The weeks passed, and they still didn't have any clues about Naoki. This was worrying Akari. She had the feeling that he intended to fight to the death, but she didn't know where he would attack.
One day, Akari woke up early with a bad feeling. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what it was. She called home, and her mother and brother were fine. She had also contacted Shunji, and he was safe, too. Suzume was sleeping peacefully beside her. Akari started pacing around the room, wondering what she had overlooked.
Suzume was awakened by the noise and saw her pacing restlessly. She asked her.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Akari felt bad for waking her up, but she couldn't help but say.
"I have a bad feeling, but everyone is okay. I don't know what to do." Suzume looked at her and said.
"Well, if you don't feel safe, call back as many times as necessary until you're sure everyone is really okay." Akari thanked her; she was so nervous that she had forgotten that simple but effective method.
Akari called her family again; they were fine. But when she tried to contact Shunji again, he didn't answer. Akari tried three times before she became convinced that something was wrong with him.
Akari swore and ran out of the dormitory with the suitcase containing her weapons in her hand. Without stopping, she ran as fast as she could to the mountain.
And then she found the reason for her bad feeling: the mountain barrier had been destroyed. The houses and trees of the demons who lived there were burning, and there was no one on the mountain. Akari's face paled as she detected traces of Shunji's energy. Akari bit her tongue, trying to calm herself.
It hadn't been long since the attack. Shunji had probably noticed it and gone to help them, since they were in danger. The situation was critical, so he didn't have time to warn her, but that didn't lessen Akari's fury. Since the situation was critical, there was no time for her to calm down either.
Akari put up a barrier to stop the fire from spreading and murmured with bloodshot eyes.
"First layer of the seal, open."
**
Just as Akari had imagined, the situation was dangerous. Naoki had forced his way in and taken all the mountain's inhabitants. Through his connection to the barrier, Shunji immediately sensed the attack, but Naoki was well-prepared. Having lived there for so long, he knew the weak points, so even though the barrier had been reinforced, he was able to break through quickly and take everyone with him in the blink of an eye.
Of course, the demons weren't going to stand idly by, but Naoki was stronger than all of them and had prepared traps to seal their powers, leaving them defenseless. Furthermore, he was in a frenzied state and didn't care about the wounds on his body. Takeshi suffered the most in the fight, as Naoki seemed to want to kill him from the beginning.
If it weren't for his parents protecting him, he wouldn't be alive. Thinking of his parents, Takeshi furrowed his brow. Naoki had taken them to a separate cell and Takeshi was nervous that Naoki might kill them, although for some reason, he hadn't done it yet.
"Takeshi, how do you feel? Is the cell comfortable?" Suddenly, Naoki appeared and said.
Takeshi remained silent.
"Huh? The prince doesn't want to answer? I suppose this place isn't suitable for someone like you? eh?!" Naoki said before he kicked Takeshi hard in the jaw, followed by more blows all over his body. Takeshi felt like his world was spinning and curled up on the ground in pain, trying to avoid the blows as much as possible.
When Naoki finally stopped hitting him, Takeshi coughed and asked.
"Why do you hate me so much?" He was curious because he had never done anything to Naoki; instead, he had always treated him like his best friend, opening his heart to him from the beginning. He didn't understand why.
Naoki burst out laughing and glared at him with hatred in his eyes before saying.
"Because I hate you, I've always hated you. Your hypocritical behavior towards me—you felt superior, didn't you? Offering me your so-called friendship was like throwing food to a stray dog. You feel like a proud savior listening to people's praise for getting together with trash like me, huh?! Clearly, we're equal, so why can you get everyone's affection and approval, while I have to wallow in the mud and be grateful for the crumbs of affection they give me! I've tried so hard and done so many things. Why can't I get that affection and love? when you have it without doing anything!"
Takeshi listened to him vent, and although it was true that he felt sorry for him, he never treated him from a position of superiority. He always saw him as his friend, but everything he did only served to make Naoki hate him even more. Takeshi also knew that he wasn't very good at anything. He was less intelligent than Naoki. He didn't do well in human studies, nor was he any better at studying the use of demonic powers, even though he was born with more power than Naoki. He knew this better than anyone. But he never felt bad because he had his parents who loved and supported him, even if he was useless. That was what Naoki hated most about him: the love his family gave him. It was something he always wanted but never received.
With this in mind, although she couldn't forgive Naoki's betrayal, it wasn't as if she couldn't understand his motives, so she simply told him, "You can do whatever you want with me, but don't hurt my parents."
Naoki gave a mocking smile and kicked him in the face multiple times before spitting at him, saying.
"Even on the brink of death, you don't abandon that sanctimonious and moralistic attitude. Let's see how long you can maintain it." Naoki closed the door, and the cell fell silent. Takeshi felt the pain fill his mind. He just hoped that his brother and sister-in-law would come soon to save them all. Takeshi didn't know if he could hold on any longer.