The car's engine purred like a beast pacing in a cage as Raito steered up the narrow mountain road. Trees loomed tall around him, the dense forest blurring into the fog-shrouded dusk. The school trip had only just begun, but his true reason for coming had nothing to do with hiking trails or sightseeing.
He wasn't here to relax. He wasn't here to bond.
He was here to make sure he stayed on top.
"Kurai," he said without glancing at the rearview mirror, as though her voice might materialize in it, "Where is your sister?"
A pause.
"…Is that really why you dragged me out to this frozen rock pile?"she finally responded."You know, there are nicer ways to say you missed me."
"I didn't miss you. And I didn't drag you. You're stuck in my head, remember?"
"Touché."
"Just tell me where she is."
Kurai's voice dropped the playful edge, becoming guarded. "You're being serious."
"I am serious," Raito replied, eyes sharp, tone unwavering. "I'm not letting anything lie dormant in these mountains if it could one day wake up and challenge me. Especially not something tied to you."
"She's not like me, Raito."
"Exactly. That's why I need to see her for myself."
Silence stretched between them.
"She's dangerous," Kurai finally said. "She's sleeping because she wants to. She's sealed. The kind of sealed that doesn't happen unless the world agrees it's better off that way."
"If someone had the power to seal her, then someone can break it," Raito said. "And if that happens, I need to be ready."
His grip on the wheel tightened as he continued, "I'm not here to protect anyone. I just want to make sure no one can touch me. Not her. Not anyone."
"…That's your reason?"
"It's the only one that matters."
A long sigh echoed in his mind. Then Kurai finally caved.
"East ridge. Past the old watchtower ruins. There's a split stone by a dead tree, half-buried shrine gate behind it. Follow the path. If you can still feel your spine, you're getting close."
"What kind of seal is it?"
"Old. Pre-demon war stuff. Layered with human and demon magic—doesn't care if you're alive or dead, just that you stay out."
"Good." He adjusted his GPS and marked the general area. "I'll check it out. Quietly."
"Riiight," Kurai said, tone slipping back into sarcasm. "Because you're such a master of subtlety."
He didn't answer.
The car wound deeper into the trees. The mist got thicker.
"…You do know, if she even senses me through you, things could go sideways real fast," Kurai added after a moment. "And if she wakes up…"
"I'll deal with it."
"Will you?" she said, voice lilting now, more amused than concerned. "Raito, she's not like the little thugs you glare into submission. She's not even like me. She's something else. She remembers a world that doesn't exist anymore."
"I'm not afraid of something that's asleep."
"You should be. You should be very afraid."
There was a pause. Then Kurai's voice changed again—this time airier, almost sing-song.
"But hey, it's your funeral. Just don't say I didn't warn you…"
Her last words echoed in his mind with a kind of weightless menace, like a warning that was never really meant to be heeded.
Raito didn't flinch. He drove forward.
In his world, the top belonged to the strongest.
And the moment something stronger emerged—
It had to go.