(Plot Update: This story is supposed to be set 10 year ago, before the main story, but I have changed it to only 2. So, this back story is set 2 years ago from present. I have already updated Chapter 4 and 6 Part 1 for this to take effect. Whoever have starting reading my book before 4 days ago, which I am really greatful for, probably needs to remove it from there library and then add it again to check the updated chapter. Thank You)
Ryuzin sat at his school desk, leaning back in his chair, trying to ignore the chatter around him. The classroom buzzed with students arriving for class, but he didn't care. He wanted to be left alone. His thoughts drifted until a voice, loud and familiar, interrupted the silence in his mind.
"Ryuzin-kun! It is you! I knew I recognized your name!"
Ryuzin groaned internally but didn't even bother to look. He knew who it was. Trying to appear indifferent, he muttered, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
The girl beside him, Shion, wasn't convinced. She leaned closer, her voice full of determination. "Don't act like you don't know me! You helped me last night, didn't you? I know it was you!"
Ryuzin shifted in his seat, keeping his eyes forward. "You must have me confused with someone else," he replied with a flat tone. He was lying, but he was good at it.
Before Shion could press further, the teacher walked into the room, calling for everyone's attention.
"Alright, settle down. Everyone, take your seats," the teacher announced. The students quickly quieted and found their places.
Shion wasn't finished, though. As the teacher started taking attendance, she leaned in again, whispering, "Thank you for saving me last night."
Ryuzin's eyes flickered with annoyance, but he kept his face blank. "I don't know what you're talking about," he repeated, this time in a hushed but firm tone.
The teacher's voice cut through the tension between them. "Izanaji Ryuzin?"
Ryuzin sighed loudly, not even trying to hide his frustration. "Present," he muttered.
Shion glanced at him, resting her head on her palm with a satisfied look. "See? You're him." Her eyes glinted with amusement, as though she had caught him in a lie.
Ryuzin shot her a look, his lips pressed into a thin line, but said nothing.
Later, during lunch, Ryuzin found a quiet corner in the cafeteria and sat down, hoping for a moment of peace. He had barely started eating his lunch when a familiar figure plopped down beside him.
"Mind if I join you?" Shion asked, though it was clear she wasn't really asking for permission. She smiled brightly, as though oblivious to his obvious irritation.
Ryuzin gave her a brief, sideways glance. "Don't you have friends to sit with?" he asked, keeping his voice low but unmistakably annoyed.
"I do," Shion replied, a little sheepishly. "But I thought it'd be nice to get to know you better. I mean, after everything that happened…" Her voice trailed off, her eyes searching his face for any kind of response.
Ryuzin scoffed quietly, focusing on his food. "Why would anyone want to know anything about me?" he muttered under his breath, mostly to himself.
"What was that?" Shion asked, tilting her head toward him.
"Nothing," Ryuzin said curtly. "Just… let me eat in peace, alright?"
Shion blinked, her smile faltering slightly. "Alright, alright. You don't have to be so rude," she muttered, looking down at her tray. She began to eat, her energy dimmed but not gone.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Shion couldn't help herself. "So… how did you beat those guys? You don't exactly look like a fighter," she said, her curiosity getting the better of her. "You actually seem like the type who's afraid of everything." She grinned playfully, trying to lighten the mood.
Ryuzin didn't respond, his eyes focused on his lunch. He ate methodically, as though she wasn't even there. When he finished, he stood up without a word and started to walk away.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Shion called after him, hastily gathering her things. She stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and scrambled to catch up.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" she called again, catching up as he walked through the crowded hallway. "Do you always just ignore people like that?" she asked, her voice rising in frustration.
Ryuzin didn't answer. Instead, he veered sharply toward the men's restroom. Shion stopped short, watching as the door closed behind him, baffled.
Inside one of the stalls, Ryuzin leaned against the door, exhaling sharply. His mind was racing. He had wanted to avoid attention, to live a quiet life at school, but it seemed like fate had other plans. Shion had seen too much last night. The fact that she kept asking questions didn't help.
Before he could collect his thoughts, the school's sirens blared through the loudspeakers, followed by an urgent announcement.
"All students, evacuate to the bunkers immediately. Demons have been spotted in the area. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill."
Ryuzin straightened up instantly, his mind snapping into action. Without a second thought, he bolted out of the stall, running down the hall and making a beeline for the nearest window. He didn't hesitate as he leapt out, falling three stories before landing on the ground with ease.
He was sure no one had seen him. But Shion, standing just a few meters away, had caught the whole thing. Her eyes went wide in disbelief.
"Did he… jump?" she whispered to herself, running to the window to look. But by the time she got there, Ryuzin was already out of sight.
"Shion! What are you doing?" a voice snapped her out of her daze. Her homeroom teacher stood behind her, looking stern. "Didn't you hear the announcement? You need to get to the bunker now!"
"I… I just…" Shion stammered, unsure of how to explain what she had just seen.
"What? You can explain later. For now, you need to move!" the teacher commanded, his voice sharp.
Shion nodded, still dazed. "Right… okay."
Meanwhile, Ryuzin's earpiece crackled to life as he sprinted across the house roofs.
"Ryuzin, head south. Demons are 300 meters away. Team's already there, but they need you ASAP," Commander Kajuki's voice came through the comms, calm but urgent.
"On my way, Commander," Ryuzin replied, picking up speed. Within seconds, he had arrived at the designated area, where a small group of soldiers was fighting off waves of demonic creatures.
"What's the situation?" Ryuzin asked as he approached the soldier in charge.
"We've eliminated most of the spawns, but the mother demon is still active. She's birthing more every minute," the soldier reported, her face tight with concentration.
Ryuzin glanced at the grotesque creature in the distance. Its form was a twisted mass of muscular arms and hands, its body almost entirely covered except for its face and mouth. Some fists are clenched, its legs are thick, muscular, and tightly bound together, much like the rest of its body. The legs seemed to be almost merged with the mass of arms and hands, giving the impression that movement is constrained or perhaps not the primary function of this creature. Its blackish, stone-like skin glistened as it towered over the battlefield, looming at nearly 20 feet tall.
"So we just have to kill the mother demon?" Ryuzin asked, his voice steady.
"Yes, sir," the soldier confirmed.
Ryuzin nodded. "Leave that to me. You and your team keep the spawns at bay and check if there are any civilians still outside the bunkers."
"Understood. Move out!" the soldier barked at her team, and they sprang into action.
Ryuzin wasted no time, charging straight at the mother demon. As he closed the distance, a brief thought crossed his mind—'Shion'. He shook it off. There was no time for distractions.
With a single powerful punch, Ryuzin sent the demon flying several kilometers into the air. Its body convulsed as it screamed, the sound piercing through the air like a sonic wave.
The scream echoed across the battlefield, reaching the school bunker where Shion and the other students were huddled. Shion flinched at the sound, her heart racing. Shion thought where Ryuzin is? She is in denial whether she saw him jumping off in the first place. She wanted to ask , but Ryuzin was no where to be found. A friend of her held her arm and asked in fear "Shion-Chan, what was that?" She came back to reality, startled "Ohh… I have no idea?"
Back at the battle, Ryuzin leapt into the air, delivering another crushing blow to the demon. But the creature's numerous hands absorbed the impacts.
"Commander, this thing is absorbing my hits. I'm not making much progress," Ryuzin spoke through his earpiece, his frustration seeping through.
"We're sending you a bomb. It's the size of a tennis ball. You need to make it swallow it. Its mouth is the only unprotected part," Commander Kajuki instructed.
Ryuzin gritted his teeth. "How long until it gets here?"
"Give it a minute. What, you can't hold off a giant demon for sixty seconds?" Kajuki teased.
Ryuzin didn't respond, focusing his efforts on keeping the demon at bay. He delivered blow after blow, managing to break some of its teeth and bruise its face, but it wasn't enough to take it down.
Finally, the bomb arrived, shot toward him like a missile. Ryuzin caught it effortlessly and leapt toward the demon, forcing the small device into its mouth.
Ryuzin shoved the bomb deep into the demon's throat, making the demon swallow it. Stepping back quickly as it convulsed, its multiple arms flailing wildly. "Job done, commander." He said with a smirk. The grotesque creature let out one final, bone-rattling scream before its entire body began to swell. The demon's form shook violently, and in seconds, the bomb detonated. A massive shockwave tore through the air, obliterating the demon from the inside out. The force of the explosion sent chunks of its stone-like flesh flying in all directions.
The remaining spawns were killed by the soldiers.
Ryuzin stood at the edge of the blast zone, unaffected by the carnage as debris fell around him. Dust settled, and he heard Commander Kajuki's voice crackle through his earpiece again.
"Nice work, Agent Ryuzin. That's one less demon threat to worry about. You can return to your 'normal life' now." The commander's tone was sarcastic but light.
Ryuzin exhaled sharply, clearly irritated by the entire situation. "Yeah, normal life," he muttered under his breath. He wasn't sure he even knew what that was anymore.
Without further delay, Ryuzin made his way back to the school. He slipped through the secret passage that led to the bunker, a hidden door that opened with a whispered code. The room was packed with students and staff, all huddled together in fear, waiting for news that it was safe to return.
Ryuzin found an empty spot against the wall and sat down, finally allowing himself to catch his breath. He closed his eyes, hoping that maybe—just maybe—he could disappear into the background.
But of course, he wasn't that lucky.
"Ryuzin-kun! Ryuzin-kun!" Shion's voice called out again, this time louder and more persistent. Ryuzin's eyes snapped open as she weaved through the crowd, heading straight for him.
*Oh, not now...* he thought, trying to avoid eye contact. He slouched lower, hoping she'd give up.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Shion pouted as she finally caught up to him. She stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "You can't ignore me forever, you know."
Ryuzin sighed heavily, sitting up straight. "What do you want?" he asked, his tone heavy with annoyance.
She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I saw you, Ryuzin-kun. You jumped out of the third-floor window during the evacuation. No normal person could survive that fall, let alone disappear the way you did." Her eyes glimmered with curiosity, but there was something else there too—a mix of fear and wonder.
Ryuzin's face hardened, his expression unreadable. "You're imagining things," he said flatly. "Who in their right mind would jump from that height?"
Shion didn't back down. "I thought the same thing. But I know what I saw. You're hiding something, and I'm going to figure out what it is." She crossed her arms, standing her ground. Her voice was softer now, almost pleading. "Why won't you just tell me the truth?"
"I was here the whole time," Ryuzin insisted, his voice colder than before. He wasn't going to let her drag him into this any deeper. "Now, please, just leave me alone."
Before Shion could respond, one of the teachers raised their voice above the murmur of the students. "Everyone, listen up! We've received confirmation that the situation outside has been handled. It's safe to return to class now."
A collective sigh of relief passed through the room. Some students were still visibly shaken, a few even crying, but knowing the immediate danger had passed seemed to ease the tension. Slowly, the crowd began to move, forming lines as they prepared to leave the bunker.
You might think that demon attacks are normal in this world, but it's not everyday that you hear them scream.
As the students filed out of the bunker and back to class, Ryuzin fell into step behind the others. He glanced out the window as they passed, catching a glimpse of the clear sky and distant rooftops where the battle had just taken place.
Back in the classroom, Ryuzin took his seat again, leaning back as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. But as he stared blankly ahead, the weight of everything hung over him. Shion's relentless curiosity wasn't going away anytime soon, and he knew it.
Shion glanced back at Ryuzin one more time, her eyes lingering on him as if trying to see through his mask. "I'm not giving up on this, you know," she said under her breath, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks.
Shion's lips pressed into a thin line. She didn't believe him for a second. "You can lie all you want, but I'm not stupid. I'll find out sooner or later." She turned away, frustrated but determined.
Ryuzin raised an eyebrow, smirking just enough to provoke her. "The only thing you're proving is how annoyingly persistent you are."
Shion bristled at his remark, her face flushing with both anger and embarrassment. "That's it! I'm going to expose you, Ryuzin! Just you wait."
"Yeah, yeah," Ryuzin muttered, waving her off dismissively. "We'll see about that."
From the corner of his eye, he saw her glance at him again. There was that same determined look in her eyes, the same unspoken challenge hanging between them. She wasn't going to let this go.
And for the first time in a long while, Ryuzin felt something shift inside him. Maybe things wouldn't stay quiet for much longer. He looked out of the window. For the briefest moment, a small, almost imperceptible smile crossed his lips. But it vanished as quickly as it had come.
END OF CHAPTER : 10 : Change Of Heart