CHAPTER 2
Breathing hard as I stood over Beldr who had fallen to his knees, I clutched the simple cellphone strap that served as our only salvation. It took all that we had to battle this demon "King" as he slowly sapped our strength from afar with his Vampire Mist. I instucted my friends to go after his servants while I faced him alone. My knuckles were bruised and bloody from hitting him endless times with the tiny accesory.
"Ggh... Grrraaaaahhhh! You! Why do you have the devil's fuge!" Beldr gasped. Suddenly he raised his head in realization. "...! It can't be... Loki again...!
His agonized roars echoed thru the cemetery. "My power...! My power is being extracted!" He moaned piteously. "No...! You can't...! Gyaaaaaaahhhh...!"
Beldr suddenly dissolved into swirls of dark red energy. The energy surrounded me and entered my body. Strangely, this bizarre phenomenon did not cause me alarm or fear but the mysterious power within me felt almost familiar...
My friends were ecstatic at surviving this threat to our lives. But when we went back to the mysterious person who first told us of Beldr's weakness, we learned that things are not over. Now that we... I defeated Beldr and absorbed his power, I got myself embroiled in the war between the Kings of demons for the Throne of Bel. Whoever wins this war becomes Overlord and would have complete control of all demons. Aside from Beldr, there were four more Bels: Belial, Jezebel, Belzaboul and Belberith. The mysterious gigolo told us that we are to face Belial, the Holy Flame, in three days' time and to prepare ourselves for the battle to come.
Later that night...
"Kazu? Kazuya? Are you still awake?" Yuzu whispered behind me.
We were lying down side by side on cardboard mattresses over bare ground in Miyashita Park. I rolled over to face her. "...Yes?"
"Are you... alright?" She asked hesitatingly.
"I'm fine. Why?" I queried.
"In the fight in the graveyard today... it felt different, like you were going to leave us or something." She whispered. Then she brightened up and said: "Hahaha, what am I saying? Never mind, ok?"
I smiled gently at her. "I won't change."
...It was a lie. I did change, Yuzu. I wish that I could take back what felt like a promise I made to her. A promise that I could not keep. Those seven days may be short compared to a lifetime, compared to an eternity, but they have changed who I am, what I am...
The memories of the year before flashed through my mind's eye as I gazed down upon the recovering metropolis. The city of Tokyo is full of lights and the sound of construction. There are still some areas devoid of light but the rebuilding is inching gradually into the more damaged areas. I sighed sadly as I delved into more recent memories. The night wind rustled the pure-white cloak around my shoulders. Nobody noticed the silent watcher cloaked in white sitting on top of Tokyo Tower.