Chapter 163: The Ghost of Oheyo
"North gate!"
Taai's voice thundered across the western district.
Every nearby soldier turned instinctively.
"The second wave is approaching!"
"Split the forces!"
"First Battalion, reinforce the northern wall!"
"Second Battalion, stay with me!"
"Close the northern gate before they reach it!"
"Move!"
"YES, SIR!"
The organized retreat happened immediately.
Muscle City had survived countless invasions.
Even amidst chaos—
Its soldiers still obeyed.
Groups peeled away from the western district, racing through the city streets toward the northern defenses.
Kai leaned against a shattered wall.
His breathing remained uneven.
The pain beneath his skin still lingered.
Magic Circuits.
Just trying to use them had nearly crippled him.
He clenched his fist.
"...Not yet."
He couldn't rely on them.
Not like this.
A nearby explosion snapped him back to reality.
Another hybrid crashed through a building.
Guards intercepted it.
The battle resumed.
Then—
Something changed.
A figure appeared at the end of the street.
Walking.
Not running.
Not hiding.
Simply...
Walking.
Long silver hair.
A double-sided scythe rested across one shoulder.
Akari.
Silence spread unnaturally.
A demon noticed first.
It lunged.
The Akari never even looked.
One step.
A flash.
The demon split cleanly in half.
It hadn't even reached striking distance.
Blood painted the street.
Several soldiers instinctively raised their weapons.
The Akari continued walking.
One soldier blocked the path.
His spear trembled.
"Stop!"
The answer came as a single swing.
His body collapsed before the spear hit the ground.
Another demon charged.
Dead.
A monster followed.
Dead.
There was no pattern.
No allegiance.
No hesitation.
Anything that stood between Akari and the next step...
Simply ceased to exist.
The battlefield slowed.
Then...
Stopped.
Demons paused.
Soldiers forgot to breathe.
For one impossible moment—
Everyone watched.
No one wanted to become the next body.
Taai arrived first.
He landed directly in front of Akari.
The street cracked beneath his feet.
"...Akari."
The Akari stopped.
The silver hair shifted gently in the wind.
No response.
Taai lowered his fists slightly.
"It's me."
"Taai."
Nothing.
No recognition.
No emotion.
Only silence.
Taai took one careful step.
"You don't have to do this."
"...Come back."
The Akari slowly raised the scythe.
Taai sighed.
"So that's your answer."
The street exploded.
Both disappeared.
BOOM!!
The shockwave shattered nearby windows.
Taai's punch met the shaft of the scythe.
The impact sent both sliding backward.
Akari twisted.
The blade swept toward Taai's neck.
He ducked underneath it and answered with a palm strike.
The Akari slipped around it with unnatural flexibility.
Their weapons never truly connected.
Neither gained an advantage.
It lasted only seconds.
Then—
Akari suddenly stepped backward.
Turned.
And resumed walking.
Taai frowned.
"...You're leaving?"
No answer.
He moved to pursue.
Then stopped.
Three hybrids burst through a nearby house.
Another demon smashed into a defensive line.
Taai looked between the city...
And Akari's retreating figure.
His jaw tightened.
"...Damn it."
He chose the city.
Akari disappeared into the smoke.
The battle resumed.
As though everyone had collectively remembered there were still enemies to kill.
Kai fought beside a squad of guards.
Another hybrid fell.
Then another.
Then—
Kai froze.
The second hybrid...
Still wore a torn leather apron.
The third...
Had a baker's uniform.
The fourth...
Its arm still carried the faded tattoo of Muscle City's merchant guild.
Kai's eyes widened.
"..."
"...No..."
His breathing grew heavier.
He looked around.
Every hybrid...
Every single one...
Still had traces of who they used to be.
Clothing.
Jewelry.
Scars.
Faces.
Recognition struck like lightning.
The missing people.
The missing blacksmith.
The merchant.
The courier.
The civilians.
The investigation...
They hadn't vanished.
They'd been taken.
Experimented on.
Transformed.
Kai slowly looked toward the direction where Dr. Z had disappeared earlier.
His stomach turned.
"...These..."
"...They're all..."
He couldn't finish the sentence.
Because he already knew.
The missing-person investigation...
Had never been about finding survivors.
It had been about finding victims.
And Muscle City was only now discovering...
Just how many people it had already lost.