A man with black horns and pure black wings stood before me, his face obscured behind a half-black, half-purple mask. His voice, heavy and ominous, sent chills down my spine. As he chuckled and reached out toward me, a sense of dread washed over me—his laugh, it was eerily familiar.
I jolted awake, drenched in sweat, my heart pounding in my chest. Looking around the room, I tried to shake off the remnants of the dream. Who was that man? Why did his voice sound like mine? My mind raced with questions, but they were cut short by a knock at the door.
"Come in, I'm just waking up," I called out, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.
The door opened, and the two women from yesterday—Shina and Yura—walked in, only to stop in their tracks, their faces flushing bright red as they stared at me.
"If this is all it takes to make you blush, I doubt I need much effort," I teased, reaching for the shirt beside my bed and slipping it on.
"Um... your hair... why has it grown so long and changed color?" Shina stammered, her eyes wide with confusion.
I frowned, not understanding at first, but then I created a visual clone of myself to get a better look. My jaw dropped in surprise—my usual light purple hair had darkened and now cascaded down to my back. My eyes, once a lighter shade, had deepened to match my hair.
"Well, this is new," I muttered, still in disbelief. "I can't explain it myself. Maybe I'm just... different," I added, shrugging it off as I began strapping on my armor and securing my swords at my hips.
Walking out of the room, I spotted Híroÿ in the hallway, and his appearance had changed too. A gold aura surrounded him, and though his short black hair remained the same, his eyes now shimmered with green and gold.
"I had this strange dream," I began as I approached him. "Some demon was calling out to me. Did you experience anything like that?"
Híroÿ shook his head. "No, but my dream was filled with angels, constantly calling my name," he replied with a shrug as he mounted his Phoenix.
"I know you had fun last night. Those two girls of yours are pretty cute," I teased with a chuckle, and he just smiled, shaking his head.
Finishing my sentence with a smirk, I leaped onto Kyoko's back, and we took off into the sky. Our destination was the area where the demons—what we called "Devours"—had appeared yesterday. These creatures came from other worlds, traveling between planes of existence to learn what they could before destroying the planet and moving on to the next. We were headed to a town west of here, where more of these Devours had been spotted. Given their lower-class status, Híroÿ and I should be able to handle them—assuming there weren't more than five. If we encountered a mid-tier or higher, things would get much more difficult without further training.
As we soared through the sky, my mind wandered, the wind rushing past me. I suddenly noticed several fireballs hurtling toward us. Growling in frustration, I leaped off Kyoko's back, unsheathing my twin swords and slicing through the fireballs mid-air. "Keep them safe, Kyoko," I commanded, flipping through the air and activating wind magic to cushion my landing.
Híroÿ landed beside me, and I could immediately sense the presence of five monsters. But then something unsettling happened—their numbers seemed to multiply as if they were copying themselves. A thick cloud of smoke enveloped us as two massive creatures slammed into the ground, blocking our view.
When the smoke cleared, we saw our summoned beasts surrounded by a horde of twenty Devours. Rage boiled within me, and my body tensed as a dark purple aura began to radiate from me.
"YOU'LL ALL PAY FOR THIS! I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR HURTING MY COMPANIONS!" My voice thundered, filled with unyielding fury.
The twenty Devours charged at us, but one was immediately obliterated by a bright ray of light, turning to dust in an instant.
"You dare harm what I hold dear? I will purify your corrupted souls here and now," Híroÿ declared, his voice calm but deadly as he pulled out his scythe. The weapon glowed with a pure gold light, while my twin swords were engulfed in a dark purple energy.
We leaped forward, slicing through the demons, their bodies burning away as our magic took hold. As we soared into the air, our wind magic lifting us, we unleashed a barrage of attacks, decimating their ranks. I switched my swords for a bow and arrow, firing three shots in quick succession, each one finding its mark. Híroÿ hurled his scythe, cutting one Devour in half before it boomeranged back to him.
But then, the remaining demons began to merge, their bodies twisting and contorting as they combined into a single, monstrous entity. Its legs morphed into the form of a snake, and with a powerful swipe of its tail, it knocked us both out of the sky, slamming us into the ground with enough force to create a crater.
Coughing, I struggled to my feet, but the monster had disappeared. My senses heightened as I scanned the area, only to be caught off guard as it emerged from the ground beneath us. Its massive hands wrapped around us, dragging us into the dirt before slamming us back down, creating an even larger crater.
Gritting my teeth, I recovered quickly, and Híroÿ and I unleashed our strongest magic. Híroÿ's ray of light moved at the speed of light, aiming to pierce the creature before it could react. I leaped into the sky, charging an arrow with my darkness attribute before firing it at the beast. The combined attacks exploded on impact, but when the smoke cleared, the damage was minimal.
We exchanged a glance, knowing that we were outmatched. Landing beside Híroÿ, we channeled all of our remaining magic into one final, desperate attack. Our hands glowed with power as we released a torrent of energy, the dark purple and gold rays intertwining as they shot through the demon's body. The force of the blast was immense, and the monster let out a final, guttural roar before it exploded, the light of our magic illuminating the sky.
Exhausted, we collapsed on the spot, having expended all of our magic to bring down the mid-tier Devour. As I drifted into unconsciousness, I felt the warmth of two bodies wrapping around me, bringing a faint smile to my lips.
Hours later, I awoke in a bed, my body wrapped in bandages. Shina and Yura were seated on either side of me, their eyes filled with concern.
"What's going on here?" I asked, groggily, as I sat up.
"Oh, you're finally awake," Shina said, her voice relieved but with a hint of something else—maybe curiosity?
"If you're looking for an explanation of what happened earlier, I'm afraid I don't have one," I admitted, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. My injuries had healed faster than normal, a fact that had always puzzled me. Sometimes I wondered what I truly was—certainly not fully human, but I couldn't be a demon either, not if Kokono's words were true.
But those questions were for another time. Right now, I needed to focus on the present. "I should meet with the nobleman and collect our reward," I said, standing up and removing the bandages. I quickly pulled on a shirt and turned to the two women. "Where is this nobleman?"
They rose from their chairs and led me back through the castle's halls, returning to the grand meeting room where we had first encountered Ruenji. Híroÿ was already there, seated by the window, his eyes watching the horizon.
"So, you woke up before me this time, huh, Híroÿ? I'll take the loss in this battle," I said, scratching the back of my head with a smirk. Híroÿ always had a slightly better healing factor than me, so it wasn't surprising, but it still stung a bit.
He glanced at me, a knowing smile on his lips. "Looks like you'll have to work harder to keep up," he teased lightly.
I chuckled, feeling the weight of the day's events slowly lifting. But beneath the humor, I knew that today had shown us both something important—there was much more to our powers than we understood. And the battles ahead would only get harder.