Covered in sweat, I sprinted down the dark road that led to my house, my only thoughts centered on my family.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaTpAPzQyC
"Please, let them be okay," I prayed, my pace quickening with each step.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUraKS8I4Cf
Soon, I reached Lavender Way, a street filled with houses of varying sizes and small businesses. Amidst the nighttime allure and liveliness, my house stood in stark contrast.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34KHKHt3HP
Exhausted and anxious, I spotted my house at the end of the block. To my relief, it looked normal – the door was closed, the wooden walls were intact, and the front yard retained its morning grandeur. A sense of calm washed over me, and just as I was about to surrender to these reassuring feelings, something caught my eye.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpnMLOg8F1P
The house was in darkness, and my mom should have been home by now. With trepidation, I burst through the front door, gasping for air.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYxuIwwXd4
"Mom!" I yelled into the darkness.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkucLloLHNx
An icy chill shot down my spine as a familiar, diabolical voice responded, "Welcome home, young man."
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvkSRsnNQb
The lights suddenly flicked on throughout the house, revealing a nightmarish sight. My eyes met the demon I had encountered earlier today, the same one Madelyn had battled, complete with the severed arm. He was grinning sinisterly while sitting on my living room couch.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6bymxbbhW
"YOU?" I exclaimed in disbelief, my heart pounding.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMURmokPEP
But what truly made my heart skip a beat was seeing my mother, tied up and sitting on the ground right beside that dreadful creature. She had been taken hostage, and all I wanted was for this day to come to an end.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kq2ys0O7N
"Oh, great," I muttered.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6w63TjmVvs
I'd never imagined myself in a situation like this, with my mom taken hostage by a demon, and my once-safe home now a place of danger.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAD7eKSRBjh
The demon sat on our living room couch with a twisted grin on his face, while my mom was on the ground, tied up like some helpless captive, which honestly infuriated me. This monster, this demon, showed no remorse as he threatened my mother, and yet, there was something that still didn't make sense to me.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RkUZyzddy
"Your eyes, they're not pitch black," I blurted out, utterly confused by the inconsistency.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpQFVyehPb
"Oh, yes," the demon replied with a smile. "I've found that it's easier to blend in with you humans when I hide my true nature."
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV27O8KTGsR
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOHK3g6Bpr
As I heard the demon's explanation, I realized just how well these monsters could conceal themselves among people. This guy looked like a regular person. Honestly, if it weren't for his pitch-black eyes and ominous aura, I would never have known how dangerous he really was.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2JrUeSoz2
"Demon," I muttered with resentment.
The demon looked at me with confusion. "It seems your eyes are more open than before?" he responded with surprise. "No matter. The small insight you've gained will do little to save you."
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4te1ElrEPe
The demon stood up and advanced menacingly toward me. "I will devour your soul, then your mother's, and with their power, I'll exact my revenge on the one who cut off my arm," he declared.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESTUO4zhtM
My rage continued to swell until I couldn't contain it any longer. "Y-you BASTARD!" I yelled, unleashing a punch with all my might toward the demon's face.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXSuG4Sq2J
It was a terrible idea, especially when my full-powered punch found itself caught in the demon's grip
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIlflUo5R3
"So much fight," the demon exclaimed with excitement, painfully tightening his grip on my hand, making me think it was about to break.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzr0efw6bgj
"Yes, fight, little pillar, fight. It will make this all the more fun."
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgiyecE7Ak
I couldn't understand anything that was happening. One moment, I was staring into the eyes of a psychotic monster, and the next, my world was turned upside down as I was thrown through the air into the living room wall.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPsEMG6761
The impact knocked the air out of me, and I gasped for breath, my hands and knees on the ground. The strength this guy possessed was far beyond human, which, I guess, made sense given to at he wasn't human at all.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ9xN4FyXL
"Oh, don't tell me it's already over. Was I too rough?" the demon mocked.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cRFOmkDCk
Summoning every ounce of determination, I mustered the strength to stand on my feet, my hands clenched and ready to fight.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnmWYoNvEFg
"Bring it on," I declared, despite the cliché nature of my words. I knew I was about to get my ass beaten, but what choice did I have?
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsdbGD0AcW
To my dissatisfaction, the demon only seemed to grow happier and more excited upon hearing my defiant words.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcX3F03uU0c
"Yes, that's the way, the way of a man," the demon taunted.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnRXVvcs8l
I wished I could say that I put up a good fight, that I managed to land a few punches, but that would be a lie. The fight only lasted a few moments, and after the first few brutal blows to the face and stomach, I knew I was in deep trouble.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXOKRDQXaL
I had seen this guy fight earlier, and I was fully aware that he was holding back. He could have likely killed me with a single punch, but as I gazed into the demon's eyes, I realized he was relishing my suffering. He may have been missing an arm, but I had severely underestimated his strength.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwJlpnLCMb
The worst part wasn't the pain I felt or my physical injuries. It wasn't even the helplessness that washed over me in that moment. The most agonizing part was seeing the terror in my mother's eyes as she witnessed her son being mercilessly beaten.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yOmYZJzGZ
Lying on the floor, I could barely move, and my body ached from head to toe. As I struggled to catch my breath, a single thought echoed in my mind, "How could I be so weak?"
This wasn't the first time I had found myself in such a dire situation today, and I was exhausted by it all. I couldn't protect Harold earlier, and now, I couldn't even shield my own mother from this monstrous threat.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkII4wNu4yJ
"How unfortunate, but it looks like our time is over," the demon remarked as he walked closer to my battered body.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbJz6W1gK0
As the demon approached, my thoughts wandered to my mother, to my best friend Harold, and to my younger sister. Was I really going to have to say goodbye to them?
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicfFNueLlj
Deep inside, I felt a surge of anger rekindle like a small candle flickering in the darkness, a candle that kept growing and growing.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHmtjH4Opj
"I-I can't die here," I muttered through my weariness and pain.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMJOVvIl6D
"I can't afford to lose here!" I yelled, and my body began to overflow with power. The pain that had once wracked my body gradually faded, and my fatigue was replaced with newfound energy. I found myself back on my feet, and that's when I noticed something strange. My body was now covered with the same dark aura that had surrounded Madelyn before.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmmgLMgnZI
The demon who had my mom looked just as startled by this phenomenon, and it was clear that something unusual was happening.542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnpmarW93A
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5LWOMrYVl
Though I was surrounded by darkness, I couldn't help but think that maybe this newfound power was a good thing. As I glanced at the shroud of darkness around me, I heard laughter inside my head – laughter that was all too familiar. The girl with crimson eyes, it seemed, was finding joy in my use of this power.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6WQUTeBFP
"That couldn't be good," I muttered to myself, recognizing that the situation was growing more complex by the moment.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRD5Eje6fCB
I had countless questions, but there was no time to ponder them now. I needed to end this immediately.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlZRqs0Mve
"I'm going to kill you, you monster!" I said with all the truth I could muster.
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6T5Fu6E3R
***542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEnHRd6tbl
542Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmHRl88DIh
Author notes: Please support my work on Patreon for early access to new chapters. https://patreon.com/DarkMatteromniverse
ns216.73.216.238da2
