The monks led Kanji through the forest, moving carefully but quickly.
Master Ryou walked ahead, beads glowing faintly in his hand. Rin and Seiji guarded the boy on both sides, watching the shadows nervously.
Kanji walked silently, barefoot, his silver hair brushing his cheeks.
He didn't speak.
He didn't cry.
He only stared at the ground, as if afraid the world itself might reject him.
"Master… what is he exactly?" Rin whispered.
Ryou glanced at Kanji.
"A child born of two worlds. Demon blood and wizard blood do not mix. They fight inside him."
Kanji heard the words.
But he said nothing.
Then—
A deep vibration trembled through the earth.
Kanji stopped walking.
Ryou's eyes widened. "Did you feel that?"
"No," Seiji said. "It felt like… a heartbeat."
Another pulse shook the ground.
Kanji clutched his chest.
Something inside him answered the vibration.
Something old.
Something powerful.
"Master…" he whispered for the first time, "it's calling me."
Before Ryou could respond—
A roar echoed across the forest.
The trees shuddered. Leaves fell in a storm of green. A dark wind swept the clearing, carrying the scent of sulfur and blood.
From the shadows stepped a creature—
A massive demon hound with burning red eyes and smoke rising from its jaws.
"A Hell Tracker!" Rin gasped. "It crossed realms!"
The demon growled, sniffing the air, and its gaze locked onto Kanji.
"It's after him," Seiji said, pulling out a prayer charm.
The hound lunged.
Ryou shoved Kanji behind him and slammed his staff into the ground.
A barrier of white light flashed upward—
The demon crashed into it, sparks exploding.
"Rin! Seiji! Hold the barrier!" Ryou shouted.
The monks rushed to reinforce the shield, their faces strained with effort.
The demon hound snarled, smashing again and again. Cracks spread across the barrier like spiderwebs.
Kanji trembled.
Power surged inside him—hot, burning, uncontrollable.
His fingers tingled with dark red sparks.
"No…" Kanji whispered. "Not again…"
Ryou noticed. "Kanji! Calm your energy—"
But before he finished—
A blinding beam of red light shot from Kanji's hands.
It blew the demon hound across the clearing.
The monster skidded, crashed into a tree, and dissolved into shadowy ash.
The forest fell silent.
Ryou turned to Kanji, shocked.
"That power… you weren't taught that. You instinctively used demon magic."
Kanji hugged his arms tightly.
"I-I didn't mean to… I can't control it…"
But before the monks could comfort him—
A cold, heavy presence filled the air.
A crack appeared in the space before them, like reality splitting apart.
Through it, a monstrous voice whispered:
"Found you…"
Kanji's body froze.
On the other side of the crack, glowing red eyes stared at him through the darkness.
The monks stepped in front of Kanji, weapons drawn.
Ryou whispered, "The brother… the betrayer… he already knows."
The crack closed slowly, the eyes fading.
But the message was clear.
Kanji was marked.
And far away in the demon realm…
A giant black sword—taller than Kanji, pulsing with ancient hatred—lifted slightly from the ground as if awakening.
The earth beneath it cracked.
Chains rattled.
The sword whispered:
"My master lives."
---