— Delicious! So delicious!
Sasuke's voice, full of excitement, echoed inside the building where they were. With food in his mouth, his voice came out slightly muffled. But his eyes were fixed only on Kinetsa, who was by the food shelf inside the store. Rotina, Orimya, and Sara were there too.
— Guys… don't you feel it? Feels like someone's fighting outside!
Said Orimya, staring at the group, who barely paid her any attention. With her thin voice, she just shook her head and didn't repeat it. Holding her bottle of water, she leaned against the wall.
Kinetsa was holding her belly, so full she could barely move, but Sasuke kept his gaze locked on her, chewing nonstop.
— Hey, you perv! Can you stop staring at my boobs?!
With a tone of disgust and pure annoyance, Kinetsa shouted at Sasuke. He was still staring at her, with that sick look, his throat full of food. Right after swallowing, he answered:
— It's because they're so beautiful!
He said in a perverted, twisted tone. His nose started to bleed slowly, but he didn't feel any pain. With the silence that filled the place, the girls just stared at him with disgust and sarcasm.
Then the silence broke.
BOOM!
Something was launched from outside, smashing through the store's wall. Dust filled the air intensely from the impact, knocking down shelves of food. Beneath the dust was a figure thrown against the wall, on fire and coughing up blood.
The smell of dust spread, and the five inside the store coughed, suffocating.
The figure clenched his teeth, slowly drawing his sword from its sheath, releasing shards of ice. But he wasn't looking at the five behind him. His eyes were locked on Nina, who approached with uncontrollable rage. Her black hair swayed in the wind, strands touching her lips.
— I am a demon! Humans can never defeat me! — said the figure, teeth clenched with disdain, his voice full of fury. Keeping his samurai stance, he drew his sword, releasing a freezing aura around him.
— I am a—
Before he could finish, Sasuke was already in front of him, grabbing his shoulder so tightly that the samurai's feet sank into the floor.
— Take that title of demon off… You need to be human. Because I am the demon!
Sasuke's voice was distorted. His smile was sick, and his hands gripped the samurai's shoulder with brutal force. The samurai's eyes were filled with shock and confusion at Sasuke's presence. Nina and Sora just stood there, watching in disbelief.
How… how did he get here without me noticing?!
Confusion spread in the samurai's mind. He gripped his sword tighter.
— Who the hell do you think you are?! — he roared, drawing the sword, cold wind surrounding it. Planting his feet firmly into the ground, he spun to slash his opponent.
But Sasuke, still gripping his shoulder, whispered softly:
— Snatch!
The samurai's body froze for half a second, feeling an invisible force hitting his whole body, throwing him violently against the opposite wall, coughing up blood.
What the hell was that?! I didn't even see him hit me! What's going on?!
Panicking, his trembling arms tried to push himself up. He reached for his sword, but his shoulder was grabbed once more.
— So… are you going to give up that title? — Sasuke's expression was so serious that it sent chills through the samurai's body.
— Go fu—
Before he could finish, Sasuke whispered again, now with a grotesque smile:
— Double Kick!
The air howled violently. Two invisible impacts smashed into the samurai's face, knocking out four teeth and sending him flying. Blood poured from his mouth, hanging in midair. His eyes were on the verge of shutting, silence filling his mind. But before he could hit the ground—
Shlach!
Time around him froze. The blood that had come from his mouth now hung still in the air, as did his body. Everything was frozen — Kinetsa, Nina, the others.
Ereimode walked slowly toward the samurai. His arms were folded inside his black cloak. His long golden hair stood on end, and his cold expression held nothing but contempt for the humans.
— Ahh… this is so cool… How did you do that?! — Sasuke's distorted voice, overflowing with immeasurable excitement, echoed through the room, his neck rolling from side to side.
— How… can you move…? — Ereimode turned his gaze slowly to Sasuke, his voice dragging like a dead man's, each phrase dropping with long pauses between them.
— Cool, right?! — Sasuke said, biting his lips. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared behind the frozen samurai, ready to strike him and force him to renounce the title of demon. But before he could land the blow…
Ereimode slowly pulled one of his arms from his cloak, lifting it toward Sasuke, whispering in that same dead, slow tone:
— Temporal Freeze: Cronometh…
Pim.
The sound of a bell echoed through the space. Gravity intensified. The ground seemed like it would shatter, but with time frozen, nothing moved. Even though he resisted, Sasuke was also trapped, frozen in time. Above him appeared a golden clock, ticking down to the number one.
Ereimode resumed his slow walk to the samurai. Reaching him, he grabbed his arm.
— A human as weak as you should already be dead… But the King will need you.
In the blink of an eye, Ereimode vanished with the samurai.
Time resumed. The golden clock above Sasuke hit number one.
BOOM!
The impact sent Sasuke crashing to the ground. His heart beat slowly. No external injuries—but inside, his body was breaking. Kinetsa and the others, once able to move again, ran to him. They held his unconscious body. Nina approached, placing her glowing golden hand on his chest to heal his wounds.
—
The wind drifted through the grand hall. Kratos, sitting on his throne, let his white and red cloak ripple softly with the breeze. His intense red eyes kept a calm expression. Then, the wind howled louder.
Ereimode appeared, with the samurai practically destroyed, kneeling before Kratos with his head bowed.
— My King… as you requested, I brought him…
Ereimode's voice was slow, full of absolute respect. His head remained low.
The samurai's blood dripped onto the throne room floor. He remained silent.
— I've been pondering a question… But as a demon, I don't think I'd have an exact answer… — Kratos said with a serious expression, his gaze sharp on the samurai as he tightened his fingers. — So I thought I'd ask a human instead. Maybe they'll give me a good one.
Kratos stood from his throne, walking slowly. His white and red cloak dragged behind him. The samurai trembled, his body being devoured by fear from the inside out.
— Human children say that being a demon means being pure evil… — Kratos said, getting closer, the samurai barely able to breathe. — And that being human means perfection…
His words were raw, direct, and cold. His posture was one of superiority.
— And yet you… you so-called perfection of the universe… invade my world for greed… To satisfy your pride…
Kratos spoke calmly, but his tone was threatening and icy.
— Trying to steal what belongs to my world… So my question is…
His voice felt like a muted thunder.
Kratos's eyes pierced straight into the samurai's soul. He grabbed his face firmly.
— Does the human world deserve to exist? Or should it be erased from existence?
The questions were cruel and sarcastic. The samurai trembled, breathing heavily, desperate:
— The human world deserves to be erased, my King!
His voice shook. He was terrified, swallowing hard, his arms trembling like leaves caught in the wind.
— Excellent. — Kratos gave a slight smile. — The barrier placed around my world… was made to keep demons from crossing into the human world… But humans can cross…
His voice was ice itself. His red eyes glowed like the fires of hell. The wind blew, lifting his hair.
And for the first time in centuries, Kratos smiled.
Not sinister.
But terrifying.