The road curved out from the estate like a spine etched into the land—cobbled stone giving way to worn dirt as we passed the final warded markers and crossed into neutral territory. The forest beyond rose in uneven layers, trees bent slightly by time and wind, their leaves rustling like distant whispers.
We traveled on foot. No carriages. No beasts. Quiet and deliberate, just as Hinata had ordered.
Rei walked ahead slightly, scanning the tree line with practiced awareness. Her hand never strayed far from her side-blade, the weight of her cloak shifting with each step. Asmodeus stayed at my flank, whistling off-key and trying not to look like he was still trying to process her transformation.
"I'm not over it," he muttered, loud enough for only me to hear.
"You don't have to be," I said flatly.
"I mean, I knew something was off about her—him—her. But not that."
"She's still Rei," I replied. "Don't be weird."
"Too late."
Rei, without turning around, said calmly, "I can hear you."
Asmodeus jumped a little.
"Still terrifying," he mumbled.
[Note: Ambient mana density increasing. Proximity to anomaly: within 3.7 kilometers.]
"How long?"
[At current speed, anomaly perimeter will be breached within twenty-five minutes.]
"Good."
The path dipped downward into a shaded ravine, where the air felt colder—denser. Rei paused at the crest of the slope, motioning for us to stop.
"Something's wrong," she said, low and quiet.
"Define wrong," Asmodeus muttered, hand flexing near his belt.
"I don't hear birds," she replied. "No insects. The mana's thick, but still. Too still."
We descended slowly, stepping light.
And that's when we saw it—half-sunken stone spires jutting from the earth like broken ribs, choked by moss and shadow.
The edge of the ruin.
The anomaly pulsed once—deep and soundless.
[Notice: Boundary reached.]
I stopped walking.
We stood at the edge of the ruin.
The trees bent inward unnaturally, like they were leaning away from something they couldn't see but still feared. Vines curled along fractured stone, and the moss clinging to the spires shimmered faintly with residual mana.
Too faint. Too old.
"Metatron, scan the boundary."
[Commencing scan... Residual leyline fractures detected. Wards degraded. No active curses present. Mana anomalies: localized. Origin—beneath.]
Beneath.
Of course it was.
Rei crouched near a stone, brushing her fingers along a long-dead symbol etched into its surface. "This was a seal."
"Broken?" I asked.
"Dissolved," she replied. "Not shattered. Eroded."
Asmodeus stood a few paces behind us, arms crossed, but his expression was serious now. Focused. "Something nested here."
"Or is still nesting," I said, lowering my voice.
[Notice: Seismic layering suggests subterranean structure. Entry route possible via collapsed passageway—west quadrant.]
I moved slowly, circling the edge, eyes scanning for movement. The ground didn't feel normal—like walking on skin instead of soil. Mana shifted under my feet in the way air bends before lightning strikes.
"This place isn't just old," I murmured. "It's forgotten on purpose."
Rei stood and dusted off her gloves. "Then we're either the first to walk in… or the first dumb enough to try."
Asmodeus smirked faintly. "Wouldn't be the first time we've played the fool."
I didn't respond. I just let my palm hover over the stone nearest the slope—a whisper of gravity magic spiraling through my fingers.
The pressure beneath the ruin throbbed again—like something waiting.
"Let's move," I said finally. "We find the entrance. Quiet. No flares. If this place is asleep, we don't want to wake it screaming."
Asmodeus tilted his head. "You're a lot more dramatic since bonding with the death sword."
"I'm a lot more conscious of my mortality," I replied.
Rei snorted.
And we moved.
We crept deeper toward the west quadrant.
The trees here leaned closer, their bark laced with old sigils—faded and partially scorched. Like someone had tried to burn them off but failed.
Asmodeus crouched near one of the roots, brushing aside a layer of moss with the tip of his dagger. "Prints," he said quietly.
I knelt beside him.
Too clean.
Too recent.
"Boot size's wrong for us," Rei murmured, eyes narrowed. "That's not ours."
[Notice: Residual mana imprint detected—unknown origin. Arcane structure: fractured. Alignment: conflicting. Analysis suggests layered magic—multiple sources.]
"Someone's already been here," I muttered. "And not just one person."
Asmodeus looked up at me. "Think they're still inside?"
"I don't know," I said. "But if they are..."
[Alert: Residual mana signature detected. Ruin perimeter ward has been disrupted. Unknown magical tripline triggered—likely keyed to proximity or mana resonance.]
Oh.
So we did trigger something.
Rei narrowed her eyes. "That's... strange. The air feels sticky."
"Mana's thick," Asmodeus muttered. "Like it's curdling."
Asmodeus tensed. "That's not just mana."
[Update: High moisture concentration. Multiple lifeforms detected beneath the surface. Non-metallic. Gel-based. Approaching rapidly.]
Before I could process that—
Schlurp.
A wet, gurgling ripple rose from the dirt just ahead of us. Then another. And another.
The ground bulged, then parted—and globs of translucent bodies began oozing up between cracks in the stone. Slimes. Dozens. Maybe more. Each one shimmering faintly with embedded mana threads that pulsed in strange hues—blue, green, even red.
Some were the size of boots.
Others the size of carriages.
"Why is it always slimes?" Asmodeus asked, drawing a short dagger with one hand and lightning into the other. "I hate slimes."
"These aren't normal," Rei said, backing slightly toward me. "They're not reacting like wild monsters. They're... coordinated."
One of the slimes split—literally tore itself in half—and both halves moved separately, sliding into flanking positions with disconcerting speed.
[Warning: Detected anomaly in core structure. These slimes are semi-sentient. Combat strategy is adaptive.]
"Of course they are," I hissed. "Because we couldn't just get ambushed—we had to get ambushed by thinking goo."
The biggest slime inched forward with a tremor that shook the leaves off a nearby tree.
And then they lunged.
The first one came for Asmodeus.
He slashed out with his dagger, crackling with lightning—but the moment the blade connected, the slime shuddered and absorbed the charge.
"What—"
BOOM.
The slime detonated in a mini-burst of steam and static, sending him staggering backward with a yelp. "I told you I hate slimes!"
"They absorbed the mana," I said, already pulling a charm tag from my sleeve. "Don't use lightning. It's making them stronger!"
Another slime lunged—faster than it had any right to be. I tried to bind it with gravity, but the shifting mana field around the ruin threw off my tether points. My spell snapped sideways, dragging the slime partially into the ground but not stopping it.
Asmodeus rolled, panting. "Okay, new plan. What are these things weak to?!"
Rei, without a word, stepped forward—calm. Composed.
One slime reared up in front of her, rippling in anticipation.
She didn't flinch.
With a flick of her wrist, Rei drew a short ceremonial blade—not enchanted, not flashy. Just sharp.
And as the slime surged, she stepped in—low and clean—and cut through the core in one motion.
It collapsed with a muted hiss, leaking harmlessly across the ground.
Another came for her.
She pivoted, ducked under it, and drove her palm into its underbelly with a focused mana pulse. The core inside cracked with a dull snap, and it dissolved around her feet like misted jelly.
She didn't stop.
A third, a fourth—two more approached her flank. She didn't even bother drawing again. Instead, she traced a tight arc in the air with her fingertips, and a windless slice of mana bisected the slime mid-lunge.
It didn't even splatter. It just fell apart.
I stared.
"…She's not even breaking a sweat," Asmodeus whispered beside me, now crouched behind a half-crushed root. "How is she that calm?"
"She's Rei," I muttered, jaw tight. "She does this."
But even as I said it, my brain ticked through every movement she'd made—nothing like the Rei I trained with.
Too clean. Too efficient.
Too precise.
As if she'd trained for this. Not just to protect—but to kill.
The remaining slimes hesitated—hesitated—around her.
And Rei stood there, half-turned, waiting for the next.
"Stay behind me," she said flatly. "You two are going to get hurt."
Asmodeus sputtered. "I—I'm the combat specialist—!"
"I'm aware," Rei replied, not looking at him.
One last slime surged toward her—and she didn't move.
She waited.
Let it get close.
Then slammed her palm down into the ground—and the entire slime froze, mana dispersing from its core in a silent burst of light. It melted without resistance.
Silence fell.
Rei didn't gloat. She didn't smile.
She just wiped her blade clean on a cloth and turned to face us like we were the ones who'd been fighting ghosts.
"You done?" she asked, flatly.
Asmodeus just raised his hands in defeat.
"…Okay," he muttered, jogging to catch up beside her. "That was—actually impressive."
Rei didn't respond.
"No, seriously," he continued. "I mean, yeah, I'm used to people being good. But that? That was clean. That was scary clean."
Still, nothing.
He cleared his throat, walking a little closer. "Sooo… teach me?"
Rei stopped.
Turned her head slightly.
And gave him a look so flat, so profoundly unimpressed, it could've chilled lava.
"No."
Asmodeus blinked. "What? Why not?"
"You're already in elite drills," she said simply. "Your father's combat regimen is advanced. Fast. Brutal. You don't need what I know."
"I want to learn what you know," he insisted. "The way you move—there's no wasted effort. That's the kind of stuff I need to—"
"You don't," she cut in.
He paused. "Rei—"
She faced him now, eyes unreadable. "What I learned wasn't to win. It was to end things."
A beat.
"I wasn't trained to duel. I was trained to survive."
That silenced him.
Completely.
Asmodeus stepped back, just a little, eyes scanning her again—but now with something deeper. Not awe. Not admiration.
Something bordering on concern.
"…That's not fair," he said quietly.
"No," she agreed, already walking again. "It's not."
I trailed a few paces behind them, watching the way Asmodeus stared at her back. His usual grin had vanished. For once, there was no joke. No dramatic quip.
Just silence.
And something in his gaze that looked a lot like he was finally realizing—
Rei wasn't the shadow behind me.
She was something else entirely.
The others moved ahead—Rei at point, Asmodeus trailing behind, for once not trying to fill the silence.
I lagged back just a little. Just enough to breathe.
The slimes were gone. The threat neutralized. But something about the way Rei moved still lingered in the air like static after lightning. Efficient. Cold. Not cruel. But absolute.
I pressed my fingers lightly to Yukihana's dormant seal.
Still.
Still waiting.
Still listening.
[Observation: User is exhibiting reflective emotional cadence. Initiating passive cognitive stabilization.]
"Thanks," I murmured—half to Metatron, half to no one.
Ahead, Rei said nothing. Her footsteps were light, measured.
[Note: Subject Reilan Gintama exhibits post-combat dissociative focus. Combat efficiency remains high. Emotional processing: deferred.]
"She's been like this for a long time, hasn't she?"
[Affirmative. Combat pattern suggests survival-based conditioning. Likely linked to personal history.]
And yet—
She hadn't said a word.
Not about what she'd been through. Not about the skill she carried in silence.
Not even now.
Not when she could've gloated. Or lectured.
I glanced toward Asmodeus, his jaw clenched tighter than I'd seen in weeks.
Even he felt it.
I stared down at my hands.
I held Yukihana. Faced my father. Survived something no one should've come back from.
And yet, right now?
I felt small.
Not weak. Not lesser.
Just… humbled.
There were wars being fought beneath the surface. In silence. In restraint.
Rei's war hadn't ended just because she'd found me.
And maybe mine wasn't done either.
A few more steps passed before I realized I wasn't keeping pace anymore.
Not fully.
Just enough to drag behind.
The air had shifted after the fight. Not from danger. But from something heavier.
Weightier.
Rei noticed.
She didn't say anything right away—but I felt it.
The moment her steps slowed, just enough to match mine.
Subtle. But deliberate.
She glanced over her shoulder, eyes cool as ever, but less guarded now.
"You good?" she asked. Casual tone. Not casual intent.
I nodded once. "Just… thinking."
"You've been doing a lot of that lately."
I arched my brow. "Didn't realize you were timing it."
She didn't smile. Not quite.
"You get quiet when the pieces don't fit," she said. "When something doesn't sit right."
I exhaled. "It's nothing."
Rei gave me a look. One that said, You're lying, but I'll let you pretend otherwise.
Then she spoke softer, more measured. "You don't have to hold it all at once, you know."
The words weren't pointed. They were just... present.
Like a tether offered without demand.
My throat tightened. I didn't answer right away.
Behind us, Asmodeus muttered something about the ground being too squishy for dramatic hero poses. His usual charm—muted now.
Rei didn't break stride.
And neither did I.
I stayed silent a moment longer, walking just behind Rei and Asmodeus.
[Notice: Emotional pressure rising. Prolonged silence will hinder cohesion.]
I grimaced.
"You good?" Rei asked, glancing back.
I didn't answer immediately.
[Recommendation: Initiate verbal interaction.]
I sighed, then muttered just loud enough for the others to hear, "I'm fine. Just... thinking."
Asmodeus perked up like a hawk spotting a mouse. "Thinking or brooding?"
"I didn't realize those were mutually exclusive."
"They are when you start radiating tragic backstory energy again," he said. "It's the stare. Way too intense for a casual walk through cursed woods."
"I'm not intense."
"You're brooding so hard the trees look nervous." He retorted.
Rei stifled a laugh, then added, "You've been quiet since the slimes."
"That's because we got ambushed by jelly." I snapped back.
"They weren't even that bad."
"They melted your boot!" I pointed at Rei's partially melted boot.
"One boot," she corrected. "And it wasn't even my favorite pair."
I rolled my eyes.
[Passive observation: Group tension decreased by 23%. Emotional synchronization stabilizing.]
Then—an internal flicker.
A whisper of unfamiliar data shimmered across my awareness.
[Update: Extra Skill Acquired – Lesser Regeneration.]
I blinked.
"What."
[Trigger confirmed during prior battle. Sampled enemy traits processed. Minor passive healing activated.]
Internally, I frowned. You did that during the fight?
[Affirmative. Combat protocol authorized sample ingestion for analysis.]
Ingestion?
[Used Unique Skill: Predator to sample enemy. Sample was metabolized and Extra Skill: Lesser Regeneration was acquired.]
"You're scowling again," Rei said.
I shook my head. "Just remembering how awful that slime smelled."
"Tell me about it," Asmodeus muttered. "Still think I have jelly in my collar."
I didn't respond. I was too busy feeling the low hum of magic quietly repairing a tiny cut on my arm.
[Skill synced. Baseline recovery improved.]
I couldn't stop the small, involuntary smirk that tugged at the edge of my lips.
Rei noticed. "What?"
"Nothing."
Asmodeus looked suspicious. "That's your 'I just learned something overpowered' look."
"It's my 'I survived the goo with dignity' look."
"That's a lie and you know it." Rei pointed out.
"Drop it, both of you," I said, letting the tension fall from my shoulders. "Let's keep moving. The ruins can't be far."
The air remained thick with residual mana, but the conversation helped—tethered us back to something real. Something human.