The Red-Horned Demon (3)
Haah, fuck.
Looking at Arena bellowing with a voice that rattled the building, Chayeon couldn’t help but sigh.
Even alone, should I run away?
…That’s just too pathetic.
Chayeon had no choice but to follow her into the hallway.
Clang! Clang!
At the end of the corridor, shadows flickered in the darkness before a woman finally emerged, her red hair swaying.
Her red eyes locked onto Chayeon with terrifying intensity, a playful smile curling at her lips.
Fuck, she’s terrifying as hell.
“Hihih~♪”
The woman approached while humming a catchy tune.
Ten meters away she stopped, raising her right hand.
Her long, blood-red fingernails gleamed with an eerie light in the moonlight.
Danger! Fuck, I should have run even now—!
“Dya-haeng-ieyo~!”
But the words that followed drained the last of Chayeon’s strength.
Why that adorable tone?
“Huh, you’re not a demon?”
The thought slipped out before she could stop it.
The 2nd-class dangerous demon was rolling her eyes in confusion. Wait, is this harmless thing really a demon?
“Ah… a demon, you say…?”
She cupped her chin with one finger, tilting her head cutely.
So adorable! I’ve never felt this kind of emotion in my life. As she turned, her horn sparkled in the light.
Why did I feel fear when I saw those adorable horns?
“Haah, I startled you, didn’t I? You’re…?”
<>
“You idiot!”
The voices of Black Fox and Arena rang out at the exact same moment. Chayeon stepped forward, but Arena blocked her with a horizontal sword slash.
Kaang!
The thing that collided with Arena’s blade was sliced clean in two and embedded in the floor.
It was a bright red, razor-sharp blade.
“Eh?”
“When you face a demon, the first thing you learn is to guard against mental manipulation! Don’t relax!”
Arena shouted, her voice cracking the air. Chayeon’s thoughts finally snapped back.
“Too bad~ I thought this cute red-eyed kid would just be edible. Your golden eyes are pretty sharp, huh~?”
The woman laughed with a sound like gunshots as she fired her nails like bullets.
<>
Black Fox’s voice pulled Chayeon fully back to her senses.
Relaxing in front of this blatantly dangerous woman was crazy. She couldn’t believe the mindset she’d had just moments ago.
If Arena hadn’t been here, I’d be dead.
Goosebumps crawled across her skin.
“Hmph! Don’t even think your pathetic little mental manipulation works on me!”
Arena gripped her sword with both hands, aiming it at the woman.
The demon burst into laughter with a voice so chilling it sent shivers down spines.
“The prey I caught on the way were too easy—boring. Finally, a tasty one!”
She lifted her nails like blades again.
“You’re a cute little rabbit~ My name is Rubrum-Luna. Will you call me Luna? What’s your name?”
“Hmph, I don’t tell my name to a demon like you!”
“What? Earlier you were screaming ‘I’ll handle the opponent!’ Aren’t you, Lena?”
“…! I-I-it’s noisy!”
Chayeon saw Arena’s face turn beet red and quickly grabbed her shoulder.
Her expression had changed so drastically that Chayeon finally understood what she had just been through.
“Calm down. Don’t be swept away. It’s mental manipulation.”
Chayeon gripped Arena’s shoulder firmly, and the girl suddenly snapped back, quickly regaining her composure.
“Luna and Lena~ We’re practically sisters! I just wanted an older sister~”
“……”
Rubrum-Luna kept trying to joke, but Arena stared at her in silence, sword still pointed.
“Boring.”
Realizing mental manipulation no longer worked, Luna’s face hardened. The playful atmosphere vanished, replaced by bone-chilling killing intent.
“Since it’s boring now, I’ll eat.”
Raising her nails, she vanished from sight for a split second.
She reappeared right in front of Arena.
The long nail raced toward her head. At the same time, Arena’s descending blade met the nail head-on.
Scraaaack—
Unlike the expected metallic clash of iron on iron, Arena’s sword sliced the nail in two like cutting tofu. Then,
Chwaak—
The blade kept going, cleanly slicing through Luna’s right shin to her left hip.
Red blood sprayed everywhere. The split body of Luna tumbled past Arena’s frame and continued flying over Chayeon’s position, rolling away.
“Hmph!”
Blood-covered Arena let out her usual snort, then shook the blood from her blade.
Bits of gore splattered the floor.
“Huh, what the—?”
Chayeon stared blankly with wide rabbit eyes at this powerful-looking woman acting so casually.
“It’s over?”
Despite the overwhelming aura, she was acting this casually? Chayeon looked at the motionless corpse.
No sign of movement.
“That was weak.”
“What the hell? I’m strong! My Absolute Severance is unbeatable when facing swords!”
Arena puffed out her chest with an arrogant grin.
I thought she was just a sweet girlfriend, but she’s terrifyingly powerful.
She looked the same as usual, puffed up and proud, yet for some reason today she looked more reassuring than ever.
“What are you doing? Chayeon, stop staring and come with me. We need to report to the teacher!”
“Ah, right.”
Chayeon snapped back to reality and followed Arena toward the stairs.
“Hing♪ Hing-hing♪”
Their bodies froze at the sound of a chilling tune that should have been inaudible.
“Hing♪ Hing♪ …, hihihihi, ahahahaha.”
The eerie high-pitched laughter pierced their ears.
Arena’s pupils shook violently as if they were right next to Chayeon’s.
“H-how…?”
Her voice trembled with disbelief.
Chayeon’s body was paralyzed too, unable to move an inch.
She forced herself to turn her head and look behind.
Creep-creep—
Luna’s split body writhed like a living creature, desperately crawling toward each other.
Soon the joined bodies swelled up on their own, swallowing each other whole.
The swollen, twisting flesh finally settled. Luna stood up in the exact spot, as if she were a puppet being lifted.
“Where do you think you’re going, you two~?”
Her eyes, slitted like a snake’s, glowed blood-red.
“Fuck……”
The curse slipped out automatically. She never imagined she’d see this kind of scene in real life, the kind from creature movies.
“Lena~ The fun’s over?”
“This is it!”
Arena leapt forward with another sword slash.
Her speed had grown blindingly fast compared to a month ago.
But Arena’s blade sliced only empty air.
“I didn’t think my nail would break. You’re a beast with sharp claws, Lena?”
Rubrum-Luna dodged Arena’s sword effortlessly.
Finally, a kick aimed straight at her stomach.
Thud—
“Aah!”
The sound was more like an explosion than a normal impact as Arena flew sideways and slammed into Chayeon.
Without time to worry, the demon appeared before the fallen Arena with a sadistic smile.
Her right foot lifted high, like she was about to kick a soccer ball.
If that hits, she’s dead.
Chayeon jumped toward the demon.
She didn’t plan to block; she was just trying to knock Arena off balance.
Whick—
The right foot that was heading for Arena suddenly twisted in an impossible angle.
“Eh?”
Klang!
The shin that swung sideways slammed into Chayeon, sending her body flying.
Chayeon tumbled into the opposite hallway, crashed into the wall, bounced around, and finally collapsed on the floor.
Wood splinters embedded in her body as she trembled in pain, then slowly went limp.
Arena could only stare at the scene with dazed eyes.
***
“Jeon Chayeon…?”
The collapsed Chayeon didn’t move an inch.
Eh? Why isn’t she getting up?
Stop messing around.
You’re strong, remember?
Even after a month of pushing yourself this hard, you can’t even scratch a fingernail.
Yet you’re just lying there quietly?
You could have dodged it, right?
Why did you get hit?
…Because of me?
“Ara ra? The red kid sacrificed herself to block it~? Amazing! A tear-jerking friendship, huh~”
Hihihihi.
“Stop laughing!”
Clenching her teeth, Arena forced back the pain and swung her sword again.
But no matter how hard she swung, it never touched anything.
Like the first time, she was deliberately showing it to her.
“Yah!”
Luna, who had been twisting her body, lightly kicked Arena’s stomach with her toes.
Instantly, the force felt like she’d been struck by a giant cannonball.
“Kuk!”
Thud!
Arena was slammed upward, crashed into the ceiling, bounced off, and then—
Pud!
She was driven straight into the floor.
“Kuk, cough, cough, haak! Haaak!”
She couldn’t breathe.
Getting hit in the same spot again turned the pain into a sharp blade that cut deep.
Her mind went completely blank.
“Ara? Slobbering and crying like a fool. Let me wipe that for you, Lena~”
Luna’s tongue flicked teasingly near Arena’s lips.
“Aaaah!”
The left arm she swung in panic was caught without mercy.
“Hey, naughty hand!”
Crack.
“Aaaaaah!!”
The elbow bent in a direction it shouldn’t have gone.
Blood sprayed. The broken bone spikes tore through flesh and shot out.
“Haak! Hic, heh, haaak!”
Arena’s head was grabbed by her own hair and lifted straight up.
Her red eyes met the demon’s, shaking violently.
She can’t beat her.
Even to the depths of her bones, fear seeped in.
“Don’t worry too much, Lena. I’ll send you to your friend soon! But before that……”
Luna lowered her head to meet Arena’s eyes.
Her emotions—trembling with doubt and fear—easily allowed mental manipulation.
Negative feelings like fear, resignation, and despair flooded deep into her heart.
“Aaah…, aaaaaah…”
Tears welled up, distorting Arena’s face as they streamed down.
Her whole body shook so hard it felt like she was transmitting vibrations.
“Ahahahaha! What, what? So cute! Where did that earlier fire go, Lena? This is way too precious to eat.”
Hihihihi!
The high-pitched laughter that tore the air filled their ears.
Arena, completely entranced, couldn’t move a single muscle.
Her fingers were paralyzed as if her whole body had been anesthetized.
“Just a little more~?”
Luna pressed herself against the helpless Arena.
The crescent-eyed demon lifted her arm.
The powerless body dangled like a broken puppet.
“Lightly~”
The red-horned demon curled Arena’s pinky with her right hand.
“Aah…, I-I don’t want… No…”
Don’t. Stop. Don’t.
Why are you doing this? Why to me?
What did I do wrong?
Why… why are you doing this?
Why.
…Ah.
She finally understood.
This is…
This is…
a demon.
—Crack.
Aaaaaaaaaah!