Dusk.
The setting sun bled across the sky.
In front of the main hall of Meiji Shrine, the newlyweds faced each other.
The vows felt strange.
Both of them noticed it.
Still, they brushed it off.
The meaning was close enough. It was still about love.
And love, well, love was supposed to be beautiful.
They followed the rhythm of the chief priest, Kawakobito, reciting each line with steady voices.
"May this body turn into a crimson candle,"
"Until it burns to ash and is completely consumed,"
...
Clap, clap.
Kawakobito smiled and applauded, offering a simple blessing.
"Mr. Suzuki, Ms. Masami,"
"Congratulations."
"You are now husband and wife. Before the gods, share a kiss worthy of your bond."
Their hearts pounded.
Their cheeks burned like the sky behind them.
"Suzuki, I love you."
"Masami, I love you too."
They exchanged keepsakes, then slowly leaned in, faces flushed.
Kawakobito kept smiling.
Ignoring the couple, he turned and casually draped an arm over the shoulder of a fox-masked shrine maiden beside him.
"Eh?" The young shrine maiden stiffened. "Kawako-san?"
"Quiet. Look at the sky."
His voice was flat, his eyes lifeless as he pointed upward.
"The sky?" she asked, confused. "What about it?"
"The sun is setting. The light looks like fire. Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Ah... yes, it is," she replied nervously. "But, Kawako-san, could you take your hand off my shoulder? It's too tight. I can barely breathe..."
His grip did not loosen.
Instead, his voice dropped lower.
"It really is beautiful. Makes you forget the pain of cutting through bone."
"Cutting through bone?"
Her eyes widened.
That had to be a joke.
It had to be.
She forced a laugh.
"Come on, Kawako-san, don't say things like that in broad daylight."
He slowly turned his head and grinned.
"I'm not joking."
He lifted his pant leg.
Her breath caught.
Around his calves were thick rings of crude stitches, fresh and red, with blood still seeping out. The flesh looked uneven, like it had been crudely reattached.
He crouched slightly and measured with his fingers.
"About twenty centimeters," he muttered. "I used to be two hundred and one centimeters tall. Changing my face wasn't enough."
"So I cut the bones myself."
"Now I match Kawakobito's height perfectly."
His grin widened.
"Makima is too observant. Couldn't take chances."
He exhaled slowly.
"My former master, Yagoda, is dead."
"The new one told me to burn everything I've built and go all in."
"So here I am."
The shrine maiden's body went cold.
"What... what are you talking about?"
He tapped his lower face.
"I am Barem Bridge."
"If you don't believe me, peel this skin off and check."
Her mind went blank.
The sun dipped below the skyline.
The last light flared brighter, painting everything in deep red.
It was time.
Barem suddenly grabbed her hand.
He leaned in, eyes locked onto hers, voice almost reverent.
"Kum bay ya, my Lord... kum bay ya,"
"My Lord, descend here."
"Kum bay ya, my Lord... kum bay ya,"
"My Lord, descend here."
Vroom.
On the horizon, flames surged like living serpents, swallowing the sky.
The Devil had arrived.
A scream tore through the air.
Blood sprayed.
The sound of flesh ripping and being devoured echoed beside him.
Suzuki and Masami, who had just been kissing, swelled grotesquely. Their wedding clothes tore apart as their bodies expanded.
Their skin darkened, covered in bulging tumors.
Their mouths stretched into jagged maws filled with sharp teeth.
They became monsters.
Lizard-like, twisted, mindless.
Their kiss turned into a frenzy of tearing flesh.
They no longer recognized each other.
Only the urge to kill remained.
Moments later, Suzuki tore off Masami's mouth.
Masami bit off Suzuki's ear.
Then they paused.
Recognition flickered.
Same kind.
Same hunger.
They turned together toward the remaining humans.
Two minutes.
That was all it took.
Screams filled the shrine grounds.
Blood soaked everything.
Bodies were torn apart, devoured, reduced to nothing.
Only Barem remained.
In his hands, he held what was left of the shrine maiden, just her severed hands.
The two lizard monsters stood tall, balancing on their thick tails, staring down at him.
They hesitated.
Barem tilted his head back, exposing his throat.
"What, you want to eat me?"
The creatures trembled.
A violent shudder ran through their bodies.
Then they shrieked and leapt away.
Instinct.
Even monsters knew fear.
Rip.
Barem tore the skin from his face.
Power surged through him.
He muttered quietly.
"Fifty thousand."
"Ninety thousand."
"One hundred and seventy thousand."
"...Four point two eight million Fire Kin."
He smiled.
"All infected."
"With this kind of power..."
He exhaled slowly.
"Even the Gun Devil wouldn't outclass me."
While he had been silent, he had been working.
Traveling across Japan.
Weddings, courtrooms, hospitals, schools.
Anywhere vows were spoken, he had been there.
His method was simple.
He altered the vows.
Not enough to be obvious.
Just enough to weave fire into them.
Anyone who spoke those vows unknowingly formed a contract with the Fire Devil.
They became its kin.
The Fire Devil granted two things.
First, transformation.
Those who made the contract would become what they desired most.
If they held an image in their heart, their body would follow.
That was why the newlyweds became those creatures.
Second, amplification.
The more contracts made, the stronger the Fire Devil and its kin became.
Most people could not control it.
They lost themselves, just like the couple.
And now, with the Fire Devil summoned, every contract activated at once.
Four point two eight million people.
Across Japan.
All transformed.
In an instant, chaos erupted.
Killings broke out everywhere.
The entire country fell into madness.
____
Patreon = _Zeph