The forest was too quiet.
A dead silence stretched across the clearing, broken only by the shallow, ragged breathing of a boy on the verge of collapse.
Arin's body shuddered on its own, muscles twitching—barely alive, barely conscious. His arms dangled like snapped ropes, blood streaming down to the cracked earth beneath him. His knees threatened to fold completely.
The devil stood before him—composed, confident, arms casually crossed behind his back like a teacher awaiting a student's final failing attempt.
"Heh," the horned creature sneered with a cocked grin. "Still standing? Or are you just too stubborn to admit how weak you are?"
Arin didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Didn't blink.
And that was the first moment—just for a split second—that the devil's eyelid twitched.
Because something in that silence felt… wrong.
No fear. No pain. Just… emptiness.
A soft wind brushed past them. Leaves shifted. And within Arin, something stirred again—not like before. Not a scream. Not a plea for survival.
A slow-burning spark. Silent. Cold.
"Stand up…" Kalkin's voice echoed in his skull with a languid amusement.
"Show me something interesting."
Arin's fingers curled into the dirt like claws. His cracked lips parted.
The devil raised a brow as the boy began to stand—not fast, not dramatically—but with a sickening, dragging steadiness, like a puppet being lifted by invisible strings.
"…What are you doing?" the devil muttered.
Arin didn't answer.
But something answered for him.
A pulse. Dark. Heavy. Almost metallic. It throbbed under his skin like a second heartbeat.
The devil stepped forward, annoyed now. "Don't try bluffing. You're already—"
He didn't finish.
Because Arin finally raised his head.
His Eyes were darker now—like storm clouds swallowing the blue. Veins crawled near the edges. His breathing was still ragged… but calmer now. Too calm.
"You…" the devil whispered, frowning, suddenly unsure. "What changed?"
Nothing.
Everything.
Arin didn't roar. Didn't shout. Didn't threaten.
He simply moved.
A blur.
A low step. A pivot. Fist halfway drawn back.
The devil blocked it with ease. "Predictable."
But his smirk faltered.
Crack.
The devil's forearm trembled. That punch… wasn't heavy, yet it shook something inside him.
"…Huh?" he muttered, eyes narrowing.
Arin stood still again, head lowered, breathing steadying unnaturally.
Then he struck again.
And again.
And again.
His movements were sloppy—yet they carried a brutal, primal rhythm. Every blow felt like an echo from something far older, far crueler.
The devil began deflecting them… then blocking them… then bracing against them.
Arin's breathing deepened. Not frantic—but deliberate. Like breathing not as a man, but as a predator falling into natural instinct.
Kalkin's whisper slithered like venom: "Good… now stop thinking."
Something shifted.
Arin didn't hesitate anymore. There was no struggle left in his face.
Just focus.
He vanished and reappeared with a downward swing. The devil lifted a knee to block—
BOOM.
A crack exploded through the forest floor as the devil staggered back a single step.
A single step.
But enough to make his eyes widen slightly.
"The hell…?" he muttered, gripping his arm. A dull ache lingered.
He looked up—
—and Arin was smiling.
Not wide.
Not crazed.
Just slightly.
A quiet, cold grin that didn't match the brutal shaking of his bloodied form.
That's when the devil felt it.
A twisted sensation creeping across his skin.
Like he wasn't fighting a person anymore.
But something that enjoyed this.
A breeze passed again.
Vayushri covered her mouth in fear, tears forming. Perin trembled, low growls forming.
Arin slowly tilted his head, eyes unfocused yet locked on the devil.
"…Dance for me," Kalkin whispered through him.
The devil scoffed, stepping back into stance. "So that's it? You've gone insane—"
Arin lunged.
Faster. Harder. No hesitation. Each strike now sharper. Wilder. His footwork sloppy but fueled by raw killing intent.
The devil blocked, elbowed, countered—
But Arin kept moving.
Not retreating. Not calculating.
Relentless.
The first sign of strain appeared in the devil's jaw as he clenched his teeth.
"What… ARE you?"
Arin's grin widened.
A small breath escaped him.
Not quite a laugh.
Not yet.
But… close.
The devil's grin finally cracked.
Arin didn't slow down. His fists hammered forward with wild persistence, each strike louder, heavier, more savage than the last. The devil blocked, parried, countered—yet each blow dug deeper into him. What had been a game turned into a storm spiraling beyond his control.
"What—are you?!" the devil snarled, stepping back as Arin's eyes darkened further, his grin stretching unnaturally.
Arin didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His consciousness spiraled somewhere between reality and a battlefield long forgotten.
Blood… screams… fire… swords clashing against metal and bone… Kalkin walking through corpses with a smile…
In Arin's ears, a voice laughed delightfully—not loud, not manic, but amused like a spectator enjoying a tragedy.
"Getting interesting now… keep going."
Arin's fist shot forward again. The devil caught it—barely.
"Heh… you've got spirit, boy," the devil hissed. "But spirit won't save you—"
Crunch.
His expression twisted in confusion… then pain.
Arin's other fist crashed into the devil's gut with such insane force that blood exploded from the creature's mouth. The devil stumbled back.
"…Im…possible…"
He raised his arm to block the next hit—too late.
Arin had already grabbed him by the face and slammed him into the ground so hard that the earth cracked beneath them. Leaves burst into the air. Vayushri's breath hitched. Perin whimpered.
The devil roared and tried to retaliate, black claws slashing at Arin—
Arin took the hit.
Didn't even flinch.
Blood slashed across his chest but he didn't react. Instead, he laughed.
It was small at first—just a breathy chuckle.
"Hah…"
Then it grew.
"Hahaha…"
Then louder.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
The devil's eyes widened.
"That… laugh… impossible… that's… that's HIS—"
Arin vanished and reappeared at the devil's side, slamming his knee into the creature's ribs.
Crack.
"GGRAAAH!"
The devil howled as multiple ribs shattered. Arin followed by grabbing one of the broken horns and using it as leverage to SLAM the devil's head into the dirt again. Over. And over. And over.
THUD THUD THUD! THUD! THUD!
Blood spattered across Arin's face.
The devil roared, swinging wildly—but Arin dodged every strike with terrifying ease now, instinct-driven. Then he leapt onto the devil's torso, pinning him down and punching with inhuman speed.
Flesh tore. Bone cracked. The devil's expression shifted from rage… to fear… to despair.
"STOP—! STO—AHHHHH!!!"
Arin screamed as he punched, each hit more savage, more feral than the last.
When the devil tried to speak again, Arin grabbed the broken horn.
And shoved it straight through the creature's chest.
"GRAAAAHHH!!"
The devil's eyes bulged as black blood gushed out. He reached weakly for Arin's neck… then froze.
Because Arin was still smiling.
He twisted the horn viciously.
Bones shattered.
The devil went limp.
Dead.
But Arin didn't stop.
He threw away the horn and continued punching the already dead body—his fists caving in ribs, shattering the chest into pulp.
"Arin, STOP!" Vayushri cried, but her voice barely reached him.
Perin barked desperately, running forward—but Arin didn't hear.
He was elsewhere.
A battlefield. Corpses. Kalkin laughing. Blood. Flames.
"More. MORE! Show me more."
His fist rose again—
Vayushri launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around him from behind.
"STOP! HE'S DEAD!"
Arin didn't stop.
She screamed as his elbow jerked back and slammed into her ribs, sending her falling aside, coughing blood.
The sight barely registered to him.
He raised his hand again.
Perin acted.
In a desperate leap, the little creature bit Arin's forearm, injecting a pulse of spiritual resistance straight through his bloodstream.
FLASH.
Silence.
Arin's eyes widened.
His fist hovered over the devil's caved-in skull.
Blood everywhere.
Breathing heavy.
His shoulders trembled.
The battlefield image flickered… and shattered.
He looked down at his own hands, dripping with blood.
"…Wh…at…"
He turned slightly.
Vayushri was on the ground, weakly healing herself but mostly pouring what life force she had left into mending Arin's open wounds. Her breathing was shallow, heartbeat fading.
She smiled weakly, tears streaming. "You… didn't die… thank god…"
Then she collapsed forward onto him, consciousness slipping.
Arin stared.
Hands shaking.
And then—
"…Vayushri…"
Her name left his lips in a broken whisper.
He didn't realize he was crying until he felt tears hit his bloody knuckles.
Perin whimpered beside him.
The forest was silent.
Only Arin's trembling voice echoed.
"…Vayushri…"
The sun dipped below the horizon.
And the Chapter ended on blood, broken breath…
…And a name.