Chapter 1: The Night Everything Burned
The wind howled through the silent village of Kurohana, carrying with it the faint scent of ash.
Ren Takahiro tightened his grip on the bundle of firewood strapped to his back. The path home felt longer than usual tonight. The forest—once comforting—now seemed alive, whispering warnings he couldn't understand.
"Just my imagination…" he muttered.
But deep down, he knew something was wrong.
As he approached his home, the air changed.
It was thick.
Heavy.
And then—
Blood.
Ren froze.
The door to his house was slightly open, creaking as it swayed. The scent hit him like a storm.
"No…"
He rushed inside.
The world shattered.
His family lay motionless across the floor. His mother, his younger brothers… all still, all silent. Their eyes empty. Their warmth gone.
Ren's breath caught in his throat. His knees gave way as he collapsed beside them.
"Wake up… please… this isn't funny…"
But no one answered.
A faint sound broke the silence.
A soft… uneven breathing.
Ren's head snapped toward the corner of the room.
"...Mika?"
His little sister.
She was alive.
Relief surged through him as he crawled toward her—but it vanished just as quickly.
Her eyes.
They glowed.
A deep crimson, flickering like dying embers.
"Mika…?" his voice trembled.
She looked up slowly.
For a moment, there was recognition.
Then—
A snarl.
Her body twisted unnaturally as she lunged at him.
Ren barely reacted in time, rolling aside as her claws struck the wooden floor, splintering it like paper.
"Mika! It's me!" he shouted.
But the girl he knew was gone.
Or… was she?
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
Her body trembled, as if something inside her was fighting back.
"R…Ren…" she whispered.
Tears filled his eyes.
"You're still there… I know you are!"
Before he could reach her, a shadow crashed through the doorway.
A man stood there, cloaked in dark robes, a blade gleaming in his hand.
"Step away from the demon," the stranger said coldly.
Ren shielded Mika instinctively. "She's my sister!"
"She's no longer human."
The man moved faster than sight.
Steel flashed.
Ren braced for the worst—
—but the blade stopped inches from Mika's neck.
She didn't attack.
She didn't even move.
Instead, she curled into herself, trembling, as if afraid.
The stranger's eyes narrowed.
"…Interesting."
Ren glared at him. "You're not taking her."
Silence hung in the air.
Then the man lowered his blade.
"What's your name, boy?"
"Ren."
"…Ren. If what I'm seeing is real, then your sister is something that shouldn't exist."
He turned toward the night.
"There is an organization that hunts creatures like her. But… they also seek answers."
Ren clenched his fists.
"Can they turn her back?"
The man paused.
"…I don't know."
That was enough.
Ren stood, determination burning through his grief.
"Then I'll find out."
The wind roared outside, carrying away the last remnants of his old life.
As the flames of dawn slowly rose—
a new path was forged in darkness.
And Ren Takahiro stepped onto it without hesitation.
A path of blood.
A path of blades.
A path that would decide the fate of both humans… and demons.
[End of Chapter 1]