When Devourers evolve, the world doesn't shake—it holds its breath.
It was the silence that terrified me most.
Not the explosions.Not the collapsing walls.Not the shockwaves ripping through what used to be my living room.
The silence.
Like even the air was afraid to move.
My house—what was left of it—leaned sideways at a sick angle, cracked beams and shattered glass hanging in the air like pieces of a broken memory.
Only the shimmering blue barrier spell around the property kept the destruction from spilling into the street.Ami must've cast it the moment she teleported Luci away the first time.
Thank god—or whatever came before gods—my parents were on vacation.
If they'd been here…I swallowed.
No.Don't think about that.
The barrier thrummed softly, absorbing blow after blow as Yergba and Ami clashed with Luci, each impact sending ripples of gold across the sky like lightning trapped in a bubble.
Sam stood in front of me, one arm shielding, the other gripping her blade.
Ami and Yergba moved like twin storms.
Ami—fast.Precise.Cold fury wrapped in silver hair and blue flame.
Yergba—wild.Explosive.Crackling with new power erupting from her veins—her aura a violent storm of purple and black lightning.
But Luci—
Luci didn't dodge.
She didn't block.
She just looked bored.
She turned as Ami sliced through the air—Ami's blade only centimeters from Luci's neck—and Luci tilted her head aside like she was avoiding a falling leaf.
Ami snarled, appearing behind her in a blink.
Yergba struck from the opposite angle, both fists glowing.
Ami's blade flashed down.
Yergba's punch exploded.
Luci caught both attacks.
With one hand.
She held Ami's blade between her fingers like it was a chopstick.And with her palm, she stopped Yergba's full-force punch without budging an inch.
Yergba's eyes went wide.
"Are you—kidding me—?!"
Luci smiled sweetly.
"Nope."
She flicked her wrist.
A shockwave launched both of them backward—Ami skidding across the concrete—Yergba smashing into a half-fallen support beam.
I felt the blast hit my chest even from twenty meters away.
"Ami!! Yergba!!" I shouted, voice cracking.
Sam grabbed my hoodie and yanked me down as a chunk of ceiling crashed where my head had been.
"Don't stand up! She'll target you again!"
Luci stepped forward.
Slow.Playful.Like she was walking through a field of flowers, not the ruins of my house.
Her monstrous arm flexed—dark flesh rippling like moving shadows.
But then—
It changed.
Not her arm.
Her head.
Small black shapes pushed against her scalp.
At first I thought they were bones.
Then I realized they were growing.
"Horns…" Sam breathed."She's… revealing more of her true form."
Luci winked at her.
"Aw, you noticed."
Two small, smooth, glossy black horns emerged through her silver hair, curving backward like the blades of a crescent moon.
Not massive demon horns.
Not huge or dramatic.
Worse.
Small.
Sharp.
Young.
Like she wasn't even fully transformed yet.
Luci rolled her neck.
"Mm… feels better. Guess I'll stop playing now."
Ami shakily pushed herself up.
Her silver hair clung to her face, streaked with sweat and dirt.
But her eyes—
Her eyes were blazing like twin blue suns.
"You're not… hurting Aki again," Ami spat.
Yergba staggered to her feet too, wiping blood from her lip."I finally get to hit something real… and it's THIS overpowered freak. Great."
Luci closed her eyes, calm.
The air bent.
Literally bent—like space rippling around her.
Ami noticed too late.
"Sam—she's—!!"
Luci vanished.
Ami teleported instantly.
Yergba jumped sideways.
Sam shielded me with her whole body.
A sonic boom cracked the barrier spell, sending golden sparks everywhere.
Then—
Luci appeared behind Ami.
And kicked her.
Not hard.
Just a simple, lazy kick.
But the force—
Ami shot across the yard like a bullet, slamming into the barrier with a scream.The barrier rippled violently but held.
Barely.
"A-Ami!!" I yelled.
Luci appeared right in front of Yergba next.
Yergba tried to uppercut her.
Luci lightly touched Yergba's elbow with one finger.
CRACK.
Yergba screamed as her arm bent the wrong way.
My stomach twisted painfully.
Sam blurred toward them, sword slicing with lethal speed.
"GET AWAY FROM THEM—!!"
Luci caught her sword.
In her monstrous hand.
Crushed it.
Metal shrieked as the blade bent inward like a toy.
Sam froze, eyes wide.
Luci giggled."Sammy~ you can't cut me. You know that."
Sam swung again with her bare fist, desperate.
Luci grabbed Sam's wrist mid-air.
Then—
She kneed Sam in the stomach.
The sound Sam made wasn't a grunt.
It was a choked gasp, air violently ripped from her lungs.
Sam collapsed.
Luci didn't even watch her fall.
She turned to me.
Every muscle in my body locked.
She tilted her head, smiling calmly.
"Aki~"
Sam struggled to her knees, voice raw:
"D—Don't go near him—!"
Luci's horns glowed faintly.
And then her smile—
Her smile faded.
Her pupils narrowed.
Her aura exploded outward, black and violet flames ripping through the air like living shadows.
Everything shook.
The ground.
The barrier.
My bones.
Luci spread her monstrous arm.
Black veins pulsed across her skin.
Her shadow twisted beneath her feet, elongating, widening, swallowing the broken floor.
A second pair of eyes opened inside her shadow.
Then a third.
Then a fourth.
Ami's voice trembled.
"She's… she's not even fully manifested yet."
Yergba's eyes widened.
"What the hell IS she?!"
Sam whispered the answer like a curse.
"A Devourer Princess."
My heart dropped.
Luci pointed at me.
"You're mine, Aki."
Ami screamed and launched forward.
"NO YOU DON'T—!!!"
Sword Demon unleashed again—Ami's movements sharper, faster, desperate.
Blue fire crackled down her blade.
She struck.
Luci raised one finger.
One.
Ami's blade hit it.
And stopped.
Stopped dead.
Ami's breath hitched.
Luci smirked.
"I told you. You can't scare me."
Then she backhanded Ami with the monstrous arm.
Ami flew so hard she broke through three collapsed pillars and disappeared behind a cloud of dust.
"A—AMI—!!" I screamed until my throat ripped.
Sam ran after her.
Yergba staggered forward, fury surging through her aura.
"I'M NOT DONE—!!"
She punched the ground.
Purple lightning cracked through the earth, surging upward like a rising storm.
Luci stepped through it calmly, letting the lightning crash against her body.
It didn't even burn her clothes.
"Cute," she said.
Yergba yelled and charged.
Luci didn't move.
At the last second—
She leaned down.
Horns glowing.
And whispered:
"You're nothing."
Luci's kick connected with Yergba's chest—
BOOM.
The ground cratered.
Yergba flew backward, smashing into the barrier again with a sickening thud.
She lay there, gasping, eyes unfocused.
Luci dusted off her hands, expression cheerful.
"Well! Now that the warmups are done—"
She took one step toward me.
Sam teleported in front of me and dropped into a defensive stance.
Ami stumbled back into view, barely standing but gripping her sword tight.
Yergba slowly, painfully pushed herself to her feet, face twisted in agony but determination burning bright.
All three of them stood between me and Luci.
Broken.Bleeding.Barely upright.
But not moving.
Not yielding.
Luci smiled wider.
Her horns glowed brighter.
Her shadow grew larger, hungrier.
"Good," she purred."Let's see how far love can carry you."
The barrier flickered.
My heart pounded.
Sam tightened her stance.
Ami raised her blade.
Yergba ignited her lightning.
And Luci—
Luci began to transform.
Fully.