The countryside stretched endlessly under a pale sky, fields of green bending softly under the wind. The soil was damp, rich with life—but unforgiving to those who worked it.
Iruma's small hands dug into the dirt, fingers stained brown, nails cracked. He adjusted the roots of a wilting plant, gently packing soil around it, patting it like it was something fragile... something worth saving.
His breathing was steady, disciplined beyond his years.
In the distance, laughter echoed.
Children ran through open fields, kicking a worn soccer ball, their voices light, carefree, untouched by suffering.
Iruma didn't look at them for long.
But he did look.
Just a second longer than he should have.
His grip tightened in the dirt.
I can't...
He turned away, forcing his attention back to the crops.
He wasn't like them.
He couldn't afford to be.
At home, reality waited.
A single mother.
An infant brother.
A house that barely stood.
His brother's breathing had always been weak—small, fragile gasps that sounded like they might stop at any moment. The illness had already hollowed him out, leaving only a faint shadow of life behind.
Iruma had seen it.
Death, lingering.
Waiting.
But he never stopped moving.
Make her life better.
That was the only thought that mattered.
Then—
Everything collapsed.
His mother fell ill.
Not gradually.
Not gently.
One day she was there... struggling, but alive.
The next she couldn't stand.
Couldn't cook.
Couldn't speak.
Couldn't even hold her own child.
Iruma carried everything.
Every burden.
Every responsibility.
Silently.
Until that day.
He opened the door.
"...Mom?"
She was standing.
Back turned.
Still.
Too still.
Iruma blinked, confusion creeping in.
"Mom... how are you standing?"
No response.
Not even breathing.
His chest tightened.
"...Mom?"
Still nothing.
His baby brother was in her arms.
But he didn't move.
Didn't cry.
Didn't breathe.
Something was wrong.
Something was—
Iruma stepped forward, slowly raising his hand, fingertips trembling as they reached for her shoulder—
BOOM.
The body exploded.
Flesh ruptured outward in a wet, violent burst, blood splattering across the walls, ceiling, and Iruma's face. Bone fragments tore through the air like shrapnel.
From within the gore—
Something crawled out.
A massive, grotesque creature, its bloated stomach dragging low, its skin stretched and pale. Its face smiling.
Always smiling.
Iruma's brother's mangled remains fell to the floor with a soft, sickening thud.
Dead long before.
Iruma screamed.
Not words.
Just sound.
Raw, broken sound.
He ran.
His legs shook violently, nearly collapsing beneath him as he stumbled into the village.
Villagers rushed to him.
"What happened?!"
"Boy, speak!"
But the words wouldn't come.
They were thorns in his throat.
He could only point.
Shaking.
Terrified.
They approached the house.
Knocked
Silence.
Then—
BOOM.
The roof exploded outward.
The demon rose into the sky, massive—its size rivaling an elephant, its belly hanging grotesquely as it floated.
Its grin widened unnaturally.
"Mommy's here, Iruma! Come here!!"
Before anyone could react—
It descended.
And devoured them.
Flesh tore.
Bones snapped.
Blood rained.
Iruma didn't even have time to scream again.
Meanwhile...
Rain began to fall miles away.
Bero walked ahead, hands in his pockets, posture loose but alert.
Behind him, Bat dragged his feet, visibly exhausted.
"How far are we..." Bat groaned, his voice strained. "I'm sleepy..."
No response.
"How much further...?"
Silence.
"How much further? ...Hey. Hey. Bero."
Again.
Again.
Again—
"SHUT your mouth, would ya?!" Bero snapped, turning sharply, irritation flaring in his eyes.
Bat flinched slightly, but said nothing.
Bero's gaze shifted.
Lamia rested silently on Bat's shoulders.
Completely still.
Expressionless.
Not sleeping peacefully—just... inactive.
Like something waiting.
Bero had offered to carry her earlier.
Bat refused.
Now his arms trembled under her weight.
Eventually..
They arrived.
Too late.
The village was destroyed.
Bodies torn apart.
Blood soaked into the dirt, mixing with rain into dark, muddy pools.
The air reeked of iron and rot.
"...Category 3," Bero muttered, scanning the carnage. "The Gluttonous Pig. Eats anything. Everything."
Bat exhaled slowly. "...We're late."
"What a waste," he added, bitter.
"Yeah?" Bero replied dryly, kicking a severed limb aside. "You sound real broken up about it."
Lamia's eyes opened.
Slowly.
But sharp.
"Do you feel it?" she asked flatly.
"No," both replied.
"...Behind us."
They turned.
The Pig Demon hovered above, grin stretched wide.
"Haha! I thought I had a free meal!"
Its stomach growled loudly.
"I wonder how those touched by the Ancient Ones taste..."
It dropped.
Then—
Vomited.
A second pig emerged from its mouth, fully formed, slick with bile.
And it moved—
Too fast.
Bat didn't even react in time.
BOOM.
He was struck instantly, sent flying across the ground, but he twisted mid-air—protecting Lamia, keeping her steady in his arms.
"...You okay?" he asked, breath shaky.
She nodded once.
He set her down gently.
"I'll handle this."
The second pig laughed. "You will?"
Bat raised his arm.
Electricity sparked violently.
A wing formed—crude at first, then stabilizing into a jagged construct of pure Seishin.
But this wasn't natural.
Not efficient.
Not sustainable.
Bat's ability forcibly converts his life force into electromagnetic output—but wings?
Wings were the worst possible construct.
They required constant stabilization, continuous energy flow, and structural reinforcement every second.
Each minute drained him severely.
Each second chipped away at his stamina.
And he had already used too much earlier.
Still—
He charged.
CLASH.
The pig met him head-on.
Bat struck fast—sharp, precise hits enhanced by bursts of electricity.
But the pig adapted quickly.
Countered.
Overpowered.
Bat shifted to defense, expanding the wing into a shield—
CRACK.
ONE—
TWO—
Two heavy blows shattered the construct.
Electricity dispersed violently, tearing through Bat's arm.
He collapsed.
Breathing ragged.
Vision blurring.
I used too much...
The pig turned.
Toward Lamia.
"I wonder how you taste."
It charged.
Bat forced himself up.
"MOVE—!"
He launched the remaining energy—
The wing shot forward.
Faster.
Faster—
But his reserves were empty.
The structure destabilized mid-flight.
The pig reached her first.
The wing barely formed—
And shattered.
The punch went through.
SLAM.
Lamia went flying into a building.
She got up slowly.
Walked out.
She stood there.
Silent.
Emotionless.
Watching.
Bat collapsed completely behind her.
Out of energy.
Done.
Lamia slowly wiped the blood from her mouth.
Her eyes remained empty.
Cold.
Ancient.
She stepped forward.
The pig rushed her again—
She raised one finger.
A black mass formed instantly at the tip—dense, compressed, unnaturally heavy.
Not energy.
Not quite.
Something darker.
It warped the air around it.
Then—
Die.
A concentrated, piercing blast shot forward, carving through the pig's torso, leaving a perfectly circular void. The edges of the wound didn't bleed normally—
They collapsed inward.
Like reality itself was being eaten.
Still—
It didn't stop.
"THIS is where you die!"
Its jaws opened impossibly wide, stretching around her entire body.
Time slowed.
Teeth closing.
Flesh about to tear—
CRUSH.
ROOOOAR!!
A massive bear materialized, jaws snapping shut around the pig's body, crushing bone, organs bursting outward in a wet explosion.
Blood sprayed across Lamia's face.
The bear devoured chunks violently before dissolving into energy.
Bero stood behind them.
Calm.
Unbothered.
Earlier—
He had already killed the original Pig.
Effortlessly.
The moment it tried to flank him, his bear manifested and tore it apart in seconds—crushing its skull, devouring its core before it could even react.
This one?
Just a byproduct.
"...Not bad," Bero said, glancing at Lamia.
Then at Bat.
"You got messed up, huh?" he smirked, sticking his tongue out. "Nice job not dying."
He turned.
"Let's go."
Meanwhile—
"I thought the Court decided to eliminate her," a woman said coldly.
Aya.
White hair flowed down her back.
Crystal blue eyes burned with quiet fury.
Daigo leaned on his cane.
"...We will."
A pause.
"...Not yet."
Aya's fists clenched.
"...Yes, sir."
She turned.
Left.
Her expression twisted with anger.
"I'll kill that beast myself."
To be continued...