"Splash..."
Before anyone realized it, a light rain had started to fall from the sky.
A sudden shower like this wasn't unusual for Itogami Island floating in the middle of the Pacific.
But thanks to the rain, a layer of evening mist settled over the island's cityscape, blurring the scenery in a hazy veil.
Yukina walked through a secluded alleyway, her clothes already soaked.
Still, Yukina barely registered it.
It wasn't that she was too preoccupied to care about something like this—rather, as the words implied, her sensations were no longer human. She could barely feel normal warmth or cold anymore.
This change had started after the Tartarus Lapse incident.
Since that event, Yukina had noticed that her body wasn't the same. Her sensitivity to temperature dulled. Her appetite shrank until she hardly needed to eat. Her body temperature fluctuated erratically. Even her mental state would shift in ways she didn't recognize. Someone like Yukina, who was always excellent at managing her own condition, quickly noticed something was wrong.
In contrast, her spiritual power surged explosively. She grew stronger and stronger, especially when holding Sekkaro—the feeling of overwhelming power intensified. At one point, Yukina felt like there was nothing she couldn't do.
That feeling first emerged during her battle with Senga Takehito.
In that fight, she realized she was becoming more and more adept with Sekkaro, growing stronger at an incredible pace, until even the divine aura from the divine vibration waves was under her complete control—Yukina had become stronger than ever.
And in that battle, she had defeated Senga Takehito—who was revered as Natsuki's teacher and known as the treasure of the East—proving her instincts weren't mistaken.
Yes, she had undeniably become far more powerful.
But that very power terrified Yukina.
Because she knew—this wasn't normal.
She had the distinct, chilling feeling...
That she was slowly but surely stepping out of the realm of humanity and becoming something non-human.
That realization led her to a single conclusion.
She didn't have much time left.
The moment she understood that, her first thought was:
"I can't let Senpai know."
That was her first thought.
"I can't report this to the Lion King Agency."
That was her second.
And those two thoughts made one thing very clear—Yukina knew full well that once this secret got out, she'd no longer be allowed to stay at Rozen's side as his observer. She'd be removed from the island altogether.
And that terrified her even more—more than the prospect of becoming something inhuman.
Yukina didn't know why she felt this way.
She only knew...
"I don't want to leave this island. I don't want to leave Senpai."
As she recalled everything since arriving on Itogami Island, Yukina made her decision without hesitation.
So she kept everything hidden. She tried her best to keep Rozen from noticing the abnormalities in her.
But in the end, it was all exposed.
Sekkaro had been reclaimed by Rozen. He seemed to understand what was happening to her body.
And now, one sentence from Rozen echoed relentlessly in Yukina's mind.
"...Notify the Lion King Agency to assign me a new watcher."
Thinking about it filled her heart with a formless dread.
So she ran—without direction, without destination, just ran.
She didn't even dare go home. That place was merely a temporary residence provided by the Lion King Agency. It was too close to the Minamiya household. If she went back, she'd surely be found.
If Rozen or the Lion King Agency found her, would they take her away? Force her to leave this island?
Yukina didn't dare think further.
So she ran. Kept running. Mindlessly, aimlessly, constantly—just hoping no one would find her.
But not being found meant being alone.
In that instant, loneliness, sorrow, and cold closed in on Yukina's heart, and the brave Sword Shaman girl felt like she was about to cry.
In that moment, Yukina perfectly embodied a single phrase:
No place under the sky seemed to welcome her anymore.
"I…"
Where should she go?
Yukina couldn't help but whisper something weak and helpless.
But just as she stumbled ahead, dazed and disoriented, preparing to pass around a corner—
A figure came stumbling in from the side.
Thud!
With a dull thud, two figures crashed into each other at the corner.
"Ah!"
"Ugh!"
With a cry and a grunt, both figures collapsed to the ground, soaked by the rain pooling beneath them.
The difference was—Yukina merely landed in a sitting position.
The other person collapsed completely, moaning in pain.
From their body, bright red blood flowed down, mingling with the rain and dyeing the puddle crimson.
"You... you're…!?"
Yukina looked up, finally focusing on the person who lay in the bloodied water—and her expression instantly changed.
Because she recognized them.
"Lady Shizuka Koyomi…!?"
Yes.
It was Shizuka Koyomi.
The head of the Lion King Agency's Three Saints, Japan's strongest Attack Mage—now covered in blood, critically wounded, barely clinging to life.
"Are... are you alright!?"
Coming to her senses, Yukina rushed over and supported Koyomi.
Koyomi tried to resist, but she seemed to just then realize who Yukina was.
"Himeragi... Yukina…?"
"That's me," Yukina nodded gravely. "Lady Shizuka, why are you…"
Before she could finish the question, Koyomi grabbed her arm.
"Run…!" Koyomi gasped in pain and urgency. "Get out of here…!"
"Eh…" Yukina's face froze.
She didn't know what was going on—but her sharp spiritual senses told her: something terrible had happened.
A chilling premonition surged in her chest.
And then...
"I'm surprised you ran this far. As expected of the one even the Primogenitors are wary of—Paper Noise, was it?"
With a lazy, almost amused voice, a figure stepped forward, their boots splashing in the rain.
A young man in black, clad in robe-like clothing, looking refined and scholarly.
Yukina had seen this face once before.
During the Harurouin Festival.
"You're… the one who escaped from the Prison Barrier…!"
Her expression changed.
"Oh?" The man finally noticed Yukina, squinting at her and smiling. "Ah, the Sword Shaman from that time."
He didn't stop walking. Step by step, he drew closer.
"Stop! Don't come any closer!"
Yukina shouted a warning.
The threat was clear.
But since he was a threat, he clearly wasn't going to listen.
"Well, I was going to say hello to the Divine Child anyway. And if I recall, you're his observer, aren't you? Let me give you a little gift first."
Murmuring to himself, the man slowly raised one hand.
In that hand—was a completely black spear.