Mercy

As his words fell,

time began to flow once more in the frozen world.

Doma was walking stiffly toward Kanae's "corpse," but in the next moment, he stopped. His expressionless face seemed to darken slightly, because he saw Kanae's body begin to melt away soundlessly.

Within a few breaths, her entire body and all the bloodstains had melted away without a trace. The ice spikes that had pierced through her clattered to the ground.

"What is this now?"

Doma was feeling rather miserable.

Nearly losing his life had already put him in a foul mood. Then, Shinobu Kocho had slipped away while he was not paying attention. When he tried to pursue her, he had been stopped. Now, after returning to enjoy Kanae's corpse, her body had somehow melted away.

"Did she do something at the end? Did she hide poison inside her body?"

Doma stared silently at the place where Kanae had vanished.

Not far from where his gaze had shifted stood Feng Ye, Mitsuri Kanroji, and Kanae Kocho. Yet to Doma, it was as though they were separated by an entire world. Though they stood close at hand, he could not see their existence.

Feng Ye ignored Doma. With a casual flick of his finger, he melted away Kanae's original body. Then, with another gesture beside him, white light blossomed and quickly gathered into Kanae's form once more.

He had merely restored her body, without adding anything to it.

Then,

Kanae felt her soul drawn by a force, instantly returning to her restored body. All her previous injuries vanished, and even her blinded eyes had completely returned to normal.

After doing all this, Feng Ye made no further move. He simply turned and left, saying,

"Let's go."

Mitsuri Kanroji obediently followed at Feng Ye's side, while curiously sizing