Whispers of Shikiban:The king walks among us-Chapter 69 --

She chuckled. "Nobody beats him. And we're gonna kill you before you even see his face."

Reika's eyes narrowed.

"You enjoy licking your master's boots that much? Maybe beg harder."

The woman's smirk disappeared.

"Beast Anatomy!"

Flames burst around her, slicing into form like glowing blades. The hallway turned into a furnace in a blink. Reika's silhouette flickered—and vanished.

THUNK.

The air cracked as Reika reappeared, mid-spin, her weapon—a cleaver-shaped energy blade—cutting straight through the flames. The edges of her blade pulsed cold blue.

"Freezing Motion!" the Shikiban screamed again, and the air warped, turning frigid. Reality paused—like everything had been dumped in liquid nitrogen.

Reika froze, only for a second.

SLASH.

She moved through the ice like a ghost. A clean vertical cut. The Shikiban's body twitched.

Her head fell before her brain realized it.

"Too weak," Reika muttered. "Try again with someone who knows how to use a technique."

A clap echoed behind her.

"Well damn," a new voice said, slow and deep, amused. "Didn't think she'd fold that fast."

Reika turned. Her muscles tensed.

A man stepped forward. He had no aura—like, none. Like the world forgot to render his existence. His face was sharp, tattooed with strange symbols, and he had a smirk like he knew every move you were gonna make five steps before you did.

Zai (10).

Enzo.

"So you're the Kageshiki girl?" he tilted his head. "Guess I gotta kill you now. Fun."

The hallway clock above them ticked once—and then stopped.

Reika's eyes flicked to it.

Every second hand had frozen. Not one. All of them.

A chill crawled up her spine.

"Time loop," she whispered.

Elsewhere in the building—

"Bro, we're not even moving floors anymore," Yeaga panted, his voice strained. "We've been running up for fifteen goddamn minutes, and we're still on the fifteenth."

"Don't say it," Daigo muttered.

"No, man. Look—look at the clocks! They're stuck." He grabbed Daigo's arm and pointed to the digital display above the stairwell. 8:00 PM.

They entered the building at 9:00 PM.

Daigo's stomach dropped.

"Oh shit," he whispered. "We're stuck in... time?"

He turned to say something else, but his words died as his eyes went wide.

Behind Yeaga—a dim, sharp aura twisted into form like shadows learning how to walk.

"GREY SHATTER CANNON!" Daigo shouted, launching a fist of fire crystal toward the aura.

The hallway exploded with light and shrapnel.

From the smoke, a figure emerged—unscathed. Laughing.

Zai (10) Enzo.

"So... some fresh meat came to kill me?" he cracked his neck, looking downright bored. "Cute."

"Who the fuck are you?" Daigo growled, fists clenched.

"My bro. That's Enzo," Yeaga said, mouth dry. "He's the Time Zai. The tenth one. He manipulates time."

Enzo grinned, spreading his arms. "All the little Kageshiki rebels came to die today, huh? This is gonna be entertaining."

"You think we'll let you win?" Yeaga smirked, sweat dripping from his brow. "We'll take you down."

"Look at the clocks," Enzo said, chuckling.

Both boys looked.

8:00 PM.

Unmoving.

"You entered at 9. But it's 8. That's not a time skip," Enzo said. His voice got darker. "That's me."

"I exist across timezones. I don't clone. I don't project. I'm just... present. Always. Everywhere."

The lights in the building flickered.

And suddenly—they weren't alone.

Dozens of Enzo.

Every hallway screen. Every reflective surface. His face. Watching. Grinning.

The building moaned like a living thing.

Daigo staggered. "This ain't a battle. This is a prison."

The air felt wrong. Time was lagging, and she could feel it. Like her thoughts were faster than her body. She narrowed her eyes, gauging Enzo's movements.

He stood still.

"Go ahead," he said, hands in his coat pockets. "Try to kill me. Let's see how far that blade gets in a paused frame."

She lunged.

BOOM.

Her blade passed through him.

No blood. No impact. Just a glitch in the fabric of reality.

A time echo.

The real Enzo appeared behind her, tapping her shoulder. She spun—too slow.

His hand was already at her neck.

But she smiled.

"Checkmate," she whispered.

CLICK.

A time disruptor in her hand—implanted by Souta. It unleashed a ripple, warping Enzo's current time zone for 0.03 seconds.

Just enough.

Her blade stabbed through his abdomen.

He coughed. "Okay... okay. You got one hit in. Not bad."

He vanished. Reappeared across the hall.

Holding his stomach.

Bleeding.

Smirking.

"You ain't gonna get that window again, sweetheart."

The boys backed into the center of the 12th-floor corridor. The walls shifted, bending like rubber.

"Bro, we need to sync attacks," Daigo muttered.

Yeaga nodded. "Heat pulse combo?"

"Let's do it."

They clasped hands. Flames burst from Daigo. Frost surged from Yeaga. Fire and ice twisted together into a spiral drill of elemental death.

They launched it forward.

Enzo stepped into view.

Time slowed.

1 second.

0.5.

0.1.

He stepped around the attack like he was walking through drizzle.

Then he was in front of them.

His fist hit Daigo in the gut.

CRACK.

Daigo flew into the wall, blood spraying from his mouth.

Yeaga tried to react—too late. A kick to his ribs.

They were both down.

Enzo shook his head, disappointed. "You boys seriously thought you could touch a god?"

Yeaga coughed blood, laughing. "We're not trying to touch a god..."

Reika walked into the hallway, dragging her weapon.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"...we're trying to distract him."

Enzo turned—too slow.

Reika threw her blade.

It spun like a saw.

Straight at his neck.