The battle between Davis and Vincent roared across the forest, echoing like a primal symphony. Overwhelming emotion consumed Davis as he attacked with reckless abandon.

With each clash, chunks of the forest were destroyed, and Vincent quickly deduced that Davis's attacks grew fiercer with each passing minute. Dragging out the battle would only lead to Vincent's defeat.

Davis's body exuded an extraordinary level of magical energy, making Vincent's skin crawl. Davis's emotions clouded his mind, causing him to fight like a feral beast rather than a trained magician.

Vincent was keenly aware of this, and he maneuvered around it. Instead of confronting Davis head-on, Vincent dashed away, using his wires to launch multiple attacks from Davis's blind spots.

Unfortunately, his wires couldn't reach Davis. Each time they got close, they were severed by Davis's overflowing dark crimson energy. Vincent recalled his own experiences with sudden energy surges and knew that Davis would exhaust himself soon.

Vincent planned to tire Davis out, but with every passing moment, he found it increasingly difficult to evade Davis's relentless onslaught. "Aren't you relentless?" Vincent blurted out, gasping as sweat poured down his face. "Feeling tired yet, Davis?"

[ Davis roared out a demonic growl.]

Davis didn't answer, he couldn't. He swung a punch straight at Vincent's face, but Vincent barely managed to stop it, stacking his wires into three layers of a spider web.

Davis continued his relentless assault, each punch chipping away at the wires. Just as the wires were about to give way, Vincent reshaped them, creating an opening that ensnared Davis's arm. More wires sprang out, restraining Davis in place.

Vincent laughed at their predicament and pointed at Davis with a grin. "Are you also in a binding contract? Like me?" he joked, smiling at Davis.

Suddenly, the wires that restrain Davis started to vibrate violently. Vincent showed a worrisome expression as felt himself slowly losing control of his weapon as his mana disintegrated after making contact with Davis's crimson energy.

Twig* Twang* Twig* boom*

Vincent stared at Davis in disbelief as he wrapped him in multiple wires. Despite being reinforced by Vincent's mana, the wires became nothing more than strings under the influence of Davis’s crimson energy.

Breaking free with an animalistic roar, Davis charged at Vincent. Vincent barely managed to dodge by leaping out of the way.

BOOM*

A loud explosion erupted from where Vincent had stood moments before. Turning around, he watched in amazement as a 200-meter stretch, along with the tree he had been in front of, was obliterated.

"Okay, hand-to-hand combat it is," Vincent muttered, assuming a defensive stance. He could visibly sense Davis's energy waning significantly. With a roar, Davis charged at Vincent, aiming a strike at his face.

The attack missed, and Vincent capitalized on it by grabbing Davis's arm and delivering a swift elbow strike to the side of his head. A quick kick to Davis's knee sent him off balance, followed by a powerful knee strike to his chin knocking his head upward.

Vincent then used his wire to wrap around Davis’s neck, yanking him with all his strength into a nearby tree. Davis quickly cut the wire and freed himself, breathing heavily for a few seconds before rushing back in.

Davis's attacks were so predictable to a trained assassin like Vincent that he toyed with him as if he were a wild animal.

Davis attacked again, only to have his move deflected by Vincent. Swiping upwards with a claw-like motion, Davis's hand was kicked away, sending the energy blast into the ground. Using the same foot, Vincent kicked Davis in the stomach and followed up with a spin kick, knocking Davis to the ground.

Vincent smiled in delight, unaware that Davis's shadowy tendril had wrapped around his leg. Before he knew it, he was being pummeled into the ground repeatedly until the tendril finally dissipated leaving them both lying on the ground trying to get back on their feet.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Fortunately for Vincent, Davis's surge of energy finally came to an end as he fell to the ground unconscious. "What a stubborn person you are, Mr. Davis," Vincent stammered as he got back up.

"Shit, I forgot to ask about the Fenrir. Guess I have no choice," Vincent muttered, scratching his head. "I’m going in." Holding a bracelet adorned with numerous crystals, he walked over to Davis and propped him up against a tree.

Placing his hand on Davis's head, Vincent murmured, "Let's see what you know." Closing his eye, he begin chanting a strange incantation. The crystals on the bracelet shimmered before glowing brightly.

[ Laughter and chattering.]

Vincent opened his eyes to find himself in the forest. In front of him was a group sat around a campfire, two of them gazing at the stars. It was Davis before he signed the contract with K and before the Fenrir encounter.

"Oh, this is going to be a fun show," Vincent chuckled as he stared at them.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, the elite rescue team from the Empire, led by their esteemed leader, was making their way toward the cabin. Rachel, on the run from her pursuers, clutched her injured stomach tightly. She darted through the dark forest, using the trees to stay out of sight.

Knowing her limits, she realized she couldn't run much longer. With no other choice, she hid inside a fallen tree, holding her breath as she listened to the footsteps of her pursuers running past her hiding spot.

"What a fun conversation we had, my friend. I hope you made the right decision," Vincent saw Davis leave after his first discussion with Garrick and decided to follow him. Vincent was mused as he watched many of Davis's memories unfold.

At the front door of the restaurant, Vincent watched Davis exit and then glanced back in Garrick's direction. "Mr. Davis acts like two different people in his memories," he muttered, sighing. "What a strange person."

Vincent followed Davis, but as he opened the door, he didn't step into the buzzing street he had seen when he first entered. Instead, he walks into a dark living room that feels very nostalgic for Vincent.

"No, please, Vin, don't do it!" a yell came from the other room. Vincent turned and mumbled, "Mom," as he rushed in, only to witness a sight he wished he could forget. It was his family home, and before him lay his family in a pool of blood, with his younger self standing atop them.

Vincent's body shook in shock and disbelief as he stared at his younger self, who held the blood-soaked blade that had been used to kill their family. His young self turn and their haze met, Vincent froze, his mouth trembling as he tried to make a noise.

"What a tragic story," a voice whispered in his ear, making him jump.

When Vincent turned around, he found himself in a beautiful and serene landscape. Behind him was a majestic waterfall, and in front of him stood a table with two chairs. Strangely, one of the chairs was occupied by someone holding a newspaper from Earth.

"Did you have fun, Mr. Vincent?" a cheerful voice came from the man as he flipped to a new page of the newspaper. The same voice came from behind, and Vincent turned to see a handsome man, wearing a 3-piece suit, and a friendly smile. What is noticeable about him is his features he’s mesmerizing to look at, almost enchanting.

"May I ask whe—" Before he could finish, K shushed him. "There's no need to talk, my friend. Just enjoy your last moment of peace," K giggled with delight at Vincent's confusion.

K's laughter echoed through the air as his human form began to shift and contort. His body grew larger, with elongated arms and legs sprouting from his frame. Hundreds of red crimson eyes appeared all over his expanding form along with multiple mouths with teeth that can tear a man's flesh apart.

As he transformed, K sprouted six obsidian wings, each stretching out from his back like the wings of a monstrous creature. A long lizard-like tail emerged, its length spanning at least twenty meters behind him.

Vincent fell to the ground, screaming in pain. In the real world, his body convulsed violently as blood seeped from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, causing him to collapse to his knees.

In Davis's mind, K laughed demonically, watching and relishing Vincent's cries of agony as he writhed on the ground. "I wonder how you’ll taste" he smile revealing hundreds of fang pack into his mouth.

"Shh," K hushed Vincent quietly. "Don't fight it, just embrace it," he smiled sinisterly as he watched Vincent slowly disappear into a small ball of light. Grabbing the light with his hand.

Using his razor-sharp teeth he took a bite at the light. "Now that's a delicious soul," he chuckled, glancing at the imaginary sky. "It's my time to wake, I see. I wonder what that boy has been up to?" And with that, he disappeared.

Reappearing in his human form in front of Davis's unconscious body, K hummed playfully as his gaze turned to Vincent's lifeless form lying next to a dust of shattered crystals, a result of K's intervention in the dream world.

"Oh, aren't you the little Imp I left behind before I went into hibernation?" K said, raising an eye brow as the shadow demon moved from Davis's body into his, "You didn't cause any trouble, did you?" He playfully giggle.

[ Gibberish Whisper.]

K listened with various reaction, "Is that so?" he turn to Davis, "Hah, guess he has been using my power well... Good" He chuckle before something the shadow demon said that caught his attention, "Really? Hmm, well we can't let her die now, can we?"

After a mocking laugh at Davis's expense, K vanished into the night, leaving behind an eerie silence in the forest…