Anthony stood frozen, breath ragged, his arm shaking violently from the recoil of his last attack. Blood dripped steadily from his wounds, staining the shattered ground beneath him. His vision blurred, but his eyes remained locked forward.
I did it… he thought. I finally—
The space in front of him warped.
In the very next second, the Beetle King appeared inches away.
Anthony's eyes widened.
Invisible slashes tore through the air.
Pain exploded across his body as his muscles refused to respond. His legs buckled, his mind screamed at him to move—but he couldn't.
It's… over, Anthony admitted to himself.
Then—
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
The slashes vanished.
An old man stood calmly in front of him, katana held loosely at his side, eyes half-lidded as if nothing dangerous had just happened.
"You've grown stronger, Anthony," the man said calmly.
Anthony's breath caught.
"T-teacher…?" he whispered.
Kenji smiled.
Before the Beetle King could react, Kenji vanished.
The King swung his arm in a panic—but it passed through empty air.
Pain erupted.
One of his arms fell to the ground.
The Beetle King screamed, staggering backward, clutching the empty space where his limb had been. His eyes trembled as they locked onto the old man now standing behind him.
"W-who are you…?" the King gasped.
Kenji raised his blade.
"Just an old man."
The next slash was clean.
The Beetle King's head fell from his shoulders, his body collapsing moments later as the battlefield went still.
Kenji sheathed his sword.
Meanwhile, Jake's body twitched unnaturally.
Dark energy poured from him, warping the air itself. His posture changed—his movements no longer human. When he opened his eyes, they were no longer Jake's.
"It seems I have finally awakened," the voice said from his mouth."This body… will serve me well."
The beetle standing before him shook violently, its legs barely holding it upright.
"H-hey," the devil said, tilting its head. "Where are the Lights of Justice?"
"O-outside… city…" the beetle stammered.
The devil smiled.
Adrian's mind was empty.
No fear.No hesitation.Only rage.
He vanished.
One moment the commander beetle was scanning the streets—the next, a blur appeared behind it. A violent jerk, a sickening crack, and the beetle collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
The second commander barely had time to react.
Adrian slammed into it with raw force, driving it through a wall. Before it could recover, Adrian twisted, striking with brutal precision—bone snapped, and the beetle fell limp.
The last commander stumbled backward, terror flooding its face.
"Y-you monster—"
Adrian stepped forward.
One strike.
Silence.
Adrian stood alone among the bodies, breathing heavily, his hands shaking—not from exhaustion, but from barely restrained fury.
Adrian collapsed onto the ground, his body hitting the cracked pavement with a dull thud. The rage that had consumed him moments ago vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving behind nothing but exhaustion. His hands trembled, his breathing uneven, and his vision slowly blurred as the world around him began to fade.
Meanwhile, the presence inside Jake's body moved at terrifying speed. It wasn't running or flying—it was simply crossing distances in the blink of an eye, drawn toward the overwhelming aura and explosions that filled the battlefield. Within moments, it arrived at the ruined city, where the corpse of the beetle king lay on the ground and two men stood nearby, their presence alone distorting the air around them.
Kenji and Anthony turned the moment they felt the unfamiliar aura.
"Jake…?" Kenji muttered, his eyes narrowing. But his expression quickly hardened. "No. That's not him. Who are you? Why do you look like Jake?"
The devil smiled, its expression calm and unnatural. "I am a devil," it replied proudly. "This mortal body happened to be convenient, so I took it. And no—I have no intention of giving it back."
The air grew heavy.
Kenji's presence shifted instantly. In the next moment, he vanished and reappeared behind the devil, his wooden katana already in motion. A sharp slash tore through the devil's back, blood scattering across the ground, but Kenji didn't relax. He watched closely as the wound twisted, regenerated, and closed within seconds, as if it had never existed.
"So… regeneration," Kenji murmured.
The devil turned slowly, its eyes glowing faintly. "Interesting," it said.
Before Kenji could move again, the devil disappeared and reappeared right in front of him, its hand thrust forward, aiming straight for his stomach. But before the attack could land, the devil's body was violently slammed into the ground. The earth shattered beneath the impact as Anthony stood there, his fist still extended, his expression serious.
"You're not fighting him alone," Anthony said quietly.
Dust rose into the air, and for a moment it seemed as though the devil had finally been crushed. But cracks formed in the ground, and a hand emerged, followed by another. The devil slowly stood up again, its body completely restored once more. It brushed dust off its clothes as if it had merely fallen down, then looked at Kenji and Anthony with a widening smile.
"Humans…" it said softly, its voice dropping into something far darker. "Time to die."