A dull, aching pain, and numbness.

The young man lay face-up on the ground, his limbs spread helplessly to the side. His cloudy eyes stared blankly at the sky as he lay motionless, blood trickling from the corner of his open mouth.

It felt nearly impossible for him to move a muscle, as if a giant and heavy object was sitting on his chest, preventing him from moving. Surprisingly, he felt little to almost no pain.

At this moment in his life he was truly able to understand the meaning of the statement ‘seeing stars’. It felt as if the world was spinning all around him, as if he was wading through a thick fog. His brain felt slow and was unable to muster any thoughts. The best way he would describe it was as if he was underwater, but with the slow movement affecting his brain instead of his body.

“..!” Through the water, sounding muffled and distant, a loud and grating roar of laughter sounded out.

The instincts of survival within him riled his addled mind up, and his thoughts quickly began to clear. His brain, sensing imminent danger, coursed adrenaline through his body, shocking him awake like a drug. It became immediately obvious to him that feeling no pain was a bad thing, as it was a sign that his body was going into shock.

“Ugh…” Mican silently groaned as he groggily lifted his head up.

“AHAHAHA!” A gleeful laughter sounded out as his gaze met with the bone demon’s.

On the ground, a good distance away from him, lay the bone demon. Despite the blood gushing out of its various major wounds it still laughed in great joy as it crawled its way towards him, pushing forward with its left leg and desperately grabbing ahead of it with its left arm.

Time seemed to slow down as his gaze met with the demon’s. An intense wave of crazed greed and hunger washed over him, nearly stunning him. The emotions were clearly the only ones the cambion was feeling at the moment as it forced its broken body towards him.

Throughout this entire affair, the demon had not wavered even once in its goal. Even despite being broken, battered, and beaten down, it still clambered towards him, laughing as blood still dripped from its missing chin. The freak seemed almost mindless, and its crazed gaze wouldn’t leave him even once.

Mican’s eyes slowly widened as a shudder of fear ran through his body, but his eyes remained firmly glued on the crawling demon’s.

As terror ran through the young man’s body, he realized that his resolve was being put to the test for the first time. Rose’s intense desire and bloodthirstiness had made him feel fear, even despite his determination in coming to Yaribol.

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He had thought he had been prepared, but what for? For this?

For the maddened creature that was still clawing its way toward him?

‘It was only to be expected.’

That very thought ran through his head as he stared at the demon.

Before coming to this world, what sort of life had he lived? A comfortable one, with little brute violence and blood.

How would he be expected to adapt to such horrors? Wasn’t his strong front good enough to be proud of already? How could he not be expected to feel fear?

While Mican prided himself in his adaptability and his above average intelligence, he knew very well that he was no monster. He knew that only a truly fearless, brave, or… greater man, would not even have such thoughts cross his mind for a second, as the demon approached him.

But he despised the thought.

“It was only to be expected.” A soft mumble sounded out into the air as the young man stared the demon down, his eyes focusing and his gaze unwavering.

In relation to meaning, it was saying that he truly hated, and he refused to harbor such doubts about himself. Who was to decide what is expected or not? He himself decided, and that was why he continued glaring at the demon. If he were to look away now, he would never be able to stand back up again, to become a greater man, so he continued to glare.

Blood coursed through the young man’s body as he gritted his teeth. His veins pulsed weakly on his arms and his lower body completely refused to move, but he continued his efforts. Rapidly clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly, his fingers began moving to his will, the tips curling slightly.

It was evident to the young man that his body was already in a minor state of shock from the impact of the blows. It took him all of his effort to battle for control of his own body, but his efforts gradually began to pay off.

“GRAH!” Clenching his eyes tightly, Mican’s upper body shot up like a rocket as he roared out, setting himself into a sitting position.

His lower torse screamed in protest as an intense pain shot through his body, but he had more important matters to worry about.

Clumps of grass flew up as Mican slammed his good arm into the ground, forcibly flipping his body over as he began dragging himself towards the screaming cambion.

“AHHHHH!” As the demon quickly neared, it threw itself towards him with a scream, its upper mouth wide open.

“DIE!”

Inserting all of his strength into his good hand, Mican shot his arm forward. A thump sounded out as he grabbed the demon’s neck in one fluid motion, stopping his momentum in mid-air.

“GHURGHUUH!” A strangled cry arose from Rose’s throat as Mican grabbed him.

The two figures lay there under the blue moonlight, staring at each other.

They could see the wishes for death from each other, reflected from their eyes as the emotion coursed through their bodies.

In that very moment, silence filled the clearing, sounding unnatural and out of place from the previous abundance of sound.

The young man’s arm bulged with muscles as visible veins as he held the freak into the air by its neck, black blood spraying everywhere.

Crrrk!

A small clink sounded out into the atmosphere, breaking the silence. The sound was similar to breaking glass, or cracking ice, and it quickly grew louder in volume. From Mican’s hardened grasp on the demon’s neck grew several small cracks, which swiftly spread.

Directly after the crack appeared, a sharp sound pierced the air as the demon’s neck shattered, small pieces falling through Mican’s fingers, along with a flood of black blood.

The young man’s arm thudded onto the ground along with the cambion’s body, its head falling face-first onto the ground.

Panting heavily, he lay there exhausted.