The tavern in Greystone was unusually quiet that night.
A few adventurers sat by the counter, their mugs untouched, voices hushed as they discussed the same story everyone had been whispering about for weeks.
"They say the troll that killed those kids just vanished."
One man leaned forward, scratching his beard. "Vanished? You mean it ran off?"
"No." The speaker shook his head firmly. "No one found it, not even tracks. It's like it just disappeared from the forest itself."
Another adventurer scoffed. "Trolls don't just disappear. Something killed it. Maybe a wandering knight or—"
"Guild sent a whole team to search and found nothing. Not even a trail."
Silence settled over the table.
"What about the kid who survived?" someone asked quietly.
The first man grimaced. "Left the village two months back."
"Coward," another muttered.
No one disagreed.
...
Back in the forest, the masked man stepped closer to Kairo's broken body. The aura he'd felt moments ago hadn't faded; it pulsed stronger, denser, like something powerful stirring beneath the surface.
He sneered, raising his leg high. "Still didn't die?"
But before his boot landed—
Kairo vanished.
The masked man froze mid-strike, foot hovering over empty ground. His head snapped left, then right.
Then slowly, he turned.
Kairo stood in front of Kaya, upright, steady.
His wounds were knitting together before her eyes. Bones snapped back into place with wet cracks. Flesh sealed over torn muscle. Blood retreated into his skin as if time itself reversed. His breathing steadied, chest rising and falling with unnatural calm.
Kaya's mouth fell open, hands trembling at her sides. The aura pouring from him pressed against her like a physical weight, dense, suffocating, nothing human.
"Are you," Kairo asked quietly, "the one who awoke me?"
His voice was no longer the same. It was deeper and colder. Resonant with something unearthly that made the air itself shudder.
The masked man tilted his head, fingers flexing. "What if I am?"
Kairo stepped forward, "Then answer me one thing…"
He stopped, gaze locked on the demon mask.
"Are you strong?"
The masked man chuckled darkly, "Stronger than you."
The next moment, Kairo's form blurred.
He appeared inches from the man, his hand resting casually on his shoulder, "Really?"
Even the masked man hadn't seen him move. His instincts screamed danger, every nerve firing at once. He jumped back ten paces, breath catching.
Kairo smiled faintly, tilting his head. "I'll give you ten minutes."
The masked man blinked behind his cracked mask. "What?"
"If you can hit me once," Kairo said softly, spreading his arms wide, "I'll let you live."
Rage flashed through the masked man's posture, "You arrogant—!"
He lunged forward, claws extended, tearing through the air with killing intent.
But his claw cut nothing but air.
Kairo leaned slightly to the side, letting it pass an inch from his neck, wind ruffling his hair.
The man roared, planting his feet and slamming his claw into the ground. "[Ground Smash]"
The earth exploded outward. Dirt and stone erupted in a wide crater, dust billowing into the night sky.
When the debris settled, Kairo stood calmly a few feet away, hands in his pockets, not a speck of dirt on him.
The masked man growled low in his throat and charged again.
Kairo yawned, covering his mouth with one hand.
"You missed again."
The man snarled and activated [Beast Charge], his claws burning crimson as his aura flared around him like flames.
He blurred into motion, a streak of red fury cutting across the clearing—
—but Kairo merely tilted his head. The strike tore through the air behind him, slicing a tree in half. The trunk toppled, crashing into the underbrush.
Kairo brushed bark splinters off his shoulder, examining them. "That looked dangerous. Try aiming next time."
The masked man dropped to all fours, moving like a predator stalking prey. He circled slowly, breathing hard through the mask. Snarling.
Kairo clapped slowly, each sound sharp and mocking. "Finally serious? Don't stop now."
The man lunged from the left. Missed.
From the right. Missed.
Above. Missed.
Every strike cut only empty space, Kairo always one step ahead, movements minimal, effortless.
The masked man's breathing grew ragged.
Kairo whistled cheerfully. "If you keep digging trenches like that, someone might trip."
The man screamed in frustration, aura bursting outward in a violent wave. Dust spiraled upward. Ground cracked under his feet in spiderweb patterns.
"STOP MOVING AND LET ME KILL YOU!"
Kairo smiled faintly, eyes half-lidded. "Oh, scary."
The man ripped a tree from the ground, roots tearing free with wet snaps, and threw it towards Kairo.
Kairo stepped onto it midair, boots landing lightly on the spinning trunk. He tapped once, his foot shattered the wood into splinters that scattered like snow, before landing softly on the dirt.
He looked at the masked man, brushing dust from his sleeve. "Ten seconds left."
The man lunged again, throwing a furious combo of slashes and strikes.
Kairo walked backward, hands in his pockets, casually tilting his head left and right as he counted aloud.
"9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4…"
Each number fell like a hammer blow.
By the time he said "2," the masked man's swings had slowed. His arms trembled. His eyes went wide behind the cracked demon mask. He saw his own death reflected in Kairo's calm, indifferent gaze.
"1…"
The man tried to retreat.
"0."
In that final second, Kairo appeared standing in front of Kaya again, looking almost bored, as if he'd never moved.
In his right hand, he held the masked man's head, fingers gripping crimson-stained hair.
Blood dripped steadily onto the grass.
Kairo tossed the head aside. It rolled twice before stopping against a tree root.
He turned to Kaya, who stood frozen, eyes locked on the severed head. "Young lady, what's your name?"
Kaya stared at him, trembling violently.
The boy she knew was gone. The thing before her… wasn't Kairo.
Her lips trembled. "…K-Kaya."
Kairo pointed at himself with his thumb. "You're a friend of this guy?"
Kaya nodded fearfully, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Y-Yes."
He pointed to Eric, still lying unconscious nearby, "And him?"
Kaya nodded again, unable to speak.
Kairo walked over to Eric and raised his hand, palm glowing faintly. "Heal."
A burst of brilliant light erupted from his palm, washing over Eric's broken body. Within seconds, Eric's wounds vanished entirely, leaving only dried blood on his armor.
Kaya gasped, stumbling back a step. She had never seen such a powerful healing spell. This was something else entirely.
Kairo turned back to her as he smiled, "Can you do me a favor?"
Kaya swallowed hard, "W-What?"
"Tell this guy," Kairo said, tapping his own chest twice, "to stop dying so often."
He smirked faintly, something almost amused flickering across his face. "It's disturbing my sleep."
Kaya nodded.
Kairo said, "Bye!"
Before Kaya could reply, Kairo's body wavered.
Then he collapsed.
Kaya ran forward, catching him before he hit the ground, arms wrapping around his shoulders. He was unconscious, breathing steadily, chest rising and falling. But his aura was gone, vanished as if it had never existed.
The forest was quiet again.
Only the headless corpse of the masked man, still where it fell, bore witness to what had just happened.