Blood scattered into the air.
Ren's eyes widened.
In the same instant, he shifted his strike into a guard.
Too late.
Jigen's claws carved across his forearms and shoulders, drawing thin trails of blood before their momentum finally died.
The wounds were not fatal. They were simply enough…
The invincible Ren Hajime is no longer invincible.
Silence followed.
Jigen's body collapsed onto the ruined earth.
It no longer resembled the figure that had stood moments ago. Torn apart beyond any battle that should have been survivable, it lay motionless among the fractured ground, as though even the world beneath it could no longer bear its weight.
Ren slowly turned. He looked at Jigen without raising his sword.
Around them, the earth had forgotten its own shape. Mountains had vanished into dust. Valleys had become oceans of broken stone. The horizon burned beneath ash-filled skies, and the wind carried only smoke and silence.
It was the remains of a world that had witnessed two gods collide.
After several moments…
Jigen's fingers dug weakly into the ground.
His body trembled as he forced himself upright, each movement slower than the last.
"...It's not over," he said quietly. "I'm still alive... You need to kill me... to end this fight."
Ren's voice was calm.
"I can't kill you. Besides... you can't fight anymore."
Jigen remained still.
"I'm not… afraid to die... I can still fight you... even like this... So... why are you scared…?"
Ren lowered his gaze.
"Why are you so desperate to die?"
A pause.
"Give me one reason..."
Only the wind answered.
After a long silence, Ren spoke again, his voice carrying neither anger nor pity.
"But I'll never forgive you for what you did. How will you take responsibility for this world? Everything happened because of you... because of that thing."
Jigen slowly turned away.
"I didn't expect you..." he said in the same quiet voice. "...to be pathetic."
He took a step. Then another.
Every movement looked as though his body could collapse again at any moment.
"This is my responsibility... I will fix it."
He paused briefly.
"But remember… This is your greatest mistake… Leaving me alive."
Ren watched him disappear into the smoke. His grip around the sword loosened.
"I don't want to fight anymore..."
The words were scarcely louder than a whisper, spoken to no one.
He turned and walked in the opposite direction.
The battlefield remained silent. But the world did not.
Far beyond the shattered horizon, fires still raged. Cities remained buried beneath ruin. The sky itself seemed wounded, carrying the echoes of a battle that humanity would never truly understand.
———————————————————————
Meanwhile…
Inside the Infinity Castle.
Silence.
Only the endless creaking of the castle echoed through its shifting halls.
Muzan and Kokushibo stood motionless, their presence alone enough to make the air feel heavy. After a long pause, Muzan spoke.
"...The destruction he brought upon this world is beyond repair." His crimson eyes remained fixed ahead. "I never ordered Jigen to do that."
Kokushibo remained silent before answering in his deep, steady voice.
"Muzan-sama... it has taken too long…
I believe... he has already been killed."
The veins beneath Muzan's skin slowly surfaced.
"...He is beyond my control now. I can no longer perceive him through my cells. If he returns… he will be punished… For twisting my orders."
Silence returned. Then—
Footsteps.
Slow. Uneven.
Both demons turned.
Jigen emerged from the darkness. Each step looked as though it demanded everything his body had left.
His clothing hung in tatters. Countless wounds covered him. His body looked as though it had already crossed the boundary of survival, held together only by a will that refused to stop.
For the first time, neither Muzan nor Kokushibo spoke. Kokushibo's six eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
"...So. He was awakened."
Jigen stopped before them without a word.
The Infinity Castle fell completely silent. Even the castle itself seemed to stop moving.
———————————————————————
One hour later.
Far from the Infinity Castle.
A forgotten forest.
The wind moved gently through the trees. The sky was still stained crimson, as though the battle had never truly ended.
Jigen sat beneath an old tree. He did not move.
Blood continued to run from the countless wounds covering him, gathering at the roots below. Torn strips of flesh hung loosely from his shoulder and side where Ren's attacks had nearly destroyed him, while fragments of his clothing clung to the injuries. His breathing was slow and uneven, each breath carrying a faint tremor.
The tree behind him had already begun to wither, its bark darkening where his blood reached its roots.
After a long silence, he spoke.
"...Finally. My mission is complete…" His voice carried neither relief nor regret.
"...I wished to die as well… But that's alright… This mission was also important."
His eyes lowered toward his own body. It no longer resembled the body that had entered the battle.
Every breath seemed borrowed. Every moment should have been his last. Yet he remained alive.
"...Now… The biggest problem… How do I face her?" His voice grew quieter.
"...I can't meet her like this… But I have to."
He raised his trembling hand. His fingers dug into the loose, ruined skin hanging from his shoulder.
With one steady pull—
He tore away the shredded layer of his skin. It fell silently beside him.
Fresh blood traced down his arm. He looked at himself for a long moment.
"...Still a mess."
Suddenly...
Something changed.
Not the wind. Not the earth. Something deeper.
The forest, which had been rotting beneath Jigen's curse, became still. The dying branches ceased trembling. The ash drifting through the crimson sky slowed, as though time itself hesitated.
A gentle breeze replaced the suffocating heat. It did not belong to this ruined world.
Jigen felt it. His remaining eye opened slightly wider.
"..."
He slowly lifted his head. Standing before him…
Eliza.
Bathed in the pale glow of the moon, she looked almost detached from the devastated world around her. Her flowing white robes rested lightly against her figure, stirred only by the gentle breeze surrounding her. Their soft folds shimmered faintly beneath the moonlight, giving her an almost celestial appearance.
Her long black hair drifted behind her like liquid night, untouched by the ash that stained the sky, while her sapphire-blue eyes reflected both the moon above... and the end of the world below.
Yet… She had frozen.
Her breathing became uneven.
For the first time, pure terror appeared on her face.
The contrast was unbearable.
Jigen thought quietly.
...I couldn't even sense her. My body... can barely perceive anything.
His vision blurred. Through the blood covering his remaining eye… he could still see her.
Unlike her other dresses, she has worn loose, revealing white robes, barely concealing her figure. Glowing faintly under the moonlight.
But from Eliza's pov—
His body had been destroyed beyond recognition.
The left side of his face had collapsed beneath countless wounds, one eye completely gone while the other struggled to remain open beneath the blood pouring over it. Great portions of flesh had been torn away, exposing crimson muscle carved apart by countless strikes. Deep wounds crossed his chest and abdomen, so severe that no living body should have remained standing after receiving them. Blood fell steadily from every part of him, soaking the earth beneath his feet.
The skin he had torn from his own torso still clung loosely around his shoulder, refusing to fall completely away. His long obsidian hair, drenched in blood, hung heavily against his broken body.
Faint wisps of steam continued to rise from his wounds. Ren's blade was still burning through his cells.
Every breath looked painful. He should have died long ago. Yet… he was looking at her.
Eliza's lips parted.
No sound came. Only after several long seconds did her trembling voice escape.
"...W... What..."
Her words shattered.
"W... What happened to you...?"
Unable to remain standing any longer, she hurried forward before dropping onto her knees before him.
Her trembling hand reached toward his ruined face… only to stop a few inches away. She couldn't bring herself to touch him.
She was afraid that even the gentlest touch would hurt him more.
Jigen slowly lifted his hand. The movement was painfully slow. His arm trembled violently beneath its own weight.
Eliza watched him in confusion.
Without speaking, he pointed toward the distant horizon. Toward the place where the earth itself had been broken.
She slowly turned. The crimson light of the burning world shimmered within her azure eyes.
Mountains no longer existed. The horizon had split apart. The exposed core of the planet burned like an open wound beneath the heavens, while torn clouds drifted through a sky that seemed on the verge of collapse.
That's enough for her to tell what exactly happened. Ren, the Hollow King, and everything that happened there.
Her breath caught in her throat.
———————————————————————
Some moments ago.
Within a vast royal chamber, lanterns bathed the room in a warm golden glow.
Shelves lined with ancient books stretched across the walls. Delicate cherry blossoms drifted lazily through the open windows, carrying with them the fragrance of sandalwood. A large bed rested near the center of the room, its white silk sheets untouched by the chaos consuming the world beyond.
Upon it lay Eliza.
She rested upon her elbows, dressed in flowing white silk that draped softly around her, its loose folds catching the lantern light whenever she moved. The fabric left her shoulders and collarbone uncovered, lending her an effortless elegance rather than extravagance. Her flawless complexion glowed softly beneath the warm light, while her long black hair spilled across the bed like a dark river.
A sight where any man would lose his mind.
Moon-shaped earrings swayed gently beside her face as a quiet melody escaped her crimson lips.
Before her rested a small bowl of strawberries. She picked one up delicately between her slender fingers.
"...He'll come."
A faint smile touched her lips. "He always does."
Minutes passed.
The smile slowly faded. "...He's late."
Her eyes lowered. For a long time…
She simply stared at the strawberry still resting in her hand.
"...For the past few months… he hasn't looked at me the same way."
A quiet sadness settled over her expression.
"...What am I lacking...? If he never comes back..."
She closed her eyes.
"...I don't know if I could bear it."
She imagined the familiar sound of his footsteps. The door opening.
Without hesitation, she would throw her arms around him. She would never let him leave again.
Her gaze drifted toward the rhodium ring upon her finger. The sapphire embedded within it suddenly glowed crimson.
Her smile disappeared.
"...N... No."
In an instant, she was gone.
A heartbeat later, she stood high above the world.
And what greeted her was not the world she had left. It was an apocalypse. Clouds had been torn apart. The earth had split open. The planet's burning core glowed through colossal wounds carved into its surface. Reality itself looked fractured. The horizon burned endlessly.
But Eliza barely looked at any of it. "...Jigen..."
Her wings burst open behind her. Without another thought, she disappeared into the ruined sky.
She searched desperately. Again. And again. The only thing beneath her was destruction.
Until far below… A lone figure rested beneath a dying tree. At first, she did not recognize him.
Then the wind carried his scent. Her heart stopped. Her eyes widened.
———————————————————————
Back to the present.
Jigen's lips parted. His voice was scarcely more than a breath.
"...Protect… the… world..."
Eliza did not hesitate.
She turned toward the shattered horizon. Without another glance, she slowly raised one hand.
A soft bluish-green radiance gathered around her slender fingers. The light spread. Then, the world answered.
A brilliant white glow swallowed the horizon. The broken continents mended. The oceans settled. Mountains rose once more from fractured earth. The exposed core of the planet disappeared beneath healing land, while the torn heavens slowly closed as though reality itself had remembered its original form.
Within only a few moments… The apocalypse vanished. The world stood whole again.
Only silence remained.
The pale light faded gently around them, leaving the forest bathed in an almost mythical stillness.
Eliza lowered her trembling hand. She turned back toward him.
Very carefully, her fingertips rested against his bloodied cheek.
"So cold..."
Her voice trembled.
"...Heal."
A gentle emerald light enveloped Jigen. The glow drifted across every wound like quiet water.
The torn flesh slowly closed. The burns faded. The blood disappeared. His breathing steadied. Little by little, the impossible damage vanished completely.
Moments later.
He sat there once again. His snow-white skin reflected the moonlight with a faint silver glow. His long obsidian hair flowed down past his waist, his physique impossible, too perfect, muscular, stirred gently by the wind, framing the same calm, angelic face that had terrified nations only hours before. Only his crimson eyes remained unchanged, ancient, unreadable.
Eliza looked at him for a long time. Relief washed over her face. Then, it disappeared. Her expression became frighteningly calm.
"Tell me..." Her voice was quiet.
"Jigen-san… Why…? Why did you do this?"
Silence.
Jigen lowered his gaze.
"...It's..."
For the first time, he struggled to find words.
"...It's not what you think. The mission is over. It was necessary..."
He stopped speaking. He knew there was no point hiding anything. She could already see through him.
Eliza's fingers slowly tightened around his shoulders. Her nails pressed into his skin.
"I didn't ask about your mission." Her voice remained calm, too calm.
"You promised me… that you'd come back." Her eyes shimmered.
"But… You weren't even certain… that you'd survive."
A tiny line of blood formed beneath her fingertips. She never noticed.
"...Why?" Her voice cracked. "...Why were you planning to leave me behind?"
Jigen remained silent. He couldn't answer. Not because he refused to, because there was no answer.
Slowly… He reached toward her.
Without hesitation—
He drew her into his arms. It wasn't forceful. Nor awkward, only gentle, warm.
Eliza froze. Her breathing stopped. Her eyes widened.
For a long moment, she forgot how to move. His hand rested quietly behind her head. His embrace was firm enough to reassure her… Yet careful enough that she could leave whenever she wished.
Her moon-like earrings shimmer softly. She feels like she is dreaming. She can feel the heat of his body against her thin fabric.
"...I'm sorry." His voice remained low.
"I didn't think about the consequences… I believed… it would be better… if I died."
The words shattered something inside her. Her fingers tightened around him.
A single tear slipped down her cheek. Then another. And another.
Her composure collapsed. She buried her face against him. A broken sob escaped her lips. Then another.
Soon… The quiet forest echoed with her grief. She cried without restraint, without dignity, without trying to stop herself. It was raw. Painful.
A sound born from someone who had nearly lost the only person she could never bear to lose.
Jigen remained still. He simply held her.
The one person he had always tried to protect… was now crying because of him.
...What should I do...?
He had faced countless battles. Yet none had prepared him for this.
"W-Why...?" Eliza's voice trembled between sobs.
"Why do you always choose death...? Why do you keep trying to leave me behind...? When you know… you're the one I need the most."
She clung to him more tightly as though loosening her grip for even a second would cause him to disappear forever.
"Fine… If you truly want to leave… If... you truly don't love me..."
Her voice broke completely.
"Then leave. I won't stop you. But… don't ever come back… Don't search for me again. Even if one day… I'm gone."
Jigen blinked once.
...She's telling me to leave… Yet she's holding me tighter than ever.
He couldn't understand it, but he understood her pain.
She slowly lifted her head. Tears still flowed freely. Her trembling gaze searched his face before falling to herself.
"...Jigen-san… Tell me… What am I missing…?
Am I not enough? Am I… not beautiful enough? Did you find someone else?"
None of the questions were logical. He knew that no one could ever resemble her, not in beauty, not in intelligence, not in all the centuries he had lived.
Still, she continued.
"If I have to change… I'll change… If there's something you want me to become… I'll become it… Just..."
Her voice became almost inaudible.
"...Don't abandon me… Please."
Her shoulders trembled.
Jigen slowly raised his hand. With quiet care, he brushed away the tears from her cheeks. His touch was almost impossibly gentle as though she were something fragile enough to break beneath the slightest pressure.
Instinctively, she leaned into his hand. His crimson eyes softened, if only by the smallest measure.
"I don't know… what I've done… to deserve someone like you."
A faint silence followed.
"These feelings… are still foreign to me. I don't fully understand them."
His gaze remained on her.
"...Yet… you're willing to throw away everything… for a devil like me."
Eliza slowly lifted both hands. Her trembling palms gently cupped his face. She leaned closer, so close that only a breath separated them.
Moonlight shimmered across her tear-stained cheeks.
"...Why..." Her voice was still broken. "Why do you always say things like that?" A faint, sorrowful smile appeared through her tears.
"...You're so stupid. You've done more for me than anyone ever has."
Her thumbs brushed gently across his cheeks.
"Sometimes… I wonder what I've done to deserve you."
Silence settled between them. Only the whispering wind answered.
Jigen quietly looked into her watery eyes. "My lady…
I never wish to make you cry. But… why do you insist on saving me? In the end… it will only bring you pain."
Confusion flickered across Eliza's face. "...What?"
Jigen slowly reached for her hand. His fingers gently wrapped around hers.
Without another word, he traced the ring resting upon her ring finger. The rhodium band. The sapphire embedded within it.
His crimson eyes lingered there.
"...Do you understand… what this means?"
Time stopped.
Eliza's breathing caught. Her eyes widened. The color drained from her face.
The meaning she had buried deep within her heart… returned all at once.
A broken smile trembled across her lips. Fresh tears spilled freely. Her shoulders shook.
"...N...No..." Her voice shattered.
"I… I wanted to forget..."
Her strength left her. Her hands slowly slipped from his face. She lowered her head, unable to stop crying.
"I… I can't do this anymore..."
She wiped desperately at her tears, only for more to replace them.
"...Alright… If that's what you want… I'll disappear. I won't stand before you again. And if..."
Her breathing became uneven.
"If it comes to that… I'll end my own life..."
Before another word could leave her lips—
Jigen gently drew her toward him.
Jigen pulls her close, his crimson lips meeting hers in a sudden, affectionate, warm kiss. He can feel her lips, too warm, and as soft as the finest silk as he holds her close with his arms.
Eliza's eyes widened. For a heartbeat, she forgot how to breathe. Her heart seemed to stop entirely. Her moon-like earrings shimmer softly.
The moment feels surreal, otherworldly.
Eliza feels like her life is drawn out of her body. She remembers most of the time it's her who kisses him first and initiates intimate moments, he does it rarely.
Then, she clings to him, kissing him back with more affection. She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling his head closer with her hand. Very slowly, she closed her eyes.
The tears continued to fall. The ruined world around them faded into silence. Only the soft rustling of leaves remained. Her big breasts pressed tightly against his chest.
Jigen thinks, his eyes closed. "I thought that I'd be in trouble… At least she is fine now…"
Then, Eliza's delicate fingers softly tug his hair from behind, deepening the kiss more sensually, more romantically.
Jigen's eyes half-opened, but he knows that he can't pull back, he can only lean in more.
Her hot tongue tangles with his, her kissing too flawless, too desperate. For a long moment, they keep kissing each other.
Then, she slowly pulls back, a thin line of saliva connecting her wet, crimson lips to his.
She leans in again, nibbling at his lower lip before pulling back. She doesn't bother to clean her wet lips. She fixes her strands of hair spilling on her face with her delicate hand.
They both didn't notice how close they were to each other. His back resting against a tree, holding Eliza too close. Eliza straddle against him, her chest pressing against his. The way she straddle against his tall form, her fabric barely concealing her curves, and the cold, gentle breeze makes her heart feel like it stopped.
The blue-green light of her restorative power drifted through the forest like countless tiny stars. Ancient trees shimmered beneath its glow. The air itself seemed transformed.
Their long black hair flowed together in the gentle wind, the moonlight weaving silver across every strand until they seemed almost indistinguishable.
Long silence.
Jigen can feel their bodies getting hotter. Jigen asks in a low, calm voice.
"Lady Eliza… This place is not good… We should head to our place…"
Eliza lets out a knowing smirk, her hot breath visible in the air.
"Why? Are you scared that someone will watch us doing it?"
Jigen continues. "I don't want to put you in danger… Anyone can come here, especially a kizuki…"
Eliza laughed quietly. "I don't care, neither should you…"
She leaned closer.
She licks his bare chest once, like a kitten. She turns her head upward, her azure eyes looking into his crimson eyes.
"I already have you… You will save me no matter the situation, won't you? I don't understand… for how long you're going to pretend that we are not—"
Without warning, he slipped one arm beneath her legs before effortlessly lifting her into his arms as he stood up.
"Aaahhhh—" She instinctively wrapped both arms around his neck to keep her balance. Her long earrings shimmered.
She closed her eyes for a brief second.
Standing at his full height, 6'4 feet, he carried her with effortless steadiness. He began walking through the quiet forest.
"First, I want you to change your clothes… You might get unwanted attention…"
Eliza chuckles. "I dressed it only for you. But at this time… do I really need them…?"
She moves her face closer to his neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses along his neck to jawline, tracing his neck with her slim fingers and red nails.
She rested her head against his shoulder.
"...Honey..." Her voice carried playful warmth again.
"I'm warning you. This time… I'm not letting you disappear anywhere."
A faint chuckle escaped her.
Jigen quietly continued walking.
The wind carried loose strands of their hair together as blue lights drifted around the forest like tiny stars. Yet behind his calm expression, his thoughts remained elsewhere.
...I should have died that day. Perhaps… Something would have become better.
His gaze lowered slightly.
I'm sorry... Eliza. I always become the reason you cry.
Without another word, the two of them disappeared into the night. Only drifting blue light remained where they had stood.
Eliza rested peacefully against him as they traveled. She smiled to herself.
This man… He's unbelievable. Whenever something goes wrong… He immediately blames himself. Even when the fault isn't his.
Her fingers absentmindedly played with a strand of his long hair.
There is almost nothing in this world he can't accomplish. I've watched him overcome things no one else could. A man feared by demons… Someone who carries the weight of impossible burdens without complaint. And yet…
When it came to comforting one crying woman… He couldn't even find the right words. Instead… He simply held me.
She closed her eyes. A quiet contentment settled over her heart.
Maybe… That's one of the reasons I love him. Not because he's perfect. But because, beneath everything he hides… There's still someone trying his best.
Thank you... fate. Out of all the endless possibilities… You allowed our paths to cross. Even now… It still feels like a miracle that I'm here…
...with him.
———————————————————————
Around 45 years ago.
A lonely cliff overlooked an endless sea of clouds.
Above it, the heavens stretched infinitely.
Stars shimmered beyond count, galaxies spilling across the night like rivers of silver, while the full moon bathed the world below in pale light.
Upon a weathered boulder… Eliza sat alone.
Her flowing white gown rested softly against the stone, untouched by dust or wind. Her impossibly long black hair drifted weightlessly behind her, moving as though guided by an unseen current rather than the breeze itself.
She looked less like someone standing beneath the heavens… And more like someone who belonged among them.
Yet her beautiful face held no peace. Her slender hand slowly clenched into a fist.
"...Is it really true...?"
The quiet words vanished into the wind.
She rose from the boulder. With one graceful step, she descended lightly to the ground. The hem of her white gown floated behind her like falling moonlight.
Her azure eyes, usually gentle enough to calm even the fiercest storms, carried only anger.
"All this time… I kept believing… that perhaps we were wrong… That he wasn't what everyone claimed he was."
She closed her eyes. A long breath escaped her lips.
"...Then why...? Why won't he listen to me?
...Is it because I'm only his subordinate? Someone he can throw away whenever he wishes?"
Fragments of recent memories crossed her mind—
Four CWSN schools were consumed by flames. An old age home reduced to ashes.
Demons praising Jigen. Muzan's approval. Each memory weighed heavier than the last.
Her fingers tightened.
"None of this matches his mission… None of it. No purpose can justify what he's done. It wasn't only once. It has happened… again and again."
Silence answered her.
The stars above remained indifferent. She slowly raised her eyes toward the endless sky.
For the first time, uncertainty reached even her.
"Maybe… I should have killed him myself."
The words left her lips.
Yet they carried no conviction. Because deep within her heart, she already knew the truth. The moon reflected within her azure eyes.
"I need the truth."
A quiet breeze carried her voice into the heavens.
"If he refuses to stop… then I'll finish what we started."
Her gaze remained fixed upon the stars.
"...Even… if it costs me my own life."