The Battle Of Krahen Nest - PT 04

Moments earlier, Arya had just managed to recover from her fall and was now back on her feet. Glancing through the shattered window she’d come through, she saw Edward sprinting down the side street, chased by two demons.

Shocked by the sight, the girl darted through the house in their direction, desperately looking for a way to intervene. Through a side window, she caught a glimpse of Edward in danger.

Without a second thought, Arya leapt out the window, shielding her eyes with her arms. Fortunately, she had timed it perfectly to intercept Cydonia.

Showing no fear, Arya used the momentum from her jump to pull her legs forward, bending her knees and aiming both feet directly at the demon's head.

"Arya Kick!!!"

Cydonia was completely off guard mid-jump, and certainly hadn’t expected a sneak attack like that.

“Gwah!”

The soles of Arya’s shoes struck Cydonia square in the face. Gravity joined forces with the motion of Arya’s knees, adding even more force to the blow.

Cydonia felt her head snap to the side in a grotesque motion, her face compressed by the impact before the rest of her body followed the momentum.

The demon was flung sideways, tumbling in a diagonal line and hitting the ground awkwardly—rolling like a mannequin tossed down a flight of stairs.

Arya's body, however, stayed on its course, landing right where Edward was.

The sight of the one he loved rekindled Edward’s strength. He raised his arms just in time to catch her gently, as if she were a dandelion drifting down onto a field of grass.

Their eyes finally met, after what felt like an eternity.

"Arya..."

"Edward..."

There were no words to capture the joy of being reunited again.

But their moment was short-lived—still surrounded by danger, the masked demon drew his arm back, preparing to throw a devastating punch.

Arya turned to him... The melody of necromancy had already begun the moment she leapt through the window.

"Minotaurus."

With a crash, a massive minotaur burst through the first-floor wall, demolishing everything in its path. It charged at the demon with its horns, launching him far from the couple.

"W-What was that?" Edward hadn’t seen that one coming.

"I don’t just have Cerberus as a summon. This is Minotaurus."

The legendary beast had dark fur like Cerberus, walked on two legs, had a powerful frame, and carried a giant axe in its right hand.

"He’s my best choice when it comes to brute force."

"A minotaur? What other tricks are you hiding up your sleeve?"

"Heh, I might still have a few."

"You keep surprising me every single day. Anyway, thanks for saving me."

"You don’t have to thank me. I just did what I could. I’m sure you would’ve done the same."

As the couple exchanged subtle smiles and glances, their enemies began to rise again.

"What a cute couple... You absolutely disgust me."

Despite her snide remark, Cydonia was starting to feel uneasy. "(The pawns I sent after that other boy keep dropping one by one... Did I underestimate these three humans?)"

Edward extended a shard of bone from his arm, shaping it into an improvised sword. The blade wasn’t as sharp as a real one, but it would do. Arya pulled her flute from her belt, beginning a new melody as she stepped in beside him.

"Whatever. Looks like I’m finally getting some sort of challenge." A thick aura surged around the sin, intensifying. "Good. This city was starting to bore me anyway."

On one side, Edward and Arya, bound by their love. On the other, the corrupting force threatening to consume their souls. Which side would break first?

"Fifty-one! Huff! Fifty-two!"

(...)

Peter delivered lethal, crushing blows, cloaking his fists and kicks in flame. Now and then, a demon would land a hit on him, but it wasn’t enough to stop his momentum.

The heat of his fire was so intense that, even being immune to it, some of the scratches on his body ended up cauterized.

He continued clearing out the horde, when once again he was hit by a blast of wind.

"Yoake no Kaze!"

The gust struck his left side, knocking him to the ground. He quickly got back up, just as his real enemy made his entrance. Aside from his demonic features, he wore a kimono and had long golden hair.

"How about learning to use your magic more effectively? Watching you, all I see is the wasted potential of a mage."

"Didn’t have ‘get critiqued by a demon’ on my to-do list today."

"If you don’t figure it out now, you’re going to die at this demon’s hands."

"Who are you, really?"

"My name... no longer matters."

Peter couldn’t see the sorrow hidden behind that broken mask.

"Well, whatever."

Peter clenched his fists, conjuring a fireball and hurling it toward the demon, but the latter easily dispelled the flames with a burst of wind magic.

"Unrefined flames like that won’t stop me."

The demon moved his hands again, finishing with a sharp slicing motion using his right hand.

"Yoake no Kaze: Kamisori."

A blade of wind flew toward Peter, who dodged just in time—though it left a gash on his shoulder.

Realizing the strength of his opponent, Peter shifted into a street-fighting stance, sharpening his senses and clearing his mind.

"Let’s do this."

The two clashed across the city streets, trading blows and dodges as fire and wind collided midair.

Peter finally closed the distance, landing a punch on the demon—but he didn’t realize he had walked straight into a trap.

"You made a mistake coming this close."
"Yoake no Kaze: Hanagasaku!"

A whirlwind burst from the ground beneath him, swirling like flower petals in bloom, launching Peter upward along with the debris.

"Arghhh!"

Luckily, Peter had conjured a shield of flames around his body, preventing the wind blades from shredding him apart.

"I'm sorry... I never wanted to take the life of someone so young... but I no longer have control over this body."

The demon watched as Peter fell back down toward him, charging his hand with wind magic, timing it perfectly for a clean, merciful decapitation.

Thump!

Peter caught the strike with his bare hands, even as deep cuts opened across his palms. Using the force of the fall, he locked his legs around the demon’s neck, dragging him down to the ground with him.

With both of them down, Peter went for a finishing move, wrapping his arms around the demon’s neck in a guillotine choke.

But the demon wasn’t done. He slowly began to rise, not only resisting, but overpowering Peter with sheer brute force—fueled by corruption.

Realizing he couldn’t hold the lock, Peter thought fast and improvised. Blending his magic with physical power, he finally found the perfect balance in his fighting style.

Grabbing the demon by the waist, Peter lifted him high above his shoulders with monstrous strength. As the demon looked up, he saw Peter’s flames converging into a fiery mass above them.

The cloud of fire condensed, taking shape—first came the front paws, then the head, and finally the body. The flames formed the image of a tiger.

With one final burst of strength, Peter tossed the demon down with his back crashing against the ground. At that exact moment, the flaming tiger descended at full speed, slamming its front paws into the demon’s chest to amplify the impact.

"B.D.T.H.: TIGER BOMB!"

The demon hit the ground with enough force to carve a small crater, and the flames burst outward in a short, fiery explosion.

"Urgh!"

He had survived—but just barely. The damage hit him from within, and blood spilled from his mouth. If he were still human, he might have surrendered to the pain and let his soul pass on to Mors—but Cydonia’s command still bound him. Even faltering, he rose once more.

"You... are you human?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You're not like the other demons I’ve fought. I can tell... you’re holding yourself back."

"I don’t have control over this body anymore. Ever since the corruption took me, it’s like being awake inside a nightmare. And there’s nothing I can do."

"If there’s still humanity in you, then fight to get it back."

"Heh... It’d be nice if it worked that way. But I fear I’ve crossed the point of no return. The best I can do is try to hold my strength back."

"Then forget that—just focus on reclaiming your humanity."

"That means I’ll put you in danger."

"That’s fine. I can take whatever you throw at me."

"So confident."

Peter gave a reassuring smile to the human trapped in corruption.

"My name’s Peter." He remembered Mamiko’s words for a brief moment, then asked, "Are you sure you don’t have a name?"

"…"

The demon struggled, digging deep into the fragments of his former self.

"My name... is Masafumi."