The forest was still.
Not the calm of peace, but the heavy silence that comes after blood has been spilled.
Ito's breath was ragged. He stayed on his knee, his hand still pressed against his ruined eye. Blood slipped between his fingers.
Ahead of him, three strangers stood beneath the pale white glow of the dome—not calmly, but like predators ready to pounce.
The one in the center, the dual blade wielder who had slashed Ito's eye, wore jagged red and black clothes. Her posture was aggressive, and across her body crawled a grotesque tattoo—a centipede made of skeleton heads, stretching from her stomach to her neck.
To her left stalked a lean figure in a black and purple tunic, his ears wrapped with bandages, especially around his arms, as if trying to muffle the world. But what drew the eye was the tattoo stretched over his forearm—a jagged tear in the skin, inked so realistically it looked fresh.
And from within that inky wound, a single grotesque eye stared out. It bulged unnaturally, its iris etched in such fine detail it almost seemed to follow every movement, blinking slowly and deliberately.
Behind them loomed the third.
Massive in size. Broad, hulking, and shirtless. His entire body rippled with muscle, every inch marked with faint scars from battles long past.
On his back, covering him from shoulder to waist, was a horrifying image: a three-headed dog, its mouths frozen in a permanent scream. The teeth were jagged and uneven, the eyes hollow but furious. The lines of the tattoo warped with every movement of his muscles, giving the hellhound a disturbing illusion of life.
The towering man growled, his tone sharp with irritation.
"Hell, quit messing around. Did you forget how hard it's gonna be to escape after this?"
Hell giggled, licking her lips.
"Sorry, sorry, Inferno… I just love watching people bleed."
One hand slid down her body, stopping low with an obscene gesture. The other tapped her lips, her smile wide, twisted.
She looked drunk on violence—on the thrill of chaos.
Sara rushed forward, her boots skidding across the dirt.
"Ito!" she shouted, panic breaking through her usual composure.
She dropped to her knees beside him, eyes wide with alarm at the blood pouring from his face. Without hesitation, she tore her sleeve and pressed the fabric against his wounded eye, her hands trembling.
The others remained tense, their focus locked on the three enemies ahead.
But Kajin didn't move.
He stood tall, fists clenched at his sides, his gaze locked onto the dual-blade wielder.
"That was your last free shot," Kajin said coldly. "You're not walking away from this."
Inferno's eyes narrowed. His voice boomed across the clearing, rough and absolute.
"We're not playing."
He took a slow step forward, the ground crunching under his heel.
"Our only target… is that guy." His finger pointed straight at Ito.
Ito, blood still staining his face, pushed himself to his feet again—unsteady, but upright.
Inferno's gaze sharpened. "Anyone who stands in the way… dies with him."
The tension in the air thickened like smoke.
Ito wiped the blood from his jaw, breathing heavily.
"…Why me?" he asked, his voice strained but clear. "What do you want with me?"
Suddenly, Kajin lunged.
A blur of motion—his fist shot forward, aiming straight at Inferno's face. A point-blank strike, packed with fury and precision.
It landed.
But Inferno didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
Didn't move.
He stood there, tall, unmoved, cold eyes locked onto Kajin like a predator staring at a fly.
Then came the counter.
A brutal strike to Kajin's ribs—fast, heavy, deliberate.
The sound cracked through the air.
Blood burst from Kajin's mouth as his body was sent flying, smashing through tree after tree until he crashed deep into the forest.
For a moment, no one breathed.
Zayden's eyes widened. "No way…"
Eriska instinctively stepped forward but froze, her hands trembling.
Shion's expression twisted—half panic, half disbelief. "He… he couldn't even touch him?"
Gakurei's jaw clenched. His gaze didn't waver from Inferno, but his fingers slowly curled into fists.
Sara stood frozen beside Ito, still holding the bloodied fabric over his eye. Her lips parted, but no words came out.
Ito's breathing was shallow. His legs wobbled, but his gaze was locked on the spot where Kajin had disappeared into the trees.
Inferno gave a subtle nod toward the boy wrapped in bandages.
"Abyss."
Abyss stepped forward, calm and casual. He raised both hands, then gently clapped them together.
Clap.
A soft, almost lazy sound.
But the effect was instant.
Eriska's eyes widened—then she screamed.
She dropped to her knees, clutching her head, her fingers digging into her scalp like she was trying to claw something out.
"Make it stop—make it stop—!" she cried out, her voice trembling.
Abyss tilted his head slightly, then clapped again.
Clap.
Zayden jerked back, his body stiffening as he clutched his temples.
He didn't scream—but his face twisted in silent pain, veins bulging along his neck.
Shion gasped, stepping toward them—but froze halfway, unsettled by what she was seeing.
Seeing Eriska and Zayden writhing in pain, Ito's voice rose in anger.
"What the hell are you doing to them?"
Abyss glanced over at him, expression unreadable.
"Nothing much," he said casually. "Every time I clap… they hear the voices they never wanted to hear in their lives."
He slowly lowered his hands back down.
"It's my Zone technique—Scream Clap."
Hell's eyes gleamed with manic delight as she tilted her head back, laughing like a beast tasting blood.
"Ahh, that scream—" she hissed, her voice low, cracked with hunger, "—I want to hear it tear your throat raw."
In a sudden blur, she sprang into the air, twisting mid-flight like a predator in heat.
With a vicious snarl, she hurled both her dual blades down toward Ito.
Ito narrowly dodged—first right, then left—his instincts kicking in just in time.
But the danger wasn't over.
Before he could even catch his breath, a sharp whistle cut the air behind him.
The blades were returning.
Spinning back like fangs with minds of their own.
"Ito—!"
Sara dashed forward, shoving him aside at the last second.
The twin blades sliced through the space where his head had just been——and snapped back into Hell's waiting hands with a gleeful clang.
Ito and Sara stood side by side, eyes locked on the three enemies ahead.
Sara's voice trembled with urgency.
"Ito… they're after you. Run. Right now. I'll hold them back."
Ito snapped his head toward her.
"Huh? Don't be a fool! Did you not see what they just did?"
Sara's fists clenched, but her eyes stayed on him.
"Even so—"
"I can't run away," Ito cut her off, his voice firm.
"Not when all of you are standing your ground against them."
Then—
Something came flying from the side.
Abyss instantly raised his arms, blocking the incoming strike just in time. Dust was scattered from the impact.
Inferno narrowed his eyes.
"So… you're still alive."
A voice answered from the shadows—gruff, steady.
"Did you really think that was enough to kill me?"
Kajin stepped back into view, wiping the blood from his mouth, a sharp smirk on his face.