25. Revenge

"Kuh~ It seems my time is up."

Aiko smiled through her bloodied face, the result of her confrontation with the demon. She looked at the demon's face up close as he held her by the neck, lifting her off the ground.

As athletic as she was, it was insignificant compared to a superpowered being. She wasn't a trained fighter equipped to battle demons, and it was nothing short of a miracle that she had lasted this long against him.

"So, how is it? Are you afraid?"

"Arghh… O-Of course, I am."

The demon tightened his grip on her neck, making her groan in pain. Seeing her suffer, the demon smiled, relishing the moment.

He lived for this—the fear, the struggle, the abandonment of humanity in the face of death. He had hunted many people, those who abandoned their loved ones in front of him.

They would flee, leaving behind the ones they had promised to protect for a lifetime.

The parent who left his child and escaped. A husband who left his wife and escaped. And a big brother who left his younger brother and escaped.

[I will protect you from everything.]

The memories clouded the demon's mind again, filling him with rage. His anger manifested in his strength, and the hold on Aiko's neck tightened even more.

"Urghh…"

"Look at you… all for acting noble. Now, you regret it, don't you? If you had abandoned that girl and escaped, you might have survived."

That's right.

The demon laughed. In the face of overwhelming fear, what human relationships last? Humans become worse than beasts, acting according to their instincts. They run instead of fighting, even at the cost of their dearest ones.

They are selfish.

'You're the same, aren't you?'

The demon looked at the struggling woman in his grasp. But the answer he was expecting—the one of tears and begging, full of regret—never came.

"Regret?"

Cough!

The choking made it hard for her to speak, causing her to cough. But she didn't stop and finished her words.

"I am afraid, but I've never regretted my actions. You see… If I didn't do it, my reputation as the famous Aiko would go down the drain. What to do? My son is quite vengeful."

"You…! Still trying to act like some hero! I don't like it! I don't like it!"

[I will protect you from everything, Ren.]

[Yes, big brother.]

"No! I don't want to remember that!"

He was no longer the same person he had been. He was not Ren, the weak person who needed his brother's protection. He was no longer the one who was afraid but the one who made others afraid.

"You… Die!"

…

Hah~ Hooh~

Exhaling heavily, Kotaro ran as fast as he could to find the demon and Aunt Aiko. Because it was dark, Mitsuri couldn't precisely describe the place where she and Aiko had encountered the demon, but she gave him the direction she had come from.

Afraid that he might be too late, Kotaro ran at top speed, and the current tension in the air heightened his adrenaline, making him stronger.

"Urghh…"

That's when he heard a woman's groan, causing him to run even faster. Soon, he reached the place…

The demon was holding Aunt Aiko by her neck with one hand, while the other was pointed at her stomach, ready to thrust.

"Now… Die!"

Before his eyes, the demon thrust his hand into Aiko's stomach, piercing through it.

"Kuh~ Cough! Cough! Damn!"

Aiko coughed up blood and cursed, finding a literal hole in her stomach. The demon removed his hand and released his grip on her neck, causing her to fall.

Seeing her falling figure, Kotaro's mind went blank. What is this? Is this real? He couldn't believe it. He couldn't accept it.

"NO!!! YOU DEMON!!!"

Filled with rage, he ran towards the demon with his clenched fist. Both the demon and the still-alive Aiko heard his cry and turned their heads.

"You… Kotaro, don't come!"

Her voice was weak, yet Aiko mustered all her strength to shout a warning, telling him not to come any closer. But Kotaro was no longer calm.

He was beyond reason. All he wanted now was to pummel this demon as he deserved.

"Oh! Is he someone close to you?"

The angry demon, unable to break Aiko, smiled as if he had found a new toy. Though he hadn't been able to break her, he believed she would definitely be broken if he tortured someone important to her, right?

With no intention of dodging, the demon raised his hand to block the incoming fist. An ordinary human coming to hit him… What could he do?

And that's when Kotaro's fist opened, revealing a small glass bottle filled with violet liquid. Without hesitation, Kotaro threw it at the demon's face, and the bottle shattered on impact, splashing the liquid all over him.

"Huh? What is--- Aah!"

The liquid seeped into the demon's eyes, nose, and mouth. The glass shards caused small injuries, and the liquid seeped through them, entering his bloodstream. And then, it started to burn.

"It burns! It hurts!"

The demon stepped back and covered his face with his hands, struggling with the pain.

As the pain intensified, the demon felt more anger and humiliation. How could a measly human hurt him?

He needed to make the human feel this pain!

"YOU HUM---!"

Boom!

But before he could finish his words, a heavy fist smashed into his jaw, cracking the bone beneath it and sending him crashing to the ground.

The demon looked at Kotaro with hazy eyes, seeing him standing in front of him with his fist clenched and tears streaming down his face.

"I know you won't die from this, so be prepared. This is revenge for Aunt Aiko!"

===

A/N:

I was thinking about what Kotaro should say after landing a punch, and then I thought of Joseph from Battle Tendency.

Kotaro will be using Hamon in the future, so there has to be some JJBA reference, right?

So, how's the chapter? Did you like it?

If you liked it, don't hesitate to support me on Patreon. I don't have any additional chapters on it yet, but I'll add them soon.