Azazul was slammed into the ground.
The orange-eyed deity grabbed him by the throat and smashed him down again. Raising his greatsword with his left arm, the deity went for a killing blow—but Azazul reacted instantly.
He lifted his right hand, countering the greatsword with his tachi. At the same time, his left hand shot forward, clamping around the deity's throat. The electric-blue blade of the tachi hovered inches from the deity's face, held in place where it had stopped the greatsword.
The demon possessing Azazul summoned its ancient power and locked the deity in place.
The orange-eyed deity realized what possessed Azazul was planning and tried to pull away—but it was already too late. The tachi moved. With Azazul's grip crushing his throat, escape was impossible.
Desperate, the deity tried to push the tachi down with his greatsword. But the blade was impossibly sharp, biting into the greatsword itself. Even as a silver-core manipulator, with enough power to fight for days, he couldn't break free from the monstrous grip around his neck.
The tachi pierced his temple and went straight through his brain.
Death was instant.
"Annoying."
The demon tossed the lifeless body aside and stood up. His gold eye shone brighter with each passing second—his shapeshifter was reaping life after life.
Surrounded, the demon glanced at his sword as it ignited with deep, dark flames—far more alive than before.
"Ten of you, huh?"
A dark, menacing smile twisted his face as six more demons closed in.
"Good. Ten was a little too easy."
***
Akiko sat in her room, calmly combing her hair. A knock at the door made her pause.
A girl with short black hair and light brown eyes entered. She was Akiko's partner and classmate.
Five months had passed. For two of those months, Akiko and her five-person team had been sent to the Azaroth Mountains after the deities burned down the nearby village. The chaos and fear had attracted corrupted monsters, turning the mountains into their territory. Their mission was extermination. Five teams had been deployed.
The girl approached Akiko and spoke warmly.
"Good morning, Akiko. I have some news."
Akiko nodded, returning the smile.
"Good morning, Gen. I hope it's good news."
Gen nodded.
"Team Two exterminated the C-rank pack—codename: Howlers. Team Three has made progress on the first mountain, but it's slow. Team Four is still monitoring the Rank Four demon."
She hesitated.
"As for Team Five… they were wiped out by the Rank Three demon."
Akiko listened carefully. The Howlers were a specialized pack of wolves, but only C-rank—she'd expected them to be eliminated. What she hadn't expected was the presence of both a Rank Three and Rank Four demon.
Now they were down a team.
She hadn't encountered either demon yet—and she wasn't planning to anytime soon. Her team wouldn't stand a chance.
"Any news on the second mountain?" Akiko asked.
"Yes. During last night's scouting, the scouts saw a veil covering the mountain peak. We'll investigate today."
Akiko nodded.
'A veil… Were the demons responsible? And if so, what happened inside it?'
Curiosity took hold, and the words slipped out before she could stop herself.
"I'll go with the investigation team. Let them know I'll be accompanying them."
She stood and went to the bathroom to prepare.
***
Azazul woke up on the second mountain.
The bright morning sun burned his eyes. His throat was dry, and his body trembled with pain. He crawled to his knees and slowly looked around.
Nothing but dirt.
The stench of burned flesh.
The sharp metallic smell of blood.
And bodies.
So many bodies that the entire mountain platform was nearly covered.
The scent of dark flames lingered in his nostrils. He wiped his right eye, smearing blood across it. The burning sensation worsened.
Looking down, he saw his hands, arms, and chest soaked in blood.
Not his.
His shoulder and forearm wounds—gone. Completely healed.
He tried to stand and collapsed back to his knees.
His head spun.
'Did I do this?'
'This is madness.'
Unable to stand, Azazul crawled toward the cabin. The fallen demons of darkness formed a pitch-black carpet of shattered armor and onyx masks. Many were horribly dismembered—every body missing a limb or cleanly severed.
His stomach churned. Tears streamed down his face as he crawled endlessly forward.
This wasn't something an eleven-year-old should experience.
Cold blood clung to his hands, feet, and knees. He tripped and fell face-first into a pool of blood, his face completely submerged. He tried wiping his eyes clean—unsuccessfully. The more he wiped, the more blood spread.
He stopped.
Lowering his hands, he lifted his head toward the sky, eyes still closed. Taking a deep breath, he tried standing again.
He failed.
His mana was dangerously low. His body felt impossibly heavy.
So he crawled.
Until he reached the cabin.
He opened the door on his knees and dragged himself inside, leaving a trail of blood into the bathroom.
After struggling to clean himself, he dressed in spare clothes he'd left behind. He noticed additional clothing—others had stayed here before, but not permanently.
He stared into the mirror and changed his eyes to ruby red and his hair to dark auburn.
Stepping outside, his shoes soaked instantly with blood.
Voices echoed from the cliff's edge.
Two armored men appeared.
Azazul scanned the massacre—and spotted his tachi. Pristine. Untouched. He summoned it, the blade flying into his hand. He sheathed it and placed it on his back.
'Crap.'
As he approached, a third figure revealed herself.
'A woman.'
'Akiko?! What is she doing here? How is she here?'
One of the boys spoke.
"State your name, individual."
He had dark hair, dark brown eyes, and wore dull silver armor with a red clan flag draped over his right shoulder.
The second boy had wheat-blond hair and calm azure eyes, clad in dull gold armor with a scarlet flag over his arm.
"My name is Azazul Saint."
The blond boy spat.
"So you're her brother—the so-called prodigy. I assume you did this."
Azazul didn't look back at the carnage.
"Yes. I did."
The boy stepped forward until they stood face-to-face.
"I don't believe it. Your presence is weak. I could kill you instantly."
Azazul's ruby eyes glowed faintly as he leaned closer.
"Then you're welcome to try. Just know—I won't stand by and allow you to kill me."
Akiko's voice cut in.
"What took you so long?"
Azazul walked past the boys and stopped in front of her. Her presence calmed his racing heart.
"Sorry. I got stuck in some unpleasant situations—but I'm back."
"We'll talk in my private quarters."
The blond boy snapped.
"Private what?!"
Akiko shot him an annoyed look.
"Azazul, let's go."
Azazul summoned his shapeshifter. A black panther rose from his shadow, roaring as it grew—transforming into a medium-sized wyvern.
Weapons were drawn too late.
Azazul grabbed Akiko and leapt onto the dragon.