Silence loomed over the ruins like a curse. The mysterious man walked slowly toward Ikku and Yumé, and with every step he took, dread crept deeper into their bones. Their bodies refused to move. Their hearts thudded louder, matching the rhythm of rising panic.
A voice suddenly broke through the stillness:
— Hey, you!
All heads turned toward the voice. Even the stranger stopped. He looked genuinely intrigued. It was Derek, gripping his axes tightly, already in a battle stance. But it was clear—even from a distance—that he was shaken. His hands trembled ever so slightly.
— You're Kolio, aren't you? he shouted, voice tight with fear. What the hell is someone like you doing here?!
Kolio glanced at him, almost amused.
— I needed money. And what better way to get it than robbing the Mafia?
— You bastard! Derek roared. You think we're just targets to you?!
Without warning, he charged. His axes swung down with deadly precision.
But they hit nothing.
Kolio had shifted his weight, just a slight movement, enough to avoid the strike. Derek froze. Then his eyes widened. His weapons slipped from his hands. He collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
— Wh-What just happened?! stammered Yumé, horrified. He didn't even do anything!
— He did, Ikku muttered. It was too fast to see... but he hit him. Right in the gut. That guy's on a whole other level. We need to run.
— And you think he'll let us? Yumé replied, voice shaking.
A laugh. Low. Sinister. Wrong.
Kolio chuckled.
— You're absolutely right, blondie, he said, smiling with disturbing calm. When a person faces danger, the survival instinct kicks in. It has three forms: run, fight... or submit. But I won't let you run, and I don't accept surrender. That leaves you only one choice: entertain me. If I get bored... you die.
The words sliced through them like ice.
Ikku's throat dried up. Yumé's legs buckled. Kolio was walking again. Each step was a death knell.
— I've never been this scared in my life, Ikku thought. We have to escape… somehow.
But just as Kolio was about to reach them, a massive force slammed into him, sending him flying into a pile of debris.
A deafening roar followed.
It was Kenny, in his enormous panther form, rushing toward them like a black blur. Carla was draped across his back, unconscious, her body limp.
— Hurry! Ikku, Yumé! Kenny shouted. Get on! We need to find Master Zéno now! That freak could come back at any second—and if he does, we're done!
— You know that guy?! Ikku shouted back as he climbed on.
— You didn't recognize him?! Kenny's voice cracked with urgency. That's Kolio. One of the Three Calamities!
Ikku's blood froze.
— The Calamities?!
— Jack the Smoke is the first. The second one is hunted for what he knows. He used to be a mercenary for powerful countries. He holds secrets governments would kill to protect. But Kolio...
He paused.
— Kolio's different. He's not hunted for what he knows. He's hunted for what he does. Every place he visits ends the same way, blood and bodies. That's why they call him... "The Despair."
— Such flattery, said a voice... right beside them.
They froze.
Kolio stood there, as if he'd never left.
Yumé jumped back instinctively.
— Was that teleportation?! he cried.
— No, Ikku said hoarsely. He's just... that fast.
— We have no choice! Yumé shouted.
He focused all his energy into his fists. His eyes glowed, his fists pulsed with radiant power. Wind whipped around him as he lunged forward, fury in his scream.
The blow landed with a thunderous crash. Even Kenny—in his giant form—was knocked back by the sheer force.
A cloud of dust swallowed everything.
— You think he got him? Ikku asked.
— I didn't know Yumé could do something like that, Kenny murmured. But we're talking about a Calamity...
The dust slowly cleared.
Yumé stood there, panting, exhausted.
— I put everything into that hit... he gasped.
And then the figure of Kolio emerged.
Still standing.
Not a scratch on him.
He had merely been pushed back a few meters.
— That guy... that guy's a monster, Yumé whispered, chest heaving.
— Interesting, Kolio said, smiling. A Sonka and an Animagus. And you, little redhead? No clan. No gifts. Just... ordinary.
He resumed his slow walk.
— You've all skipped too many steps. Let's go back to the basics…
His eyes gleamed with malice.
— Let me teach you what fear truly is.
And with those words, time itself seemed to shatter.
No one could move.
Even the giant panther froze.
Every single one of them had the same thought:
We're not going to survive this.