Chapter 29: Not So Different

The Crusader of Fire was dissappointed.

After learning from their new allies of some of the strongest warriors demonkind had to offer, Higa had at least expected the mighty Sirene to put up more of a fight against him. Now granted, their battle didn't last long due to the unexpected arrival of that pachyderm demon and the two traitors of their respective kinds but even still: he had at least expected her to injure him more than how she did. That or he still didn't know how truly powerful his mastery over fire was, due to him having only used it up until now to burn those pesky little human flies who foolishly attempted to stand in their way many months ago.

And so as soon as he returned to his master's lair and landed on the balcony of his quarters, Higa assumed his human form and looked at the few shallow scars he now bore on his arms in dissatisfaction. Just when he thought he would have finally found a worthy opponent after many months of dealing with nothing more than small fry, those three fools had to interrupt him. Because of that, he wasn't sure if Sirene was in fact using the full extent of her strength against him. And he had a feeling that perhaps he will never be able to find out.

"You sure do like to play with fire, Higa."

Came the beautiful but cold and sardonic voice of Izumi, his colleague of Ice. He then turned towards her and spotted her, leaning on the wall on his left besides the door of his quarters with her hands on the pockets of the white coat she wore, with a sneering smile on her lips. He then shot her a displeased glare before replying coldly "And you sure do like to meddle in matters that are none of your concern, Izumi."

In response, the black wavy haired beauty's smile dissappeared from her lips, a frown forming on her face before she narrowed her light brown eyes towards her comrade of fire and stated "Fool. It is my and Master Satoru's concern when one of his most valuable assets acts so recklessly." while beginning to walk towards him. She then came to a halt mere inches before the taller man, rounded her eyes on Higa's own and mockingly added "Then again you were always like that. Always letting your bloodlust and ruthlessness cloud your judgement. I don't know if that makes you all the more arrogant or stupid. Or perhaps both." with her sneering smile making its way back on her lips.

Higa, unfazed by Izumi's lecture, shot back a contemptous smile and declared "At least i do not hide behind walking corpses and let them fight my battles for me. Unlike you, i take great joy in getting my hands dirty." wiping off the smile on Izumi's face and causing her to frown again before he taunted "Or are you too cowardly and narcissistic to do that, little swan?

Izumi was taken completely aback. She had never thought that Higa, usually the stoic one of their group, could take so much pleasure in belittling others. That must have been the reason why he and Kotura often got along well and performed excellently in battle whenever they would fight side by side. That and fire and lightning was a very deadly combination.

At the same time she was outraged. He had some nerve to mock her after going against a direct order from his master. So she decided to play yet another of her cards and with her smile once again making its way back on her lips she spat back "Unlike you, i follow my master's orders to the letter and i don't take unnecessary risks. Or could it be that there's something else that motivates you to follow him?" actually causing Higa's eyes to widen in surprise, his smug smile dissappearing.

"What was that?" he demanded in irritation while Izumi's smile grew even more. She then continued "Don't play dumb with me, Higa. I have watched you very closely ever since he first recruited you. All you really care about is causing as much destruction and chaos as possible. You don't even enjoy hurting those pitiful creatures. So i must ask you: what are you fighting for? For Master Satoru's ideal? For the independence and glory of our kind? Or merely to satisty your own selfish desire and hunger for battle?"

As more words came out of Izumi's taunting tongue, Higa's irritation turned into simmering rage at the nerve his colleague had to question his loyalty to his master. However the point of no return was passed the moment Izumi began to chuckle mischieviously before declaring "Fufufufufu….. your face says it all. You really are one selfish eagle, aren't you?"

And that was the last straw.

Higa growled in fury, bared his teeth and promptly shot his left arm forward, snatching Izumi by her throat before he spun her to the left and slammed her hard towards one of the walls of his quarters with so much force that it actually caved in slightly and cracked most of its surface. And a look of pure shock filled the face of the Crusader of Ice as her colleague in human form gave in to his anger. Beneath his cold and stoic exterior, Higa's true personality was as fiery as his powers and as such he could easily be sent over the edge, even more so than Kotura, his colleague of lightning.

Despite her wide eyes and lips, Izumi did not try to get Higa's hand off her throat and simply allowed the tall, brown haired disguised beast to inch his face closer to her and speak with a menacing and assertive tone "Do not question my loyalty again, Izumi. Before i evolved, my life had no meaning, no purpose. As a human i would have never been able to experience the thrill of the battle, the angst and the destruction. Those are what define me. Those are the only things that bring me satisfaction." while somehow managing to regain his composure and stop baring his teeth towards the black haired beauty he was now holding by her throat.

The shock on Izumi's face was replaced by her usual cold and calm scowl as Higa calmly continued "Yet at the same time, i realised that i needed an ideal to follow, something to fight for. Fighting just for the sake of it with no other ambition or future would have been meaningless. Master Satoru was the first individual who recognised my talents. And after i met him and swore my loyalty to him, my eyes were opened." the anger beginning to dissappear from his voice, replaced by contentment.

Izumi's scowl dissappeared, replaced by a gleeful smile as Higa loosened his grip on her throat before an equally exuberant grin made its way on the normally stoic Crusader of Fire before he declared in triumph and elation "Thanks to him , i was enlightened! We are superior beings, the culmination of millions of years of evolution. And as such, it is our duty to carry out its will, to replace mankind as the dominant race of this world and return it to what it once was. A world ruled by might, not words, where power and justice are back where they belong, in the hands of the strong, the ones who are truly free to act and think for themselves! That is what i'm fighting for. That is the world i long to create. For in that natural world of never-ending battle and struggle for survival, i will finally be able to find fulfillment."

Izumi was overjoyed to find out that she was wrong about her colleague. What he spoke of just now embodied everything she and her master were fighting for. She wanted to take advantage of him by belittling the motivations behind his actions in order to acquire more favor from her master. But how could she after hearing what he had just declared? After all, he was a superior being, just like her and in he shared her view and her goal.

Her smile grew even more as her glee gave away to lust and craving. The one in front of her had proved that he was her equal not just in strength and power but in mind too. And that he truly believed in the absolute superiority his kind held not only over humanity, but over every single living being. In other words, he was the perfect mate for a superior being such as her.

Izumi then raised her arms and put her delicate human hands on Higa's cheeks, her eyes staring right into the disguised brown haired beast in front of her before without warning, she suddenly and violently crushed her lips on the Crusader of Fire's, satisfying her carnal desires of the flesh. Higa's eyes went wide at how sudden Izumi's lips met his own. He was so taken aback that the only thing he did was taking his hand off his comrade's throat, not even returning the kiss due to how sudden and unexpected it was.

After lasting for several seconds, Izumi pulled herself out of the kiss before staring right back into Higa's wide, surprised eyes and declaring passionately "Now i see you for who you truly are, Higa. A fiery, unstoppable force of nature. You and i are the same. As superior beings we have the right to do everything we want." while Higa merely listened without uttering a word, not even knowing what to do or say in reply. Ever since he had evolved, he had never before found himself in such a situation, nor had the idea of having a mate ever crossed his mind. His philosophy was always a simple one: battling for the sake of the thrill of the battle and the bloodshed. Fighting for the Crusader of Fire was never a means to an end, but the purpose of his existence.

"Izumi….." was all he could say emotionlessly, for the first time learning that perhaps, just perhaps….. there were other things he could enjoy other than the thrill of battle.

The Crusader of Ice, simply removed her hands from Higa's cheeks and declared "You might just be the one i have yearned for, Higa. The one you will stand by my side at the twilight of the pitiful human race and the dawn of our kingdom." her voice filled with so much longing and possessiveness that it made Higa rethink the entire image he had of her. All this time he believed her to be so cold and indifferent that the only thing she cared about was her master's wellbeing and their cause. But her icy exterior only served to mask her beastly, animalistic urges, ones that she had always harbored ever since she evolved. Urges not fueled by any emotions but simply by the raw, untamed instinct of survival and self-preservation.

He then could only watch as Izumi turned around and began to walk away from him, but before she was about to leave his quarters, she glanced back towards him and declared threateningly "But until then, you will do as you are told, without any objections. We have already faced many obstacles in our crusade. It would be wise for you to consult with Master Satoru the next time you want to act on your own initiative. He can't afford to have his own subordinates cause trouble to him as well. Fail to do so once again and you will answer to me." her trademark cold scowl making its way back on her face. And with those last words, she left.

Higa merely watched in contempt as his colleague of Ice left. She had not disproven herself: all she really cared about was her master and his cause. Yet at the same time, Higa coudn't stop thinking of what had just happened. Rather unexpectedly, Izumi's assertive and possessive kiss coupled with the passion and lust of her voice had aroused him. For the first time, the Crusader of Fire had found another object that could bring him pleasure and satisfaction aside from the battle, the bloodshed and the destruction: Izumi Kogure, the swan beast who held power over the element of ice and could even bring back the dead. Normally Fire and Ice were two extremes, two opposite sides of the same coin, never meant to face in the same direction. Yet in Izumi's light brown eyes, Higa had witnessed the same blazing and uncontrolled fire he harbored.

"Izumi….. You will be mine." he mused to himself with a lustful and depraved grin. Ever since he had evolved, such primal instincts of craving and lust had never before lingered in his being. But now, in spite of the contempt he held over the Crusader of Ice for having questioned his loyalty and by extension, his philosophy he had found himself aroused by Izumi, the black haired beauty having become the only other thing he now craved besides the thrill of battle and its bloodshed due to having seen her for what she truly was: beneath that icy exterior, lingered an unstoppable force of nature just like him.

Meanwhile, in the lower basement of the hideout

The only thing that broke the disturbing silence of the barely lit corridor that housed the many cages in which dozens of beasts were being held captive was the pained groans of some of said beasts, the result of beginning to starve from a prolonged lack of food and water. Some had been there longer than others, some had been able to resist longer than others, but many of them had reached the breaking point and as they were beginning to lose their sanity, many had swore allegiance to their captors after a grisly test of loyalty.

Said pained groans of despair however were not enough to affect Takeshi and Mico, the two devilmen that shared one of those cells. And in the next few hours ever since he woke up in said cell, the brown haired beast had taken his time to explain the situation to the young scarlet eyed woman from another world, who sat besides him, resting her back on the wall of the cell.

To say that Mico was at a loss for words was an understatement. It didn't take long, ever since she first awakened in this world for the first time, nearly two months ago, for her to realise that it wasn't the one she was born in. But what really shocked her was the nature of the Devil-Beasts. Being possessed by a demon was one thing. Taking over said demon and acquiring its powers and appearance was another. But being suddenly transformed into an animal-like, demonic creature due to a sporadic and sudden activation of a genetic trait in your DNA triggered by a specific physical or psychological event? And being reduced to nothing more than a wild animal, devoid of any reason and rationality if your mind wasn't strong enough? For the first time in her entire existence as strange and messed up as it was, Mico was beginning to feel glad that she ended up like this after hearing what would happen to beasts that weren't strong enough mentally to handle their transformation.

"And you're telling me that this Human Alliance hunted you down just because of what you were?" asked Mico in disbelief, not believing what she had been told.

"Yeah. Fortunately though, through the efforts and sacrifices of many brave people, human and beast alike, it collapsed. Afterwards the two races began to work things out and the result was everything you saw in these last two months. The coexistence between humans and beasts, at least here in Tokyo." answered Takeshi in seriousness, after taking his time to be exaustive in explaining all the major details of the goverment crisis that unfolded many months ago. He then watched as a look of anger and indignation formed on Mico's face, while she clenched her hands into fists.

"Those scumbags….. how could they hurt all those people?" she spoke in outrage, upon realising that many people of this world had been through the same ordeal the Demon Busters had inflicted upon her for the mere petty reason of wanting her acid and using it as their own weapon. Takeshi looked at her in contemplation and solemnity, quickly figuring out that she had been through the same pain he, the girls and many others who had been locked in those concentration camps, had. He could see it from the reaction of her face: the young woman sitting besides him knew what it felt like, to be mistreated and treated as nothing more than an animal or a beast of burden.

In the meantime, the owner of the demonic voice and those two yellow cat-like eyes, locked in the cell right in front of the one that housed the two devilmen, had overheard the entire conversation from the start and was just as appalled as Mico was. She coudn't believe what had happened all this time, while she was dead and rotting in the depths of hell for what almost seemed like a year or more. A secret military organization that hunted down those like her, even the ones that had retained their conscience, preventing the rest of society from learning about their existence? But if it had collapsed then why were all these villanous beasts doing all of this?

Wanting to know the answer of this question, she asked from the shadows "But if that's the case, why are these beasts doing this to us? Aren't we supposed to belong to their same kind?" pulling Takeshi out of his thoughts.

With a grim look on his face, he turned his gaze towards the cell in front of him, meeting the glowing yellow cat-like eyes and, with a grim face and voice, he replied "Those beasts are an organised group that call themselves "The Crusaders". For quite some time, they schemed in the shadows, recruiting many others who shared their beliefs while orchestrating all sorts of crimes and atrocities to instill terror in the human population. Their ultimate goal was to wipe out humanity in order for the beasts to take over the world. To do so, they waged war against mankind in the name of the independence of the beasts in order to cleanse the world of mankind and creating their own kingdom of freedom for their kind."

Mico could only gasp in shock, turn towards the brown haired beast in human form and listen in a mix of incredulity, perturbation and disgust. Not only was there a military organization that operated throught possibly the entire planet to hunt down the beasts and keep the public from learning about them but there was even a terrorist group of beasts that strived to conquer the world and wipe out the human race.

"To them we are traitors who, in their eyes, have refused to evolve and have sided with humanity. And trust me, we are not the first people they have hurt. And we certainly won't be the last." concluded Takeshi grimly which earned a look of utter contempt from the green haired, scarlet eyed young woman who sat at his right.

But before Mico could voice her indignation, the beast with the yellow cat-like eyes in the cell in front of the one of the two devilmen, hidden by the darkness, beat her to it "But how can they do such things?! What have we done to deserve all of this?" asked the owner of that voice, clear outrage radiating from each word she spoke.

She got her answer when instead of Takeshi answering, another demonic voice, one that resembled the voice of a young man in his early to mid 20s only greatly distorted, chimed in "Nothing, except resisting the progress of your evolution and accept what you truly are." All three gasped as soon as that calm but malicious and taunting voice came. Then before their eyes a humanoid owl-like creature with black feathers and dark blue scales on its lower arms and legs, with a pair of black wings sprouting from the back of its shoulders, landed gracefully in the corridor, in between the cage that held Takeshi and Mico and the cage that held the owner of those two yellow cat-like eyes.

Takeshi and Mico both stood up and faced the taller owl beast that was still on one of its knees. And as it began to get up and rise to its full height of 2.5 meters, it spoke again "People like you disgust me. Why is it so hard for you to accept how superior you are? Why do you so stubbornly cling to your weak human roots?" making no effort to hide his contempt for the two devilmen in front of him in his taunting voice. To their surprise though, the beak of the owl beast, filled with small sharp teeth wasn't moving, which meant that it didn't use it to speak.

And as it fully turned towards the two devilmen, Takeshi and Mico, to their suprise, saw that the beast had a half-human, half-demonic face on its chest with slightly sharp teeth and orange colored eyes which was what the beast used to speak. It then declared "You bring this upon yourselves. It would have been so much easier if you had just embraced your new nature." continuing its mocking lecture of the ones in front of him before it shifted its gaze towards the brown haired Devilman before demanding "Tell me, what do you even owe to those pitiful creatures? You, of all people should know what they have done to your kind, given that you experienced it for yourself."

Takeshi gasped in shock at those words and at the beast's full appearance, recognising it as one of those four bird-like beasts who accompanied Satoru on the night they fused together into that gigantic beast that battled Jun in the bay of Tokyo. And of course, since on that same night, they had attacked the concentration camp at the same time Jun came to rescue them for her same purpose, he was quick to realise that the owl beast in front of him had recognised him as one of the four beasts that their greatest enemy had accompanied outside the camp.

Mico on the other hand, gasped in surprise, upon learning that this wasn't the first time her cell mate had experienced captivity. Both Devilmen then narrowed their eyes in utter contempt towards the evil creature that stood before them, clenching their fists in anger and outrage while the latter bared his teeth and demanded "Like you're one to talk, hypocrite. Why can't you bastards see that you're doing the exact same thing to us?! How can you just stand there and look so nonchalant about it after all the crap we and countless other people have been put through because of what we have become?!" his voice filled with utter anger and disgust for the one in front of him. After this all time they had learned nothing.

Kitano however chuckled mischieviously before replying mockingly "Hehehehe… You're a funny one, you know that? The way you put it makes it sound like a curse or even a disease." his toothy grin on his chest face growing even more causing Takeshi to flinch back in surprise and a look of dismay to form on his face before the Crusader of Wind continued his speech "It is neither. It's a blessing. By evolving, by transcending our humanity and by embracing our new selves we have gained not only unspeakable power but a far deeper understanding of how the world should be, the likes of which your feeble and limited minds, who uselessly cling on to your worthless ideals of justice, freedom and equality could never hope to underst-"

"BULLSHIT! YOU DIDN'T TRANSCEND YOUR HUMANITY! YOU THREW IT AWAY!" suddenly roared Mico, interrupting Kitano mid-speech, overcome by the fury and the hatred she had begun to feel towards the one in front of her for everything he and the rest of his allies had done.

Takeshi could only gasp and watch in a mix of awe, disbelief and admiration as Mico declared "I've seen those like you before! You play with the lives of others, filling their heads with nothing but lies and false hopes and forcing them to do what they cannot do for themselves! But all you really care about is yourselves no matter how much you try to preach and hide behind those stupid and worthless ideals of yours! YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THOSE HUMAN SCUMBAGS WHO HUNTED YOU DOWN!" while pointing at the much taller owl beast in front of her with her left index in utter outrage and disgust. The one in front of her truly was no different from those despicable humans who locked her in that glass cage and tortured her for whole days just to get their filthy hands on her acid and use it for their own interests.

The young, green haired woman had left Takeshi completely speechless. The courage, the nonchalance and lack of any doubts and hesitation Mico had just displayed in her condemnent of the one in front of her solidified the respect he held towards her. She truly shared his same ideal: that nobody should ever be mistreated simply for what they are. And she was willing to risk her life to defend it. Mico truly was as righteous and full of resolve as him. Takeshi was defined by those virtues and it was thanks to them that he survived to this day through many adversities and gave him the strength to lead the rebellion in the second concentration camp he was put in.

Mico's courageous and fearless tongue-lashing speech caused Kitano's cockiness to turn into rage as his toothy smile turned into a furious scowl. Who did this lowly girl think she was?! This world wasn't even her own and she didn't even belong to their own kind. Who was her to insult him and the cause he stood for with such impertinence?!

Infuriated, the Crusader of Wind let out a monstrous owl-like screech and fired a gust of wind from the mouth of his owl head that caused Mico to fly back towards the wall behind her, slamming on it. Then as Takeshi called out her name and went to her aid and helped her back on her feet, Kitano began "You insolent, presumptous bitch. Who do you think you are, comparing us to those worthless humans! This world isn't even the one you were born in and yet you would dare insul-"

"She's right. You really are no different from evil humans." chimed in the owner of those two yellow cat-like eyes, interrupting Kitano's furious rant and causing his owl head to turn nearly 180 degrees, facing towards that beast's cell. Mico and Takeshi could only listen as that beast declared "I may no longer be a human being, but i haven't thrown away my humanity like you bastards have! And i would rather die before joining forces with depraved monsters such as you!" with just the same amount of outrage and disgust Mico had voiced earlier. The latter was utterly amazed to discover that the only company she ever had for two whole days before Takeshi came, was just as resolute and unwavering in her beliefs as she was.

Frustrated due to being interrupted a second time, on top of being sent over the edge by Mico's condemning speech, Kitano was about to voice his anger and loathing towards these stubborn, insolent creatures when the ears on his owl head picked up a faint, pained voice coming up from another cell, one which was much further away from where he was, a good three dozen meters away.

"I…. i… can't take it anymore…. Please….. give me… food….i'll do….. anything…."

Thanks to his owl ears's phenomenal hearing, due to owls in general having a very acute and sensitive sense of hearing even compared to that of other species of birds, he was able to hear that voice, even though it was very faint and it came from a cell more than three dozen meters away. With a wide, toothy, evil grin forming on his chest face's mouth, he quickly came up with a way to prove how flawed these three traitors's way of thinking was.

Chuckling darkly without even turning towards the cell in which the beast with the yellow cat-like eyes resided, Kitano spoke tauntingly while folding his blue scaled arms over his chest, beneath his chest face "Hehehehehe…. Such heroic and noble nonsense. You fools really do believe and cling to those worthless human ideals with all of your heart. But aren't you forgetting something, traitors? The most essential need every living creature has, besides the need to breathe?"

All three didn't answer and simply watched as the Crusader of Wind began to walk away from them towards another cell. They coudn't see anything due to how dimly lit the corridor was. All they could hear were some pings followed soon after by the sounds of bars sliding open. When Kitano returned towards them Takeshi, Mico and the owner of the yellow eyes could only gasp upon seeing that Kitano was dragging another beast on the ground by its neck. A male beast that resembled a cross between a rat and a gargoyle with a powerfully built athletic body covered in grey fur, a long tail that resembled that of a lizard with several small pointy osteoderms at his end, long legs and arms the latter of which had very powerfully built upper arms and skinny forearms. Both arms and legs ended with hands and feet each equipped with sharp claws and finally, around its neck, the beast had a collar of what appeared to be red petal like structures while its head was the stuff of nightmares. Grey, like the fur that covered its body and resembling that of a gargoyle with long, pointy ears, hellish eyes with a red sclera, a yellow iris and a slit pupil, a wide, V-shaped mouth filled with sharp teeth and most disturbingly with a pair of very sharp lower molars that projected outwards. A long tongue hanged out of its open mouth and finally, the beast had a pair of long recurved horns that sprouted from its brows along with a cluster of a dozen more smaller yellow horns that covered its forehead, in between the two large white horns.

As he stopped in the space between the two cells, Kitano's humanoid face on his chest, grinned nefariously and declared "No matter how strong and intelligent you are, every single living being has to eat and drink in order to sustain themselves. Resisting such a need is useless for in the long term it leads to starvation and inevitably, death." He then brought the beast he held by its neck forward before letting it go and slump down towards the ground. It was in such a weakened state that it struggled to even move and it continuously panted heavily with each breath.

Mico and Takeshi could only look at it with wide eyes filled with intense dismay and dread at the horrific state it was in. Its whole body was twitching uncontrollably due to the hunger it felt and there was little to no fat in its torso, a sign that it hadn't eaten in weeks. Not only that but its face was contorted in affliction and seemed to lack any sort of sanity.

"Take this guy for example. He believed himself to be unbreakable, regardless of what would happen to him. He thought his human ideals of what's right and wrong, of honor and integrity would have saved him and allow him to run away from what he is now. That was more than ten days ago. Of course you can see for yourselves how they did him no good in the end." spoke Kitano evily, making no effort to hide his cruelty and sadism through that unhinged, insane and gleeful smile his chest face held, causing the dismay on Mico and Takeshi's faces to turn into shock and apprehension.

Then the starved beast weakly managed "P-please… give me food….. i'll do anything…" it pleaded, horrifying the two devilmen due to how inhuman its voice sounded. There almost wasn't any hint of humanity left in it.

Shifting his gaze from Mico and Takeshi to the starving beast that layed on the floor before him and grinning even more, Kitano kneeled down towards it, resting his left arm on his knee while he turned his owl head to the left and put his right three-clawed hand close to his right ear and asked "What's that? Do i hear a pledge of loyalty?" in a fake generous voice earning a disgusted look from the two devilmen at the derisive and cruel behaviour of the owl beast in front of them.

"Y-yes… I'll do….. anything you want….. But please… Give me…. food…" Pleaded again the starving half rat, half gargoyle beast while outrestching its right hand towards the Crusader of Wind who knelt before it. In response, Kitano stood up and declared "Komada, was it? Very well then. From now on, you will be one of us." before lifting his left pointer finger upwards and adding "However, loyalty isn't earned just by words. You'll have to prove it." with his sadistic smile growing even more.

Mico and Takeshi then could only watch as Kitano picked up the starving beast by the back of its neck again before he went to the cell that held the owner of the yellow eyes and after pushing the buttons of the security code, the door of the cell slid away, opening it.

To their shock, a growl that resembled that of a mountain lion greeted the Crusader of Wind, their first clue of what the female beast with those cat-like eyes might have looked like. Kitano however, unfazed by that beast's aggressiveness simply turned towards the starving half-rat, half-gargoyle beast now known as Komada that he held by the back of his neck before declaring nefariously "You may start by disposing of this traitor right here. She'll be of no particular use to us anyway." he then swiftly tossed the grey furred beast into her cell before closing it.

Takeshi's eyes immediately widened in terror, upon realising what was about to happen before he exclaimed "What have you done?!" in a mix of alarm and dread. He got his answer by what his ears heard next.

Inside the cell, Komada weakly managed to stand up on his two hind legs and his red and yellow eyes immediately spotted the female beast in front of him. Drool immediately began to fall out of his twitching mouth, his longue tongue hanging out of it, and sounds of monstrous excitement and eagerness left his mouth upon realising that the food he had longed for, that he had been deprived of for so long was right in front of him. He then raised his arms, extending them slightly towards the one who stood right in front of him while his wide mouth widened even more as the primal and animalistic instinct began to take over before…

No…. This wasn't what he was. He wasn't a murderer. He wasn't an animal. He…. He was a human.

(OST: "The One Who Is Torn Apart" = Xenogears Soundtrack)

He stopped, gasped in shock and fear, began to breath heavily, clutched his head and face and began to tremble in pain and torment before he threw his head back and screamed in agony and affliction as the last remnants of his humanity tried one last time, to oppose his true nature, to not give in to the beastly instincts of hunger and craving of flesh.

"Komada! You have to fight it! Please, try to hold on a little more! Help is on its way, they'll save us all!" pleaded the other beast locked in that cell, trying to talk some sense into the grey furred beast in front of her in an effort to keep it from fully giving in.

"It's too late. For too long he has opposed his hunger. For far too long he's run away from what he truly is. And now he will pay the price for it." declared Kitano grimly and with much sadism in his voice, licking the lips of the face on his chest in anticipation for what was about to unfold.

As if on clue, as soon as the Crusader of Wind uttered those words, Komada focused his hellish eyes towards the one in front of him again, his clawed hands still clutching his face before he slowly managed through his heavy breaths "I… I… I….." while his deep, growling voice began to get more monstrous with every single syllabe he managed to pronounce. Finally he roared monstrously before declaring "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMOOOOOREEEEE!" he then opened his eyes fully and roared "I MUST FEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDD!" and in those three last words, what little shred of sanity and awareness he still held dissappeared, the final word turning from a comprehensible element of speech to a primal, monstrous roar devoid of any consciousness, chilling Takeshi, Mico and the yellow eyes beast in front of him to the core.

As he launched himself towards the beast in front of him, Takeshi and Mico could only watch and hear in muted horror, their mouths hanging wide open in shock as the owner of the yellow eyes screamed in anguish "NOOOO, KOMADA!" as the half-rat, half-gargoyle beast finally lost control of itself and charged at her.

Their hearts and breaths froze as soon as the female beast screamed again, this time in utter agony as, unseed by both of them, Komada pounced on her, bringing her down on the ground and sank his huge fangs on her shoulder, mere inches away from missing her neck, due to the yellow eyed beast having dodged to the right at the last second.

"HITOMI, NOOOOOO!" Screamed Mico in horror and despair, calling out the name of the beast who had just screamed in utter pain upon hearing the sickening sound of flesh being pierced and of blood splurting out. She was so overcome by concern and panic that, without even thinking, she reached out for the bars of the cell and promptly got electrocuted by the lightning that the bars had been imbued with. But it was too much for her: once again, someone she knew, the one who had kept her company in these two days of confinement was about to die and she coudn't do anything about it.

Then, as Takeshi caught her before she could hit the ground he bellowed "STOP THIS! SHE'S GOING TO DIE!" his voice just as full of panic, but it fell on deaf ears.

For in response, Kitano, not even bothering to turn around chuckled evily and declared "Oh, but why should i when things are just about to get interesting?"

As if on clue, another monstrous roar that resembled that of a mountain lion, only heavily distorted came. Immediately afterwards many sickening sounds of flesh being slashed open came, along with the bone-chilling wails of agony of the male beast who had been thrown in that cell. Then a vision that would be forever engraved into both Mico and Takeshi's minds came.

The half-rat, half-gargoyle beast fell on the ground, on its back mere centimeters before the barred gate of the cell in front of them, blood coming out of its mouth, wheezing and spasming. Mico covered her mouth with her hands in utter horror and anguish, her eyes shaking upon seeing her first glimpse of the female beast with the yellow cat-like eyes had sank her teeth on Komada's neck, like a wildcat would to its prey. Even though she could only see part of her face through the darkness, Mico could make out a wide mouth, two pairs of cat-like whiskers and most shockingly, a second pair of yellow eyes beneath the two slit-pupilled ones. This was her first glimpse of what the one in the cell right in front of her looked like.

Takeshi was just as horrified by what he had witnessed, his jaw hanging wide open at the sight of the grey furred, red and yellow eyed beast gasping and spasming due to its pierced throat before it drew its last breath, muffled by blood with his eyes and mouth still wide open, with its face contorted in utter agony and pain.

His chuckle turning into a nefarious laugh, Kitano finally turned towards the two devilmen and declared "Do you see now? How those feeble and limited ideals of yours mean nothing to the instinct of survival and self-preservation? It is in times like these that one's true nature comes out." he then pointed towards the corpse of the grey furred beast who once was the human Komada before adding "He thought he could run away forever from what he truly was. But no matter how much you try to resist it, how much you fight it, inevitably your true self will come out. He refused to embrace his true nature and he paid for it with his life." he then narrowed the orange eyes of his chest face towards Mico and Takeshi before declaring "If you still stubbornly insist to go down this path, know that this is the fate that will await you. Whenever you don't want to suffer it or not is only up to you." finally he turned towards the other cell that housed the yellow eyed beast who had just slain Komada in self-defense before concluding "And as for you, i would advise you to feed on what's left of him if you don't want to end up like him. Unless, of course you still believe yourself to be different from us after what you've just done! Hehehehehehe… MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!" and with that deranged and maniacal laugh he spread his wings and took off, resuming his duty of guarding the cells from above.

Never before had Takeshi felt so angry in his entire life. He had seen for himself just how low humans could sink and how they could be quick to mistreat others simply because of their appearance. The concentration camp and all the murders he had been told off that were committed by the Human Alliance during the goverment crisis were the proof. But what he had just witnessed was on a completely different level. Not only were others like him being held captive in cells, like in the concentration camp, they were purposely starved with the aim of forcing them to join this group of monsters. And in order for them to prove their loyalty, they were forced to eat others like them. This was the irrefutable proof that, no matter the race, human or beast, there will always be good people and evil people.

He was pulled out of his thoughts along with Mico by a sorrowful gasp that came right from the cell in front of their own, immediately followed by several more.

"N-no…. What have i done….." spoke the owner of the yellow cat-like eyes, which Mico had called Hitomi, her voice beginning to crack and turning into cries. Unseen by both of them, the female beast that had just killed the creature that was once the human Komada in self defense began to sob uncontrollably, clutching her face with her hands and falling to her knees.

Upon hearing the broken voice of the one who had kept her company in her two days of confinement, Mico's eyes began to tremble as tears began to fall out of them before she weakly called out "Oh, Hitomi…."

Covered by the darkness, Hitomi, trembling like a leaf then clutched her head, closed her eyes threw her head backwards and let out a wail of grief and sorrow that resembled that of a mountain lion and yet… it sounded so human at the same time due to how much it was filled with pain and sadness.

That wail was what finally broke Mico. She covered her mouth with her hands and broke down in tears at what her latest friend had been forced to do. Immediately, Takeshi wrapped his arms around the green haired, scarlet eyed young woman before pulling her close in a comforting embrace, letting her burrow her head in his chest. Why? What had Hitomi and all those people done to deserve such suffering? How could those monsters even think of doing such cruelties without any shred of remorse?

"W-why…Why did this have to happen…..." she weakly managed, between her sobs, while the brown haired beast that held her in his arms was doing everything in his power to keep a strong and resolute face, but deep inside he was just as affected by the cruelty he had just witnessed.

"Bastards…...How could they?!" Muttered Takeshi to himself in his mind, utterly enraged not only at the cruelty he had just witnessed but also by the fact that he coudn't do a damn thing to stop it. He shuddered at the thought that these monsters on that fateful night in which, before they battled Jun for the final time, assaulted the concentration camp in order to recruit others to their cause. Now he knew without any more shred of doubt: they were even worse than the Human Alliance. The cruel murders they had committed way before the goverment crisis began should have been his first clue: but having now seen for himself the sheer depravity they had stooped to, his contempt towards them had turned into hatred. He wanted to make them suffer for all the things they did. And after hearing from Akira how Jun had reacted to the two corpses on the traffic light and now having seen for himself how truly vile they were, Takeshi now knew for a fact that the Devil Lady was just another one of the many people they had hurt.

"Akira…..Please….. come quickly….. We need you….." he muttered in his mind again, while closing his eyes and tightening his embrace of the broken young Devilman, forced to watch this atrocity. Little did Takeshi know, of what Mico had been through in the past…..

For now the only thing he could do, was being strong for the young woman he shared his cell with and wait patiently for Akira and his allies to save them. After all, he had no other choice.

(Soundtrack ends)