Ashes in Reverse

Leon took a deep breath and looked back to see who was there. He turned his head slowly, but behind him was… no one. The corridor was empty.

He started breathing heavily, relieved that nothing was there. The feeling of being watched had disappeared. He walked toward the stairs, then gradually broke into a run.

BWAA!!

Suddenly, a being appeared right in front of him. Leon fell to the ground, eyes wide.

The creature had two eyes, but not in the right place. One was high on its face, the other low. Its mouth stretched across its face, filled with sharp, blood-red teeth. Its body was pitch black like the void, with blood-stained claws. Every step it took came with strange, twisting sounds.

Fucking hell, what is this creature? Leon's body was frozen in fear. I need to run before it slaughters me. But my body… it won't move. I have to do something!

The creature walked toward him. It's huge, almost nine feet tall. Its body kept twisting with every step. Its face turned into its leg, and the leg turned into its face. Leon couldn't even understand what he was looking at.

Leon widened his eyes in desperation and bit his tongue. The sharp pain jolted his body back into action, and he immediately started running, not daring to look back. His speed was unmatched, thanks to his weeks of training.

"Fuck! Fuck! What the fuck is that creature?!" Leon shouted as he ran. He reached the end of the corridor where the staircase led to the upper floor. His room and Hiroshi's were there.

Yes! I'll lead the creature up and wake Hiroshi. He'll handle it.

He looked back to check on the creature - nothing.

Suddenly, a loud creaking sound came from the corridor's turn. Leon's eyes widened. It's opening doors... Is it going after other hunters? No. I can't let it do that.

He ran toward the corner. There it was, the creature, standing in front of a hunter it had grabbed from bed. The hunter was still groggy, slowly waking up, confused.

The grotesque smirk on the creature's face left the hunter speechless in terror.

Their eyes met, Leon and the hunter. The hunter stared at Leon with pure rage and fear. In a broken, low voice, he said,

"Y-you motherfucker... trying to kill me with this—"

KHAP—

The hunter's head was gone. The creature was chewing it, skull cracking, blood splattering all over the walls. Its sharp teeth crushed everything. Then it sucked in the hunter's entire body and tossed it aside.

Leon dropped to his knees and vomited. His heart was pounding.

The creature turned to him and started walking. Its claws stretched forward.

Leon's eyes widened. Tears formed. I'm gonna die!

Suddenly, he was teleported, transported to an unknown place.

But slowly, he recognized it. A battlefield. Millions of corpses lay scattered. And there he was.

The Person. The man with long hair, pure white eyes, and a face hidden behind dry blood.

Leon looked at him and screamed, "Save me! I don't want to die! I want to protect my sister! I want to see her live a peaceful life!"

The man said nothing at first. Then, his mouth slowly opened.

"Tvattah devah kah asti?"

Leon blinked. The question caught him off guard. 'What is a God to you?'

"God? I don't believe in one. Nothing ever happened in my life to make me believe."

The man spoke again.

"Devo'pi caritravikāsaṁ āvaśyakaṁ manyate."

(Even God needs character development.)

"What…?" Leon whispered in shock.

Then suddenly, he was back.

The creature had him in its claws, digging them deep into his body. Leon's eyes twitched from the pain.

He clenched his fists.

Why always me? Why do you fuckers always come for me and my family? I'm tired of it. I'm fucking annoyed! I want to grow stronger!

With that, Leon tore the creature's hand off and charged straight at it. He punched its leg, making it lose balance for a moment, then tore off its head.

But suddenly, a wave of dark energy burst out from the creature, sending Leon flying into the corridor wall.

The creature regenerated. Its head and legs grew back. It charged at Leon again.

"KYAAH!"

Its screech made Leon's head go blank from pain. He covered his ears.

It's too painful…!

He had lost the lead. The creature's claws were about to tear into his body. Its disgusting grin filled him with despair.

Suddenly,

"O Divine, True Goddess—

Majestic Queen of Strength and Courage,

Veiled Empress of Absolute Will,

Shield your faithful child from ruin,

And cast despair upon all evil.

Divine Art: Sacred Light of Judgment!"

A flash of golden light rained down from above. A heavenly lightning bolt struck the creature.

Its screech grew louder, but this time, it was in agony. Its body burned. Every second passed like torture until the creature finally vanished into nothing.

Leon collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. He looked up. The sky above had been torn open. Part of the hostel was melted from the blast, but Leon himself was unharmed.

"Are you safe, Leon?"

A familiar voice came from behind. Leon turned and saw Hiroshi, standing with the other HITs, all ready for battle. But the creature was already gone.

"Were you the one who cast that lightning? How?" Leon asked.

"It was a divine art," Hiroshi said. "I'll explain later. Are you okay?"

Leon stood up slowly. "I'm fine... but that hunter..."

He looked over at the blood-stained, headless body.

He died… so painfully. And I couldn't do anything.

Am I that useless?

A guy who can't protect anything…

It's been several months since I started training hard, but even after all that, I couldn't save a life I might've saved if I just tried. But I was scared—too scared. I even begged that… imagination of mine.

Leon dropped to his knees. His face darkened, and the world around him went completely silent.

Rain began to fall from the sky, slipping through the melted hole in the building. It poured down directly on Leon.

What did that man mean by "God needs character development"?

God is supposed to be a perfect being. Why would a God need something like character development? That's something humans need—something I need the most.

But I don't know anymore. I don't know what's happening with my life. Months have passed… years, even… and it doesn't feel like I've developed at all. I always stayed the same.

The only thing that's changed in my life… is the people around me.

A hand rested on Leon's shoulder.

"Don't think too hard about it. We couldn't have done anything, it was a berserker type," Hiroshi said from behind.

Leon's eyes widened.

"A berserker? What was that fucking disgusting creature?! That smirk… I remember it. It wasn't normal - it was something unnatural! I-I was scared as fuck! And even after it died… I could still feel it. That fucking thing is laughing at me!" he yelled.

"It was a berserker-type cursed entity," Hiroshi explained calmly. "A kind of cursed entity that lives to slaughter and torture people. That's all it wants."

Leon froze. It felt like the ground beneath his feet was slipping away.

Th-that thing… it was an entity. A real entity.

If entities are like that, then no. I can't stand in front of them. I won't. I don't want this.

I want to leave. I want to go far away from all of this. I don't want to become an entity hunter!