The Terms Revealed

The debt comes due

The living brand on Shun Sato's arm flared, shredded his sleeve, and burned into his flesh, announcing that the time for delivery had arrived.

Shun went to the School for Gifted Children and told Ryuji that the mark he had seen throughout childhood was not a tattoo. It was a contract imposed by Magnus after the Second Transgression. Because Ryuji was the firstborn, he had to enter the Royal Knights and serve the Demon King unless he defeated the throne's strongest knight.

The oath speaks

At Shun's command, the ink lifted from his arm and formed a hovering pool with pale eyes. The curse stated its own enforcement terms. Failure to deliver Ryuji would cause its thorns to enter Shun's heart and kill him immediately. Cheating or magical tampering would have the same result.

Shun asked whether Ryuji could satisfy the escape clause by defeating him instead, since Shun's strength exceeded that of the strongest Royal Knight. The oath accepted the interpretation but required Shun to fight with his full power. A staged victory would not count. If Ryuji lost, he would still have to report to the demon court.

The first attempt

Ryuji accepted the duel as a possible route to freedom. He did not understand how far the gap between them extended. Shun defeated him brutally in the school arena. Sawano and Yuki entered on Ryuji's side, Nori attempted to intervene, and Kimiko and Reiko ultimately moved to protect their children. None could force Shun to use the full extent of his power.

Shun argued the additional fighters into the oath's interpretation, then removed them from the contest one by one. He returned Ryuji to the Tower after the defeat and resumed the training intended to prepare him for the actual Royal Knight challenge.

The family history

One week later, after the Climb to the Tower, Shun gave the assembled household and guests the complete history. He described the Hikari Civil War, his love for Yumi Raijin, his arrest by Akiyama Magnus, the creation of the oath, sixteen years of family life, Yumi's death, and Ryuji's Exile.

The disclosure recast Shun's apparent cruelty. Ryuji's training from age ten had been designed to make the escape clause achievable. Shun's secrecy, however, had also produced the resentment and isolation that harmed the family. The account did not excuse his actions; it allowed the others to understand the fear guiding them.

Magnus's death and the throne

Shun then revealed that Magnus had died in his sleep one year after creating the oath. The contract survived because its wording bound Ryuji to the Demon King and demon court rather than to Magnus personally. Whoever held the throne inherited the benefit of the agreement.

The current king was Akiyama, Shun's former commander and battle brother. Akiyama had won the crown against political and martial challengers. His presence created Shun's contingency: if Ryuji lost, entered the court, and satisfied the oath, Akiyama would protect him and eventually grant an honorable release.

Shun had already negotiated with both Akiyama and the curse. The decisive duel would be held by the end of the week in the demon realm. The friends' immediate task was therefore not to find a legal loophole but to prepare Ryuji to win.

Reconciliation and renewed trust

The disclosure allowed father and son to confront their own failures. Ryuji apologized for ignoring Shun's pain. Shun accepted responsibility for placing his secrets, curses, and past on his children and apologized for giving up on Ryuji after Yumi's death.

Ryuji asked for no more secrets. Shun agreed, but privately recognized that he had concealed one more matter: a prophecy concerning a savior.

Sawano also ended the uncertainty between herself and Ryuji. After hearing the history and choosing to face the coming duel beside him, she renewed her earlier request that he accept her. Ryuji did, and their first kiss became a vow to face the trial together.

The promised day

Shun, Ryuji, Haruka, Mimi, Sawano, Yuki, Reiko, and Kimiko trained and prepared at the Tower. On the appointed morning, the group gathered in the underground portal chamber. Their passage through the Gate begins the next phase of the oath's enforcement.