After six hours had passed . Inside the hotel room—not the lab section where Kang Woo was still rigorously teaching Makima everything she needed to know for tomorrow's alchemy trial—the rest of Division 4 tried to relax in their own way.
Denji sprawled out on his bed with a wide grin, arms flung out like a child on vacation. "Awesome… this hotel's probably five-star. The futon's so damn nice to sleep on."
Kishibe, sitting on the floor against the wall with a half-lit cigarette dangling from his lips, didn't even glance up. "It's four-star, not five. And it's called a bed—not a futon. This place's modeled on Western design, dumbass."
Across the room, Aki and Himeno were lying together on a second bed, still in their usual uniforms. Himeno had one leg draped over Aki and stared up at the ceiling with a distant look. "How many hours has it been exactly?"
In the small kitchen section at the back of the suite, Kobeni was busy frying something in a pan, apron tied tight around her waist. She glanced at the clock. "Uh… roughly five hours? Or six. I forgot."
The sizzle of oil punctuated her words as she stirred the pot again, mumbling to herself. Kang Woo said cooking is the art of the soul… greatest cook in the world… no pressure.
Himeno, lying sideways on the bed, propped her head up with one arm and squinted toward the kitchen. "Kobeni-chan, why do you keep cooking? You didn't even rest like us. We're all just waiting on judgment at this point. Kang Woo's twin brother is gonna win . And Makima-san, no matter how powerful… she's just not in the same league as the Black King."
Aki slowly opened his eyes beside her, staring up at the ceiling blankly. Why the hell did I follow Kang Woo all the way here…? It's not like sticking with him makes anything easier… or safer.
Kobeni didn't turn around. She kept stirring, her voice soft but firm. "As for the cooking… Kang Woo praised me." Her hands trembled slightly, not from fear, but emotion. "He saw what I could do. Even though I'm a coward—like a scaredy cat—he told me I'm the best cook in the world."
She paused, smiling faintly through the steam. "That's the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Himeno sat up on the bed, her expression half-drowsy, half-sober as she scratched the back of her head. "Yeah… I get that. Kang Woo praising someone like that makes sense—he saved Makima too, didn't he? Gave her that ridiculous second chance…" She exhaled slowly. "But… didn't you feel it? That thing inside him? Like some fucking alien god coiled in his guts, just waiting to unspool and devour everything if he slips up."
Kobeni glanced over her shoulder, eyes weary but oddly grounded. "Kang Woo's already in the worst circumstances imaginable. You felt it, right? when he fought the Crimson King. I think… that was the one fight he didn't want."
She turned back to the stove, voice quieter. "He told us to get to the safe zone for a reason—with one exception. Makima-san. She chose to stay by his side even before that fight started."
The pan hissed louder, mirroring the tension none of them could voice properly.
"And if Kang Woo isn't taking his twin brother seriously," Kobeni continued, stirring with steady rhythm, "then it means one thing."
She looked back toward the others. "We're safe… for now."
Kobeni finished cooking, wiping her hands with a small towel. "Bon appétit, everyone. French fries are ready."
Suddenly , Power burst out from beneath Denji's bed like a rabid gremlin, yelling, "Give it to meeee!"
Kobeni blinked in surprise as Power snatched the plate straight from her hands, stuffing fries in her mouth like a woman possessed.
"It's mine! The food is mine! Taxes are now 100% for Power!"
Kobeni didn't even flinch. She just smiled faintly, defeated. A quiet surrender.
Aki, still lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling, muttered, "Kobeni… what if Kang Woo's just using you? Like a tool. once you've served his purpose… he tosses you away?"
Kobeni didn't hesitate. "Then I'll be grateful," she said plainly. "Grateful my life meant something to him at all. But honestly… I don't think that'll happen."
She placed a hand on the counter, voice firmer now. "Kang Woo… he sees more than he lets on. I've always had the feeling he looked at us like he already knew where we were headed. What kind of future we'd have. But he never said anything. Probably because he carries too many burdens already. He doesn't want to drag us into more."
She looked down at her own hands, then clenched them. "If Makima was a commander—tight, calculating, never straying from her vision—then Kang Woo…"
"…Kang Woo is a king. The kind who sits alone on a throne… because no one's capable of standing beside him."
Kobeni exhaled quietly, then added, "To be honest… I'm jealous of Makima. She's the one Kang Woo favors. The one he brings first into his adventures."
Kishibe, still nursing his drink on the floor, let out a dry chuckle. "His 'adventures' probably involve more fights, more enemies, and a dozen more Citadels of Ricks."
Kobeni smiled faintly, eyes still on the door. " it's better than being stuck with my no-good family. At least Kang Woo doesn't force anyone close to him. My father… my whole family, they always pushed me to fight devils like it was my duty."
She turned back to the group, voice firmer now, a quiet confidence tucked behind the words.
"What I really wanted was to be the best at cooking. And Kang Woo… he believes in me. He always has. He said I'd be the best cook in the world."
She placed a hand over her chest, fingers curled tight. "I'm gonna make that true."
Denji grunted from where he was sprawled on the bed, arms folded behind his head. "Kang Woo dragged us into his problems, didn't he? This was supposed to be a normal devil extermination."
Himeno sighed, raising an eyebrow. "To be frank, Denji… Kang Woo already had it handled. He and Makima were more than enough for this mission."
She tilted her head toward the lab wall, where a faint hum still resonated.
"The Eternity Devil's trapped—sealed inside some pitch-black jar thing, hanging like a cursed trophy. Kang Woo did that. With sadistic torture, no less. This whole mess escalated because Aki and Makima poked the hornet's nest—specifically, his twin brother."
Aki, sitting up slowly, exhaled like the guilt was pressing on his ribs.
"…If you put it like that, yeah. That's… pretty accurate."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Almost half of it's my fault. At least."
BOOOOM. BAAAM.
The sound roared like the birth of a sun—an explosion not of heat, but of sheer force, cracking through space like a Tsar Bomba detonated just a few rooms away.
The shockwave didn't hit them physically—but the pressure alone slammed against their senses, rippling through the walls. The lab section… was definitely not okay. The hotel room? Still standing—barely. But the edges trembled. And then, with a hiss…
Fsshhhhhhhhh—
Sprinklers in the ceiling burst open, dousing them all in cold water as the automatic extinguishers kicked in.
Kishibe staggered to his feet, gripping the wall, drenched and blinking through the flood.
"IS EVERYONE FUCKING ALIVE?!" he shouted, eyes wide. "There's ringing in my head—oohhh my headdd—"
Power flopped on the soaked floor like a dying fish, kicking her legs weakly.
"AHHHH—MY HEAD HURTSSSS!" she screamed, water dripping from her bangs.
Denji coughed as the cold soaked through his clothes, staring toward the hallway.
"What the hell did he do?! Was that alchemy?!"
Aki didn't move. Just sat there, eyes blank, drenched, water streaming down his jaw.
In his head: Fuck. Kang Woo… what the hell is wrong with you…?
Himeno growled under her breath, slamming her palm against the table to stand.
"I swear , I'm gonna punch that motherfucker before he blows up Tokyo first."
The Division 4 group crept out of their drenched hotel room, stepping over puddles and debris. The hallway reeked of burnt ozone and smoke.
When they reached the lab section, the glass door was gone—shattered into glittering fragments across the floor. The once-sterile space was a disaster zone. Electrical conduits hung from the ceiling like torn veins, sparks spitting weakly. Cracks webbed across the reinforced walls. The air hummed with the fading echo of raw power.
Kobeni clutched her hands together, trembling. Kang Woo… Makima-san… please be okay.
Then, from the center of a smoking crater in the lab floor, something stirred.
Kang Woo rose slowly from the hole, covered in soot and blood, his pose unintentionally identical to Yamcha's infamous crater slump. He coughed once, dragging himself upright.
Behind him, Makima emerged—untouched. Her Blut Vene still faintly glowing like blue circuitry along her skin, the only reason she hadn't been vaporized.
Kang Woo wiped the blood from his mouth, forcing a grin through the exhaustion. "That was… awesome, Makima. Wow. You just recreated a hydrogen bomb–level explosion." He laughed weakly. "And to think, the Nuclear Devil's already been eaten by Chainsaw devil . You might've just outdone him."
Makima didn't respond right away. Her eyes lowered, her expression clouded with guilt and worry.
"You shouldn't have listened to my suggestion, Kang Woo, "Because of me… you almost lost your life."
Kang Woo smirked faintly, leaning against a cracked console, blood dripping down his sleeve. "Almost doesn't count," he muttered. "Still breathing, aren't I?"
Then he straightened slightly and added, "Besides…"
A subtle ripple passed through the air as he activated Heart of Chaos—his ability surging with invisible pressure. The ruined lab began to shift, twist, and realign. Broken glass reassembled. Warped metal straightened. The scorched walls reverted to pristine white. Even the air cleared of its radioactive taint. Time and reality buckled under his command until everything was back to normal—just as it had been before the explosion.
Makima, too, was restored—no longer blackened by soot or cloaked in shame. Her clothes, hair, and face perfectly clean, as if the hydrogen-level blast had never happened.
Kang Woo exhaled and turned toward her with a light grin. "If a Tsar Bomba–tier explosion could've killed me… I wouldn't be your husband material to begin with, we're both insane in the same way."
He took a step forward—then paused. A sharp crunch. Looking down, he saw a glittering fragment beneath his boot. A shard of Frostmourne. Or at least what remained of it. Even legendary blades had limits when caught in a magical hydrogen bomb detonation.
Kang Woo sighed. "Don't mind that sword. It'll be fine."
Makima didn't respond. Her eyes locked onto the ruined shard. Her face tightened, with deep sorrow. She had failed. Again.
The Philosopher's Stone—the ultimate goal of her trial—had collapsed in on itself, and worse, she had damaged something precious to Kang Woo in the process. a single tear slid down her cheek in silence. And for Makima… that said everything.
Kang Woo watched Makima—watched her try to contain it all like she always did. But even she had limits. And this time… she broke.
Without a word, he walked over and sat down slowly on the fractured edge of the rebuilt lab console. Then, with quiet care, he reached out and pulled her close—gently easing Makima down onto his thigh. His arm wrapped protectively around her back, his hand resting lightly against her waist.