"Let's go," Kai said, already striding forward.
A black shadow exploded from the darkness and slammed into Eris.
"Ahhhhh—fuck!" Eris yelped, tumbling backward.
Kai's blade was out in an instant.
Shk—!
Three clean slices. The demon fell apart in wet chunks.
"Stay the hell away from my sister, scum!" Kai snarled.
Liza and Sara rushed to Eris's side.
"Eris, are you okay?!" Liza asked, voice tight.
"Yeah…" Eris's voice shook. She was breathing hard, eyes wide.
"Here—drink some water." Sara pressed a waterskin into her hands.
"Thanks," Eris whispered, taking shaky sips.
Marcos scanned the shadows. "Looks like there are monsters down here too."
They waited until Eris's breathing steadied.
"I'm fine," she said, pushing herself up. "Let's keep going."
"Okay," Liza said. She took one step—then spun around.
"What?" Eris asked.
"Eris," Liza's voice dropped low and heavy, "when that thing jumped on you… did you just say 'fuck'?"
"N—no!" Eris looked away fast.
"Eris. Look me in the eyes." Liza's smile was… not friendly.
"It's not like that—" Eris squeaked, backing up.
"Then what is it like?" Liza stepped closer.
"N—nooo!" Eris yelped and ducked behind Kai.
"Oh, I see," Liza said sweetly, turning her glare on Kai. "It's because of you."
"What'd I do?" Kai asked, hands up.
"Let me tell you exactly what you did," Liza said, cracking her knuckles.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kai and Eris screamed in unison.
They both dropped to their knees like scolded kids.
"Kai," Liza said, looming over them, "it's completely your fault for cursing in front of Eris. And Eris—do you even know what that word means?"
"I'm sorry!" Eris wailed, tears in her eyes.
"Now, Kai," Liza continued.
"Y-yes?"
"If you ever curse in front of her again…" Liza leaned in close, voice dropping to a scary whisper. "You know what'll happen, right?"
"Y—yes ma'am."
They started walking again, the cave growing darker and colder with every step.
After a while, Eris slowed.
"It's… getting hard to breathe," she said.
"Yeah," Marcos agreed, glancing at Kai. "There's a strong aura coming from deeper in."
Kai grinned. "Stronger than I thought. This is gonna be fun."
They pressed on.
Kai suddenly raised a hand.
"What?" Liza whispered.
"Over there," Kai said.
Deep in the shadows, something red glowed faintly.
"What is that?" Sara asked, clutching Marcos's sleeve.
Then it stepped out.
A tall, slender thing—human-shaped but wrong. Eyes bulging from the sockets, arms hanging loose like broken ropes, two jagged horns curling back, long gray hair dragging on the ground.
"That's a Deuman!" Kai shouted.
"What's a Deuman?" Liza asked.
"Hybrid of demon and human," Kai explained quickly. "Very rare."
"So… not friendly?" Liza echoed.
Kai laughed. "Of course not."
He started walking straight toward it.
"Hey, you motherfucker!" Kai called cheerfully.
The Deuman lunged.
Kai sidestepped easily.
"That's why I hate these things," he said. "They're fast, but predictable."
It spun and charged again.
Kai dodged once more. The Deuman crashed face-first into the cave wall, cracking stone.
"Playing with these guys is always entertaining," Kai said, grinning wider.
From the side, the others watched.
"What is he doing?" Liza muttered to Marcos.
"He loves messing with Deumans," Marcos said. "Thinks it's fun."
"But why?"
Marcos shrugged. "I don't know either."
The Deuman kept attacking. Kai kept dodging—laughing the whole time.
Then its bulging eyes locked on Eris.
"Ahhhhhh!" Eris screamed.
It slammed into her, sending her flying back into the wall.
"Eris!" Liza and Sara cried, running to her.
Kai's grin vanished.
"Now you've done it, you fucking bastard."
His eyes flared crimson.
He drew his sword. Crimson fire roared up around him, licking the air.
He dropped into a stance.
One blink—the Deuman was gone.
In the next, it was raining in pieces. Blood splattered the cave walls like dark ink.
Kai stood there, sword dripping, small smile back on his blood-streaked face.
"Is she okay?" he asked, turning to them.
"Y—yes," Liza said, helping Eris sit up.
Kai walked over, flames fading.
But then the shadows stirred again.
The red eyes opened again in the dark.
"Oh?" Kai's smile grew. "You want to play more?"