The air inside the crystal-lit chamber thickened into something sharp, something trembling between fear and disbelief. Princess Yakumo stared at the empty pedestal where the Gem of Azure—the Core sustaining half her kingdom—had rested for centuries. Now it was gone. In its place stood Akuma, calm, unbothered, and dusting glittering Azure fragments from his fingers as if brushing away crumbs. The residue of the gem shimmered faintly on his tongue, dissolving into the void of his being like it had never existed at all.
Yakumo's voice cracked first.She staggered forward, eyes trembling, breath sharp and frantic.
Yakumo: "Y–You… you ATE it—you consumed the Core itself—that thing is pure concentrated mana, it would melt a dragon's throat, collapse a human's organs, shatter a mage's sanity! You should be dead! Y-You should be ashes! What are you?! Who ARE you?!"
Akuma blinked once, slowly, as though processing her words not emotionally, but mechanically—fact-checking, organizing, tagging significance and irrelevance with the cold precision of a machine wearing human skin. He tilted his head slightly.
Akuma: "You ask the wrong questions. Survival implies limitation. I possess none. Consumption was simply… efficient."
The princess flinched. Something in his tone—peaceful, flat, almost bored—terrified her more than the act itself.
Her voice grew louder, desperate, cracking between anger and panic.
Yakumo: "Don't talk like that! You destroyed a relic older than this kingdom! Do you know what you've done?! You've doomed us—do you understand that? You've— you've—"
Akuma raised a hand, not to strike, but to silence.
Akuma: "You may cease panicking. It is… inconvenient to listen to."
Yakumo froze mid-breath, stunned into silence—but not because of power.Because of audacity. No fear. No remorse. No sense of urgency.
Just observation.
And then, finally, his eyes sharpened—almost too subtly for her to see—computational thought racing quietly behind them.
He had made a mistake.
Not morally.Strategically.
The kingdom was already mobilizing.
Guards. Knights. Mages.All converging toward the chamber.
He could hear their rushed footsteps echoing down the long crystal halls.
He analyzed.
He calculated.
He looked at the panicked princess standing between him and escape.
He needed a solution, not a fight. His combat IQ was still lacking. A frontal battle would be inefficient. Wasteful. Sloppy. He needed distraction. A lever. A mask.
He needed bait.
Akuma turned to the princess, his expression still emotionless, but the air around him thickening as his mind aligned with a single decision.
Akuma (quietly): "Parallel Operation… Level Three? No. Inefficient. Level Two… unnecessary repetition. Level Seven? Excessive. Level Five… yes."
He lifted two fingers to his temple, the gesture almost ritualistic.
The world around him blurred—fractured—rewound—accelerated—rose—fell.
Parallel Operation: Level 5 — Double Check→ Future Outcome Projection Initiated
In a single blink, a dozen futures split open before him:
— If he fled now: killed by Azure knights.— If he used Level 3: trapped in the palace's anti-demon barrier.— If he used Level 7: clones overwhelmed.— If he used Level 9: kingdom collapses, attention becomes global.— If he used nothing: certain capture.— But if he used… her?
A perfect outcome appeared.
He exhaled.
Akuma: "Princess Yakumo. You will serve as the distraction."
She backed away immediately.
Yakumo: "W–What?! I am the Crown Princess—do not dare—!"
He stepped toward her with calm certainty.
Akuma: "Your title does not matter. Your effect does. You have already drawn them to this place with your fear. You are the catalyst. Therefore… you will become the bait."
Her breath hitched.
Yakumo: "Don't come any closer—Guards will be here any second—do you think you can walk out? You're surrounded. You're trapped. You're—"
He cut through her panic like a blade through silk.
Akuma: "Incorrect."
He raised a single finger.
Parallel Operation — Level 2: Initiated
Yakumo's pupils dilated instantly, her terror evaporating as if someone had reached into her mind and gently folded it away. Her entire body relaxed, arms dropping at her sides, expression melting into empty compliance.
Her breathing steadied.Her voice softened.Her will dissolved.
Yakumo (dazed, empty): "…What do you require…?"
Akuma leaned in slightly, studying her face—not with desire or cruelty, but with cold analytical fascination. She was a useful moving piece. A shield. A key.
A perfect bait.
Akuma: "You will walk out of this chamber. Calmly. You will tell your knights that I vanished. You will lead them in the opposite direction. And once they are gone… you will forget the last twenty minutes."
Her eyes glazed deeper.
Yakumo: "…Understood…"
Akuma stepped back, satisfied.
The trap was set.The escape path calculated.The kingdom fooled.
But before she left, Yakumo snapped back for half a second—mind glitching through the cracks of the manipulation—and she whispered, trembling:
Yakumo: "W…what are you…? No human could do this…"
Akuma stared at her for a long, cold moment.
Then he answered, voice quiet, steady, and terrifyingly honest:
Akuma: "I do not know. Yet."
Yakumo collapsed briefly to her knees, overwhelmed, before the Level 2 command fully reasserted itself. She rose again—empty, controlled—and walked toward the door to mislead her own kingdom.
Akuma turned away, already calculating the next move.
The world outside awaited.
And now he was wanted.
Now the hunt had begun.
The guards saw her first — stumbling slightly, hair windswept, eyes wide with disbelief.
Guard Captain:"Princess Yakumo! Are you harmed!? What happened inside!?"
Yakumo raised her hand sharply.
Yakumo:"Silence. Listen carefully — the Core of Azure has been stolen, devoured, and the culprit has escaped into the lower districts. All units are to initiate a Level-Blue Perimeter Lockdown."
Gasps tore through the guard lines.
Guard #1:"Your Highness… stolen? How? Who—"
Yakumo:"A man… no… not a man. Something wearing the form of a man. I don't know its name. I don't know its nature. But it is dangerous and must be found immediately."
The Captain's face paled.
Guard Captain:"…The Core was consumed? Your Highness, that's impossible—"
Yakumo:"DO NOT tell me what is impossible! I saw it with my own eyes! He swallowed the Gem whole and walked away as if it were nothing more than a fruit pit!"
The guards went silent.
Yakumo:"Spread word across the kingdom. The thief is unidentified, extremely powerful, immune to Azure toxicity, and—"
She hesitated, remembering Akuma's calm, emotionless eyes…
Yakumo (quieter):"…and he manipulates minds."
The guards stiffened instantly.
Guard Captain:"A Mind-Warper…? Then we must alert the Azure Council! Princess, what did he say to you? Did he reveal his origin? His intention?"
Yakumo lowered her gaze.
Yakumo:"He said nothing. No emotion. No fear. No identity. It was like speaking to… a void wearing skin."
The Captain swallowed tightly.
Guard Captain:"Very well. We will hunt the creature down. By your command."
Yakumo:"Good. Seal the gates. Notify every patrol. And if you see anyone unfamiliar—ANYONE—detain them until further notice."
⟣ MEANWHILE… AKUMA ⟢
He watched from a rooftop far beyond their sight, listening to the echo of their voices carried by the wind. His expression remained the same — calm, unmoved, unreadable.
But his thoughts…
Akuma (internally):"Analysis: I miscalculated. The bait succeeded — they will chase shadows, search wrong directions. But this attention level… inconvenient."
His fingers curled slightly, almost contemplatively.
A faint twinge flickered inside his chest — the faintest trace of amusement.
Then it faded.
Akuma:"…Proceed to next step."
He vanished into the night.