Page 1
Thian falls from the palace ceiling.
The air screams around his body. The werewolf leaps from below. A punch connects with Thian's face with force that echoes through every corner of the courtyard. He flies into the wall. Through it.
Dust rises.
The silence stretches for one second.
Then — footsteps. One. Two. Three.
Thian walks out of the cracked wall. He stands steady. He bends his neck slowly. He rolls his shoulders. He takes his stance.
Blood runs down his chest. He doesn't wipe it.
Page 2
The werewolf advances.
"I will eat you. I will devour you. Small human."
Thian doesn't answer. He just looks at him — eyes that carry no fear. They carry something heavier than fear.
The punch launches.
Thian doesn't dodge.
He catches it.
Page 3
One rotation.
The werewolf flies into the wall behind him. He hits it. He falls.
Before he can stand — Thian is on top of him.
Punch. Punch. Punch.
No pause between them. No gap. Just weight stacking on weight. The werewolf tries to block. Tries to twist away. The wall is behind him. Thian in front of him. No escape.
The sounds tear through the corridor.
Page 4
A punch from the werewolf. Powerful. Unexpected.
Thian flies into the ceiling. He hits it. He drops freely.
The werewolf charges from below. He leaps. His mouth wide open.
Thian flat on his back. Looking up.
The massive shadow covers him.
He closes his eyes.
Page 5
Boom.
A violet beam tears through the air at invisible speed.
The werewolf's face splits in two — midair.
The body falls onto Thian with full weight.
He shoves it off with both hands. He stands. He looks around.
"Is that… Totoki?"
Page 6
Totoki stands in the middle of the corridor.
His right hand — completely violet. His left hand burning with violet-colored fire.
He dodges a punch from Number Four beside him at a speed that doesn't belong to his size. He answers with a chain of punches with nothing between them. He leaps on top of him. He comes down with his full weight.
Number Four goes through the floor under the impact.
Page 7
From the side, violet beams launch at Totoki from the sorcerer — Number Three.
Totoki — still in the air — dodges the first. He twists away from the second. He lands clear of the third.
He turns.
Karki is pinned to the ground. The incantations hold him. He can't move.
The sorcerer reads the next incantation.
Page 8
"Totoki."
Thian shouts from the other side.
Totoki: "Go to Mabu. Now. I'll handle this."
Totoki looks at the sorcerer. He looks at Karki. He looks at Thian.
Thian launches toward Mabu.
Totoki descends toward Number Four — buried in the floor. He puts his mouth close to his ear.
He whispers in a quiet, frightening voice:
"Just for the record. You were the weak one here. Not Totoki."
Page 9
A violet hand closes around Number Four's throat.
One moment. Silence.
Then he releases him onto the ground and stands.
Totoki walks toward the sorcerer slowly. Number Three begins reading a defensive incantation.
"Your turn."
Suddenly — the palace's rear door opens.
Page 10
A figure stands in the entrance.
He looks at the scene. The bodies. The wreckage. The fires.
Number One.
He shakes his head slowly — like a man inspecting damaged goods.
"Look at the state of this place."
Totoki launches. A long-range punch fires.
Number One deflects it. He grabs one hand. Then the other.
Totoki pulls. He can't.
Page 11
Number One smiles.
From his sides, two additional arms appear. Red. Nothing like human arms.
A violet beam fires from Totoki's eye — directly into his chest.
The chest disappears. It disassembles — as if the matter itself decided to flee.
The beam passes through and strikes the wall behind him.
Then the chest reassembles. Slowly. As if it was never gone.
Page 12
A third arm emerges from Number One.
A blade at its end.
It tears through Totoki's chest in one swift motion.
A fourth arm lifts him by the throat into the air.
Then the third arm returns. It places its end against the wound. It draws — slowly, without mercy.
Totoki's face goes pale.
Close-up on his eyes — widening. Beginning to fade.
Page 13
Yuzuha whispers with a torn voice: "Three times."
Yuzuha's scythe grows suddenly. A hand catches it in the air.
Another hand throws Totoki. He drops.
Linsan appears behind Number One. He places his hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go. The King's room."
The four of them walk. Toward the King's room. Without words.
Totoki on the floor. Not moving.
Page 14
In the dining room.
The old man faces Kazuko.
Bumer in the corner. His face white.
"What are you doing here? I'm the one who protected you from death!"
The old man doesn't respond to Bumer.
Kazuko leaps. Toward the old man.
The table splits in two under his feet. The floor shakes.
Page 15
The Stone Mantle appears on the old man's hand. On his leg.
The old man: The time sequence.
Overlapping flashes:
The old man in front of Kazuko. A punch.
The old man above Kazuko. A punch.
The old man behind Kazuko. A punch.
As if time itself has become an opponent — but only for Kazuko.
Page 16
Then the blood comes.
The old man coughs. He puts his hand over his mouth. He looks at it.
Red.
He smiles — a smile that carries no regret.
"I'm no longer what I was. I wish youth would return — I'd have ended you a hundred times before you could blink."
He raises his eyes.
Page 17
Kazuko extends both hands.
The Stone Mantle appears on them. But it's different. Cracks run through it. And from the cracks — lava seeps.
He extends them like scissors.
The heat warps the air between them.
The old man leaps. He climbs above his right arm. He swings with speed. A kick to the face from above.
Page 18
Kazuko sinks into the tile.
He doesn't move for a moment.
The old man stands behind him. Breathing heavily. His hands trembling slightly. Just slightly.
A low voice from behind:
"Grandfather."
Mabu. Sitting on the floor. Looking at him with eyes whose tears haven't dried.
Thian appears at the door behind him.
Page 19
Kazuko rises.
The Stone Mantle covers his entire body this time. Lava pours from every crack. The room heats. The air warps.
Enough.
Slow motion: the pressure rises. The Zuu rises. Thian holds his breath. Mabu raises his head.
The old man's right hand is cut — it falls and hits the floor.
The old man places his remaining hand over the wound in his side. He looks at the ground.
Blood drips.
Page 20
"Your time is up, old man. It ends here."
Mabu: "Grandfather — no — GRANDFATHER—"
The old man raises his head. He looks at Thian.
His voice — quiet as still water.
"Thian. Take Mabu. Run now. Linsan is coming."
Thian freezes.
"But—"
"Now."
Oh no — no one is leaving here.
Kazuko launches.
Page 21
The old man appears in front of him at the speed of a blink.
The Stone Mantle covers him completely. The sword in his hand.
His voice has changed. Deeper. Heavier.
"You will not touch them."
One punch.
The entire dining room is destroyed.
Thian grabs Mabu by the shoulder. He runs. He leaps through the window. He doesn't look back.
Page 22
The dust settles.
The old man stands on what remains of the table.
The door opens.
Linsan. Number One. Number Two. The squad commander. They enter — one after another. Bumer hiding behind Linsan.
"Save me."
The King says it in a voice unworthy of a king.
Page 23
Number Two looks at the old man. He looks at the destroyed room. He looks at Kazuko standing at his side.
He whistles quietly.
"So this is the old man who made Kazuko fight at full strength."
He nods slowly.
"What a monster you are."
Bumer screams from the corner:
"Kill him! I should have done this a long time ago!"
Page 24
The old man squats.
He doesn't stand. He doesn't attack.