“Yamada! I am done here. It’s your turn!” Atsuku shouted loudly in the direction of the bush where Yamada had walked away earlier.

Abaddon was still stunned in its place. It was a poor Devil being objected to directly in front of Iblis. It couldn’t recover from its own fear, mainly because it recognized Atsuku now.

After knowing the Devil had its previous memories in Fantasia, Atsuku felt like he could deal with Abaddon rather quickly. He glared at Abaddon without moving a muscle, waiting for Yamada and Rio to return.

“You remember me too?” He asked the Devil, and the shadow returned a weak nod to him. “Good. Then if you don’t want to be killed again, assimilate with my friend. If you do that, I will help you get more strength and make your host strong.” He threatened the Devil with an evil grin.

‘Thankfully, it still remembers me too. It will make things easier.’

Yes, the shadow was apparently alive. They had memories of their journey with their host. Atsuku found out about it just earlier from Iblis. Even Devils would fear the man named John when they met him. Everyone, except for one person, feared the Depraved Hero.

In the past, in Fantasia, Atsuku was the one who killed Abaddon’s host. He tortured and killed its host gruesomely because its host betrayed him. That instilled fear and respect for the Devil.

Abaddon also knew that Atsuku was someone who would honor his promise, so it nodded its insect head once again, agreeing to his proposal.

Because the Devil still feared him, it wouldn’t do any good for Yamada. So he gave him reassurance, “Don’t worry. This time, my friend is a loyal one. He won’t betray me like he did.”

Rustle rustle

A few seconds after Atsuku called out to his friends; he heard a rustle coming from behind. He looked over his shoulder and saw Yamada and Rio walking toward him with wry smiles. He turned around and raised his hand slightly.

“Yo! It’s done. I got assimilated with Iblis already.” He smirked in victory, showing off to his friends.

“That’s fast… Are you okay?” Yamada asked Atsuku worriedly as he stopped in front of him.

Rio also stopped beside her brother. She looked at Atsuku worriedly with upturned eyes, “You okay, Atsuku? My brother told me what kind of thing stood behind me earlier. He said it was something scary... really scary.”

“It’s fine.” Atsuku smiled warmly at Rio, then turned to Yamada, pointing at the small shadows in his hand. “Also, give these three shadows to Abaddon already. It is willing to assimilate with you.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just do it.”

Yamada was a bit confused, but Atsuku pushed his body to get closer to Abaddon, so he couldn’t refuse. He believed in his friend, so he walked to Abaddon while scratching the back of his head.

Stopping in front of Abaddon, he extended his hand, which held the three small shadows.

“I’ve got a present for you,” Yamada said confidently. There was no fear in his eyes. It was gone after he saw the real scary thing earlier.

Iblis was way more frightening than Abaddon, who stood more than 3 meters tall. The small sphere scared him shitless; he even left his friend alone because he was scared.

Abaddon slowly extended its hand, which looked like a sickle, and took the shadows from Yamada’s hand, putting it in his body. Its four shadow wings went restless; it moved around and made a buzzing sound.

In the dark of the night, Abaddon looked like a monster that came from a story written by a certain person about dark creatures.

Atsuku looked at what happened in front of him calmly, with Rio standing beside him.

“My brother is going to be okay, no?” Rio asked, worried.

“It will be okay. I have threatened Abaddon so it won’t refuse.”

“You did what?!” Rio raised her voice, surprised.

“Just look. Abaddon is making its move.”

Abaddon’s body shivered. It raised its sickles above its head and began to move like it was dancing happily.

It then stopped and lowered its head slowly toward Yamada’s direction. It was easier than Atsuku initially thought because of Iblis’ presence.

Slowly, Yamada extended his hand. The corner of his lip lifted to a grin. Atsuku also smiled when he saw Abaddon lowering its head.

The stick and carrot he gave worked really well. Atsuku's threat and Yamada’s gift made Abaddon like Yamada more than him. A simple strategy, but always worked in wonder even to those who knew about it.

When Yamada’s hand made contact with Abaddon, a gust of wind hit the area around them for a second. The shadow that made Abaddon’s body slowly entered Yamada’s body through his pore and mouth.

It only lasted for 5 seconds, a bit longer than Rio but way faster than Atsuku. Yamada clenched his fists a few times in wonder as he looked back at Atsuku.

“That’s it?” He asked in disbelief. All of his fear and determination were gone instantly, as if blown away by the gust of wind from before. “I didn’t even get the chance to use my baby.” He said, slumping as he walked back to Atsuku and Rio.

The end result was underwhelming, but they were all safe and sound. None of them were injured, which was the best situation for the first and the longest trial. 

The countdown in the sky showed 1:26:31, meaning they only spent around 30 minutes to get their Devils. There was still a time before the crack in the sky disappeared and the Devils got scattered all over the world, hiding.

However…

“It’s not over yet.” Atsuku exclaimed as he looked at Yamada and Rio alternatively. “We need to deal with something else first.”

“Huh? What is it?” Yamada asked, a bit excited that the night wouldn’t end just like this.

“Another dangerous thing? Not that I mind, but I am a bit tired from this sudden situation.” Rio added, displeased. Her smile fell from her face and turned into a frown.

“To call it dangerous is not wrong. The town is in panic, so there is something that we can do right now for free.” Atsuku grinned, looking at the city which was hit by a panic attack of the citizens. “We need something to eat. Let’s rob a restaurant.”