Toki slowly began walking toward her.
Each step was unnaturally calm, almost gentle, but the pressure radiating from his body made everyone instinctively tense in terror. His bare feet crushed corpses beneath him with wet, nauseating sounds. Bones cracked under his weight. Rotting flesh split apart as blood pooled between the ruined stones of the street.
Dark red droplets slid down his body continuously, falling from torn fingertips, from shredded muscle, from wounds that had begun healing incorrectly beneath the strain of his monstrous regeneration. The blood dripped softly against the ground like spring rain.
Utsuki did not move.
She stood completely still with the sword resting loosely in her hand while her silver hair danced gently in the cold wind passing through the ruined capital.
Her eyes never left him.
Toki stopped only a single meter away from her.
Close enough for her to feel the heat of his breathing.
Close enough for the smell to reach her completely.
It clung to him so heavily that it almost felt alive.
And for the first time since they met—
Utsuki realized she was truly seeing Toki.
Not the gentle knight who lowered himself slightly whenever he spoke to her so their eyes could meet naturally. Not the calm commander who silently stood behind her during royal meetings. Not the exhausted young man who returned home late at night with bruised hands and forced smiles.
This was the real physical presence of Toki Ikaru.
Tall.
Overwhelming.
Terrifying.
Now that he stood fully upright before her without restraint, she finally understood why so few people had ever dared openly insult their team in front of him. Even among knights, Toki's body carried a frightening sense of pressure. He did not merely look strong.
He looked dangerous.
Blood had completely dried into his hair by now, staining the blue strands into something darker, almost black beneath the crimson light of the eclipse. His golden eyes had become horribly vacant.
His pupils were dilated so far they barely looked human anymore.
If she had encountered him like this somewhere else...
Even she might not have recognized him.
Toki slowly raised one hand toward her.
For a brief moment, the movement resembled something painfully familiar.
There had been countless nights when he reached toward her like this to fix her hair while pretending it was an excuse to continue talking longer. Countless moments where his fingers brushed gently against her cheek while he smiled quietly at something unimportant.
But Utsuki understood immediately,this was not the same gesture.
She stepped backward instinctively.
Toki immediately stepped forward.
His hand slowly tightened into a fist,then he lunged.
The ground exploded beneath his feet as his fist shot toward her face with enough force to shatter stone.
Utsuki moved at the very last second.
Her body leaned left in one smooth motion as the attack passed beside her head close enough for the wind pressure alone to slice strands of silver hair from the air. Before Toki could retract the strike, his second fist came instantly from the opposite side exactly as she expected.
Whenever Toki fought someone unfamiliar, he always tested them with the left before committing his true strike with the right. Most people never survived long enough to realize the pattern existed.
But Utsuki knew him too well.She jumped lightly onto the incoming arm before the blow fully extended, using the momentum to propel herself upward. Her body twisted gracefully through the air as she passed beside his shoulder.
A thin silver line cut across the left side of Toki's neck.
Blood sprayed outward immediately.
She landed behind him in silence.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then a faint smile appeared on Utsuki's lips.
No matter how monstrous he became, no matter how broken his mind had grown, Toki's habits remained buried inside his body.
The wound itself was shallow.
Against anyone else, that slash could have severed the artery completely.
But Toki's muscles were abnormally dense from years of injuries, training, and constant physical destruction. His body had been rebuilt through suffering over and over again until even cutting him properly became difficult.
And Utsuki understood something else clearly.
She did not possess the strength necessary to kill him in a single strike.
The only thing she could do was slowly reopen the countless wounds his body had already accumulated. Tear apart old injuries faster than his damaged regeneration could repair them.Little by little,until his body finally collapsed beneath its own ruin.
Toki touched the wound on his neck slowly.
When he saw the blood coating his fingers, something almost resembling confusion crossed his expression.
Then he turned instantly and swung his leg toward her ribs.
Utsuki lowered herself beneath the kick and drove her blade directly into his thigh.
The steel sank through flesh with a sickening sound.
Blood poured down his leg immediately.
Toki's body twitched violently.
Before he could retaliate properly, Utsuki twisted the blade and tore the wound wider while retreating backward.
The flesh around the injury split open grotesquely.
Dark blood splattered across her face.
Toki growled.
His arm shot forward as he tried grabbing her throat, but Utsuki slipped backward again, allowing his claws to catch only part of her dress. Fabric tore apart loudly as she escaped his grip by centimeters.
A piece of white cloth remained in his hand.
Utsuki glanced down at the damaged dress and smiled faintly.
"Now I look like I did the first day we met…"
The words left her softly.
Toki stared at her without moving.
"I still wonder sometimes," she whispered while carefully circling him, "if you would've ever found me if you hadn't walked down that street that day."
Memories surfaced vividly inside her mind.
"I think… maybe it was destiny."
Toki suddenly rushed toward her again.
Utsuki stepped sideways and thrust the sword into his bicep.
The blade pierced deeply.
But Toki did not dodge.
He simply grabbed the sword itself with his other hand.
Blood ran between his fingers as the sharp steel cut directly into his palm.
Utsuki's eyes softened.
"The sword already fulfilled its purpose."
She released the hilt willingly.
Toki ripped the weapon free from his own arm and threw it aside violently. The blade spun through the ruined street before embedding itself into a corpse several meters away.
Utsuki slowly stepped closer until she stood directly before him.
Behind her, Melissa's face paled completely.
"She's lost her mind," Melissa whispered toward Lorelay. "Toki already knows every fighting style we use. There's no way she can surprise him anymore."
Lorelay kept staring at Utsuki.
Then she quietly replied,
"No… there's still one style he never copied."
Toki raised his fist,yet Utsuki felt strangely calm.
Because the fear inside her had existed for much longer than this battle.
It had existed since the day she realized how much Toki loved them.
"I'm still not sure about many things in my life," she whispered softly while staring directly into his empty golden eyes. "There's still so much I don't understand… so much I still need to learn…"
Toki's muscles tightened.
"But there's one thing I know for certain."
His fist descended.
Utsuki moved.
Her leg slipped behind his own, locking his balance for a fraction of a second before she allowed her entire body to fall backward beneath the incoming strike.
The punch passed inches above her face.
Tora's eyes widened immediately.
"…That's…"
Kandaki slowly nodded.
"…Master Toki's movement technique."
This was the brutal close-range movement style Toki had developed through years of surviving street fights and impossible battles before anyone ever called him a commander. A style focused entirely on manipulating balance and positioning rather than overpowering opponents directly.
And there was only one person he had ever shown it to without realizing.
Because unlike everyone else...She noticed every small thing about him.
As she fell backward, Utsuki pulled her leg violently.
Toki lost balance.
Utsuki surged upward instantly and drove her fist directly into his face.
CRACK.
The impact echoed through the ruined street.
Toki staggered backward before collapsing heavily against the blood-covered ground beneath him. Corpses shifted wetly under his weight while shattered stone cracked outward from the impact.
The monster looked confused.
Utsuki remained standing above him, breathing heavily.
"Amazing…" she whispered shakily. "Even after all this time… you still held back your strength against me instinctively…"
Pain flickered through her eyes.
"Why do you always do that for me, Toki?"
Utsuki's voice trembled slightly now.
"Why do you always encourage me when I'm ready to give up?"
He lifted himself from the corpses slowly.
"Why do you always offer me your shoulder before I even ask to cry?"
His breathing deepened.
"Why are you always beside me before I realize I need someone there?"
Blood continued dripping from his wounds.
"Why do you hold me so tightly whenever I feel like the world is swallowing me whole?"
Utsuki took another step toward him.
"You could've done so many incredible things without me," she whispered. "You're talented… kind… strong enough to stand above almost anyone in this kingdom…"
Tears slowly gathered in her eyes.
"And yet you stayed with me."
The wind moved gently through her silver hair.
"Why?"
"Why did you struggle so hard to become a knight when the kingdom's leadership hated you from the beginning?"
"Why do you always look at me like there's nothing wrong with me?"
Utsuki's voice finally cracked.
"You deserve someone wiser… someone stronger… someone worthy of standing beside you…"
Her lips trembled faintly.
"And instead...you chose me"
A weak smile appeared on her face.
"I'm scared to ask these questions…Because I already know your answer."
Utsuki slowly steadied her breathing and prepared herself for another attack.
Her arms trembled from exhaustion. Blood continued dripping from the cuts across her body while her lungs burned every time she inhaled the rotten air surrounding the battlefield.
Toki lowered his body slightly,like a starving beast preparing to pounce.
Utsuki's chest tightened.
She understood immediately,he was done playing.
This fight had already lasted far too long for him.
Toki lunged.
The street exploded beneath his feet as his body shot toward her with monstrous speed. Broken stone erupted behind him while corpses were blown aside by the sheer force of his acceleration. His mouth opened slightly, revealing blood-covered teeth as his claws stretched toward her throat.
Elizabeth's face turned pale instantly.
"UTSUKI!"
But before Toki could reach her—
A deafening roar suddenly shook the heavens.
The sound exploded across the battlefield with such overwhelming force that the air itself trembled violently. Buildings cracked. Windows shattered across distant streets. Flames bent sideways beneath the pressure wave.
Even Toki and Utsuki were thrown apart by the blast of wind.
The Dragon King's voice thundered across the ruined capital like the wrath of a god.
"Little girl…!"
The enormous dragon hovered above the battlefield with burning eyes fixed directly on Utsuki.
"NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!"
Utsuki's body rolled violently across the ruined ground before crashing against several corpses. Pain shot through her shoulder as she pushed herself upward again.
Then her eyes widened.
The gust of wind had thrown her directly beside Toki's sword.
The blade still protruded from the corpse where he had discarded it earlier.
Toki recovered almost instantly.
The moment his body stabilized, he charged toward her again without hesitation.
Even wounded, even exhausted, his speed remained monstrous. The ruined street shattered beneath every step he took while blood sprayed from the open wounds covering his body.
Utsuki immediately grabbed the sword and ripped it free from the corpse.
Toki was already upon her.
His shadow swallowed her entirely as he threw himself forward with enough force to crush her into the ground.
Utsuki's heartbeat slowed.
Her fingers tightened around the sword.
Then—
Utsuki closed her eyes.
A wet sound echoed softly through the battlefield.
The impact was strangely quiet compared to the violence surrounding them.
Utsuki slowly opened her eyes again.
The sword had pierced directly through Toki's liver.
His body trembled violently.
Blood immediately erupted from the wound in thick dark streams, pouring down the blade and across Utsuki's hands. His momentum carried him forward another half-step before his strength suddenly failed.
His fingers twitched weakly in the air.
Then Toki collapsed forward.
Utsuki caught him instinctively before he could hit the ground.
The force nearly knocked her over, but she wrapped both arms around him tightly while his blood soaked through her clothes almost instantly. It was warm.....So painfully warm.
Toki's breathing became uneven.
A trembling hand rose weakly toward her head.
Utsuki froze the moment his fingers touched her hair.
She slowly looked upward.
And for the first time since the nightmare began—
Toki was looking at her again.
His golden eyes had regained clarity, though tears mixed faintly with the blood running down his face. Exhaustion consumed every part of him now. The rage was gone.
Only sorrow remained.
A weak smile formed on his lips.
"I always knew…" he whispered hoarsely, "…that I'd never stand a chance against you."
Utsuki's breath caught in her throat.
The sound of his real voice shattered something inside her instantly.
Tears flooded her eyes before she could stop them.
Toki's fingers trembled weakly against her hair.
Toki looked around at the carnage he had caused, at all the suffering and horror he had created with his own hands... All he could feel was fear and shame.
"I'm sorry…" he whispered. "I'm sorry I made you go through this…"
Utsuki immediately shook her head violently.
"No…"
Her voice broke completely.
"No, don't apologize… please…"
Tears spilled endlessly down her cheeks now.
She thought she would feel relief.
But instead...All she felt was pain.
Because now that Toki had returned to himself, she could finally see the horror in his eyes.
Utsuki held him tighter as though trying to stop him from falling apart completely.
"Please…" she whispered through tears, "don't cry for my sake…"
Her voice trembled violently.
"I caused you so much suffering…"
Toki's expression softened painfully.
His hand slowly slid away from her hair as the strength left his arm.
But before it fell completely, he forced himself to speak one final time.
"Thank you…"
His voice was barely audible now.
"Thank you for saving me, Utsuki."
Then his body finally gave out.
The strength disappeared from his muscles entirely as consciousness left him.
Toki collapsed fully into her arms.