The rain fell in streaks of silver light over the drowned ruins. Once a thriving coastal city, now it was nothing but bones of steel and drowned echoes — a battlefield swallowed by time. The moon glimmered faintly on the flooded streets as the five devil hunters stood at the water's edge, the air thick with the scent of rust and something darker — devil energy.
Master Masaru's words still echoed in their minds:
> "Prime 8 and Prime 9 — they are one soul divided. When one bleeds, the other remembers. When one dies… the other awakens."
Yuto tightened his grip on his blade, the handle still wrapped with burned cloth from the museum fight. "So this is where they're hiding," he muttered. His reflection rippled in the black water beneath him.
The Water Legend — his presence calm, but eyes shadowed — took a step forward. "They chose a battlefield they can control. Water, silence, and reflections… they want us to see ourselves before we die."
"Then they'll see what we've become," Sousuke replied, thunder flickering faintly along his shoulder as he cracked his neck.
Akari looked toward the submerged skyline, her voice soft. "I can feel them… like whispers under the current. Waiting."
Tatsusuke's fog began to spread naturally from his boots — instinctive. "Then let's not make them wait."
---
The team advanced through the shallow waters, boots splashing quietly. The sound of metal and fabric echoed faintly. A distorted hum vibrated in the distance, like a song underwater.
Then — the stillness broke.
A shape rose from the water — first one, then two. Both stood perfectly still, reflections dancing beneath them.
They were identical at first glance — tall, slender, with faces masked by polished bone and glowing sigils carved into their chests. But their auras split like night and dawn.
Prime 8 burned faintly red, his presence hot, pulsing with aggression.
Prime 9 shimmered in pale blue, calm yet suffocating — like drowning under glass.
When they spoke, their voices overlapped.
> "You've come far, hunters. But your victory was a mistake. You killed the balance that held us chained."
Sousuke stepped forward, blade drawn. "Balance? You call slaughter balance?"
Prime 8's head tilted. "Slaughter is the only truth that humans understand."
The water rippled — and then the air split open.
A shockwave exploded from the twins — Yuto leapt back as thunder, water, fog, and flame burst into motion. The ruins around them shattered; waves rose into walls. The hunters were instantly divided.
---
The battlefield split in two.
To the east, through collapsing towers half-submerged in water — Yuto and the Water Legend faced Prime 9, whose calm, suffocating aura turned the rain to mist.
To the west, Sousuke, Akari, and Tatsusuke found themselves confronting Prime 8, the infernal twin whose heat burned through the very rain, turning droplets into steam before they touched the ground.
---
Scene 1: The Mirror Tide (Yuto & Water Legend vs Prime 9)
Prime 9 stood upon the water's surface like it was solid glass. Every motion he made caused perfect ripples, symmetrical, endless.
Yuto's lightning sparked across his blade. "You think reflection makes you untouchable?"
Prime 9 tilted his head. "Reflection is existence. You fight what you see in me — but I am only what you already are."
Before Yuto could respond, Prime 9 raised his hand. The water beneath him rippled outward — and suddenly, mirror-images of Yuto appeared in every direction, each holding a blade, each smirking with the same defiance.
Yuto slashed — the reflections slashed back.
The Water Legend stepped in, spreading his palms. A whirl of azure energy burst from his fingertips, freezing the reflections mid-motion. His voice was calm, yet heavy. "Don't fight the mirror. Break the water beneath it."
Yuto nodded, charging lightning through his sword. "Thunder Breathing: Seventh Form — Heaven's Resonance!"
He plunged the blade downward — lightning surged through the shallow sea. The reflections shattered into waves.
Prime 9 staggered slightly — his calm cracking. "Interesting…"
But then the air shimmered again — and the reflections reformed. Infinite, flawless. This time, they smiled.
The Water Legend frowned. "He's using their emotions… feeding on self-doubt."
Prime 9 raised his voice — the tone almost human, almost sorrowful.
> "Do you remember what it felt like — when you first killed to survive?"
The question hit like a blow to the heart. Yuto's lightning faltered.
The Water Legend turned sharply toward him. "Ignore his voice! He's not a memory — he's a trick."
But Yuto hesitated — and Prime 9 smiled wider.
---
Scene 2: The Infernal Edge (Sousuke, Akari, Tatsusuke vs Prime 8)
On the other side of the ruins, Prime 8 was fury given shape. His every movement left trails of fire that hissed when they hit water. His laugh was low, brutal, alive.
Sousuke's thunder clashed with him head-on — sparks flying, shockwaves tearing through the steel skeletons of buildings. Akari's water blades sliced in from the side, Tatsusuke's fog twisting between them to obscure movement.
But Prime 8 thrived in chaos. His flames bent light itself, piercing the fog. "Beautiful teamwork," he said mockingly, "but tell me — which of you burns first?"
Sousuke gritted his teeth. "None of us."
"Liar." Prime 8 vanished — reappearing behind Akari. A slash of heat scorched the air, nearly cutting her arm before Tatsusuke's fog hardened, absorbing the hit. Akari spun, counterattacking with a spiral of water, striking him across the chest.
He didn't even flinch. Instead, he smiled.
> "Pain reminds me I'm alive."
And the flames roared.
---
Scene 3: Echoes Beneath the Surface
Back in the east — the rain had stopped. The battlefield was silent again, only the sound of the tide and breathing.
Prime 9 walked slowly toward the Water Legend. "You are the last of your kind… the man who guards the current."
The Water Legend's eyes softened, almost nostalgic. "And you are the one who forgot what flow means."
Their energies collided — blue and silver — forming a whirlpool that devoured the reflection of the moon itself.
Yuto tried to step in, but the waves repelled him like a living wall.
"Stay back," the Water Legend shouted. "His core is mine!"
The whirlpool grew — swallowing light, noise, and air. And then it shattered — both figures vanishing into the depths below.
Yuto screamed his name, but only silence answered.
---
The camera pans upward — to the dark sky above the drowned city.
Two lights burned through the clouds — one red, one blue.
The Twin Sins had truly awakened.
And for the first time… the devil hunters realized that victory might demand something far greater than survival.