The screeching of birds shattered the peaceful quiet of the night as they exploded outward in every direction.
"Who… is that?" Code rasped, staring in stunned silence at the masked figure. What struck him the most was his godly handsomeness that framed his glowing pupils.
He hadn't sensed him arrive. The man simply was standing there as though he had always been a part of the scene.
The stranger sighed, turning his gaze to Code.
"Sorry I'm late. Something came up and it took longer than expected," he said, tone devoid of any remorse.
The demon's leg twitched violently as it growled.
"Ah...my bad." The masked man chuckled, then lifted a finger and gave the monstrous limb the lightest push. The entire leg swept backward like paper, bone crushing loudly as the demon staggered backwards.
Code's mouth fell open wider. This was the same creature that had uprooted trees and reduced human bodies to fine meat. And this stranger had flicked it like an insect.
"You might wanna close that mouth eventually," the man remarked, tone mocking. "Germs, you know."
Code could only manage an incredulous sound, as his mouth's opening widened further.
"Oh, I forgot your facial bones are probably already crushed," The stranger chuckled outright.
But suddenly, he sobered, eyes narrowing, fingers tapping his chin. "Wait… if that's the case, then…" he murmured.
'What the hell is wrong with this guy?' Code thought, rage and disbelief filling his eyes. 'There's a demon right behind us and he's playing philosopher?!'
WHOOOM!!
The air blasted as the demon hurled a fist the size of a cart straight at the masked man's back.
Code's heart skipped. 'Behind you!'
The stranger didn't even glance up, instead, he was crouched and thinking.
"…then that would mean something else entirely…"
BOOM!!
A shockwave tore through the clearing, reducing nearby leaves to confetti.
'He's dead,' Code thought grimly, eras ringing as his vision slowly returned. 'Just like that.'
Then the dust parted, and behold, the man was still there exactly as before; crouched and thinking.
A short anticlimactic silence passed, followed by a resounding BLAMMM!!
The demon's arm detonated from the shoulder downwards in a fountain of blood and sinew.
"Screeeeech!!"
The monster jerked backward, crashing into the trees behind it.
Code's mind went blank. 'Am I dreaming? He didn't move. He didn't even fucking move—!'
"Argh…" The masked man sighed and stood up, ruffling his snow-white hair. "Still can't figure it out, can I?"
He turned and met Code's wide-eyed shocked stare.
"This is trickier than it looks, you know," he said to him.
The demon's arm had already begun regrowing, flesh and sinew binding, as bones formed back into place.
Yet, the unconcerned stranger strolled forward, until he crouched directly in front of Code.
'He's going to get us both killed!' Code's thoughts spiralled.
"You see…" the man began, his voice suddenly turning low.
Code could only stare at him.
"I don't perceive things the way humans do."
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The ground tremored, as the demon charged again, its tongue slithering, and muscles transforming into a new shape.
"I see everything, anything and nothing." The man's voice remained calm and arrogant.
The demon roared, and the shockwave that followed split the air. It was close enough that its shadow covered them.
'Just let me die in peace, you lunatic!' Code thought savagely.
The stranger tilted his head back, gazing up at the blood-red moon framed by tree branches.
Then the man lowered his eyes to the onrushing monstrosity, a heartbeat from crushing the both of them. His gaze turned distant, arrogant and detached.
"When I look at this thing…"
The final step landed, causing the ground to slowly bent inwards.
"…all I see…"
Time seemed to halt.
"…is nothing."
SKRABLAAAM!!
Reality was shredded. Because the demon didn't die, it was unmade.
Flesh, bone, sinew, muscles and everything exploded outward in a wet crimson rain, painting the trees in dripping red, and everywhere fell silent again.
Code could only stare at the man standing untouched in the center of the slaughter.
'How…?'
The stranger turned, tilting his head slightly to him.
"You're probably wondering how I did that, aren't you?"
Code blinked at the man, whose voice dropped into a quiet and reechoing one in the sudden calm.
"Because…" The moonlight streaked through the dust cloud, landing on the stranger's body as he took the stance of a divine being.
"…I'm a god."
Code's vision darkened at the edges, as the words kept echoing.
"A… god…?"
And with that, he died.
"Oh damn. He's out cold," The masked man sighed, shaking his head. He took one step forward, and stopped mid second step as he locked on Code's shoulder stump.
The demon's blood that had sprayed everywhere was now moving, seeping into the stump.
The stranger exhaled slowly. "I knew it."
The red moon shone in silence as the two monsters stood over the unconscious body of a third.
"This boy… is something else entirely."