As you walk through the cluttered streets of a city, countless stories that will never be read lay dormant as they pass you.

  It is easy to forget that in the world of ignorance, you are not alone.

  A monster...

  That was the only word that came to Todd’s mind as he faced the omnipotent presence within the human vessel. Instinctively, his mind recognized that he was no longer looking at a human as he once had. Although Sen had arrived with an irresistible aura of power and dominance, something shifted in the atmosphere when Hono took the captive’s ear with her sword. What had once been simple fear gradually transformed into bitter despair.

  Todd had never felt this way in his life… or perhaps he had, to some extent—when his sister was diagnosed with cancer. But this time was different.

  The despair he had felt then originated from his grief—his inability to help the one he loved.

  But now, the despair that surged through every fiber of his being stemmed from a realization:

  He was about to die.

  And that realization was more potent than watching his sister’s life slowly dwindle away. No matter how disgusting and sobering it was… Todd finally understood how much he valued his own life. He didn’t know whether to call it selfishness or greed—that he wanted to keep living.

  Does that make me a bad person? Is it wrong to care about my own life more than others? he asked himself silently. No matter how much I try to think about my family, they keep getting drowned out by the urge to move my legs and run. Run as fast as I can.

  And yet he couldn’t do that.

  None of the more than two dozen people could move except for Ze. They were all frozen in fear. Todd felt himself growing weaker, as if the energy in his body was being drained away by a syringe, little by little—droplet after droplet.

  Then, amidst the hopeless attempts to move his fear-frozen legs… the first victim fell.

  Thud…

  Splat…

  Sen released the blood that clung to his sword with a brief open-air slash and stared at the lifeless, decapitated head, which sat in a pool of scarlet fluid. Sen’s attack had been so precise and swift that the hoodie the contestant wore had been sliced clean along with their head, even though the tracksuit had once been boasted by the academy for having innate durability against powerful attacks.

  Unfortunately, it didn’t stand a chance against Sen… or at least, not against the monster that rested inside of him.

  Sen stared at the crowd of stiff contestants—his glowing blue eyes piercing their ability to move and fight. Even though he had just killed someone in front of them, they didn’t run away or even scream in horror. The only thing they were capable of was watching—watching how he would slaughter every single person.

  One by one.

  The monster inside of him didn’t choose to run, as if wanting to appreciate the beautiful sensation of fear coming from each person; he simply walked down the lines of frozen people, his sword slashing across their necks in one swift motion while their heads dropped without even a whimper of pain.

  The only indication that he was committing an atrocious act was the frozen expressions on the contestants' faces.

  A woman no older than Sen, with long brunette hair spilling from the sides of her hoodie, had her eyes wide open, trembling, and slowly turning red from her inability to blink.

  Light blue lines of fear traveled from the young girl and found their way to his chest, as if it were a tube transporting liquids. Sen’s mouth widened broadly as the monster inside relished the energy being extracted from the human. Then the lines eventually stopped… and the brunette girl’s eyes turned dull—Lifeless.

  As the pleasure faded, Sen’s eerie smile gradually relaxed, replaced by a curled lip reminiscent of a monster's snarl. Then—as fast as light itself, although there wasn’t much of it—the girl’s head was sliced clean from her body, toppling and rolling on the dirt.

  The terrified expression in her last moments still remained as she faced the torrent of rain with lifeless eyes.

  Next was a man around twenty-five. The monster in human flesh repeated the process with cold and inhuman efficiency. It wasn’t indifferent to the actions being committed—no—it was aware… and enjoyed every single moment of them.

  Consume… slice… thud.

  Consume… slice… thud.

  Consume… slice… thud.

  Slice after slice, head after head, the pile of corpses grew larger while the pool of scarlet blood consumed the earthy floor until there was no longer any grass to gaze at. If someone didn’t know any better, they would think it was raining blood. That is, if they even lived to think that thought.

  He paused by one of the contestants whom Ze had been talking to when he first arrived.

  The fear was overwhelming in this one; it flowed like a waterfall connecting to Sen’s chest. However, when the monster looked at the contestant’s expression, he was oddly smiling. It was as if the contestant was trying to convince himself to be confident, although the fear emanating from him was telling. Even in the last moments of a person’s life, they still try to die with pride.

  Sen’s sword sliced through the young man’s neck.

  Someone with a whole story that would never be told.

  Someone who had experienced thousands of unique memories that could never be replicated by any other person.

  Someone who had been loved.

  Someone who had loved.

  Yet it was all gone in a mere split second.

  It was almost funny how fragile the human body was while also impressive in how much it was capable of. A body that could be killed in an instant had created empires, destroyed species of animals, produced otherworldly inventions, and invented math—by which the very fabric of the world operated—yet it was so… so…

  “Weak,” Sen’s voice growled with an inhuman tone, so deep and egregious that it would freeze a person in place, even without his ability.

  Before he knew it, the monster that had taken control of Sen had killed nearly two dozen people. Hundreds of years filled with unique experiences and memories… all vanished. Although they might be remembered by their loved ones, their identities would soon fade into obscurity, just as hundreds of millions had during humanity's reign before them.

  Some say that there was nothing worse than death, but perhaps there was:

  Being forgotten.

  Sen’s inhuman eyes glared at the remaining people, who stood by the limp body of Kaiyo. Ze had simply watched the scene unfold, his expression blunt and firm, while Hono stood frozen in front of him, her face not even caring to look alive after the atrocities she had witnessed.

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  Expecting his ability to work just as it had, Sen’s body moved toward Hono, his bloody sword drawing back to slice her head. With an unbothered manner, the sword veered directly at her neck.

  Clank.

  However, instead of hearing the unpleasant squelch of blood and flesh, the clatter of two swords meeting echoed throughout the clearing.

  With incredible speed, Hono withdrew her sword and blocked Sen’s attack. Sen—or at least the one controlling him—stared at the petite woman in confusion, not understanding how she could resist his ability.

  “Human… how?” Sen’s voice grumbled incoherently.

  But before he could lurch forward for another attack, Hono pushed his sword aside with hers, the force of her thrust sending him crashing into one of the trees across the clearing.

  A loud thud detonated, and the tree that Sen hurtled into creaked and began to tilt to the side. Hono merely watched from afar, her expression neither satisfied nor empathetic. Something had changed.

  With a convulsion, Hono violently coughed up blood and clenched her teeth from the pain. She quickly reached under her tracksuit and pulled out a small pill she had hidden away at the very beginning of the challenge. Hono gazed at it in her palms for a few moments as the rain continued to fall.

  “You still have a chance to retreat,” Ze said under his breath, relaxing his fake limp position. “You know as well as I do how this will end.”

  Hono’s black eyes remained dormant and dull for a few moments, as if she were contemplating what she should do. Then, with a burst of blue light, her eyes glowed once more, mixing with her natural red color to create a faint purple hue.

  “I have to continue. He told me if I’m not a part of it, it will mess up the future,” Hono said weakly, swallowing the tiny pill. “We have a purpose in this life, Ze. If we don’t fulfill it, then we are nothing.”

  Ze conjured a small laugh. “Strong words spoken by such a small girl. You really surprise me sometimes, you know that?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Oh, come on… lighten up. If things end how he predicted they would, I want it to end with a smile at least. We should be happy that we contributed to saving the world.” Ze put his hand on her shoulder.

  “I know,” Hono clenched her fists. “I just hope one day… they’ll know what we sacrificed to achieve it.”

  “They will,” Ze sighed, then pulled out his sword. He activated his Senses, and blue light flickered in his eyes as he gazed at the approaching figure.

  Sen had recovered from his crash.

  “Now come on,” Ze told Hono, putting on a fake grin. “Let’s put on a show he’ll never forget.”

  Hono spat out a glob of mucus and blood, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her tracksuit, then slowly nodded.

  The fight that would determine the future of humanity began.

  Sen’s figure hurtled from the sky toward the only two contestants capable of resisting his ability. His sword rose above his head, poised to slash down upon his victims. However, before his blade could even make contact with either of them, they dodged with speed beyond human perception, causing Sen’s sword to slice against the blood-stained floor instead.

  With a growl of frustration, Sen twisted to the left, where he had seen the larger contestant flee—but he was met with nothing but a lifeless pile of corpses he had killed moments ago. Sen’s eyes widened. It was too late.

  Just before he could turn to the right, Hono kicked him upward in the abdomen, sending him flying vertically into the downpouring sky.

  The force of her attack knocked the air from his lungs, and a small amount of blood escaped from his gasping mouth as he descended back to the ground at a rapid rate. Below him, Ze reappeared so quickly that he barely left any afterimages from where he had come, and without even allowing Sen the pleasure of reuniting with the earth, he drove his fist into Sen’s cheek.

  The attack redirected Sen’s falling trajectory, propelling him toward a cluster of trees to the left once more.

  He collided with a loud boom, the trees creaking and splintering from the impact.

  Fortunately, Sen regained his footing more quickly this time, pushing against the fallen trunks with his legs as he soared toward his enemy. Hono was the first to bear the brunt of his attack due to her inability to dodge in time. Sen’s blade swung toward her chest, and Hono barely managed to block the strike with her sword. However, the force of the attack still pushed Hono backward, creating just enough space to launch a second assault on Ze.

  It seemed Ze was momentarily distracted by his concern for Hono—he glanced back to see if she was okay—allowing Sen to capitalize on the opportunity.

  Sen lunged at Ze with monstrous agility, gripping the sword’s handle with both hands and driving it straight toward Ze’s chest.

  Blood dripped onto the ground. Sen had successfully made contact…

  It was far too soon to celebrate.

  At the last moment, Ze had moved to the side before the sword could hit his exposed chest, causing the blade to slice his side just under his armpit. And worst of all, Sen couldn’t pull his sword out. Ze had wedged the blade between the side of his chest and his armpit, preventing Sen from retrieving his weapon.

  “Ho ho, looks like this monster isn’t as smart as I thought,” Ze grinned.

  Then, Sen felt a sharp pain in his side as Hono charged and kneed him, taking advantage of his desperate attempt to reclaim his sword from Ze’s bold, disarming method.

  Sen was thrust back again to where he had come from. He hissed in anger as he tried to regain his footing. However, the duo he fought against simply wouldn’t allow that to happen.

  When Sen lifted his head, he faced a volley of punches from Ze’s enormous fists, forcing him onto his back—each punch delivering more than a thousand pounds of force. Weaponless and shocked, the monster controlling Sen’s body absorbed each blow without even attempting to retaliate. The lack of resistance was so odd that Ze’s punches slowed with confusion.

  “I hope I didn’t kill him. The boss sure wouldn’t like that,” Ze hesitantly threw another jab at Sen’s face.

  However, it never made contact.

  Sen blocked Ze’s punch with his hand, and with a snarl, a bright dark blue light shrouded his entire body. Ze jolted back and watched as Sen’s body convulsed with an immeasurable amount of energy.

  “…Oh great, he did say this might happen.” Ze could barely maintain his footing against the whirlwinds of energy escaping Sen; it pushed him back, his shoes dragging through the sludgy dirt and blood. “Man, what a nifty trick you have there. If only I had awakened with that power. The only thing I got was a few senses. You’re not a failed vessel by any means!” Ze said, gritting his teeth as he struggled against the force.

  “W–what’s happening?!” Hono exclaimed from behind Ze amid the howling gusts, her weight making it even harder to stay in one place.

  “It’s using the Sense energy it absorbed from all the people! The stupid monster probably didn’t even know how to do that—it’s still a rookie!”

  Regardless of Ze’s arrogant remark, his expression didn’t follow. He knew the outcome of the fight.

  Amid the thrashing winds and rain, Ze caught a glimpse of movement—by the time he realized what it was, it was far too late to react.

  Sen’s fist came crashing into his face.

  Even with Touch strengthening Ze’s body, along with all the enhancements that Yami had made during his experiments, the sound of bones cracking in Ze’s face resonated. Ze was sent hurtling across the field, just like he had done to Sen moments ago.

  Hono didn’t even have enough time to process what had just happened—all she had seen was Ze’s figure, who had been right next to her, disappear into thin air. Her sword was wedged into the ground as an anchor against the furious whirlwinds of energy that enveloped the clearing, and something told her she needed to remove it as quickly as possible before—

  Hono’s hearing picked up footsteps behind her. She swung her head and pulled the sword out of the dirt, expecting to see Sen’s figure preparing to attack.

  Yet, there was nothing.

  Then she heard footsteps from another direction… then another, all at once.

  Sen circled around her so fast that it was impossible to tell where he was coming from, especially in the cyclone of wind and rain. She could barely keep her eyes open; better yet, she struggled to stay in one place without digging her sword into the ground as an anchor. And Hono couldn’t simply lower her weapon either—she’d rather risk being lifted into the air by the wind than decapitated.

  Then her hearing detected a much stronger footstep from behind, indicating that Sen must have lunged toward her. Instinctively, Hono twisted and swung her sword to meet Sen’s assault; however, her blade struck thin air.

  Sen was not in sight.

  Hono paled, feeling a bitter shiver run down her spine as she recognized her mistake.

  Fuck, she swore under her breath as she felt Sen’s hand grasp her head and force it straight to the ground.

  Pain surged through her face when she met the earth with a large crash—pain she had never been familiar with. Her Touch had given her a sense of security and protection throughout her whole life, so it was easy to forget what true agony could feel like—and now, as that safe wall crumbled in front of her, death was not an inconceivable concept anymore.

  She saw the devil peek his eyes through the cracked walls of her resolve—the eyes of a tiger.

  Smash. Splat.

  Smash. Splat.

  Smash. Splat.

  Over and over again, Sen lifted her head by her hair and smashed it against the rocky dirt—a puddle of her blood forming. She could feel her nose crack after the fifth time and her mouth choking with her own blood as Sen continued his onslaught. Then, her vision completely faded after being thrust against the sharp ground a countless number of times. She wasn’t even able to hear anything anymore except for the uncontrollably loud ringing in her ears—a ring that slowly morphed into a voice.

  She couldn’t distinguish what it was trying to say—she was too tired. Her mind… couldn’t… think…

  I... I want… to sleep, she thought to herself absentmindedly.

  ...

  “You mustn’t, child,” a familiar voice said, stopping the violent ring that raped her ears. “You have not fulfilled your story just yet.”

  Why… she asked the voice in her head. I… I feel like I’ve done enough already.

  “No. He has not found an opening yet. Now that you have initiated his awakening, you must restrain him so he can finish it.”

  I can’t move… she cried. I don’t have the energy anymore. I just… I just want to sleep.

  “You will rest soon, child…” the voice said again, in a soothing, fatherly tone. “But you must keep pushing forward. The pill you ate will make sure of that. Now get up… the future rests on your shoulders. Sen is relying on you.”

  …

  Then, the pain stopped.