The rain didn't stop.
It fell like the sky was trying to erase the world.
Asahi was running.
But not really.
His legs moved, sure.
But his body?
It was failing.
His lungs burned. His vision blurred. His steps grew heavier with each second.
Behind him—
That sound.
Step… drag.
Step… drag.
OA was following.
Not limping.
Not staggering.
Gliding.
One leg.
No foot.
Yet he moved like something born from the underworld. The cigar still burned in his mouth, its glow an eerie ember in the darkness. Smoke curled behind him like a trailing curse.
His presence…
Didn't feel human anymore.
OA: (smiling faintly, voice cold like a whisper in the void)
"…This is the guy protecting the blessings?"
"…Pathetic."
Asahi stumbled.
His breath caught in his throat.
He screamed inside his own skull—
Asahi: (panicking)
"THINK! THINK! MOVE!!"
"I HAVE POWER!!"
"I CAN'T LOSE TO THIS… THIS…"
His voice tore from his throat—
Asahi: "ARARARRAARRA!!"
It echoed down the empty street.
But behind him—
Step… drag.
Step… drag.
OA didn't stop.
Didn't rush.
Didn't hesitate.
He just followed—
Like death with a face.
Like vengeance without reason.
The nightmare had a name.
OA.
And he didn't need feet… to tear Asahi's soul apart.
Asahi: (eyes wide, scanning the street)
"Shit…"
He turned sharply—
Then—
A figure.
A man.
A stranger.
Walking casually down the street with an umbrella. Oblivious.
Asahi's eyes locked on him like he was salvation.
Asahi: (eyes lit, desperation clawing at his voice)
"…Gotcha!"
He sprinted.
Each step stabbing pain through his legs.
He reached the man—
Grabbed him.
SLAMMED his palm against the man's forehead.
OA stopped for a second.
OA: (watching, intrigued)
"…Huh?"
And then—
It happened.
The stranger's eyes turned dull.
Blank.
His breath slowed.
Asahi: (panting, voice shaking but confident)
"Now he is MINE!"
He turned, pointing at OA like a commander unleashing his final card.
Asahi: (voice low, dangerous)
"Now go kill that bastard"
The stranger didn't speak.
He just turned.
And walked straight toward OA—
Like a weapon Asahi had forged from nothing.
OA paused.
Then—
He smiled.
OA: (grinning through the rain, unshaken)
"…Cute trick."
He took the cigar from his mouth, flicked it away—
And cracked his neck.
OA:
"Let's dance then."
Stranger:(Swings a punch)
"RAAH!"
OA:(Effortless. Calm. Catches it mid-air.)
"…Tch."
A twisting kick followed—sharp, fast.
OA staggered.
Just a step.
But it was enough.
OA (thinking):
"He's not fast."
"…It's just me… with one leg."
"Tch. I've been nerfed."
But before he could finish the thought—
Asahi saw her.
A woman.
Mid-40s. Innocent. Uninvolved.
His hand touched her.
And she turned.
Expression blank.
She began walking toward OA.
OA:(low growl)
"…Getting tougher, huh."
He moved toward the first man again—
A punch fast enough to shatter a rib.
But the woman caught his arm.
Her grip, tight.
Just long enough.
The man lunged.
But OA's knee bent—his balance shifted—FLYING KICK.
CRACK.
The man's skull hit the road—
SPLAT.
Blood painted the pavement.
The body didn't move.
Asahi (breath hitching):
"…What the fuck…"
"Can I even defeat him?"
OA turned.
His eyes locked on the woman.
She didn't resist.
He walked forward.
Grabbed her by the hips.
Held her close.
Asahi (paralyzed):
"…Why can't I move her…?"
"Why…?"
The woman looked at OA.
Silent.
Still.
Her eyes didn't flinch.
Then—
OA's hand moved.
To her neck.
Fingers brushing the base of her throat…
Where life pulsed.
The adam's apple.
OA (smiling faintly):
"…Right here."
SNAP.
The neck shattered.
His fingers plunged in—tore out the bone.
The adam's apple landed on the pavement with a wet sound.
Blood dripped from his fingers.
The woman collapsed—
Her body twitched.
Once.
Twice.
Then stilled.
Her eyes…
They locked with Asahi's.
Begging.
Begging him to help.
Full of pain.
Of disbelief.
Of a last question:
"Why didn't you save me?"
Asahi couldn't look away.
His eyes—mirrored her agony.
Silence.
Then—
The clouds parted.
The rain stopped.
And the moon fell.
Blood red.
A cursed eye hanging in the sky.
It poured light onto OA—
Bathing his blood-soaked body in crimson.
Around him—blood.
And a piece of bone.
OA looked up.
Face emotionless.
Then he slowly lowered his hand.
And turned toward Asahi.
Eyes dead.
A devil's look.
A smile formed.
OA (coldly):
"…Your turn."
Asahi gasped.
His breath caught.
His knees shook.
He turned—
And ran.
Asahi (screaming):
"NO… NO… I'M GONNA DIE!!"
"NO… NO… PLEASE… NO—!!"
He bolted, voice breaking.
Shoes slamming against the wet road.
Behind him—
OA followed.
Not running.
Not chasing.
Just walking.
One leg.
No foot.
No rush.
Because he knew.
He knew.
He would catch Asahi…
No matter what.
The rain had stopped. But the nightmare hadn't.
Asahi had been crawling.
His nails scraped against concrete.
His face — bruised, filthy, wet.
His ribs crushed.
His soul hanging on by a thread.
And then —
THUD.
His body crashed into a dustbin.
Like trash.
Like something this world didn't need anymore.
OA's pace changed.
Faster.
Sharper.
More feral.
Like a lion ready to eat instead of hunt.
Smoke trailed from his mouth, still glowing red.
But now it wasn't just smoke —
It was steam.
From fury.
From fire that couldn't wait to burn.
Asahi:(crawling, broken)
"No… no… no…"
"ARARARARARAA—"
His voice cracked, soaked in terror.
MA (inside his head):
"ASAHI!! JUST FIGHT HIM!!"
His voice was raw. Desperate.
Ringing through the echoes of a dying mind.
But Asahi couldn't fight.
Not anymore.
His arms barely worked.
His lungs begged to stop.
And then —
OA grabbed him.
Fist clenched around his collar.
Yanked him up like a piece of old cloth.
Asahi:(gasping)
"NO… NO… ARARARA—"
Rip—!
He tore off his shirt in panic.
Tried to escape —
But OA was faster.
Smarter.
Colder.
OA caught the shirt.
Whipped it around Asahi's neck.
Twisted it.
TIGHT.
Asahi's legs kicked against the air.
His back arched.
His mouth opened — but no sound came.
OA:(snarling, foaming rage)
"ARARARARARARARAAAA!!"
His voice broke the silence of the street.
Like a wolf howling in a graveyard.
MA (furious):
"DO SOMETHING! YOU IDIOT!!"
But Asahi… was dying.
Slowly.
Peacefully.
His eyes closed.
His breath — shallow.
Fading.
OA:(coldly, smiling)
"…Finally."
But then—
A hand moved.
Asahi's hand.
Barely.
Slowly.
Placed softly… on his own left hand.
He smiled.
Faintly.
His voice cracked through the noose:
Asahi:
"...Repel."
BOOOOOOM!!
A burst of energy exploded out from his palm.
Violent. Sudden. Unforgiving.
It ripped through OA's wrist—
CRACK—! SPLAT!
His left hand…
gone.
Blown apart.
Bone. Flesh. Blood.
Scattered in the air like a sacrifice.
OA:(stumbling back, screaming)
"ARARARRRARRRAA!!"
"FUCK YOU!!"
He clutched at his elbow.
Stared at the space where his hand used to be.
His breath caught.
His teeth clenched.
OA (low, cold):
"It's… gone."
"My hand… is really gone."
His voice didn't sound human anymore.
It sounded like something rotting inside.
Then he looked up.
And what he saw…
Changed everything.
Asahi stood up.
Not limping.
Not crawling.
Not broken.
His head lowered.
His aura darkened.
The air around him vibrated.
OA's breath stopped.
OA (thinking):
"…His aura… what the hell… is this?"
And then—
Asahi lifted his face.
Left eye glowing.
Red and black. Twisting like a galaxy on fire.
He smirked.
Asahi (MA):
"YOOOO."
Coolest. Darkest. Most unbothered YOOO ever spoken.
OA froze.
That voice wasn't Asahi's.
Not the one he was chasing.
OA:
"…Who are you?"
Asahi (MA):
"Asahi's just… sleeping right now."
(Grins. Tilts his head slightly.)
"So I figured… I'd take his place for a bit."
OA:(jaw clenched)
"This idiot… what else does he have in that fucking body!?"
(eyes twitching)
The street fell silent again.
But not out of peace.
This was the calm that comes before annihilation.