---
Kurojin slowly opened his eyes. His body ached, and chains bound his arms.
He looked around. The room was dark—like a warehouse. Then he saw a man with spiky yellow hair and sunglasses grinning at him.
???: "Boss! He's awake!"
A man sitting in a nearby chair sipped wine without saying a word.
Kurojin struggled. "Where… am I?"
The yellow-haired man leaned in. "Easy now. Let's introduce ourselves."
From the shadows, a girl with ninja-like clothes crossed her arms. "Ugh. Do we have to?"
A tall guy reading a book didn't even look up. "Yes. He should at least know who we are."
The man with the sunglasses stepped forward confidently.
"Name's Reizo."
The ninja girl scoffed. "Suzane."
The boy with glasses finally closed his book. "Renjiro."
Kurojin blinked. "Okay… so who's your boss?"
Reizo pointed to the wine-drinking man. "That's Rai. Our leader."
Kurojin turned to him. "So, Rai… why did you bring me here?"
Reizo smirked. "Because you… are the Demon King. And we're going to use you to take over the world."
Kurojin blinked. "Excuse me?"
Rai finally spoke. His voice was calm. "We've studied the prophecy. The Demon King would be reincarnated. Everyone laughed at us. But now… we'll prove them all wrong."
Kurojin's mind raced.
Ard: "Damn. He's nuts."
Rai calmly sipped more wine.
Kurojin narrowed his eyes. "Why do you even want to kill the Demon King?"
Suzane stepped forward, eyes serious. "Because if you kill the Demon King… you get one wish. Anything you want."
Kurojin froze. "A wish?"
He turned to Ard. "Why didn't you tell me this?"
Ard: "Because I didn't know! I swear!"
Renjiro raised an eyebrow. "Who are you talking to?"
Kurojin replied bluntly. "Ard."
Renjiro nodded slowly. "He's… here with you?"
"Yeah. But only I can see him."
"…Fascinating."
Suddenly—BOOM!
The door flew off its hinges, crashing across the room.
Reizo spun around. "What was that?!"
From the smoke, Yuki and Natsu stepped forward.
Yuki's eyes locked on Kurojin. "Finally. We found you."
Kurojin was shocked. "How?!"
Yuki smirked. "I have my ways."
She turned to Rai.
"Let my master go… or fight me."
Rai smiled darkly. "This is getting interesting."
He stood. "Let's make a deal. If we win, your master stays with us—and you leave. But if you win… we'll let him go."
Natsu stepped forward. "Deal."
Suddenly, a voice rang out behind them.
"I'm in, too!"
It was Luna, running in.
Kurojin's jaw dropped. "Why did you bring her?!"
Yuki didn't flinch. "Don't worry. She's not just a human."
Kurojin: "What?"
Yuki: "She lost her memories. But she's no ordinary girl. She was once the Hero's right-hand slave. A wizard."
Kurojin: "I… didn't see that coming."
---
⚔️ Final Panels:
> 🔥 Reizo vs. Natsu
🔥 Yuki vs. Suzane
🔥 Renjiro vs. Luna
Kurojin, still chained, looked at the battlefield unfolding before him.
"Who… will win?"
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To Be Continued…
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