"This is your idea, huh?" muttered Akira under her breath. "Let's give it a shot."

  Asayuki and Goukei both stopped what they were doing as the sound of a revving engine filled the air. Akira snatched the sealed Orochi from where it lay on the ground and hopped onto Asayuki's motorcycle, steering with one arm with her stolen prize under the other.

  "My bike!" said Asayuki.

  "You piece of shit!" bellowed Goukei.

  "Bingo," said Akira. "Don't overdo it, Erina…!"

  The engine growled as Akira sped up, escaping the encampment and drifting onto the path leading down the mountain. A spell circle drew itself into existence and flashed, distorting space around the three remaining fighters. Murderous oni and fatal enforcer both turned their eyes on Erina where she stood, panting and exhausted with a smaller seal glowing in her hand.

  Asayuki took off dashing somewhere else. Goukei loosed an inhuman roar identical to the monstrous oni. A shelf of earth and rock burst from the ground in his wake as he kicked off at her.

  Erina stumbled a few steps to the side. Those few steps were like moving a few hundred steps to her opponents, Erina seemingly stretching and then squishing into a spot far away.

  Dizziness struck and bile rose in her throat as she made the tiny turn of her head to focus on Goukei. Her body convulsed involuntarily. Erina forced her legs to stay standing and her body to remain upright even as her burning heart screamed to end the spell.

  Something wet was on her chin. Erina touched the back of her hand to it. A few flecks of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. She had long since gone past her limit.

  Goukei made another mad lunge at Erina. She stumbled away, eliciting a furious yell from the oni as this damn fly refused to be swatted.

  Just a few seconds… she just needed to earn Akira a few seconds' head start that they couldn't close…

  Asayuki reached her destination. Sprinting at full tilt to close the final few inches to it, her hand reached out and closed around the handle of her sword.

  She tore it from the ground, sheathed it immediately, and focused.

  Crimson light flared alongside her blade flying from the scabbard, and the distortion field shattered.

  Erina stumbled back, almost falling over again. Asayuki flew by her in less than a second and jumped over the edge of the mountain, her boots scraping on the steep incline on her way to pursue Akira. Erina's laser shot through the air just a moment too late.

  Goukei made to do the same, but a barrage of light green beams barred his path.

  And he froze.

  Erina shuddered as a deathly chill ran down her spine.

  The lasers had long since faded away. The roar of the motorcycle engine grew more and more distant. Erina wheezed for breath, one hand limply extended as a small orbit of orbs encircled her. He didn't move an inch.

  Erina knew without knowing how, even before he spoke.

  Erina's initial deduction was right. In the end, nobody's goal was to kill her specifically. Goukei wanted a good fight first and foremost, and then his dragon back. Asayuki wanted the incident resolved. Erina only mattered as much as she factored into those.

  But not anymore.

  All those threats to her life, every danger she faced, every peril she encountered—none of it was as hazardous to her health as the one mistake she just made.

  "…Now, see." Goukei straightened up to his full height. He balanced his scythe over his shoulder with his back to her. "Ya got mad guts—I'll give you that. More than a thousand men combined. That's the kinda one in a million spirit that can turn the world on its head. But fact of the matter is, ya gotta learn when to fight your heart out…" He turned, and a fresh surge of green light pulsed through the markings on his face as it distorted in rage. "And when to QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD!"

  Her aim went wild. Several lasers flew past Goukei on their own, one cold swing of his arm dispersing the rest as he stalked forward—not the casual walk in the nightclub, but the powerful march of an unstoppable force.

  His scythe broke into the twin swords. Erina conjured her spear and pushed it forward into the accelerator, set to burst just outside of Goukei's range.

  One perfectly placed swipe of his right sword deflected almost all of the lasers away. Branches whizzed over his shoulder, just over his hair, even landing between and around his still-moving feet. His left sword blocked three stray bolts at once. Nothing touched him. Nothing gave pause to his approach.

  Green light condensed in Erina's hand—

  A thrown sword knocked her katana out of her grip before it even formed. She hadn't focused for more than a split second. Goukei recalled his blade to him immediately, his face an ice-cold mask as he advanced closer still.

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  Erina extended her arm, the spatial distortion seal—

  Her vision went black. Goukei closed the distance before she could finish drawing it, his hand over her face. The world tilted under her, and Goukei slammed the girl head-first into the ground with the terrible might of a wrathful oni. Green ether sprayed into the air amidst the flying dirt. All over her body, a thin layer of faint light turned visible and shattered, fragments of her mana shield twinkling into nothingness.

  Erina's head pounded. Every last drop of her mana was used up in that one blow. All the strength in her body was gone. She couldn't even move her limbs… but she was alive?

  Goukei dragged her to her feet and dropped her, letting the girl fold and crumple to her knees as he walked around her. The scythe flicked forward. Red flames washed over Erina and then faded away with inaudible whispers. The curved black blade hung around her neck, ready to slit her throat at any moment.

  "Yer a genius in some ways and a dumbass in others," rumbled Goukei. "I'll let you in on a secret. Youkai can be mages too. We can take on an Affinity just as well as any of you damn humans. We ain't always beholden to whatever hand we're dealt by species. I roll with the Affinity of Inferno—power over hell and death. But what you saw just now? Affinity of War, Second Horseman of the Apocalypse."

  Light shimmered along the blade of his multiform weapon. Erina could do nothing but sit there, breathe, and blink.

  "What do you know of the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics?" he said.

  "What…?" wheezed Erina. She knew what it was. She didn't understand why this hulking demon from hell brought it up.

  "For every possibility, there's a timeline where it occurs. Every word you could say, every way the wind could blow, every path on the wind of every fuckin' leaf on the planet. 'S out there in some world. And I can see 'em." Shining light pulsed in waves through the glowing branches emanating from his right eye. "Saya-chan's Nanashi, I get jammin' it up. Akira too, now that I think about it. But with them outta the picture… I know every possibility that can happen. And dependin' on how I act, I can make whatever I want happenin', happen. If I don't wanna get touched… I ain't gonna. If I wanna leave you one poke away from death… there ain't a single fuckin' thing you can do about it."

  Erina didn't respond. She could barely keep herself breathing as it was.

  "Ya really done gone fucked it all to hell in a handbasket for me, didn'tcha?" he growled. "Akira's a slippery li'l bitch. Saya-chan's never catchin' up. I sure as shit ain't catchin' up. We ain't never findin' that snake again. So long as it ain't dead, I can't even go break into Hell for another one. That really pisses me off… but you don't need precognition to figure out that much. Right, Erina-chan?"

  The scythe drew closer. Erina could feel the blade tickling the hairs on her neck, the razor-sharp edge rising and falling perfectly in tune with her breathing no matter how ragged and irregular it was.

  "You oughta run back there," said Goukei. "Taken the ride yerself. Akira, Saya-chan… maybe they coulda beat me down, but not you. Not in your wildest dreams. You overstepped, girlie. Got too lost in the sauce to remember what you're dealin' with."

  He drew his weapon back, chuckling. They both knew it didn't really matter where his blade was. The guillotine was over her head no matter what.

  Goukei walked in front of her and knelt down. A huge, rough hand grabbed her chin and pulled her head up to meet his gaze. "…I've killed ya before. Ain't that right?"

  Erina clammed up.

  "C'mon, humor me. Whatever ya say ain't gonna change what happens next. You ever died before?"

  "Y-Yes," whispered Erina. She couldn't think of anything to do but answer in that moment.

  "Had a feelin'," he growled. "How many times? You turnin' back the clock? Reincarnate?" He let go and stood up without waiting for an answer. "But here you are anyway, comin' back to throw hands again 'n again with yer killer. That takes more balls than most guys I know have. Did I mention you got guts? And you never bother runnin' even when ya get the chance… Kehehe. Hell, if I didn't know better, I'd say you enjoy this shit."

  "That's not true," she muttered.

  Goukei only shook his head knowingly.

  "A'ight, enough o' that. Tell me, girl." Something about his tone changed. The crass thug simmered down, and something else rose to the surface. Deep and dignified. The voice of an ancient god of death. "Do you have any regrets?"

  Distantly, Erina thought about it.

  "Yes," she answered.

  "Very good," he murmured. "Very honest." Goukei loomed over her, the visage of a terrible demonic reaper. His scythe reared back, ready to swing around and harvest his kill. "An honest death suits an honest warrior. It'll be over before ya know it."

  Erina didn't react. She didn't so much as lift her head. She was simply too tired.

  "One more 'n then I'll wrap this up," he said. He might as well find out now, seeing as he probably never would otherwise. "Where'd Akira find ya?"

  She didn't answer.

  The hanging scythe didn't fall. Goukei merely adjusted his grip and waited. No other part of him moved in the slightest. No matter how much time passed, he didn't budge a single inch. A hollow wind rolled over the battlefield, his torn and burnt robes swaying with it.

  "The laboratory," mumbled Erina. "In the Reverse, under Shinjuku. She found me the same day as the altercation."

  She fell silent. She couldn't bring herself to lift her head and watch the scythe descend. She kept her head hung low, stared at the ground, and waited for death to come.

  But it never did.

  "Heheh. Hehahaha. Kehahahahahaha!"

  The scythe slipped out of his grip and planted its outer edge in the ground. Erina looked up as Goukei turned away, hand to his face as he laughed and cackled like a hyena. She might as well have told the funniest joke in the world.

  "I get it! I fuckin' get it!" he cackled. "That's what yer all about, Akira!"

  "Um—"

  Goukei held up a hand in her direction to stop her. He kept on laughing, his hand moving to his chest with his explosive guffaws. He actually coughed and wheezed, breaking off mid-laugh, and then laughed even harder with hands on his knees. Erina didn't have the faintest clue what all the commotion was about. She was… supposed to be dying right about now, wasn't she?

  "Oh, fuck me… that's too good." Goukei wiped a tear from his golden left eye, his voice rich with mirth. He mostly composed himself and turned back, still chuckling. "Yeah. Now I see why she wanted ya so bad—even havin' ya sworn in 'n all."

  Erina merely looked at him blankly.

  He casually pulled his scythe out of the earth, leaning it over his shoulder. The robes returned to hellfire and dispersed, fully exposing his intricate tattoo again. The blade retracted and the skulls at the ends of his staff crumbled to dust.

  "Emisane Erina, the little witch of the laboratory, is that it? I'll remember that well. Call this settlin' the tab." Goukei walked away, not once looking back. "Until we meet again."

  And then Erina was alone once more, with only the distant fires, the hardening lava, and the cooling pools of dragon's blood for company.

  Her body told her it was a good time to roll over and pass out. This time, she agreed.