A soft breeze passes through the forest.
Leaves fall slowly onto the small crater.
Everything remains silent.
Until...
—Ugh...
Two voices echo at exactly the same time.
The young human and the young demon snap their eyes open.
Both sit up, bringing a hand to their heads.
—Huh...?
They speak again at the same time.
They remain motionless.
The human looks at the trees surrounding him.
The demon does exactly the same.
The two speak almost instinctively.
—Where am I?
Silence.
They both blink.
Slowly, they turn their heads.
Their eyes meet.
Time seems to stop.
Neither understands what he is seeing.
The human points a finger.
The demon does exactly the same.
They both take a breath.
—AAAAAAAAAAAH!!
Birds take flight from the trees.
They both stumble backward.
—A DEMON!!
—A HUMAN!!
—DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!!
—DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!!
—BACK OFF!!
—BACK OFF!!
They freeze.
They breathe heavily.
The human furrows his brow.
—Did you just say exactly what I said?
The demon answers without thinking.
—Did you just say exactly what I said?
The two freeze again.
The human points at the demon.
—Stop copying me!
—Stop copying me!
—Again!
—Again!
—I’m serious!
—I’m serious!
—ENOUGH ALREADY!!
—ENOUGH ALREADY!!
They both stand there, breathing hard.
Silence takes over the forest once more.
This time, the human speaks first.
—Wait.
The demon takes a moment.
—Wait.
The two look at each other warily.
The human slowly lowers his hand.
—I’m not copying you.
The demon answers almost immediately.
—I’m not copying you either.
Another silence.
The human takes a deep breath.
—Then...
He pauses.
—Who are you?
The demon opens his mouth to answer.
But no words come out.
He remains motionless.
—I...
He slowly lowers his head.
—I don’t know.
The human tries to answer too.
—I am...
Nothing.
He furrows his brow.
He tries again.
—My name...
Silence.
He remembers nothing.
The demon tries again.
—Mine too...
Nothing.
The two remain still.
For the first time since they woke up, neither screams.
Neither argues.
Neither knows what to say.
They remember only one thing.
Dying.
The human breaks the silence.
—The only thing I remember...
—...is a truck.
The demon slowly raises his gaze.
—I remember...
He pauses.
—That my own kind killed me.
The human watches him in surprise.
The demon also seems surprised that he said it.
The two fall silent again.
—Then...
—Are we dead?
Neither answers.
Not because they don’t want to.
But because neither knows the answer.
Suddenly...
CLANG!
A spear falls between them with brutal force.
The earth cracks around the blade.
They both jump backward.
Slowly, they look up.
A figure stands atop an enormous rock.
The wind moves her long silver hair.
Her white cloak ripples gently.
She remains completely still.
Watching them.
The forest falls silent once more.
Her voice breaks the calm.
—Don’t move.
The human swallows.
The demon does exactly the same.
Before either of them can react...
A darkness begins spreading across the ground.
Like ink spilled over the earth.
It slowly rises around the three of them, forming a gigantic black sphere that completely isolates that part of the forest.
The human watches the barrier.
—What... is that?
The demon doesn’t look away either.
—What’s happening...?
The young woman slowly descends from the rock.
Without taking her eyes off the demon.
Every step conveys the confidence of someone who has repeated the same procedure countless times.
When she reaches the spear, she pulls it from the ground in a single motion.
She holds it out in front of her.
Her gaze remains fixed on the demon.
There is no hatred.
No anger.
Only the coldness of someone carrying out her duty.
—By protocol...
She pauses briefly.
—Demons must be eliminated.