✦「 Hook • A Trap Beneath the Quiet Streets 」✦
✦━━━✦┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✦ ⚜️ ✦ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✦━━━✦✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧★彡[ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐒 ]彡★✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧◆◇◆✧✦━━━✦┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✦ ⚜️ ✦ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈✦━━━✦
The Western streets of Azure were too calm… too silent. A chill slid between the buildings, not from cold, but from intent — a silence that waited for a victim. Akuma stepped through the alleyway with unhurried steps, his expression the same blank slate he always wore, though a faint curl of amusement toyed at the corner of his mind. He could feel the attention around him, the invisible eyes tracking his movement, the subtle distortions of aura that told him this was no ordinary street. Someone had prepared something. Someone thought they could catch him.
Akuma, of course, did nothing to avoid it.He walked straight into it.
A wooden tile beneath his foot dropped.The ground snapped open.Chains burst from the darkness like mechanical snakes.
And Akuma simply whispered—
Akuma:"…A trap. How quaint."
The floor shattered beneath him, and he fell into a dim stone chamber illuminated by violet lanterns. The impact should have broken bones, but his body twisted, dissolved, and reformed midair, landing with the casual grace of someone descending a staircase rather than falling into an ambush.
Then he heard the voice.
Soft, regal. Cold.And filled with a controlled anger that echoed through the chamber.
???:"…So you are the one who walks around Azure so confidently… the one the Eastern Princess is searching for… the one who dares to eat a royal core."
Akuma lifted his gaze.
And there she stood.
Princess Aoi — Princess of the Western Azure Kingdom — wearing layered sapphire silk armor, a crescent-moon crest on her chest, and eyes so sharp they seemed to cut the air around her. She held a spear carved from crystallized storm energy, swirling with azure lightning.
She looked nothing like Yakumo.Yakumo was gentle stormlight.
Aoi was a blade.
Her guards surrounded the room, forming a circle of drawn weapons. Aoi stepped forward, spear lowered, voice steady and long and unbroken, like someone who rehearsed her fury for hours.
Princess Aoi:"You stand before territory protected by royal decree, and yet you move as if the world itself bends for you. You ate a core that sustains life. You walked through our streets without fear. And you dared to laugh at our lockdown. I want to understand…"She narrowed her eyes."…what exactly you are."
Akuma blinked once. Slowly.Emotionless. Unbothered.Almost bored.
Then he answered with a long, stretched calmness—
Akuma:"What I am… is simply a being moving forward. What I took… was simply what I desired. If you require more explanation, then your kingdom lacks efficiency."
The guards tightened their formation.
Aoi took another step, spear crackling with blue fire, voice lower and even longer.
Princess Aoi:"You speak like a scholar and a criminal at once. You claim desire as justification for theft. You stand unharmed after swallowing the Core of Azure. And you allow our soldiers to surround you without resistance… as if you are the one evaluating us."Her lightning intensified."Tell me, intruder, why should I not execute you right here for the damage you caused?"
Akuma tilted his head faintly — a gesture so small it barely counted as expression — yet somehow it radiated superiority. His voice lengthened, layered with that strange cold intelligence of his.
Akuma:"Execution requires certainty. You lack it. If you were sure… you would not be asking questions."
Aoi froze mid-step.
Her grip tightened.
The guards whispered.
One guard, trembling, stammered:
Man #1:"…P-Princess… I don't think this thing is normal… look at him. He's not even tense."
Man #2:"He fell ten meters and didn't blink… Your Highness, that's not human."
Man #3:"We should call for Level S Adventurers—"
Aoi raised her hand sharply.
Silence.
She leaned forward, eyes drilling into Akuma's face as if trying to peel away layers.
Princess Aoi:"…You walked into a trap meant for monsters. You show no fear. No hesitation. No reaction. Not even curiosity."Then she whispered, almost to herself—"Are you… even alive?"
Akuma's answer was soft, long, and unsettlingly honest.
Akuma:"Life is a definition. I simply am."
A tremor went through the guards.
Aoi's expression hardened.
Princess Aoi:"…Very well. Then I shall find out what you 'are.' One way…"She pointed her spear at him."…or another."
Akuma finally moved.
A single step forward.
Slow.Deliberate.Soundless.
Every guard's weapon trembled.
Aoi's eyes narrowed.
Lightning burst from her spear—
The basement was dim, lit only by trembling violet lanterns that swayed as if afraid to remain still. Chains rattled somewhere in the shadows. The air tasted like dust, old stone, and the faint sweetness of poisoned incense meant to weaken intruders.
Akuma landed barefoot on the cold floor, body unharmed despite the trapdoor drop that would've broken a normal spine. He straightened slowly, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve with a dull, uninterested stare.
Across the basement, Princess Aoi of the Western Azure Kingdom stood with crossed arms, flanked by a few trembling guards. Her hair glowed pale blue, eyes sharp with suspicion.
She expected fear.
He gave her a yawn.
A long… unapologetic… disrespectful one.
Aoi: (voice rising)
"You dare yawn before royalty? You fall into my capture trap and act bored? Who— no, what —are you?"
Akuma blinked once.Slow.Unmoved.
Akuma:
"…You talk a lot. Are we done?"
Her jaw tightened.
She took a step forward.
Aoi:
"No. You're going to answer. You fit the description—Eastern intruder, unidentified, suspicious aura, no ID. And now you walk straight into my trap."Her eyes narrowed."Explain yourself."
Akuma tilted his head slightly, as if listening to a sound no one else could hear.In reality, he was… calculating.
Not panicking.Not threatened.Just… measuring the situation with that hollow calm.
Akuma:
"…I have no reason to explain anything to someone who wastes my time."
The guards stepped forward, swords shaking but raised.
Aoi held up a hand, stopping them.
Aoi:
"You're confident. Unnaturally so. That means you have something to hide."
Akuma exhaled softly through his nose — not annoyed, simply… tired of being spoken to.
Then he raised his hand.
Just one finger.
And the lantern lights flickered.
Parallel Operation — Level 2: Initiated
(Long, slow, creeping activation — dramatic, manipulative)
Akuma didn't slam his power on.He poured it into the room like cold ink drifting through water.
The air thickened.Shadows stretched.Every sound muffled, as if swallowed.
Aoi stiffened, breath hitching. Her mind felt… touched. Pried open. Not painfully — more like an invisible hand turning the pages of a book she never wanted anyone to read.
Akuma stepped forward, movements lazy and unhurried.
Akuma (soft, slow, dangerously calm):
"I don't enjoy talking. But I do enjoy silence.So here is what will happen…"
His voice deepened slightly, threading into her thoughts like a whisper behind her ear.
"…You will stop raising your voice.You will stop trying to interrogate me.You will let me leave… peacefully."
Her pupils trembled. Her heart raced. She struggled to resist.
Aoi (strained, trembling):
"…W-what… are you… doing to me?"
Akuma leaned slightly closer, expression unchanged, yet somehow colder.
Akuma:
"Adjusting your priorities."
The guards behind her collapsed to their knees, minds overwhelmed by the pressure of his ability even though it wasn't directed at them.
Aoi clutched her head, breathing ragged.
Aoi:
"…stop… stop—what are you…?"
Akuma paused.
Slow.Empty.Reflective.
Akuma:
"…I don't know."He blinked."And I don't care."
Then, with a flick of his wrist, the mental pressure vanished.The room exhaled with him.
Aoi collapsed to one knee, gasping for air, hair sticking to her forehead with sweat. The guards trembled in complete confusion.
Akuma turned his back on them.
Akuma (walking toward the stairs):
"I'm leaving.Try not to get in my way again.It would be… inconvenient."
Aoi looked up with shaking fury and fear intertwined.
Aoi:
"W-wait… this isn't over…!"
Akuma didn't even glance back.
Akuma:
"…It is for me."
And with that, he walked up the steps, leaving only silence, fear, and the overwhelming scent of a power they could not understand.