The sound grew closer. And then, he saw it. About twenty meters ahead of him, a pair of red points of light ignited, floating in the darkness. And it was clear, this was not a friendly light. It was a light filled with hunger and hatred.
Ryo's heart pounded wildly. He trembled as he lit his lighter.
The small flame sputtered to life, illuminating the area and revealing the red dots. Yep.
The creature resembled a dog, but its skin was hairless, instead covered in cracked, stony scales, with glowing red lava oozing through the fissures. Its maw hung open, dripping saliva that made the rocks sizzle and smoke. And those red eyes were staring directly at him.
An Inferno. A low-level demon guarding the entrance.
For a moment, he held his breath. His eyes widened. In all his life, he had never encountered a beast like this. Not even in any myth from across Japan.
Ryo took a deep breath. "Stay calm, Ryo. Sometimes the world isn't what's written in history books," he muttered to himself. Though cold sweat poured down his face, he tried to hold his ground. He wiped it away.
Ryo didn't have time for fear. His ninja instincts took over his soul. He dropped his lighter, which instantly went out, and threw himself to the side just as the creature lunged.
He felt a wave of searing heat pass over his body. He landed and rolled, grabbing his last kunai from its sheath. He couldn't see a thing, relying solely on his hearing.
Hot snorts and the sound of scaly feet on stone.
He instantly threw his kunai toward the sound.
Clang! The sound of metal hitting rock.
He had missed.
GRRRAAAGHHH!
The creature stared at Ryo. Its large, terrifying body was right in front of him. Its drool dripped onto the rocks. Hot steam rose from the stones where the saliva landed.
With a furious roar, the creature attacked. Ryo was hit; he felt its hot claws rake his arm, burning his skin right through his clothes. He screamed in pain and struck out with his bare hands, hitting something hard. Stone... Yeah, hot stone. It's made of stone, pal. How many times do I have to explain it from above?
He jumped back, his back hitting the wall. He was cornered. Between a rock and a hard place. And one of those hard places was furious.
The smell of sulfur and the intense heat grew overwhelming. He could hear the creature's hot breath right in front of his face. Those red eyes reappeared in the darkness, just a meter away from him.
This was it. He was going to die here, in this cursed place, with no one ever knowing.
"I will prove that I am worthy of this clan! I will be loyal until death!" For a split second, he fell silent again. "No, Ryo, not for the clan. But for destroying the clan that doesn't know gratitude!"
His own words from the past echoed in his head. A sudden rage, hotter than the lava on the creature's body, flared within him. He would not die like this. Not before he proved his innocence. Not before he took revenge on those who had framed him.
With a furious roar that filled the tunnel, Ryo pushed himself off the wall and charged toward those red eyes, hands open, ready to tear into anything he could with his nails.
He crashed into the hot, scaly body. He and the creature tumbled to the ground, wrestling. Ryo felt his skin blistering, but he didn't care. He punched, clawed, and bit like a wild animal. His eyes were fixed on a fissure in the creature's chest. Every attack he launched, the creature always protected a dim red point on its body. "So that's it. How strange, but maybe we'll try," he mumbled.
The creature thrashed wildly, trying to bite him to prevent the attacks from reaching its chest. Its claws raked Ryo's side.
Ryo's body wasn't as strong as it looked. His skin blistered from the heat and pain. His body was thrown by the creature. THWACK!! His body slammed into sharp rocks. His back was wounded and bleeding from the impact. Arrrggghhh...!!
Ryo's scream echoed. Several rocks fell and cut his temple. Blood flowed down, blinding his eye. It stung, but he kept trying to hold on. All his energy was drained. All his training seemed meaningless.
"Arhhhhh...!" Ryo glared sharply at the creature. "Better to die trying than to die without a fight." His body went limp, shaking violently. He stared at his trembling hands.
He charged again with the last of his strength. It was a monotonous, grueling fight. Suddenly,in the struggle, his eyes focused on the creature's chest. He took its claws and punches head-on, then Ryo's hand grabbed something hot and pulsating in the creature's chest. Without a second thought, he gripped it with all his might and pulled. Hot blood gushed out.
The creature shrieked, a sound of utter agony and torment. Its body convulsed and then... exploded into hot ash.
Ryo was thrown backward, hitting the wall once more. He coughed, inhaling the hot ash that made him dizzy.
Total darkness returned.
He sat for a moment, sobbing, his body bleeding and burned. He could barely breathe. What had just happened?
Then, he felt it. A strange warmth flowed from his hand, up his arm, and spread throughout his body. The warmth wasn't like a burning fire, but more like a smoldering power. His wounds felt slightly better, the pain lessening.
His chest twitched. Though his body had improved momentarily, he suddenly felt a spreading ache and heat. "Arrrggghhh..." He stood up; the pain radiated throughout his body. Hot and burning. Blood streamed from Ryo's eyes. His pores blistered. He spun, rolling around until he crashed into the rocks on the wall. Yep, heat surged from his body. "I... I will not die." His heart felt like it was about to explode. Thump... Thump... Thump.
He was nearly dead, his breathing erratic. He clawed at the stones until his nails bled. "I don't know! I don't want this, but I must survive. Even if I die."
"NO...! YOU CAN'T DIE, RYOOO...!" He roared as loud as he could. His head jerked back as he screamed in pain.
Not long after, a foreign knowledge surfaced in his mind, like a primitive instinct.
Fire, a voice whispered in his thoughts. You can summon it.
With eyes wide open in the darkness, Ryo raised his hand. He concentrated on the feeling of pain, the heat, and then that new warmth, calling it, commanding it.
Flicker.
A small flame, the size of a coin, appeared on the tip of his index finger. It didn't hurt him anymore. It felt... natural. Like a part of himself.
The light illuminated his face, sweaty, bloody, and etched with unspeakable pain. Before him, there was only a pile of still-warm ash.
Slowly, the pain in his body subsided. His body regenerated gradually, as if the power had seeped in and been absorbed throughout his entire being.
Ryo laughed, a small, almost hysterical sound in the terrifying silence of the cave. It wasn't a laugh of happiness, but one of madness and immense relief.
He fell silent again. A grin slowly spread across his lips. "Ahhhh, what kind of power is this? Truly, truly, truly delightful..."
The Inferno had been absorbed into him.
He had survived his first encounter. But the small flame on his finger only illuminated a short distance ahead, revealing a tunnel that still stretched long and dark, leading to even more terrifying depths.
He stood up, his body still aching, but his resolve burned as brightly as the new fire on his fingertip. The Devil's Maw had forced him in. It had taken his freedom. But in return, by accident, it had given him the tools to survive.
He didn't know how many demons were in this place. He didn't know how to get out. But one thing he knew: he would survive. He would learn. He would become strong.
And one day, when he emerged from this hell, all those who had betrayed him would regret it.
With the small flame still dancing on his finger, Ryo, the fugitive who was now a prisoner, took his first sure step into the depths of the darkness, ready to face whatever awaited him.