Chapter 24: A Breath Away from Death
Everything was a blur.
The wind howled through the broken gates as Yusuke stormed through the fortress, his entire body burning with exhaustion and desperation.
The weight in his arms was too light.
Too cold.
Too still.
"KEIKO, STAY WITH ME!" His voice cracked, raw with something he didn't dare name.
His chest ached, his breath was ragged. His entire body felt like it was running on nothing but sheer panic.
She wasn't responding.
Her skin pale.
Her lips blue.
Yusuke's heart was hammering so violently he thought it would break.
NO. NO, SHE CAN'T DIE HERE.
He barely registered the demons scattering from his path, the way his boots slammed against the stone floor, or the way his own energy was leaking out uncontrollably.
None of it mattered.
The only thing that mattered was the dying woman in his arms.
"HEY! SOMEBODY GET OUT HERE—NOW!"
His voice thundered through the fortress, shaking the very foundation.
For a split second, there was silence.
Then—
A blur of movement.
Shigure.
Yusuke barely paused to think.
He didn't care about pleasantries. Didn't care about explanations.
He needed Keiko alive.
He shoved her into Shigure's arms.
"She's dying," he spat, his voice raw, shaking. "Fix it."
Shigure's eyes flickered with something—maybe curiosity, maybe calculation—but he wasted no time. His hands moved fast, checking her pulse, her breath, the deep wounds lining her body.
Yusuke watched, not breathing.
Shigure's expression stayed unreadable. Cold. Methodical.
Then—
"She's critical."
Yusuke's stomach dropped.
No shit, genius—save her! The words never left his mouth, but his hands clenched, shaking.
Shigure didn't even flinch at the desperation bleeding into Yusuke's voice. Instead, he exhaled sharply, lifting Keiko's fragile, broken body with a strange kind of gentleness.
"I'll do what I can," he said simply. "But she's far gone. If you had been even a minute later—"
"I WASN'T."
Yusuke cut him off, his voice a razor's edge.
Shigure's gaze lingered for a second. Then he turned, walking swiftly toward the medical chambers.
Yusuke's fists clenched at his sides. His breath came in harsh, uneven gasps.
He could still feel Keiko's warmth on his skin. Could still hear the faint, ragged sound of her barely-there breathing.
And for the first time in a long time—
He felt helpless.
He'd fought gods. He'd fought demons that could tear apart worlds. He'd died and come back stronger.
But none of that meant a damn thing if he couldn't save her.
His hands shook.
His knees threatened to give out.
Then—
A whisper.
So quiet he almost missed it.
"…Yusuke…"
His breath hitched.
His eyes shot toward Keiko—
But she was already being carried away.
And for the first time since this nightmare started—
He wasn't the one fighting.
All he could do now…
Was wait.