Elder Geryon's hooves churned silent flames through the thin, frigid air. For five minutes, it carried them steadily at nine thousand one hundred meters above the sea—a silent, black silhouette streaking across an oceanic nowhere, far from any human gaze.
Makima remained pressed close against Kang Woo's back, eyes closed, arms looped around his chest. The cold wind knifed past them, but she seemed untouched by it, her breath calm and measured.
Kang Woo, however, was acutely aware of where they were. Below them, hidden beneath three thousand meters of oceanic darkness, lay the Sevastopol. The Soviet submarine—its secrets locked away inside its steel tomb. And only Kang Woo knew what he was truly preparing to do.
Mikhail was struggling. Even with all the might of his Zaiphon , the Entity trapped within the Sevastopol wasn't mature enough for what Kang Woo intended .
That was why Kang Woo had flown at Mach 100 earlier. Not only to evade Makima's relentless pursuit—but to scramble every possible form of detection: electromagnetic, quantum, even supernatural senses. His demonic aura itself had fractured the sky . Enough to ensure secrecy for what came next.
At last, he glanced down at Makima's slender arms wrapped around him. He reached back and gently touched her wrist. "Makima, can you let me go now? I need to work."
Makima's eyes slid open the tiniest fraction, golden irises gleaming as she peered upward at him. "…If I let you go, will you stay at my house?"
Kang Woo tilted his head, a sly grin flickering across his lips. "You seem like you want more than me just staying at your house."
Makima gave a quiet huff, cheeks puffed slightly in a classic tsundere flare. "You should be grateful, that I haven't dumped you yet."
With a final, reluctant sigh, she loosened her grip,. Though she remained firmly seated on Elder Geryon behind him, her posture was a little more distant now, a faint sulk lingering in her expression.
Kang Woo cast her a sidelong look, lips curling faintly. Then, without another word, he leapt lightly from the saddle.
He didn't fall. Instead, his foot pressed against the empty sky as though it were solid. The very air beneath him hardened into a shimmering surface of pale blue light, like glass forged from starlight.
All around him—extending for hundreds of meters in every direction—a lattice of brilliant blue Reishi platforms unfolded, forming a colossal floor in the middle of the heavens.
Above the platform, Kang Woo lifted his voice, singing in a low, resonant tone. ( reaching Your God hood )
Svá sem spár höfðu sagt fyrir
Sonr fæddist til at frelsa sálir várar
Ok kenna at gott má sigra illt
Þannig talað er orð goðs.
The ancient Norse words reverberated, weaving into the glowing grid beneath his feet.
As his voice faded, Kang Woo raised one hand, and several ribbons of glowing blue Reishi erupted from his palm. Each ribbon was inscribed with intricate Roman letters, snaking through the air like living serpents of light.
From the Reishi platform, dozens of slender pillars of radiant energy surged skyward, striking into the Letters itself .
Makima watched, eyes wide, as the entire sky seemed to respond. High above—near the outer edges of Earth's atmosphere—a colossal sphere of Reishi, nearly a kilometer in diameter, began to materialize. Its surface rippled and shimmered like liquid sapphire.
Then, without warning, a blue rain began to fall. Droplets of glowing Reishi poured from the sphere overhead, cascading down in gentle sheets. The rain washed over Kang Woo, soaking his clothes and skin with shining azure light. It fell over Makima too, soaking her hair and shoulders, and spread downward toward the endless ocean below.
Kang Woo exhaled, feeling the surging force of Auswählen threading through his veins. His own spiritual particles were revitalized, restoring him piece by piece.
He thought to himself, his eyes glittering under the rain: This is probably the first time in Quincy history someone's used Auswählen… on themselves. If I'd miscalculated even a little, it'd have targeted me instead. That would've been… very bad.
But as he stood there, drenched in cerulean radiance, he sensed it. The Auswählen was pouring into the world below, touching even the ocean.
Mikhail's voice crackled into Kang Woo's mind via telepathy: Master… the Entity's progress has suddenly accelerated. Maturation has reached 45%.
Makima, still seated atop Elder Geryon and drenched in shimmering blue droplets, watched him intently.
She knew Kang Woo possessed immense power. She'd seen it many times before. But she hadn't expected this. This gentle, ethereal spectacle raining from the sky. In her mind, Makima wrestled with the contradictions.
This man… he's ridiculous. He wields power in flames and darkness, calls up forces like hell itself. And yet… he can create something like this. Beautiful. Silent. Almost calming .
To her, only one explanation seemed remotely logical. Kang Woo just has too much fantasy inside his head. authorities … hellblaze, … It's all stupid. And that thing called Zaiphon—that's Mikhail's domain, not truly his own.
Still, as she tilted her face up to the sapphire rain, letting droplets soak into her hair and skin, even she had to admit: The blue rain… is beautiful.
Unknown to Makima, however, Kang Woo's rain wasn't merely a spectacle. Subtle streams of Reishi were weaving into her body, silently grafting new pathways within her soul. Hidden under the radiance of Auswählen, Kang Woo was implanting the capability of Blut Vene inside her—a defensive Quincy technique. So that one day, if Makima found herself in mortal danger… she could wield it like an expert Quincy would. Whether she ever realized it—or not.
Makima, still dripping faint trails of blue rain from her hair, gave Kang Woo a sly look. "Kang Woo, have you finished with your fantasy yet?. Let's go. I want you to come with me, understand that, ehhh… chunni?"
Kang Woo only shook his head, a faint smile lingering on his lips. Without answering, he lifted his hand and made a subtle gesture toward Elder Geryon beneath them.
The demonic horse seemed to nod, its burning mane flaring briefly. In the next instant, a surge of dark power swelled around them—and the world vanished in a swirl of blue and black light. It was like slipping through liquid stars. Space and time bent, folding around them. Then—suddenly—they were standing back on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo, night air cool and crisp, as though no cosmic battle had ever occurred.
It was the same moment from earlier, just before Makima's stunt had led to her getting dragged skyward by Kang Woo's black comet.
Kang Woo made another quick gesture, and Elder Geryon vanished in a soft ripple of blue fire and shadows.
Makima let out a tiny gasp as her footing vanished beneath her. But before she could topple over, tendrils of black darkness curled from Kang Woo's fingertips, weaving into a solid platform under her boots, holding her upright.
Makima quickly recovered her composure and flicked her hair back over one shoulder. " You already have that strange motorcycle. You should give me the horse. I talked to it—it says it's like me."
Kang Woo only stared at her, an incredulous glint in his eyes. Makima… you don't even understand the language of demons. And secondly… demons are far above your paygrade. Devils are peasants. Demons are nobility. You're lucky Elder Geryon didn't kick you off his back.
A low chuckle slipped out of him. "Hahaha."
Makima narrowed her eyes. "What's so funny?"
Kang Woo leaned in slightly, a teasing spark lighting his gaze. "No, it's just… how bold you are. Asking something like that… from a creature that's far, far above you."
Makima scoffed, crossing her arms, though a faint flush touched her cheeks. "Boldness is how you get what you want. You of all people should know that, Kang Woo."
Kang Woo raised an eyebrow and pulled his portal pistol from his coat, fingers already dancing over its sleek surface as he prepped it to open a shimmering transparent portal.
But before he could fire, Makima suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the collar, yanking him down to her eye level.
"I think there's enough of your travel tricks for one day, . "No more hopping from one place to another without warning."
Kang Woo gave her an exaggerated look of offense, widening his eyes. "Aren't you the one who goes: 'I want to go home, uhuuuu, Kang Woo please stay at my apartment!'"
Makima's eye twitched. A visible vein pulsed on her forehead. "Just follow me, you damn chunni!" she barked, cheeks flushing red as she tightened her grip on his collar. "And you owe me for the countless wounds I got from your previous stunts!"
Kang Woo tilted his head, unfazed. "You seem alright to me," he said coolly, glancing over her. "Other than some clothes being dirty."
Makima's eyes narrowed into deadly slits. She shoved her face closer, her voice dropping dangerously low. "You hurt my feelings, Kang Woo," she hissed. "You dumped me. Now I want you to take responsibility."
Kang Woo tilted his head, unfazed, and let out a small sigh. "Sure it is," he said lightly. "But—"
He gently took hold of her wrist and lowered her hand from his collar, his touch firm yet careful.
"If there's an audience," he continued, eyes glinting with mischief, "people might think we're a husband and an angry, drunken wife. You know—the lady who's yanking her man around by his shirt because he came home late."
Makima paused, lips parting as if to retort. But then she exhaled, some of the fire ebbing from her gaze. She lowered her eyes for a moment, breathing out the tension.
It was becoming a pattern, she realized with quiet frustration—this man somehow made her lose her composure far too often.
After a beat, Makima raised her chin again and lifted her hand toward Kang Woo, palm open, like an offering. "Can you not run away from me again… at least for tonight?"
Kang Woo looked at her for a long second. Then, a small, warm smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"My schedule's open today, little princess," he said, and slipped his hand into hers.
They began to walk together through the neon-lit streets, the buzz of Tokyo nightlife echoing around them. Makima clung to Kang Woo's arm just a little tighter than before—as though determined he wouldn't vanish on her again. Kang Woo didn't resist. He let her hold on, a faintly amused look flickering across his face at how fiercely protective—and stubborn—Makima was behaving tonight.
Suddenly, in the corner of his vision, a glowing blue window only he could see flickered into existence:
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[SHOP INVENTORY UNLOCKED]
Courtesy of the Black King.
Note: You can use the window stats to buy items or, for extra style points, brag via your black mobile phone about how awesome your tech is. Accepts world currency—but souls yield the most awesome items.
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Kang Woo's eyes glinted as he scanned the text, a slow grin forming on his lips. Well… that's handy.