The world narrowed to the sound of Selene's shallow breaths and the sticky warmth of her blood beneath his trembling hands.
Asura's vision blurred, his golden eyes drowned in tears that refused to stop. He pressed harder, whispering broken pleas into the air as though words alone could stop death. His voice was hoarse, raw from screaming her name.
But then—
A voice slithered through the cracks of his despair.
Pathetic.
It wasn't Selene's. It wasn't his grandfather's. It wasn't anyone's he knew. It was cold, venomous, mocking.
All those skills. All those titles. All that pride… and you couldn't protect her. You're weak. Worthless. A child clinging to toys.
Asura froze. His tears dripped down his cheeks, hitting the stone with soft taps. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his breaths shallow.
Cry. Yes… cry. That's all you're good for. But crying won't save her. Crying won't save you.
His nails dug into his palms, his shoulders shaking. His throat burned as a broken sob tore free.
"…Shut up."
Look at her. Look at the blood on your hands. This is your fault. You could have run. You could have obeyed. But no—you wanted to play hero. And now? She dies.
Something inside him snapped.
The sobbing halted, cut short by a soundless breath. His trembling slowed, the anguish cooling into something heavier.
Anger.
Yes… the voice purred, slick and poisonous. Good. Let it fester. Let it burn. Don't beg. Don't whimper. KILL. KILL THEM ALL.
The dam broke.
Mana surged from his body in a violent flood, so thick and suffocating the air itself warped. The stone beneath him cracked, black lightning ripping across the clearing. The ground shook like it feared what was being born upon it.
Asura's golden eyes bled into scarlet, glowing like twin infernos. His hair, once short and pale, stretched downward in a violent torrent of long, shadowy strands, the black swallowing the last traces of gold. Demonic markings seared across his body, curling around his arms and chest, alive with raw power. From beneath his eyelids, thin red lines etched downward—twin trails that traced across his cheeks like tears of ink.
He rose slowly, the boy's small frame unraveling into something taller, broader, his body lean yet corded with muscle, power coiled in every fiber. Horns erupted from his skull, long and angled, obsidian black, pulsing with crimson veins. His fingers curled into claws, each inch-long and black as night.
The knights stumbled back, armor clattering. One dropped his shield with a loud clang. Liora's breath caught, her eyes wide with horror. "What… what is he…?"
Lyra gripped her axe tighter, but even she stepped back instinctively. Kael's usual grin was gone, his mouth dry. Darius muttered a curse under his breath, daggers shaking in his hands.
Eldrin's staff trembled as he raised it, sweat dripping down his wrinkled face. "This… this isn't a demon's Awakening…"
The adventurers were paralyzed—not by choice, but by instinct. The aura rolling off Asura was suffocating, a tidal wave of malice and power that made it feel like the very air was poison. Their lungs fought to breathe, their knees screamed to buckle.
And for the first time—
Even the unknown figure stiffened.
His calm, lazy composure cracked ever so slightly. His eyes narrowed, his hand tightening at his side as the pressure forced even him to shift his stance.
"…Impossible," he murmured. His voice was still calm, but beneath it lurked something new. Something rare.
Fear.
Asura's scarlet gaze locked onto him, unblinking, merciless.
The boy who had cried moments before was gone.
What stood now was the True Demon Lord fully awakened.
And fear itself had taken form.
✦ The Demon Unleashed
The world shattered in a heartbeat.
One moment, Asura stood trembling beside Selene, her blood staining his hands. The next, he was gone.
No words. No warning. Only silence—then a thunderclap of black lightning as his body vanished into the void.
The unknown figure's lazy eyes flickered just once before Asura reappeared—directly in front of him.
The boy's clawed hand swung, black lightning trailing like a whip. The unknown figure shifted his head ever so slightly—yet the strike carved a canyon through the ground behind him, stone splitting like paper, trees disintegrating into ash.
The forest howled.
Asura didn't stop.
Teleport. Slash. Teleport. Slash. His movements blurred beyond mortal sight, every step folding space, every swing of Yamikami no Tsurugi splitting reality itself. The cursed blade howled with him, cracks of purple lightning bursting from its edge as though feeding on his frenzy.
Each clash sent shockwaves that tore knights from their feet, flinging armored men like dolls. Adventurers scrambled to shield themselves, their faces pale with horror.
Kael's voice cracked. "Wh-what the hell is this—?!"
Darius cursed as another shockwave nearly snapped a tree in half. "This… this isn't a fight—it's slaughter!"
Lyra clenched her axe, but her hands shook. "No child… not even if he's a demon… should have this kind of power…"
Even Eldrin, his voice usually steady, muttered in terror. "It's… it's not an Awakening… it's something else. Something forbidden."
Asura didn't hear them. He couldn't. The boy they knew was gone. In his place was a beast cloaked in rage, scarlet eyes blazing with the raw instinct to destroy.
He swung Yamikami with one hand, the katana screeching with purple lightning that split into a storm overhead. When the blade struck the ground, the earth erupted like a volcano, molten cracks racing outward in violent spirals.
Knights screamed as the shockwave tore through their formation. Shields shattered. Armor buckled. Men were flung high into the air only to crash lifeless into the blackened soil.
"Fall back!" Liora shouted desperately, her voice shrill over the roar of destruction. But there was nowhere to run. The forest itself burned around them, twisted trees collapsing as if bowing to the True Demon Lord's fury.
The unknown figure stood in the eye of the storm, cloak whipping in the wind, eyes narrowed with rare seriousness. He deflected each strike with movements so subtle they seemed lazy—but even he was forced back, boots dragging trenches through the cracked earth.
"Impossible…" he whispered again, his voice steady but edged. "This level of power… from a child?"
Asura's form blurred once more—then reappeared above him, blade raised high. Yamikami pulsed with violent hunger, arcs of lightning spiraling into the heavens. He brought it down with a roarless fury.
BOOOOM.
The impact swallowed the clearing. The ground cratered, a dome of black energy expanding outward in a cataclysmic wave. Trees vaporized. Stone cracked and buckled. Knights screamed as they were reduced to silhouettes against the blinding light before vanishing into ash.
Only the adventurers and Serphiel, shielded by sheer will and magic, survived the blast—barely. Even then, they were thrown back, coughing blood, their armor cracked, their weapons quivering in their hands.
Kael staggered to his knees, face pale. "This… this is a monster…"
Randel's knuckles whitened on his spear, sweat dripping into his eyes. "If he wanted us dead… we'd already be corpses."
But Asura didn't stop.
He teleported again, claws tearing through space as though shredding the world itself. His strikes were wild but devastating, guided not by technique but by sheer primal instinct amplified by his skills.
—Shadow Rift Step Lv. 10.
—Crimson Flash Barrage Lv. 12.
—Void Breaker Slash Lv. 15.
—Demonic Endurance surging…
—Omniscient Thought Process overridden by primal bloodlust.
The system pinged endlessly, skills leveling with each maddened strike. His EXP skyrocketed, his stats surging higher and higher as though his very rage was fuel.
And yet, none of it touched the fear in the air.
Every knight and adventurer realized the same truth:
This wasn't a fight. This was the wrath of a beast wearing the skin of a boy.
Blood splattered across the clearing as Asura's claws tore through another knight, rending armor like paper. His geta sandal struck like a hammer, shattering a man's jaw and sending teeth scattering across the ground. He moved with no restraint, no hesitation. Every strike was meant to kill. Every swing of Yamikami was devastation itself.
The unknown figure raised a hand, finally unleashing power of his own. A barrier shimmered into existence, forged from condensed mana. But when Asura's blade struck it—
CRACK.
The barrier shattered like glass. The unknown figure slid back, his calm face shifting for the first time into something unreadable.
"Remarkable," he muttered under his breath. "A True Demon Lord…"
But Asura didn't hear. His scarlet eyes burned only with rage, his claws and blade a storm that refused to stop until nothing was left.
Selene's blood still stained his hands in his mind, and every strike was his answer. Every swing screamed: If I couldn't protect her then… then I will destroy EVERYTHING now.
The knights cried out in desperation.
The adventurers faltered, terror-stricken.
The ground itself seemed to beg for mercy.
And Asura—the Demon Prince—had none to give.
✦ Clash of Titans
The clearing was no longer a forest—it was a battlefield of shattered stone, scorched earth, and craters carved by violence. The adventurers clung to the edges of the destruction, knights holding formation out of instinct more than courage. The only two standing tall in the storm were Asura and the Unknown Figure.
Asura's golden eyes burned scarlet now, his red markings flaring as he moved with inhuman speed. His geta clattered once against the cracked stone as he vanished.
The Unknown Figure barely raised a hand before—
CRASH!
Yamikami screamed through the air, its violet lightning tearing fissures into the ground. The impact shattered the mana barrier the figure had lazily raised, forcing him back a step—his cloak whipping violently in the backlash. The knights gasped. They had never seen him move before.
Asura didn't stop.
He was silent, his breath low, steady, but his body moved like a predator unleashed. Each slash of Yamikami wasn't just a strike—it was a storm. The purple lightning erupted outward, detonating trees, scorching the earth, raining stone fragments across the battlefield.
The Unknown Figure countered with a sweep of his hand, and the earth itself rose into jagged spears, a storm of sharpened stone hurtling at Asura.
He didn't flinch.
A purple liquid shimmer rippled across his body, slick as oil, crawling over his skin and solidifying into armor. The stone shattered uselessly against him, dust exploding into the air.
The knights and adventurers froze, their lungs seizing as the weight of his aura sank over them like chains.
"What… what is this?" Liora whispered, her grip white-knuckled on her blade.
No one answered. No one could.
The ground quaked again as Asura surged forward, his claws dragging sparks. He tore through the stone debris, Yamikami striking again—this time with so much force that the air itself ruptured, a jagged crack splitting open across the clearing.
The Unknown Figure blocked with both arms, his mana flaring brilliantly. He held, but his calm eyes narrowed—there was pressure now. Real pressure.
Then it hit.
The atmosphere itself collapsed under a violent wave of power radiating from Asura. Invisible, yet unbearable. Knights staggered, gasping for air as their knees buckled. Adventurers fell to the ground, weapons rattling out of their hands. Even Sir Serphiel gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his face as the sheer force of being pressed him into the earth.
"This… this isn't mana," Eldrin croaked, clutching his staff with trembling hands. His voice broke into awe and fear. "It's… domination itself…"
The Unknown Figure tilted his head ever so slightly, his composure shifting at last. For the first time, the faintest flicker of surprise creased his calm expression. His body braced as though even he felt the suffocating weight.
Asura didn't notice. Didn't care.
He was gone again, teleporting through space in jagged bursts. Each reappearance came with destruction: a crater here, a gouged scar of violet flame there. Yamikami pulsed like it would split apart from the energy feeding it, the purple lightning writhing across its cursed edge.
The Unknown Figure finally moved in full. His hands blurred, painting sigils of light across the air—waves of elemental fury erupted, firestorms hotter than the desert sun, blades of compressed wind that could cut steel, gravity wells that bent the battlefield into pits of crushing force.
Asura tore through them. His silent fury turned every strike into inevitability, his strange black armor splintering attacks that should have turned his body to dust. His aura bent the battlefield itself, tilting probability—arrows missed by inches, spells faltered mid-cast, blades struck only after-images.
Kael's face twisted with horror as he clung to Lyra's shoulder. "He's… he's making the world move around him. Like… like fate itself's afraid."
Lyra didn't respond. Her eyes never left the boy, her axe limp at her side.
Asura closed the distance again, his scarlet gaze locked on the figure. With a single upward slash, Yamikami detonated in a storm of purple-black lightning that carved through the night. The impact forced the Unknown Figure back, his cloak shredded, his stance tightening.
For the first time, the world saw something no one had ever imagined.
The Unknown Figure—calm, invincible, untouchable—was forced to defend himself.
And the one who had done it was a boy. A boy who said nothing, smiled no longer, and fought like a beast carved from rage and shadow.
This wasn't Asura the mischievous prince.
This was something else.
Something terrifying.
✦ Asura's Whispers
A voice spoke in his mind. Cold, mocking, venomous.
Pathetic. Weak. All your anime skills, all your pride, and still you couldn't protect her.
If you were stronger, this wouldn't have happened. If you were ruthless, no one could hurt her. Kill them all, Asura. Kill them for daring to touch what's yours.
His grip on Yamikami no Tsurugi tightened. His vision warped. His aura flared violently, shaking the ruined clearing.
✦ The Destruction's Touch
The battlefield was split in half: on one side, the Unknown Figure, calm but wary, his presence bending the very air. On the other, Asura—transformed, monstrous, and silent.
Scarlet eyes burned like twin suns of ruin. His palm hovered before him, fingers spread, clawed tips shaking faintly. The world bent around it. Space fractured in thin, jagged lines where reality itself protested.
And then—
DING!
His system chimed violently, flooding his mind with new text:
[New Skill Acquired: Akaris]
Type: Destruction / God-Tier
Effect: Erases existence itself at the user's intent.
Warning: Unstable — may harm user.
The words seared across his vision, but he didn't falter. His palm surged forward, faster than sound, inches from the Unknown Figure's chest.
The adventurers screamed.
The knights staggered back.
Even Serphiel stiffened under his armor.
The world was about to vanish.
But then—
"Asura."
The voice. Selene's. Weak, trembling, but real.
Her arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling against his back with what little strength she had left. That single word, that single touch, pierced through the storm of rage, halting him mid-strike.
The crimson-black aura around his arm shivered, dimming just enough for hesitation to bleed in. His breath hitched. For the first time, the beast flinched.
The Unknown Figure's eyes narrowed. He saw the falter, the hesitation. He struck. His palm carved through the air, aimed to crush Asura's chest while his guard was split.
But—
CLANG.
The sound was sharp, cold, final.
The strike stopped inches away. Not against Asura. Not against Selene.
A hand, wreathed in shadow and violet flame, had caught it mid-swing. Fingers locked tight, unmoving, holding the impossible blow as if it were nothing.
The knights gasped. The adventurers froze. Even Serphiel's eyes widened beneath his helm.
Another presence stood there now, a figure cloaked in darkness, tall and commanding, his aura just as suffocating as the Unknown Figure's. His face was hidden, his name unspoken, but every being present felt the weight of him.
The Unknown Demon.
The forest bent under the pressure of two giants—the Unknown Figure and the Unknown Demon—clashing silently in a single locked strike. Sparks of mana erupted between their hands, splintering the ground beneath them.
Asura, caught between Selene's arms and the suffocating aura, finally lowered his clawed hand. His scarlet eyes flickered, the destructive glow in them dimming. His system pinged faintly again, almost like a whisper:
[Skill Akaris: Sealed — Emotional Stabilization Trigger Detected]
The boy exhaled raggedly. His lips finally moved, and the first word since his collapse slipped out, quiet, breaking the suffocating silence.
"…Selene."
The Unknown Demon's head tilted slightly, though he said nothing. He still held the Unknown Figure's strike at bay, violet shadows searing through the clearing.
The Unknown Figure—calm no longer—exhaled slowly, his lazy smile gone. His eyes flickered with something sharper.
"…Interesting."
The forest trembled around them, caught between destruction, salvation, and secrets none dared name.