In the city of Thamoud, a 15 year old boy with long gloves appears to be on the floor and receiving showers of kicks from some food vendors at an alley. The young boy appears to have white hair with blood stains all over his face. They leave him on the floor and begin to walk away as he looks at them in pain. He finally gains enough energy to get on his feet and walk towards his house. On his way home, people stare at him with disgust written all over their faces and move away from him. A younger boy appears to be closer to him, but his mom pulls him away}
Woman(addressing her child) : Don't get close to that demon. Have you heard me.
Younger boy : Yes, mom.
The guy continues to walk while wiping the blood stains on his body with his gloves and looks at the people around him walk away from him}
Boy: That look in their eyes, I see them everywhere I go.
Even when I manage to earn a bit of their sympathy,...
"He pulls down his gloves and a black pattern of a snake, and a number seven is seen on his hand}"
Boy:... They tend to forget I'm a human after seeing my
Cursed mark. My name, Kouda, is one I'm not proud
Of. Many years ago, a serious virus struck the world.
According to the stories, making a cure for the virus was merely an impossibility since the virus could easily
develop immunity to any medicine. I don't know why, but my mom named me after this particular virus. The last thing she left for me was a diary which I couldn't open,
a necklace and these gloves that I apparently I have close to no memory of her. I've never been treated as a human since childhood, and I can't really blame people for that, I was adopted by a group of assassins, and they taught me the thirteen killing techniques until I was ten. They tried making use of me, so...
{Kouda looks at the blood on his gloves and sees a memory of corpses on the floor}
Kouda :... I killed them. After killing for the first time, I
ended up losing sight of the value of one's life so
Killing them was merely child's play. After some time, I realized that each time I killed someone, I lost a fraction of my humanity. Humanity is one of the major things that makes me feel like a normal human, so losing it is something I simply can't afford. I don't believe in
good, nor do I believe in evil. Surviving is my only
objective, and I won't stop until I find what I want
but the question here is exactly what am I looking
for?
{Kouda reaches the outskirts of the town and enters his wooden structure.}
Kouda:I'm home.
{He falls to the ground, raises his right hand, and stares at it}
Kouda(speaking to himself) : What's life? What's happiness? What's there to life if everyone's just gonna die at the end?
Voice (from outside kouda's home) : Those are interesting questions if you ask me. I'm glad to know that there's someone out there who has got the same mindset as me.
{Kouda quickly gets up and goes looks at the entrance}
Voice: I'm right here.
{Kouda feels a pat on his shoulder and turns his back only to see a guy about his age, wearing military attire and a mask}
Kouda: Who are you? And how did you get in without me noticing?
Guy: The name is Enmu, but tell me, how do you live in this matchbox in the name of a house?
Kouda: That has nothing to do with you. Now leave.
Enmu: And what if I don't? Will you kill me, demon?
Kouda: I have no interest in that. Besides, I don't think you came all this way dressed up like that just to ask me silly questions. So what brings you here, Enmu?
Enmu:I see, I was actually expecting you to come at me with some murderous intentions, but it seems you're quite different from what I was expecting. After all, you're Kouda, the bloody cursed demon, right?
Kouda: I never knew I was that famous. But that doesn't change the fact that you've still not answered my question,and for the record, I don't kill over trivial stuff.
Enmu(sighs): Fine, we've had our eyes on you for a while now, and we'd like you to join us in our quest.
Kouda: Not interested.
Enmu: I'm not done yet,...
Kouda: I think I've had enough with secret organizations.
My mind is made up. Now leave before the crazy girl comes.
Enmu : I've heard you, but that doesn't mean I've given up.
{Enmu takes his leave. A few minutes later, a young girl with blue-black hair, who is just about Kouda's age, arrives with a picnic basket containing food. Kouda welcomes her in. She brings out the food, and they both dig in. While eating,... }
Kouda(speaking in his mind while looking at the girl) : Ever since I moved to this town, Maya here
made it her responsibility to take care of me. She
always talks to me about how her day went and
doesn't really care if I'm interested in what's she's
saying, and if I'm being really honest, I enjoy her
company since it makes me feel like I have a place
where I belong, but deep down, I'm afraid
something bad might happen to her all because of
me. I told her to stop coming over on several
occasions, but she just wouldn't listen to me.
{Maya looks at Kouda with sadness written all over her face}
Maya: Hey, Kouda, do you believe in happy endings? My grandmother once told me that just as a bright day would come after the long night, happiness would find its way to who it serves right but come to think of it, I've never seen you smile so tell me, what exactly makes you happy?
Kouda: I don't really know.
Maya: I can't say I wasn't expecting that for an answer. I'm so happy I got to meet you, and if we're to ever meet again, I'll be sure to value every second I spend with you.
Kouda : Hey, why're you talking as if you're about to...
{ Several needles suddenly appear pierces Kouda,causing him to fall unconscious. After some time, he wakes up and realizes he has been crucified. He looks in front of him and sees one of the palace guards in front of him with a sword. He looks around and realizes his hands have been locked in metallic containers. He turns to his right only to see Maya bleeding on a pole. She looks at him and tells him she's sorry as tears roll down her cheeks}
Kouda: What's happening? Answer me.
Guard: Today is judgment day. And the people of Teisho will finally be happy, for today is the day we say goodbye to the devil and his stupid accomplice,who betrayed us on purpose.
Kouda(addressing the guard):Hey, the girl is innocent. Leave her alone. She's done nothing.
Guard: Shut up. This girl has committed crimes that can only be punished by death. We captured her and spared her out of kindness if she managed to kill you. Yet, all she did in return was to betray us.
Kouda(surprised): What do you mean?
Guard: Yes, her main job was to kill you, but only heaven knows why she didn't, so we had to take matters into our own hands. To be honest, I'm really impressed with your current condition, despite the lethal dose of poison the needles pierced you with. You really are a demon. But the time has come for you to die, so let's get this done as soon as possible. The metal that was used to seal your hands is constantly draining your energy, so resisting is futile.
But before we kill you, we'll kill the traitor first to serve as a deterrent to others who plan on betraying us.
The guards turn to the other guards}
Main guard: Burn her alive!
The guards begin to pour kerosene on Maya}
Kouda : Stop it! She's done nothing to deserve this! I'm the
one you're all after, so kill me instead!
In Kouda's mind,...}
Kouda(speaking to himself): Why am I worried about her?
Why don't I want her dead?
{Kouda sees a memory of himself eating with Maya}
Kouda: Hey, aren't you scared of me? Why do you keep coming when you know very well that I'm a murderer?
Maya:I don't think you're a bad person. Besides, circumstances make people, and only too well do I understand how you feel. We live in a world where only a few care about others. We're all monsters in this world, and in certain instances, the only way to survive is by putting your humanity aside and becoming a monster.
That's how I see things. Come to think of it, you never told me why people call you the cursed demon.
{Maya looks at kouda with a smile. Kouda looks at her with a plain facial expression. In reality, the guards are seen sending a flaming stick towards Maya.
In kouda's mind,... }
Kouda: You were right Maya, the only way to survive in this cruel world is to abandon your humanity at certain points in time,and I think I've had enough with playing the helpless victim.
In reality, Kouda struggles and breaks free from metallic restraints. He dashes to Maya, focuses energy into his hands and slices of the heads of the guards close to Maya. The crowd then looked at Kouda with shock written all over their faces.}
Kouda(addressing Maya): You said you wanted to know why people call me the cursed demon, right? Then this is your chance to see it first hand.
{ Backup guards appear, and kouda looks at them with a murderous smile}
Kouda(addressing the guards) : Take one step forward, and that will be your last.
Main guard: kill him!
The guards charge at kouda along with the crowd}
Kouda: It's such a shame that all of you will die by my hand. The first killing technique, WRATH OF THE PREYING MANTIS.
{ Kouda's hands become as sharp as a blade, and he charges at his opponents. He pierces a guard's throat and slices him into two, and the guards body begins to rot. He touches another guards face, and the guard's entire body melts. He then uses his hands to slice off the heads of five guards and then pierces another guard's head with his bare hands. He draws out a sphere from a guard and uses it to pierce through the hearts of several guards. The angry croud charge at him, and he looks at them with one eye and a wide smile with blood all over his face. In a fit of fear, the angry crowd is rendered immobile. The main guard looks at Kouda in shock and starts retreating as he realizes Kouda is slowly approaching him.}
Main guard: No, this is nowhere near human, this guy,...
He's nothing but a demon!
{Kouda appears in front of the main guard. He sharpens his hand and pieces through the lower jaw of the main guard and looks at the main guard in trance}
Kouda (addressing the main guard) : You know what, I like you better when you're like this.
Main guard : I have... something to... say to you. Consider...
{Kouda pushes his hand upwards until it appears at the apex of the main guard's head, which kills the main guard.}
Kouda : And since when did I care about hearing your last words? The king left you in charge of this town, and all you brought to them was their deaths. Utterly bullshit!
{ The remaining crowd Kouda kills them all.
Kouda wears his gloves and walks towards Maya. He tears his shirt and wraps it around his injuries, and she begins to cry}
Maya: I'm so sorry for not telling you...
Kouda: It's okay, I understand how you feel.
Voice: What a touching reunion we have here.
Maya, who's there?
Kouda: What do you want this time? Are you here to punish me for what I just did?
{Enmu appears right in front of them}
Enmu: Certainly not. I'm here with the same offer. I'm here to recruit both of you.
{Kouda looks at Enmu with a plain facial expression}
Kouda: By that, do you mean your organization will be responsible for our well-being?
Enmu : Yes, it's all part of our job.
{Kouda looks at Maya, and she nods in agreement}
Kouda: Fine then, we'll join you.