Unveiling a disgusting smile (I)

"K-K-Kiyro?" Eve stuttered as she shook his shoulder violently. "I'm just seeing this r-r-ight?"

Flying in front of them was a giant black dragon with wings spread outward. Its ghastly body faded in and out like a ghost. The Dragon could only cause havoc using its voice; the electric sparks went off erratically on all electronics. Some even burst into flames.

People were screaming in horror at the commotion around them. They dropped phones; some were burned by it, and others panicked. Kiyro noticed in the crowds that people couldn't see the dragon ghost floating in the air.

"Can't people see that?!" Daulton shouted in disbelief, shaking his hand over his head. "I mean, a giant dragon is hovering in the air!"

"I don't think they can," Will murmured. He was staring up into the sky. His mouth opened and closed like a fish with a skeptical look. Is that even possible? Dragons? Here?"

"I don't know..." Kiyro replied. He had a hard time believing in what he saw through his Alive Gear. His hand reached up and pulled his Alive Gear down to the bridge of his nose, and he still saw the same Dragon hovering in the air. How was this possible? Was everything just an illusion, or was it real?

What confused him was how he could even get a Devil Quest. What action did he take even to initiate even one?

Devil Quest: Free the Black Dragon into the Realm of the Living

Blood sacrifice is needed to make the distortion between realms a reality, giving the Black Dragon a solid form. Kill twenty people to satisfy the Dragon's quench for blood. The evil black Dragon had been bidding since ancient times to come back into the world of the living. The thin layer of dimensional barrier is at its highest during Samhan, giving rise to the temporary opportunity for the dead to cross over and vice versa.

Quest Level: A

Reward: Ancient Dark Magic

Failure: Your life would be forfeit.

"You gotta be kidding me." Kiyro groaned. This was becoming the worst day of his life, and it was just starting.

"This is a joke, right?" Daulton came up next to him. His voice trembled. "Devil's quest?"

The people were crying out in terror. Fear-filled shots rang out; people were falling on the ground dead as blood pooled around them. Some were trampled to death by the people who were running away.

With a beep, the Alive Gear received a message.

Death Count: 3

Kiyro was amazed at what was happening before him. Even without him killing anyone, the death count was rising.

Death Count: 4

"Kiyro, this is not good. We need to stop this." Eve was shaking at the sight that was playing out before them.

"How? I mean, didn't you read the Quest failure?"

"I know, but this is wrong. The concert hall is chaotic, and if more death rises, I fear something worse will happen. Plus, this is my fault. I shouldn't have sung." Eve was filled with guilt. She clutched her chest and wheezed.

Complete chaos was being ensued out in public. The fire continued to burst throughout the area, causing large-scale fires onto equipment and buildings. The fire leaped and licked from one spot to another as if it were a living entity. Any nearby debris from above begins to fall on top of people, pinning them down onto the ground.

The black Dragon continued to roar ruthlessly without remorse, causing windows to shatter, electronics to burst, and even the lights to flicker chaotically. The power of the black Dragon was starting to grow stronger and stronger with each death.

Streetlights started to bust from the unearthly roar, and even the air shook in tremors. Kiyro could feel his hair rise on end, giving him a chill. Then, not even a moment later, the metal around the arena started to shake violently, metals began to groan, and finally twisted and crumbled downwards with a loud clang.

Kiyro dodged out of harm's way; heat smashed him in his face, and sweat started to flow, causing him to be on edge. Finally, they burst, jumped through the fires, and came out into the clearing away from the burning flames.

"Kiyro!" Will ran over, dodging the blast of fire that seemed to erupt around him. "We need to get out of here now!"

Death Count: 8

Daulton spoke with fear. "At this rate, we either die from failing the mission or become murderers."

"I don't think that's even half of it," said Kiyro. He wrinkled his nose, wondering what he should do next. But first, they needed to escape the massive mayhem playing out before them and plan what to do next.

Everyone bolted towards a wall that kept them safe from the chaos around them. Will, Tonia, Daulton, Eve, and Kiyro made it safely, hiding from the Dragon's raging fire. They gasped and coughed, trying to catch their breath. Even Kiyro could feel his heart thumping erratically in his throat; he searched around, tensed for others missing from the group.

"Where's Alex?" Eve glanced around, looking for Alex, but he was nowhere to be found.

"I thought I saw him escaping from the other side. He was helping with the magic show not too far away from here. But wait, is even everything happening out there even real? I mean, this is just a magic show, right, guys? Right?" Tonia asked with a shaky voice. Her finger reached up towards her mouth and she began to bite on her nails.

"I don't think this is all just a show anymore," Will spoke out loud to the group. "We all have an insane Quest putting our lives on the line. I don't know about you, but I'm not for murdering people."

"Yea, but do you believe this quest could kill us?" Tonia stopped biting her nails. She wiped her fingers on her pants as she grabbed her jeans.

"I don't think it's the quest that will kill us but the people who're behind the quest. Our supervisor Angel has been acting weird, and I believe he will push the button with a snap of his fingers. Haven't you heard? He's a cold-blooded killer."

"W-where did you get such information from? I mean, wasn't that just a rumor?"

"No, someone saw him kill one of the students in the back of the Academy. You know Johnny, the one that had the lowest ability out of all the students?"

Tonia slowly nodded.

"That's him."

With a gasp, Tonia held her breath in disbelief. "No way."

"Yes, way."

"Then how are we even supposed to stop this from even happening? I mean, even I'm not up for killing people when they have done nothing to us." Daulton spoke. "Do you have a solution?"

"That-"

Death Count: 16

"Did the death count just jump in numbers?!" Eve's voice went up into a shriek in disbelief. Her eyes became diluted, and her breath quickened. "Who's going around killing people?"

The others were reading the message in confusion. They, too, were wondering who was causing havoc in the middle of the night when a large number of people were present.

Death Count: 17

"We won't need to do anything at this rate." Daulton half-heartedly jokes.

"Still we'll become accomplices!" Eve hissed. "Right now, my conscience is against all this, and we're letting this all happen right in front of us!"

"Calm down Eve. It's not like we're making the killing."

"Still!" Eve was fuming at the loss of life before them, but they did not know what to do. They were in a life-and-death dilemma, and no one had a single answer.

Death Count: 18

Kiyro held his breath. He was stunned at how quickly people were dying and were not even sure how. No gunshots rang through the crowds except the soul-shaking screams could be heard.

Sneaking a glance out to see what was going on, Kiyro noticed that the ground was littered with dead bodies. Suddenly everything became silent, the wind stopped blowing, and even foul-smelling sulfur permuted the air. Then, an unholy ghastly scream shot outwards, causing them to freeze.

Off in the distance, Kiyro noticed a shadow dashing through the crowds. One of their groups was dashing toward a running pedestrian, trying to escape a man with a mask. With a downward slash, the sword cut through the body and into the heart. Blood spilled outwards, leaving a pool of red liquid on the floor.

Death Count: 19

"Kiyro! One of our own is killing them!" Eve shouted in alarm. "We got to stop whoever that is!"

Eve was about to run forward when Kiyro stopped her.