Shikoku
"According to Genji, a group of Hunters reportedly went missing several days ago after they were tasked to investigate the disappearance of children in this factory. Their communications were cut off and the last thing that could be heard was a loud growling."
Shizuka kept her phone inside the pocket of her cargo pants and stared at the factory before them. Something odd, malicious, cold, and dark was coming from inside. She released a heavy sigh and looked at Ammar.
"Listen, I know you are excited about taking this mission. If something goes wrong, if I can't protect you or I am injured badly to the point I am your liability, just run. Just run as far as you can and call for your friend," Shizuka told Ammar. "After all, we do not know what's waiting for us."
"I understood, sensei. Don't worry, I believe in you."
Giving a sharp nod at Ammar, Shizuka instructed her to stay by her side as they both entered the factory. Nothing odd, they thought as they were observing the environment until Ammar noticed something moving behind them from the corner of his eye.
"Sensei…"
"What?"
"Something is definitely inside this place."
Shizuka tried to sense the presence of any Demon, but was unable to do so. She was about to turn around when a large hand came at her face which she barely could dodge. The large hand then disappeared, replaced by a pressurized, gigantic, bullet of flame that forced them to jump away.
'A flaming bullet? Could it be…'
Shizuka quickly reinforced her entire body, specifically the abdomen area, with her Mystic Energy just in time to withstand the punch of a light red-skinned figure. Despite reinforcing her own body to decrease the impact, Shizuka crashed into the nearby wall and coughed up blood.
The figure then revealed itself as Ifrit who's grinning madly at Shizuka. Ifrit then glanced at the terrified Ammar and sneered at him, making the young man unconsciously take several steps away.
"So, Katagiri and one of the Children of Darkness are here. What can I do for you?" Ifrit greeted them by mockingly bowing before the two of them and then grinned madly. "I was hoping that the brat with those accursed eyes would come and face me instead of you two coming here. Don't tell me that he's afraid of facing another Demon after losing to not one but two."
"Cut it out, Ifrit! I know that you are the reason why those Hunters disappeared!" Shizuka angrily yelled at the Infernian Djinn.
"Well, that took a while. Since you already figured it out, let's fight in my domain."
Forming a unique hand sign, Ifrit gave a wicked smile at both Shizuka and Ammar. In the next few seconds, the three of them were transported to an environment that resembles the inside of a volcano with several gigantic erupting volcanoes, blazing tornados, and falling meteors in the background.
Experiencing the rising temperature, Shizuka coated her entire body with her Mystic Energy and instructed Ammar to do so. The two of them looked at Ifrit who transformed into his human version and manifested a pair of large blades that were attached to one another via bronze chains. With a smirk, Ifrit lunged at them and swung down his weapons.
Shizuka quickly caught the blades with her bare hands, giving a chance to land the first attack by Ammar to Ifrit's abdomen. The Infernian Demon giggled and remarked that Ammar's punch felt like a poke before kicking him away and freeing his blades. Swinging it wildly, Ifrit relentlessly attacked his female opponent who was forced to defend herself.
Eventually, Shizuka received a devastating punch to her head, incapacitating her temporarily. Ifrit then thrust his weapon at her abdomen, but Ammar appeared just in time and blocked it, cutting his own hands in the process.
Recovering from the punch, Shizuka clenched her right fist that produced a dark silver flame-like aura. She then threw a powerful punch at Ifrit's chest, breaking a few of his ribs. She glared angrily at Ifrit and screamed,
"Take this, Demon!!"
Ifrit coughed up an enormous amount of blood and was knocked into the nearby blazing tornado as the punch created a massive explosion. Jumping out of the blazing tornado, Ifrit's wounds began to heal themselves as he slammed his palms to the ground and summoned an army of burning skeletons that attacked both Ammar and Shizuka.
"Ifrit's mine!" Shizuka yelled as she pumped up her fist and charged at Ifrit, leaving Ammar behind to face Ifrit's minions.
'Can I do this?' Ammar thought to himself as he remembered the night where Mikhail and him had a conversation about his past.
Flashback
"Hey, I've been wanting to ask you this question ever since I found out who you really are."
Mikhail stopped eating the burger that Shizuka cooked for him and looked at Ammar with a confused yet curious face.
"When you were fighting Daihachi, didn't you feel fear? Fear of your own death? I mean… You're fighting an inhuman being that's capable of killing you in an instant, but–"
"I did feel fear," Mikhail took a bite of the burger and looked at it. "For the first time, I felt fear when I fought that bastard. Of course, if you're fighting a powerful being like that bastard, you will feel fear. Fear of death, failure…"
He took another bite and then continued, "But I pushed that fear away when I saw the hope in the eyes of the hostages. My friends, my teachers, and even some of the Royal Clan. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel fear or pressure when I was fighting that monster, but if it's not me, then who else will stop him?"
Ammar nodded his head and then after thinking for a while, he asked the next question, "Do you think that one day, I will fight someone like Daihachi?"
"Maybe. And when that happens, when you feel fear slowly overwhelming you, just remember your family, your friends, and those who you desire to protect. That feeling will give you the unimaginable strength that will throw away that fear."
Flashback Ended
With Mikhail's words echoing in his mind, Ammar took a deep breath and punched the skeleton soldier in the face, killing it instantly. He then began to fight them one by one as Shizuka and Ifrit engaged one another in the air.
At the same time, Nishiki could be seen killing Nero by discharging a massive burst of electricity into the Demon's head. As Nero's lifeless, charred body fell to the ground, he melted into a pool of thick liquid and reappeared not too far from him.
"Dammit!"
Nishiki had been fighting Nero for a while, and ever since they were transported into this sort of strange domain, he noticed that each time he kills Nero, the Demon will reappear without any scratch. As for Camellia, she couldn't contribute anything other than witnessing their fight.
Nishiki began to feel exhausted. He looked at his injured hands and gazed at the smirking Nero.
"Feeling tired already, Kashimo?"
Nishiki gave a middle finger and fired a rapid lightning blast at Nero who swiftly avoided them all and threw several punches in Kashimo's face. Nero then touched Nishiki's face and a few seconds later, he fired a demonic energy wave at point-blank, knocking Nishiki out cold.
Seeing the defeated and unconscious Nishiki lying on the ground, Camellia was shaking in fear and realized that Nero stood behind him with a creepy smile. His hand latched around her throat as Nero lifted the terrified Camellia in the air.
"I wonder why Queen Dayana wants you more than the other one. I see nothing special about you other than a burden to the people that you know," Nero coldly said before slamming her to the ground as hard as he could. "Squirm like a worm, mortal. You can't do anything other than beg for your life and freedom."
Camellia couldn't breathe and tried to free herself by punching Nero in the face. This enraged him so much that he let her go and kicked the poor woman in the stomach, causing her to crash into a tree. Groaning in agony while clutching her abdomen, Camellia looked up and received a brutal kick to her face.
"FILTHY MORTAL! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!?"
Nero repeatedly kicked Camellia in the face until she passed out with her face covered with her blood. He sneered at her and was about to grab her when suddenly, someone grabbed his wrist.
"What the–"
Turning to his side very slowly, Nero widened his eyes when he saw Mikhail giving him a soul-piercing gaze. For the first time, Nero was struck by fear when he saw Mikhail's lone Kamigan. The divine eye radiated an intense killing instinct that caused Nero to experience a series of illusions regarding ways of his death at the hands of Mikhail.
Gripping the Demon's wrist tightly to the point Nero gritted his teeth in pain, Mikhail coldly said, "Tell your mother that the day where she dies is coming. This is not a warning, this is a promising threat."
"Wh-What?"
In an instant, Mikhail buried his fist into Nero's stomach, creating dark purple rainbow-like shockwaves with blue electric sparks. The impact of the punch not only gravely injured Nero but also cancelled his technique which caused the environment to shift back to Busan station. Overwhelmed by pain, Nero tried to escape but Mikhail kicked him in the face which knocked him to the nearby pillar.
"Enjoying harming an innocent girl?" Mikhail asked before slamming his foot into Nero's face. "I'M ASKING YOU, DEMON! DO YOU ENJOY IT?!"
Nero was about to reply but Mikhail punched him in the face so hard that he knocked out a few of Nero's sharp teeth. The young Genji then struck the Demon with his knee and punched him in the throat.
"I could've killed you right here right now, but where's the joy of making you tremble in fear and beg for mercy if I do that, right?" Mikhail choked Nero and lifted him into the air with one hand. "The next time you touch my friend, especially her, I will show you suffering beyond anything you have ever experienced in your entire life."
As soon as Mikhail said that, he launched a devastating punch to Nero's abdomen and watched the Demon whizzing in pain. He spat at the Demon and then teleported Nishiki away before carrying the unconscious Camellia in a bridal style. Giving one last glance at the brutally wounded Nero, Mikhail warned him that the day where he, alongside his kind, would die is coming sooner than they expected.
Before teleporting away, Nero watched Mikhail's face briefly transform into a demonic version which terrified him. He then disappeared from Mikhail's sight, leaving the young Genji to teleport away.
At the same time
Eliminating the last minion, Ammar went to help Shizuka who was struggling to fight Ifrit that had an advantage due to the environment that slowly weakened Shizuka. Ammar was about to attack Ifrit when suddenly a large spear went through his left chest, causing spikes to burst out from the right side of his body.
"AMMAR!" Shizuka yelled before receiving a powerful punch across her face, knocking her to the ground. "Nggh…"
She was about to stand up when Ifrit stomped on her back and viciously clawed her back with his sharp claws, injuring her as she cried in agony. Ifrit then proceeded to take a chunk of her flesh and grinned, savouring the taste of the human's flesh and blood.
He was about to take another bite when suddenly, the environment cracked like a glass, indicating the environment was destroyed. Ifrit turned around and saw a floating Mikhail with his lone Kamigan, staring at the fiery Demon with intense hatred.
"The Cursed Child."
Without saying a word, Mikhail appeared right in front of Ifrit and swiftly threw a punch that went through his chest. Ifrit was shocked and horrified as Mikhail placed his other hand on the Demon's shoulder before pushing his arm deeper.
"B-But how?!"
"It's simple," Mikhail whispered as he looked down. Then, he raised his head, revealing his demonic face and said, "You are weak."
Removing his arm from Ifrit's chest, Mikhail punched the Demon away before teleporting the badly injured Ammar and lifting the barely conscious Shizuka. The young woman looked at Mikhail who gave her a small smile, assuring that everything's going to be fine before teleporting away.
Before Ifrit retreated, he swore he could see a mysterious, glowing butterfly tattoo-like mark on Mikhail's neck and sensed a negative aura coming from it.