-" Shit, even the dogs of this world are after me... What have I done in my life to deserve such an end?"
Even this alleyway, which took him away from the terror reigning over this world, had ended up betraying him by taking away the only place he managed to escape it.
She forced him once again to face the fateful fate of death, in conditions he wouldn't even have wished on the butcher.
The butcher: "You traitor! I'd have killed you with my own hands, but my dogs deserved it."
Shinji: "I know that nothing I can say will change my fate. Let's get it over with once and for all."
The butcher: "Looks like you're not so stupid after all... Go on, let loose on the bastard! Make him suffer until his last breath!"
Shinji knew that struggling would only lengthen his suffering.
-Mom... Dad..."
These words came back to him at death's door. He no longer knew if he could afford to hope to find them.
- "Could I find them in the afterlife?"
He knew he was only looking for an excuse for his cowardice. After all, he'd already died in the past, and that had only led him to this world worse than hell.
Meanwhile, the dogs approached Shinji in a surprisingly cautious manner.
The butcher: "I don't have time for this... Go after him!"
One of the dogs, surely the leader of the pack, lunged at Shinji, who slipped and fell to the ground in fear. He saw death with his own eyes when a stranger jumped from the roof to his aid and came between him and the dog.
This time, the dogs didn't hesitate to attack the stranger. He single-handedly defended himself against the entire pack.
The stranger: "Go on, it's the perfect opportunity!"
Just then, another unknown attacked the butcher from behind, knocking him to the ground with disconcerting ease.
The two strangers appeared to be twins, indistinguishable only by their hair color and mannerisms.
The stranger who had saved him had red hair and looked like someone who could be described as a brute,
The man who had rescued the butcher, on the other hand, had very light blue hair. He was far more cautious and seemed to be the more cunning of the two.
Together, they overcame the dogs with ease and were able to save Shinji from the death that awaited him.
-Can I really have hope in this world?
Shinji had just been saved. He didn't think he'd find anyone in this world who had enough goodness in them to save him from the painful death that awaited him.
-Was it the deity who sent these strangers to save me?
The act of humanity he'd just witnessed didn't change his perception of this world.
Although he told himself it was hypocritical on his part,
He couldn't allow himself to go back to this remote possibility that he was hallucinating and that this was just a test he had to pass in order to find his parents.
Shinji: "I don't know how to thank you... I owe you my life!"
???? : "It's true that you almost died a few moments ago... But you're worth it, aren't you?"
Shinji: "What do you mean by that?"
???? We've seen how these dogs fear you. Now you're going to explain yourself before I take your silence as provocation!"
Shinji: "I'm sorry, but I can't explain... I..."
No sooner had he said these words than the stranger who had saved his life decided to grab him violently by his collar.
???? I save your life and you decide to hide your secret from me? If you really want to die, I'll make your wish come true!"
Shinji: "No, please listen to me! I don't know why they feared me, I swear!"
Just then, the stranger who had knocked the butcher down spoke up.
???? It's okay, Ryouma, let him go. He doesn't seem to be lying. If it hadn't been for us, he'd probably have ended up being eaten."
Ryouma: "You're so easily fooled, Hayato... This isn't how you'll deserve to become head of the Zephyr family."
- "So I wasn't wrong... This world is nothing but misery."
He understood that they had only saved him for their own sake. His hopes had once again been dashed.
He began to wonder whether life in this world was really worth living.
Hayato: "Now's not the time to talk about that, Ryouma. Let's settle this situation first. Tell me, what's your name, young man?"
Shinji: "My... my name is Shinji."
Hayato: "Shinji, you say? I've never heard that name before... Well, we've beaten around the bush long enough. The fear you inspired in those dogs shows you must be pretty strong, although you don't know it yet. How would you like to work for the Zephyr family?"
Shinji: "Zephyr?"
Hayato: "I can understand you not being aware of your abilities, but I can't let you pretend you don't know the Zephyr family. Our name inspires terror throughout Stygia."
Shinji: "Stygia?"
Hayato: "You don't even know where you are? I could tell by your clothes you weren't from around here. Tell me, where are you from?
Shinji's outfit would have gone unnoticed in Tokyo, he was wearing a simple white t-shirt with the jacket of his local baseball team and grey pants, but here it seemed to be seen more as exotic than anything else.
-Shall I tell them the truth? And if they notice I'm lying, what will they do to me? What do I have to do to get out of this situation?"
Hayato: "Well, are you going to answer?"
Shinji was afraid of the consequences of the words that would come out of his mouth, but finally decided to tell them he was from Japan. He owed them for saving his life.
Shinji: "Yes, excuse me. I'm from Japan, Tokyo to be precise."
A moment's silence followed, during which Ryouma and Hayato looked at each other with a sly smile.
Ryouma: "From Japan, you say? Hey, Hayato, do you know what that means?"
Hayato: "I've been waiting for this for so long... It's the perfect opportunity, we'll finally be able to gain influence. I'm going to become leader of the Zephyr!"
Ryouma: "We finally did the right thing by saving him... Guys, you can come out of hiding, we've finally stumbled upon one of them."
- "One of them?"
Shinji couldn't understand what he'd said to get himself into this situation. In just one day, he had managed the feat of coming face to face with death for the second time.
He came to the conclusion that this world only wanted him to suffer, and would only be satisfied by seeing him lose his lucidity. As far as he was concerned, this world only wanted to take away his humanity.
Just then, several people jumped from the roof, knives in hand.
Hayato: "Be careful, don't forget we need to keep him alive if we're to get the most out of him."
Ryouma: "Let them have their fun, Hayato, I'll stop them before the final blow. People like that deserve to suffer."
Hayato: "Fine, as long as he's still alive, do what you like with him."
With these words, the Zephyr family turned on Shinji with eyes full of hatred. A hatred he couldn't understand.
-What's going on? Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to me? What have I done to stir up so much hatred?"
Ryouma: "And to think we almost hired a piece of trash like you into our family."
Hayato: "This mustn't get out, it would ruin our family's reputation. All our efforts would have been for nothing."
They had him bleeding within seconds. The pain he felt and the smell of his own blood brought back a distant memory he couldn't visualize.
-What are they going to do to me? It doesn't matter, thinking about it won't change a thing... My very presence here proves that I had lived like scum before I died."
The loss of blood was already beginning to affect him when he heard Hayato whisper something to Ryouma
- Hayato: Ryouma, take a good look at his eyes. Since .... no .... has dared to show his face in broad daylight. It's suicide, they're only talking about the Zephyr family, and if we can escort them, we could become...
- Ryouma: but we're not powerful enough to join them.
- Hayato: if we bring them back a ...., it won't matter.
Hayato couldn't contain his emotions. A drop of sweat broke out on his forehead, betraying his impassive nature.
He was beginning to lose consciousness when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone approaching them and moving into the alleyway, unafraid of the Zephyr family waiting there.
This person's eyes were also filled with hatred, but he found comfort in that hatred. Shinji saw himself in this person, though he couldn't explain it to himself.
He sensed that this person felt the same disgust for this world as he did. He tried to read her lips.
- ????: Don't worry, Enma hasn't abandoned you, you won't be alone anymore, Shinji.
- "Enma?"
Shinji felt his blood run cold; despite all he'd already experienced in this world, he'd never felt what that name made him endure.
At that moment, he had already lost consciousness completely, remaining in total ignorance of what would become of him.