The line was shorter now.
Not because the tests were nearly done but because some of the recruits had to be carried away.
Mugen Yoru stood at the front of the chamber, arms folded, eyes unreadable as medics dragged an unconscious recruit past him. The boy's arm hung limp, frostbite and cracked from a miscalculated manifestation.
Mugen didn't react.
"Next,"
He called out flatly.
"Kagutsuchi Enma."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the remaining students.
Enma stepped forward with his hands shoved casually into his pockets, shoulders loose and expression bored. His red hair glowed faintly under the chamber lights, eyes half-lidded like this was all beneath him.
"Finally,"
He said loudly, glancing back at the others.
"Now I can show you idiots how it's actually done."
Ayame immediately exaggerated his swagger, stuffing her hands into her jacket and strutting forward with a crooked grin. Rei snorted before he could stop himself, few others let out quiet laughs.
Enma stopped. Slowly, he turned his head.
A sharp red glow flared in his eyes.
"...You got something to say?"
He snapped.
Ayame froze, then raised both hands innocently.
"Just admiring your confidence, Your Majesty."
A few nervous chuckles followed.
Enma clicked his tongue and turned back toward the massive chamber doors.
"Tch."
The doors opened.
Heat poured out.
Suffocating pressure that rolled across the hall like a wave. Several students instinctively stepped back as Enma entered the chamber.
Inside the chamber, the demon was already waiting.
It stood nearly fifteen feet tall, its massive frame hunched beneath the reinforced ceiling. Its skin looked like cracked obsidian, glowing lines of magma pulsing beneath it. Each breath sent sparks drifting into the air.
It roared.
Enma's lips curled upward.
"Finally,"
He whispered.
"A real target. Not those training dummies."
The demon took a step forward.
Enma roared back
The chamber warped. The pressure spiked so violently that the outside observers staggered. The temperature skyrocketed, alarms flickered briefly as the floor beneath Enma's feet began to glow red then melted.
Flames erupted.
They didn't just coat his arms, they answered him, spiraling upward like living things. The air itself burned.
"How dare you roar,"
Enma snarled, eyes blazing.
"At a king in his own domain."
The demon hesitated.
Fear flashed across its eyes.
Then it charged.
Its massive fist came down hard.
The impact should have crushed Enma.
Instead, his body spilt into flame.
The blow passed straight through him as fire scattered apart, flowing upward. The flames surged along the demon's arm, crawling up its shoulder.
The fire reformed.
Enma stood atop the demon's arm, whole again.
He grinned.
"Too slow."
He placed his palm on the demon's head.
An inferno detonated.
The blast was absolute.
Fire consumed everything above the demon's neck in a single overwhelming surge. When the flames faded, there was nothing left but scorched air.
The headless body staggered once then collapsed.
The molten floor cooled rapidly as Enma stepped away, flames dying down as easily they'd ignited.
The chamber doors opened.
Enma walked out with a scratch.
"Laugh at me now, you lovers."
He said, smirking as he passed the stunned recruits.
No one laughed.
Mugen glanced down at the file in his hand.
Kagutsuchi Enma
Age : 17
Awakened: 12
Status: Parented
Primary Manifestation: Cinder Dominion
Type: Emotional ignition
Notes:
Family assisted subject in evading capture for five years.
Mugen sighed quietly
He watched Enma return to the line, already looking bored again.
He's going to be a headache.
Mugen thought.
"Approved."
He said aloud
The tests continued.
Some students managed to win, barely. One collapsed from exhaustion after binging a demon for three seconds. Another succeeded only because the demon malfunctioned mid attack.
Several failed.
Badly.
Injuries mounted. Burn marks. Fractures. Psychic backlash.
The room grew heavier with every test.
Rei stood silently, heart pounding harder each time Mugen called out a new name.
He watched power after power unfold, some elegant, some terrifying and some outright monstrous.
What about me?
He thought.
He clenched his fists.
He still didn't understand his own ability.
Ayame noticed.
She leaned closer.
"Hey. Still breathing."
Rei forced a weak smile.
"Barely."
"You'll be fine,"
She said softly.
That didn't help.
Finally, the line was almost gone.
Mugen lifted his head.
His eyes locked onto Rei.
"Mizunagi Rei,"
He called out.
The room went quiet.
Rei swallowed.
This was it.
He stepped forward, legs feeling heavier with each step toward the chamber doors.
On the holographic screen, Ayame watched him carefully.
Draw from your mind, from your dreams.
she thought.
The doors began to open.
Cold air spilled out.
Not freezing.
But still.
Rei took one breath, and stepped inside.
The chamber doors slid shut behind Rei with a hollow clang.
Rei swallowed.
His hands trembled.
The air felt wrong.
Then the fog at the far end of the chamber stirred.
Something stepped out.
The demon's presence slammed into him like a physical blow. It was broad and malformed, its body stitched together with muscle that pulsed unnaturally beneath cracked skin. Its eyes burned a dull red as it locked onto Rei.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then the Demon roared.
The sound shattered Rei's composure.
His thoughts spiraled instantly.
You're weak.
Pathetic.
You think you're brave?
His breath hitched. The voices echoed in his mind.
The creature charged.
Its footsteps shook the chamber as it barreled forward, claws tearing into the floor. Rei's body refused to move. His legs felt like some, his chest tight as if something heavy had been laid across it.
Then, a whisper.
Soft, lazy and amused.
Come now, boy.
Rei's blood ran cold.
Didn't you want to live?
The Seventh Prince of Sloth's voice rang through his mind.
Live for her?
Rei's vision blurred.
A memory surfaced against his will.
Sunlight on water. Laughter. Small hands splashing wildly.
"Big brother!"
Hanami.
Her smile.
Then
The current.
The way her laughter turned into choking cries.
"Help me!"
Tears spilled freely down Rei's cheeks.
"I'm not running,"
He whispered.
The demon closed in.
The space around Rei warped as if the chamber itself were sinking. Gravity twisted. Pressure mounted. The air thickened, flowing unnaturally, rippling like water disturbed by a falling body.
But there was no water.
The demon faltered mid charge.
Its feet left the ground, as it floated.
Claws flailed uselessly as its body jerked upwards, suspended in empty space. Its roar turned into panicked gasps as it clawed at its own throat.
The demon was drowning.
On nothing.
The invisible pressure crushed inward, squeezing its lungs, forcing air out from its chest. Its eyes bulged as it thrashed helplessly, every movement sluggish, as if trapped beneath an unseen tide.
Rei stood trembling at the center of it all.
The sound filled his ears.
The roar of the ocean.
The echo of desperate cries.
The Prince's laughter slid through his mind.
Yes… that's it.
A presence formed behind Rei.
Cold and ancient.
Unseen by the cameras.
A tall, indistinct silhouette leaned close, its smile felt rather than seen. Its mouth opened impossibly wide.
The demon screamed.
Something was pulled from it.
Not flesh or blood.
Its life, fear and despair.
The demon's body began to wither, its muscles shrinking, skin paling as years drained from it in seconds. The color bled from its eyes until they turned a lifeless gray.
Outside the chamber.
The recruits gasped, then choked.
The pressure rolled outward, invisible and merciless. Soldiers staggered. Knee buckled. People clawed at their throats as if submerged underwater.
Rei didn't see them.
His eyes were fixed on the demon.
Tears streamed down his face as he clenched his fist.
"I'll end your misery,"
He whispered.
The pressure tightened.
The last of the air was torn from the demon's body.
It floated lifelessly, unmoving, suspended like a discarded puppet.
Rei exhaled shakily
"It's okay,"
He said softly.
"It's over now."
The chamber doors began to open.
Rei blinked.
He saw them, everyone. Collapsed, coughing and gasping.
Soldiers and the recruits alike struggling to breathe, faces pale with terror. The pleasure hadn't stopped with the demon.
It was still spreading.
Enough.
The Prince snapped his fingers.
The world dropped.
The pressure vanished instantly.
Bodies slammed to the floor as gravity reasserted itself. Harsh coughing filled the hall as people dragged air back into their lungs, some retching, others staring blindly ahead in shock.
Rei staggered.
The invisible presence behind him faded, amused.
Gunfire safety clicks echoed.
The soldiers raised their weapons.
Red dots danced across Rei's upper body.
Mugen Yoro rose slowly, coughing once into his fist before straightening. His eyes were sharp, alert and calculating.
"At ease,"
He commanded.
The soldiers hesitated.
"He's not threat,"
Mugen continued coldly.
"If he were… we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Rei swayed where he stood, knees weak.
Mugen looked at him.
And for the first time.
There was no approval.
No curiosity, only finality.
"Test subject Mizunagi Rei,"
Mugen said evenly.
"Result."
He paused.
"Failed."
The word hit harder than the demon ever could.
The chamber was silent.
Rei lowered his head.
Somewhere deep in his mind, the Seventh Prince of Sloth chuckled.
You lived,
The voice murmured.
But look at the cost.
Rei clenched his fists.
And said nothing.
He had survived.
But survival here wasn't enough.