"How did you survive that?!"
Code stared at the figure standing before him—not a demon, but a man. Human.
Or so it seemed.
Black hair clung to his face. His eyes, empty and jet-black, stared with hollow disinterest. A black diamond-shaped mark was inscribed on his forehead, while thick dark lines—flanked by scaled patterns—ran down his body and face like the skin of a cursed serpent.
He wore a priest's robe, pure white and flowing to his feet, yet it felt... wrong. A suffocating, malevolent aura poured from him like a silent scream, coiling around the air with invisible claws.
This man wasn't upper-class. He wasn't like Van described. This presence—this thing—was either a Zero... or something beyond even that.
Code's heart slammed against his chest, his thoughts spiraling. Beads of sweat slid down his face as he slowly looked at the corpse beside him—then back at the man who now loomed like the embodiment of despair.
One thing was certain:
This man was doom incarnate.
Then suddenly, the man spread his arms wide, his lips curling into a euphoric smile.
"Wonderful! Splendid! Truly magnificent!" he exclaimed, voice echoing across the bloodstained walls.
"I've never—never!—met a human who survived my attack. Hehehe..." He chuckled darkly, before halting mid-laugh.
Code froze as the man's head tilted low. Those jet-black eyes locked onto him.
The man smirked at Code's bewildered stare and said, in a smooth, mocking tone:
"Ohhh? Pardon me. Where are my manners?"
He bowed slightly, a twisted mockery of politeness.
"I am Khalzheroth... Khalzheroth Velmorgath, the Warden of Screams."
He stepped in a slow, deliberate circle, like a predator stalking his kill.
"Humans call me The Tormenter."
He chuckled again, voice smooth like oil over fire.
"Ah, I don't particularly like the name, but... it's grown on me. The fact that humans loathe me enough to give me such a title—it's delightful, isn't it?"
Then his eyes darkened. The smile faded.
Suddenly, his tone plummeted.
"However..."
A storm of anger stirred behind his voice.
"Despite being highly revered, they continue to insult me—calling me a demon, a monster, even a vermin. What... insolence!"
His roar shook the very room, as dust trickled from the cracked ceiling.
"It is truly discordant. Dissatisfying. Displeasing. Disproportionate. Discomforting."
Each word fell like thunder.
"To mistake me for those lowly abominations."
He bared his teeth now, seething.
"I am an Odivar! Not some mindless demon!"
His voice rose with fury—equal parts rant and revelation.
"Why doesn't anyone understand that?! Whenever I try to help, they scream 'demon!' and run away!"
Then came a grin. Twisted. Unsettling.
"So..."
He leaned forward, eyes glinting.
"I just go ahead and do what demons do. Crunch, munch, squeeze, break, pulverize, slam, chew... and swallow them all."
His tongue slithered from his mouth, licking his lips with sadistic pleasure.
"Sad thing is, most of them taste either sour or oily. Good grief," Khalzheroth sighed, casually shaking his head.
"Ugh...!" Code staggered, breath catching in his throat. Rage bubbled beneath his skin, teeth clenched in utter disgust.
"But you..." Khalzheroth continued, stepping closer, "I believe you understand pain. You understand suffering. And most importantly..."—he paused, eyeing Code with eerie fascination—"...I believe you'll taste different. Since you're just like me."
Code's brows furrowed. 'What the hell is he talking about?'
Khalzheroth's expression turned sharp, ecstatic.
"The aura pouring from you! It shouldn't exist. And the fact that you survived that attack can only mean one thing..."
He grinned.
"You changed Fate."
The words hit like a hammer.
"'Changed fate?'" Code echoed under his breath, barely loud enough for himself to hear. 'What is he talking about?'
Khalzheroth let out a low, delighted chuckle. It echoed like the ticking of a cursed clock.
"Fate changing... Truly splendid."
He raised his hand, fingers spread like a preacher mid-sermon.
"Only two entities wield such power..." His gaze turned frigid, voice dropping.
"The Hollow... and the Aidra."
Code's heart skipped a beat.
'Does that mean I actually died?' he thought, eyes wide. 'That I came back because... Aidra changed my fate?'
'Then... that means Aidra—'
But suddenly, the second name clicked.
"The Hollow."
His lips moved again, repeating it.
"The Hollow..."
'A demon... on par with Aidra?'
"The Hollow..."
"The Hollow..."
The name echoed in his mind like a cursed mantra—each repetition tightening the grip on his sanity.
Then Khalzheroth's voice snapped him back.
"Gifted child," he said, the title laced with venom. "The power within you... it shouldn't be yours. It should never belong to a human."
He smiled, cruel and hungry.
"So I'll tear it from your flesh... then savor the meal."
He stepped forward—just one step—and stopped.
"But before that... As my name entails, I like to break my victims before I eat them," He grinned, stretching his skeletal right hand forward. A cube floated above his palm—painted in six different, shifting colors.
Code's eyes narrowed. This looked familiar. Then it clicked.
'It's the domain! That cube must control this place!' he realized.
The cube hovered, crackling with black lightning as Khalzheroth whispered a command:
"Aiza Mandoa."
The cube rotated violently, and at once, the room shifted. The ground groaned, walls twisted—Code braced against the wall.
'What the hell is he planning?' he thought, unease prickling down his spine.
Then it all stopped.
"Arrrgh," Khalzheroth sighed in twisted satisfaction. "Truly... splendid."
He mouthed a word: "Open."
Behind him, the wall split, revealing a hidden chamber.
As Code raised his eyes toward it, he froze.
His breath left him.
Men, women, and children—hung from the ceiling by threads like grotesque marionettes. Their bodies were twisted, limbs unnaturally bent. Some were unrecognizable.
"Beautiful, ain't it?" Khalzheroth asked, pride dripping from his grin.
"My most prized possession. I've never owned anything better!"
He danced slightly, delighting in the horror.
"See that one?" He pointed to a man on the far left. "He threw stones at me. So, I tied him to a pillar and ate his entire family while he watched. You should've heard him beg when I squeezed him dry. Pity... they didn't taste so good."
'This monster...' Code trembled. His fists clenched, rage building.
"That woman there—old hag with no manners. Sent her to hell instantly." Khalzheroth giggled.
"These three?" He pointed to children. "Wandered into my forest at night. They were crying. So I ended their misery. Hahaha!"
"See why you shouldn't wander around at night."
Code's breath was ragged. He wanted to charge, to end it all—but fear anchored him. The anti-tenzen aura coming from Khalzheroth was paralyzing.
"And this one," Khalzheroth said.
Code looked. His eyes widened.
A woman, dressed in what was once a bright yellow robe—now soaked red. Her limbs were gone.
'I've seen her before,' Code realized, but couldn't remember where exactly.
"She was the most stubborn of all," Khalzheroth went on. "I captured her, broke her body... but still, she kept repeating: 'I've to get back to my son'"
As Khalzheroth said this, Code's eyes widened. Slowly, the pieces began to connect.
"Bring back my mom!"
Code remembered that voice. The boy he had promised. He said he would bring back his mother.
The woman hanging before him—she looked just like the boy. He couldn't mistake it—she was the boy's mother.
"Hahaha," Khalzheroth chuckled, still facing the bodies. "What insolence. Foolishness. Stupidity. Caring about your son? I can never understand humans." He clicked his tongue. "So I just went ahead and severed her—"
"You bastard!" Code's voice snapped through the air, cutting him off.
Veins bulged across Code's arms, his teeth clenched so tight it hurt. His fist trembled with rage.
"I'll kill you! You MONSTER!"
Khalzheroth's eyes widened. And in that instant, a violent surge of anti-tenzen flooded the room, thick and choking. It sent a shiver racing down Code's spine.
"W-What is that...?" he whispered, voice tight, skin clammy.
"Monster?" Khalzheroth repeated coldly, slowly turning to face him.
"Ugh—!" Code gasped.
Khalzheroth looked different now. More demonic. His eyes had darkened into twin abysses, his grin curled up to expose jagged blade-like teeth, and the black lines that marked his face grew wider, pulsing with power.
"You foolish human... What don't you understand about the fact that I am not a monster?!" he roared.
Code's heart pounded. 'Shit. I shouldn't have said that.' But he didn't back down.
"Only a monster would kill humans and mock their emotions! Only a monster would kill someone who had a reason to live!" Code shouted, his voice raw and shaking with fury.
A flash of memory hit him—the boy's desperate words—
"Mister... bring her back, please!"
"You're even worse than a monster or a demon," Code spat. "You're a worthless piece of scum! The worst thing to ever exist! I'll kill you right here, right now—and avenge every single one you've slaughtered! YOU MONSTER!"
Khalzheroth's expression froze.
"Eh... eh... eh..." He chuckled lowly.
"Uh...?" Code flinched, eyes narrowing.
"Now that," Khalzheroth said slowly, "I cannot take sitting."
A smile spread across his twisted face, fanged and venomous.
"Looks like you really want to die, gifted child."
***
TBC.