A light drizzle began to soak the dull Tokyo asphalt. I walked behind Kageyama, while Natsu hopped along the concrete fences with his usual cocky swagger. This was my first patrol as part of the demon hunter team.
"Why do we have to walk? I'm hungry! I want hot ramen!" Natsu complained, his forehead twitching in annoyance. "Hey, sword-demon brat, you've got tasty blood, don't you? Give me a little sip!"
Kageyama stopped abruptly, making me nearly slam into his back. He turned toward Natsu with a piercing gaze. "Don't even try it, Natsu. You heard what Miss Sumeragi said this morning. Do you want your other hand snapped too?"
Natsu snorted, but I saw his shoulders tremble slightly. He jumped down from the fence and leaned toward me, whispering something only I could hear. "That woman... she's the real monster, Aqua. You're a fool if you feel safe under her wing."
I remained silent. On one hand, Kageyama and Natsu's words made sense. On the other, I could still feel the warmth of Sumeragi's fingers on my cheek from this morning. A warmth no one had ever given me—not even my mother, who had long since lost her sanity.
"Target is inside that warehouse," Kageyama said, pointing to a derelict old building by the docks. "A Bat Demon. It likes to kidnap humans for food reserves. Aqua, stay behind me. Do not transform unless I order it."
"Why? I'm strong!" I protested.
Kageyama looked at me with an unreadable expression, a mix of hatred and pity. "Because if you get hurt, it's my head on the chopping block. Miss Sumeragi doesn't like her property getting scuffed."
We entered the dark warehouse. The stench of fish and rot immediately stung my nose. Suddenly, a massive shadow streaked from the ceiling, slamming into Kageyama and sending him crashing into a stack of containers.
"KAGEYAMA!" I screamed.
"KUAHAHAHA! FOOD HAS ARRIVED!" The Bat Demon landed in front of me. It was hideous, with wide membranous wings and fangs dripping green saliva.
Natsu didn't help. Instead, he stood in the corner, his eyes glinting strangely. "Hey, Aqua! This is your chance!"
"Chance for what?!" I yelled, dodging the demon's swiping claws.
"Run!" Natsu shouted as he lunged at the Bat Demon with his daggers. "If you die here, Sumeragi will just find a new toy. But if you run now, while this chaos is happening, you can be free! You can take your mother and go far away!"
My mind raced. Free? I could take Mother away?
I looked at Kageyama struggling to stand, blood flowing from his temple. Then I looked toward the exit. The rain outside looked like liberation.
But, just as I was about to step back, I felt a vibration in my chest. It wasn't from Charon's heart, but from my shirt pocket. The phone Sumeragi had given me was vibrating.
Only one short message had arrived.
"I am always watching you, Aqua-kun. Don't disappoint me."
The hair on my neck stood up. I looked around the dark warehouse. There was no one but the three of us and the demon. Yet I felt those patterned purple eyes staring at me from every corner of the shadows. She didn't need to be here to control me. Her chains were already inside my head.
"I can't..." I whispered. "I can't run."
"You idiot!" Natsu roared.
The Bat Demon lunged again, this time targeting Natsu. I had no time to think anymore. I reached for Charon's heart in my chest.
SRIIIIINNNGGGGG!!!
The sound of the blades emerging from both my arms wasn't just a sound; it was a hungry scream that tore through the air. My consciousness felt split. The agony of steel blades erupting from my forearms was eclipsed by a sickening rush of adrenaline.
"DIE, YOU BASTARDDDDD!" I screamed, my voice hoarse against the roar of the rain.
I launched like a bullet. The Bat Demon tried to emit an ultrasonic wave from its gaping mouth.
BOOOOM!
The concrete floor beneath my feet shattered, but I had already leaped onto the wall. I ran vertically, the blades on my arms sparking as they scraped against the warehouse walls. Before it could close its mouth, I drove my blade straight into its lower jaw.
"KREEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!"
The sound of metal meeting bone and tough gristle. Thick green blood sprayed toward me, warm and smelling of rotten iron. The demon roared, thrashing its body to shake me off. It flew low, slamming me into the warehouse support pillars.
CrasHH! BOOM!
Every impact felt like it was crushing my ribs, but I didn't let go. Instead, I drove my blades deeper into its skull. I laughed. I laughed like a madman.
"Blood! Give me your blood!" I screamed, licking the spray that hit my lips. That bitter, fishy taste was my fuel.
The Bat Demon began to panic. With its remaining strength, it gripped my stomach with its sharp claws, tearing my gut until it slightly spilled. However, it forgot one thing: I didn't care about the pain.
Counterattack: I let its claws pierce my stomach so I could reach its neck.
Execution: With both humming blades, I crossed my sword-arms over its neck like giant scissors.
Maximum RPM: I pulled an imaginary lever in my brain. The rotation speed of the blades doubled.
"SRAAAKKKKKK!!!"
The flesh of its neck peeled away, tendons snapping one by one. The demon tried to scream, but all that came out were air bubbles and choked blood. With one powerful jerk, the giant head separated from the body, flying through the air before thudding onto a pile of containers.
The massive carcass collapsed, creating a small tremor inside the warehouse. I landed on the remains, drenched in a thick fluid that covered my entire body until I no longer looked human.
I stood there, gasping for breath. Thin wisps of steam rose from the gaps of the blades in my arms as they slowly retracted back into my flesh. The silence in the warehouse felt more deafening than the slaughter that preceded it.
I turned toward Kageyama. He was still clutching his stomach, his eyes wide at the butchery before him. Natsu, on the other hand, looked pale. His blood-dagger trembled in his hand. He looked at me not as a comrade, but as something that shouldn't exist in this world.
"You..." Natsu whispered, his voice catching. "You really are a mad dog..."
I didn't answer. My hand felt for the torn shirt pocket. The phone was still there, though the screen was cracked and stained with blood. The vibration had stopped, but I knew "she" was still watching.
I looked up at the hole in the warehouse roof, letting the raindrops wash the blood from my face.
Suddenly, the sound of graceful footsteps echoed from the warehouse entrance. Footsteps I knew all too well.
Sumeragi walked in, holding a wet black umbrella. She didn't care about the stench or the demon corpse on the floor. She walked straight to me, ignoring the severely injured Kageyama.
"Good job, Aqua-kun," she said softly. She pulled out a silk handkerchief and began to wipe the blood from my face with meticulous care. "You didn't try to run, did you?"
I stared into her deep eyes. "No, Miss Sumeragi."
"Good," she smiled, then glanced briefly at Natsu, who was still trembling in the corner. "Natsu-kun, did you say something about 'running' earlier? I didn't mishear you, did I?"
Natsu fell to his knees. "N-no, Miss! I... I was just joking!"
Sumeragi looked back at me, her fingers now playing with my neck, right over my still-racing pulse. "Remember this, Aqua-kun. The world out there is cruel. You are only safe by my side. If you try to leave... I won't chase you. I will simply destroy your reason for living. You understand what I mean, don't you?"
She glanced in the direction of the hospital where my mother was being treated, even though it was kilometers away.
"I understand, Miss Sumeragi," I replied, my voice breaking.
Sumeragi kissed my forehead, which was still warm from the remnants of the battle. "Let's go home. I've prepared warm water for your bath. I will personally clean the remains of this blood from your body."
I walked, following behind her like a dog that had truly surrendered its soul. Behind me, I could feel the desperate gazes of Kageyama and Natsu. They knew, I was no longer human. I was the beloved property of the goddess of death.