"Care to explain to me why you are missing my pet and his companions' heads?"
Dayana looked at Rae who said nothing which caused her to flick her wrist, manifesting a bunch of burning chains from the ground that wrapped around Rae's neck, wrists, and ankle. This forced the masked woman to kneel down, touching the ground with her forehead. She got off from her throne and slowly walked downstairs until she arrived right in front of Rae and placed her foot on Elizabeth's head.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't torture you starting with removing your beating heart and shove it down into your throat?"
"My Queen-"
Dayana kicked Rae's head so hard that she flew into the wall behind her. The impact destroyed her mask but her face remained concealed by her hair. Dayana then stomped Rae in the chest, breaking her ribs and threatening to crush her heart with her barefoot.
"Hmm?"
"M-My Q-Queen… P-Please, listen to me first," Rae weakly said to Dayana. "I know that… I failed you, but I… I have a backup plan…"
Dayana arched her right eyebrow, demanding Rae to explain.
"I-I casted my technique on him, placing a spell that will cause him to experience his worst nightmare from time to time and that spell will also slowly corrupt his mind. And I am certain that it will break him mentally and if that's not going to happen, I already had another plan in which I will order the Takahashi Clan to attack him or his clan while he is weak due to my technique."
The Queen Demon was impressed, thinking that Rae's plan was brilliant. She smiled and lifted her foot, extending her right arm forward to help Rae to stand up. The most powerful being in history slit her hand and ordered Rae to drink her blood to heal her wounds which the young woman did.
Rae then fell to the ground, writhing in agony and crying in pain. This caused Dayana to hug her tightly while stroking her hair and whispered that her agony was because of Mikhail. Dayana even planted a soft kiss on the agony Rae's cheek and hummed her favourite lullaby.
***
After being knocked away by the shockwave, Shizuka found herself being separated from Ammar and Nishiki. She cursed herself and then realized the environment was very familiar to her. The head clan then saw Mikhail and Ammar, relaxing on the rooftop of Mizuki's house.
"Hey, what's your relationship with that Shizuka girl? Is she your ex or something?"
Mikhail snickered when he heard that and elbowed the giggling Ammar. He took a deep breath and then said, "Shizuka is an old friend of mine. Someone who I completely trust and never question her decisions. If you want to know, eight years ago, we were both enemies."
"Oh, really? What happened?"
"Kicked her ass, spared her life, and then we became rivals. Sometimes, I encountered her while I was on my way back home and had no choice but to fight her for a while before bringing her to my home to taste my dishes. Last time we looked at one another before we met again on campus was when I stabbed Daihachi in the chest," Mikhail answered the question. "She used to be a very tough, hot-headed, foul-mouthed and arrogant girl. I wonder what caused her to change into a different person."
"People change, you know? You look very happy when you are with her."
Mikhail smiled while gazing at the star. For a while, he said nothing. Then he looked at Ammar and said, "I will do anything for her."
"Don't tell me that you have a crush on her."
"Ammar, shut up before I throw you to the nearest star."
Both burst into laughter and continued their conversation, reminiscing about their past. Shizuka smiled and sat down next to Mikhail as he looked at Ammar and said, "By the way, don't tell her about this conversation."
"Only if you train me."
As for Ammar, he saw Mikhail hugging the lifeless Amaris while crying. He then noticed someone standing before Mikhail with a smirk on his face and said, "Look at you, holding the girl's dead body. Had you surrendered and pledged your loyalty to me, she wouldn't have died for you."
Without any consideration of kindness nor letting Mikhail mourn for the death of his close friend, Daihachi kicked him away and with a flick of wrist, he bisected Amaris' lifeless body. This enraged Mikhail who punched Daihachi, injuring him, much to the demon's surprise.
"YOU FILTHY BRAT!"
Slamming his palm on Mikhail's chest, Daihachi gave a smirk which caused the teenager to receive numerous invisible slashes that knocked him away. Daihachi was about to continue his attack when a tall, tan-skinned, Malay teenager struck him from behind.
"ZUAN! NO!"
In a split second, the teenager, identified as Zuan, was punched to the ground. Then, everything became slow as Daihachi crushed Zuan's head by stomping it, killing the student instantly. The spectators who were taken as hostages were horrified, including Mikhail who then screamed in rage. His scream was so loud that everyone, even Daihachi, had to cover their ears as Mikhail generated an unstable, jagged, flame-like dark blue aura.
Lifting his head slowly, Mikhail opened his eyes and his once dark eyes now became dark blue.
Daihachi widened his eyes and stuttered, "K-K-Kamigan?!"
"FROM THIS MOMENT, I WILL END YOUR LIFE, DEMON!"
Witnessing everything, Ammar was shocked as he watched Mikhail overpower Daihachi to the point the Demon begged for mercy. He watched his best friend brutally beat the Demon before receiving a punch to his face, pushing the Kamigan wielder slightly. Enraged by the thought of losing to a mere mortal, Daihachi gathered his demonic energy that shook the entire world and laughed hysterically at Mikhail.
The Demon King stated that he is going to end Mikhail's life as well as the others by exploding himself, giggling when the furious teenager said nothing. Suddenly, Mikhail drove his arm straight through the Demon's chest and pinned him to the nearby pillar.
Ammar then noticed that Mikhail glanced at Shizuka and the next thing that happened was everyone suddenly disappeared from the location. He then saw a bright light begin to emerge from both of them, and before the light could consume him, a hand grabbed Ammar from behind and yanked him away.
Ammar found himself standing in front of Nishiki and Shizuka. He shook his head and asked whether they were real or part of Mikhail's memories.
"Kid, it's us. Calm down, what did you see?" Nishiki asked the dizzy Ammar.
Biting his lips, Ammar replied, "The death of Amaris and Zuan… And the moment he awakened his eyes."
Both Katagiri and Kashimo widened their eyes and looked at one another, thinking why did Ammar see Mikhail's worst memory. As they were thinking about the reason why Ammar witnessed that terrible memory, a cry of agony attracted their attention.
"Follow me!"
Shizuka and Ammar followed Nishiki towards a cave and then they abruptly stopped when they saw a gigantic and demonic Rae squeezing Mikhail's body with her palm. In an instant, Shizuka punched the monster in the face while Nishiki discharged a massive burst of electricity, freeing Mikhail. The monster growled at them and swatted Nishiki who managed to protect himself.
The monster then knocked Shizuka to the nearby wall with her tail and continued tormenting Mikhail. For unexplainable reasons, Ammar suddenly gained strength beyond his imagination and with that strength, he blitzed towards the monster and punched her in the head so hard that the monster faded into thin air.
"Mika, are you alright?"
Ammar extended his arm forward, helping Mikhail to get on his feet as Shizuka and Nishiki approached them. Seeing Nishiki after so long surprised Mikhail who was about to say something when he noticed something that terrified him.
"Whatever you guys are going to do. Do not, and I mean it. DO NOT turn around."
Mikhail's words made them confused, with Shizuka trying to take a look behind them, but Mikhail sternly told her not to do so. A few seconds later, he collapsed to his knees and vomited blood alongside nails, hair strands and glass shards. This horrified and confused everyone and when they tried to inquire about his situation, Mikhail raised his hand to stop them from talking.
"Y-You guys need to leave…"
"B-But–"
"NOW!" Mikhail screamed at Shizuka who nodded her head. He then watched the three of them fade into thin air as he shakily stood up. He then looked at a figure in front of him and said, "You are nothing but a dream."
The figure with dark angelic wings chuckled wryly and spoke in a demonic tone, "I am you, remember?"
The figure then pointed something next to Mikhail where he saw himself standing among corpses with dark angelic wings slowly sprouting on his back. This enraged Mikhail who yelled, "You are just a nightmare! A mistake that night. I wish that night was just a dream."
"Dream or nightmare that still haunts you to this day?"
The next thing Mikhail saw was the figure lunging at him with glowing red eyes. He woke up and the first thing the young man noticed was that he's in a familiar room. Getting out of bed, Mikhail nearly fell but managed to regain his mobility before slowly leaving the room.
Stepping out from the room, Mikhail figured out that he's in his family house. He used the wall as a support to walk downstairs and saw Shizuka talking with Mizuki and Nishiki. The three of them noticed Mikhail and Shizuka immediately rushed to him, placing his right arm around her neck to help him move to the sofa.
"How long was I out?"
"A week. What was the last thing you remember?" Shizuka asked before sitting down right next to Mikhail who covered his face with right palm.
"I… I can't remember," Mikhail said. He took a deep breath and then, "Wait, where's Ammar and Camellia?"
"Mother took them to Tokyo to buy some stuff. No idea when they will return," Mizuki replied. "Thank God you survived."
"Who is that masked woman?"
Everyone looked at one another. Shizuka explained that the woman that Mikhail fought earlier is a very powerful and sadistic demon known as Rae Elizabeth. She appeared around three years ago and earned the Nightmare Demon moniker for her brutality in hunting down the Hunters. Those who survived her encounter will suffer nightmares for days before committing suicide.
"She knew who I was," everyone widened their eyes in confusion, staring at Mikhail as he continued, "She was there when we first met, Shizuka. She was there when I fought Daihachi."
"Rae Elizabeth is not a Demon. She is a human with demonic energy and someone from my past."
"That's not possible," Mizuki looked at her younger brother. "A human with demonic energy? That's impossible because ordinary humans without the knowledge of manipulating their Mystic Energy, can't have demonic energy because the moment they are exposed to the energy, they will either turn into a Demon or burn to ashes."
"Yeah, Mizuki's right. Just like your two friends, they were exposed to Damia's demonic energy and they are slowly turning into a Demon." Shizuka added.
"I can't shake the feeling that Rae Elizabeth is just a human with demonic energy. Anyways, it's been a while, Nishiki," Mikhail stared at the smirking Nishiki. "Where have you been since I last saw you?"
"Well, it's a long story… Let's start with…"
***
After catching up with Nishiki and hearing his story about his sudden disappearance, Mikhail could be seen on the balcony. He was so lost in his thoughts and didn't realize Shizuka approached him until she grabbed his shoulder.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just wondering about maybe I should start training so that I won't lose to someone like Rae again."
Shizuka was surprised, causing Mikhail to notice and inquire the reason for that expression to which she replied, "I'm surprised that you are thinking about training because as far as I know, you never had a training before and yet, you already defeated me, Kashimo, and the Demon King."
Mikhail chuckled and then said, "Well, times change. I'm still debating about this matter because once I start training, I will draw out my energy and if that happens… Disasters are going to occur."
Shizuka gently punched him and sternly told him to stop thinking negatively and for once try to think positively. She then asked Mikhail what kind of disasters will happen, but the young man had no answer.
"Come on," Shizuka offered her hand to Mikhail, confusing him. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand before saying, "Let's clear your mind."
As Mikhail was being dragged by Shizuka to an unknown destination, he saw a figure observing him from far away. The figure was none other than Daihachi, shocking Mikhail who blinked his eyes to confirm it but found out that figure had disappeared.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing… Nothing. Let's just grab a meal or something."
Unknown to both of them, especially Mikhail, a butterfly tattoo-like mark began to form on his neck. The mark began to emit dark pink mist as it slowly disappeared.