The demon leaned forward, claws scraping the ground…
Unaffected.
Unhurt.
Unimpressed.
Its mouth curled into something like a smirk.
I looked at Kaito, unimpressed.
"Bro, you are so useless. Tsk tsk."
I shook my head like a disappointed mother at a failed exam.
Kaito growled, "Hikari-"
"Here, let me help you."
I stepped forward, cracking my knuckles.
The demon's head snapped toward me, steam hissing from its nostrils.
I raised my hand, drawing a glowing line in the air
the pattern forming effortlessly.
"Death — 死."
The world dimmed for a second.
A pulse of red shot down my arm, and my sword materialized
not summoned, but born into existence.
The blade stretched long and straight, forged from glowing red metal.
A deep, dark crimson near the base…
turning brighter toward the tip like fire trapped under glass.
Thin red cracks ran through it like veins of molten lava.
The hilt was jagged black metal, rough and spiked like shattered obsidian.
Uneven. Twisted.
Like it wasn't made
but ripped out of darkness itself.
Where hilt met blade, the black metal melted into the red glow, shadows merging with heat.
Embers drifted off the edge, flickering like sparks.
Dangerous, isn't it?
Yeah. I know.
The ground trembled under my feet.
Kaito swallowed.
Hard.
The demon roared, but this time…
I smiled.
"Ohhh? You think you're loud? Cute."
I vanished.
One step, and the air exploded behind me.
My sword clashed with the demon's arm, sparks erupting like fireworks.
The impact cracked the ground beneath us.
The demon swung a massive claw downward.
I flipped back effortlessly, landing on one hand, twisting mid-air, and slicing upward.
BLAZE.
A red arc tore through the air like a comet.
The demon stumbled back,
not wounded, but surprised.
"Damn," I said, brushing hair from my face, "your defense is thicker than your mother's skull."
The demon shrieked.
Its claws slashed in a blur, three hits in a single breath.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
I blocked the first.
Dodged the second.
Got pushed back by the third, sliding across the pavement, boots carving lines into the concrete.
I grinned.
"That's more like it."
I launched forward again.
The air behind me combusted.
My blade collided with its chest, a booming shockwave tearing through buildings.
Windows shattered.
Streetlights flickered.
Alarms screamed.
Still no blood.
The demon swung upward, hitting me with brute force.
I crashed into a wall.
Dust everywhere.
I stood up, cracking my neck.
"You're ugly AND durable? Double homicide."
My energy spiked
red lightning dancing across my sword.
Kaito stepped forward, worried. "Hikari, stop, you're losing control."
I didn't hear him.
No, I did.
I just didn't care.
My aura surged violently, the ground beneath me breaking apart.
Even the demon hesitated, feeling the pressure crush the air around us.
I charged, faster than before, almost teleporting.
I sliced across the demon's face, landing a hit so strong the earth split open behind it.
BOOOOOOOOM.
Smoke.
Silence.
The dust settled…
The demon stood there.
A faint line on its cheek.
Not bleeding.
But finally scratched.
And that was enough to snap me.
My eyes glowed wild red, aura spiraling out, energy cracking like unstable lightning.
Kaito swore.
"That's it , she's going too far."
He sprinted toward me and grabbed my arm before I could launch myself again.
"HIKARI, STOP!"
I jerked around, breath ragged, aura shaking the air.
For a second, I wasn't me.
For a second, the sword pulled me instead of me pulling the sword.
Kaito tightened his grip, meeting my glowing eyes.
"Don't lose yourself."
The demon roared, charging at both of us
I snapped out of it, breath steadying as the red glow in my eyes dimmed.
"Let's attack together," I said, voice calm… dangerously calm.
Kaito nodded once.
And then
we moved.
No counting.
No signal.
No plan.
Our bodies just knew.
The demon lunged
a red blur of muscle and rage.
We split in opposite directions, dust exploding beneath our feet.
Kaito's sword slashed upward, a streak of silver cutting through the air so sharp it whistled.
The demon blocked, claws scraping against steel with a scream like metal dying.
I appeared behind it in the same breath.
My blade crashed down
BOOOOOM!
The pavement split open, cracks spreading like lightning across the ground.
The demon spun, swinging both claws at me.
I bent backward, the claws slicing above my face by a hair, sparks raining as they scraped the tip of my sword.
Kaito didn't miss the opening.
He jumped onto the demon's back, planting his foot between its shoulder blades, and drove his sword downward with both hands
The blade sank in two inches.
Only two.
But enough to make the demon shriek, flames bursting from its mouth.
It spun violently.
Kaito was thrown into a street pole, shattering it.
He rolled and stood again instantly.
I darted forward
two steps, twist, flip
My sword carved a glowing red arc across the demon's side, leaving a trail of burning embers.
Another hit.
Another shockwave.
Another explosion of dust.
Still no real damage.
The demon slammed its fists into the ground
KRAAAAACK!
The earth erupted upward, chunks of highway blasting into the air.
Debris rained like meteor fragments.
I leaped off a flying concrete slab and launched myself at the demon, blade first.
Kaito followed in the same motion from the opposite direction.
Our swords collided with the demon at the exact same second
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive shockwave blasted outward, flattening everything within twenty meters.
Windows shattered.
Cars flipped.
The ground cratered beneath all three of us.
The demon staggered back for the first time.
Smoke.
Heat.
Silence.
Then
It roared, unleashing a wave of fiery pressure so strong it sent both me and Kaito skidding backward across the shattered ground.
Kaito's boots dug trenches in the pavement as he stopped himself.
I landed on one knee, gripping my sword as embers swirled around me.
The demon stepped out of the smoke,
untouched.
Its skin glowing hotter.
Its eyes burning brighter.
This was just the beginning.
I forced air into my lungs, chest burning, vision shaking.
The demon's wounds sealed the moment they appeared, like fire stitching itself shut.
Only one weakness left.
Nonstop attacks.
No pause.
Cut the neck before it heals.