Chapter 26 : Ah, I’m Josh, by the Way

The boy stared at the stranger who had suddenly appeared in the darkness.

The alley was drowned in shadow, and all he could make out was the faint outline of a man.

It was as if a shadow itself had risen to its feet.

“You little shit, are you serious?”

Thinking the stranger was just playing around, one of the thugs spat and strode boldly into the darkness.

Shrrk—

The metallic rasp of a dagger being drawn chilled the boy to the bone.

That man was Josh, the one known as a master of the blade.

No one in this district could handle a dagger better than him.

Regrettably, this nameless man had just walked into Josh’s knives, and that meant his end would be brutal.

“Josh. Don’t kill him just yet—drag him out here.”

“Yeah, let’s at least see his face before we gut him.”

The thugs who had been beating the boy now shifted their attention to the alley’s depths.

Seizing the moment, the boy dragged himself backward, clutching the girl tightly against him.

“B-Brother.”

“Shh.”

He moved as quietly as he could, never taking his eyes off the darkness.

Then came Josh’s mocking voice.

“Hey, you fearless bastard. You think this is some kind of game?”

“…”

“You die here, no one’s gonna know. You think the guards are coming to save you? Hah? Sorry, pal, they don’t come here.”

“…”

“What the hell are you even thinking, picking a fight like this? You could’ve just walked away and nothing would’ve happened. Instead you turned back and hurried death along. Are you an idiot?”

“…”

“You even know who I am? I’m Josh, the ghost of the blade—”

Josh’s words cut off abruptly.

Thud! Wham! …Thump!

A dull series of crashes, then silence.

At first the thugs chuckled, thinking it was just one of Josh’s antics. But as the silence stretched on, their grins faded into grim unease.

“…Josh?”

Just then, something flew out of the darkness.

It looked like a stone, trailing black smoke as it arced overhead before landing between the thugs and the trembling children.

The smoke billowed thick, separating the kids from the men.

“What the hell?!”

Both thugs and children stumbled back in alarm.

“Shit, what is that?!”

“Stay clear of it!”

“Don’t touch it!”

“Josh! What’s going on?!”

As the gang scrambled in confusion, a voice called out from the shadows.

“Kids, run. If you don’t, you’ll die.”

Panicked by the sudden chaos, the children bolted, their hurried footsteps echoing beyond the black haze.

“The brats are running!”

“Who cares right now, damn it?! What happened to Josh?!”

The boy and girl also tried to flee with them, but his legs refused to move. The beating he’d taken had left them useless.

“B-Brother, hurry.”

“Damn it…”

Worse still, he and his sister had been beaten so far into the alley that they were trapped inside the spreading black mist.

But there was still a chance.

The smoke was rising upward, leaving a gap near the ground. A narrow one, but maybe enough to crawl through without touching it.

The boy turned to the girl, who was straining to pull him along.

“Evelyn. Go first.”

“N-No!”

“I’ll be right behind you. Just go on ahead.”

“You’re lying!”

“We don’t know when it’ll close up. Hurry!”

“I won’t go without you!”

Her eyes welled with tears as she hooked her arms under his and tried desperately to drag him.

“Evelyn. Are you going to ignore your brother? Go!”

“No!”

“Don’t be stubborn now! Move, or I’ll get angry.”

Though he forced his tone into anger, it was useless.

His little sister sobbed, fat tears rolling down her cheeks, as she kept trying to haul him with her.

“W-We go together!”

“Damn it.”

Realizing she would never listen, the boy tried to force strength into his legs.

Please… please…

He strained against the weakness, watching the smoke churn and spread.

But each time he tried to rise, his thighs gave out and he collapsed again.

In the end, the gap closed.

The black mist fully spread, sealing off the alley like a wall.

“No!”

There was no way out now.

The boy shoved his sister behind him and glared into the darkness.

No matter what, I’ll at least get Evelyn out alive.

The thugs, like frightened dogs, barked into the shadows.

“Josh! Answer us!”

“Stop screwing around, damn it!”

“This isn’t the time for jokes!”

Then a voice answered.

It was mocking, thin, and cold.

“Oh, I’m Josh, by the way. Already took a trip down to the afterlife. It’s cozy here, surprisingly. Why don’t you all join me?”

“You son of a bitch!”

Unable to bear it, another thug drew his blade and charged into the dark.

Again, the same result.

A thud, a crash… silence.

This was no joke. The thugs’ faces hardened.

One by one, they drew their weapons, eyes fixed on the gloom.

“Come out, bastard!”

“Oh, gladly.”

From the faint moonlight, a man emerged.

Long, wild black hair spilling down, and beneath it, eyes glowing red like blood.

He chuckled as though he’d just found a delightful toy.

“Shit…”

The thugs gasped, their expressions warping into horror.

One of them choked out his identity like a scream.

“The Red-Eyed Devil!”

“What?!”

The boy’s heart plummeted.

The Red-Eyed Devil.

Of course he knew the name.

Wanted posters plastered every street corner bore his face.

And the rumors…

He had singlehandedly torn through the city of Barankia

A soulless fiend who wielded cursed black magic, they said.

“A-Ah…”

The girl collapsed, her legs giving out beneath her.

The devil twirled a grin as he savored the gang’s terror.

“Well now, brave gentlemen. You had no trouble beating on kids. Why so scared now? Pathetic.”

“…”

“Catch me and it’s a hundred gold. Any volunteers?”

One thug shouted back in defiance.

“Don’t be scared! He’s just one man. If we all rush him at once, he’s done!”

Encouraged, the others forced themselves to roar.

“Yeah! Take him down, split the hundred gold!”

“With that money, we can leave this dump for good!”

“Those rumors are always exaggerated, damn it!”

Greed steeling their nerves, they moved to encircle him.

The devil only smiled, almost proud, watching them muster their courage.

The boy knew he should run—but couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Curiosity and fear pulled at him in equal measure.

“Now!”

“Kill him!”

The thugs lunged all at once.

But instead of retreating, the devil laughed and charged straight into them.

Thud!

In an instant, one man was airborne.

Almost at the same time—thwack, crash!—others dropped one after another, weapons clattering as they collapsed.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

“Wh-What the hell?!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

The survivors screamed, but they too fell before they could even react.

And then… only one thug remained.

The thug’s blade trembled in his grasp as he stammered,

“Wh-What… what the hell are you?”

The devil smirked.

“A traveler on a trip down memory lane.”

“Uwaaaah!”

The thug screamed and swung his sword with all his strength.

The devil met it head-on, thrusting his fist forward.

For an instant, a faint glimmer of light flashed from his knuckles—

Clang!

The sword snapped in two.

“Wh-What… is this…?”

The thug stared in disbelief at the broken steel in his hands.

“Oh, nice. So it works like this too.”

The devil nodded in satisfaction, then drove his foot into the man’s side.

Crash!

“Gughk…!”

The thug slammed into the wall and slumped, unconscious.

“Master, so this works with bare fists too, huh? Ah, right—you just have to think of it that way. Good. Then kicks, headbutts… anything goes. A man from the stars—that’s me.”

Muttering nonsense to himself, the devil turned his head toward the boy.

Their eyes met—blood-red against brown and blue.

A chill like ice shot through the boy’s body.

“What’s this? Why are you two still here instead of running?”

Step. Step.

The devil strode closer.

“I told you. If you stay, you die. Do you want to die?”

Step. Step.

The boy’s trembling fingers closed around the pocketknife he had hidden away.

His hand shook uncontrollably.

But he had to try.

If not, they would both die here.

Behind him, his sister’s terrified grip dug into his back.

“Evelyn,” he whispered quickly, “listen to me. When I say run, you run. Don’t look back. Understand?”

“N-No!”

“Do as I say.”

“Together! We go together!”

Step. Step.

There was no time left to argue.

The devil crouched in front of him, like a street punk playing around, leaving himself wide open.

The boy seized the chance.

Even if he couldn’t kill him, he could at least buy a moment.

Now!

With all his resolve burning for his sister’s sake, he thrust the knife at the devil’s eye and shouted,

“Run!”

But the plan failed instantly.

“—!”

The devil caught the blade between two fingers, stopping it cold. Behind him, Evelyn still clung tightly, refusing to let go.

A smile curved on the devil’s lips.

It’s over, the boy thought, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Pass.”

What?

Before he could even ask what that meant, the devil rose and walked back to where the thugs lay sprawled.

He picked up one of their swords—

Thunk!

—and drove it straight through the man’s chest.

No hesitation.

No anger, no sorrow, no joy, no guilt.

Only cold, mechanical execution, as if he were checking off a task.

One by one, he stabbed each fallen thug through the throat or heart, ensuring none would rise again.

The boy could only stare, dumbstruck.

When it was done, the devil returned.

“Do you know why I killed them?”

The boy swallowed hard, silent.

“Because they saw my eyes.”

“…!”

“Speak of this, and you die. Got it?”

The boy nodded frantically.

“Hand.”

The boy blinked, unsure, then slowly held out a hand.

The devil placed a dagger in his palm.

“Throw away that toy of a knife. Use this. At least this much if you want to protect your sister.”

It was Josh’s dagger.

Before he could process it, the devil spoke again.

“Hand.”

Startled, the boy extended his other hand.

Ten silver coins clinked into his palm.

The boy opened his mouth, but the devil’s words cut over him.

“Take this and get out. Head west to a place called Akenaten. Better than this cesspool. Find the mercenary guild there, earn your keep however you can. The branch master’s a decent man, and the mercs aren’t all bad. There’s an inn called the Hungry Gypsy—good food. There’s a kid about your age there too. You might make a friend.”

The boy croaked out one word.

“Why…”

Why help us?

The devil’s face stayed blank.

“Shut up. Because I feel like it.”

Then he glanced at the boy’s legs.

“So that’s why you didn’t run. You’re injured, huh?”

The boy opened his mouth, but the devil barked first.

“Pathetic. How’re you going to protect your sister like that?”

The devil crouched and pressed his fingers along the boy’s leg, muttering.

“Master, looks like a muscle tear. Can acupuncture fix that? Mm… yeah. Okay.”

He jabbed his fingertips at several points.

“Try moving now.”

The boy rose uncertainly and tested his leg. Warmth flowed through the muscles, and—miraculously—it moved just fine.

“Th-Thank—”

“Shut it.”

“….”

The devil nodded, satisfied, then studied the boy more closely.

“You’ve got unusual eyes.”

The boy reflexively covered one of them.

There was a reason the thugs mocked him as ‘freak-eyed.’

One iris was brown. The other, blue.

The devil snorted.

“Idiot. Why hide it? Anyone who mocks you, beat them to death.”

“….”

Slowly, the boy lowered his hand. Then, hesitantly, he asked,

“How… how can I become that strong?”

The devil stared at him for a moment, then asked,

“Kid. What’s your name?”

“Odd.”

“Figures.”

The devil glanced at the trembling girl behind him, then stood.

“When you’ve got something to protect, strength comes on its own. Don’t worry.”

He turned and began walking away.

“And don’t make your sister cry.”

Without looking back, he left the alley, as though his work there was finished.

The boy watched his figure recede into the night.

The moon shone bright over the sleeping city, yet the path the devil walked was steeped only in shadow.

“….”

Saved by a devil.

The boy couldn’t help but wonder if he really was one.

But in truth, it didn’t matter. devil or angel, it made no difference.

What mattered was that in the pitch-black dark, he had given them a sliver of hope.

“Evelyn, let’s go.”

“Y-Yeah.”

Hand in hand, the siblings ran out from the shadows into the moonlit street.

(End of Chapter)

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