The wind dragged lazily across the barren land, carrying dust like a tired sigh.
A lone figure sat atop a jagged rock, one leg dangling, the other bent. His crimson eyes stared into nothing, unfocused, as if the world in front of him wasn't worth the effort of attention.
Scarlet V. Crimson: [exhaled slowly] "It's so boring…" [he muttered, dragging a hand through his dark hair] "And there are no enemies."
Silence answered him.
No beasts. No movement. Not even the usual distant cries of monsters that plagued this region. Just… emptiness.
A small translucent panel flickered faintly in the air beside him, like it didn't fully belong to this world.
Name: Scarlet V. Crimson
Race: Demon | Unknown
Danger Rank: Unknown
Adventurer Rank: E
Scarlet didn't even glance at it.
Scarlet: "E-rank…" [he scoffed under his breath] "What a joke."
He leaned back slightly, balancing on the rock with unnatural ease. His senses stretched lazily across the land, brushing against the terrain like a bored predator too tired to hunt.
Then—
Something moved.
His eyes sharpened instantly.
Scarlet: "Aha!! An enemy."
The shift was immediate.
The air cracked.
In a single blink, Scarlet vanished.
A heartbeat later, he reappeared dozens of meters away, already mid-motion. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword, pulling it free in one fluid, practiced motion.
The blade was thin. Too thin.
Cross-shaped, elegant, almost delicate—yet it carried a presence that made the air distort around it.
Nyarlathotep.
Scarlet's breathing deepened, not from exhaustion… but anticipation.
Finally.
Scarlet: "Unlimited Art…" he murmured, [his voice lowering, gaining weight] "Dance of Ignis."
Flames answered.
They didn't ignite—they erupted, spiraling along the blade like living serpents. Scarlet swung once.
The world split into arcs of fire.
Blazing crescents tore through the air, slicing toward the creature that had emerged from the shadows—a grotesque, hulking mass of bone and flesh, its limbs twisted at impossible angles.
It didn't even get to scream.
The flames devoured it mid-motion.
The impact shattered the ground beneath it, and the creature was flung backward, crashing violently before going still.
Dead.
Scarlet lowered his sword slowly.
Smoke curled through the air.
Scarlet: "…That's it?" [he said, his tone flat]
Then, suddenly—
Scarlet: "NOTHING IS A MATCH FOR MY SWORD CALLED NYARLATHOTEP!"
His voice exploded across the empty land, echoing outward like a challenge.
Silence returned just as quickly.
Scarlet stood there for a moment… waiting.
Nothing came.
The flames died.
The wind resumed its lazy wandering.
Scarlet: "…Still boring," [he muttered]
He turned away, already losing interest, and began walking back toward his rock.
Behind him, the corpse lay motionless.
For a few seconds.
Then—
It twitched.
Scarlet stopped.
Not because he saw it.
Because something felt… wrong.
A subtle distortion brushed against his senses, like a ripple in still water.
He turned his head slightly, crimson eyes narrowing.
The body wasn't burning away.
It wasn't dissolving.
It was… leaking.
Darkness seeped from the cracks in its charred form, thick and unnatural, like ink bleeding into the world itself.
Scarlet: [Scarlet frowned] "…What?"
The ground beneath the corpse began to stain, black spreading outward in slow, deliberate tendrils.
Then the corpse moved again.
Not a twitch this time.
It bent.
Snapped.
Rearranged.
Scarlet watched, his expression no longer bored—but not surprised either. Just… interested.
Scarlet: "…Now this is new."
The creature's body collapsed inward, folding into itself like paper being crushed by invisible hands. The bones cracked, but there was no sound. The flesh melted, but there was no heat.
Everything about it was wrong.
The shadow beneath it thickened.
Expanded.
And then—
It stood up.
Not as the creature it once was.
But as something else.
A silhouette. Humanoid… but unfinished. Its edges flickered, unstable, like it couldn't decide what shape it wanted to take.
Scarlet slowly turned his body to face it fully now.
His grip on Nyarlathotep tightened—just slightly.
Scarlet: "…You're not the same thing I killed."
The figure didn't respond.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The wind stopped again.
Even the dust seemed to freeze mid-air.
Then the thing tilted its head.
And Scarlet's eyes sharpened.
Because in that movement…
It mirrored him perfectly.
Same angle.
Same stillness.
Same presence.
A faint, almost inaudible sound slipped into the air.
Not from the creature.
From everywhere.
A whisper.
No—
An echo.
Scarlet's own voice: "…Interesting."
He didn't say it.
But it was said.
His smile faded.
For the first time since the chapter began… Scarlet V. Crimson looked serious.
The thing took a step forward.
The ground didn't react.
It was like reality itself refused to acknowledge its existence.
Scarlet raised his sword slightly, flames beginning to coil once more along the blade.
Scarlet: "Alright," [he said quietly] "Let's see what you are."
The figure stopped.
Silence stretched.
Then—
It spoke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
But clearly.
And with his voice.
Scarlet: "Then let's make it interesting, Crimson."
Everything went still.
Scarlet's eyes widened just a fraction.
Not fear.
Not shock.
Recognition.
The flames on Nyarlathotep flickered.
For a brief moment… they dimmed.
And the world felt like it was watching.
End of Chapter 1 🩸🔥