Under the cover of night, a boy with long black hair tipped in crimson was hurrying toward the village ahead, a bag of medicinal herbs in his hand. A red, flame-shaped mark extended from his forehead down beneath his right eye.
His name was Kazuki. Ever since childhood, his father had despised him because of the mark on his forehead, eventually abandoning both him and his mother.
His mother raised him alone, but a year ago she fell gravely ill and could barely move. At just fourteen, Kazuki began supporting the two of them by gathering herbs in the mountains and chopping firewood.
When he stepped into the familiar village, the sight before him made him freeze.
Blood was everywhere. Severed limbs littered the ground. The villagers he once knew were now nothing more than broken bodies, their eyes wide open in terror as they stared at the sky. Beneath the night veil, the village was as silent as it always had been.
The bag of herbs slipped from Kazuki's hand and fell to the ground. His mind went completely blank.
"Mother… Mother…"
He murmured her name over and over, dread and fear flooding his heart. Then he broke into a run toward his home.
Along the way, the horrific scenes pressed down on his heart, sinking it bit by bit.
What… happened here…?
Tears slid from the corners of his eyes, confusion filling his chest.
Just then, a figure stepped out from a house ahead.
"Hehehehe… another human. And a kid, no less. What luck. Children's flesh tastes the best, after all."
By the moonlight, Kazuki finally saw what that "figure" truly was.
Gray-green skin. A grotesque face. Blood smeared across its mouth. In its hand was a severed arm.
This thing could no longer be called human—it was a humanoid monster.
The creature licked the blood from its lips, eyeing Kazuki as though he were food, then took a bite from the arm in its hand.
Seeing it only made Kazuki's worry for his mother surge even more.
What… what kind of monster is this?
Was everything that happened in the village caused by it?
Could Mother have already…?
His heart tightening with panic, Kazuki didn't stop. He kept running toward his home.
The monster watched him with interest. It didn't try to stop him— it even stepped aside to clear the path. It had already eaten its fill and had little appetite left. Kazuki ran straight past it without resistance.
After running some distance, he came to a halt.
Just ahead was his home. But there was no longer any reason to go on.
The moment he saw what lay before him, his mind went utterly blank. His eyes widened, bloodshot to the point of bursting, his entire body trembling with rage and grief.
Two long streaks of blood stained the road ahead. At their end lay the corpse of a woman. Her body had been torn apart—legs, arms, and torso scattered more than ten meters apart. Her head lay severed, tilted to one side, covered in dust, her eyes staring straight ahead… meeting Kazuki's gaze.
He stood frozen, unable to believe what he was seeing.
At that moment, the monster slowly walked over.
"These old folks didn't taste very good," it said with a grin, "but they were fun to play with. Cutting off their limbs one by one, watching them go from running, to hopping, to crawling little by little until they stopped moving. Hehehe… those terrified, ridiculous expressions were really entertaining."
The gray-green monster spread its hands as it continued, "It's just a shame they were too fragile—body and mind alike. After breaking just two legs, they couldn't even keep running. I had no choice but to show mercy and eat them, so they wouldn't suffer anymore."
By now, it had come to Kazuki's side. Looking at the scattered limbs ahead, it spoke with an oddly appreciative tone.
"But this human was different. She held on until the very end.
Hehehe… even though her legs couldn't move, her will to live was far stronger than the others'. She actually crawled all the way here. Even after her arms were broken, she still managed to drag herself forward with just her head and torso for over ten meters. She gave me quite a bit of fun."
It laughed loudly. "And right before she died, she kept muttering something like, 'I promisedI'd live on properly.' Hahahaha… really interesting, don't you think?"
Kazuki's heart shuddered.
He slowly, stiffly turned his head to look at the monster. Veins bulged on his forehead, his teeth clenched so tightly anyone could see the fury burning inside him.
Seeing his expression, the monster licked its hand and chuckled lightly.
"Oh? That look is pretty interesting. Don't tell me… this human was someone important to you? Ah, ah—could it be that you're the 'Sakura' she was talking about?"
Its grin widened. "So that pile of broken limbs on the ground… is your mother, huh?"
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!!"
Tears streamed down Kazuki's face. He bit down so hard that a sweet, metallic taste filled his mouth. The flame-shaped mark on his right forehead seemed to glow faintly.
As he roared those words, he raised his fist and smashed it toward the monster's face.
"Hahahaha… looks like I hit the mark…"
The monster laughed gleefully, utterly unconcerned, extending its left hand to block the punch.
But in the next instant, Kazuki's fist halted midair—and his foot slammed into the monster's chest.
Though only fifteen, his strength far surpassed that of an adult. The kick sent the monster flying, crashing hard into a tree ahead.
Impossible!
It's like he predicted my move!
The heavy impact to its chest and back left the monster's face twisted in disbelief.
Then its smile vanished, replaced by furious humiliation.
"A mere human! How could you possibly knock me back?!"
With an enraged roar, it leapt to its feet and charged at Kazuki at terrifying speed, raising its right hand.
In Kazuki's vision, the monster's muscle fibers, the flow of its blood, the movement of its organs—all of it appeared vividly clear, as if its body were transparent.
That information told him exactly what the monster would do next.
Rage and grief had given birth to hatred and killing intent—but they had not clouded his mind.
Kazuki shifted to the side. The monster's punch swept past his face, missing him completely.
Dodging the attack, Kazuki grabbed an axe resting on a nearby wooden post and swung it at the monster's arm.
The monster tried to evade—but the speed of the descending blade far exceeded its expectations.
Its arm was severed cleanly.
"AAAH!!"
The monster screamed and staggered back several steps. Yet the bleeding from its shoulder quickly stopped, and a new arm began to regenerate, slowly growing back.
Kazuki stared at it unblinking. He could feel his body temperature skyrocketing, his heartbeat thundering in his chest—far faster than ever before.
"Impossible! Humans are nothing but food for us demons! There's no way you should have this kind of power!" the monster shrieked, its voice sharp with panic. Fear began to creep across its face.
Since the day it became a demon, this was the first time it had ever encountered something like this.
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