"Xǐ Yīngluò Xiǎohuā Lánxiá Yǔxiāo Bǐngzhàn Qiáohuì Jīnglàn Méiguī Yèlíng Kěluó Zhèngshū Gǔyún Shēnghuá."
There was a long, stunned pause.
The man blinked visibly caught off guard. His expression twisted, part confusion, part disbelief.
"…What kind of name is that?! I couldn't even remember the second word!"
Astra pulled her hand free from his grip, wiping her sleeve like his touch had left something dirty. "That's your problem," she huffed. "I didn't ask you to memorize it. You were the one begging to know my name." She tilted her head, a mock-smirk on her lips. "Want me to write it down for you? I can even draw a picture."
His brow twitched. He scoffed, folding his arms, and muttered under his breath, "Another annoying human…"
Astra heard it. Her eyes narrowed.
"Who are you calling annoying, huh?! You're the one acting like a total weirdo!"
"How dare you call me that!"
"Just like you dared to call me annoying! Weirdo. Weirdo. Weirdo!"
His patience snapped. His pupils sharpened, his eyes glowing faintly with that eerie glint again. His aura suddenly shifted wild, aggressive.
Astra noticed too late.
In a blur, he launched a kick straight toward her face.
But she moved.
She ducked just in time, the wind from his strike brushing past her cheek. She sprang back, heart hammering in her chest.
The man paused mid-motion, blinking in surprise. "Did… did she just dodge my kick?"
Astra, now fuming, glared and caught her breath. "You dare try to kick me?!" Her voice rose. She took a step back, spun, and struck with a powerful roundhouse kick to his chest. The impact forced him back four whole steps.
He slid to a stop, boots scraping against the stone. His head slowly lifted.
His eyes burned—now truly ablaze with fury.
"How dare a human… dare to kick me?!"
Astra stiffened. Her breath caught. She stared into those wild, feral eyes—no longer merely angry. They looked inhuman.
He advanced. Slow, deliberate, menacing.
"Wait—hold on—I didn't mean to kick you that hard!" Astra stammered, backing up. "It's just… my legs are strong, okay?!"
He didn't stop.
Her back hit stone again.
"Wait—what do you mean, 'a human'?" she asked, brows furrowed. "Aren't you a human—?"
"I'm. Not. Human," he hissed through clenched teeth, voice booming suddenly.
Astra flinched. Cold sweat trickled down her neck.
"W-what are you?" she whispered.
He said nothing.
Instead, he lunged his hand snapping forward and seizing her by the throat. Her gasp cut short as he lifted her into the air with terrifying strength. His veins pulsed, glowing faintly beneath his skin. Her feet dangled, her fingers clawed at his hand as her breath choked in her lungs.
Then, all at once—he stopped.
His expression twitched, something flickering behind those wild eyes. As if something held him back.
With a sharp growl, he threw her.
Astra's body slammed into the stone wall behind her. Her head cracked against it, and she crumpled to the ground, clutching it with a groan. Pain seared through her skull. Her vision spun. But even through the haze one question repeated in her mind, louder than the ringing in her ears,
"If he's not human… then what is he?"
He stepped forward, the sound of his boots crunching against the dirt sharp and deliberate. Then, he knelt beside her, his presence suffocatingly close.
His voice dropped, low and cold.
"I'm a demon."
Astra's eyes widened. Instinctively, she scrambled backward on her elbows, dragging herself a few inches away as if that tiny distance could shield her.
"D-demon? Demon?!" she stammered, horror flickering in her eyes.
He rose slowly to his full height, towering over her like a dark monolith. "Yes. A demon," he repeated. "Are you scared?"
Astra's mouth opened, but her voice cracked. "Of course I am!" she snapped, trying to sound brave but failing miserably.
The man laughed. A low, amused sound that echoed around them. Then, with an eerie calm, he began to walk around her circling like a predator.
"Fear is the weakness of the weak… And my strength—loving that feeling. That delicious, trembling fear."
"So easy to scare. So easy to break."
Astra swallowed, her back now pressed against the cold rock. She looked up at him, eyes wide, breathing uneven.
"…Are you going to eat me?" she whispered. "I'm bitter. I don't taste good. Lots of complaints, too."
He stopped walking and looked down at her, unreadable. "No," he said simply. "I won't eat you."
Her shoulders relaxed for half a second.
"But," he added, voice sharpening, "I will kill you."
Astra blinked. Her mouth dropped open. "No… no you won't. You're joking, right? Haha. You have a very… dark sense of humor."
"I'm serious."
Her face went pale. "Heavens, I'm dead for sure…" she muttered, trembling. "Kaen was right—I shouldn't talk to strangers for more than a minute…"
Without warning, Astra clasped her hands tightly, "O great divine broom god, sweeper of evil… Lord of Dustbins, Guardian of Forgotten Corners… Merciful deity of lost laundry socks, please hear my plea—save me from this demon just this once! I promise I'll never skip temple duties again!"
The man stood there, utterly dumbfounded, blinking slowly as she continued.
"Oh Glorious Goddess of Overcooked Rice! Sweet Potato Spirit of the Mountain! Almighty Umbrella-Wielding spirit of Rain—"
"SHUT UP!" he snapped, voice booming.
Astra flinched, peeking up at him through her fingers.
"The gods you're praying to—do they even exist?! And even if they did, instead of mumbling to a bunch of kitchen spirits, you should be begging me to spare your life!"
Astra paused, looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and muttered under her breath, "As if you'd actually spare me…"
Then, ignoring him completely, she bowed her head and continued. "Dear holy deity of slippery stairs, trip him just once. Just once and I'll leave a whole bowl of rice at the altar—"
"I SAID SHUT UP! Xǐ Yīngluò Xiǎohuā Jingjing Lingling whatever—!"
"Who's that?" she blinked up at him.
"You! That's your name!"
Astra gave a sheepish, awkward laugh, scratching the back of her neck, which still throbbed from hitting the rock. "Oh… right. That is me, huh. It is kinda long."
The man scoffed, eyes narrowing. "How dumb and annoying humans can be…"
Astra shrugged, muttering back, "How cruel demons can be."
The moment the words left her lips, he shot her a glare sharp enough to silence thunder. Astra flinched, going quiet immediately.
"I should've let you drown back then," he said coldly.
"Huh?" Astra blinked, the ringing in her ears rising sharply again, blurring his words into noise.
Without warning, he grabbed her arms roughly, yanking her up onto unsteady feet. "Listen—if you don't want to die, run. Now. Far. I'm going to burn everything here to the ground."
Astra staggered, confused. "What…?"
"I said RUN if you don't want to turn to ash!"
Her eyes widened in delayed understanding—then she bolted.
The man turned away, his footsteps echoing with eerie calm. As he walked past the trees, the grass, the dry wood, houses—fire followed. Just as she passed him, flames bloomed behind her slow at first, then faster.
But she suddenly skidded to a halt.
And turned.
Without hesitation, Astra sprinted in the opposite direction toward the old shrine.
"No!" the man growled. With a flick of his fingers, a shimmering barrier erupted across her path.
She slammed into it, the impact knocking the wind from her chest. She coughed, palms slapping against the invisible wall, panic rising.
"What are you doing?!" she screamed, spinning to face him. "My family is in that old shrine! Let me go!"
He met her eyes with a frightening calm. "I only gave you the option. To save your life."
Astra's heart pounded. "What the hell do you mean by that?!"
She struck the barrier again with her fists, her voice cracking as the fire spread further, the sky glowing orange around her. And still—he stood there, walking slowly, the fire blooming in his wake with every step.
"It's clear now," he said, voice devoid of remorse. "They'll all burn… until there's nothing left but ash."
Astra's eyes widened, shimmering with helpless fury and terror.
"No…" she whispered. "No!"
She screamed, pounding on the barrier again, teeth gritted, voice hoarse. "You demon—stop this! Please! Don't do this—don't—"
Then she saw it—embers crawling across the stone path leading to the shrine. The trees around it had already caught. Flames licked their way up like glowing serpents, slithering closer with every breath.
Her heart dropped.
Her head started to pound, and suddenly the fire wasn't just in front of her—it was everywhere. Her worst nightmares, alive and real. Smoke, heat, choking breath. Screams she'd heard in dreams clawed their way into her ears.
"No… no…" she whispered, eyes wide, hitting the barrier over and over with trembling fists. "Kaen! Shion! Ryoma! Are you guys sleeping or already dead?! Seiya! Seirou! Wake up! Come out if you don't want to die! Xue!"
From behind, the man chuckled lowly. "Your voice won't reach them. And they won't wake up either."
Astra froze, turning slowly.
"They're all under my spell," he said. "Hypnotized. Sleeping peacefully in their dreams. Not knowing they'll be consumed by fire soon."
She dropped to her knees.
The flames were closer now—reflected in her wide, tear-glossed eyes. Her whole body shook.
"Why are you doing this?" she choked. "What do you even get by taking our lives? We haven't done anything to you…"
The man said nothing. His jaw tightened. Fists clenched at his sides as he turned away. His gaze shifted to the distance fixed, unreadable—but his eyes… they burned with something deeper than fire.
Astra's vision blurred. The heat, the smoke, her panic—it all swirled together until she could barely think.
But still, she forced herself up.
Staggering, she stumbled forward, hitting the barrier again. And again. Her body screamed in protest. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps. Then, suddenly, her legs gave out.
She inhaled sharply, eyes fluttering shut, bracing for the hard impact of the ground.
But it never came.
Instead, she collapsed into warmth—into steady arms that caught her just in time.
Her eyes cracked open, dazed and unfocused.
"…Ryoma?" she whispered.