The Dragon Black Spot had been successfully sealed, and with an infusion of powerful spell energy, the damage to the Pillar of Heaven had begun to heal.

The Onmyou Bureau also launched into a busy period of reconstruction.

It had practically been a war that day, and the damage to the Bureau's headquarters was significant. Forget about the buildings—the defensive spell barriers around the headquarters had to be repaired as a matter of urgency.

It was worth noting that during the previous battle, Enmadō Rokurou and Hanano Benio had jointly held off the Basara known as Shi.

Shi ranked among the upper echelons of the Basara, and the fact that the two could fight him head-on without being overwhelmed earned them the respect of the Twelve Heavenly Generals.

In any case, the crisis had passed, and everyone could finally relax for a while—at least until Ishikagami Yukito made his next move, there would be a period of peaceful daily life.

So Enmadō Rokurou and Hanano Benio decided to fulfill a promise they'd made to Koeda: to take her to an amusement park.

During their travels, they had passed by a park that had been temporarily closed due to the emergence of a Dragon Black Spot.

Koeda had always wanted to see what a normal amusement park was like, and both Rokurou and Benio had promised to take her.

Charles, with nothing better to do, decided to tag along. After all, an amusement park was far more tolerable than Hanano Benio's originally suggested tour of Kyoto's hagi mochi shops.

But Charles quickly regretted that thought. He'd rather be eating a dozen of those overly sweet treats in every mochi shop in Kyoto.

Pendulum rides, pirate ships, roller coasters… This wasn't an amusement park—it was hell on Earth.

Just looking at those "instruments of torture" made Charles nauseous. Even the carousel seemed to emit a nightmarish laughter, as if it had crawled up from the depths of hell.

Charles shuddered. No wonder Ikaruga Shimemon had looked like he wanted to say something before they left—he must have foreseen all this.

Charles sat on a bench, licking an ice cream cone.

Koeda had just ridden a roller coaster for the first time and was beaming with joy from the new experience. Beside her, Enmadō Rokurou looked like he'd lost his soul.

Hanano Benio, although calm on the surface, was clearly just as shaken.

Two grownups being outdone by a little girl—it made Charles snicker. But remembering his own state, he quickly wiped the smile off his face and put on a neutral expression.

Just then, two middle school girls in uniforms ran over and said, "Excuse me, big brother, could you take a picture of us?"

Charles blinked, then smiled and said, "Of course!"

He took the pink phone with cat stickers and aimed the camera at the girls.

"Hai, chiizu!"

The girls called out the common photo phrase, and Charles hit the shutter. The picture captured two radiant smiles.

After retrieving the phone and thanking him, one of the girls blushed and said, "Big brother, would it be okay if we exchanged contact info?"

Charles couldn't help but chuckle. So that's what this was really about—no wonder they'd chosen him out of a crowd.

Still, the experience was novel. It was the first time someone had tried to hit on him. Charles politely declined, and the disappointed girl walked away.

But Charles's mood improved, and he noticed that Rokurou and the others had gone to ride the carousel.

Rokurou was leaning on the railing, watching Benio and Koeda ride the merry-go-round.

What a damn lucky guy—he practically has a wife and kid already! I'll be sure to double his training load later.

Rokurou suddenly shivered—he had the strange sensation of being targeted.

Charles watched Hanano Benio, whose usual expressionless face now held a faint smile as she rode with Koeda. The sight left him momentarily dazed.

He had once told Igneel he would never abandon his human heart.

But in this moment, Charles gained a deeper understanding of what that "human heart" truly meant.

He didn't want to be a world-saving "hero," much less some overly sympathetic "saint."

From beginning to end, the only people Charles had ever wanted to save and protect were his family and companions.

And as Charles grew stronger, the things he could do expanded with him.

After Igneel's reminder, Charles had begun to reflect on his own path.

Now, witnessing such a simple yet heartwarming scene, Charles felt something click inside him.

Beautiful things should remain beautiful. He didn't want any tragic endings—he wanted to preserve the good things forever.

Koeda played until nightfall. After one final ride on the Ferris wheel, now lit with colorful lights, she fell asleep on Rokurou's back.

Even though Rokurou and Benio were physically exhausted from the day, their hearts felt at peace.

From their time at Seika Dorm to the battles in Kyoto, it had been nothing but fighting and Charles's brutal training. Though neither had ever complained, they had been mentally and emotionally stretched thin.

The reappearance of Ishikagami Yukito during the battle had especially cast a lingering shadow over them.

But Koeda's smile that day, as warm and bright as the sun, had swept that shadow away and rekindled their fighting spirit.

Even if only to protect that smile, the two of them were determined to keep growing stronger.

That night, they went to Charles for extra training—and passed out on the training grounds from sheer exhaustion.

Charles casually tossed them into the same bed... a trick he'd picked up from Tsuchimikado Arima. Call him a good guy—no need to thank him.

As for why Rokurou had two big dark circles under his eyes the next day… Well, Charles had nothing to do with that.

After staying in Kyoto for two days, the group prepared to return to Narukami Town.

Almost forgot—Rokurou and Benio were high school students. They had taken a leave of absence from school to deal with the Dragon Black Spots, but now that the crisis was over, they needed to return.

Naturally, Charles would be going back with them, mostly because the place Ishikagami Yukito was most likely to reappear was wherever Enmadō Rokurou happened to be.

Once Charles took care of Yukito, and then dealt with Abe no Seimei, he could finally leave this world in peace.

It was highly likely that Yukito had healed from his injuries using the Pillar of Heaven. That meant he now understood the truth about the Twin Stars—and also what kind of being he really was.

In Abe no Seimei's plan, Ishikagami Yukito was an unnecessary existence—one without a mission or meaning.

To Yukito, Enmadō Rokurou was the only being like himself in this world, and fighting him was the one thing that gave his life purpose.

So he would seek out Rokurou. Even if he didn't, Abe no Seimei would make sure he did.

Because in Abe's eyes, even a redundant existence like Yukito could serve one purpose: to provoke Enmadō Rokurou into unleashing his Starbreaker King powers.

And Charles was simply waiting for Yukito to appear—so he could end this meaningless... no, this life that had already abandoned its search for meaning.

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I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)

Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)

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