Satoshi's fists clenched, golden-red flames licking up his arms. "Tell me, Miguel. Why are you doing this?"
Camila stepped up beside him, sword already drawn. "You said Amelia is the key to breaking the boundary between realms. But why? What do you get out of this?"
Miguel chuckled, like he'd been waiting for that. "Ah, finally. The right question." He walked forward slowly, hands behind his back. "It's simple, really. The Dark Clans—the ones your kind's been fighting for centuries—they want more high-ranking demons."
Satoshi narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Miguel's smile faded into something sharper. "Because they need them. The demon realm's falling apart. The real high-ranking demons? Most of them are dead. Killed off in old wars or just too weak to survive anymore."
He pointed at Amelia. "And that's where she comes in."
Camila's grip tightened. "She's human. She has nothing to do with the demon realm."
Miguel laughed once—cold. "Oh, Camila. You really don't know, huh?" He tapped the glass of Amelia's containment tube. "She's not just some girl. Her bloodline's special. She's got the potential to become something more—something beyond human. Maybe even beyond demon. With the right push, she'll ascend."
Satoshi's fire flared hotter. "You're trying to turn her into a demon."
Miguel nodded, calm as ever. "Not just any demon. A high-ranking one. If she ascends, others will follow. She's the prototype. The Dark Clans already have more candidates lined up. Once she crosses the line, the floodgates open."
Camila sucked in a breath. "You're creating high-ranking demons?"
Miguel tilted his head. "Pretty much. Or helping them do it."
He waved at the machinery humming around Amelia. "This whole place was built to make that happen. Not just break the boundary—but to forge something new. If we can mass-produce high-rankers, everything shifts. The human world? The divine realm? They'll just be prey."
Satoshi's jaw clenched. "You're sacrificing people for this."
Miguel gave him a look. "And?"
Camila's breath caught.
Miguel sighed, like he was explaining something to a child. "You two fight so hard to protect balance. But have you ever stopped to think how fake that balance is? The worlds were built on conflict. The strong survive. The weak get eaten."
He turned to face them. "The Dark Clans don't want balance. They want truth. Power. No more hiding. No more old rules. Just raw, honest domination."
Satoshi stepped forward, fire sparking off his boots. "And you think that's a good thing?"
Miguel met his gaze, calm and steady. "I think it's inevitable. Stop me, fine. But you can't stop them. And when the war starts—" His smirk returned. "—which side will you be on?"
The lab started shaking as the machines around Amelia powered up. The glowing liquid in her containment tube pulsed like a heartbeat. Her body twitched. Her silver hair floated in the fluid. And her eyes—those once-soft eyes—flickered with something dark.
Miguel stood at the console, bathed in a sickly green light. Still smiling.
"You still don't get it," he said. "Stopping me won't stop this. Amelia's not just gonna become a high-ranking demon—"
His eyes gleamed gold.
"She's going to become something worse."
Camila's voice came out tight. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Miguel gestured casually at Amelia. "Her bloodline's rare. More than rare—it's ancient. She's not just capable of ascending. She's got the Eyes of Lust."
Satoshi frowned. "Yeah, we know."
Miguel chuckled. "Do you, though?" He laid a hand on the glass. "You've seen the first stage. Influence. Obsession. Desire. But that's just the beginning."
The air got heavier.
Satoshi stepped forward. "What happens next?"
Miguel's smirk sharpened. "Second stage? Mindshifting."
Camila's eyes narrowed.
"She'll control her mind completely," Miguel said. "No fear. No pain. No hesitation. Just total, perfect control. You can't guilt her. Can't break her. She'll reshape her reality however she wants."
Camila muttered, "That's insane."
Miguel kept going. "Next? Mind Control. She'll enter your head like it's her own room. Rewrite your memories. Change who you are. Make you forget why you're even fighting."
Satoshi didn't flinch, but his flames dimmed.
Miguel stepped closer. "Third? Hypnosis. A whisper. A look. And boom—you think it was your own idea. Whole armies surrender without a fight."
Camila whispered, "That's… horrifying."
Miguel dropped his voice. "And the last? Nightmare."
The room pulsed.
"She'll invade dreams. Twist your mind from the inside. What she does to you in there—your body will feel it. Some won't wake up. Some will wish they hadn't. She'll trap people in horror and rule it like a god."
Silence.
Camila's grip on her sword was white-knuckled. Satoshi stared at Amelia, jaw tight.
Miguel's tone softened. Almost sympathetic. "You wanted to save her. But what if she's already too far gone?"
Satoshi's breath caught.
Miguel stepped back, grinning. "So what now? Gonna stop the process? Or stand there and let it happen?"
Satoshi's flames reignited—hotter, brighter.
He looked at Camila. "We're shutting this down."
Miguel's laugh echoed. "Oh, I'd love to see you try."
And then—
All hell broke loose.
Satoshi's fire exploded, melting half the lab. Machines sparked and blew apart. The glass tube around Amelia cracked. Metal screamed. Alarms blared.
Camila launched herself at Miguel, her blade a silver flash.
Miguel barely moved.
A pulse.
And everything stopped.
Satoshi froze mid-step. Camila's sword hung inches from Miguel's neck.
Miguel smiled. "Even your flames need a body to burn. And all living things… obey me."
Satoshi felt it.
His heart stopped. His body stiffened. He couldn't move.
Then—
"No," he growled.
His fire reignited, ripping through Miguel's control. The force shattered the stillness.
He lunged.
His fist collided with Miguel's jaw.
BOOM.
Miguel went flying.
Before he could recover, Camila was on him. Her sword cut through the air.
Miguel dodged. Barely.
But then—he grabbed her wrist.
Camila gasped. Her body jerked.
And then—
She stabbed herself.
Blood soaked her side.
Satoshi roared.
Miguel raised his hand. "Die."
Satoshi felt it again. That pull. That command.
But he pushed back harder.
"NO!"
His fire exploded outward, purging the control.
He vanished—reappearing behind Miguel.
"Burn," Satoshi whispered.
BOOOOOOM.
Everything vanished in fire.
But Miguel stood in the flames, skin healing. Restoring. Smirking.
"You still don't get it," he said.
He snapped his fingers.
Satoshi screamed.
His own body turned against him. Bones twisting. Fire eating him alive.
Miguel stepped forward.
"You fight with destruction. I fight with life. You burn? I heal. You destroy? I restore. You fight the living?"
He grinned.
"I control them."
Satoshi dropped to his knees, vision fading.
Camila struggled to rise, bleeding.
Miguel waved her off. "Stay down."
Her body stopped moving.
Satoshi's rage flared.
No.
No.
NO.
Something deeper stirred inside him.
Something not fire.
Not destruction.
Something worse.
Reality itself shivered.
Miguel blinked. "What—"