Sizzling heat gnawed at his skin. His arms, though guarded up, hung limp, raw muscle exposed beneath blackened wounds. Every slight movement sent fresh waves of agony through his nerves. And yet, despite it all, Akuma stood tall, his body howling, but his resolve only hardening.

  The monster, an apostle of darkness, remained unfocused, firing crimson beams wildly from its jaw, obliterating anything it happened to home in on.

  Akuma gasped, his breath coming in quick, frantic bursts.

  “Are you… okay, Alice?”

  She nodded slightly, her voice faint but clear.

  “Y-Yes… I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

  “Good to hear. I don’t know what I’d do if you were hurt… Now.”

  In a fluid motion, Akuma pivoted, channeling his momentum as he unleashed a powerful kick that sent the debris pinning her down flying.

  “...You should run away. I have a feeling things are about to get ugly.”

  “No.” she insisted, her determination shining through as she fought to regain her footing. “…I can’t just leave you here. Not when you’re fighting for my sake.”

  A cloud of emotions came over Akuma. For her to still hold such feelings for him even in the face of such danger was truly… beautiful. But he knew what had to be done.

  He turned his back to her, his attention shifting to the monster looming in the distance.

  “I’d rather not have the extra baggage. Sorry, Alice, but you’d just be getting in my way.”

  “I just told you I won’t. I can’t in good faith leave while I know you’re fighting to protect me.”

  “Look. I like fighting. It’s what I do. It’s what I live for. I ain’t protecting you or anything, I’ve just been getting bored of fighting regular punks, ya know? Figured, why not fight a creepy monster? ...I’m just hoping this thing can actually give me a challenge.”

  “I’m staying.” She insisted, struggling to keep herself standing.

  By now, Akuma snapped, his frustration evident by the sharp click of his tongue.

  “Oh, get over yourself!” He roared, turning to face her. “You think I’m risking my life for you? That guys just throw themselves into fights because a girl is a little cute? Please tell me you’re not that stupid.”

  “What? What reason would I have to think that?”

  “Clearly you do because you seem to have this idiotic notion that I’m trying to save someone. I’m always getting into fights, and I always keep to myself. I don’t do anything that isn’t necessary and just mind my business. The only reason I plan on fighting that monster is because I’m just a muscle head that loves to fight! That’s the only thing I have going for me! …That’s the only thing I’ve ever had going for me… So what makes you think this time is any different? Huh? Don’t get a big head just because I happen to let you talk to me every now and then. Me and you are in completely different worlds-!”

  Slap!

  Tears streamed down her cheeks, and the anguish in her eyes pierced through him like a dagger. In that instant, he forgot the burning pain in his arms and the looming threat of the grotesque creature.

  Her hands curled into fists at her sides. Even as pain flared in her ankle, she stood her ground, refusing to leave his side.

  “Over and over and over...” She repeated, her voice shaken by her tears. “…I’ve watched you isolate yourself from everyone around you over and over again. Even now, you’re trying to push me away when all I want to do is help… But that’s just a mask you put on to hide your insecurities… The truth… is that hate yourself, don’t you? You hate the fact that you can’t be like the Akuma that’s in your head. You hate the fact that you can’t be as cold and heartless as him. Because you’re just not that kind of person. No matter what it is, you’d inconvenience yourself if it meant someone else’s happiness. That’s the kind of person you are! …But… But…”

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  In that moment, she lifted her gaze to him, her eyes filled with genuine sorrow.

  “…If you’d just drop the act for one moment, everyone will realize just how kind you really are.”

  His mind raced, but no answers came. Akuma stood there, the sting of her slap muted by his utter confusion.

  (Why did she slap me? Why is she looking at me like that? With such sadness…?)

  Alice, a simple classmate and nothing more had just laid bare something he’d never allowed himself to see. For so long, his walls had stayed firm. He was convinced that the only way to protect others was to keep them at arm’s length.

  No.

  She cut a bit deeper than that.

  There was no hiding it from her, or from himself at this point.

  (Am I really like that?)

  His fists clenched tightly by his sides. He wanted to deny it, wanted to snap back, but the words caught in his throat. All he could do was stand there, exposed and unguarded like he was waiting for the next blow.

  (Is that really all I’ve been doing? Pushing people away so I don’t have to face who I really am? …Am I really a kind person?)

  The question gnawed at him, but it didn’t feel like a simple answer.

  (But what exactly does it mean to be kind? Is it like being a hero? If that’s the case, then what does it even mean to be a hero? No, I know the answer. A hero is someone who helps people for a reward. A glorified businessman. An opportunist…)

  Her voice rang in his head, the meaning of her words sinking in slowly like water filling a hollow.

  (…To inconvenience oneself for someone else’s happiness… Is that… really what it means to be kind? To be a hero?)

  With Akuma lost in his thoughts, Alice’s attention was suddenly drawn to a civilian trapped beneath a pile of debris, desperately struggling to free themselves from a heavy stone wall that had fallen across their midsection.

  “Are you alright?” she called out, rushing to their aid.

  However, with just a single step, she felt a sharp pain in her right ankle, causing her to stumble. Only now did she notice she received an injury from earlier. The pain was enough to make her wince, but her determination pushed her forward.

  Alice pressed on, limping toward the distressed individual while carefully navigating the jagged remnants of the wreckage.

  “What’s going on?!” the trapped person exclaimed as Alice poured her energy into lifting the rubble. “I-Is it a bomb? A terrorist? Why is every building suddenly exploding?!”

  Alice’s expression tightened at the question.

  “Can’t you see that monster over there? The one firing off those beams of crimson light?”

  “M-Monster?! Where is it? Where? WHERE? Please miss, I don’t wanna die!!”

  “You really can’t see it… Then why am I able to-?”

  Her eyes shifted to the demon looming at the center of the wreckage, but instead of a monster off in the distance, she was met with two piercing shadowy eyes.

  “So you can see me…” it intoned, its voice reverberating ominously in her ears.

  The startling sight sent a shock through her, causing her to inadvertently put weight on her injured ankle. But she bared through the pain, believing that any sudden movements would result in her death.

  “A mortal… who sees beyond the layer?”

  The demon’s voice slithered into her ears like a whisper from the abyss.

  “No mere human. No, no, no. You are sweet. You reek of divinity. Is it a twisted gift or perhaps a curse? …Tell me, which god is it that blessed you?!”

  Akuma, sensing the overwhelming bloodlust oozing from its body, snapped out of his daze, but by then he was already a step too late. He sprinted forward with all his might, but the distance felt too wide to reach.

  His eyes widened. The creature’s fist moved too fast to stop, yet somehow slow enough for him to feel every second stretch into eternity.

  But then, he saw something that made his breath truly hitch.

  “No. It couldn’t be possible.”

  That’s what he told himself.

  But there was just no denying the facts. The apparition, that wretched thing that taunted him at every turn of his life, had slammed into the creature’s fist, forcing it to narrowly miss Alice.

  Akuma’s mind reeled, the battle momentarily forgotten as he struggled to comprehend what he had just seen. Sensing his momentary hesitation, the apparition grunted at Akuma, hastily pointing at the monster.

  That was all he needed.

  Akuma lunged forward, drilling his left leg into the ominous creature's right side. The force sent it sliding through the rubble, hunching over as it growled from the sudden pain.

  He landed forcibly, a burning fire coursing through his soul as he smiled at Alice. It was the kind of smile that anchored her to the moment, her eyes glued to his.

  “I’ve decided, Alice… I still don’t think true heroes exist in this world. People just ain’t that nice... But… I don’t think they don’t exist either. Right now, I’m uncertain which one to pick. So I think… I’ll try it out.”

  He gestured at himself with a determined thumb.

  “I’ll inconvenience myself to the depths of hell! And at the end of that journey, I’ll give you my answer.”