Under the cover of night, a boy hurried toward the village ahead, clutching a small sack of medicine.
He had long black hair that faded into red at the tips. On his forehead was a red flame-like mark that extended down beneath his right eye.
The boy's name was Chiba Yang.
When he was young, his father despised him because of the strange mark on his forehead. Eventually, the man abandoned him and his mother without hesitation.
From that moment on, his mother raised him alone.
But a year ago, she fell seriously ill and could barely move. Since then, the fourteen-year-old Chiba Yang had supported them both by gathering herbs in the mountains and cutting firewood.
As he stepped into the familiar village, he suddenly froze.
What appeared before him was a nightmare.
Blood stained the ground everywhere.
Severed limbs were scattered across the streets.
Villagers he once knew were now nothing more than mutilated corpses. Their wide-open eyes stared up at the sky, frozen in terror.
Yet beneath the silent night sky, the village itself remained eerily quiet.
The bag of medicine slipped from Chiba Yang's hand and fell to the ground.
His mind went blank.
"Mother… Mother…"
He murmured the words under his breath, fear and anxiety flooding his chest. Then he suddenly sprinted toward his home.
The horrific sights along the road made his heart sink deeper with every step.
What… happened here…?
Tears streamed down the corners of his eyes as confusion and dread filled his mind.
Just then—
A figure slowly stepped out from a house ahead.
"Hehehe… another human. And a child at that. What wonderful luck."
The creature's voice was gleeful.
"Children's meat is always the tastiest."
Under the moonlight, Chiba Yang finally saw it clearly.
Gray-green skin.
A grotesque face twisted with cruelty.
Blood smeared across its mouth.
In its hand, it held a freshly severed arm.
This thing could no longer be called human.
It was a monster.
The creature licked the blood from its lips and stared at Chiba Yang the way a predator watches prey. Then it casually bit into the arm it was holding.
Seeing this monster only made Chiba Yang's anxiety about his mother grow stronger.
What… is this thing?
Did this monster do everything that happened in the village?
Mother… she couldn't have—
His thoughts spiraled in panic.
But he did not stop running. He continued rushing toward his home.
The monster watched him with amused eyes.
When it saw Chiba Yang run past, it didn't even try to stop him. It simply shifted aside and let him pass.
The creature had already eaten its fill.
At the moment, it wasn't particularly interested in more food.
After running a short distance, Chiba Yang suddenly stopped.
Just a little farther ahead lay his home.
But now…
There was no reason to go any farther.
His mind had gone completely blank the moment he saw what lay before him.
His eyes widened, blood vessels bursting as if they might explode.
His entire body trembled violently from rage and grief.
Two long streaks of blood stretched across the road ahead.
At the end of those trails lay a woman's corpse.
Her body had been torn apart.
Her legs, arms, and torso were scattered across the ground, each piece separated by more than ten meters.
Her head lay tilted on the dirt, covered in dust.
Her eyes stared straight ahead—
Directly at Chiba Yang.
He stood frozen in place, unable to accept what he was seeing.
At that moment, the monster slowly walked up behind him.
"These old folks didn't taste very good," it said with a grin. "But they were quite entertaining."
"It's fun cutting off their limbs one by one. Watching them go from running, to hopping, to crawling helplessly along the ground…"
"Hehehe…"
"The terrified and ridiculous looks on their faces are truly delightful."
The gray-skinned monster licked its lips and shrugged.
"Unfortunately, their bodies and minds were too weak. Most of them gave up after losing just two legs."
"So I had no choice but to show mercy and eat them to end their suffering."
By now, the monster had walked up beside Chiba Yang.
It gazed appreciatively at the scattered corpse before them.
"But the human lying here was different."
"Hehehe…"
"Even though she couldn't move her legs, her will to survive was stronger than anyone else's."
"She actually crawled all the way here. Even after both arms were broken, she kept moving—using only her head and torso to drag herself forward more than ten meters."
"That brought me quite a bit of amusement."
"And right before she died, she kept muttering something like…"
"'I promised Xiao Yang I would live well.'"
"Hahahaha! How interesting!"
Chiba Yang's heart trembled violently.
Slowly—almost mechanically—he turned his head toward the monster.
The veins on his forehead bulged.
His teeth ground together.
Anyone could see the burning rage within him.
The monster licked its fingers and chuckled lightly.
"Oh?"
"That expression is very interesting."
"Could it be… this human had some relationship with you?"
"Ahhh…"
"Don't tell me you're the 'Xiao Yang' she was talking about?"
"Then this pile of limbs on the ground…"
"…would be your mother."
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Tears streamed down Chiba Yang's face.
He clenched his teeth so hard that he tasted blood.
The flame-like mark on the right side of his forehead seemed to glow faintly.
With a furious roar, he threw his fist toward the monster's face.
"Hahaha! Looks like I guessed correctly!"
The monster laughed happily.
It didn't take the attack seriously at all.
Raising its left hand casually, it reached out to block the boy's punch.
But in the next instant—
Chiba Yang's fist stopped midair.
Instead, his leg shot forward.
BANG!
His kick slammed into the monster's chest.
Though Chiba Yang was only fifteen years old, his strength far exceeded that of an adult.
The kick sent the monster flying through the air, crashing violently into a tree.
How is this possible?!
The monster's face filled with shock as pain exploded through its chest and back.
It was like he predicted my movement!
The monster's grin disappeared.
Its humiliation quickly turned into fury.
"How could a mere human knock me back?!"
With an enraged roar, the monster lunged toward Chiba Yang at incredible speed.
It raised its right arm to strike.
But in Chiba Yang's vision, the monster's body appeared completely transparent.
He could see everything.
The movement of muscles.
The flow of blood.
The operation of internal organs.
Every tiny detail.
All of it revealed the monster's next move.
The overwhelming grief and anger did not cloud his mind.
Instead, they sharpened it.
Chiba Yang calmly stepped aside.
The monster's fist swept past his face, missing by mere centimeters.
As he evaded the attack, Chiba Yang grabbed an axe from a nearby chopping block.
In one swift motion, he swung it down toward the monster's arm.
The monster tried to dodge.
But the speed of the falling blade far exceeded its expectations.
Slash!
Its arm was severed instantly.
"AAAAAAAH!!!"
The monster screamed in pain and staggered backward.
However, the bleeding from its shoulder quickly stopped.
New flesh began growing from the wound.
Chiba Yang stared at the creature with unwavering eyes.
He could feel the heat in his body rising rapidly.
His heart pounded violently in his chest, beating far faster than usual.
"Impossible!" the monster shrieked.
"Humans are nothing but food for demons!"
"It's impossible for them to possess this kind of power!"
"What… what kind of monster are you?!"
For the first time since becoming a demon…
Fear appeared on its face.
Today was the first time it had ever encountered a human like this.