The old bus terminal reeked of rust, piss, and forgotten sins.
Once the heart of Kuoh's transit system, now it was little more than a mausoleum for steel and silence. Broken benches lined the walls like coffins, and shattered glass crunched beneath worn soles. A few forgotten buses rested outside, stripped bare and rotting.
Inside the lounge, flickering candlelight threw twisted shadows on the walls. Black wax pooled beneath makeshift lanterns. Raynare leaned against a crumbling service desk, arms folded, expression tight with irritation.
"You called us out here for *this*?" she muttered, glancing sideways at the priest. "It's barely past noon. We could've handled the nun later."
"Can't you even handle a little nun?" Mittelt added, kicking over an old bus seat. "Weren't we supposed to do it in the church anyway?"
Dohnaseek stood silently, watching the girl bound in the corner. Asia's robes were stained, her body trembling as she knelt in silent prayer.
The priest finally spoke. "She's not the problem."
"Then what is?" Raynare snapped.
"The boy's dead," he said flatly. "That alone is enough to draw the devils' attention to the church. If we perform the ritual there, we risk being interrupted."
Raynare's expression darkened.
"Then tonight," she said, brushing invisible dust from her skirt, "we finish it. No miracles."
While the Fallen made their plans, in a sealed chamber beneath Kuoh Academy, Ethan sat cross-legged among flickering candles and glowing runes. The containment circle hummed faintly, meant to restrain power. But it wasn't power he struggled with—it was silence.
He closed his eyes, feeling heat build beneath his skin.
"I know you're there," he whispered. "Now don't be shy. It's time we talked. I don't want to spend years learning this from scratch."
No voice answered—only fire. Crackling quietly. Building pressure behind his ribs.
He tried for what felt like hours. Until finally, something *shifted*. A thought. A message. Not in words, but in fire and instinct:
**To burn in daylight,
you must burn through the night.
Kill, learn, and understand.**
Ethan's eyes snapped open—embers glowing in the room.
He stood.
Sona hadn't given him permission to leave—or any information. But he wasn't waiting. Not when someone needed help. He already knew how devils thought. The best-case scenario for them? The nun dies. Then she's a devil. Neat and clean.
But Ethan didn't do *neat*.
Dusk painted the sky in fire and gold as he walked the streets of Kuoh. The breeze carried the scent of burning leaves… and something fouler.
*Sin.*
He could smell it—thick and bitter, clinging to the air like oil. It wrapped around his senses like a leash, pulling him forward, step by step, alley by alley.
Eventually, he stopped in front of a rusted gate. Beyond it lay the forgotten depot, half-swallowed by vines and time. No one in town remembered it—or maybe they just didn't want to.
But Ethan knew what waited inside.
And so did the fire inside his body.
The lights inside the terminal flickered violently as a gust of wind swept through.
Raynare's head turned, casual smirk faltering.
A stranger in a black coat stepped through the broken entrance, boots echoing on cracked tile. His eyes locked on them—cold, unreadable.
Freed's grin widened. "Did those devils turn you into a stray dog? And now you've come to rescue the little nun?"
Ethan's voice was low, steady. "No. I'm here to purify your soul."
Freed snorted. "You think you're some kind of hero? Wake up, kid—this ain't a comic book."
"I'm just the nightmare."
The air thickened.
Lights sputtered.
Then—*fire*.
His coat blackened, leather hardening over his shoulders. Steel studs burst through the seams. Chains made of flame uncoiled from his arms like living things.
And then… his face ignited.
Flesh peeled away—burned.
A flaming skull stared back at them. Molten eyes lit the terminal in hellish orange.
Raynare stepped back, wings flaring wide. "W–What… what are you?!"
His voice rumbled from deep within the flames.
**"I am judgment."**
---
Far from the bus stop on the rooftop of a quiet observatory tower, Sona Shitori lowered a long-distance enchanted monocular. The wind tugged at her uniform blazer, but she didn't flinch.
Tsubaki stood beside her, sword at her side.
"So," Sona murmured, "he moved faster than expected."
"You predicted he would have such strength," Tsubaki said softly.
"I suspected," Sona corrected. "But this confirms it. Now we can examine everything more closely and see just how capable this guy is."
Tsubaki watched the flames rising faintly in the distance.
"Should we intervene?"
Sona didn't answer immediately. Her violet eyes remained fixed on the horizon.
"It's pointless. Since we didn't help earlier, it wouldn't make sense to step in now."
She turned away from the scope.
"At least now we have a better understanding of him."
Tsubaki was quiet for a moment, then asked:
"So… did you understand what he is?"
Sona's answer was quiet.
"…Something the devils aren't ready for."