"Come to me!"
The demon's voice echoed through the street.
My body moved against my will.
I tried to stop myself.
I couldn't.
"Nature Breathing..."
I forced my lungs to take a deep breath.
"Fourth Form..."
"Tsunami!"
I launched myself upward toward the demon.
I was almost there.
Two feet.
One foot.
Then the demon looked directly at me.
"Your poop looked like a radish."
"...What?"
Suddenly...
My brain completely stopped working.
I landed on the ground and started doing some kind of weird tap dance.
"My poop looked like a radish!"
I started singing it.
"My poop looked like a radish!"
I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
"TOM!"
I heard Tobisa shouting from the rooftop.
"Bro?! Are you taking drugs?!"
"SHUT UP!" Marie shouted.
"It's a Blood Demon Art!"
"God damn!"
I continued dancing.
"My poop looked like a radish!"
Then...
Something inside my head snapped.
I blinked.
"...What am I doing?"
The demon smiled.
"Oh, you're awake again?"
I stared at him.
"You made me sing about my poop."
"Yep."
"Why?"
"Because I can."
I tightened my grip on my katana.
"You're weird."
The demon laughed.
Then he spoke again.
"Your diaper is overloading."
"Oh, PLEASE! NO!"
BANG!
A bullet flew past my head and struck the wall behind the demon.
Tobisa had fired.
"You're welcome!"
The distraction was enough.
My mind cleared completely.
"Thanks!"
I immediately rushed forward.
"Nature Breathing..."
"Second Form!"
I swung my katana upward.
"Volcanic Eruption!"
SLASH!
The demon was knocked off his feet and crashed onto the ground.
"NOW!" I shouted.
Marie and Tobisa opened fire.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
But the demon moved unbelievably fast.
He dodged every bullet.
Then he looked toward the rooftop.
"You don't have hands!"
Marie froze.
"What?"
"You don't have hands!"
Suddenly...
Both Marie and Tobisa lowered their guns.
Their arms went completely stiff.
They acted as if their hands didn't exist.
"What the heck?!" Tobisa shouted.
"I can't move my arms!"
I finally understood.
The Blood Demon Art wasn't just controlling the body.
It was controlling the mind.
The demon's tongue suddenly caught my attention.
It was covered in blood.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Wait..."
"His tongue."
The blood wasn't normal.
It was glowing slightly.
"That's how he's activating his technique!"
The demon's eyes widened.
"...You figured it out."
I reached into my bag.
If his voice was the problem...
Then I didn't need to get close.
I pulled out one of my guns.
The demon immediately tried to move.
"Wait—"
I aimed.
"Too late."
BANG!
The shot struck him.
His head was destroyed, and his body immediately began crumbling away.
The demon stared at his own hands.
"...What?"
His body continued turning to ash.
"Am I..."
"...dead?"
His vision suddenly changed.
He wasn't in the East District anymore.
He was somewhere from his past.
He saw himself as a young troll.
He had always wanted to become a great speaker.
He practiced speeches for hours.
He imagined crowds cheering for him.
But whenever he actually spoke...
Nobody listened.
"Stupid!"
"BOO!"
"You're a terrible speaker!"
The memories continued.
He lowered his head.
Maybe...
He really wasn't good enough.
Then he heard a voice.
"You speak pretty well."
He looked up.
It was me.
The demon stared at me in confusion.
"Really?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
"How was my speaking?"
I smiled.
"Impressive."
The demon smiled for the first time.
"...Thank you."
His body finally disappeared into ash.
Back in the real world, Marie looked at me strangely.
"Who are you talking to?"
I looked around.
"...No one."
I sheathed my katana.
"Just a great speaker."
Marie stared at me.
Tobisa burst out laughing.
"Tom, you are seriously weird."
I smiled.
"Maybe."
I looked toward the sunrise beginning to appear over the district.
"Mission accomplished."
'New mission!'
"oh please!!"