The spring night in Japan was cold compared to Fantasia.
A chilly wind made the blooming cherry blossom flowers on the sideroads flutter slightly. Some petals were dancing to the empty street. Only a few people could be seen walking out to find some dinners; the others were still afraid of going out.
It was 7 PM, 25 hours since the countdown appeared. In an hour, it would disappear and would surely cause some relief or panic to some people.
Amidst the quiet Shibuya City, with people walking in fear of the shadows that appeared yesterday, two youngsters were walking as if nothing was scary. One of them had short black hair and golden eyes, while the other had long blond hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes.
Their hands were inside their pants pockets as they crossed the empty Shibuya Crossing, lit by various neon lights and shiny billboards. The news of yesterday's incident was still aired, and the government asked people not to panic and stay at home before the situation was confirmed.
"Woah, I never expected a day where we would walk in Shibuya without meeting a lot of people. It is as if the apocalypse has descended, and many people died at once." Yamada commented with a smile on his face as he looked around the surroundings.
"Apocalypse has indeed descended," Atsuku said; his gaze was calm as he looked around like Yamada. "It's just that it's not fully started yet."
The countdown had just descended, and the first Trial was just finished. Calling an apocalypse descended yesterday wasn't actually wrong, though the effect couldn't be seen yet.
'I would probably be able to laugh at Yamada's joke if Fantasia isn't destroyed.' He thought.
"Man… Sorry, I forgot." The blond boy scratched the back of his head, feeling bad for bringing a bad joke up.
"Don't sweat it." Atsuku smiled and patted his friend's back.
After walking for a while, they arrived in front of a certain building. Yamada stopped beside him and looked at the building before him.
From the windows facing the street, it could be seen that only some rooms had its lights lit up. The others were dark.
So Yamada asked, "So, which floor should we visit?"
"The one without the light, the third floor," Atsuku replied.
He walked toward the small entrance with stairs that led above, followed closely by Yamada from behind.
The editorial building was just a small one, with only four floors.
It wasn't because the company that published Atsuku's novel was small; it was because they didn't need a big building. Their company office was just used to receive calls and finish documents, and the meeting and actual jobs were usually done in other buildings such as a café or printing company.
The path upstairs was narrow; only two people could fit side by side.
"They are really focusing on the usability of the building and not thinking of convenience," Yamada complained as he walked a few steps behind Atsuku. "Now I know why many businessmen were complaining about their work."
"Well, we would never experience that," Atsuku said, chuckling lightly.
"You're right. In a world like this, and due to our family's situation, we might be the boss they hate so much." Yamada smirked, agreeing with his friend.
Both of them were the heir of their families, with many subordinates loyal to the head. Inheriting the family business meant taking over all the wealth and hate from their enemies.
Atsuku nodded at Yamada's words, "That's why we need to get stronger. Anyway, we've arrived."
He stopped in front of a door with the number 3 above it. Reaching the handle, he suddenly stopped and put his ear against the door. There was a sound coming from inside.
Noticing Atsuku's sudden change in behavior, Yamada asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"Ssh!" He put his hand on his lips, telling his blond-haired friend to stay quiet.
When his ear touched the door, the sound intensified.
Thump!
Thump! Thump!
It was a heartbeat. And it wasn't from him or Yamada but originated from inside the room on the third floor, where the editorial office responsible for his novel was located.
Looking at Yamada, he gestured with his hand that someone was probably inside. And based on the loud heartbeat that he could even hear from outside, the one inside was probably not human, or at least not a human anymore. It was probably a Demon.
Only that creature could make such a loud heartbeat sound that reverberated outside of the room.
Yamada's face turned grim as he nodded in understanding. Reaching under his black coat, he took out a Revolver with 6 rounds of bullets in the chambers. He pointed it above and cocked it, ready to fire the gun anytime.
Atsuku also reached out for his gun. This one was loaded with 8 rounds of .44 Magnum. It would be enough to deal with a Demon from First Stage human.
No communication was needed for both of them as Atsuku reached for the door knob. He had expected to meet a Demon or two in this little adventure to delete his novel's file, but he had never expected that he would meet it in the editorial office.
The blond-haired boy stood closer, lowering his stance, and held his Revolver tightly.
"Shoot the legs. I will blast its head with my gun," Atsuku instructed in a low voice before entering. He didn't wait for Yamada's answer and opened the door slowly.
He didn't know where the Demon was, and the office room was a little bit too big to be scouted by two people at once without leaving a blindspot. So entering slowly was better than just bursting in.
By entering slowly, even if the Demon was close to the entrance, Atsuku and Yamada could retreat back to the street.
Creak–
The door was opened, and Yamada entered first. Atsuku followed behind him and checked the area that his friend couldn't cover.
There was no light inside, so they could only count on the light from the outside that seeped through the window to look around. And that wasn't all. The light only illuminated some part of the room where the office was, revealing some rows of tables with messy tops.
The floor was filled with unknown red liquid, and some red blob scattered here and there. Those blobs were meat… More specifically, human meat. Without a doubt, it was the work of a Demon, and those were probably the work of the Demon hiding in this office.
"Be careful," Atsuku warned in a hushed voice as he moved first, confirming the danger inside was a Demon. They were walking inside back to back, covering each other.
No one knew where the owner of that loud heartbeat was hiding.
Crash! Clang! Krsk!
At that moment, a loud sound of objects falling and papers ripped rang from inside. Both of the youngsters immediately pointed their guns at the source of the sound. A loud gulp resounded from Yamada; he was nervous and smiled slightly to hide it.
"Slowly."
As an experienced man who had dealt with various situations in Fantasia, Atsuku was able to keep his calm and advance slowly.
When he arrived at the office area where many messy tables made rows, he finally managed to see it.
"There." He pointed at the shadow hiding in the corner.
Yamada followed Atsuku's direction and saw it. It was a silhouette with the appearance of a man. However, something was strange about it. There was an additional limb growing from what was supposed to be his head.
A flash of light from a passing car managed to catch a glimpse of the silhouette's real appearance, and the blond boy immediately covered his mouth with his free hand. His stomach churned after he saw the creature's grotesque appearance.
With a figure and clothes of a man, that creature had small fingers growing from his swelling face. It was purple in color, and it was moving slowly and disgustingly. Not only that, maggots seemed to eat that purple part of his face while crawling around.
Thump! Thump!
A large heart jutted out from his left chest, glowing with an eerie color as the red flesh was clear. It was beating loudly, followed a certain rhythm.
To describe it in two words, it would be disgusting and inhuman.
"That's…" Yamada's voice cracked, trying his best to hold back from vomiting.
"Yeah, that's a Demon," Atsuku said calmly, pointing his gun at the Demon's chest where his weak point, the Core, was located.
Then he looked at his friend and instructed, "Just back me up. I can handle the First Stage Demon by myself."
"Alright… Sorry man, I didn't expect that to be so disgusting. I will at least create some distractions."
"It's normal for the first-timer," Atsuku smirked.
The Demon noticed their conversations and jerked his head at them, revealing a large eyeball hanging on his right face. Then, the left side of his face opened up like a mouth filled with sharp teeth and acidic saliva. Then… he let out a beastly roar.
"Graaaa!!"
It was so loud that some papers were scattered away by the wind it released.