Chapter 350: Date With Nagisa, Part 1
Yuzuha kept dreaming about it.
Kouhei killing Nagisa.
That single image had carved itself so deep into her mind that no matter how hard she tried to push it away, it always came crawling back.
At first, she thought it was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. Just her brain replaying the same horrifying scenario again and again, twisting it, stretching it until it left her dizzy and unable to sleep.
But tonight… it didn’t feel like just a dream anymore.
Tonight, it felt real.
“No… Nagisa! Nooooooo!” Yuzuha screamed, her voice cracking as she shot up from her bed in the middle of the night.
Her chest heaved violently, each breath ragged and uneven. Cold sweat soaked her nightclothes, plastering them against her trembling body as her hands clawed at the air, desperately reaching for someone who wasn’t there.
That same nightmare—again. The dream of Kouhei killing Nagisa.
And it never grew any easier to see.
In that dream, Kouhei stood there, monstrous, his wings unfurled in their terrifying glory. One wing black as the void itself, and the other… that ominous gray wing. Its aura wasn’t just dark—it was suffocating, oppressive, like a weight pressing down on her very soul.
Nagisa was still alive in the dream, but barely. She was crawling weakly across the ground, her hands scraping against the dirt, her body trembling with each pitiful movement. And she wasn’t crawling to escape. No—she was crawling toward Yuzuha.
But Yuzuha couldn’t move.
It was as if her body had been shackled, invisible chains pinning her to the ground, paralyzing her completely. Her heart screamed at her to reach out, to grab Nagisa, to shield her from that blade, but no matter how much she willed her body, it wouldn’t respond.
And then—
Kouhei raised his sword. His expression was unreadable, his presence overwhelming. The blade shimmered faintly under the light of that dreamscape, and before Yuzuha could even blink—
He brought it down.
The sound of steel cutting through flesh echoed sharply, reverberating in her ears. Blood splattered, and just like that… Nagisa was gone.
Her body hit the ground. Lifeless. Cold.
And Yuzuha—frozen and helpless—could do nothing. She couldn’t save her.
That was the nightmare. That was the scene that clawed into her very being and refused to let her rest.
Her scream had been so loud that it tore her throat raw, and now, panting heavily, Yuzuha could feel her entire body shaking. Sweat dripped from her chin, her palms, and her back. She was drenched as if she’d been standing in the rain.
Never in her life had she felt dread this deep. Not since that day—when Nagisa’s own mother had tried to sacrifice her daughter to ensure their clan’s prosperity. That had been terror enough to scar her soul, but this… this was worse.
Far worse.
“How the hell am I supposed to protect her from that monster…?” Yuzuha thought, clutching her sheets so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
The answer hit her immediately.
She couldn’t.
It was impossible.
That monster had already defeated Souichiro—the man she once believed was invincible, the one she thought was already a monster in his own right.
And worse still… that monster wielded something no demon could ever hope to stand against. Something that was her ultimate weakness. No— not just hers.
The weakness of their entire race.
The ability to control and harness Holy Power.
Against that, she had nothing. Against that, no demon had anything. If she fought him, it wouldn’t even be a battle. It would be a one-sided massacre, her body beaten and torn apart before she even had a chance to land a strike.
But…
That same monster was planning something. Something terrible. Something that could take away the only light Yuzuha had left.
If Nagisa—the one ray of sunshine that still illuminated her world—was taken from her, then Yuzuha would be swallowed by darkness completely.
And she couldn’t allow that.
She wouldn’t allow that.
Her trembling stopped. Her eyes hardened.
She had to kill him.
She had to kill… the Child of Anti-Prophecy.
***
Meanwhile, Kouhei and the others were trying to live normal lives again. It wasn’t easy, not with the constant threat of a possible attack from the heavens looming over them, but Kouhei had decided that if they were going to keep moving forward, they couldn’t let that fear consume them every second of the day.
That was why he asked Nagisa out on a date.
“Hehehehe~…” Nagisa giggled softly, her voice sweet and playful as she clung tightly to his arm. She pressed her chest firmly against him, her generous breasts squishing into his side with every step they took.
Kouhei tried to stay calm. He really did. He had felt Nagisa’s body countless times before, but having her openly press against him in public like this still sent a heat of embarrassment creeping across his face.
“Uh… Nagisa-san…?” he muttered nervously.
“What is it, Kou-kun?” she asked, tilting her head up to look at him, her smile shining brighter than anything around them.
He hesitated, torn between wanting to tell her that it was embarrassing to have her cling so closely in public and not wanting to ruin the pure happiness written all over her face. She was so genuinely happy right now. Wouldn’t it be cruel to say something that could dampen that?
“…Why are you so happy?” he finally asked.
“Well, I guess it’s because it’s been a while since the two of us went out like this,” Nagisa replied, grinning even wider as she pushed her breasts against him even harder, making sure he could feel every curve and softness pressing into him. “That’s why I’m really ecstatic.”
Her chest was warm, heavy, and soft, molding perfectly against his arm with every small movement. It was lewd in its own way, but somehow still innocent when paired with her smile.
“So… where are we going first?” she asked cheerfully.
“Uh… I guess the mall first? Maybe catch a movie?” Kouhei suggested, trying to focus on something other than the sensation against his arm.
“Do you know if there’s anything good showing right now?” Nagisa tilted her head curiously, her long hair swaying as she leaned closer.
“I think there’s a new installment in that robot movie franchise,” Kouhei answered. “But honestly, I’m not really into those kinds of films. I never even saw the first one.”
“Hmm, I don’t know much about it either,” Nagisa admitted. “Ah! But how about this instead?!”
She quickly pulled out her phone, her fingers tapping rapidly against the screen before turning it toward him with a wide grin.
“What’s that?” Kouhei asked, squinting at it.
“Fufufu~… a bunch of B-movies!” she announced proudly.
“Huh?”
“Yeah! They’re kinda extinct these days, but back then, I used to love them!” she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “So why don’t we just rent some movies and book a hotel room for ourselves?”
“Ah… but didn’t we all agree not to stay out at night, considering the current situation?” Kouhei reminded her cautiously.
“You don’t have to worry about that right now.” Nagisa gave him a playful look. “You really need to loosen up more, Kou-kun. If you don’t, your body’s going to break from all that stress, you know?”
She wasn’t wrong. Maybe just this once wouldn’t hurt. As long as they let the others know beforehand, it should be fine.
“…Alright,” Kouhei finally agreed.
“Yay! You’re the best!” Nagisa squealed in joy, throwing her arms around him and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.
Several men nearby glared at him enviously, but Kouhei ignored them and continued walking alongside her.
“But first, maybe we should grab some dinner?” he suggested.
“We don’t need that,” Nagisa said with a mischievous grin. “That’s the best part of renting movies instead of going to a cinema, you know? We can eat whatever we want while we watch! And if what we bought isn’t enough, we can just order more!”
Suddenly, as the two of them walked side by side and Nagisa was in the middle of chatting away, something shifted in the background. From the corner of Kouhei’s eye, he caught sight of movement—a man, sneaky and hunched, had his phone angled down, clearly trying to snap a picture under Nagisa’s skirt.
But before that scumbag could even press the shutter—
“Wha—?!”
A sharp gasp escaped the man as Kouhei’s hand shot out like lightning. His reflexes were terrifyingly fast, faster than the creep could even blink. In an instant, Kouhei’s fingers clamped around the man’s wrist like an iron vice, stopping him cold. The man’s eyes widened in shock, his body jerking as he realized he was completely immobilized. No matter how much he tried to pull back, he couldn’t even make Kouhei’s arm budge.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” the man barked in a panicked voice, though his trembling gave away his fear.