Reincarnated in a depressing erotic world but living a normal life (right?)

Escaping…

"That damn four-eyes..."Yumemaru let out a snort of disdain, scratching the back of his neck as he looked at the sky with a mixture of annoyance and resignation.

"There is nothing more irritating in this existence than a person whose predictions never fail. But considering the horror of losing all the fun of uncertainty... despite everything he did... Haaah... I can only feel pity for that poor bastard."

Yumemaru ranted, casting a sidelong glance into the void, letting out a long sigh of resignation, when suddenly...

"Tsk... Did she close the distance so soon?"

His expression tensed. His eyes, previously relaxed, fixed on an indistinguishable point in the distance, beyond the city of gears.

"That wretch."

He was able to perceive a highly dangerous, familiar presence through the vibration of the very essence of the surrounding environment.

"Hey, if you've recovered enough strength to stop dragging your feet, it's time to go!"

With a fluid movement, Yumemaru stood up, dusting off his robe one last time, without taking his eyes off the horizon.

"Go? Where? Why the sudden rush?"

In response, Shija, who still felt the tingling from the discharge in his arm, looked at him with evident confusion, asking as he tried to pull himself up.

"Because if we stay standing here, that 'beast' will catch up to us."

To which Yumemaru responded, pointing with a sharp gesture toward the direction where his gaze was fixed.

"What...?"

Thus Shija saw how, in the distance, the emerald-tinted sky—once filled by the joyful dance of the butterflies—seemed to darken, as if a stain of ink were spreading over the aurora.

"By stabilizing this area, you have lit a beacon in the midst of the chaos of darkness. And most likely, we have caught the attention of those lunatics because of it. Believe me, boy, you don't want to be here when they decide to come out and play."

After saying those words and without waiting for a response, Yumemaru flexed his knees, adopting a combat stance so solid that the aurora ground creaked beneath his feet.

"Watch, boy."

His eyes sharpened like razor blades as he extended his right hand toward the darkened sky.

(SWISH-KRAKOOM!!)

Unleashing a violent movement with his fingers, Yumemaru launched a series of invisible cutting attacks that tore through the atmosphere.

(K-ZAAAK!)

They were slashes of pure will that not only cut the air but seemed to split reality itself, leaving behind trails of vacuum that hissed with fury.

(VVVVVVV!!)

The cuts flew toward the distant figures, seeking to restrain their advance with a potency capable of dismembering mountains.

"¡¿?!"

At the same time Shija, barely managing to stand, watched the display with his eyes wide in shock.

"What do you mean by 'lunatics'?! Who are those...?!"

In that moment, trying to understand what he was facing, Shija asked...

(SHIIIING... CRASH!!)

However, his question was cut short when the sky in the distance seemed to respond. From afar, slashes identical to Yumemaru's—with the same lethal geometry and the same intent of vacuum—returned at a blinding speed, striking back with terrifying precision.

(SHREEEEEE!!)

The enemy slashes impacted where they stood, pulverizing the nearby gear structures in a burst of sparks and twisted metal.

"That wretch... she’s already learned the technique."

In reaction, Yumemaru immediately grabbed Shija firmly by the shoulder.

"They don't waste any time!"

His grip was like a steel clamp.

(BOOM!!)

And immediately after, in a single movement, Yumemaru leapt in evasion, propelling them with a force that lifted them high above the rain of slashes seeking to claim their lives.

(I haven't been able to stabilize myself yet!)

In that instant, Shija felt the world turn into a blur of fluctuating colors as they were dragged away from the epicenter of the attack.

"Hold on tight, boy!"

Mid-air, the situation became unsustainable.

(SH-SH-SH-SHIN! K-ZAK! VRP-VRP-VRP! KRA-TAK! S-S-S-SLICET! CLANG-GRIND! VHOOOM! K-ZAK-ZAK-ZAK! SHREEEEEE!)

The sky did not stop spitting death; new slashes, faster and denser than the previous ones, converged toward them from multiple angles.

(BOOM... BOOM... BOOM!!)

Showing off a supernatural agility, Yumemaru began to "step" on the air, creating small explosions of pressure under his boots to propel himself and zigzag through the rain of cuts.

"¡¡!!"

Shija, clinging to Yumemaru's arm, felt the wind cutting his skin, but his eyes did not close. Despite the panic, his pupils dilated, trying to decipher the trajectory, speed, and cadence of each attack, searching for a logical pattern in that bombardment of vacuum.

"Listen, there are too many things I need to explain to you!"

But in that moment, Shija's desperate attempt to analyze the situation ceased abruptly at Yumemaru's fierce shout.

"But as things stand, I'll only be able to relay the vitals to you...!"

However, his words were violently cut short...

(THWACK!!!)

Neither Shija with his analysis, nor Yumemaru with his experience, were able to perceive the attack. There was no sound, no flash, no preceding gust.

"¡¡Kgh...!!"

It was a dry, brutal impact that struck Yumemaru squarely in the side with an invisible force, sending them both into a tailspin toward the aurora ground.

"Dammit!!"

Despite the devastating blow, Yumemaru did not let go of Shija; in the midst of the dizzying descent, Yumemaru forced his body to react.

(WHOOOSH-KRAKOOM!!!)

Regaining his balance mid-air, Yumemaru struck the atmosphere with his feet once more, propelling himself to the side at the exact instant a massive slash split the space where they would have impacted.

(GRIND-CRUNCH!!)

The thunderous sound of the collision behind them shook their very bones, but they were already on the move again, fleeing toward the cover of the mechanical city.

"I'm sure you know that damned viper named Melioris!"

Once there, Yumemaru plunged into the heart of the mechanical city, moving between gigantic pistons and bronze gears that turned with a deafening roar. In parallel, the enemy slashes rained from the sky, slicing through the metal structures as if they were paper.

"Melioris?!"

Despite this, Yumemaru continued to zigzag while Shija tensed violently upon recognizing the name.

"But don't be mistaken, boy! What is hunting us now isn't her, but what you might call her younger sisters!"

Jumping between pipes, Yumemaru evaded the slashes, hiding among the steam to hinder those violent, imperceptible blows as he wiped blood from his lips.

"Awaken..."

And without giving Shija time to respond, Yumemaru's gaze turned gelid.

"Ketsuki-no-Zan."

(WHROOOOOOOM!!!)

A whirlwind of pressure swept across the plaza. From a rift in the air emerged a curved blade, made of a metal so dark it seemed to absorb light, divided by a line of pure silver.

"It's been a while..."

As he gripped the hilt of "Split Moon," Yumemaru stopped fleeing.

"If we’re going to fight, it has to be fast. Because if we don't finish them in a single blow, by tomorrow they’ll know how to do this better than I do!"

"Tenjou no Kaze!"

He adopted a low stance and began to run toward the heart of the mechanical metropolis.

(CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!!)

He moved his sword at an absurd speed, tracing omnidirectional arcs so fast that Shija could only see silver flashes surrounding them like a cocoon of steel.

(VRP-VRP-VRP! DOK-DOK-DOK! TANG-TANG-TANG! K-ZAK! BOOM-BOOM!)

The impacts of the enemy slashes resonated with a roar, but none managed to pierce that storm.

"This way, I can hold one of them off while I buy some time."

Finally, the bombardment ceased abruptly. Yumemaru's technique had forced a temporary stalemate by piquing their interest.

"But it’s only a matter of seconds before the other one learns what I just did and finds the flaw! The target of those monsters is me, Shija! They are using me as a living combat manual! But you... they haven't marked you as an 'interesting' target yet. You still have a chance to escape before they set their sights on your soul!"

However, "they" were not going to allow such a simple escape.

(CREAK... GROOOOAN... CLANK!!)

Suddenly, the mechanical city began to mutate. Towers tilted, streets rose, and bridges twisted, assembling themselves with terrifying precision.

"Dammit...! So she came too..."

The city was becoming a colossal prison.

(GRRR-RR-RUMBLE! CLANG! WHIRRRRRRR! K-CHUNK! CH-CH-CH-CH-TK! TSANK! GRIND-GRIND! THOOOM!)

The roar of metal clashing became deafening. The city was no longer a metropolis; it was a mechanical jaw closing in on them.

"You haven't been assimilated by the soul of this place yet! Your will still belongs to you, and that’s why you’re the only one who can cross the threshold!"

"Ugh!!"

Shija tried to utter a response; however, he was interrupted by Yumemaru's feverish shout.

"Your exit isn't here! You have to find Mireya and make her wake up! That will be your ticket out!"

Without warning, Yumemaru stopped his defensive technique, leaving himself exposed.

"Please... I'm leaving it to you."

Yumemaru then crouched, grabbing Shija to propel him toward the only remaining crack in the ceiling.

(THWACK!!!)

In that instant of vulnerability, an invisible blow struck Yumemaru squarely in the solar plexus.

"FOUNDER!! What are you doing?!"

"Reach the mansion you saw when you arrived!!"

Yumemaru coughed up a mouthful of crimson blood, but his gaze remained fixed on the youth he threw with all his might.

"Cut through the darkness, Shija! Only you can do it!"

In mid-air, Yumemaru rotated with unnatural grace.

"Hangetsu!"

With an arc of pure silver, he sliced through the gear assembly just above Shija, creating a small luminous opening.

(SHIIIIIIIIING!!!)

The wind pressure dragged Shija's astral body outward, sucking him toward the freedom of the aurora.

"YUMEMARU!!!"

The last image Shija saw was the silhouette of the Founder landing in the center of the cell, surrounded by shadows, with his sword raised and a bloody smile, just before the copper prison closed completely, sealing his fate.