Zetta then rolled around a few more times, trying to get rid of Delta's scent.
After a short while, he stopped.
Silent.
Then, with a calm motion, he pulled the blanket over himself and slipped underneath it—and in an instant… he vanished.
"…Zeta?" Gabriel called.
No answer.
A few seconds passed.
Suddenly, Zeta emerged from under the bed. His face was slightly dusty, yet his expression remained flat, as if nothing had happened.
He then stepped out completely, brushed the dust off his clothes, and straightened the bed—making it even tidier than before.
"Task complete."
Morgan nodded slightly.
"Good."
Gabriel watched the scene for a few seconds… then let out a quiet sigh.
"…You really are like a cat that can't make up its mind," he murmured.
Zeta glanced back.
"A cat is an efficient creature."
Gabriel gave a faint smile, then glanced back at the box of fish in his hands.
"Thank you," he said. "We can cook some for the Shades, and either salt the rest—or maybe just store them in the fridge I created."
Zeta thought for a moment.
"…Small ones fried. Large ones grilled."
"Noted," Gabriel replied briefly.
Zeta nodded slightly, then walked toward the window. His hand touched the sill, body leaning forward, ready to jump down.
However—he paused.
Zeta turned back toward Gabriel.
"By the way," he said flatly, "there's movement from the Cult of Diablos. Southeast direction. Small, but active."
Gabriel didn't show any sign of surprise.
"Yes," he answered calmly. "I already know."
Zeta stared at him for a few seconds.
"You'll move?"
"Tonight," Gabriel said. "A cleanup, as usual."
"…Understood."
Without further ado, Zeta leapt out the window and vanished from sight, his movement light and silent like a shadow.
Silence settled over the room once more.
Gabriel leaned back against the chair, staring at the ceiling with a vacant yet focused gaze.
His mind was no longer in the room—it was on the night to come, and on the blood that would silently spill once again.
***
A week had passed.
Gabriel's days in the reality of Kage no Jitsuryokusa went on as usual—calm on the surface, layered with complexity beneath.
When he wasn't hunting the Cult Diabo, he spent time with the Seven Shades—whether telling nonsense stories, training together, or hunting animals with Delta for food.
Of course, he always made time for his surrogate family, whether for training or simply playing with Claire.
But tonight, all of that was set aside.
Under a night sky scattered with stars, bathed in the pale moonlight of early autumn, Gabriel stood alone atop the roof of a speeding train, cutting through the darkness without hesitation.
The steel wheels clattered over the tracks, creating a monotonous rhythm that stretched endlessly.
On both sides of the tracks, fields of grass, beginning to yellow with the change of seasons, were dragged backward into blurred shadows.
The autumn wind slapped his face, sharp and biting.
His white hair—tinted by the influence of Dark Matter—whipped wildly, as if animated by the will of the night itself.
His black trench coat, adorned with silver ornaments, whipped violently in the wind, swirling with the speed of the train and merging with the darkness as if it were part of the shadows themselves.
On his shoulder, Morgan sat calmly with her arms and legs crossed. Her hair and the edges of her outfit fluttered lightly in the wind, contrasting with her near-unchanging composure.
Cid was still far to the north, lost in his own adventure. Tonight, Gabriel intended to be nothing but Ash.
He stretched out both arms, as if to embrace the entire world rushing beneath him, and let out a long exhale.
"If only a conflict were to happen on this train," he murmured softly. "It would be exciting… I've already prepared a few cool things to play with."
Morgan glanced sideways, watching Gabriel from beneath her half-lidded eyes.
"…You do realize," she said calmly, her voice almost drowned out by the roar of the wind, "standing on a train hurtling at hundreds of kilometers per hour and hoping for a conflict… that's not strategy."
She sighed softly, crossing her arms tighter.
"That's just you… bored."
Morgan shifted her gaze to the tracks rushing beneath them.
Gabriel chuckled softly. The wind stole his voice, breaking it into a faint hiss amidst the roar of the steel wheels.
"Then," he said casually, "let's just call this… an appreciation of the night."
Yet the smile was not entirely empty.
For a moment, his thoughts drifted. Before the train had taken off, he had sensed the presence of several vampires boarding one of the carriages.
One of them seemed familiar—the figure that had appeared in the second season of the anime.
The vampire's name was Mary.
Still, their intentions remained a mystery. Gabriel had not yet used Gigan to probe their past.
A faint smirk appeared on his face, and he lowered his hands.
"Heh. Impossible," he murmured quietly. "I'm not Cid-kun, with traits like that."
On his shoulder, Morgan closed her eyes for a moment.
"…Thank goodness," she said softly, almost as if in prayer. "I know what you were thinking. And I'm even more grateful that you chose not to follow that impulse."
He opened his eyes, staring straight ahead.
"Self-awareness is the thin line between an observer… and a catalyst for disaster."
Gabriel exhaled slowly, his shoulders loosening slightly.
"So… let's—"
The world seemed to exhale along with him. Time slowed.
The next instant, a surge of Mana tore through the silence—loud, wild, and unrestrained—emanating from the fifth carriage from the front. The same carriage. The one where the vampires were.
The steel roof exploded from below.
The impact shook the train frame, metal shards flew into the air, dragged by the night wind. The raw Mana aura burst outward, tearing apart the newly established balance.
"Hah—!?"
Gabriel didn't turn his body.
Yet his stance stiffened for a moment.
His expression remained calm, almost emotionless—contrasting sharply with the thoughts racing through his mind.
"What the hack… there's actually a conflict!?"
Almost simultaneously, a red-haired vampire woman hovered briefly in the air. Her long hair and cloak danced with the gusts of the speeding train.
Moments later, she landed on the roof of the carriage.
The woman was Mary. Her long red hair was captivating, her eyes golden, and her body tall and slender.
She wore all black: a black shirt, a red-laced tie, black pants with red and gold accents, black gloves, knee-high boots, and a black cloak with red-gold trimming draping over her shoulders and back.
On her head, Mary wore a wide-brimmed hat resembling a pirate's hat, adorned with red-and-white feathers, adding to her deadly aura.
Soon after, from the same opening, two other vampires appeared, their hair dirty blonde and dressed entirely in black. Each of the three, including Mary, wielded a sword.
They were completely unaware of Gabriel's presence.
From the beginning, he had been standing on the very front carriage, hiding his Ki entirely—concealed by his Mana Skin and synchronized with the surrounding environment, blending seamlessly with the train's speed and the night wind.
Rather than immediately plunging into the conflict, Gabriel chose to remain silent as an observer. He watched everything with a calmness that bordered on cold.
Morgan, on the other hand, could only sigh softly—her reluctance mingling with resignation. She knew the impending foolishness she did not want to witness was slowly drawing near.
A faint smile appeared on Gabriel's face.
A sign he knew all too well.
Ash had fully awakened.
His right hand folded over his chest while his left hand rose, partially covering his face—and one of the Gigans in both of his eyes.
A geometric Gigan circle appeared in the air before him, silent yet absolute.
Moments later, blue circuits spread rapidly in all directions—hacking through the space of perception, linking his sight directly with what Mary was witnessing.
"How can you be this strong, and it's not even the red moon…?!" Mary's voice rang out, sharp and full of burning anger.
One of the vampires sneered, replying, "Crimson-sama… just did a little 'assisting' with the livestock."
Mary's eyes flared red for a moment, her anger peaking. "Stop! Don't call humans livestock!" Her voice trembled, firm and full of warning.
The two vampires sneered, mocking Mary's foolish words. One of them stepped forward, sword drawn and pointed at her.
"How naive. Hundreds of years have passed," he said with a grin, "and you still cling to the principles of that lazy Vampire Queen… Elizabeth?"
The insult nearly made Mary lose her patience, but the male vampire continued in a cold voice:
"Therefore," he said calmly, crushing the words with intent, "Mary… you will become an obstacle for Crimson-sama in the future."
"So… just surrender yourself to Crimson-sama's will," the vampire beside him added, "and die quietly by my hand."
Mary furrowed her brow, remaining silent for a moment. Laughter flowed from the two vampires, mocking her.
Meanwhile, Gabriel observed from a distance. Part of his mind churned, slightly unsettled by a vague confusion.
Understandably so.
He was not the main character of this world. Even though he had hoped for some conflict, it was impossible for him to be at its center.
Yet a wild suspicion crossed his mind—brief, irrational, but not entirely dismissible.
Perhaps… something bad had happened to Cid. Maybe he had died, and the world—in its absurd way—had transferred the protagonist's trait to him.
"Heh…" Gabriel chuckled softly, almost inaudibly. "Impossible. Clearly impossible. Cid-kun is far too strong for something like that."
___
Author's note:
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