Woosh! Woosh!
The sparkles erupted from the flames, and the chunk of wood fell nearby.
"Why are you just standing there?"
In the midst of the burning room with the collapsed wall stood the Lady in Red, and in front of her was an old man with a noble vibe and gentle aura. His eyes looked towards the dagger covered with blood, which was pointed towards him.
"So, the fight can't be avoided." The principal then shifted his eyes towards Kira, who was trembling on the ground, and spoke: "Child, you have done enough. For now, just try to escape and don't interfere."
"Oh~ You think he will escape? I feel sorry for you, but I have a mission to kidnap him." The lady chuckled and drove her dagger towards Kira's shoulder.
Kira startled and, unconsciously, leaned his shoulder back as the dagger swiftly moved towards him, but before it could reach him, the principal spoke, "Freeze," and pointed his cane towards her.
"Wha-!" The lady's hand froze in mid-air, and her body trembled for a few seconds before being pushed back towards the flames behind her as the principal spoke, "[Exile]."
The Lady in Red flew back towards the fire, but she controlled herself by catching the broken wood and penetrating her dagger into the wall. Her body trembled, and her lips shivered. Her heart began to pound rapidly. It was as if some kind of mysterious force was making her body move unconsciously.
"So, this is your blessing, huh?!" Her voice cracked, and she felt that her body was slowly giving up. She then looked towards the man who was controlling her and spoke:
"You bastard! Isn't this cheating?! Hey!"
As she spoke, the principal sprang forward while pointing his cane towards the lady's torso, but she dodged and pulled her dagger out of the wall. With the momentum, she slashed the principal's cheek and, in the same heartbeat, drove her dagger towards the back of the principal. But before she could stab him, he clashed his cane against the dagger, stopped it, and shouted:
"RUN, CHILD-!"
Kira's widened eyes looked towards the principal, and then something inside him erupted once again, but this time, it was different.
It was the thoughts—or, to be specific, the words—which he heard before everything started. The words which created a long-lasting miracle in his life and changed his fate and his future.
'You will live, not for me but for him.'
The words overwhelmed him, and for a few seconds, his mind became blank. The voices, the sparks of flames, all of that vanished, and the only thing which remained was the bitter past in front of his eyes.
The collapsed building, a child crying in front of an injured man. The corpses of the guards. The smell of rotten flesh. The sword covered with blood and the horrifying eyes looking towards him with a disgusting expression.
Kira didn't know why his mind was remembering the past he wanted to forget, but he still couldn't do anything about it. He was just a weak person who was giggling and begging a devil for his life just a few seconds ago.
"Why—" As Kira looked down, a tiny droplet fell. It was his tear, and then, without him knowing, everything shattered into pieces like a mirror, and the only thing that remained was the white surroundings with black lines and a door at the center.
"Why! Why! Why! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY! WHY DID I SURVIVE?! WHY DID YOU SACRIFICE YOUR LIFE FOR A WEAK BASTARD LIKE ME?!"
Kira, with a swollen face and tearful eyes, fell down on his knees. He slammed his fist on the ground again and again, consumed by overwhelming guilt. His mind was becoming mentally unstable, and with every heartbeat, he felt as though he was going to collapse.
"Why did you— Just why!"
Kira's heart was filled with sadness, and he was getting swept into an ocean of despair. Every emotion he felt at that moment was meaningless as his mind bowed to negativity and malice.
He stopped speaking, but his body didn't. He trembled and shivered. His body grew cold. His expression became pale. His silence screamed more than his words.
Something inside him slowly started to rot. His hope, his trust, even his ability to feel warmth toward others began fading, leaving behind an emptiness he could no longer recognize.
The past followed him everywhere. Every mistake, every death, every face he remembered seemed to walk behind him like a shadow, reminding him that he could never truly escape himself.
His mind was filled with the madness of guilt. He unconsciously started to doubt himself—No, he unconsciously started to doubt his friend's decision to save him over his own life.
The people he trusted became wounds he could never close. Kira fell into the mud of betrayal, where he saw himself as a weakling unable to protect anyone, thus betraying their trust and their will.
And the cruelest part was that Kira knew it might never end. Even if the world changed, even if everyone forgot, he would remember. His punishment wasn't death—it was eternity with everything he wished he could forget.
Those seven words surrounded his broken soul:
Despair. Silence. Decay. Shadow. Madness. Betrayal. Eternity.
"Just why…?" Kira's eyes became red, and the veins around them started to become visible.
Smack! Smack!
He didn't stop slamming his fist on the ground, even though it hurt him. He started swearing at himself for being such a useless weakling, and as he doubted himself, a gray-like fog started surrounding him.
Through the gray fog or mist, many hands erupted, and they started reaching towards the fallen Kira. They reached Kira, and as they were a few inches away, the hands exploded and took the form of tentacles, which started grabbing Kira.
"[Give Up And Let Me Handl`.]" The voice echoed through the fog.
"[I Will Let You Pathetic Self Be Fre From The Misery Of Thi` World.]"
As the mighty voice spoke, Kira, who was looking down and was on his knees, became mentally unstable. His mind began to obey the mighty voice of "It," and the tentacles started binding his legs and hands, even wrapping around his body as though they were consuming him.
Time passed, and the only thing that remained was a cocoon-like object made from tentacles. The gray fog started surrounding it, and as all hope died, another voice echoed from nearby.
"Oh, they really did it. Hehehe, this explains how he was killed that day." It was a kind voice filled with the calmness of the sea and ocean.
"[You! How Did You Get Her`.]"
"Hmm… Does the owner have to take permission from the pet to leave the house?" The voice filled with kindness started provoking "It." It almost felt as if "She" was doing it on purpose.
"[.]"
"[..]"
"[…]"
"[….]"
"[…..]"
"[...]"
"[....I Will Kil` You!]"
As he spoke, the gray fog started to spread, and once again, the hands erupted from the fog and started moving towards the voice with more momentum than the previous time.
"The seal is getting weaker, huh… How pathetic."
The hands covered her, and as they were about to attack her, she spoke:
"[LET THE DESPAIR PLEASES THE LORD]"
As "She" completed her sentence, millions of white threads began to release from "Her" body, and like insects, they began to scatter. In a heartbeat, all the threads dodged the hands and started to form a giant skeletal skull.
"[NOW]"
The skull then started to form veins and blood vessels, and it felt as if a new human face was forming. But the veins and blood vessels stopped forming the moment the eyes emerged through it and looked towards "It."
"[You`]"
And in the next moment, a massive scream surrounded everything and cleared the fog alongside the owner of the voice.
★ ★ ★
"RUN, CHILD-!" The principal screamed as he blocked the swing.
"Oh!" The Lady in Red's expression changed as if her plan was going to fail, but it didn't happen, as the boy just sat there with widened pupils and a disgusted expression.
"Truly obedient dog." She smirked and leapt back.
"Child…" The principal looked towards the boy with a sad expression. He was feeling guilty for Kira's current situation and for not coming early enough to save him.
"Your will… It finally broke. I am sorry for…" As the principal was about to speak his guilt, the Lady in Red sprang forward while swinging her dagger. The principal blocked it once again with the cane and spoke:
"Child… I will save you. So, don't worry." He spoke with kindness in his heart and sympathy in his voice.
His eyes sparkled with the flames in front of him as he remembered his first meeting with Kira.
"Scatter!" As he spoke, the flames surrounding the room and inside it launched towards the lady.
"This is getting interesting." The flames approached her, and with only a few seconds in hand, she immediately covered herself with the dagger. Though her hands and legs were burned, she didn't even seem to flinch or be affected by it.
"Broke!"
The Lady in Red jumped back and slammed into the broken wall, which was covered with flames and was on the verge of falling at any moment. But the principal seized that moment, and the wall fell on her body.
"Shit!" As the wall fell, she tried to dodge it, but before she could do anything, the principal spoke with authority:
"EXILE!"
And in that moment, the principal stole her will to move, or, to be more specific, he stole her thought of dodging, which created a psychological toll on her body, and she fell to her knees. Her expression changed, and then the wall fell on her, followed by the flames that engulfed the area.
"Sigh… This is what you deserve, demoness." The principal spoke and then walked towards the fallen Kira. He approached him, looked into his eyes, and spoke:
"Child, let's go." He directed his palm towards him.
Immediately, Kira's wide pupils changed, and he looked towards the principal.
"Sir."
"Yes, child."
"…I am not Kira."
"Wha…!"
As he spoke, Kira's pupils turned black, and through his mouth, a black fog came out, surrounding the room and everything within it. The principal closed his eyes instinctively.
"You killed me." The voice hovered from behind, and the principal opened his eyes and followed it.
"How did you…?" The principal was not able to believe what he saw, or, to be specific, he was not able to believe how the lady had survived.
The principal then shifted his eyes towards the surroundings, which had not changed. The fallen wall, the flames—not a single thing was there that he remembered.
The Lady in Red looked towards him while licking her dagger and smiling widely.
"You see…"
She spoke in a cheerful tone, looking towards the old man with a clean suit, beard, and a cane.
"It was allllll~… lllll~… illusion, baby…~"