Rei's mind swirled in confusion. He was standing—yet he wasn't. He felt weightless, like he was floating in an endless void. Around him, four pairs of eyes stared through the darkness:
- A piercing blue pair—cold, unwavering, full of purpose.
- A blood-red pair—radiating fury and violence.
- A calming green pair—watchful, neutral.
- An angelic yellow pair—brighter than the others, its presence almost divine.
Flashes of unfamiliar memories flooded each of the eyes. Memories of him that were erased, memories of himself he's never lived. Battles fought, words spoken, and experiences that don't belong to him. He reached out, but his hand didn't move. The blue eyes focused on him. Through them, he saw something stirring within his body. Something awake. Something free.
Then, the world around him fractured.
Rei's body twitched.
Then he stood. Slowly. Almost leisurely. His posture was different—relaxed, yet undeniably predatory, shoulders rolled back with confident poise.
A chilling laughter rolled from his lips, soft at first, then growing manic. Unhinged. Free. The sound echoed across the battlefield, raising goosebumps on everyone who heard it.
"Finally..." he exhaled, his voice carrying a weight unfamiliar to those who knew Rei. He rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck as if savoring the sensation of movement. "Finally, I've left that brat's soul and can finally be free!"
His gaze swept across the devastation around him, a smile of satisfaction spreading across his face. "The first step of our lord Lucifer's return begins with my awakening. How fitting that it should happen under the moonlight."
Hinata backed away, her hand trembling as she raised it to her mouth. "That's... that's not Rei," she whispered. "His voice, his eyes... everything's wrong."
Fumiko stood frozen, her usual composure shattered. "What's happening to him?"
Sama clutched his unicorn's mane tightly. "The energy... it's completely different. It's like someone else is inside his body."
Raiden's blind eyes widened. "The electrical signals in his body... they've completely changed." He swallowed hard. "The bloodlust emanating from him now... it rivals even Kage's deadly intent."
Hiro, still trying to heal Rei's wounds, had backed away instinctively. "His wounds... they're healing themselves now. I've never seen anything like it."
Rei's head snapped toward Kage, and a grin stretched across his face. A knowing grin that didn't belong on Rei's features.
"Kage, oh Kage. You truly did come in the nick of time." His voice held a sing-song quality, as if taunting a child.
Kage's expression darkened, recognition flashing through his mind. He had seen those eyes before.
"Those eyes..." His breath was steady, but his muscles tensed. A memory flashed—his fight with Haikito. The way Haikito moved, the way his gaze pierced through every opponent as if they were nothing more than obstacles in his path.
"Those are the same eyes as Haikito's!"
Kage's interest sharpened. What exactly was Rei? And what connection did he have to Lucifer? The pieces were starting to align in ways that disturbed him deeply.
Sylvester, barely comprehending what was happening, bared his teeth. "This—this has to be another trick of Kage's!" He spat on the ground, fury bubbling up inside him. "This must be some revival sorcery—arising the dead!"
His fingers twitched toward his blade. "Release me, Kage! Let me kill him and claim my contract!"
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Kage remained still, his face unreadable.
Then, he lowered his hands.
The moment Shrine Technique was undone, Rei vanished in a blur of movement.
A sudden cold pressure pressed against Bone's back. He turned, swinging wildly—but there was nothing.
Then, from his peripheral vision—blue eyes. Watching. Waiting. The gaze sent ice through his veins.
Bone's pulse quickened. "What... what the hell is happening?"
For the first time, the assassins felt what the students had felt earlier.
Fear.
Rei tilted his head, a cruel smile still tugging at his lips. "What happened to all that bravado, Bone?" He cracked his knuckles, the sound unnaturally loud in the tense silence. "That's your name, right? Let's exchange blows again."
He lunged.
Bone barely reacted in time, throwing up a hasty defense.
Sylvester circled them, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed Rei's movements. "What the hell is his concept?" he muttered under his breath. "It can't just be superior strength and speed." His eyes tracked Rei's fluid movements, the way space itself seemed to bend around him.
"Is it gravity manipulation? Spatial distortion?" His mind raced through possibilities. "Or could it be something else entirely?"
Rei's punch connected with Bone's defense. The force rattled through Bone's frame, causing the bones along his ribs to crack with an audible splintering. Bone staggered back, his breath hitching, eyes widening in disbelief.
His mind raced. "These punches aren't just heavy. There's something to them."
"It's almost as if... my body is being attracted to his fist. No matter how I turn or block, he hits exactly where he wants!" The realization came too late.
Bone launched a counterattack, his fists moving faster—but every strike missed.
Rei was too fast, slipping past each blow like water through fingers.
Bone's eyes darted to Sylvester, a silent plea for assistance.
Sylvester reached for his katana, calculating the best moment to strike. But Rei and Bone moved in such close proximity, their bodies almost blurring together in combat, that he couldn't find a clean opening.
"Damn it!" Sylvester hissed. "I can't get a clear shot without hitting Bone!"
Rei's movements were deliberate, strategic—keeping Bone between himself and Sylvester at all times. Every time Sylvester tried to reposition, Rei adjusted instantly, maintaining the human shield.
Bone realized it too late. "He's using me as a shield," he growled through gritted teeth. "This isn't random—he's keeping me between himself and Sylvester!"
Sylvester, recognizing the danger, finally saw an opening. He grabbed his katana and laced it with his toxic acid. The metal hissed as the poison ate into it, strengthening the blade.
"I've had enough of this freak show!" He roared, dashing toward Rei to strike him down, the blade leaving a trail of sizzling air.
Rei didn't even look at him.
His piercing blue gaze locked onto Sylvester, and in that instant, everything changed.
Sylvester's body stiffened. His grip faltered.
His heart pounded as a terrifying realization set in. "Those eyes... they're just like that damn Haikito's..."
That hesitation was all Rei needed.
In a blur, he vanished—and reappeared behind Sylvester.
Sylvester gasped, his body locking up. A moment later, Rei's arm was through his chest, protruding from the front in a shower of crimson.
Blood splattered onto the broken ground. Sylvester choked, his eyes wide with shock and pain.
Rei's voice was mocking, amused. "I didn't say you could join yet, you chameleon-looking freak."
With one swift motion, he grabbed Sylvester's head—and twisted it 180 degrees.
A sickening snap echoed across the battlefield, final and terrible.
Sylvester was dead.
Bone's Final Stand
Bone, seeing his comrade fall, roared. His body expanded, a mass of calcified bones exploding from within him.
The battlefield trembled as he unleashed a wave of sharpened bone shards in every direction. They flew like deadly projectiles, tearing through air and debris alike.
Rei barely moved. He smiled.
"You're already dead. Die. And be forgotten."
A miniature black hole formed beneath Bone, the gravity pulling him downward. The air around it wavered and distorted, reality itself bending.
The pressure mounted instantly—his bones began to crack under the sheer force, unable to withstand the gravitational pull.
Blood poured from Bone's eyes, mouth, and ears. He screamed, the sound distorted by the warping space.
"Who the hell are you?!"
But there was no answer. Only darkness.
With one final sickening crunch, Bone collapsed—his body imploding under the gravity's force, folding in on itself until nothing recognizable remained.
Tether, having witnessed everything, turned on his heels and ran.
"I've gotta get outta here! I can't die a virgin!" His voice cracked with panic.
He didn't get far.
His body locked in place.
Kage had stepped on his shadow.
Tether whimpered, his face paling to a sickly white. "No... no, please..."
Kage's voice was disgusted. "An assassin running away from a contract? Pathetic."
His shadow crept into Tether's mouth, forcing its way past his lips.
Tether convulsed, his body contorting unnaturally as tendrils burst from within him, tearing through flesh and bone.
His death was instant. And grotesque.
Kage stepped forward, stepping over the corpses like they were nothing. His gaze locked onto Rei.
No. Not Rei.
Someone else.
"Kid," Kage muttered, his voice the calm before the storm. "Who the hell are you?"
Rei smirked, his piercing blue eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
"Hikito."