The cold night wind pierced my bones, its gusts sweeping through my growing hair. The darkness of night appeared bright—the light of the full moon made it so. The moon looked beautiful in shape.
I stood on the rooftop, dressed only in a plain black t-shirt and gray pants. My eyes scanned the surroundings, watching carefully. Not finding what I was looking for, I leapt from one rooftop to another, then jumped high into the sky, with the full moon glowing perfectly behind me.
I once again scanned the area, lurking like a predator stalking its prey. It didn't take long before I found a pack of dogs—but they didn't look like ordinary dogs. They were three times larger than normal, their skin red like blazing fire, their faces stripped of flesh, revealing sharp, enormous fangs. At the end of their tails burned a fierce flame. They wandered the empty city streets, searching for prey.
I dropped down to the ground, landing perfectly, and just as my feet touched the earth, I leapt again from rooftop to rooftop, moving swiftly toward the hellhounds.
It didn't take long for me to stand before them. They seemed surprised by my presence. Seeing their shock, I simply gave a slight smirk.
"Hey… My name's Bili! I don't know if you understand what I'm saying, but I won't let you get what you came for!"
I introduced myself, while also trying to provoke them—and jackpot. They were provoked. They began growling furiously.
"I don't know exactly what you want… well, actually I do—and that's exactly why I won't let you have it. Low-class demons!"
I added a little pressure to the end of my sentence. Not only did they growl louder, they started barking violently, saliva dripping from their mouths and hitting the ground—burning it and releasing smoke. Their saliva was red—lava.
Two of them charged at me, flashing their long, razor-sharp fangs. They attacked in turns, trying to bite and claw me with deadly accuracy. I dodged skillfully.
Meanwhile, the other three fired lava balls the size of volleyballs from their mouths from a distance. I activated my Death Eyes and channeled death energy—blackish-red—into both my palms. I slashed through the lava balls as though wielding a sharp blade. They split easily, faded, and disappeared.
Then, in a flash, I slashed the two demons that kept attacking me up close. Their bodies were torn into pieces, turned into dust, and vanished. The death energy flowed into me as a result of killing them.
I withdrew the death energy from my palms and pulled a mini knife from my back pocket. I prepared to throw it at one of the demons. I infused the knife with death energy. A reddish-black aura enveloped the blade. A smirk curled on my lips.
"Time to rack up some points!!"
I threw the mini knife—thud—it struck one demon right in the forehead. Its body turned to dust and vanished. The remaining two were shocked and enraged. I hurled another mini knife and struck one of them down, leaving only one left.
Its expression changed—from anger to fear. It whimpered like a squeaking rat. The demon turned its back, ready to flee. But I wouldn't let it.
I dashed at lightning speed and appeared in front of it. I smiled menacingly.
"Where do you think you're going, mutt!?"
My hand, cloaked in death energy, sliced lightly across its neck. Its head fell and rolled, black liquid pouring from the stump. Blood. Not long after, the body turned to dust and vanished.
I exhaled deeply and dusted off my clothes. That's when I felt a presence. More than one—two, three, four. I quickly retreated and hid behind a tree, concealing my aura.
They stood around the battleground, examining it. There were four of them. All wore black clothing with an anemone flower logo on their left sleeves, and masks covering half their faces.
They were talking. I closed my eyes, sharpening my hearing to listen in.
"We're late!"
"…Yeah, clearly there was a battle here."
"You think… the one who did this is the same person who defeated the demons at the other sites?"
"Most likely. This person always leaves signs of battle, but the demons he kills vanish without a trace."
"...So where do you think the demon corpses go?"
"What if he takes them?"
"…For what purpose?"
"Maybe some kind of experiment."
"Forget the demon corpses—if this person has good intentions, we recruit him. If not… you know what that means, right!?"
They all nodded in agreement.
"In that case… spread out."
They vanished from my sight in an instant. I remained silent, lost in thought. ADITIYA—a secretive demon-hunting organization that constantly gets in my way.
★★★★★
"Uaaahhh…" I yawned wide, just waking up. The long hand of the clock pointed at 10, the short one at 7. I was still a bit sleepy from staying up last night.
I got out of bed and went to the bathroom, splashing water from the sink onto my face. Looking into the mirror, I saw my hair had grown long—almost to my shoulders. My face and eyes resembled my mother's, with a mole under my left lip and another under my right eye. With my pale, smooth skin, I thought… if my hair grows any longer, people might mistake me for a girl.
After drying off with a towel and tying my hair back, I walked toward the living room sofa. On the way, I passed several maids working. When they saw me, they greeted me politely.
I sat on the sofa and turned on the flat-screen TV in front of me. I picked up a small bell on the table and rang it. It didn't take long for the maids to arrive with a variety of dishes.
In a blink, the table was full of food. A chef stood beside me, describing each dish.
"For breakfast today, I've prepared coconut rice with side dishes—chicken egg, fried tempeh, cucumber slices—and a glass of milk. I've also prepared fruit like bananas, apples, grapes, and more."
I waved my hand to dismiss them. The chef nodded and left with the other staff, letting me enjoy the food in peace. But before I ate, I took out my phone and called someone. I needed to deal with last night's incident.
"Hello, Aldo—" before I could finish, he cut me off.
"Greet me properly first, Boss!"
I sighed.
"Assalamualaikum."
"Waalaikumsalam. So, what's up? Calling this early?"
"I need your help, Do." I took an apple and bit into it.
"What kind of help?"
"They came back."
"You mean… the people in black?"
"Yes. I want you to dig up info on them. I've let them be because they kill demons, but they're starting to annoy me. Their presence is interfering with my movements."
"Info on them, huh?"
"Exactly."
What I knew about ADITIYA was limited—it was a government-established organization tasked with hunting demons. That's why I asked Aldo to investigate. Sure, I could've done it myself—but I was too lazy and preferred delegating it.
Either my ears were playing tricks or Aldo was laughing out loud on the other end.
"What is it, Do?"
"Nothing. Actually, I've already been researching them for a few days."
"So what did you find?"
"Well, after scouring various sites, forums, even hacking into government systems—I found something. ADITIYA is indeed a global government organization. Think of them like soldiers—but while soldiers fight humans, ADITIYA fights demons that prey on people. I found a lot, but I'll just share what I think is important."
"What is it?"
"In three days, they're holding a recruitment test for new members."
[Recruitment test?]
"Do, where will the test take place?"
"On Karimun Jawa Island."
Hearing that, I paused to think.
[Becoming part of ADITIYA will impact my life… but if I ever face something I can't handle alone, being a member will help. More than that, I'll gain access to their classified knowledge—which will benefit me.]
[An amateur fugitive hides in the wild. An experienced one hides in the city. A master fugitive hides within the law itself.]
[Getting an ADITIYA identity might grant me the best cover and protection.]
It's decided.
"Aldo, register me for the test. I'm infiltrating their base."
"If that's what you wish, I'll make it happen."
"Good. Call me when it's done. Assalamualaikum."
"Got it. Waalaikumsalam."
I hung up. Not long after, Aldo messaged me: 'Done'. Seeing that, I burst into laughter.
"Aldo, Aldo… your skills are terrifying. Battler, prep the helicopter—we're headed to Karimun Jawa Island!"
From afar, the servant I summoned answered loudly:
"YES, YOUNG MASTER!!"
Aldo is the smartest university student I've ever met. He's three years older than me and currently attends one of Indonesia's top universities.
I first met him when I was ten—five years ago. He was cornered, attacked by dozens of demon wolves. I helped him fight them off, and to my surprise, he had special powers. He was exactly the person I'd been searching for. Since then, we've been close friends.
To Be Continued...