Souta and Arisa fought through waves of demons.
"Ayame!" Souta shouted, spotting her in the distance.
She waved them over.
"This way!"
They followed her deep into the forest.
Souta asked, panting, "What's going on?"
Ayame's face turned grim.
"The demons are taking over. This is war."
Arisa looked around.
"Where's Ren? And the others?"
Ayame fell silent.
"...Don't worry. I know where they are."
---
Back with Ren and Aria…
They moved cautiously through the forest. The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Ren looked up.
"That sound… is that Lorths' power?"
Before Aria could answer, Ayame emerged from the woods.
"Ren!" she cried, tears on her cheeks.
"Ayame where are the rest?"
Her expression twisted into a grin. She began to laugh a crazy, broken laugh.
"Why are you crying, Devil boy?"
Ren stepped back, confused.
"Ayame… what are you saying…?"
She snapped her fingers her body shimmering into a new form.
"You think I was just some ordinary girl? That I'd sit around looking pretty? Even when I tried to get your attention, you ignored me."
Ren blinked and suddenly she was kissing him. He shoved her back, slashing with his sword. She flipped, laughing.
"Wow… now I see why she liked kissing you so much, darling."
Ren's eyes widened.
"No… don't tell me…"
Two figures stepped from the trees Zehn and Malik.
"What… what are you doing here?" Ren demanded.
Zehn grinned.
"We just came to greet our little weapon."
Malik stepped forward and dropped someone.
Souta.
Beaten. Bleeding.
Ren fell to his knees.
"Souta! Answer me! Souta!!"
He looked up. Ayame held Arisa by the throat, blood dripping.
She licked it.
"Tasty… I like it…"
Ren screamed.
"LEAVE HER ALONE! STOP IT!"
Ayame sneered.
"I never liked how close you two were. Always together. So now… I'll cut her into pieces."
"LIKE HER"
In a flash, Ren dashed forward but Zehn blocked him, a bone-crushing kick slamming into his ribs.
"You think that speed will do anything, Ren Akagawa?!" Zehn roared.
"YOU WANT TO SAVE THESE PATHETIC HUMANS?! I'LL KILL HER MYSELF!"
His arm shifted into a blade. He stabbed Arisa Ayame holding her in place.
Ren's world shattered.
Blood. Her blood.
He froze.
Malik grinned.
"Hey, Ren."
He stabbed Souta.
But
Souta moved first.
He shielded Ren.
Taking the blade to the chest.
Blood poured from his body.
Ren caught him, trembling.
"No… no no no no no… Souta…"
Souta coughed blood, smiling faintly.
"Just run, man… you got this…"
Ren's vision blurred with tears.
He screamed
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Everyone stopped.
Ren rose.
The air shifted.
Whispers. Echoes. Screams from within.
Everyone stared Souta, Arisa, Aria… Ayame, Zehn, Malik…
Ren stood.
His face shadowed. Voice low.
"Souta… don't move from here."
Malik chuckled.
"Oh? He still wants to fight?"
Zehn took a step forward.
"Wait. Something's wrong."
Suddenly, shards of black crystal stabbed into Ren's eyes.
His body shook violently.
Blood exploded from his skin.
His sword mutated morphing into a massive demonic arm.
His clothes darkened blood-red armor forming from the fragments of his rage.
His hair whipped upward, his aura engulfing the trees in flame-like shadows.
Ren Akagawa was gone.
In his place stood something else
Crimson Wrath.
Malik stepped forward with a mocking grin.
"Oh? You still wanna fight?"
Zehn's eyes narrowed.
"Wait… something's wrong."
Then
CRACK.
His demon eye glowed brighter than ever, bleeding tears of rage and power. His voice was quiet. Controlled. Terrifying.
"I warned you."
The words didn't echo they pierced.
Ayame stepped back, her playful smirk gone.
"What… what are you?" she stuttered.
Ren's gaze turned to her. Cold. Focused.
"Your mistake."
In an instant, he vanished.
Zehn turned but too late. A crimson fist slammed into his gut, sending him crashing through trees.
Malik reacted next, summoning shadow blades from both arms. But Ren caught him mid-air, slamming him into the ground. A seal ignited beneath them, erupting in a burst of red flame.
Ayame tried to run, dragging Arisa like a shield.
But the moment Ren's eyes locked on her, she froze.
She didn't move.
She couldn't.
"You touched what I care about."
Ayame gasped, trying to speak.
But blood tendrils spiraled around her like chains, lifting her into the air. Her body thrashed, trapped inside a floating sphere of blood magic.
"You wanted to taste pain?" Ren asked, eyes narrowed.
"Then feel what they felt."
She screamed but no one heard her.
Souta coughed again behind him. Ren turned.
"Ren… don't lose yourself…" Souta whispered.
For a second… just one second… his expression softened.
But the sky had already changed.
Above the burning forest, clouds cracked apart like shattered glass. Black lightning slithered across the heavens. A tear opened in the sky.
And inside it
An eye.
Not human. Not demon.
Something older.
Watching.
A voice echoed across the earth.
"There it is… the Red's Requiem.
The boy has awakened."
Ren raised his head toward the sky, blood magic dripping from his clawed hand.
"You…"
His voice was calm. Cold.
"…brought this on yourselves."