Yuji continued walking through the ruined city.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the empty streets while two crimson eyes constantly watched him from afar.
It had been going on for hours.
At first, it had been annoying.
Then, uncomfortable.
Now?
It was simply exhausting.
As he crossed an avenue overtaken by gigantic roots, Yuji found the corpse of a Fallen Rank Nightmare Creature.
Or rather...
A headless corpse.
He stopped in front of it.
— And you? What killed you, huh?
He lightly kicked the carcass.
Nothing.
Just dead flesh.
Yuji scratched his chin.
"Was it during that time?"
He remembered losing sight of his pleasant stalker for a few minutes earlier.
He raised his eyes.
And immediately regretted it.
The creature stood atop the roof of a nearby building.
In one of its claws...
It held a severed head.
Probably the missing head from that corpse.
The creature's red eyes gleamed.
Then it started shaking the severed head in his direction.
Like a child showing off a new toy.
Or a particularly proud monkey displaying some stupid discovery.
Yuji fell silent.
The creature smiled.
Then it threw the head.
WHOOSH!
The head cut through the air at absurd speed.
CLANG!
Yuji swatted the projectile away with the side of his blood sword.
The head flew elsewhere.
— What a horrible gift.
The creature seemed genuinely disappointed.
Yuji sighed.
This was unbearable.
He crouched beside the corpse.
Placed a hand upon it.
An instant later...
All remaining blood was ripped out of the creature.
The flesh dried.
The muscles shrank.
The entire body became an empty shell.
At the same time, Yuji's hair and eyes became an even deeper shade of crimson.
He stored the blood.
And continued walking.
The rest of the day was strangely similar.
Yuji explored entire districts of the city.
Entered buildings.
Climbed stairs.
Crossed streets consumed by vegetation.
And had to deflect three more severed heads thrown at him.
By the fourth...
He simply stared at the creature.
— Sorry, but heads are a pretty terrible gift.
The creature kept smiling.
Yuji was almost certain it was trying to be friendly.
The problem was that its definition of friendship seemed deeply disturbing.
When night finally fell...
Yuji found a partially ruined building and sat beside a cracked wall.
He needed to conserve energy.
There was no reason to keep wandering aimlessly.
The creature continued watching.
As always.
From atop a building.
Motionless.
Silent.
Present.
Yuji rested his head against the wall.
The moment he closed his eyes...
The memories came.
Glass.
Glass everywhere.
Thousands.
Millions of fragments.
Reflecting a crimson sky.
The heat.
The smell.
The blood.
And that smile.
Beautiful.
Covered in blood.
Covered in holes.
A tear slowly rolled down the corner of his eye.
Yuji didn't wipe it away.
He remained still.
For a moment...
America disappeared.
The creatures disappeared.
The city disappeared.
And all that remained was a broken promise.
— Ah...
He opened his eyes.
— Now I'm in a bad mood.
He raised his head.
The red eyes were still watching.
Waiting.
Observing.
Existing.
Yuji took a deep breath.
Then stood up.
— I'm tired of you.
For the first time.
He was serious.
His right eye glowed crimson.
A blood spear formed in his hand.
WHOOSH!
The spear crossed the night sky.
BOOM!
The building the creature stood on exploded.
But it had already vanished.
As always.
When it reappeared...
It was closer.
Much closer.
And for some reason...
It looked happy.
— I'm going to wipe that smile off your face.
Yuji charged.
BOOM!
The street exploded beneath his feet.
The crimson sword tore through the air.
The creature answered with its claws.
CLANG!
The impact cracked the ground.
Yuji immediately lowered his head.
Instinct.
A claw passed exactly where his neck had been an instant before.
— You're still too innocent to flirt with me, annoying thing.
Chains of blood burst from the ground.
Wrapping around the creature's leg.
Restraining it.
Preventing its flight.
— Now we're talking.
Crimson spikes emerged everywhere.
SHHHHK!
SHHHHK!
SHHHHK!
Dozens pierced the creature's body.
Wounds appeared.
But nothing vital.
Nothing fatal.
Yuji's hair began losing some of its red color.
His blood reserves were running low.
The creature roared.
And attacked again.
CLANG!
Yuji blocked.
CRACK!
Even so, the impact broke through his defense.
A deep cut opened his shoulder.
Blood flowed.
Yuji answered immediately.
His sword slashed across the creature's chest.
But before he could continue—
CRASH!
The claw struck his left arm.
The world spun.
An absurd pain exploded throughout his body.
Yuji stumbled.
Looked to the side.
His arm was gone.
Torn off.
— Damn it...
Without hesitation.
Without thinking.
Yuji spent everything.
All his essence.
All the blood he had stored.
Everything.
BOOOOOOOM!
A crimson explosion devoured the entire district.
Houses collapsed.
Windows shattered.
Walls were pulverized.
For a moment...
It seemed as though the sky itself had bled.
And then...
Blood began to rain.
Literally.
When the explosion ended...
Yuji was still standing.
Barely.
But standing.
His hair had returned to brown.
His eyes as well.
There were no reserves left.
No energy.
Nothing.
The creature stood before him.
Mortally wounded.
But alive.
Still alive.
— I'm sorry, Anna...
Yuji looked at his missing arm.
— I guess I won't keep my promise.
Using his own blood...
He created another sword.
His skin became even paler.
Almost white.
Every step seemed to consume what little remained of him.
Even so...
He kept moving forward.
"I invited you into that Nightmare."
"I promised I'd protect you."
"I promised I'd survive."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"And I'll break every one of those promises."
The creature finally wiped the blood from its eyes.
Confused.
Wounded.
Disoriented.
When it raised its head...
It found Yuji standing before it.
The crimson sword raised above his shoulder.
Cold brown eyes.
Empty.
Tired.
— I thought of many things I wanted to do before dying.
The creature remained still.
Watching.
— Smoking one last cigarette was one of them.
Yuji took another step.
— But you're not even useful for that.
The sword descended.
Like a crimson guillotine.
The crimson sword descended.
The creature raised its claw in desperation.
CRASH!
The collision exploded through the silent district.
The severed claw spun through the air.
The blood sword shattered into countless red droplets.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then...
Yuji fell.
His body hit the ground heavily.
The creature also collapsed several meters ahead.
Silence overtook the ruined street.
Only the wind moved through the broken buildings.
Yuji remained motionless.
His left arm was gone.
His body was cold.
Every breath felt harder than the last.
His vision slowly darkened.
When he raised his eyes one last time...
He saw the creature.
One of its claws had been severed.
Huge holes pierced its chest and abdomen.
It was just as doomed as he was.
Slowly.
The creature raised its remaining claw.
Yuji watched without reacting.
Without strength.
Without desire.
Without fear.
The claw kept rising.
Rising.
Until it stopped midway.
The red eyes met his.
Then...
The creature simply lay down beside him.
As if waiting.
Waiting for the same end.
Yuji remained silent for several seconds.
Then let out a weak laugh.
— Going to accompany me until the end?
The creature didn't answer.
But it remained there.
Motionless.
By his side.
— How kind of you...
The wind blew again.
For the first time, Yuji truly looked into those eyes.
There was no malice.
No hunger.
No cruelty.
Only something he knew all too well.
Loneliness.
Years.
Decades.
Perhaps more.
An entire existence spent with no one.
No company.
No voice.
No purpose.
Alone.
Yuji felt his chest tighten.
For a moment...
He understood.
Understood why it followed him.
Understood why it never left.
Understood why it kept watching.
It was lonely.
Just like him.
A small smile appeared on his pale face.
— It's alright...
His voice came out weak.
— We'll go together...
The creature kept staring at him.
— My friend.
The red eyes trembled slightly.
Shortly afterward...
The light within them began fading.
Slowly.
Like a flame going out.
The creature died first.
Yuji watched the light disappear.
And felt a strange sadness.
Then the Spell spoke.
[Congratulations.]
[You have slain a Corrupted Demon, Wandering Gargoyle.]
Yuji stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then let out a tired laugh.
One final laugh.
— That doesn't count...
His voice was almost a whisper.
— You went ahead.
The world began to darken.
It was ironic.
Someone with a blood Aspect would die today...
Especially from blood loss.
The wind disappeared.
The pain disappeared.
The memories disappeared.
And for the first time in a very long time...
The weight in his chest disappeared as well.
His heart no longer pumped blood.
Nor did it suffer anymore.
His breathing ceased.
And Yuji finally rested from that cursed world.