'Kerioth.'
The bastard who was supposedly dead appeared in front of him and returned as a demon.
Two years after Abyss opened, the United Force of Lohiya began to form the penal military units due to the dwindling fighting force, mobilizing convicts who were long-term inmates who had already served at least five years of their sentence into military service, just as he had.
Those who received lighter sentences from the court, on the other hand, were given the option of joining the military in their third year. According to the information he got, Kerioth joined the early units created.
'But I thought he died.'
Months after the mobilization, news spread about how the first units were completely annihilated.
Of course, it could be blamed for the lack of quality training provided or the shortage of time, but most people couldn't help but suspect that the penal military units were sent as a sacrifice to begin with.
It was expected, as there were really heinous criminals among them, and the world no longer has the luxury of time to distinguish between good and rotten fruits.
And so it wouldn't be far-fetched for some to abandon the service during the most critical times or turn their backs on humanity, just like in Kerioth's case.
"No, no, keep your mouths closed and retract your claws. That guy is mine."
Kerioth went on reprimanding the lower demons in the vicinity who were still greedily eyeing him, and the demons grudgingly obliged. It seemed Kerioth had somehow worked himself up the ladder for the last couple of years, albeit obviously without garnering any loyalty from those under him.
The largest of the demonic group resembling a humanoid canine approached Kerioth.
"What are your orders? We can search for and kill the remaining huma ---"
"Just stay there and behave yourselves, dogs."
The demon's eyes flashed, and a series of grunts were heard, but following Kerioth, they stepped aside.
"Good boys."
The devil, who was supposed to be dead, was in front of him, as if he were having the time of his life being chummy with the enemies of humanity. Well, seeing the single horn protruding from one side of Kerioth's forehead, it was obvious that he was one who sold his soul for power and to fraternize with the demons—it was a traitor's mark.
Though he was taken aback by Kerioth's presence, he quickly recovered and aimed his loaded gun at him; he'd be the best target for all remaining six bullets.
The petty demons went to the sides as Kerioth slowly came closer, his main character syndrome showing in his gait. He and the demons alike look at Kerioth in disgust.
Cutting off the revolting silence, he opened his mouth.
"It suits you."
After seven long years, they were the first words he said to his friend turned enemy.
"Do you mean this?"
Kerioth pointed at the horn and broke into a bright smile, or a semblance of one, seemingly receiving the comment as a compliment.
"I know, right? I went to hell and back just to have it, and it came with very hefty benefits. I got no plans to invite you, though."
"Are you crazy? There's no way in your abode I'd consider, unicorn."
"My, my, where's the goody-two-shoes Argus gone off to? Jailtime must have been difficult."
"Nah, I just don't want my talent wasted on the likes of you."
"Hahahahaha!"
There wasn't anything funny, but Kerioth roared in laughter, almost doubling over. On the other hand, he tightened his hold on the gun and pressed his cheek against the stock. He evenly aligned his eye with the sight of the shotgun, pointing in the direction where Kerioth's head would be once he straightened back up again, and slowly placed his finger on the trigger, ready to fire.
Kerioth, while speaking nonsense, gradually stood up from being happy on his own after a few seconds.
Of course, every filthy word just went from one ear to the other, and he focused on what he wanted to do. It was only right to ignore the crap that came out of Kerioth's dirty mouth.
"Fufu, though you already did, remember? That talent—that's the reason I loathe you. You can accomplish anything with a little effort; no fair, we wanted to do everything too, you know! But how does it feel to be dragged down from your high places —?"
Click. Boom!
Phew.
The moment he knew for sure that he would hit him right on the money, he immediately pulled the trigger, keeping still and mustering his remaining strength to withstand the recoil.
Unfortunately, despite being perfectly marked, Kerioth was able to save his entire head from being blown up from the get-go. However, a large chunk of flesh was drilled out of his face, leaving only one working eye and a partly mangled mouth.
As expected, demons of higher caliber are a very tough nut to crack. It wasn't even enough to faze Kerioth, who continued to talk, even in a slightly unintelligible manner.
"Grah, Argus, that's not a good attitude to greet an old frie—"
Click. Boom!
"I've never learned, sir. How about that?"
The second bullet came in a flash, but instead of dodging, Kerioth blocked it with his strengthened hand, causing only a little damage.
The remaining snake-like eye glinted beyond the smoke caused by the melted flesh.
"Ah, you've never changed; you still don't listen much."
'Ack!'
Click.
Boom!
At an instant, Kerioth came right in front of the shotgun's muzzle and tipped it before the third bullet could reach the end of the barrel. The aim went off, but instead it hit a couple of other demons watching from the sidelines.
"Grahhh!"
"Kieeee!"
Whether it was out of worry for Kerioth or out of spite for him, there was a bit of commotion on the side, but nobody approached to interrupt them.
It wasn't needed, as a blackened demonic hand grabbed his neck and began to choke him. As if showing that his attacks didn't cause pain in the slightest, Kerioth was using the damaged hand. The remaining three fingers squeezed his throat.
"Arghh"
"Would you listen now?"
He struggled as his body was lifted a few inches from the ground, and Kerioth made a satisfied expression.
"You know, I've always wanted to see you in person. In fact, after waking up from two years of hibernation, I immediately came to find —"
Slash!
He took a dagger from behind and tried to cut the hand choking him, but to no avail. His strength could only make a cut that wasn't too deep, and instead of being released, the grip tightened, suffocating him even more.
"As I was saying—"
Both Kerioth and he were stubborn. Despite his whole body screaming in pain, he didn't give up; it was time for him to take everything out of his arsenal. With his right hand, he grasped a grenade and flicked the pin with his thumb, throwing it quickly towards what remained of Kerioth's head.
Boom!
It went past Kerioth's incomplete head, but the bomb blew off from behind. The force was enough to displace Kerioth, and he was blown forward.
He got released from Kerioth's grasp, but he wasn't unscathed in the process either. Aside from the ringing in his ears and dust in his eyes, he experienced burns on the skin of his face and arms. He fell to the ground, gasping for air, but with his weapon tightly held.
"Hah, hah."
The pungent smell of burnt hair wafted in the air. Kerioth's back was burned in its entirety, a large portion of his clothes loosened and fell, making him almost naked, but he still seemed unconcerned. In fact, he was more irritated that he couldn't finish what he was about to say every time.
"Argus, would you quit with those toys? It's starting to get on my nerves."
One obvious reason that Kerioth remains unbothered is because his wounds are slowly recovering, judging from the bubbling appearance of the open flesh.
In fact, during those few minutes, the mouth that was deformed was slowly regaining its original shape.
Unable to stand back up, Kerioth approached him and kicked him in the stomach, enough to send him at a distance.
'Hup!'
Then he was stomped without any break, and the shotgun was forcibly let go as his wrists were horribly crushed. He curled up into a ball to minimize the damage but he felt like he would end up becoming a lump of broken bones.
"Gah!"
Kerioth didn't stop until he was no longer resisting. He ended up with no parts of his body that weren't in excruciating pain; the wounds from hours before had all opened up, wetting him in his own blood; and he was left with shallow breaths, his lungs refusing to function properly.
'Once I close my eyes...'
He was certain that the moment he close his eyes, he would succumb to the enervation and torment.
He had no desire for life, and it would have been fine if he had died hours earlier.
But dying at the hands of Kerioth again would be a bitter pill to swallow. He thought it wouldn't bring him peace, even in death.
His mind gradually regained focus, and his eyes, which were on fire, glared at Kerioth; it was the liveliest they had been in years.
'What can I do?'
All modesty cast aside, he admits to himself that he was a genius when it came to computers and technology. But what can a hacker do in this fallen world?
Even the two years of training and battling weren't enough for him to magically power up. He couldn't say his efforts were fruitless, but they were mediocre; it would never be enough even if he repeated the years tens of times.
'Even a single weakness…'
But he couldn't just give up, so he brought his cognition to its maximum working output to either find a way to defeat Kerioth or at least a means of escape.
He looked at the surroundings to find at least one single flaw he could somehow exploit, just like he, as a hacker, has always done before. Kerioth noticed that he hasn't given up yet, and that causes him satisfaction.
"Lovely, yes, don't die on me yet, Argus. This isn't a good place to end the thing between us."
"What did I ever do to you?"
He spat some nonsense, trying to buy some time.
'Think…'
"Now you're asking. Well, nothing much. I was going to tell you the story earlier, but you kept pointing your toys at me, so I changed my mind."
"Urgh!"
Kerioth sat down on his curled-up body and then talked in a rather annoyed tone.
"Instead, since you like playing so much, I'd open an opportunity where you could play with me as much as you want. To our headquarters we go; I'm taking you with me."
"Damn you."
"Why, you too."
Kerioth's entire mouth had already recovered, and he broke into a smile.
'Think!'
Something unforeseen happened at his desperate call.
At that moment, he began to notice a change in his surroundings.
The world that has now been infested by demonic energy from all over the place was covered in fog with a red hue, but that wasn't it.
Instead, he seemed to be looking through red-tinted glasses, or rather, a red-tinted film suddenly obstructed his vision. That wasn't the only change; he also felt his head clearing, as if his mind were purified.
'What's happening?'
He knitted his eyebrows and turned toward Kerioth.
'Huh?'
Kerioth was tad covered in green spots, the largest of which was located in the area surrounding his solar plexus.
A couple of seconds later, the world returned to normal.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Argus? You're making me blush."
"…"
"Come on, let's talk. It has been years since we've conversed, so let's do so while we wait and watch what your little friends there are currently up to."
Right then, the surrounding got noticeably dim.
However, he did not have time to pay attention to Kerioth or even what's happening with the esteemed party as he was occupied with something else.
Of course, it doesn't take a genius to realize what has transpired.
Moreover, for the last two years, he has been hearing about tales of the mysterious occurrence.
It just didn't cross his mind that he would experience it himself.
As he had thought, he must have been a weed or a cockroach in the past.
'Did I just…'
At his most critical moment, perhaps due to his desperate plea, the universe dropped a bombshell.