Chapter 6 -3-

Outside the barn, just before dawn...

Ren and Muzan stood silently on the ridge, watching the figures emerging below.

Three silhouettes stepped out: two were guards — and one... the crow.

Ren narrowed her eyes.

> "Why isn't Vercurius with you?"

No sarcasm.

No mischief.

Just cold silence.

The crow, usually so lighthearted, bowed slightly — his feathers ruffled, voice low.

> "He's inside. Barely breathing.

I brought this message to you… because I didn't know how much time he had left."

Muzan tilted his head, expression unreadable.

> "And why are you out here, not beside him?"

The crow looked up, meeting their gaze.

> "Because you would've burned the barn down before asking questions."

> "Because I knew you'd come."

> "And because someone had to speak first — to stop something worse."

Ren crossed her arms.

> "You? Playing messenger?"

The crow didn't flinch.

> "Not playing.

Just surviving."

> "I owe him. That's all."

A sharp wind swept between them.

The tension was thick — but something shifted.

Ren's expression softened for a breath. Muzan, however, stepped forward.

> "Where are the others?"

> "Downstairs. Hiding. Preparing to run, probably."

> "And Nujah?"

The crow hesitated.

Then answered:

> "Burned. Broken. And still standing."

Even if Ren and Muzan suspected the crow was lying…

They said nothing.

No matter how chaotic or mischievous they were,

the Shiora gods could not harm a soul unless there was at least a sliver of true evil in their target.

And that — wasn't here.

Ren sighed, stepping back.

> "Leave."

Her voice echoed slightly.

> "But if you come back… I won't stop what happens next."

The crow bowed once, then vanished between the trees.

Moments later, the sky turned red.

Muzan raised his hand. Ren closed her eyes.

And the meteor storm began.

They didn't aim to destroy the land itself — just everything on it.

Houses. Towers. Barns. Splintered.

Reduced to flaming fragments.

Ash hung in the air like mist.

Once the rain of fire stopped, the two descended into the broken village, walking through rubble and smoldering earth.

And then…

> "Nujahhhh~"

Ren called, half-sarcastic, his tone like a bratty little kid teasing an older one.

> "Come out and play already!"

No answer.

Just wind.

Until—

> "Found him," Muzan said casually, lifting a few charred planks of wood.

Underneath lay Nujah, unconscious, buried beneath half a roof and what used to be a bookshelf.

> "Huh," Muzan muttered. "Didn't think he was the reading type."

> "He's not," Ren replied. "He just likes falling through bookshelves."

A short pause.

Then both of them laughed.

> "Let's bring him home," Ren said.

"Before he sets another village on fire by accident."

Muzan sighed, lifting Nujah with one hand.

> "Seriously… what would they do without us?"

They turned and walked away from the ruins.

Behind them, the village smoldered.

But ahead...

another mess waited.

---

---

When Nujah opened his eyes,

he found himself in the castle dungeon—

facing the four Shiora gods:

Ferinhard, Mabaki, Ren, and Muzan.

He blinked once.

> "They told me there'd be free candy,"

he said dryly.

"But I see... that was a lie."

They laughed.

> "After what you did to Vercurius,

and after leaving us to drown in the ocean?" Ren said, smirking.

"You're lucky you're still breathing."

> "You don't even have the strength to break those chains," Mabaki added.

"Stay here.

Maybe it'll knock some sense into you."

Nujah's smile faded.

> "The game's over."

"Let me out. Give me the keys.

I've got one last place to be."

The four chuckled again.

> "You'll never get them," Muzan said.

"Even if you somehow escape—what then?"

Nujah didn't speak.

Not with words.

In a blink, his hair flared gold.

His eye turn yellow.

A pressure filled the room—

not just magic, but something deeper.

Something wrong.

A power so heavy

it could make a human scream themselves to death

just by feeling it too long.

Even the Shiora gods

stepped back.

The chains cracked.

Then shattered.

Nujah stood.

With one swift move,

he grabbed Muzan by the throat.

> "The keys."

His voice didn't rise.

It didn't need to.

Ferinhard and Mabaki struck instantly,

not to kill—

but to restrain.

Their blades stopped mid-air.

Nujah's shadows rose from beneath them,

twisting upward,

knocking them down

and draining their energy just enough

to make resistance impossible.

> "Unless you want real damage," Nujah said,

"give me the keys.

Before I lose control."

There was silence.

Then—

The four bowed their heads.

Mabaki reached into his coat.

Ferinhard followed.

They handed over the sealed keys without a word.

> "We're sorry," Mabaki began,

but Nujah raised a hand.

> "No need.

I already know."

Ren stepped forward.

> "Mitra's waiting.

At the house of the old Alpha Vampire."

Her voice was cool.

But her eyes—

they glinted like she'd already won something.

> "You know it's impossible, don't you?" Nujah asked.

Ren grinned.

> "Yes."

"And yet here we are."

He turned to Muzan and Ren.

> "Good to see you both again.

Fix that village soon.

It deserves better."

> "We'll handle it," Muzan muttered, brushing dust off his cloak.

> "You've changed, Nujah," Ren added.

> "Or maybe you've just stopped pretending."

> "You talk too much."

> "And you don't talk enough."

> "Weirdly… it works."

> "Yeah. Good to see you too."

Nujah exhaled.

> "Now if someone could open a portal,

I'd appreciate it.

I'm a little low on fuel."

Muzan snapped his fingers.

The door of light shimmered open.

Before stepping through, Nujah paused.

> "Tell Vercurius I'm sorry.

Got a little carried away with your 'game.'

Hurt the poor chield more than I meant to."

They all nodded silently.

Nujah smirked.

> "See you around, then."

And he was gone.

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