Shinya jolted awake from a wave of chilling dread.

  He sat up abruptly, his rapid breathing doing nothing to dispel the cold that clung to him.

  Above his head, the three glowing orbs still rotated in quiet, orderly motion.

  Beside him, Nicole remained fast asleep within the Suncrystal.

  But now, someone else was in front of him.

  “Good morning.”

  A man stood across from him, smiling with a calm, measured expression.

  That cold, mocking grin. Those eerie, unnatural violet eyes—

  This was the very demon Shinya had just encountered in his dream!

  Damn it! What is he doing here...?

  Shinya had no time to think—his first instinct was to prepare for battle.

  But clearly, his opponent wasn't going to give him that chance.

  Before the thick fog had even dispersed, the demon shot toward him like lightning.

  A spinning kick landed squarely on Shinya's chest, slamming him against the wall.

  The blow struck hard, completely disrupting his transformation.

  Agonizing pain surged through every inch of his body, so intense that he could barely feel his limbs.

  In the haze of dizziness, a sheet of crimson fell across his vision—

  and descending with it, a cascade of black hair, fluttering like a drifting shadow.

  A moment later, the fury in Shinya's heart broke through the numbness brought on by the pain, driving him to attempt his transformation once more.

  However, the man before him seemed to have long mastered the rhythm of Shinya’s shift.

  Before he could fully shake off the dizziness, two daggers pierced through his palms—

  pinning him firmly to the wall.

  Only after regaining full awareness did Shinya notice the two enchanted weapons binding him—

  one in each hand, driven clean through, sealing away his abilities as a Shapeshifter.

  Without the power to transform, he was no more than an unarmed human—completely defenseless.

  “Don’t overreact. I’m not here to fight you,”

  the demon said, stepping back with a smirk, as if admiring his handiwork.

  “‘Fang of Illusionbane’—truly effective against you Shapeshifters,”

  the demon remarked.

  Ordinary restraints, such as shackles or chains, were useless against werewolves who could transform—let alone Shapeshifters, the most adept among them.

  At the moment of transformation, they could break free from nearly any binding.

  But the Fang of Illusionbane was their bane.

  These specially enchanted weapons were more than enough to subdue regular werewolves, and against Shapeshifters, they worked with terrifying precision.

  In Togekaze, such weapons were extremely rare, even regarded as instruments of torture.

  Shinya had seen them before—but had never been restrained by one himself.

  Now, each time he poured all his strength into trying to transform or break free,

  agony erupted from every joint in his body,

  as if the pain itself had teeth—tearing him apart from the inside, leaving him in unbearable torment.

  Pain wracked his body, forcing ragged breaths from his lips.

  Sweat streamed down his forehead, tracing cold lines across his cheeks.

  Then it dawned on him—

  The demon’s intrusion hadn’t triggered the chapel’s alarm system.

  Why?

  Had the demon already taken out the others without making a sound?

  The man seemed to read the question in Shinya’s eyes.

  “The alarm doesn’t work on me. At best, it picks up low-level pests like ghouls,” he said casually.

  “And if you’re thinking of calling for help, don’t bother. They won’t hear you.

  I don’t like being interrupted when I’m having a conversation.”

  To prove his point, the man picked up a plate Shinya had left unfinished and tossed it toward the doorway.

  The plate struck empty air near the entrance—

  only to rebound as if it had hit an invisible wall, then shattered into pieces upon hitting the floor.

  [A barrier...?]

  Shinya’s eyes burned with hatred as he glared at the demon before him.

  “What do you want from me?”

  The man didn’t answer.

  His gaze drifted toward Nicole, still suspended within the glowing Suncrystal.

  In an instant, tension shot through Shinya’s body.

  “Don’t touch her!! Stay away from her—or I’ll kill you!”

  It was an empty threat, devoid of force, but the demon let out a cruel laugh nonetheless.

  “Stay away from her? Me? Why?”

  He tilted his head mockingly. “I’ve never done anything to harm her.”

  He extended a hand toward the crystal-encased Nicole,

  watching with amusement as Shinya struggled in vain under the grip of the Fang of Illusionbane.

  The pain twisted Shinya’s expression even further.

  But when he saw the demon’s hand pass effortlessly through the Suncrystal’s barrier and gently caress Nicole’s smooth cheek, his fury gave way to shock.

  That radiant veil—even Shinya himself couldn’t pierce it.

  So why could this demon?

  He had believed that, at the very least, Nicole was safe within the crystal.

  But now... perhaps nothing could stop the demon.

  Seeing the change in Shinya’s face only deepened the demon’s smile.

  “You see? I didn’t hurt her,” he said softly. “But you—You’re the one who disrupted her life. Isn’t that right?”

  “Think about it. If you had never appeared, she would’ve already settled peacefully in Northsail. Even when the massacre came, she would’ve remained untouched.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  He wasn’t wrong.

  If Shinya had never appeared—if they had never met—

  Irene would most likely have married that wealthy merchant and gone on to live a prosperous life in Northsail.

  And yet… even so...

  “Don’t twist the truth!” Shinya shouted.

  “You think saying all that will change the subject?

  That it’ll cover up the atrocities you committed in Acorn Town?”

  His voice trembled with rage.

  “You slaughtered everyone in that town. You killed my father—!”

  The demon sighed, visibly losing patience with these familiar accusations.

  “How many times must I say it? That was an accident. The massacre wasn’t my doing—it was the work of one of my own subordinates. A fool. Arrogant and idiotic. And he was punished accordingly. So in a way, I’ve already avenged you.”

  Then, after a brief pause, he ran his hand slowly and suggestively through Nicole’s hair, his voice turning soft and insinuating.

  “Tell me, do you really think you and your precious little darling survived that day... out of sheer luck?”

  The words left Shinya momentarily speechless.

  Back when Suzuran brought him back to Togekaze,

  it hadn’t been long before she cast a spell on him.

  That kind-hearted Anshu had done it to help him recover more quickly from the trauma—

  erasing part of his memory of the massacre.

  He remembered the general outline of what happened, but the critical details of how he escaped the ghouls’ pursuit remained a blur.

  Seeing the stunned blankness spread across Shinya’s face, the demon let out a sigh.

  “Fifteen years ago, on that cliff surrounded by ghouls— how exactly did you survive?”

  He tilted his head. “You really don’t remember?”

  Shinya couldn’t recall.

  It was precisely at that point in his memory that everything was fractured.

  He had been surrounded.

  Why hadn’t the ghouls finished him off?

  Did he jump off the cliff on his own?

  Or did he slip and fall?

  And after he fell…

  why didn’t the ghouls follow?

  He couldn’t remember.

  It all felt like a dream—just like the dream he had seen moments ago.

  That figure on the cliff, seen from beneath the icy undercurrent... now overlapped with the man standing before him.

  A chill ran through Shinya’s entire body.

  His head throbbed with sharp, splitting pain.

  “No… no, that’s impossible…” he murmured.

  Cold sweat slid down his neck, soaking the collar of his undershirt.

  “How ungrateful,” the man said with a dramatic sigh.

  “Your savior is standing right in front of you, and yet you threaten to kill him? Tsk, tsk. So much for gratitude.”

  He shook his head, feigning disappointment.

  “I was the one who made those ghouls stop, you know. Otherwise, do you really think they would’ve just let you go?”

  The demon stepped up to Shinya, gazing directly into his face.

  “So you see, Shinya… I truly wanted you to survive.

  I even took action to make it happen.

  Don’t you think a little gratitude is in order?”

  “Gratitude?” Shinya sneered, his voice venomous.

  “I’ll show you my thanks—with fangs and claws.”

  “So fierce? Hahahaha!”

  The demon burst into laughter.

  “Well, that’s not exactly the kind of gratitude I had in mind…

  But don’t worry. I’ll teach you to be more obedient.”

  He strolled casually back to the Suncrystal, stepped inside, and gently took hold of Nicole’s floating hand.

  “All I want is something simple,” he said.

  “Bring me what I need from your little Shapeshifter Dreamscape—

  just a single Soulshade Gem. That’s all.”

  His fingers stroked the back of Nicole’s hand as he looked back at Shinya, a meaningful smile spreading across his face.

  “Fail to deliver it…and I can’t promise your darling girl will live to see the sunrise on day three hundred and thirty-three.”

  The moment Shinya realized Nicole had become a hostage, panic overtook him.

  “Bastard! I won’t let you hurt her!”

  “Whether she gets hurt or not depends entirely on your actions,” the demon replied calmly.

  “So think carefully. To help you work more efficiently for me, I think it’s time I gave you a few… shall we say, visible reminders.”

  As he spoke, he lifted Nicole’s hand and pressed a soft kiss against the back of it.

  The sight drowned Shinya in a flood of rage and humiliation.

  He could no longer keep his emotions in check.

  Even the Fangs of Illusionbane seemed to tremble.

  The two daggers began to shake, as if afraid, unable to suppress the surging force beneath them.

  Only the demon noticed—the crimson blood staining the blades had turned black in an instant.

  And in Shinya’s deep purple eyes, a flicker of the same strange, demonic light began to glow.

  The demon didn’t miss the subtle shift.

  On the contrary, a delighted smile crept across his face.

  The searing pain brought on by the Fangs of Illusionbane

  was no longer enough to restrain Shinya.

  All that remained in his heart was an overwhelming tide of hatred and fury.

  “Kill you... I’ll kill you… I’m going to tear you apart…”

  That snarling, twisted expression—

  to the demon, it was a beautiful sight.

  And yet, he had no fear of Shinya breaking free.

  Not only because he held absolute confidence in his own power,

  but because in his hand,

  he gripped Shinya’s one true weakness.

  So, he decided to make use of that weakness—

  just enough to remind this rabid, half-mad hound

  of the cruel reality he lived in.

  The demon raised a hand

  and snapped his fingers.

  Suddenly, three pitch-black numbers appeared on the back of Nicole’s hand.

  Twisted. Misshapen. Ugly.

  But unmistakable in their meaning.

  [333]

  The countdown—

  had already begun.

  A thunderclap went off in Shinya’s mind.

  He stood frozen,

  like a machine that had suddenly shut down,

  staring blankly at the numbers scorched into Nicole’s skin.

  All the fury he had just erupted with—

  extinguished

  by those three, simple digits.

  Slowly, his head dropped.

  And in his eyes,

  the light of the world was gone.

  The demon glanced at the numbers on Nicole’s hand

  and gave a satisfied nod.

  “With each passing day,

  the number will decrease by one.

  And when it reaches zero...

  If you still haven’t completed the task I’ve given you,

  well—

  you really don’t want to know what’ll happen to your little girlfriend.”

  He smiled coldly.

  “But if you succeed before the deadline,

  I’ll keep my word.

  She lives.”

  “And just so we’re clear—

  this little arrangement,

  this secret between us—

  only you and I can see the number.

  That means the curse is bound solely to me.

  No one else can lift it.”

  “So don’t bother running to the priests for help.

  They won’t even know what’s wrong.

  Of course,

  you’re welcome to try.”

  Shinya remained silent.

  The demon stepped out of the crystal

  and approached him.

  He grabbed a fistful of Shinya’s hair,

  forcing him to look up—

  to meet his eyes.

  “Find the gem,”

  the demon said.

  “Deliver it to me before the deadline.

  Three hundred and thirty-three days.

  More than generous.

  Don’t disappoint me.

  Is that clear?”

  “…That’s your goal?” Shinya asked.

  Those strange, glowing violet eyes reflected Shinya’s face—

  his defeat, his submission.

  And in that moment, the demon’s joy

  became unmistakably clear.

  “That’s right.”

  “The Soulshade Gem?

  I don’t even know what it is.

  Don’t you think your intel’s a little lacking?”

  The demon let go,

  allowing Shinya’s head to drop once again.

  He chuckled,

  then reached out his hand,

  placing it over Shinya’s forehead once more.

  “Don’t worry.

  I won’t make this part difficult for you.”

  And then—

  a memory that didn’t belong to Shinya

  suddenly surged into his mind.

  Uninvited.

  Unstoppable.

  It swept away his consciousness in an instant.

  All that remained

  was the demon’s voice,

  a fractured whisper echoing in the dark.

  “Good boy…

  You have three hundred and thirty-three days...

  Find it…

  And when the time comes…

  I’ll tell you where I am…

  I’ll be waiting…”