The sky bled red.
Mountains cracked open, lightning split the horizon, and oceans boiled under the rage of one being — Akuma Ikari, the Devil King.
His roar shook the world. Flames poured from his hands, devouring villages and forests alike. Wherever he walked, the ground blackened and the air itself screamed.
But standing against him were five warriors — the Sun Legend, Water Legend, Thunder Legend, Wind Legend, and Land Legend.
Their power came not from gods, but from the spirits of the world itself — fire, river, storm, air, and stone.
They met Akuma atop a mountain of black glass, thunder exploding overhead.
"Akuma Ikari!" shouted the Sun Legend, his sword blazing like the morning sun. "You've killed enough. Do you even understand what a single human life is worth?"
Akuma grinned — wide, cruel, and endless. "Human life? It's dust. What I crave is the heart — the pain, the fear, the despair within it. That is real power."
"Keep talking," growled the Thunder Legend, sparks crawling up his arm. "I'll shut you up soon enough."
The Water Legend's voice cut through the storm. "Don't. If we fight recklessly, he'll burn the world again. We move together."
Akuma's laughter rumbled like an earthquake. "You think together matters to me?"
He raised his hand. Black fire erupted, swallowing the sky.
"Wind Power: Fourth Technique — Storm Shatter!"
The Wind Legend slashed through the inferno, his twin blades spinning into a cyclone.
"Sun Power: Fifth Technique — Solar Dragon!"
A serpent of light roared from the heavens, burning through the darkness.
"Thunder Power: Third Technique — Thunder Strike!"
Lightning speared from the clouds, tearing through the Devil King's body.
"Land Power: Second Technique — Rising Pillars!"
The ground itself rose up, pinning Akuma between massive spires of stone.
"Now!" shouted the Sun Legend.
The five joined their powers, forming the Sacred Seal. Their elements fused into blinding white.
"By flame, storm, river, air, and earth — we bind the Devil King for a thousand years!"
The light swallowed the mountain. Akuma's scream echoed through the heavens — furious, defiant — before the ground closed around him. His body was sealed deep beneath the crystal earth.
And for a thousand years, the world forgot.
The world moved on. Neon lights replaced starlight, and the sound of traffic replaced the roar of gods.
Tokyo breathed — busy, bright, and utterly unaware of what slept beneath its streets.
Yuto Hinata, twenty, was running late again. Half-awake, half-dressed, he stumbled down the stairs, a slice of toast in his mouth.
"Come on, come on—!" he muttered, catching the bus at the last second. He dropped into a seat, gasping. Ordinary life. Ordinary kid. Ordinary world.
But deep below Tokyo, something ancient shifted.
In a cavern bathed in red light, cracks spread across a crystal coffin. A hand — blackened and skeletal — broke free, dripping with molten energy.
A whisper crawled through the darkness.
"After a thousand years… I breathe again."
Akuma Ikari opened his eyes — embers glowing in hollow sockets. His voice rumbled like the start of an earthquake.
"They thought they could bury me. Fools."
Dozens of lesser devils formed from his shadow, crawling from the rock. Their eyes burned with hunger.
"Go," Akuma commanded. "Feed. Bring me hearts filled with fear. I will rise again."
They obeyed, vanishing into the city's underground tunnels.
The city glittered under the evening sky. Yuto trudged home from college, drained, his head full of noise and deadlines.
He dropped his bag on the couch, collapsed onto his bed.
"Just a few minutes…" he muttered.
Crack.
His eyes opened.
Another sound — scrape… scrape… — coming from the living room.
He sat up, heart thudding. "Probably the wind."
But when he turned on the light, the window was open — and a perfect, round hole glowed in the glass, edges melted smooth.
The air felt wrong — heavy, electric.
Then a voice came from the dark corner.
Low. Wet. Inhuman.
"Heart… beating… strong."
Yuto froze. "Who's there?"
The shadow moved. A tall, twisted figure stepped into the light — skin shifting like smoke, eyes burning red.
"W–what the hell!?" Yuto grabbed a chair. "Get out before I—"
The creature tilted its head. A mouth split open across its face, teeth jagged and endless.
"Police?" it hissed. "They can't save you. My master, Akuma Ikari, demands your heart."
Yuto's pulse hammered in his ears. "Akuma…? What are you talking about—"
The creature lunged. A claw struck his chest, hurling him into the wall. Pain exploded through his ribs.
He gasped, trying to crawl away.
"Your fear…" the demon hissed. "…it smells divine."
It kicked again — hard. Glass shattered as Yuto was thrown through the window.
The night swallowed him.
He fell — neon lights spinning below, the wind screaming past his ears.
The city blurred into gold and black.
No… no, this can't be real.
His breath caught. The ground rushed up. His vision dimmed — then, somewhere inside the darkness, a voice whispered:
> "Yuto… awaken."
Light flashed — white, violent, alive.
Then everything went still.
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