The Crowd Advances
The first stone flew, passing just inches from Yuzuki's head. He raised his sword to intimidate the attackers, but the crowd seemed unfazed.
— "Akari, Yuzuki," Gotier said, stepping back toward a side street. "We need to get out of here now."
— "What about them?" Yuzuki asked, gesturing toward the crowd.
— "We can't save those who don't want to be saved," Gotier replied bitterly.
Akari cast one last glance at the people before following the two. But something inside her seemed to pulse. A strange feeling overtook her body — heat and an energy she didn't recognize.
"It's like... something trying to break free," she thought, but pushed the feeling aside as she ran.
After taking refuge in an abandoned house on the outskirts of the city, the group finally had a moment to breathe. Akari, however, was restless, pacing back and forth.
— "I can't get their faces out of my head," she said, her voice trembling. "They hated us. They'd rather die being sacrificed."
— "That's what desperation does," Gotier replied, sitting in a corner, his expression grim. "I've seen it before. People manipulated by the promise of redemption. I used to be like Gabriel."
Yuzuki, who was sharpening his sword, lifted his gaze.
— "What do you mean?"
Gotier sighed, looking at the cross in his hands.
— "Before I lost my family, I blindly believed in the Church. I thought the end justified the means. If we had to sacrifice a few to save many, so be it. But it was that same logic that took everything from me."
The silence hung in the air until Akari spoke, her voice softer.
— "Then why do you still carry that with you?"
— "Because, despite everything, faith isn't the problem," Gotier answered, lifting the cross. "The problem is who manipulates it."
Akari felt a chill run down her spine. The energy inside her pulsed again, and this time, Yuzuki noticed.
— "Akari, are you okay?" he asked, approaching her.
She nodded, but her breath was heavy.
— "I don't know. There's something... something wrong with me."
Gotier studied her carefully, his eyes narrowing.
— "It's your kugutsu, isn't it?"
Akari froze, staring at him.
— "How do you know that?"
— "I smelled it. The same scent I smelled in Gabriel. But with you, it's different. It's... purer."
— "What if I'm becoming something like him?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Gotier shook his head.
— "It's not the power that defines who you are, Akari. It's how you use it."
Yuzuki placed a hand on her shoulder.
— "Whatever it is, we won't let it consume you. We're in this together."
The Escape from Doom
As the city awoke to the absence of Gabriel, the trio knew their time was running out. The crowd would soon realize where they were, and they needed to leave before they were surrounded again.
— "There's a path behind this house that leads to the forest," Gotier said, pointing to a partially hidden wooden door. "It won't be easy, but it's our only chance."
Before they left, Akari looked out the window at the streets of Doom. She saw people wandering aimlessly, their eyes full of fear and rage. A part of her wanted to do something, but another knew it was too late.
— "They'll never forgive us," she murmured.
— "Maybe not," Gotier replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But sometimes, doing the right thing means bearing the weight of being hated."
With that, they disappeared into the darkness of the forest, leaving behind the city of Doom and its false hopes.
But as they ran, Akari felt the pulse inside her again, stronger than ever, like a dark promise that her journey was just beginning.
The Tale of the Priest
The night was calm, interrupted only by the sound of the river flowing near their camp. The sky, speckled with stars, offered a brief relief from the darkness surrounding the souls present. Gotier, Akari, and Yuzuki sat around a campfire. The flames cast dancing shadows on their tired faces, while Mao remained silent inside Yuzuki's mind, watching and waiting.
Gotier, sitting upright despite the heavy weight of his history, held the old crucifix in his hands. He looked into the fire, as if searching for answers in the flames, before beginning to speak.
"I was once a man of faith... a priest dedicated to the Church of the Holy Faith. I believed in purpose, love, and redemption. But all of that was ripped away from me when they discovered something I could never deny: my family." His voice was laden with pain, each word a blow to himself.
Yuzuki and Akari exchanged glances, surprised by the revelation.
"I had a wife and a daughter. They were my light, my refuge. But to the Church, a priest cannot be selfish. They took them from me... brutally and definitively." He swallowed, his eyes glistening with tears he refused to shed.
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the crackle of burning wood. Finally, Akari asked, her voice soft: "And what did you do after that?"
Gotier looked at her, his expression hardening. "I burned my faith along with the ideals of the Church. I'm not seeking redemption. I only seek revenge."
Inside Yuzuki's mind, Mao began to whisper, his voice seductive and full of poison. "Are you really going to trust him, Yuzuki? A man consumed by revenge, who could very well betray you when it suits his interests?"
Yuzuki frowned, trying to ignore Mao's influence, but the demon persisted.
"He's weak. He talks about justice, but deep down, he's like everyone else. You don't need him, Yuzuki. He'll just drag you into his darkness."
Yuzuki clenched his fists, fighting against the thoughts Mao planted. He looked at Gotier, trying to see beyond the demon's words. Was there truth in what Gotier said? Or was Mao right?
Akari, sensing the tension in Yuzuki, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yuzuki, are you okay?"
He took a deep breath, nodding. "Yeah, just... thinking."
Gotier continued, seemingly unaware of the internal conflict within Yuzuki. "I know Mr. Kitty is involved. He's the key to my revenge and perhaps to the answers we all seek. Whether you help me or not, I will follow my path."
Yuzuki finally spoke, his voice firm. "We're in this together. But we need to stay vigilant. We can't afford to trust blindly."
Mao laughed, a low, cruel sound only Yuzuki could hear. "Good choice, Yuzuki. Always vigilant. Never trust completely. Not even her."
Yuzuki shot a quick glance at Akari but pushed the thought away, determined not to let Mao win. The internal struggle continued, even as the campfire's flame illuminated the faces of the three unlikely allies. They were united, but the seeds of doubt had already been planted.
Yuzuki felt the weight of exhaustion taking over his body as the silence of the camp settled in. The firelight danced in unsettling shadows, casting ghostly figures on the trees around them. Yet, something deeper than physical weariness troubled him — the growing sensation that he was not alone in his mind.
The darkness seemed thicker that night. As if the very sky was breathing with difficulty.
In the dense silence of the camp, Mao whispered like poison dripping into Yuzuki's ears:
"This night will be different, Yuzuki...
You gave me space, and now, I will take control.
I will bring chaos.
I will show that I am more than words."
Yuzuki tried to resist, clinging to himself. But his consciousness slipped like blood through the hands of a dying man.
Everything went dark.
When he opened his eyes... they were no longer his.
His pupils had contracted, tinted with a fiery crimson red, and a macabre smile twisted his lips — a smile that belonged to no human.
The wind ceased.
Even the river fell silent, as if nature itself was holding its breath.
Mao was now breathing.
He turned.
There she was. Akari. Sleeping. Innocent. Vulnerable.
Like a hungry predator, Mao slid over to her.
His fingers closed slowly, with the precision of someone savoring every second.
There was no rush. It was delight. It was the peak of domination.
"Shhh..."
"Let's see who screams the loudest."
His hands on her neck tightened. And she woke up in hell.
The air stopped coming. Her eyes watered. Her throat gasped like a trapped animal.
But Mao... smiled.
That smile. Sick. Sadistic. Proud.
"So fragile... so warm... slips easily..."
Akari's moans were muffled by her own panic.
The sound of her nails scraping against his skin.
Her legs thrashing, useless.
He groaned in pleasure. Low. Contained. Like a cruel lover.
"Fight, my flower... I want to feel your soul escape..."
Akari's eyes rolled back.
She was on the edge...
Until — CRACK!
Gotier emerged like the fury of a just god.
A piece of wood —
and the dull impact against Yuzuki's skull echoed like the end of a nightmare.
Mao fell. Rigid. The smile shattered like cracking glass.
The body slumped, the eyes dimming in a final flash of interrupted desire.
Silence returned.
But it wasn't peace. It was trauma.
Akari coughed, gasping, her eyes wide like someone who had seen their own end.
She placed her hands on her neck, feeling the heat of the touch that almost killed her.
— "It wasn't him..."
The voice that came out of her was almost a broken whisper.
Gotier, panting, trembling, looked at Yuzuki's body — or what remained of him that night — and whispered:
"We need to act. Or we'll lose him. Forever."
And there, in the darkness of Yuzuki's mind, Mao was still laughing.
The tension remained palpable as the night wore on, the shadows around them seeming even more threatening. And even unconscious, Yuzuki still seemed trapped in a nightmare no one knew how to face.
Akari swallowed hard, her eyes fixed on the flame of the fire, which danced hypnotically, as if trying to distract her from what she was about to reveal. The night was cold, but the warmth of the fire seemed not enough to shake the weight of the words she held inside. Gotier, alert, waited, knowing something important was about to be said. Something that would change everything.