing from her skin. "Tell me, and I'll save you from becoming a monster!"
Cracks of crimson light fissured across her skin. The heat coming off her was searing, smelling of ozone and burning sand.
"Ahh, ahh… Master~ Master is still such a smooth talker~" she gasped, a tear of blood tracing down her cheek as she fought the programming rewriting her soul.
"—The Fifth Rule: It is not forbidden to destroy the Trials."
"N-N-Now… do it… hrkk!"
Shaula shoved him. The force was like a cannonball, launching Subaru backward until he slammed against the metal railing meters away. She swayed, clutching her head, her silhouette beginning to warp and bulge.
"Ma—ster, please… kill me…!"
Subaru coughed, tasting iron, but he stood up. He looked at the girl who had waited four centuries just to be killed by the one she loved.
"No."
"—!? Ah?"
"I won't kill you. And I won't allow you to kill me, either."
"Wh—at are—yo-u…?"
Subaru let out a deep breath, centering himself. He raised his right hand. His fingers curled, index and middle finger extending to emulate the shape of a gun. He pressed the makeshift barrel against his own temple.
He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. I'm sorry for doubting you, Shaula. It won't happen again.
"Whooo—"
Shaula stomped her foot, cracking the stone floor. She leaped forward, moving with the speed of a thunderclap, reaching out with a desperate, monstrous scream to stop him.
"MASTER—!?"
Subaru's eyes snapped open. They were clear.
Red veins blackened and bulged, streaking through his neck and down his arm, channeling the cursed energy he had learned to manipulate. The pressure built at his fingertip in a nanosecond before manifesting atop his fingertip as a jagged spike.
It tore through his skull, obliterating his brain and exiting the other side in a spray of crimson before the sound of the blast even registered.
Darkness took him instantly.
But the black-haired sorcerer had made a vow. He would save everyone he held dear. No matter how many deaths. No matter how many failures.
He would win.
—————————————————————
Gojo's gaze drifted toward Subaru, lying unconscious on the library floor with Reid Astrea's massive Book of the Dead clenched tight in both hands. It had been nearly an hour since Subaru collapsed.
Gojo had worried for a bit—but Subaru's steady heartbeat reassured him. If anything, he figured it had to do with the book. After all, messing with Reid's memories couldn't be good for your health.
Still…
He yawned.
Didn't make waiting any less boring.
Shaula had run off to who-knows-where, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Then his Six Eyes twitched—the faintest flicker of movement.
"…Finally."
Subaru jolted awake, body snapping upright like he'd been electrocuted. His eyes darted around.
"HAH—A-ah… the… library?"
"Yup. Library." Gojo stretched, bones popping as he stood. He held out a hand, hauling Subaru to his feet. "About time, too. I've been dying of boredom here."
His grin sharpened.
"So? What'd you see in Reid's little diary? Any juicy weaknesses? Cheat codes to surviving the trial?"
Not that he expected any. A guy like Reid certainly didn't do weaknesses.
"Hm—ah…" Subaru reached toward him, but his hand stopped short against the invisible cushion of Infinity. His expression eased. "My bad. Just making sure I was really back."
"…Hah?"
Gojo stared blankly. Then, without warning, he slammed a chop down on Subaru's head.
"GAhk—!" Subaru staggered back, clutching his skull.
"You awake now, or are you gonna try pinching my cheeks next?" Gojo teased, grinning ear to ear.
Subaru blinked several times, then his expression hardened.
"…Yeah. The book. Right."
He inhaled sharply.
"I couldn't see Reid's memories. Something—or someone—blocked me. Instead, I ended up in this place called the Hall of Memories, connected to Od Lagna. Some kind of pathway for souls, I think. But the most important part—"
He looked Gojo dead in the eye.
"—Gluttony. The Sin Archbishop has declared war on us."
Subaru rattled off everything he'd seen, what he remembered from past loops, and the cost of brushing against Louis Arneb. Losing pieces of himself. The brink of annihilation.
And then—
"…Gojo-sensei." His voice dropped, trembling slightly, but steady with resolve. "I can Return by Death."
Gojo froze. For once, his bandaged gaze faltered.
"…Come again?"
For a moment, he thought his beyond superhuman senses had lied to him for once. Because the absurdity of what Subaru said didn't fit into any logic he knew or could understand.
But Subaru pressed on, laying out their problems one by one.
Witchbeasts in overwhelming numbers, breaching the tower. Gluttony, hunting Subaru's name and memories. Shaula, turning into an uncontrollable murder machine that seems to be mainly after him. And Reid Astrea, running amok, ignoring friend and foe alike, chasing nothing but his own twisted fun.
By the end of it, Gojo had a hand over his forehead, chuckling in disbelief.
"…Pff. Hah. Aahahaha… Subaru, you…" He sighed. "This sounds so damn unbelievable. And yet—"
"It makes sense. Right?" Subaru grinned faintly. "And I can prove it. You remember how I mentioned Reid? Quite soon, he's going to leave the trial room. When he does, I need you waiting there to stall him. Because he's about to start raising hell."
Gojo tilted his head, scratching it in annoyance.
"Asking me to stall against Reid is a tall order Subaru, I can probably last a fair amount of time unless he gives it absolutely everything... 'cause if he does I'm not exactly confident about lasting very long, let alone beating him in a one-on-one."
Subaru just nodded.
"I know, I know. It's all I can think of right now though, you'll be stalling against Reid, and I'll be taking out Gluttony."
Gojo leant back.
"And the witchbeasts outside? I can feel Shaula's mana from here. She's tearing through them like crazy."
"She won't stop them all." Subaru said flatly.
"…Hmmm." Gojo rubbed his chin, then smiled. "Well—you're the one with spoilers, right? Guess I'll trust you my dear student."
Subaru's grin sharpened, determination flickering in his tired eyes.
"Alright, Gojo-sensei. Let's do this!"
—————————————————————
Subaru and Gojo sprinted side by side through the tower's winding halls, cursed energy burning in their strides. They hit the stairwell, ready to split—until Gojo skidded to a stop, hand raised.
"Wait. Subaru—hold it."
His brows furrowed, bandages shifting as he tilted his head. "…I hear something."
"Reid?" Subaru slowed, wary.
Gojo nodded faintly, then frowned. "…Reid, yeah. But someone else too."
Subaru's chest tightened. "…Another? That shouldn't be possible… unless—"
They bolted up the stairs, the gaping whiteness of Reid's trial room growing larger and larger as they drew nearer and nearer, to the point where the voices had finally reached Subaru's ears.
"Oi, oi, you—" Reid's rough drawl cut through the void. "What the hell y'doin', layin' flat like that? Didn't y'come here to entertain me? Stand the hell up, you. Fight me more!"
The two burst into the trial room—stopping dead at the sight.
Reid Astrea, looming like a red-haired giant. And dangling upside down in his grip, limp as a ragdoll, was the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.
"…The hell—?" Subaru muttered.
"Ahh, small fry 'n pretty boy." Reid smirked, swinging Lye's leg like a rope. "Here for round errr... shit, round however many times the small-fry's lost? Or y'just after this midget?"
"Why is he here?!" Subaru snapped, disbelief tearing out of him.
"Eh, how should I know? Think I'm your narrator, you?" Reid shrugged, as if the Archbishop wasn't writhing in his grasp. "Brat popped up spoutin' meals and menus, so I smacked him 'round. Kids these days—no respect."
He simply started to ramble, unbothered, about past scraps and hometown neighbors while Lye dangled helplessly in his hand.
Subaru deadpanned.
"…And that matters how?"
"Tsck, what—can't reminisce, you? Don't get cocky, small fry. I could beat y'with my eyes closed and my arms tied behind my back, you."
Then—without warning—Reid's fingers pressed and pushed into Lye's torso.
The Archbishop shrieked, high, raw, animal. Subaru grimaced at the sound. He wasn't sure if he should hate himself for it—but part of him relished the sight of that monster writhing in pain. It took absolutely everything Subaru had to fight Gluttony to the point of a stalemate. And here Reid was treating him like nothing more than a chew toy.
"Oi, runt, you." Reid's voice cut sharp. He squeezed harder. Lye convulsed. "Didn't y'say you'd eat me? Well? Try it, you. Swallow me whole, I wanna see what happens, you."
For a moment, silence. Then—snake-quick, surprising core strength as Lye curved and reached out—Lye's hand shot up, clamping over Reid's patched eye who merely stood still and allowed it to happen.
His voice came out like a curse, before licking his lips:
"Reid Astrea."
Reid froze. His grip slackened. And then—
He was gone.
No sound. No struggle. Erased.
Lye dropped into a crouch, shuddering with ecstasy.
"Ahhh~! Yes, yes yes yes! Flavorful, flavor, flavor yes~ tsu~! Beyond all expectation, tsu~!"
Gojo's bandaged gaze narrowed.
"…He really—just like that?"
"…He ate him?" Subaru breathed, voice thin.
But the Archbishop's delight curdled. His limbs spasmed, voice fracturing.
"S-s-strange, so strange, it is strange, incredibly str-ange!? Hurk—urk... grhkk... wha-a-a-a..."
Another voice bled through the Archbishop's throat. Deeper. Heavier. Familiar.
"...That's the way of the world. Kill or be killed. Eat or be eaten. Ain't that right, you?"
Subaru's blood ran cold.
Because standing there a moment later as an absurd transformation took place from Gluttony's body—crimson hair blazing once more, grin feral—was Reid Astrea. Whole. Alive.
He flexed his fingers, inhaling deep.
"Haaah—yeah, that's it. Blood pumpin', body movin'. That runt didn't even bother with a last meal so I'm hungry as shit, you."
"…He hijacked the Archbishop's body?" Gojo muttered. Then, of all things, he grinned. "I guess anything is possible then huh."
Reid sneered, dismissive.
"Don't spout crap, you. I ain't anything but me—the strongest, just meant the midget's power wasn't built for someone like me."
That was when Subaru dropped from above, there was no point in dawdling when a fight was inevitable, a lingering shadow in the light, fists locked together like a hammer before they came screaming down from above with impressive strength. Reid clicked his tongue, chopsticks flashing upward to parry Subaru's strike with insulting ease. The tips caught the fist dead-on, stopping it cold—before snapping forward again, faster than a blink.
Subaru had clashed with him enough times to know: even holding back, Reid Astrea was a storm given flesh.
"—Authority of Pride!"
Darkness erupted around Subaru's fists the moment Reid lanced forth, the dark liquid solidifying as a barrier just before the chopsticks struck—
CRACK-!
—shattering the black armor like glass. The impact hurled Subaru skidding backward, arms raised in reflex. Blood trickled from his forearms, dripping onto the floor. He exhaled sharply, steadying himself.
"Hrr—oi, oi." Reid's tone was mocking, but his eyes were sharp. "What makes you think you stand a chance here, you? Wastin' your time, my time, pretty-boy's time too. Selfish, selfish you."
Subaru glanced at his arms. The damage was bad, but… less than before. Reid was holding back the same way he always did, yet this time Subaru's guard hadn't been obliterated. Painful, but not crippling. That tiny difference lit a spark in him.
He inhaled, then turned his head toward Gojo, who looked ready to intervene.
"Gojo-sensei…" Subaru grinned through bloodied lips. "Change of plans... Leave this bastard to me. Just… make sure Shaula doesn't lose it. Or if she does... you know what to do."
Gojo hesitated. His eyes lingered on Reid, who looked more annoyed than amused now. But then he saw it—the unshakable fire burning in Subaru's expression. That reckless, terrifying confidence.
"Tsk… fine." Gojo clicked his tongue. "You'd better not disappoint me, Subaru."
"Heh. I'll try not to, sensei."
With a flash, Gojo was gone, sprinting toward Shaula's battlefield in a completely different part of the tower. Reid didn't attack during the distraction either. He strolled, slow and deliberate, circling Subaru. Subaru mirrored him, their steps tracing a predator's spiral.
"Hrn… what's the plan, you? After gettin' your ass beat over a dozen times, y'still don't get it—you ain't on my level you. So what's this? Throwin' your life away?"
"…Throwing my life away?" Subaru's grin widened, though his body shook.
"I've already been there. This time—I've got another chance. To be better."
He lowered his stance, eyes blazing.
"And I've almost threw this one away too, but now, I don't intend on doing so ever again, so come at me, Sword Saint!"
—————————————————————
A thunderous crash shook the tower. A horse-like witchbeast screamed as Shaula hurled it bodily into the marble wall, the impact splintering stone. The creature's humanoid upper half flailed wildly—before a hail of white mana lanced into it midair. Shaula's blasts ripped through flesh and bone, organs bursting apart before the beast's corpse plummeted hundreds of meters below.
She landed lightly on the fractured balcony, her brown hair wild in the wind. Without pause, she stepped onto the railing, driving her fist through the skull of a shrieking, monkey-shaped witchbeast. Its body went limp instantly, crumpling into the sandy abyss far below.
The tower stood impossibly high, but winged and climbing horrors still clawed their way upward. It didn't matter.
Shaula tore through them one after another—no hesitation, no breath wasted, no mercy. She was the storm on the balcony, her smile never faltering as blood and mangled flesh sprayed the sky.
The brown-haired woman exhaled sharply as she pivoted past a raking claw, her hand slicing cleanly through a flying witchbeast's torso. Blood fanned across her body in a crimson arc before she whirled, shattering another creature's spine with a casual strike.
Each movement was instantaneous—kill, twist, crush. A rhythm of destruction, every beat punctuated by flesh ripping and bone breaking.
STEP—
She launched from the guardrail into open air, body twisting as both arms spread wide. In an instant, raw white mana bloomed between her palms, a storm of blazing spheres that detonated downward like artillery fire. The balcony shook from the force as the sky lit up in a chain of bloody impacts.
Every climbing horror. Every winged beast. Every shriek.
All reduced to red mist and mangled chunks in a matter of seconds.
Shaula touched down lightly, not even winded. Her chest rose once, a single breath, before a childlike smile stretched across her face—pure delight carved into bloodstained skin.
They were on the fourth floor of the watchtower, hundreds of meters above the ground. The balcony gave her no cover, but it didn't matter. Beasts could fly, they could climb, they could swarm forever—it wouldn't change anything.
The tower still stood because she stood.
Shaula. The Keeper of the Tower.
But then—
"Urhghh…"
A groan tore from her throat as she hunched, clutching the left side of her face. The flesh twisted beneath her fingers, skin warping, veins bulging. Her free hand caught a batlike witchbeast mid-dive, smashing it into the metal before grinding it under her heel.
"A rule… a rule was broken…"
Her voice cracked, equal parts pain and fury. Crimson bled through her brown eyes, gleaming like burning coals. She tried to smother it, both palms pressing desperately against her face. Even blind, her kicks and sweeps split approaching beasts apart, her superhuman senses compensating where sight faltered. But the cracks were spreading. Her restraint was fraying.
It wasn't exhaustion. Shaula could have torn apart armies of witchbeasts and still smiled through the carnage. But the change was creeping in all the same. The order that was undefinable was forcing her body against her will, and nothing—not loyalty, not love, not sheer willpower—could stop it.
Then—BLUE.
A cerulean distortion screamed past, carving along the outer wall of the tower, sweeping every last beast into its collapsing singularity before vanishing in a thundering pulse. Stone groaned, silence followed.
Gojo stepped out a heartbeat later, skidding across the balcony. His bandaged eyes locked onto Shaula instantly.
"You…" he said flatly. "So this is what you were afraid of."
Shaula's hands peeled from her face, crimson light spilling from her eyes.
"—Ah?"
"G-Get… out… of here…" Her voice broke, her body trembling as it began to warp. "I… won't be able to stop… myself—!"
Gojo didn't move. He only tilted his head, as though her plea was little more than background noise.
"Do you remember what I told you? Probably back like—a week ago or something?"
Her breath hitched.
"…?"
He smirked, almost chuckling at her evident confusion.
"That I'd make sure you got to walk out of this place with your precious master, that's still my plan."
For a flicker, his expression hardened.
I refuse to let her die or sit here any longer after waiting for four hundred years, even if Subaru probably isn't her master, it's still wrong.
He pointed down, finger pressed against the stone, an oath carved in his stance.
"If you're worried about hurting him… don't. I won't let you take a single step past me."
His hand went to his face. The bandages slipped free, placed into his pocket. Six Eyes flared open, cerulean galaxies spinning, processing every twitch, every fracture, every surge of mana with impossible clarity.
"… This'll be over soon." Gojo said, voice low, final.
"… This nightmare."
Shaula froze—her trembling subsided for just a breath. Then she smiled, small, fragile.
"…If I don't come back from this… tell master that I love him."
Gojo gave a single nod in response.
And the world cracked open.
Her body ruptured. Skin split and fell away as though peeled by unseen claws. Hands ballooned, warped, and reshaped into monstrous pincers. Blood splattered, then rewound, sucked back into the forming shell as if time itself was sculpting her anew. Black chitin ripped outward, armor plating sealing her frame, legs bursting forth to impale the floor. Eyes, dozens of them, ignited crimson.
Her screech split the air, high-pitched and primal. The large balcony trembled.
Gojo's hair whipped in the gale. He stood unfazed, eyes sharp.
"So this is it, huh."
The colossal scorpion's gaze swiveled—not toward him, but in a frantic search for prey that wasn't there. Its mind, stripped and lost, hunting for the only one it longed for.
Gojo's fist shot forward.
CLANG!
Bone and cursed energy slammed against chitin. The monster skidded back, legs gouging trenches in the metal surface as it steadied itself.
Gojo cracked his knuckles and smirked.
"Where are you looking?"
The crimson eyes fixed on him now.
I see, so she's real durable like this, pretty much zero damage.
Shaula's legs carved fissures into the stone as she reared back, body hunching low. Her massive stinger angled upward—not to strike, but to fire. The air warped, and then—
FWOOOSH—!
A beam of searing white mana lanced toward Gojo, cutting the air apart like a god's judgment. The balcony screamed, marble cracking beneath the force. The blast consumed him whole.
For a moment, only silence remained. Smoke and dust rolled thick over the edge of the tower.
Then a voice cut through, almost lazy.
"—Unblockable, huh?"
The cloud tore apart on the wind. Gojo stood there, hands in his pockets, cerulean eyes shining through the haze.
"…If you aren't me, of course."
The giant scorpion didn't react and instead charged forward, her pincers opening as both were launched from either side with the clear intention of turning Gojo into a red paste at the center.
CLANG!
Gojo's palms caught them mid-swing. Not dodging, not blocking—just ceasing of any motion. The meal beneath his feet groaned, stone from the walls behind splintered, but Gojo didn't budge an inch.
"Sorry, Shaula." His voice was calm, but edged with effort. "But this isn't a time I can afford to play around."
His shoulders tensed, a grunt escaping as he forced the massive pincers apart and raised a hand, palm glowing with energy.
RED—!
The blast detonated point-blank, ripping Shaula from the balcony. Stone shredded, iron railing twisted like paper as her armored body smashed through and dangled over the balcony's edge, barely clinging on.
Gojo was already moving. His figure blurred, vaulting past the white beam she instinctively fired in midair, twisting clean around it. In the same fluid motion, his boot connected with the flat of her shell—
WHAM—!
No cracks. No blood. But damage wasn't what he was after.
Shaula's body finally fell, weightless for a breath, then plummeted. Her enormous shadow passed across the tower walls. Gojo leapt after her, clothes and hair snapping in the screaming wind.
His wrist flicked—BLUE bloomed into existence. The air itself twisted, dragging Shaula upward mid-fall before reality snapped taut, slamming her into the tower's side with bone-rattling force. The Watchtower shuddered as her claws pierced deep, anchoring her in place like a spider on its web.
Gojo landed opposite her, a dozen meters away, balanced lightly on the sheer wall in total gravity defiance, one hand still resting casually in his pocket. His six eyes glowed like stars in the night.
His words rang out, calm but resolute, cutting through the endless screeches.
"This'll all be worth it in the end…"
He lifted his gaze, meeting hers through the layers of fractured loyalty.
"…Because you're leaving this place too. Whether you believe it or not."
His gaze momentarily shifted left, eyes veering at the highest part of the tower he could see while stood horizontally.
The fifth rule 'It is not forbidden to destroy the Trials'... he's got some sort of a plan for what I'm supposed to do, so I'll just be a good teacher and play along with it.
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