The cold city air hung still, the skyline stretching endlessly before them.

  And there—standing atop the tallest skyscraper, looking down at them as if they were ants beneath his feet—was Kuroda.

  “I thought it was about time I finally said hello.”

  His voice, calm. Measured. Arrogance dripping from every sylble.

  A scoff. Then—

  “That’s a hell of a way to say hello,” Akira muttered.

  Ryuko cracked his neck, his fingers twitching in irritation. “Yeah, boss, that’s one rude way to greet your former subordinate.”

  Kuroda’s gaze didn’t waver.

  “Subordinate?” He let the word roll on his tongue, as if the very idea amused him.

  “No. You were all experiments.”

  Ryuko’s smirk twitched. A flicker of irritation crossed his face.

  Kuroda caught it.

  “You truly believed you had purpose? That your strength was your own? You were nothing but a stepping stone for me to reach something greater.”

  Ryuko’s lips curled. “Tch. I’m gonna enjoy shutting you up.”

  He stepped forward, his aura fring, shadows twisting around him.

  “Come forth, Erebus.”

  “Devourer’s Maw.”

  The towering shadow lurched to life, its maw stretching open—a massive, abyssal force surging toward Kuroda. The streets below darkened, the entire block swallowed by its looming presence.

  And then—

  Kuroda lifted his palm.

  A pulse of energy—silent. Absolute.

  Erebus’s entire form evaporated upon impact.

  Gone.

  No csh. No resistance. Just… erased.

  Ryuko’s breath caught. His fingers twitched.

  “What the hell—”

  Kuroda exhaled through his nose. “Did you think your little pet could touch me?”

  Before Ryuko could react, the others moved.

  “Come forth—Tsukuyomi!”

  “Come forth—Kiyohime!”

  Raikou surged with power, lightning crackling at Akira’s side.

  Kuroda watched them, unimpressed.

  “Do you not understand? I have seen all of your tricks. Every st one of them. You are test subjects—nothing more.”

  Yumi struck first.

  Cws of Fury.

  Her cws fshed forward, Kiyohime’s fiery rage following the arc of her attack. A clean, perfect ssh aimed straight at his chest.

  It hit.

  Then—it didn’t.

  The moment the second ssh nded, the first ssh vanished.

  Yumi’s eyes widened. What—?!

  Kuroda ughed. A low, condescending chuckle.

  “Predictable.”

  Ren followed. His sword whipped through the air, sharp and precise—

  Half Crescent.

  Kuroda didn’t dodge. He swatted it aside like an insect.

  Ren gritted his teeth.

  Full Moon.

  The chilling energy flooded forward, a wave of power cascading toward Kuroda.

  For a moment, Kuroda felt it.

  A ripple.

  He pressed a hand against the pavement.

  And then—it was gone.

  “Impressive,” Kuroda mused, gncing at his palm. “This really is a chilling ability. I can see why it’s eliminated some of my lesser subjects.”

  He smirked.

  “But against me? A waste of energy.”

  Ren’s stomach twisted.

  Kuroda broke into a maniacal ugh. His voice carried across the battlefield—crushing. Unshakable.

  “How useless. How utterly useless. We are one day away from the culmination of my vision. And yet—you traveled all this way… for what? To waste my time?”

  The weight of his words settled.

  A suffocating, undeniable truth.

  “I could toy with you until sunrise. But why should I bother?”

  Kuroda reached into his coat.

  The vial of Ancient’s blood gleamed in his grip.

  Ren, Yumi, Akira, and Ryuko all tensed.

  Their instincts screamed— STOP HIM.

  “That’s—” Yumi’s breath hitched.

  “Ancient’s blood,” Ren murmured, his grip tightening on his bde.

  “We can’t let him take that,” Akira said, Raikou’s energy bursting forth.

  Lightning cracked, a shockwave ripping through the air as his attack smmed into the vial—

  Nothing.

  The vial remained untouched.

  Kuroda scoffed. “Did you really think you could harm this?”

  He twirled it between his fingers. “Did no one tell you what’s inside?”

  And then—

  He tilted his head back.

  And drank.