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Chapter 5 – The Warmth of Fire (And Blood)
> "Delicious... So good."
I was grilling meat.
> "You think you're eating right now?"
I looked at the piece of meat in my hand.
It trembled.
I dropped it.
> "Haha, scared already?"
The demon laughed mockingly.
> "Shut your mouth."
K growled. He was furious.
Ever since that night, the police had been searching—after those pigs went berserk.
They attacked people without reason.
They ran wild.
Too many fell because of that madness.
> "Public Notice: If you see any animals, please remain indoors. A potential disease might be causing unusual aggression."
The radio crackled with alerts.
I looked down at the piece of meat on the ground.
My palms were sweating.
> "Haha, it's just pork. Why the hell are you so scared?"
> "...Wait. Don't tell me… it's from one of them—from the herd?!"
A shiver ran through me.
I tried to remember.
> "A wild boar... You're lucky to be alive."
But there were no memories.
After what happened, I'd blacked out. For days.
And now—I was in a forest.
A part of it had been burned.
My shirt was scorched in several places.
> "What the hell even happened these past few days?!"
I snapped.
> "Since that day, that damn thing took control and played with fire."
K spat out the words.
> "Hey—I saved him from that rabid boar!"
The demon barked back.
"Fire? That wasn't violence, that was art!"
> "What the hell... What stupid shit did you two even do?!"
I grabbed the radio nearby. Probably stolen.
I didn't remember taking it.
What lay before me… was a forest scorched black.
And then—
Voices.
They were getting closer.
I couldn't move my body.
I couldn't run.
> "What kind of idiot do you think caused this?"
Two firefighters appeared, muttering as they approached.
> "This is exhausting. Whoever did this must be a total lunatic."
> "...What?"
The demon snapped—
—And leaped.
He wrapped his hands around one of the firefighters' necks.
> "HEY! Stop—!"
The other lunged forward to help—
CRACK.
He dropped.
The first fell too.
One lay there twitching, the other already gone.
The surviving one looked at me—
Scorched shirt.
Eyes full of bloodlust.
> "I hate this."
The demon whispered—
—and crushed the man's bones.
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They were dead.
I stared blankly at the two bodies.
> "No use saving anymore... I always knew he'd end up like this."
The voice didn't belong to K.
It wasn't the demon either.
Someone else had taken control.
The demon… vanished.
> "Now what...?"
The boy—whoever he was—knelt beside the body of the surviving firefighter.
Still breathing.
But barely.
> "Guess I've got no choice."
He spoke softly, like offering a final prayer.
> "What are you doing?!"
K barked.
The boy placed a hand gently on the man's chest.
Green sparks lifted into the air.
The ragged breath slowly began to stabilize.
> "RUN, YOU IDIOT!!"
K screamed.
> "He should be fine now. I even erased his memory."
A blinding light burst from the healing.
It lit up the area.
Too much.
Too obvious.
Footsteps.
Voices.
> "What the hell...?"
A police officer arrived.
Two firefighters on the ground—one unconscious, one with fractured bones.
The officer radioed for help.
And checked the breathing of the nearly dead man.
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