The shadows recoiled. Not vanished—but broken.

  Yurei staggered backward, its form unraveling in ragged strands of darkness, as though the night itself were rejecting it. The street beneath them trembled; cracks spider-webbed across the stone, lanterns swaying violently on their broken chains.

  Akitsu Shouga stood with Joyeuse lowered, chest heaving, blood streaking down the side of his face. The blade still hummed faintly, light flickering along its edge like dying embers, as though it had survived some unseen inferno.

  Rhen Calder was a few steps ahead, fists clenched, shoulders heaving. His body phased in and out unevenly now—not by choice, but from exhaustion, as if the very effort of staying present was tearing at him.

  “…It’s retreating,” Rhen muttered through clenched teeth.

  Yurei’s head snapped up, voice rasping like smoke scraping over stone.

  “You mistake survival for victory.”

  Its shadowy mass compressed inward, collapsing like smoke sucked into a vacuum.

  Akitsu’s eyes narrowed. “Rhen—don’t chase.”

  “I wasn’t planning to,” Rhen replied, voice tight. “I can barely feel my arms.”

  Yurei let out one final, distorted sound—somewhere between laughter and a scream—and then dissolved into a writhing stream of darkness that slithered across the rooftops, melting into the night.

  Silence followed. Not peaceful. Just empty.

  Akitsu exhaled slowly, lowering himself to one knee. “…Still alive,” he murmured.

  Rhen sank to the ground beside a broken wall, sitting heavily, body trembling with fatigue.

  “By all rights,” he said, staring at his hands, “we shouldn’t be.”

  Akitsu smirked faintly. “You’re welcome.”

  Rhen shook his head, looking at him. “You didn’t do this alone.”

  Akitsu said nothing at first, eyes scanning the devastated street—the cracked stone, the scattered debris, the lingering, oppressive sense of wrongness.

  Then—Fwoom.

  A sharp, resonant hum tore through the air. Akitsu’s instincts screamed.

  “Rhen—DOWN!”

  A glowing arrow of condensed mana streaked past where his head had been a second earlier, detonating against the stone behind him—BOOM.

  The explosion was not fire. It was sound. A concussive wave slammed into both of them, throwing Akitsu across the street and skidding Rhen several meters back.

  Akitsu rolled, barely coming up on one knee, Joyeuse snapping up defensively.

  “Who—?!” Rhen started.

  A calm, cold voice answered from above.

  “Akitsu Shouga.”

  Both men looked up.

  On the rooftop of a three-story building stood a woman clad in the silver-and-blue armor of Crestfall’s Royal Knights. Her ash-blonde hair was tied back neatly, catching the faint glow of the streetlights, and her posture was perfect. She held a bow, already drawn, humming with condensed mana. Her eyes were sharp. Unforgiving.

  “By order of the Crestfall High Council,” she continued, voice carrying effortlessly through the night, “you are to be detained immediately.”

  Akitsu clicked his tongue. “…Of course.”

  Rhen struggled to his feet despite the pain. “Captain Selene Vael!”

  Selene’s gaze flicked briefly to him. “Rhen Calder. Fiester’s envoy.” Then her eyes returned to Akitsu.

  “And a wanted criminal,” she said. “Bounty: five hundred gold coins. Alive or dead.”

  Akitsu sighed and rubbed his temple. “You know, I was having a long night already.”

  Rhen stepped in front of him without hesitation. “He’s my personal assistant,” he said firmly. “And my friend.”

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  Selene’s bow hummed brighter. “Harboring a wanted criminal is a crime under both Fiester and Crestfall law.”

  Rhen’s fists clenched. “He just saved your city!”

  “That does not erase his record,” Selene replied evenly.

  Akitsu tilted his head. “You didn’t even see the fight.”

  “I heard it,” Selene said. “And I saw enough.”

  The bowstring thrummed with a low, metallic hum.

  Akitsu’s eyes widened. “Rhen—!”

  Selene released. The arrow split into three mid-flight, each humming with a different pitch. A song filled the air. Soft. Clear. Deadly.

  “Hush now, steel and bone,

  Sleep beneath the falling tone,

  Let the rhythm bind your breath,

  A gentle note—then silence, death.”

  The first arrow detonated in front of Rhen, unleashing a massive shockwave that sent him tumbling backward. The second pierced the ground beside Akitsu, releasing a sonic pulse that locked his muscles, vibrating through his bones.

  The third—Akitsu barely raised Joyeuse in time. CLANG. Light and sound collided violently. He was hurled backward, crashing through a wooden stall and rolling across the ground.

  Selene landed gracefully from the rooftop, boots touching stone without a sound.

  “Stand down,” she ordered. “Both of you.”

  Rhen phased instinctively as another arrow formed in her hand.

  “Selene!” he shouted. “Enough!”

  She didn’t hesitate. Another arrow formed—vibrating so intensely the air around it warped. Rhen phased through the first half of its trajectory—but the sonic wave followed. He cried out as the sound tore through him, forcing him to solidify mid-step and slam into the wall behind him.

  Akitsu pushed himself up, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. “…Arrow of Songs,” he muttered. “Elegant. Annoying.”

  Selene turned her bow toward him again. “Do not move.”

  Akitsu straightened slowly. “Before you shoot again,” he said calmly, “ask yourself why the bodies stopped appearing tonight.”

  Selene hesitated. Just for a fraction of a second.

  Rhen seized it. “Because he was the one fighting the killer!” he shouted. “Because Akitsu Shouga nearly died stopping it!”

  Selene’s jaw tightened. “Criminals can still kill criminals.”

  Akitsu let out a tired laugh. “Fair.” He met her gaze directly. “But if I were your enemy, you’d already be dead.”

  The air grew tense. Selene’s arrow wavered.

  “…Explain,” she said quietly.

  Rhen stepped forward, ignoring the pain. “He’s not a murderer,” he said firmly. “He’s a weapon pointed at worse things.”

  Selene looked between them, conflict flickering in her eyes. Slowly, she lowered her bow.

  “…This does not absolve you,” she said to Akitsu. “Your bounty still stands.”

  Akitsu nodded. “I figured.”

  Selene exhaled. “But tonight… I saw no malice in your actions.” She turned slightly. “I will report that the suspect fled. Nothing more.”

  Rhen blinked. “You’re letting us go?”

  “For now,” Selene replied. “Do not make me regret it.”

  Akitsu smiled faintly. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  Selene stepped back. Her form dissolved into mana, vanishing into the night with barely a whisper.

  Silence returned.

  Rhen collapsed to the ground with a groan. “Next time… don’t do that again.”

  Akitsu chuckled weakly, sitting beside him. “…Next time,” he said, staring up at the dark sky, “I’ll try to die less.”

  Somewhere far away—Yurei watched. And waited.