Five figures — two on one side of the path and three on the other — stand around them, blocking every possible escape route. The moonlight is just bright enough for Aoshi to realize they're not police officers.
The five mutter something among themselves in voices so low it's barely more than a breath, then snicker. Yet they don't move forward. They just stand there, still, their eyes fixed on Aoshi and Eliss, as if waiting for something.
«And who the hell are these guys now?» Eliss grumbles under her breath, clearly annoyed.
Ten days. Ten whole days spent trying to get Aoshi to open up a little, and right when I was finally ready to enjoy an entire night of passionate kissing under this romantic starry sky, these five idiots have to show up? What is this, some kind of conspiracy?!
Aoshi, meanwhile, couldn't care less about being interrupted. His mind isn't on frustration but on fear.
W-What do they want from us? The tone of their creepy laughter, the way they whisper, their posture, those thug clothes—it's obvious they're trouble. Maybe delinquents… or worse, those creeps who wander around lovers' spots at night to harass couples… or even worse!
Wait — did I just call Eliss and me a couple?! Well… we're two people, both young, so technically we're a couple of young people… yeah, that's it. A couple of people, not a romantic couple. Damn it, Aoshi, how can you think about this kind of nonsense when five shady guys are staring straight at Eliss? Even without seeing their eyes, you can tell what they want… So what the hell do we do now?!
«Shameless kids… didn't your parents ever teach you that stuff like this belongs in a bedroom, not out here in the woods?» one of the men sneers.
Aoshi starts trembling, his teeth chattering in sheer terror, as if he were completely naked and plunged into icy polar waters, his knees pulled tightly to his chest. Not because of the words themselves — which could've sounded like the scolding of some uptight old man — but because of the tone they were spoken in. A mocking, unsettling, almost sadistic tone that leaves no room for doubt about what those five men intend to do. And that suspicion is confirmed a moment later by the words of three others.
«See? Told you this place gets interesting at night. And that brat's girlfriend… she's really something.»
«Yeah, it'd be pretty selfish of him to keep a treat like that all to himself instead of sharing. Look at her—anyone can tell she's dying for a good fuck. That girly little boyfriend of hers probably can't satisfy her the way she deserves.»
«This is your lucky night, sweetheart. We'll make you feel things you could only dream of with that loser.»
Meanwhile, the five men close in from both sides, restless and eager. With every step, Eliss's figure — still kneeling on the ground in the exact same position she was in when Aoshi slipped out from beneath her—becomes clearer in their eyes, her impossible beauty coming into focus. And that only fuels the sick, twisted gleam burning in their lustful gazes.
Each of their steps on the packed dirt path echoes in Aoshi's ears like the ticking of a clock counting down the final seconds before execution. Curled up on the ground, powerless and almost resigned, his eyes glisten with tension, ready to burst into a silent storm of rage and tears.
I... I have to do something — anything! I can't let those bastards lay a hand on Eliss! But... there are five of them, and they're all way bigger than me — and on top of that, I've never even thrown a punch in my life! Trying to apologize or reason with them would be pointless — it's obvious they're not here to lecture us about decency. Should I... act tough? Yeah, right. They'd laugh in my face and make me look pathetic in front of Eliss. And the truth is... I can't even move. I'm completely frozen with fear, and the only thing I can do is shake like a terrified kid... What kind of man would I be if I didn't lift a finger after they've threatened and insulted Eliss like that?
But Aoshi suddenly stops trembling the moment he feels the warmth and softness of Eliss's hand resting on his. He looks up at her — she's smiling. A gentle, reassuring smile.
«I'm really pathetic, huh?» he murmurs, his voice low and resigned, before lowering his gaze again in shame. «I should've said something to them, and yet I'm so scared I can't even stand up... Not exactly how a guy's supposed to protect a girl.»
«You've got nothing to be ashamed of, Aoshi,» Eliss replies, her tone sharp but steady as she finally rises to her feet. Her gaze cuts toward the five men now just a few steps away.
To them, Eliss's perfect figure — bathed in silver moonlight — comes into full view: long, graceful legs, slender hips, and a chest that obliterates whatever scraps of restraint still linger in the minds of the five, now entirely consumed by their lowest and most vile human instincts.
«They're five, all bigger and stronger than you. I wouldn't be surprised if they were armed. You, on the other hand, are alone, unarmed, and probably have zero fighting experience. They're the cowards — the ones who should be ashamed, not you,» she continues, addressing Aoshi crouched behind her. «Charging in headfirst wouldn't make you more of a man in my eyes — just an idiot. Only brainless animals with no instinct for survival rush toward certain death. And you don't strike me as one of them. Fear is what separates higher beings from beasts. It's what kept them alive through the ages. So don't see yourself as a coward — see yourself as someone... evolved.»
«You always manage to make me sound better than I really am, even now,» Aoshi murmurs, a faint smile curving his lips. «I wonder if that's the Eliss-in-love talking, or if you're really just like that... Either way, it doesn't change the fact that we're cornered.»
Eliss steps forward, leaving the grassy patch behind and moving to the center of the path. The five men are no more than three meters away.
«Cornered, you say?» she chuckles. Her eyes narrow dangerously, colder and more merciless than those of their attackers. «Aoshi, these past ten days you've seen my gentlest side — my soft side, the side of a girlfriend hopelessly in love with her man. And maybe that made you forget something very important about me...»
All at once, two vast violet wings burst from Eliss's back, and a cloud of glowing particles of the same color swirls around her, radiating from her skin. She tilts her head slightly, shooting Aoshi a sidelong glance from the corner of her eye. Her irises, emerald just moments ago, now gleam with a sinister violet light, paired with a sharp, sadistic smile.
A glance that lasts only a heartbeat — yet it's enough to awaken in Aoshi a primal, gut-deep terror that makes the fear he felt moments ago seem almost trivial.
«...I'm a demon.»