Knight Blackburne, brandishing the Sword of Perfection, propelled himself towards Azurath, the killing blow poised on the edge of his blade. As he closed the distance, a hulking ogre interposed, shoving Azurath aside and taking the full brunt of the strike. The ogre stumbled back, his severed arm thudding to the ground, a macabre fountain of blood erupting from the stump.

Blackburne, his bloodlust momentarily quelled, stared in disbelief.

That was fast, for a brute. I should have finished the demon when I had the chance...

He regained his footing, his stance once again aggressive. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed Kokusho was still guarding Princess Elysia. Good. He turned his attention back to Azurath and the maimed ogre.

"What's wrong, Knight Blackburne? Surely a hero like you doesn't mind a little uneven fight?" Azurath taunted, surging forward with the ogre at his side. Blackburne narrowly evaded their combined assault, but as he hovered in the air, the ogre launched himself for another attack.

Blackburne blocked the ogre's punch, but the sheer force sent him hurtling through several houses, finally crashing into a small hut. He groaned, wincing in pain.

Damn. Please, let Kokusho have escaped with Elysia. I... I can handle these two. This is nothing...

Through the gaping hole he'd created, he saw the ogre approaching. Ignoring the pain, he pushed himself to his feet. As the ogre attacked again, Blackburne dodged, the hut collapsing around them. He backpedaled, his grip tightening on the Sword of Perfection.

I can't lose this... It's the only way to win...

The ogre emerged from the debris, grinning savagely. With a roar, he charged, aiming a final, unavoidable blow.

Blackburne's senses sharpened. In a blur of motion, he leapt, twisting in mid-air, the Sword of Perfection a silver arc that cleaved through the ogre's neck. The ogre's headless body stumbled, then collapsed, its head rolling to a grotesque stop.

Blackburne landed gracefully, panting. Even for a god, the ogre had been a formidable opponent. No wonder Azurath had chosen him.

One down, one to go... Azurath's head is next.

A deafening explosion ripped through the air. Blackburne whirled around. A crimson light blazed from the direction of his initial confrontation with Azurath. His heart sank.

Kokusho... Elysia...

He dropped into a fighting stance, channeling his energy into the Sword of Perfection.

O Sword of Perfection, I beseech thee. Grant me your limitless SPEED!

He shot towards the red light, his speed so great it shattered the ground beneath him. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the epicenter. In slow motion, he saw Azurath draining a vial of dark energy.

NO!

Blackburne's attack would have been impossible to dodge under normal circumstances, but Azurath, empowered by the dark energy, narrowly evaded the strike. The slash, meant for Azurath's neck, tore into the ground, nearly splitting the kingdom in two. Blackburne stumbled, gasping for breath.

Damn!

He watched as Azurath finished the dark energy, discarding the empty vial.

"Perhaps with this power, even a god can bleed..." Azurath grinned, launching himself at Blackburne, claws extended. Blackburne sidestepped, severing Azurath's arm, which regenerated instantly. Azurath retaliated with a kick to Blackburne's gut, sending him crashing into the clock tower.

As the tower crumbled, Azurath gave chase. Blackburne leapt from one falling stone to another, Azurath hot on his heels. Azurath nearly caught him, but Blackburne grabbed his arm, plunging the Sword of Perfection deep into Azurath's chest.

"WHAT?!" Azurath screamed, the sword burning his very soul. Blackburne grinned as they crashed to the ground, the sword pinning Azurath to the earth.

Dazed, Azurath looked up at Blackburne, who towered over him, his expression cold.

Slowly, Blackburne withdrew the sword. Azurath gasped, blood gushing through his clenched teeth.

"Agh..." he managed, before drawing his last breath.

Suddenly, a loud beeping filled the air. It seemed to come from the back of Blackburne's head. Blackburne - Harlow - slowly opened his eyes, his vision swimming. The beeping resolved into the shrill wail of a fire alarm. No, it was louder, more insistent.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Ugh, what's that noise? It's so loud... And I was having such a good dream too.

Harlow stirred, propped against his pillow, a manga book obscuring his face. He tossed the book aside, blinking in the harsh light of his cell. Aside from the incessant alarm, everything appeared...normal.

Eeeeehhhhhh. Eeeeehhhhhh. Eeeeehhhhhh.

The alarm continued its relentless shriek. With a sigh, Harlow sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He padded to the door, confusion knitting his brow.

What's going on? Is this a signal to leave?

He tested the handle, but the door remained stubbornly locked.

I could break it, but... He glanced back at the manga on his bed. I don't want to leave that behind. What if I don't come back?

Decision made, he retrieved the book, then returned to the door. After a moment's hesitation, he casually gripped the handle and pulled. The door, hinges protesting, swung open with a metallic screech that echoed down the empty hallway.

Harlow stepped out, the silence pressing in on him. The hallway stretched in both directions, dimly lit and seemingly endless. A cold draft snaked around his ankles, raising goosebumps on his arms.

Left or right?

He hesitated, then a faint, coppery scent tickled his nose. It seemed to be coming from the left.

Left it is, then.

Clutching his manga, Harlow turned left and began walking down the silent, blood-scented hallway.

...

Yowaya's heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his ribs. His breath caught in his throat, each gasp a losing battle against the rising tide of nausea. The horrific image—blood and viscera splattered across the cold tile—replayed endlessly in his mind's eye, a macabre nightmare he couldn't escape.

Such horrors had only ever been distant news reports, unreal and far removed. Now, their reality clawed at his sanity, reducing him to a trembling, cornered animal.

I'm nothing but food.

Uncontrollable tremors wracked his body, a primal fear he couldn't suppress.

This is how it feels to be at the bottom of the food chain.

Tears had long since dried, leaving behind a sticky residue and the bitter taste of despair. He huddled beneath the office desk. The sounds of his coworkers' demise echoed in his ears. Guilt gnawed at him; while they fought and died, he cowered in the dark, paralyzed by an all-consuming terror.

His phone, its screen cracked and lifeless, lay useless in his hand.

I can't even tell Fukui I love her.

He stifled a sob, the silence pressing down on him with suffocating weight. A sudden THUMP against the office window shattered the silence, sending his heart into a frenzied gallop. A heavy body slumped against the glass, the sickening sounds of tearing and feasting following in its wake. The monster, its appetite whetted, had returned.

Distant gunfire erupted. Then, a guttural scream, a sickening crack, and the wet, sloshing sounds of consumption resumed. Yowaya squeezed his eyes shut, his mind reeling.

Harlow...is he...?

The thought trailed off, replaced by a chilling realization. Harlow was a monster too, but against that...Hope dwindled with each passing moment. If Harlow was gone, Dr. Sunji's fortified basement offered the only chance, however slim, of survival. Yowaya's stomach churned; he fought the urge to retch with each horrifying sound that reached his ears.

Another crack, another body hurled against the window. The gunfire continued. Yowaya clutched his head, the world tilting, spinning into darkness. He was losing his grip, slipping into the abyss of madness.

I can't...I can't...

...

"OH GOD! PLEASE! STOP! STOP!" An officer pleaded, desperately firing his assault rifle at the enormous, pale, and hulking cyclops monster. The officer turned and fled, but the monster lunged forward, seizing the officer's arms.

"I BEG YOU! STOP!" the officer screamed. The monster, unmoved, casually tore the officer in half, spraying blood and guts across the walls. The creature knelt and began to devour the remains: the pancreas, the stomach, the intestines, and some of the flesh.

The fear and adrenaline coursing through the officer had made the meal even more delectable. After finishing, the monster approached the wall and licked away the blood and gore.

Further down the hall, Harlow strolled, oblivious to the chaos. He paused, noticing bullet casings scattered across the floor.

Huh? What's this? Why are these here? What's going on?

He knelt, picking up a shell.

As usual, he was puzzled but unconcerned. He continued, manga book in hand.

I'm starting to smell blood. Oh... what's this?

He stopped, his eyebrows raised. Was that an arm? Why was there an arm on the floor? Could there be a monster on the loose?

Oh... it's starting to make sense now.

He began to jog down the hallway, the sound of his footsteps echoing. Suddenly, he came upon a gruesome scene: a pile of corpses, limbs, and guts spread across the floor.

Oh, that's not good. People are dying.

He carefully navigated the carnage. As he walked, he spotted the monstrous creature licking blood from the wall.

Ew. Is that a monster? What is that thing? I'm so confused. Maybe I'm dreaming again...

"Hey, bro, what are you doing?" Harlow asked, crossing his arms and squinting.

The monster turned to face him. "Well, hello there. I can sense you're a monster too. I left some bodies over there if you want to have some."

"Bodies? Why are you eating them? That's disgusting, bro..." Harlow replied, averting his gaze.

The monster frowned and stood up, revealing its towering height. "Aren't you a monster too? You should eat well to stay healthy. Here, have a limb," it offered, tossing a limb at Harlow. Harlow ignored it.

"Bleh, disgusting," he muttered, turning away and sticking out his tongue.

The monster, offended, advanced towards Harlow, its footsteps shaking the ground. "THEN DIE!" it roared, swatting Harlow so hard that he crashed into the wall.

The monster, assuming the kill was complete, turned away. But to its surprise, Harlow emerged from the wall, unscathed. Harlow smirked.

"Oh, so you want to role-play too? Well, I'm Knight Blackburne, half-god-half human, and you can be a monster. It's my job to slay you," Harlow declared.

Before the monster could react, Harlow delivered a powerful punch to its chin, sending it flying through the roof.

"Oh, I hit it too hard by accident. Well, it's okay. This was just role-play anyway. Hope we can do it again," Harlow said, picking up his damaged manga book. "I need to find something to protect it."

He continued down the hallway, determined to uncover the truth.