Kaini, who had observed the entire scene, stood frozen, paralyzed by what he had just witnessed. His mind couldn't process the image of Aziel, the boy he had considered a friend, turned into something so unfamiliar and terrifying. Kaini's eyes reflected pure terror as Aziel approached him.
Aziel turned his head toward Kaini and walked toward him calmly. Seeing him come closer, Kaini awkwardly stepped back, tripping over the lifeless body of one of the fallen men. Aziel, noticing the panic in his friend's eyes, extended a hand to him in a gesture of support, hoping he would take it to rise.
"Are you okay, Kaini?" Aziel asked, his tone puzzled, as if he didn't understand the horror he had unleashed. His voice was soft, and his hand trembled slightly, waiting for Kaini to accept it.
But Kaini, with a pale face and ragged breath, refused to take the hand. He stayed on the ground, his mind repeating one word: escape. He felt the need to get away from here, from Aziel, from this nightmare. "But how?" he wondered.
"P... please... let me... let me go," Kaini murmured, his voice broken; his gaze unable to hold Aziel's face.
Kaini tried to step over one of the dead men behind him, struggling to get up. His body wouldn't respond, and his eyes couldn't stop staring at his former friend. The silence surrounding them was thick with discomfort, a fear that only grew stronger.
Aziel, noticing Kaini's small movements, tried to approach cautiously.
"Wait, Kaini, you can't leave like this," Aziel said, genuine concern in his voice. "It's dangerous outside. You could be at risk."
Kaini didn't seem convinced. His expression reflected a mix of anxiety and desperation. "No, it's not necessary," he whispered, trying to maintain the distance between them. Aziel only watched him and asked, "Why?" searching for some explanation. He knew Kaini was terrified, but he still couldn't grasp the full extent of his fear.
"Because... because I want to be alone!" Kaini shouted, his voice breaking and his body trembling.
Aziel frowned, noticing the tone in Kaini's voice. The friendly sparkle that had always defined him disappeared for a moment. "That's not true, Kaini," he replied, his voice more serious. "It seems that in tense moments, you can't hide what you really feel. Tell me the truth... Why?" he asked, taking a few steps toward him.
Kaini, defeated, lowered his gaze. "It's true... I just want to be alone," he murmured, resigned.
Aziel stopped, surprised by Kaini's response. In an instant, the echo of some words reached his mind: "You're a killer." His vision began to spin. He tried to stay calm, focusing on Kaini.
"A killer...?" Aziel whispered, not breaking eye contact, a mix of emotions crossing him. "Kaini, no... you don't have to see it like that. I just did what I had to do."
Kaini, trembling, breathed heavily, thinking about how he had come to that question. "What you had to do? Is that what you tell someone who just saw you massacre an entire group?" His voice cracked between rage and fear.
"They... they weren't good people," Aziel responded, his voice quieter. "They would have killed us. I was just protecting myself, they would have done the same!"
Kaini continued to back away. "It doesn't matter what you say, Aziel. I saw what you did... and that won't be erased from my mind. You are a killer." The idea of using magic crossed his mind, using it as a means of defense to create an escape route from the situation.
That was his only way out; he wondered if the attack could kill him. Although those thoughts were confusing, there was no sign that it would. He only held on to the hope that it would help him survive.
"Calm down, Kaini. I'm not the bad guy here," Aziel said, his tone a little more serious.
"You killed someone, and you dare to say that! You're a monster!" Kaini screamed, stepping back. His mind was in a whirlwind; the idea that Aziel couldn't just be a boy, but something much worse, filled him with even more fear.
"Do you really think I'm the monster? After what those bastards did? After everything they've done?!"
"It doesn't justify what you did! They... they were people, and you... you became something worse," Kaini said, barely able to breathe; his hands trembled from the cold.
Aziel took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger inside him. "Kaini... you'll understand one day," he said, taking a step forward.
"Please, step away," Kaini murmured, his voice shaking.
"But I'm just trying to make you understand, Kai—ah..." Aziel suddenly interrupted himself with a scream, clutching his head in pain. "No! No... damn it... You can't stop me!"
Confusion filled every corner of Kaini's mind. His body trembled uncontrollably as he looked at Aziel, who broke into a heartbreaking, bitter laugh. The laughter seemed torn from the depths of a nightmare. That insane chuckle froze Kaini to the bone, leaving him paralyzed before the abyss of madness that seemed to consume his friend.
However, something inside him screamed that now was the time, that he had to act. With trembling, cold hands, he raised his arm, trying to remain calm despite the doubt that gripped his thoughts. In a whisper full of fear, he uttered the magical words.
"[se̱ṅge̱l ¡rawray…!]"
A sphere of fire emerged from his palm, growing in his hand, hesitant and pulsing. Amid the moans and disturbing laughter, the fire projectile hit, creating a small explosion and a dark smoke that enveloped his face.
The scene fell silent for a moment, and the smoke began to dissipate slowly. Although his intention had been clear, fear had betrayed him. Kaini had failed to aim precisely; the attack to the chest had missed. He watched Aziel's shadow through the smoke, unsure whether he had managed to stop him or simply fueled his fury.
"So now I'm the villain in this story," Aziel said, as the smoke began to clear. "Kaini, did you enjoy attacking me?" he said with difficulty, as his laugh faded. "You know, we both had almost identical fates... but you, you were luckier and didn't know how to take advantage of it." His words were a bitter whisper, and the internal struggle on his tired face was clear.
Aziel continued to approach, his steps firm, his eyes locked on Kaini with an intensity that froze the air between them.
"Aziel, please, don't come any closer. Please, I beg you," Kaini pleaded, his voice breaking.
"Why? Why would you attack me again?" Aziel murmured coldly. "Or why are you afraid of being the next one? Are you afraid of death, Kaini? If you were, why didn't you escape the moment you attacked me?" The distance was no longer a problem, now they were face to face. "You pity me!"
Aziel's words echoed in Kaini's mind. "Aziel, wait... it was a mistake. I didn't mean what I said, let's forget it, please."
"Forget it?" Aziel let out a bitter laugh. "There's nothing to forget, Kaini, that was in defense, and I understand it, and it wasn't even a mistake. It's normal to speak the truth. You really had the guts to attack, even though you were scared. And yes, it's true... I killed them all. I'm the killer of every one of them. You know what? It gave me an idea about you. I came to the conclusion that you're more pathetic than I could have imagined, you really disappoint me," he said, letting out a tired breath. "Uff... but that's very arrogant of me, hahaha..."
Kaini couldn't hold back his tears, his body shaking with fear and helplessness. "You're wrong, Aziel... Please, let me go. I beg you, just let me go..."
Aziel let out a laugh, his tone filled with a mixture of mockery and bitterness.
"The problem is that it's already written. Are you really crying, Kaini? Over something like this? You know what? I'll tell you a joke so you can laugh and stop crying. I'm sure you'll like it."
Kaini stared at him, not understanding what he was trying to say. Aziel had become a completely different person, someone who enjoyed the confusion and fear in his friend's eyes.
"It's the story of a young man... a young man who hated his parents, do you know why?" Aziel continued, his tone strange, almost mocking. "Because the damn fool couldn't stand what they had made of him. But the joke isn't that, it's the irony." Aziel paused, letting the tension build to an unbearable point. "The hatred he had for what had shaped him didn't make him despise it... he enjoyed it! Doesn't that seem absurd to you? That boy became selfish and egocentric; he looked down on everyone, even his own parents. But the worst part of that scoundrel was that he kept cursing them for a past that was no longer present. Those parents he so despised only wanted the best for him, but he... he kept cursing them, finding a thousand ways to get another chance to scold them. But, as I said, every beginning has an end. And so it was. It had an end, an end without regrets, just simple memories. Do you know what happened next? It would take too long to tell, but in short, it seems that some generous god decided to give him more than just a simple dream; it's absurd, because it seemed like destiny was doing something just."
Kaini listened with a mix of confusion, unable to fully understand what Aziel was trying to tell him. Aziel's expression, filled with opposite emotions, made it clear that this was not just a joke; it seemed more like a confession, a dark secret wrapped in distorted words.
"Don't you think that teenager was really a bad person? Don't you think so, Amanera? Because, in my opinion, yes, no doubt, I still need to learn much more to know everything," Aziel threw the question into the air, and Kaini was left stunned. "Amanera" echoed deeply in his mind; it was a name he hadn't heard in a long time.
"Don't you have anything to say? Really?" Aziel insisted, looking at Kaini with a smile that seemed to mock his silence.
Kaini swallowed, his thoughts in disarray. "Where did you get that information? Who are you really?"
Aziel laughed carelessly, as if the seriousness of the question didn't affect him at all. "Why so serious, Amanera? Maybe I should tell you another joke. Doesn't that seem like a better idea? After all, laughter is the best medicine... Don't you think, Amanera?"
Aziel let the words fall. His face reflected none of the child he once had been in Kaini's eyes; he was a stranger.
"No, enough! Stop!" Kaini exclaimed, extending his hands, shaking, trying to stop him. "I really don't understand, this goes beyond my comprehension, but enough, Aziel, this is too much torture; it's like you're playing with me, those men at your feet wouldn't make me suffer like you're making me suffer now," he said, choking on his words.
"Wait. Seriously, you're comparing me to those puppets, those empty men? Hey, look at me!" Aziel's eyes were locked on Kaini's; Kaini, in turn, tried to ignore him. This did not sit well with Aziel. With his hand, he grabbed Kaini's face to force him to look into his eyes. "I am not a miserable person, I am not a criminal, nor a hero, and definitely not a monster. I am not them!" He raised his voice, accompanying the motion with a slash toward Aziel's raised hand. "I am justice, I am a god."
Kaini, in disbelief at what had just happened, stood frozen with his mouth agape, not making a sound.
"Ah, I'm sorry, forgive me, I can fix this in the blink of an eye, it's just that I don't understand, never dare compare me to a monster!"
"Ah..." He began with groans of pain, awkwardly trying to stop the bleeding.
"What about another joke? It'll help with the pain."
This is already decided, no matter how we look at it.
"What do you get when you cross a mentally ill person, tired of the world knocking him down over and over, with someone like you, who insists on looking for answers where they shouldn't?"
Kaini tried to stop the bleeding desperately, his eyes locked on Aziel's.
"Do you know what you get?" Aziel's voice lowered to a whisper that seemed to take Kaini's breath away. "You get what the hell you deserve."
And in an instant, a dry sound and a "flap" echoed through the air.
Kaini, shocked, fell to the ground, feeling time slow down. Everything seemed like a blurry dream, but the pain was real. The warmth in his chest made it all feel more fleeting, but what good was that? Every second stretched in his mind; he tried to process what had just happened, unable to understand how he had ended up in this place, in this situation.
There he was, lying on the ground, fully aware.