The Demon tore into its prey with guttural, almost delighted growls. Its blank, lipless mouth stretched in grim satisfaction, the only feature on its pale, expressionless face.

Even in their madness, Nightmare Creatures were not without thought. They hungered for human souls, power, corruption, and territory but the stronger ones, the Demons and above, carried a warped sort of intellect.

So when a thin column of smoke curled into the sky, the creature stilled. Slowly, it raised its long, gaunt arms. The eyes embedded in its palms blinked, and its mouth twitched upward in a grotesque smile.

For a moment, it hesitated... balancing the pleasure of its current meal against the promise of something greater.

Then, a chorus of distant roars rolled across the chasm, echoing through the jagged cliffs of the Hollow Mountains.

Somewhere to the north, Nightmare Creatures were tearing each other apart over something.

The Demon's nature was that of a scavenger. It preferred not to hunt, only to wait, to take the leftovers, to strike at the weary and the wounded. The easy kill.

The acrid scent of scorched flesh drifted in from the north, curling through the air like a bad omen... or opportunity. Moments later, the mountains fell silent.

The Demon's palm-eyes narrowed. It lingered, weighing the risk of leaving its territory. But the lure of an easy feast was too tempting. Scavenging held no real danger, only reward.

It moved with long, loping strides toward the battlefield, following the faint trails of smoke and the deep impressions left in the soil. Then it halted, tilting its head as a faint, ragged struggle reached its ears.

Slowly, it lifted its long arms, the eyes in its palms swiveling.

Pale pupils dilated. Its mouth split into a wide, wicked grin.

Through the shimmering haze of heat vision, it saw the outline of a Nightmare Creature thrashing weakly.

Full of glee, the Demon broke into a loping sprint, closing the distance in great, hunched strides.

There it was, a lizard-type Abomination sprawled in the dirt, its legs mangled beyond repair, its tail twitching weakly. The creature hissed, powerless to move.

The Demon stopped for a heartbeat, savoring the sight. Then, with a guttural growl, its mouth split wide, not merely opening, but unfurling and revealing row upon row of jagged, serrated fangs.

It lunged.

The lizard screamed, thrashing in panic, but the Demon's long arms pinned it in place. Its teeth sank deep into scaled flesh, and with a savage jerk, it tore away the neck in a spray of steaming blood.

The struggling stopped.

Lowering its head, the Demon fed greedily, draining the corpse until the skin clung tight to the bone. Then, licking its lipless maw clean, it seized the limp body and began dragging it back toward the shadows of its territory.

The Demon dragged its prize into the heart of its territory and tossed the limp carcass onto the heap of other corpses. The sight pleased it. Ut was proof of the fact that it had made the right choice in investigating.

But then… something was wrong.

The glittering soul shards it had discarded earlier… were gone.

Its head tilted in a jerky, unnatural motion. The eyes in its palms snapped open, glowing faintly as they swept the ground.

That's when it saw him.

A young man stood a some distance away, curly black hair framing a face painted with amusement and mischief. With casual precision, he was plucking shards from the dirt and tossing them into a strange bag, one that somehow swallowed far more than it could possibly hold.

And all the while, he hummed tunelessly, hips swaying in an odd, playful rhythm that made the Demon hesitate, if only for a heartbeat.

"Samina mina, eh eh~ Waka waka, eh eh~"

"Amon…"

He blinked and glanced at the frozen Medici.

"Eh? What's wrong?"

Medici didn't answer. He simply lifted a finger and pointed behind him.

Amon frowned, tilted his head… and then his humming trailed off into silence. His smile froze in place.

Slowly, he tightened his grip on the bag before letting it vanish into his soul sea. Then, with forced cheer, he raised a hand in greeting.

"…Hi. Heheheheheh."

A heartbeat later, he spun on his heel and bolted in the opposite direction.

Medici just stood there, momentarily stunned until he saw the absurd speed Amon reached, the kind that only came from sheer terror of being eaten alive. With a muttered curse, he took off after him.

For a long moment, the Demon didn't move. The air was still.

Then, a deep, bestial roar tore through the chasm, rattling the stone and sending flocks of pale-winged creatures screaming into the sky.

Medici caught up, lungs burning as they tore across the jagged terrain. The ground trembled with each of the creature's monstrous strides behind them. Its pale, ghostlike form cutting through the shadows, roaring with raw fury.

They reached another chasm, barely slowing before leaping across. They hit the ground hard, rolled, and scrambled back to their feet without breaking stride. The roars only grew closer.

Medici shot Amon a sharp look, his voice tight with urgency.

"What now? Your plan didn't work! That thing came back earlier than you said it would!"

Amon blinked at him, then outrageously grinned.

"Huh? Who said it didn't work?"

Medici's jaw clenched. "It's chasing us!"

"And I," Amon said, with the tone of a man explaining fine art to a toddler, "just digested a tiny bit of Swindler. The real trick isn't forcing someone, it's letting them think they're in control. Guiding their choice… so that the choice they make is the one you wanted all along."

Medici stared at him like he'd lost his mind, the beast's roar rattling the very stones beneath them. Then his eyes flickered in sudden realization.

"Wait… you're already setting up your acting principles?"

Amon only shrugged as they leapt another gap, fingers hooking into jagged stone. He hauled himself up with ease, the Abomination's guttural shrieks echoing as it scrambled after them.

"I mean, yeah? Not exactly rocket science. Feels pretty natural to me."

Medici followed, his jaw tight, not entirely from the climb. Something about Amon's smug calmness made his blood heat.

And that was the problem.

He hated anger. Hated the way it burned reason to ash. He'd spent two years in therapy learning to kill it: breathing exercises, reframing, all of it. And now, of all the damn things the Spell could have given him, it made wrath his flaw... Shit!

Well, while Medici thought that, Amon was anything but calm. Fear gnawed at him, sharp and insistent. Sure, he had plans but what if they didn't work? The thrill of swindling was drowned under a deep, cold dread that gripped his chest.

It will work… it has to! Wait... Heh, it's like subway surfer. Eh, nostalgia.

He pushed himself forward, sprinting over jagged rocks, and stole a glance back. The demon was closing fast, its grotesque form swallowing the distance. Amon signaled to Medici just in time.

He saw the cue and launched a blazing fireball at the cliff. The demon leapt, spanning twenty meters in a single, horrifying jump, still hot on their trail.

Medici's hardened, annoyed expression softened slightly, and a small, genuine smile cracked across his face. With a wild laugh, he looked at Amon and gave him a thumbs up.

"Three! Two! One!"

BOOM!

The fireball detonated against the cliff, shattering the rocky terrain that had supported it. Debris rained down, scorching the demon's pale skin. The real danger, however, came from the possibility of it being buried alive under the rubble.

Medici and Amon high-fived, laughing, but neither dared to approach too closely, trashtalking demon ten meters away from rubble.

"Heh, what's the matter, dawg? Need a hand?"

"Come on, man. That's not cool. We need to buy it a wheelchair."

They exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

Then Amon froze, his grin fading into a thoughtful frown. His paranoid, hyper-cautious mind filled with worst-case scenarios.

"Hey… Medici. Did Spell… tell you about kill?"

Medici's laughter died instantly. His eyes widened slowly. Amon facepalmed in disbelief, ready to trash-talk him but before he could, a shiver of danger ran down both their spines. They leapt back simultaneously, instincts screaming.

One hand rose from the debris, dragging the demon's entire ragged, battered body out. It was alive. It looked around… and there was nothing... Two maggot... Disappeared?

At the same time...

"Shit! Shit! Shit! You said this one would work!"

Amon gulped as a roar shook the air.

"Okay! Maybe this one didn't but the next one definitely will! Just trust!"

Medici stared at him for a long moment.

"Bruh… how many?"

"As many as necessary! Justice!"

Amon shouted, leaping down the cliff side. Medici followed, sliding with him toward the chasm once again.

If he was honest, Amon thought this plan would work… maybe. He had one last trick up his sleeve but even then, their chances were only fifty-fifty. The demon was faster, deadlier, and stronger. They couldn't win in a straight fight. All Amon had left were his wits, his cunning, and the art of deception.

As he thought that, Amon felt the air ripped from his lungs. His ribs cracked with a sickening pop, and his vision blurred as the demon's elongated arm slammed into him and Medici. They were hurled down the cliffside, rolling across jagged rocks, their battered bodies worsening with every impact.

When they finally skidded to a stop, both sleepers looked up and froze.

The demon's hunched frame had straightened. Now it towered like a ten-meter giant. Slender yet menacing, injured yet terrifying, it radiated danger in every motion.

Medici fired compressed flames at it, each one detonating on contact. But it wasn't enough. His essence lacked the raw potency to match the demon. The difference in rank was staggering, a chasm of power separating them from their foe.

The demon shrugged off the flames with an annoyed growl, smoke clearing to reveal the red-haired boy hoisting a battered body over his shoulder and sprinting at full speed.

"Amon! How long do we need to run? It's closing in… no, that bastard's playing with us!"

Medici gritted his teeth, feeling for the first time the sharp sting of being the prey instead of the hunter. Still, he accepted it, recognizing it as part of the Hunter's acting principles.

Amon coughed up blood, his body nearly paralyzed from withstanding most of the demon's strike, but he forced a grin through the pain.

"Remember when I asked you to come with me to explore that cave?"

Medici's frown deepened, irritation flickering across his face. "So what?!"

Amon grinned, teeth bloodied but eyes still gleaming with that familiar, peculiar mischief.

"Well… I know where we are. Fire a compressed fireball at the ground, twelve meters from here, 9 o'clock."

Medici grimaced, annoyed at being left in the dark, but obeyed.

Crack!

The fireball detonated and than jagged fractures ripped across the ground. The demon was almost upon them, its elongated claws mere inches from their bodies.

Amon's pupils widened, one claw almost grazing his eye when the ground beneath them collapsed entirely. Their screams mingled with the demon's roar, echoing into the vast darkness.

At the same time, grey mist swirled in an instant, enveloping the area, swallowing everything alive and erasing it from existence.