The boat rocked slightly under Reika's awkward strokes.
"You're paddling like you're trying to summon a storm," Mira teased, arms crossed, her smile soft but wicked.
"I'm conserving energy," Reika grunted, yanking the oar in a perfect circle. "This is tactical… spiraling. Builds tension."
"For what? Sea sickness?"
He scowled, determined now to prove a point. He paddled harder—still going in a circle.
Mira chuckled and dipped her hand into the lake, watching the ripples. The water was clear, the breeze calm. A perfect, rare moment of peace.
They cast their lines.
Mira's got tangled in a branch overhead.
Reika's pulled up a boot.
"I think we're tied," she muttered.
"Shame. I thought I'd win by reeling in dignity."
They both burst out laughing.
But then—a ripple in the lake. A low hum. And something rose from the water.
A cloaked figure emerged slowly, soaked from head to toe. The figure coughed, spat water, and pulled out a soggy scroll. He tried to read from it… but it disintegrated.
"Aw, c'mon!" the demon yelled.
Reika blinked. "Did… you just monologue yourself into a puddle?"
"I HAD A WHOLE INTRO!"
Mira's smile dropped. "Reika… his ren. He's strong."
The demon snapped his fingers, water falling from his sleeves like a drenched sponge. "Let's do this properly. Name's Maltrak. I was sent by Asmodai's chief officer to collect you."
"Collect me?" Reika stood slowly, hand on his sword. "Sorry. I'm on a date."
"That's adorable," Maltrak said. "But I have powers."
He spread his arms dramatically. "Behold! Mirror Fang! I reflect one attack per minute back at my enemy! AND—" he reached into his coat, pulling out a book— "Copy Blink! I can steal non-combat skills."
He looked at Reika.
"Like… rowing."
He snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, he was in a boat.
Then… rowing in a perfect circle.
"What… the hell is this?!"
"Ha!" Mira barked. "That's Reika's rowing style!"
"IT'S A TECHNIQUE!" Reika shouted.
"IT'S A DEATH SPIRAL!" Maltrak shrieked, crashing into a rock and flipping into the lake.
But the playfulness ended there.
Maltrak launched from the water like a missile. He threw a blast of energy—Mira countered it mid-air, but he surged through and slashed her side.
Her breath caught. Blood sprayed across the boat.
"Mira!"
"I'm… okay. Just… give me a second."
She tried to regenerate—but it was slower than normal. She winced, gripping the wound. Reika picked her up and leapt to the shore, setting her beneath the willow trees.
"You stay here. I'll end this."
Rain began to fall, reika's stance changed, the air ran cold.
Reika stood up slowly, manifesting a longer sword with his hands.
Reika stood. His silver hair soaked. Blue shirt clinging to his chest. His bangs drooped over his eyes.
Maltrak smirked. "You look dramatic. Got a speech?"
Reika's eyes snapped open.
Red. Burning.
"No speech," he said. "Just pain."
And then he moved.
He was a blur—strikes slicing, dodging the mirrored counter, testing Maltrak's timing, predicting, feinting, overwhelming.
Maltrak tried to reverse a strike—Reika let it reflect, absorbed it, then kicked his knee out and impaled him from behind.
"Wait—WAIT—!"
Reika stabbed again. And again. And again.
Even after Maltrak dropped. Even after the demon gurgled blood. Even after the rain had washed most of it away.
"REIKA!"
Mira's voice.
She dragged herself to him, limping, arms trembling.
She grabbed his back. Hugged him tight.
"Please… these aren't your eyes. These are the eyes of a beast."
Reika froze.
The blade dropped. His hands trembled.
The corpse turned to dust, fading into the rain.
Reika knelt.
"I… lost control. Mira—your wound…"
She smiled weakly. "I'll be fine. Just don't take me to a human healer."
"Why?"
"Demon blood reacts to human healing magic. It burns. And it'd reveal what I am."
She clutched his shirt.
"I'll heal on my own."
He nodded, lifting her again. They found a dry cave nearby. He lit a fire with shaking hands.
Mira leaned against his chest, breathing slower.
"You're strong," she whispered. "And kind. That demon saw power. But I saw something better."
Reika said nothing—but he held her close, letting the rain crash just outside.
Bonus Scene:
Reika sat beside Mira at the edge of the lake.
She smirked. "So… you copy boat rowing skills?"
Reika groaned. "He chose that! Of all the things!"
"Who's better at fishing?" she teased.
He looked at her, deadpan.
"I caught a boot."
"I caught a tree."
They stared.
"…Tie?"
"Definitely a tie."
They laughed again. Softer this time.
Absolutely — here's the full chapter based on your updated context. This blends slice of life, deep character development, comedy, and emotional weight, while peeling back more of Asmodai's mystery and Reika's inherited burden.
Chapter: "The Scroll of Flame and Ash"
Rain pattered gently outside the safehouse. The scent of soaked earth drifted through the open window. Reika sat by the hearth, hair still damp from the earlier storm. His shirt clung to him, and the dried blood on his knuckles had yet to be scrubbed away.
He hadn't spoken much since returning from the lake.
Mira was resting. She hadn't asked about the battle—not yet. She'd simply squeezed his hand and whispered, "You're safe. That's enough." That made it worse somehow. Her kindness scraped deeper than any blade.
Now, alone with Kaien and Zariel, Reika finally broke the silence.
"I almost killed him. Not to win. Not to defend. I just… wanted him dead."
Kaien, slouched on the couch with a rice cracker in his mouth, blinked. "Which part's the problem? 'Cause you just described my entire dating life."
Zariel sighed, but didn't interrupt. Reika's voice was low, steady.
"It wasn't me. It was something else. When he hurt her, I snapped. And when she begged me to stop... I couldn't even hear her at first. My mind was gone."
Kaien's joking expression softened. Zariel crossed his arms, leaning against the fireplace.
"You were born from a royal bloodline of demons, Reika. The deeper the blood, the hotter the rage. This isn't new. But it's dangerous now… because you don't have control."
Reika clenched his fists. "Then help me get it."
Ashstone Temple - Earlier That Week
Zariel had been sent ahead to retrieve an ancient sealed scroll, hidden deep within Ashstone Temple — a ruin rumored to house relics from the era when Asmodai was still whispered about with fear… and respect.
Kaien had insisted on tagging along.
"In case it's trapped," he said.
"You mean you will trip the traps first," Zariel replied dryly.
They did. Twice.
One exploding rune, a fire-breathing statue, and a very aggressive mimic disguised as a bookshelf later, they found the Scroll of Flame and Ash — its bottom edge seared with demonic fire, the binding still faintly pulsing.
Present - The Reading of the Scroll
Now, seated together in candlelight, Zariel unrolled the ancient parchment.
The first part was in clear demonic script:
"He who bleeds from wrath must bind his heart to something unbreakable."
Reika looked down at his hand, where Mira's ribbon was loosely wrapped around his wrist. He hadn't let it go since the lake.
Zariel carefully unsealed the scorched section of the scroll. The ink shimmered crimson. The second passage was older, written in poetic cipher:
"The Demon King knelt not in war, but in birth.
They came with blades, not questions.
She fell before he held his son.
And when angels watched in silence… the fire spoke."
Kaien stared at it, cold rushing through his veins.
"The heck does this mean?"
Zariel bonged him on the head. "Late legend speaks of demon worshipers who saw "The beginning of the war." It says, Cynthia. A human. Asmodai's beloved. Slain the night you were born. Humans feared what your father represented—even though he'd brought peace for decades. But fear blinds men."
Kaien leaned forward, unusually quiet.
"Wait. So… Asmodai didn't start as a tyrant?"
Zariel's voice lowered. "It's most likely a story fabricated by the demon worshipping factions like the bloodcore, trying to make people feel sympathy for asmodai."
Reika rose from his seat, stepping toward the window. The rain had stopped, but the storm inside him had not.
He whispered more to himself than to the others:
"So that's why I felt it. That rage. It's inherited. Not just power… but pain."
Kaien scratched his head. "That explains your moody staring into the rain like a sad prince in a drama."
Zariel rolled his eyes. "You do that too."
Kaien grinned. "Yeah, but I look hot doing it."
Reika finally cracked a small smile.
Zariel stepped closer. "There's more, Reika. The scroll ends with a mark—Asmodai's seal. It means he left this for someone like you to find. Maybe... he didn't want you to follow his path."
Reika turned to them, his silver hair clinging to his face, and his red eyes burning not with fury now, but clarity.
"Then I won't. I'll make a new one."
Bonus scene:
The next morning, Kaien kicked open the door dramatically with a scroll tube in hand.
"Good morning, emotionally traumatized demon prince! I brought breakfast."
Reika: "You stole that from Mira's side of the house, didn't you?"
Kaien: "Borrowed. I'm returning it... to your stomach."
Zariel: "I'm begging you both to stop speaking."
Reika bit into the stolen toast and looked out the window. Somewhere in the city, Mira was laughing with Kairo. The world hadn't ended yet.
But he knew now: It almost had once—because of him.
And he wouldn't let it happen again.