Chapter 306: Stop Dying for Me

For several seconds, Yuno City seemed unnaturally silent.

Yuuta stood in the middle of the ruined street, staring directly at Zeri.

The exhaustion that had covered his face earlier was still there, and the recovery potion hadn’t magically healed the injuries accumulated throughout the night, but something about his expression had changed completely.

His jaw was clenched, his crimson eyes burned with anger, and his right hand remained curled into the same fist that had struck Zeri moments earlier.

Several meters away, Zeri was still down on one knee.

The punch had been violent enough to launch him out of the building and send him tumbling across the street before he finally managed to stop himself. Blood continued dripping from the corner of his mouth, staining his chin and falling onto the broken pavement beneath him.

Raven stared between the two of them.

She couldn’t understand what she had just witnessed.

Her entire Shadow Corps had fought Zeri together. Specialized weapons had failed to penetrate his body, blades had been unable to cut him, and even Raven herself had only managed to leave shallow wounds after combining her swords with the mysterious power of the Aesthor Stone.

Yet Yuuta had punched him once.

One punch had sent a High Demon flying several meters and dislocated his jaw.

Raven’s eyes slowly moved toward Yuuta’s clenched fist.

How...?

There had been no weapon.

No Aesthor Stone.

No Black Fusion.

Just his fist.

Across the street, Zeri reached for his crooked jaw and forced it back into place with a sickening crack. He remained on one knee for another moment before wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

Instead of becoming angry, his lips slowly curled upward.

"So..."

Zeri stared at the blood staining his hand with obvious fascination before raising his deep sea-blue eyes toward Yuuta.

"You finally decided to step in, Uncle."

Yuuta didn’t answer.

His crimson eyes remained fixed on Zeri.

The fingers of his right hand tightened further until his knuckles whitened.

That silence made Raven’s uneasiness worse.

She forced herself upright despite the pain shooting through her ribs. One hand pressed against the broken wall for support before she managed to stand properly.

"Sir!"

Yuuta didn’t turn.

"What are you doing here?" Raven demanded as she stumbled out of the ruined building. "You were supposed to stay with Group C. They were ordered to evacuate you and your daughter!"

She couldn’t believe he had actually come back.

Everything they had done had been for the purpose of getting him away. Her soldiers had stayed behind despite knowing how badly the battle was turning against them. Some had lost limbs. Others had died. The survivors were scattered across the street, barely capable of moving.

And now the person they had sacrificed everything to protect was standing in front of the enemy again.

Fear crawled through Raven’s chest.

Not fear of Zeri.

Fear of what would happen if Yuuta died here.

He wasn’t simply a civilian anymore. He was the Supreme Commander’s husband. Elena’s father. Raven didn’t even want to imagine standing before Erza afterward and explaining that Yuuta had returned to the battlefield under her command and been killed.

"Sir, you need to leave," Raven said firmly. "Group C can still get you somewhere secure. I’ll hold him here."

Yuuta finally looked over his shoulder.

For a brief moment, his crimson eyes seemed to glow.

Raven fell silent.

"I told you," Yuuta said, his voice controlled despite the anger visible across his face. "I’m here to clean up my own mess."

"But, sir...."

"Please, ma’am."

Raven stopped.

"Think logically."

That wasn’t the response she had expected.

Yuuta turned slightly toward her while still keeping Zeri within his vision.

"If you die here, what happens next?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Raven frowned.

Yuuta continued before she could answer.

"Do you really think he’ll suddenly stop chasing me?"

Raven’s expression changed.

"If you die trying to hold him back, he’ll just come after me again. Maybe Group C gets me a few streets farther. Maybe they hide me somewhere for a few minutes." Yuuta glanced toward Zeri.

"But if he defeated all of you this easily, do you really think three soldiers are going to stop him from finding me?"

Raven couldn’t answer immediately.

Because he was right.

Zeri had already demonstrated that distance meant almost nothing to him. Earlier, he had moved from Yuuta’s position to Vezrath so quickly that even Raven hadn’t been able to follow him. He had somehow overheard their whispered evacuation plan and destroyed the exact armored vehicle they intended to use.

Running wouldn’t necessarily save Yuuta.

It might only delay Zeri.

Yuuta turned back toward the High Demon.

"And if he catches me again, more people will have to fight him because of me."

His gaze briefly moved across the battlefield.

He saw the wounded Shadow Corps members lying among the rubble. Some were unconscious. Others were barely moving. Blood covered the street where men and women had stood between him and Zeri only minutes earlier.

Yuuta’s fist trembled.

He had heard their screams while running away.

He hadn’t forgotten a single one.

"So no," Yuuta continued quietly. "I’m not going to keep running while everyone behind me gets killed one after another."

Raven watched him.

Yuuta took one step forward until he was standing beside her rather than behind her.

"You couldn’t defeat him alone."

His eyes remained on Zeri.

"And I don’t know if I can defeat him alone either."

Raven’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Yuuta wasn’t boasting.

He wasn’t pretending that one successful punch meant he was suddenly stronger than the creature in front of them. If anything, his expression showed that he understood exactly how dangerous the situation was.

"That leaves one reasonable option," Yuuta said. "We fight him together."

Raven stared at him.

"If we defeat him here, you survive and I survive." Yuuta’s voice became firmer. "And nobody has to keep dying just to buy me another few minutes."

For several seconds, Raven said nothing.

Across the street, Zeri remained on one knee, watching their conversation with an increasingly amused smile. Blood still covered his mouth, but rather than interrupting them, he seemed almost curious to see what they would decide.

Raven looked at Yuuta again.

Then at Zeri.

Finally, Raven exhaled slowly.

"You really are the Supreme Commander’s husband..."

Yuuta glanced at her.

Raven reached toward the ground and tightened her fingers around the hilt of one of her fallen swords.

"Because you’re just as difficult to order around as she is."

Across the ruined street, Zeri smiled.

Yuuta ignored the comment and turned his attention back toward the High Demon. His body still felt heavy beneath the temporary rush provided by the recovery potion, but he pushed the exhaustion aside. He didn’t know how long the potion would keep him moving, which meant wasting time wasn’t an option.

"So let’s do it together," Yuuta said.

Raven picked up her second sword and moved beside him. The black aura from the Aesthor Stone still clung faintly to one blade, flowing along its edge like thin smoke.

Zeri’s smile widened when he saw the two of them standing together.

"This is going to be so much fun, don’t you think, Uncle?"

Yuuta moved first.

His foot slammed against the pavement as he dashed straight toward Zeri. At almost the same moment, Raven charged from his side, the two approaching the High Demon together.

Zeri’s tentacles immediately spread behind him.

Four of them shot forward.

They didn’t attack from the same direction. One came directly toward Yuuta’s chest while another swept low toward his legs. The remaining two curved outward, cutting off Raven’s approach from either side.

Raven reacted first.

Her body sank into the shadow beneath her feet.

The two tentacles meant for her crossed through empty space before smashing into the road, sending broken pavement flying through the air.

Yuuta had no such technique.

The first tentacle rushed directly toward him.

Yuuta pushed aura through his body.

The strange energy surged into his legs, strengthening them for a brief instant before he kicked against the ground and launched himself upward. The tentacle passed beneath his feet and smashed through the remains of a vehicle behind him.

But the second one immediately changed direction.

It followed him into the air.

Yuuta’s eyes widened as the fleshy limb rushed toward his stomach. He couldn’t dodge properly while airborne, so instead of trying, he twisted his body and pulled back his fist.

Aura gathered through his arm.

He punched.

His fist collided directly with the tentacle.

The impact bent the limb violently downward.

Yuuta felt the force travel all the way through his shoulder, but the strike gave him exactly what he needed. He used the tentacle almost like a surface, pushing himself away from it and changing his position in midair before dropping back toward the street.

His shoes touched the pavement.

Zeri was already attacking again.

A third tentacle came crashing down from above.

Yuuta threw himself sideways.

BOOM!

The road shattered where he had landed only a moment earlier. Yuuta rolled across the pavement, pushed one hand against the ground and forced himself back onto his feet before the debris had even finished falling.

Zeri turned toward him with obvious amusement.

"Uncle, you really do look like a rat when you run around like that."

Yuuta’s crimson eyes narrowed.

Zeri sent another tentacle sweeping horizontally across the road.

Yuuta ducked beneath it.

"But unfortunately for you..." Zeri continued, grinning as he controlled the tentacles around Yuuta, "I love hunting rats."

"Then you shouldn’t forget about me, demon."

Zeri’s smile paused.

A shadow moved behind him.

Raven emerged from it.

Her sword was already swinging toward the back of his neck.

Zeri turned his head slightly.

"I didn’t."

One of his tentacles had never been attacking Yuuta.

It had been waiting.

The limb changed direction and shot backward toward Raven before her sword could reach Zeri. Raven immediately abandoned her attack and jumped over it, the tentacle passing beneath her boots.

But she didn’t retreat.

Raven planted one foot directly on top of the moving tentacle.

Zeri’s eyebrows rose.

She used it as a platform.

Raven pushed herself upward, twisted in the air and brought the black-covered sword down toward Zeri’s face.

Zeri leaned backward.

The blade passed inches from his nose.

Raven immediately reversed her grip on the second sword and slashed horizontally.

Zeri stepped aside again.

The tip of the blade barely missed his cheek.

"Oh?"

Raven landed directly in front of him.

Zeri smiled.

"You’re still fast, Captain."

Raven attacked again.

Zeri blocked the first sword with a tentacle, but Raven rotated around the obstruction and drove the second blade toward his ribs. Another tentacle intercepted it, trapping both of Raven’s weapons for a fraction of a second.

That fraction was enough.

Yuuta came from Zeri’s blind side.

Zeri’s eyes shifted toward him.

Yuuta was already close.

He swung his fist toward Zeri’s head.

Zeri released Raven’s swords and leaned away, causing Yuuta’s fist to miss his face by inches. The displaced air from the punch still swept through Zeri’s sea-blue hair.

"Whoa!"

Zeri jumped backward.

Yuuta followed.

A tentacle shot toward his chest, forcing him to stop and twist away. Another immediately came from the opposite direction, but before it could reach him, Raven’s sword struck it and knocked its path aside.

"Keep moving!" Raven shouted.

Yuuta didn’t need to be told twice.

He rushed forward again.

Zeri’s smile widened.

Two tentacles attacked Yuuta together.

Yuuta slipped between them as narrowly as he could, but a third came directly toward his face. He raised both arms and blocked it.

The impact nearly threw him backward.

Pain shot through his arms.

Yuuta clenched his teeth and forced his feet against the pavement, aura strengthening his body just enough to keep him from being launched away.

Zeri noticed.

His eyes sharpened with interest.

"You’re getting better at that, Uncle."

Yuuta grabbed the tentacle with both hands.

Zeri blinked.

Instead of pushing it away, Yuuta pulled.

The sudden resistance dragged Zeri half a step forward.

Raven appeared from his shadow.

Her sword flashed toward his back.

Zeri released the tentacle Yuuta was holding and twisted his body, narrowly avoiding Raven’s blade. The black sword still grazed his side, opening another thin cut across his skin.

Zeri immediately countered.

A tentacle struck toward Raven.

She disappeared into the shadow beneath him.

Another attacked Yuuta.

Yuuta jumped backward.

For several seconds, the three of them separated.

Yuuta landed several meters away, breathing heavily. Raven emerged from the shadow beside a broken vehicle, both swords raised. Between them stood Zeri, the tentacles behind him twisting restlessly while a fresh line of blood slowly ran down his side.

Zeri looked at the wound.

Then toward Raven.

Then Yuuta.

His grin returned.

"Oh..."

He wiped the blood away with one finger.

"I understand now."

Raven narrowed her eyes.

Zeri slowly turned his body so neither of them remained completely behind him.

"The Captain disappears whenever I attack her, and Uncle punches me whenever I look for the Captain."

His eyes curved with amusement.

"And whenever I attack Uncle..."

His gaze shifted toward Raven.

"The Captain comes back."

Yuuta’s expression hardened.

Zeri laughed softly.

"You two are already becoming annoying together."

Yuuta and Raven said nothing.

Both were breathing heavily now, their eyes fixed upon the High Demon standing between them. Raven’s injuries were beginning to affect her movements, while Yuuta could already feel the temporary strength provided by the recovery potion being consumed far faster than he wanted.

His arms hurt. His breathing was becoming heavier, and every sudden burst of aura placed another strain upon a body that had already been pushed far beyond its limits tonight.

Yet Yuuta didn’t step back.

He didn’t lower his fists.

Even knowing how exhausted he was, even knowing Raven was already badly injured, Yuuta refused to abandon the fight and leave everyone else to deal with the consequences again.

But there was something else neither of them could ignore.

Zeri was bleeding.

They had finally managed to wound him.

Yet the High Demon Candidate standing between them wasn’t breathing heavily.

He wasn’t exhausted.

And despite everything Yuuta and Raven had thrown at him...

Zeri still hadn’t shown them his full potential.

The tentacles behind him slowly rose.

His grin widened.

To Be Continued...

Author Announcement — Weekend Double Chapters!

Hello, readers!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful day. Your author here, and today I have something exciting to share with you!

I’ve realized that many of you really enjoy reading the story, but with only one Chapter released each day, getting hit with a cliffhanger and then having to wait until tomorrow can be pretty painful.

So, I decided to make your weekends a little more rewarding.

Starting this Saturday, every Saturday and Sunday will have TWO Chapter releases! 🎉

Weekdays will continue with the regular daily Chapter, but when the weekend arrives, you’ll have an extra Chapter to enjoy.

You guys work hard throughout the week, so I want every weekend to feel like a small reward where you can relax, grab something to drink, and spend a little more time with the story.

Thank you so much for continuing to read and support my novel. Seeing you guys following Yuuta’s journey is what keeps me writing every day.

I hope the extra weekend Chapters make those cliffhangers a little less painful...

Though knowing me, the second Chapter might just end with another one.

See you this Saturday with two Chapters!

— Your Author