Kairo slipped away through the white light, heart pounding as the forest swallowed him once more. He walked slowly at first, then stopped after just a few steps, pressing his back against a gnarled tree trunk. His breath came in shallow bursts.
Hidden monsters of the forbidden forest emerged from the shadows, their eyes glowing in the gloom—some pure white, some blood-red, others like bottomless voids that seemed to devour the surrounding darkness. They stared at him without fear.
Wait… it's working. It has pros and cons. Those monsters are no longer afraid of me. Just like how I can run now—wait a second. That monster earlier was so fast he ran at the speed of sound. Hmm… but I think I've achieved something. It should be no problem. I have to think fast.
Kairo's mind raced. They're standing in my way. There are way too many of them. If I kill them, it'll create too much noise and lure Kai over—my plan fails. If I just run, these monsters are way too strong. Even at my peak physical power, they'll catch me. Either way, I'm done. And if I stay and camouflage near Kai… even though it might work for a while, he wanders here and there. Hundreds of years could pass, and all my efforts would be in vain. So I need to take this risky route… Hmm, okay. I have an idea.
He turned and hurried back toward Kai, forcing his expression into something calm.
"Brother Kai, I used magic which is showing me a path to a land. I used my magic book and it showed me the people there are way too arrogant. So will you go with me, Brother Kai?"
Kai's milky-white eyes narrowed.
"What about the ritual?"
"Well, just forget about it and follow me."
For a split second, pure anger flashed across Kai's face, twisting his features. Then the familiar creepy smile returned.
"Ok, if you say so, Kairo. Well, you can go and train. Yeah, don't cross that line. I have some business to take care of. I need to take away my ritual things. These are way too rare even in this cursed forest."
Kairo nodded quickly.
"Ok, brother."
As soon as Kai turned and walked away, Kairo disobeyed and silently followed, keeping to the shadows. Well, let's see what he does.
Kai gathered all the small skeletons—many disturbingly child-sized—staring at them one last time with an unreadable expression. Then he raised his hand, and black flames erupted, reducing every bone to fine dust in seconds.
Kairo watched from hiding, stomach churning.
Kai suddenly slammed his fist into the ground, cracking the earth. Rage contorted his features.
"My ritual… it has been failed! I am a failure after all that studying, and I can't manipulate like that man. I am a complete idiot! I am an idiot! Now my ritual has been failed. If he figured it out, it won't work because I taught him magic. Now there is no other option… I will just make sure that my brother…"
His smile stretched wider and wider until fresh blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, staining his cheeks. His white eyes darkened to pitch black.
"Well, I have another idea which will complete my ritual and turn me back into a human—for a price."
Ohh, I have to hurry!
Kairo retreated as silently as he had come, returning to the training area without leaving a single trace. Thank goodness I didn't reveal to Kai that I'm a special talented kid who can memorize a whole book in a day. And that ritual… it's going to make him human. I didn't notice it before, but I'm losing my humanity and he is slowly gaining it. I also observed he's becoming slower and slower… weaker, while I'm gaining speed. Coincidence? Not at all.
He channeled all his anger into training. Grabbing a wooden sword, Kairo swung with ferocious power and sliced an entire thick tree clean in half with a single strike. The trunk crashed down, sending birds scattering.
"Wait, how did I get so strong??"
he whispered, staring at his hands in disbelief. Hmm, so the ritual is working.
Kairo glanced around. The usual predators had vanished—no eyes watching from the underbrush, no distant growls.
"Hmm, it seems those monsters are racists. They run away from me. And why am I making jokes? Shouldn't I fear these monsters? Uhh, normal humans are gonna think I'm an idiot. Wait, did I just say normal humans? What does that make me…? Uhh, back to running away."
He gripped the wooden sword tighter, resolve hardening in his glowing eyes as the weight of his changing nature pressed down on him like an invisible curse.
Kai suddenly teleported right in front of him, his form flickering into existence with a swirl of dark energy.
"It's because you are becoming just like me."
Kairo froze, eyes widening.
"Uhh… that's why everyone is running away from me. That's so cool. Now how will I lose my virginity?"
Kai's bloody grin widened.
"Crack jokes as long as you can. That which is giving you strength. The ritual had already started. I actually lured you in. I knew you would hide here, at these specific bushes so you could spy on me. You fell into my trap. I thought I lost, but I've had pretty good luck lately."
In the next instant, Kai vanished, leaving behind a fluttering note that read: Well then, goodbye.
Kairo's blood boiled as he chased after him, legs pumping with monstrous speed. So this was the guy who was giving me those love letters. How cute—he would be in jail in my world for talking to a minor. Now let me punish him for his pervertness.
Hmm, so I have gathered some magic tricks, and they will get him for sure. Let me think about the options I have…
Kairo unleashed a deadly magic that could kill in an instant, but it required close range. He pushed forward aggressively, trying to close the distance.
Kai stayed just out of reach, impossibly fast, carefully feeding Kairo abilities at the precise moments. If he kills me in human form, I'll fully transform into a monster.
Uhh, god damn it. How did I believe someone like him… and those notes…
Kai's thoughts raced even as he moved. Kairo… he is very intelligent. Thank goodness he is still a kid. If he had turned into an adult, I would definitely lose in this battle of intelligence. That is making me sound stupid, but I am not.
Well, if I go toward that path, I will be blown by that magic. He is very smart—he is giving me a good fight. I am still in monster form and I have to turn fully human for it to work. If I use illusion, it will be a waste because I secretly saw him mastering illusion magic. If I lower my guard even for a second, I will just stay a monster forever and roam around for thousands of years.
Kai summoned a shimmering water barrier around himself.
"No way! He counter-attacked my move which was used to one-shot him!" Kairo growled, fists clenched.
"I can't use it again if I do—it will be in vain. But wait…"
Unwillingly, he released another spell that showed no visible effect, yet it somehow aided Kai instead.
"I made you do that with my muscle memory. As you are just becoming my younger version of me, you are just me, my foolish little brother,"
Kai said, voice laced with dark amusement.
"No way! So it was a magic chant? No way… but I have something for ya!"
Kairo unleashed a powerful illusion—a threatening phantom armed with a demon bow that promised to destroy everything in its path, bending space and time itself.
"Woah, I didn't know it would bend space and time. I am very powerful… but this power is a curse. If I had greed, I would accept this power and let him leave."
"Impressive,"
Kai muttered, eyes narrowing.
If I attack him, my water barrier—which I made him create—will be wasted. Then I'll be distracted and he will kill me with his speed or that annoying bow. And if I use illusion like Kairo, he can just kill me because of the power difference and mastery of illusions. Uhh, no way… but I still have some magic tricks.
Kai deployed advanced puppet magic, far more refined than Kairo's own.
"Uhh, damn those annoying puppets!"
Kairo snarled.
I can see there is no opening. He knows his power very well—all his weaknesses. But still, I will attack the main guy. That's all I have to do because I am immortal anyway!
Kai dodged fluidly, slipping away as Kairo pressed the assault. When Kai thought he had created distance, exploiting what he believed was Kairo's low magic handling, the boy attacked again from a blind angle.
Kairo was turning back into human form far too quickly, the fight still raging.
"No… he can kill me. I shouldn't have told him I am immortal. He can just cut my legs and do his ritual…"
Kai noticed the shift. He will figure it out. I underestimated his intelligence… uhh, damn. Oh wait—he didn't figure it out. I overestimated him.
Kairo struck from a different angle. Kai blocked with his puppets, cursing under his breath. "Uhh, damn it… damn it!"
Kairo sacrificed all his clones in a desperate rush toward the real Kai.
Kai countered with his own clones, destroying Kairo's, but the effort weakened his water barrier, putting him in grave danger.
"Ohh, well that isn't going good. Am I wrong?"
Kairo muttered, then froze as he noticed his body rapidly returning to human form.
"So I know you are gonna start that ritual again because I won, huh?"
A giant snake suddenly erupted from the depths, forcing Kai to flee. Kairo spotted the exit in the distance and sprinted toward it without a second thought.
"Yes! It is the same land mentioned by the Tormentor!"
At the gates of the kingdom, Kairo glanced back one last time—only to see Kai being thrown toward him by the unstable giant snake. One of Kai's puppets shoved Kairo fully through the barrier.
"Kairo, remember: don't expect people to be there for you just because you're always there for them. You can take example from that—you expected me to be better, but I destroyed your expectation by making you seem like I was gonna hurt you, make you a demon."
A loud, manic laughter erupted from Kai, twisting into a pained scream. The snake, sensitive to the sound unlike snakes in other worlds, went berserk and hurled Kai through the barrier.
Kai had lost all his powers after trying to break the contract another way, and the curse had noticed his intentions. He stumbled forward—no longer a demon, but a normal human with rare white hair and fair skin that stood out sharply against the tanned locals.
Kairo's eyes filled with tears as he stared at the transformed figure.
"You don't belong to this world. You are way too kind for this world. Was it you who changed my mind through magic? Because of that, I wasn't able to sacrifice myself!"
he cried, voice breaking.
"I never did,"
Kai said softly, coughing up blood.
"I should have followed my soul, but I didn't. I followed my desires instead of hard work. I agreed with a demon which turned me into a demon. And when I looked at you fighting against me, you were terribly afraid of dying because you haven't lived life yet. You still have a lot of things and lots of work to do, Kairo. And remember, Kairo—no matter how pure your character is, people will still judge you by your looks and your actions. They might look good in front of you, manipulate you in the opposite way of what I did. Because those enemies who pretend to be your friends—not all friends, but they will be some of your biggest enemies. That's why I became an open enemy… to make sure the curse is undone. Uhh, it is way too complicated. It is going through your head, I can see that."
"What kind of curse are you talking about?!"
Kairo cried uncontrollably, dropping to his knees.
"Brother, don't leave me please! You are one of my true brothers. It's been two months! Why… why did you make me do this? I will die with guilt in my heart!"
"Guilt? Why do you have it? You just ran away from a monster. Think of your good deeds. You accepted my monstrous form. You accepted me—that creepy scary face. That is more than enough for me. No one accepted me except my own family. I had no friends. Only my siblings and my family helped me. I think you are also one of my best friends too, Kairo. I just waited hundreds of years to protect someone. I am truly lucky that I protected you—from that damn forest to someone as kind-hearted as you, Kairo."
"What about those skulls you were talking to? I thought you killed other wanderers…"
"Those are my real brothers and sisters and my whole family. They all died. I was all alone. Even when they were alive, I felt the presence of everyone except for myself. They helped me and I had so much fun with them. When they died fighting against that monster, I sacrificed myself. He liked my act of braveness and killed them all except me, then granted me strength. My face scared everyone… but you were different. You saw the real me—my good deeds, my coughs of blood, my good intentions. Kairo, you really are a good person. I wish I end up in heaven… then I may be able to meet you… Kai… rooo..."
Kai's voice faded as his body went still.
"Brother, wake up! You can't leave me! Brother, please just get up! Let's go training, brother!"
Kairo cried uncontrollably, shaking the lifeless body.
Inside one of the fallen puppets, he found a final note. With trembling fingers, he opened it.
No matter how beautiful you decorate a grave, a dead person will never be alive. Life will end in the blink of an eye. So Kairo, let's meet in heaven.