Kanae Kocho lowered her head, looking at her frozen hands.
Those hands had once held knives, slain demons, and protected those who needed protection on countless nights.
Those hands had been pierced by ice crystals, and they had held their sister's hand tightly in the moment of death.
Now, those hands can't hold anything.
What you're saying...
Her voice was very soft.
What does that mean?
It means exactly what it says.
Higashino Makoto's tone was flat.
"Your future will belong to me. You cannot disobey my orders. You must do whatever I say."
"So... what do we need to do?"
"Hmm, what should I have you do... perhaps serve tea and water, warm the bed and make the blankets?"
He thought about it.
"In short, I won't let you die. You just bought your lives from me, and I won't do a losing deal."
Shinobu Kocho raised her head, her purple eyes flashing with a complex light.
What if we don't choose?
"Then you will die here."
Higashino Makoto answered without hesitation.
I'll assume you chose the first option.
"You—how could you—"
Why can't I?
Higashino Makoto interrupted her.
"You wanted to kill Doma, I warned you, but you wouldn't listen. You couldn't defeat Doma, I foresaw that, but you didn't accept it. Now you're about to die, I've given you a choice, I've done enough."
He paused.
"I have no obligation to save you. I'm only giving you a choice because you all have pretty faces, and I like them. That's all."
"Or do you think I can't live without you? To be honest, if I wanted to, there are plenty of beautiful women throwing themselves at me, more than I can handle."
Shinobu Kocho opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.
Because he's right.
He is not their god.
He had no obligation to save them.
He tried to persuade them, but they didn't listen.
He anticipated the outcome; they didn't believe him.
Now, they are dying, and he has given them a choice.
He has already done enough.
"Elder sister..."
Shinobu Kocho turned her head and looked at Kanae Kocho.
"Us..."
"I have no idea."
Kanae Kocho shook her head.
"I don't know what to choose."
She closed her eyes, and countless images flashed through her mind.
The self that died four years ago, the self that was resurrected four years later, the sister's tears, Kanao's silence, and this man standing in the moonlight.
"Kanae."
Suddenly, Kanao Tsuyuri's voice rang out, very softly and calmly.
I want to choose the second option.
Kanae Kocho opened her eyes and looked at her.
Kanao--
I don't want to die.
Kanao Tsuyuri's voice remained calm, but something flickered in her purple eyes—
It wasn't fear, nor despair, but a deeper kind of light, like the light of someone finally making a decision.
"It took me so long to learn to laugh. It took me so long to learn to feel. It took me so long to... have my sisters."
She paused.
"I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to be with my sisters."
Kanae Kocho stared at her for a long time.
Then she turned her head and looked at Shinobu Kocho.
"Ren, what about you?"
Shinobu Kocho remained silent for a long time.
"I don't want to die either."
Her voice was very soft.
"I've waited so long for my sister to come back, I don't want to lose her again."
She paused.
"And..."
She looked up at Higashino Makoto's retreating figure.
"That person, although annoying, isn't a bad person... I guess."
Kanae Kocho's lips curled into a slight smile.
"Yes, he's not a bad person."
She took a deep breath.
In this world where Time Stop, breathing is merely a symbolic action; the air doesn't flow, and oxygen doesn't exchange, but she still did it, as if it would make her more lucid.
"Mr. Higashino."
"Um."
"We choose option two."
Higashino Makoto turned around and looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
"Confirmed."
I didn't ask them if they would regret it, because they don't have the right to regret it.
Higashino Makoto looked at her for two seconds, then nodded.
"Good."
He raised his right hand, and a pale golden light appeared in his palm.
The light was small, only the size of a billiard ball, but in this gray, faded world, that touch of gold stood out brilliantly, like a flame in the darkness.
A beam of light rose from his palm, flew to the top of the three sisters' heads, and then exploded.
Countless golden specks of light, like fireflies, drifted down, landing on them and entering their bodies.
Kanae Kocho felt a warm current surge into her head, flowing through her blood vessels to her limbs and bones.
The muscles frozen by the ice crystals began to thaw, the congealed blood began to flow, and the stiff joints began to regain sensation.
She can move her hands now.
Her feet can move again.
Her breathing returned.
"This is--"
"Healing, and contracts..."
Higashino Makoto withdrew his hand and took a step back.
"From this moment on, you belong to me. Your lives are mine, your time is mine, and yours is mine—"
He paused.
"My soul is mine too."
Kanae Kocho lowered her head and looked at her hands.
My fingers were trembling slightly.
It wasn't because of the cold, but because that warm current was still flowing through her body, like an invisible thread connecting her to the man in front of her.
"It feels... strange."
You'll get used to it.
Higashino Makoto turned around to face Doma.
"Now, it's time to deal with him."
Doma remains frozen in a world where Time Stop.
His body remained in the position of surging ice crystals, his hands outstretched, palms facing outwards, and a gentle, compassionate, yet chilling smile lingered on his lips.
His colorful eyes were open, the pupils reflecting the light of ice crystals, and the silver-haired man walking towards him.
Higashino Makoto walked up to him and stopped.
"Untie."
He said softly.
Time resumed its flow.
It was like a movie returning to normal speed from slow motion; the wind started to blow, the moonlight began to shine, and ice crystals began to surge towards the three sisters.
Then, Higashino Makoto raised his hand.
With fingers together and palm facing forward, no magic or skill will work.
It was pure physical strength, pure muscles and bones, with a touch of pure magic.
One Punch Man.
The fist struck Doma in the chest.
There was no explosion.
There was no roar.
There was only a low, dull sound, like a heavy hammer striking leather.
Doma's body shattered.
Starting from the chest, cracks spread in all directions, like a spider web, like cracks on ice, like porcelain shattered by a hammer.
No, it was shattered far more thoroughly than that.
The cracks spread to his arms, legs, neck, and head.
It reminded him of a certain vampire who liked to move road rollers.
Then, his body disintegrated into countless tiny fragments, scattering across the ground.
The fragments were grayish-white, resembling pieces of stone or remnants of ice crystals.
It gleamed dimly in the moonlight, then the fragments began to shatter, turning into powder, which was blown away by the wind and disappeared into the night.
Upper Ranks Two, Doma.
Die.
"So, the idea that you have to use Nichirin Blade to behead a demon, or that only the sun can kill a demon, is simply a matter of insufficient power."
The hall fell silent.
Kanae Kocho stood there, covered in wounds and with tears streaming down her face, watching the fragments scatter in the wind, watching the demon that killed her vanish completely, watching the silver-haired, golden-eyed man stand in the moonlight, slowly withdrawing his fist.
Her legs buckled, and she knelt on the ground.
It was a tremor that came from the depths of the soul, an uncontrollable tremor born of survival.
"Elder sister."
Shinobu Kocho walked to her side, knelt down, and hugged her.
"Sister, it's alright... it's alright... he's dead... Doma is dead..."
Kanae Kocho hugged her younger sister without saying a word. Her tears fell silently, dripping onto Shinobu Kocho's shoulder and spreading into a small wet patch.
Kanao Tsuyuri stood to the side, her purple eyes fixed on the figure's back, and then she knelt down as well.
It is not about praying to gods, nor about submitting to the strong or one's master.
She was just a young girl who didn't know how to express her gratitude, so she used the most primal way to express her thanks.
Higashino Makoto turned around and looked at the three sisters kneeling on the ground, his golden eyes devoid of any emotion.
Get up.
His voice was calm.
"You are not servants, you do not need to kneel."
Kanae Kocho looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face, but a smile had already appeared on her lips.
"Mr. Higashino."
"Um."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. You've already been paid."
Higashino Makoto turned around and walked out of the main hall.
"Let's go. It's time to go back. Your companions are still waiting outside."
Kanae Kocho paused for a moment, exchanged glances with her sisters, and then laughed.
"Yes, sir, Mr. Higashino. No, Lord Higashino."
She stood up, helped Shinobu Kocho up, and then pulled Kanao Tsuyuri.
The three sisters held hands and followed that figure out of the main hall, out of the ruins, out of the land covered in blood and ice crystals.
The moonlight shone on them, casting their shadows on the ground, where they overlapped.
In the distance, the pillars were hurrying back, their footsteps echoing through the mountains.
On this mountain path, a silver-haired, golden-eyed man, accompanied by three raggedly dressed women, slowly made his way down the mountain.
They are embarking on a new beginning that belongs to them.
Momo emerged from the shadows and followed behind them.
Her tail swayed gently behind her, its heart-shaped tip gleaming softly in the moonlight.
His purple eyes watched the three women's retreating figures, a half-smile playing on his lips.
"Cheng-san."
She said softly.
"You've got three more things now; even someone like me would get jealous!"
No one answered.
Only moonlight shone on the mountain path.
And in the distance, the rustling of the night wind through the trees.