Renji slammed into the tree with a violent thud—
And everything around him faded into darkness.
---
The creatures…
They began to spread.
Hundreds of them.
Thousands.
But the ten strongest…
Scattered in every direction—
Except for the one who threw Renji.
He alone turned toward the simple house in the distance,
Licked his lips…
And cracked his knuckles.
Then, in a voice soaked in bloodlust, he whispered:
"Let the Slaughter begin."
---
⏳ Hours passed…
And with every minute,
The nearby walls were sealed with blood.
---
🌅 Until sunrise...
Renji slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was blurry.
Faint.
All he could see was snow…
Snow stained in crimson.
---
He panicked.
Sat up—
Looked around, then at his house.
It was partially destroyed.
The windows were crushed.
The walls were shattered.
The doors torn apart.
And blood… was crawling out of the wreckage.
As if it was searching for more victims.
---
Renji sprinted, stumbling and breathless,
His mind screaming with one thought:
"No no no no no!! Himari!!! Mom!! Hiroshi!! Please… be okay! Please!!"
---
🚪 He burst into the house, yelling with a broken voice:
"HIMARIIII!!
MOM!!!
HIROSHI!!!
HIMARIIIIIIII!!!"
---
He stepped forward, shaking, eyes darting in every direction…
Then suddenly—
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
---
He ran to her.
His mother.
Lying motionless over Himari.
Shielding her… with everything she had left.
She had tried—
Tried to block death from reaching Himari.
But it wasn't enough.
---
Renji lifted his mother, sobbing,
Staring at her face.
At the deep wounds carved into her flesh…
His voice trembled as he cried out:
"Mom!!
Please… just breathe!
Give me a sign—
Don't leave!!
Please don't go!!!"
But…
No answer.
No breath.
No pulse.
No life.
---
He clutched her tightly.
Collapsing.
Holding her broken body as his tears soaked her face.
And his scream tore through the ruins.
---
Then—
A voice.
"Brother…"
---
A soft sound.
Cracked.
Shaky… like a breeze in hell.
It was Himari.
---
She wasn't dead.
But her wounds… were severe.
She needed treatment. Urgently.
---
Renji gently laid his mother down,
Rushed to Himari—
Held her in his arms, trembling.
She looked up, barely able to see,
Her eyes half-closed.
Floating between life and death.
"Himari!!
You're… you're alive!!
You're alive!!"
---
He pressed her wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
His breath was frantic.
His mind clouded.
His heart pounding like a war drum.
---
But there was no time for panic.
No room for grief.
All Renji could think about—
Was saving his sister.
Now.
Fast.
No matter what.
---
His footsteps were heavy.
Each step left a bloody print behind.
As if the ground itself was recording the beginning of a massacre.
---
He descended the mountain,
Eyes locked on the village now emerging in the horizon.
And there…
A flicker of hope sparked in his heart.
Maybe—
Just maybe—
She could still be saved.
---
He glanced at his sister, barely breathing, and whispered:
"Hang on, Himari…
You're gonna live, you hear me?
You're gonna LIIIIIIVE!"
---
Himari could barely see,
But she could still recognize his face through the haze.
And in a broken voice, she whispered:
"Brother…"
---
Renji entered the village,
A faint smile breaking through his tears.
He thought he had reached salvation.
But the truth…
Was far worse than any nightmare.
---
He stopped.
Froze.
Looked around.
All he saw were:
Corpses.
Wounded.
Children crying beside their mothers' dead bodies.
---
There were women…
Pregnant.
Their stomachs torn open.
The unborn ripped out—
And slaughtered before their eyes.
The mothers died.
And the last thing they saw…
Was their children being butchered without mercy.
---
Renji fell to his knees.
The tears poured.
More…
And more…
And more.
His sister's body still weighing down his back.
Still breathing.
But hope?
Gone.
---
Then…
"So?
Do you want to save your sister?
Or will you let her rot like the rest?"
---
Renji froze.
The air turned icy.
And then—
The world disappeared.
---
Everything vanished.
No sky.
No forest.
No village.
No sound.
Just a strange, flat surface stretching into infinity—
Reflecting a faint, sickly yellow glow.
---
Renji slowly stood up.
His face pale.
His eyes hollow.
Like his soul had left him behind.
But when he looked up—
He saw something…
That froze the blood in his veins.
---
It stood before him.
That… creature.
---
The same one that had turned into smoke
And entered his body…
Before the Fourteen appeared.
Before everything began.
---
It was one of the creatures from the Book.
But this one—
Wasn't normal.
---
Its body was armored in a hellish exoskeleton,
Dark and cracked, as if forged in a furnace of screams.
---
Its eyes glowed a fiery orange—
Staring deep enough to burn a soul.
---
Its veins pulsed with molten light.
Not blood.
But pure fire.
---
This wasn't a creature.
It was a declaration.
A prophecy.
An end to mankind.
---
Renji raised his head while still kneeling, and asked in a broken voice:
"Who… are you?"
The creature smiled—wide, theatrical.
It placed a hand on its chest, bowed mockingly, and said:
"I am your salvation… or your doom.
If you give me what I want,
I will save your little sister—
Who's dying,
Right now,
As we speak."
---
Renji gasped, remembering Himari.
He looked behind him—
She wasn't there.
His panic spiked.
---
But the creature kept speaking:
"I've had many names throughout the ages…
But you, boy, may call me…"
It raised its hand.
Blue fire swirled in its palm—
Then turned orange and formed a name in the air:
"Raizen."
---
Renji read it aloud, barely breathing:
"Raizen… Please, I'll do anything.
Just save my sister."
"Hhhh_!"
He gasped mid-sentence, voice breaking even more:
"Please… I'm begging you.
Just save her…
I'll do whatever you want."
He whispered:
"Please… I beg you…"
---
Raizen looked at him in disgust.
Then—
WHUUMPH!!
A brutal kick slammed into Renji's stomach—
Throwing him across the glowing ground.
UGHHH—THUD!!
He crashed hard,
Gripping his stomach in agony.
"SNNNK… haaah… KH-KHFFFHH!! splurt…"
He wheezed, coughing blood,
His nose pressed to the floor,
Whimpering—
"Please… I'll do anything…
Just save her…
She's all I have…
I'm not ready to lose her…
Please… please…"
---
Raizen didn't stop.
He beat Renji like a ragdoll,
Until his face was unrecognizable from the swelling and blood.
Then suddenly—
He stopped.
Grabbed Renji by the hair,
Lifted his head, and snarled:
"Tch. How pathetic.
I thought you'd be stronger than this.
You sought out a weak human to protect us from the curse—
To protect me from death,
Because I betrayed Lord Ronzzztan.
And now?
You can't even protect your own sister.
I bet she was the one protecting you—
Because you're too weak to even guard an ant, you pitiful worm."
---
Renji cried silently.
Because… he was right.
He didn't protect his family.
His mother was dead.
His brother gone.
His little sister was dying—
And he couldn't save her.
The weight of failure crushed him.
It wasn't just his body that was broken.
It was his soul.
---
Renji whispered, eyes locked on the ground:
"You're right."
Raizen tilted his head, listening.
---
"I'm weak.
I didn't save my family.
And now I can't save Himari either."
Renji choked on his tears—
"It's all my fault.
If I hadn't taken the book—
If I hadn't opened it—
Everyone would still be alive.
My mom would still be here.
My sister wouldn't be dying…"
---
Raizen raised a small flame between his fingers.
He brought it close to Renji's face.
Inside that flame—
Renji saw scenes.
Memories.
---
His brother Hiroshi—
Standing above him.
Mocking him.
"Don't touch me, loser.
Get outta my face.
Who told you I loved you?
Who said I even wanted you around?"
---
Raizen showed Renji the moment Hiroshi held the book under moonlight—
Laughing.
"Aww.
These are your little monsters?
Cute.
Real cute, bro."
And then—
The drawings began to move.
The curse… awakened.
Hiroshi screamed and ran to their mom.
Left Renji behind.
Left him with the consequences.
---
Raizen closed his fist.
The flame died.
---
"So…
Are you done blaming yourself like a child?
Ready to be a man yet, mortal?"
Renji didn't respond.
---
"You're weak because you carry all the blame alone.
Didn't you notice?
It wasn't you who set us free.
It was your idiot brother."
---
Raizen leaned in.
"He's the one who exposed the book to moonlight.
That… was the key.
A heart full of envy and pride—
Bathed in moonlight.
That was the trigger."
---
Renji's heart pounded.
Not from fear.
From pure, raw anger.
He clenched his fists—
"You're right.
I didn't do it.
I'm not the one who opened the book under the moon.
I'm not the one who made it.
I'm not Kimarou Ronzzztan.
I'm not Hiroshi.
But…
I am the one who brought the book home."
---
Raizen burst into laughter.
He yanked Renji up by the hair, grinning like a maniac:
"Even after learning the truth—
You still think it's your fault?
Oh, you're pure, boy.
Perfect for me."
---
"I'll grant your wish.
I'll give you your revenge.
But first… let's heal your little sister, as you begged."
Renji gasped, then stood up, hope filling his face.
"Yes! Please! That's all I want!"
Raizen turned his back, waving a hand.
"It's already done.
When you leave this place,
You'll find her beside you—
Sleeping.
Pick her up.
Take her somewhere safe.
Then…
We'll talk again."
And with that—everything faded.
No light. No sound. No mercy.
Renji…
Fell into the abyss.
---
🔥 TO BE CONTINUED... 🔥