The sky, darkened by threatening clouds, loomed over an old mansion lost in the moors.
A black man, skeletal and silent, walked slowly toward the front door. His piercing light eyes gleamed with cold irony in the darkness, and a faint smile curved his lips.
In front of the massive door, he stopped.
An oppressive silence.
Inside, a vast hall lay shrouded in shadow. Within it, demonic-looking creatures crouched in stillness—like predators waiting for prey to cross the threshold.
The man snapped his fingers.
The sharp sound echoed strangely through the hall.
Suddenly, a female figure with demonic features dove from the rooftop, wielding a long sword. Her fall cut through the air with a screech, and every demon turned to her at once, hypnotized by her presence.
A perfect distraction.
Taking advantage of the moment, the man drew a revolver polished like a mirror and stepped inside. One demon lunged at him, growling.
He raised his weapon, the same ironic smile on his face.
“I’d like to book a room… but I might be a little loud.”
The gunshot rang out—sharp and clear.
In the background, the massacre began. The demonic woman sliced through her enemies with cruel grace, her blade carving bloody arcs in the shadows. The man advanced toward the center, now surrounded by demons.
With a single shot, the bullet ricocheted off the walls, piercing through all the remaining demons' heads in one perfect trajectory.
He turned his gaze to the female creature, who seemed stunned by the scene. He whispered to her:
“Wrong choice, Alya…”
And without hesitation, he shot two bullets into her chest.
As he turned away, a mocking smile on his lips, a voice echoed in his mind:
“Remember me…”
He flinched slightly.
“Who… who said that?” he asked, confused, then let out a dry chuckle.
“Must be the sugar talking again…”
His expression turned serious.
“Doesn’t matter anyway.”
He crouched beside a demon, slit an artery, and collected its blood in a vial.
But suddenly, he felt something beneath his feet.
The floor cracked open and swallowed him into darkness.
In freefall, he saw a mountain of writhing creatures. They were trying to merge—twisting, deforming, forming a massive abomination. The thing raised its head and growled:
“In a few seconds… I’ll evolve to Platinum. You won’t be laughing then, human.”
Still falling, he gave a carnivorous grin.
“Eat demon balls in hell.”
A beam of energy burst from his weapon, piercing the monstrosity clean through.
He crashed to the ground. Lying there for a moment, he slowly sat up, scratching his head like something inside him had shifted. His gaze was dazed, almost emotional.
“What… what was I doing lying on the floor?” he muttered, confused, like someone else had taken over.
He stood up slowly, put on his glasses, splashed water on his face, then walked toward the dying demon.
The demon, panting and broken, raised tear-filled eyes and murmured:
“Why… why? We demons… we were just like you. We dreamed of a beautiful world. We ate like you. We had families. We gave up our old ways… we left everything behind for peace. We even lived like you… but still, you hunted us… tortured us… killed us…”
Its voice cracked, then faded into a whisper:
“By hunting evil in the name of good… you abandoned the good that believed in you… So why, sir?... why… why…”
Its eyes clouded over. It died, tears on its cheeks.
The man stood expressionless, cold.
He pulled out a trembling vial, collected the demon’s blood, and turned around—
Only to find himself in what looked like… a children’s playroom.
He inhaled deeply, pulled out a notebook, picked up a pen from the floor, and scribbled a few words. A single tear fell on the page.
A female voice rang out behind him.
“EDEN…”
He jumped, then nearly shouted:
“Alya! Wait! I’m coming!”
He looked around the room. He found a rope, tied it to a metal fixture, and threw it upward.
The rope dropped back down.
“Tch… damn. Just my luck…”
He smirked.
“It’s not like I’m in a story or anything… right. Whatever.”
He tightened the rope and backed up for a run.
“One… two…”
This time, the rope latched onto a utensil cabinet. He raised an eyebrow.
“I think… it’ll hold.”
He pulled hard.
The cabinet crashed down with a loud metallic bang.
“Ow—ow!”
Utensils scattered over him. Slightly wounded, he still pushed through.
He climbed up and finally reached Alya.
She was there, under the rubble, terrified and in pain.
“I’m so sorry, Alya… Hold on, I’ll get you out.”
Lacking strength, he used a makeshift lever to lift the debris. She was pierced by several shards, which he removed one by one.
“I’m sorry… I wasn’t there to protect you…”
Alya screamed as she began to regenerate, her wounds slowly closing. He turned his head away, repeating:
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Once she regained her breath, their eyes met and held.
I shouldn’t do this… She’s just a colleague… I don’t even know her… I can’t take advantage of her vulnerability…
Suddenly, a powerful shockwave burst through the room, flinging them both to the ground. Alya collapsed, dazed.
He, already on alert, drew his weapon.
An unknown figure stood in the entrance—white mask, demonic aura, gun in hand.
“Mr. EDEN… You are under arrest for multiple violations and endangering lives. We are placing you and your creature in custody.”
They both fired.
Eden’s bullet exploded in a flash.
The enemy’s shot hit him, and his body went numb.
His eyes closed. In the darkness, a familiar voice whispered again:
“Remember me…”
He jolted and barely opened one eye—
Blood running down his face, vision blurry, he looked around.
He was no longer in that room.
Now, he lay on the snow-covered forest ground, a deep gash across his chest like it had been cut by blades. A few meters away, a monstrous Calamity staggered toward him. Alya, lying nearby, wounded and trembling, tried desperately to wake him—her arm broken, both feet shattered, clutching her sword with all her strength.
That was when—