The forest went still.
No wind. No sound. Even the creek, which had been flowing just moments ago, seemed to slow… like something was holding everything in place.
He felt it immediately. A strange weight pressed down on him, heavy and suffocating.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears. He tightened his grip on his dagger, the black flame flickering softly along its edge.
Across the clearing, Rowan and the others stood frozen. Their eyes were wide open, filled with fear, yet their bodies somehow refused to move.
They could see and hear everything, but there was nothing they could do.
A few steps ahead, he stood beneath the moonlight. The air around him vibrated with danger.
A massive dark crimson blade rested casually on his shoulder, pulsing with a deep, sinister aura. Two sharp black horns jutted from his forehead, cutting a menacing silhouette.
His skin was a sickly red, stretched over a lean, muscular frame clad in shadow-black armor and a flowing coat.
Black tattoos ran along his arms and sharp cheekbones. Jagged fangs glinted as he grinned, thin and cruel.
Even standing still, he radiated bloodlust, a predator amused, waiting for a spark of defiance.
Kael kept his eyes locked on the man in front of him.
Why now…? Why does it always happen at the worst possible moment?
His stomach twisted, his thoughts spinning. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but he couldn't. Not while Rowan and the others were here. Leaving them behind wasn't even a choice he could consider.
The weight in the air pressed down on him, heavy and suffocating, and he could feel his muscles tensing against it automatically.
A chill ran down his spine.
This is bad… I need to do something.
His gaze flicked around the clearing, searching for any way out, but he didn't lower his guard.
"So you're the one who did this?" Kael asked, forcing his voice to stay steady.
"Some kind of magic?"
The man tilted his head slightly, like he barely cared about the question.
"Ugh… and who the hell gave you permission to talk?" he scoffed.
"Don't you know who I am?"
He paused, then let out a quiet, amused breath.
"…Ah. I get it. No one here knows my name."
He ran a hand through his long hair, carefully moving it around the curve of his horns before looking back at them, eyes sharp, a cruel smile slowly forming.
"Guess that makes sense."
His gaze darkened.
"Because I slaughtered every last one who did."
The smile widened, cold and merciless.
"Because I hate survivors."
His voice dropped, heavy with killing intent.
"But don't worry… you'll all end up the same as those mortals I killed before."
"Think of your friends as… spectators."
Kael's eyes snapped to Rowan, taking in the strain etched across everyone's frozen faces.
His jaw was clenched tight, veins bulging along his neck as he struggled to force his body to move, but nothing happened.
Then a quiet chuckle came from the man.
"See?" he said. "Quite the show wasn't it?."
Kael's grip tightened over his dagger.
This isn't like the Voidscale. That thing was dangerous, sure, but this… this is on a whole different level. He's stronger than any monster I've faced before. Something about him… feels wrong.
He exhaled slowly, forcing his thoughts to settle.
"So... what is it that you want?"
The man scratched the back of his head.
"Ah, right. Questions." He clicked his tongue.
"Tsch... I really hate explaining things."
He shifted the massive blade off his shoulder and drove it into the ground beside him. It sank into solid earth like it was nothing.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Let me make it simple," the man continued, pointing straight at him.
"You weren't supposed to exist here."
The mark on Kael's shoulder burned. Sharp. Sudden. He flinched slightly but didn't look away.
Kael's shoulder burned, sharp, sudden, but he forced himself to stay still.
"You died somewhere else," the man said, leaning in, a cruel smirk tugging at his lips.
"Your life should've ended there. But those filthy gods… they just had to drag you back. Reincarnation."
A cold knot twisted in Kael's stomach.
Memories flickered, shards of pain, loss, and death he shouldn't have survived, moments that were supposed to be final. His chest tightened, and a shiver ran down his spine.
So this is what Severius meant… those who came before me didn't just fail. They didn't just die, they suffered. Miserably. All because of him.
Then the man snapped his fingers.
Pain shot through Kael's skull, white-hot and sudden. Blinding flashes of fire, smoke, and chaos slammed into his mind. He saw towering shadows moving through burning cities, armies clashing in a storm of steel and screams.
One figure stood out, a lone warrior raising a sword against something impossibly huge, but before he could register it, the image shattered, leaving only echoes of fear and despair.
Kael gasped, staggering back. His chest tightened. He couldn't make sense of the fragments, couldn't tell what was real and what was memory.
All he knew was the weight of death, the futility, the certainty that so many had perished here before him.
A chill ran down Kael's spine.
"So what?" Kael said, steadying himself.
"Because I exist, you're here to kill everyone?"
The man shrugged.
"Not everyone." His grin widened slightly.
"Maybe… but you're the most irritating one here." His lips curled into a sharp, hostile grin.
"Just looking at you makes my blood boil. Because of you… I might just slaughter every last mortal in this area."
He wrapped one hand around the hilt of his blade and pulled it free in a single motion.
"Now.. you die.."
Kael shifted his stance, lowering his center of gravity.
The pressure in the air thickened.
Every instinct in his body screamed at him to run.
But he didn't move. He couldn't.
Not with Rowan and the others behind him.
Kael let out a quiet breath.
"You talk a lot," he provoked.
The man demon prince frowned in irritation.
"…What did you just... say?"
Kael rolled his shoulders, keeping his eyes locked forward.
"If you really wanted me dead, you would've done it already."
For a moment, everything went quiet.
Then..
The man burst out laughing. A loud, unrestrained laugh echoed through the clearing.
"HAHA—!"
He wiped at his eye, still grinning.
"Alright… you're interesting."
He rested the blade back on his shoulder, his expression shifting, less bored now, more curious.
"Fine, just don't die easily, atleast entertain me for a minute."
The air around him grew heavier.
The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly.
Kael's dagger flared, black fire crawling along its edge.
The mark on his shoulder burned hotter, pulsing with each heartbeat.
For the first time since coming to this world, something clicked in his mind.
That he really needs to survived.
Then the man moved without a warning.
He disappeared.. And reappeared right in front of Kael.
CLANG!
Steel met black flame.
The impact blasted dirt and broken stone across the clearing.
Kael's feet slid backward, carving lines into the ground as he struggled to hold his footing.
His arms trembled under the force.
"…That's insane," he muttered.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
A grin spread across his face.
"You didn't die."
His grip tightened on the blade. "Good."
He lifted it again, ready to strike.
"Let's see how long you last."
The man vanished again.
Kael barely had time to react.
A blur, then steel was already cutting through the air toward him.
Kael raised his dagger, But suddenly..
"Hey… are you seriously just going to ignore me?"
A calm female voice cut through the tension.
The blade stopped. Just inches from Kael's face.
For a moment, everything froze.
Even the man seemed caught off guard.
Then... Something changed.
A dark presence spread across the clearing.
Slow at first… then all at once.
The air turned cold.
Heavy and it felt wrong like something was draining the life out of everything around them.
The man lowered his sword slightly and glanced over his shoulder.
"…Oh."
Kael followed his gaze. A woman stood a short distance behind him. Her movements were quiet, almost unnatural. Dark robes hung loosely over her frame, shifting slightly even though there was no wind. A black blindfold covered her eyes, and long silver hair fell down her back.
But it wasn't her appearance that made Kael tense. It was the pressure.
It rolled off her in waves.
Each pulse heavier than the last.
The ground trembled faintly beneath their feet.
The man scratched the back of his head, annoyed.
"Hey, ease up," he said casually. "I'm just testing things."
He jerked his thumb toward Kael.
"Wanted to see if this 'anomaly' was worth the trouble."
Kael's grip tightened. Anomaly?
The woman didn't respond. The pressure only grew stronger.
He felt it instantly. His muscles locked, his breath catching in his throat. It was like an invisible weight had settled on him, pressing down, draining all the strength from his limbs.
His fingers trembled around the dagger.
Even holding it steady was getting harder.
Kael glanced behind him. While Rowan, Kinon, Linen, Runo and Trone.
They were still frozen but now their expressions had changed.
Runo was shaking the most, his body trembling violently as sweat poured down his face.
Kael's chest tightened.
This is bad… if this keeps going.
We're all gonna die.
The thought hit him hard. Kael clenched his teeth. I have to do something.
Then silence breaks..
"Alright, alright."
The man's voice cut in again, casual as ever. He lifted his sword and rested it back on his shoulder. Then he turned and walked toward the woman like nothing was wrong.
"Fine. I'll head back, so stop tormenting those pathetic mortals. They're about to die."
He said reminding the demon with blindfold.
Then glanced at Kael and the others.
"Especially the mage guy. He won't last long." He added.
Kael's eyes snapped to Runo. He was the most exhausted among everyone else. As if his mana was being drained.
"…You're draining their mana," Kael muttered.
The woman finally spoke.
"And so?"
Her voice was calm. Flat.
Like none of this mattered.
A pause. Then.. "I will stop."
The pressure vanished. Just like that.
The air loosened. The weight disappeared. The forest… breathed again.
"Oh....right."
He snapped his fingers.
The invisible hold binding everyone shattered instantly.
They all gasped, bodies finally responding again.
Kael dropped to one knee, gasping as strength rushed back into his body.
His grip on the dagger loosened slightly.
Behind him
Thud.
Rowan collapsed forward, catching himself with one hand. Runo dropped to his knees, dragging in desperate breaths like he'd just been pulled out of deep water.
Kinon slammed his axe into the ground to steady himself. The man glanced back, smirking.
"Gah—!"
Rowan sucked in air, still trying to recover. Runo didn't even speak, just breathed, shaking.
The man watched them for a moment, amused.
"See?" he said lightly. "Now you know how inferior race mortal was."
Kael slowly stood.
His eyes locked onto the man.
The man grinned.
"What exactly do you mean by.."
He wasn't done talking yet when he got interrupted.
"ENOUGH!! Like I said before I hate explaining things." The man gazes back at Kael.
Then he lifted his blade slightly, pointing it toward Kael.
"Enough of that Velfiore.. let's head back."
The woman's voice cut in again.
This time colder.
"You've said more than enough."
The man clicked his tongue.
"Yeah, yeah."
He waved a hand lazily.
The space in front of them twisted.
Then.. it tore open. A swirling void formed in midair, dark and unstable, pulling at the light around it like it wanted to swallow everything whole.
The ground cracked beneath it. The air warped. As the man stepped toward it without hesitation.
The woman followed. But just before stepping through..
She spoke.
"We will meet again someday.. stay alive.. if you really wanted to know the truth."
Then the dark portal suddenly vanished into the thin air.