The cathedral erupted into chaos.
Shadows screamed as if alive, tearing themselves from the walls and ceiling.
The moonlight pouring through the broken stained glass turned crimson, as though the sky itself was bleeding.
Luna moved.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Perfect.
---
The Past Attacks
Hart struck first.
His shadow-form slammed into the stone floor, cracking it beneath Luna's feet. She flipped backward, landing without a sound. Her blade flashed once—clean, merciless—severing the black tendrils binding him.
Hart collapsed, unconscious.
Still alive.
Lili came next, her twisted face stretched in agony.
"Why didn't you save us…?" she cried, voice breaking through the distortion.
Luna hesitated.
Just one heartbeat.
Then she struck.
The shadow controlling Lili shattered like glass. Lili fell beside Hart, breathing but unmoving.
---
No Mercy for the Shadows
Steve and Bren attacked together, their movements unnatural, jerking like broken puppets.
Bren—the officer—shouted Luna's name from behind the rubble.
"Don't listen to them! They're not real!"
Luna nodded once.
Steve lunged.
Steel met shadow.
Her blade pierced through the darkness anchoring his body. The scream that followed wasn't human—it was something ancient, furious, and afraid.
Steve collapsed.
Only one remained.
---
The Last Chain
The final possessed figure stood trembling, shadows crawling up their throat like veins.
The Puppeteer shrieked from above the altar, mask splitting open.
"STOP!
They are MINE!"
Luna looked up slowly.
"No," she said quietly.
"They never were."
She leapt.
One final strike.
The shadows binding the last victim tore apart, erupting into black smoke that screamed as it died.
All five lay still.
Alive.
Free.
---
The Puppeteer Falls
The Puppeteer staggered backward, cloak dissolving.
"You were supposed to break," it hissed.
"You were supposed to feel guilt… fear… pain."
Luna stepped forward, blade pointed at its mask.
"I felt them long ago," she replied.
"They no longer control me."
She struck.
The mask shattered completely.
Darkness exploded outward, swallowing the cathedral whole.
---
After the Silence
When the dust settled, Luna stood alone.
The shadows were gone.
Bren ran to her side, breathing hard.
"You… you saved them," he said.
Luna looked at her blood-stained hands, expression unchanged.
"I ended it," she said.
"That is enough."
Outside, sirens finally wailed.
The moon returned to its pale, silent glow.
And somewhere far beyond Kurogiri…
Something watched.
Something older.
Something that smiled.