Chapter XI - Earthly Hell

Takayama, Japan

Minutes after awakening

Hell is the divine punishment in the afterlife, where evildoers in life get what they sowed. Abstractly or literally, hell is the materialization of pain and suffering, so is it possible to claim that "there is hell on earth"?

"Hell on Earth" was the only way to describe how the main building of the N.O.T Human was, completely enveloped in flames that transcended between different colors it was like a prism reflecting light, inside there were mutilated, incinerated, shattered bodies and any other possible method of killing a human being.

- No...No

A voice could be heard from one of the organization's research rooms, a person choking on his own blood as he tried to speak, sliding slowly from a blade across his chest that held him up. The blade was a sword with a serpent-shaped hand guard, the hand that held it was steady as the struggling body descended from the middle of the blade towards the ground, it was a woman with red hair ironically of the shade of the pool of blood that was about to fall, looking at her killer the woman began to cry, tears mixing with the blood that was splattered on her face.

- I never understood humans. - It was the voice of the one wielding the sword, looking at the body with contempt, for him that was not enough of an insect dirtying his sword. - I never understood anyone.

A penetrating gaze, cold and deep, it was as if he were an abstract creature standing looking at a grain of sand disappearing with the wind, the body fell suddenly into the pool of blood, making a sound that echoed through the building, the only noise possible to hear was the burning flames. The boy holding the sword stared at the scene without any reaction:

- When a human expresses tears, what does that mean? - Confused he stared at the dead woman's face.

A weak voice coming from the flaming rubble answered the boy's question:

- We cry when we are sad, angry or even happy. - Slowly he stood up amidst the many bodies, still showing signs of life.

- And what do these words mean? - The boy walked towards the voice.

- They are our feelings, brain reactions that cause some sensation according to the feeling expressed. - The voice was Noah's, who was already standing up, with a deep cut on his chest and some burns. - My sister would explain it better for you, after all she can handle their feelings better than I can handle mine.

- Sister?

Noah is stunned by the question:

- You really aren't human. - It was the only sentence Noah could think of to answer.

- You are also not completely human.

The boy's reptile eyes were fixed on Noah, his vision was thermal, but around Noah there was a different aura, something he could not explain.

- Now I could remember, Asura taught me about some feelings. - With the left hand that was free, the creature lifted it, and from it were born greenish flames with a platinum core. - He showed me that each color of flame has a meaning, for him and for humans.This one in my hand, is spirituality, he told me this: virtuousness and morality, these two break the line between good and evil and everything becomes relative.

With two fingers he touches his sword, and the flames transfer to the blade and rise with a green glow.

- After hearing such words, I have to ask, why do you kill?

- If I do not kill, there is no reason for me to exist. - The creature answers serenely, for that was its dogma.

With the answer Noah was convinced that it would not stop him just with words, both were getting closer with each sentence they said, now they were facing each other, Noah with a great electric tension wrapped around his body, while the creature had incandescent green flames.

Minutes before awakening

- Princess... Izumo is out of control.

Kushinada quickly changes her expression, her heart squeezes and is now overcome with despair:

- Noah stay here, I'll fix it.

Takeshi and Kushinada headed towards where Izumo was, while Noah stayed in place without knowing what was happening.

Some men tried to hold Izumo, but he screamed and screamed and screamed loudly, it seemed he was in immeasurable pain. Seeing the boy like that Kushinada immediately rushes to try to help him, but immediately she is stopped and pushed away by the doctors who were nearby:

- Izumo! - Kushinada tried to get the boy's attention.

When he hears her name, he notices that she was there, that's when he stops moving and shouting, his eyes are fixed on them and he enters in a kind of trance. Everyone around calms down, concluding that the boy was returning to normal, the princess calms down at the same moment that she finds Izumo's gaze strange, she wonders what was happening to him, until... the doctors around Izumo have their bodies instantly charred, and the boy's body combusts and becomes totally involved in incandescent flames that vary between six colors: black, platinum, gold, green, red and blue. Inside the fire Izumo's body changed, the tone of his hair began to change to white, but it wasn't like a color change process, the sensation was that his hair was dying, and the white was the inexorability that death is, which was taking over, swallowing the old color. His eyes became the eyes of reptiles, specifically serpents, his fingernails grew half an inch in a pointed shape, and finally his skin became pale.

The flames surrounding Izumo were finally extinguished, and the boy was without a scratch or burn, now with a serene expression he looked at the ground, everyone around him was scared and surprised, people had just been charred, everyone's natural reaction to panic, but Kushinada watched with eyes full of tears that evaporated before they could drain, by the heat that Izumo now exerted. The boy stood up and walked away, no one stood against him, everyone just opened their eyes to express fear, he walked calmly towards his room, Kushinada recovered from his shock and walked towards the boy:

- Izumo is that you? - The princess's voice was uncertain.

Some security guards ran toward the boy with firearms:

- Wait! - shouted Kushinada.

Before the men could say anything, they were being burned, with only Izumo pointing his left hand at them, he created reddish flames that spread from man to man, an alarm was triggered by scientists who witnessed the scene, the boy just ignores and continues his way, now they were in a corridor that gave access to three rooms, and one was his.

Noah trying to understand the situation was waiting in the room, when he hears an alarm telling everyone to evacuate the building, he thinks it's better to leave that room and go find Kushinada.

Izumo finally gets to where he wanted, under the bed there she was, the sword he was looking for, he picks it up and feels a great sensation, holds the sword taking it from the sheath, at the same moment his right arm (used to sheath the sword) begins to create scales of the same color as jade, they spread all over the right side of the chest, following to the face where they are concentrated around the right eye, at the same time releases a condensed explosion of flames setting fire to that entire wing of the building:

- How long... - Izumo said after releasing the sword from its sheath.

Noah was going down a staircase when he is suddenly caught by an explosion, he doesn't suffer much damage by the natural defense of his body, just some light burns, but the stairs are burned consequently he falls some floors below, when he ends up on a firm ground, he was with some debris on top of him that he removes easily, a little far away he sees Kushinada wounded full of burns, soon he shouts for her:

- Emi!

He quickly gets up to go in the direction of the princess, but a figure appears in front of her, so fast that Noah does not see the figure coming, again it moves in fractions of seconds, appearing in front of the boy, before he could speak the creature strikes using his sword, making a precise cut in the horizontal direction at the height of Noah's chest that then manifests itself in flames that generates another explosion that followed to the wing of the building not yet hit.

He or it, in the blink of an eye was again in front of Kushinada looking at her with contempt:

- You possess his blood, I can feel it. - he said, raising his sword.

- Izumo... - Weeping Kushinada tries to move even though she is wounded, approaching the creature to embrace it. - You can fight it, please come back!

The creature...