"The school is burning". 

That's the first thing Kagehara thought as he tried to get on his feet.

His mind raced, trying to remember anything. He reached for the back of his head, only to discover his hand sticky with ugly and crimson blood.

He heard roars as his gaze wondered around. After half a year fighting his nightmarish instructor, he had learnt to quickly pick apart the important details.

The classroom was filled with debris and broken glasses. An arm tried to grasp the nothingness under a pile of rubble, the rest of the body buried under the concrete. The boy noticed the friendship bracelet on the pale hand. It was a friendly and kind classmate known as Juliana. She had tried to get him to socialize with the rest of the class a few times, but after a while she had given up. Now she was dead.

A few other bodies were scattered across the floor, dead due to the fragments or the impact that had destroyed the classroom. The entire wall that led to the playground was completely gone, a giant hole in its place.

The usual metallic cage had a large chunk broken, the steel bars bent outwards by the strength of the explosion. Through the gap, a giant silvery mass was getting through. The massive upper body, with tentacles as long as a skyscraper is tall had already gotten through, the tips of said tentacles covered in a light gray substance. The front part of the body held a horrifying face, with a gargantuant mouth, forced into a perpetual smile due to the million teeth that populated it, and two eyes, small and dark, which glared at its next meal.

Kagehara finally managed to get his mind to work. After so much sparring with his teacher he had gotten used to receiving strong blows, but this one had gotten him offguard.

-Hikari- he faintly whispered.

His eyes swiped the room across, frentically searching for his friend, as he frentically tried to find something that could be used as a weapon.

Another tentacle flew forwards the building, this time under at the lower classrooms, where the younger children studied. As soon as it contacted the wall, a burst of energy came out of the point of contact. The entire building shook due to the force of the explosion, and more fragments flew everywhere. This time, the boy managed to stay on his feet. A few meters away, a loose metallic table laid on the floor, dismembered away from the main body due to the initial burst of strength.

He dashed towards it, and quickly held it. The weight distribution was similar to the one handed swords he had practiced with. Where were the Amalgamation Hunters? The monster was slowly but surely getting closer, using the melted and torn apart tentacles that had already exploded to search for bodies to consume. One of the tipless tentacles, which bled a strange and dense silvery liquid, entered the classroom, and grabbed something from under a table, lifting an unconscious body.

Hikkari, bleeding from a hundred wounds and with a dried blood and clots in her beautiful straight hair, was hanging by her leg, held by the creature. "They will kill her" had the figure said, and now "they" were going to get what "they" wanted. And it was Kagehara's fault. He hadn't stopped getting close to her. For once he finally had a friend, and he obviously wasn't willing to lose her. Rage was filling him.

He had already suffered enough. He had died and revived every day, for half a year, fighting and fighting. He had learnt the way of the sword, the polearm, the spear, the axe, the bow. He had gotten stronger, faster, smarter. And all of that to now be unable to protect his only friend from just a monster? It was rage inducing. His enemy was just a silvery blob that blew its own limbs up as its main attack power. That minless squid wannabe wouldn't be the one to take her away from him.

He launched himself at the tentacle, wielding the table limb not in the cautious stand he had learnt, but only focused on that blow, breaking bones was the objective, the tentacle his only target. The improvised weapon connected with the tentacle, Kagehara putting all his body weight into the blow. The blunt metal cut through the soft tentacle, not a beautiful and clean cut, but tearing and breaking everything in its trajectory. 

Hikkari would have fallen back onto the floor, but the boy's arms were ready to hold her already.

Upon a closer look, the girl wasn't just hurt. Now that he had a clearer view, the wounds were all bleeding way too profusely, and looked so dirty and lethal. He had to look for help, fast. 

-Hey idiot, what if you buy me dinner first?- said the girl, her voice brittle and hoarse by the smoke. 

-As soon as you get better I will ok?- replied the boy. 

He didn't understand why, but tears were rolling down his cheeks, and falling on her face and tracing clear paths of cleanliness on her dirty skin. She would get better, he had received worse blows than that. Sure, it hurt like a lot, but he had died and...

He had died.

His heart sunk as the realization hit. 

Death in this world was permanent. 

She was dying.

He quickly gasped for air, as if he had been hit in the stomach by a baseball bat. Everything hurt, but not as in physical pain, but a much worse and unavoidable emotional pain. 

Another explosion made the entire school shiver, but he didn't care. His best friend was dying, all over again. At least this time he could get revenge. That didn't manage to make him feel any better at all.

-Hey, don't cry idiot, at least I didn't do it by myself- said Hikkari, also crying. She was clearly trying to act tough, but she was mortified. He knew because he had also died multiple times, but it'd be easier for her if he acted a fool.

-No one said you are going to die, stop talking nonsense- he tried his best to hold his tears, but it was too much. Kagehara pretended to examine the wounds. Broken glasses and pieces of concrete and wood were deeply stabbed into her abdomen and chest- this is annoying at best, you drama queen- he tried to smile, but the feelings were too strong.

-This is what you felt each night?- she asked suddenly, with a worried tone- Dying sucks.

-You are not dying. You are not going to die. I just need to think- he tried to reread mentally what he had learnt about anatomy. He hknew enough to realize that her lungs were punctured. She was losing way too much blood, and infections were definitely spreading everywhere.

-I'm not dumb Kag, I know that death so much it feels more like a memory. And right now I'm remembering everything I've talked about with you. You described me what death feels like, and finally I understand. I admire so much your strength. I wouldn't endure this if it wasn't because it won't last much longer- she added. 

A violent cough followed, so as to confirm it. The boy clearly observed blood droplets fly everywhere from the girls throat. Her usually sweet and calming voice was now more like the sound of broken glasses being dragged across the floor. His voice wasn't much better. Tears flowed now freely from both students' eyes.

-Hey Kag, can you remember my last words please?- she asked, sadness finally coming through on her voice. She was starting to shiver. He remembered the feeling of warmth leaving your body. The girl wouldn't last much longer.

-You know I hate it when you call me like that- he said, trying to add some humour to the tragedy. The tentacles were exploring the room, but somehow ignoring the both of them. Maybe because the creature had learnt from that limb to go first for the easy meal. Bodies were being dragged around around them.

-Listen to my last words idiot, they are important- she reprimanded him- what if I die before I can say them?

-Ok sorry, go for it m'lady- replied Kagehara, trying still to make her last moments a bit more pleasant. As if he didn't know how bad it hurt and how scared she definitely was.

-Kagehara, you massive idiot, I am deeply in love with you- she stated.

His throat closed, stopping any air from getting in. His lungs didn't want to work. He didn't deserve air. His heart sunk. She had fallen in love with him. Those were her last words.

It hurt so much. She liked him, obviously she did. He remembered all the times he had caught her staring at him distractedly, all of the "accidental" physical touch.  It now made sense.

It was too much. Her last words had been directed to him, to tell him how she felt.

And he couldn't say it back.

She noticed it on his facial expression, for sure, because a shadow passed in front of her eyes, darkening them even more.

-Don't worry, it's ok, it was a stupid thing to say anyways- she added, looking to a side.

-Hikkari... I...- he tried to think of something. She was dying, he could just had said it back, it wasn't that hard. She would never know. He felt horrible.

-You know what. I'm dying. I'm not going to make fake excuses. I do love you. You don't love me back and that's ok- her voice was getting dimmer, and breathing was getting harder and harder for her. Her chest spasmodically tried to absorb as much oxygen as possible- This sucks, I hate pain- she added, but her eyes met no smile, just a deeply worried facade- I won't change my last words now- now her heartbeat was definitely going slower, her brain was lacking oxygen- Kagehara- she grasped for air with a last effort- I love you.

And then she breathed out for the last time.

Her face looked at rest, the tears drew paths on the dust and smoke that rested on her cheeks, and one last smile, peaceful, rested on her visage. Her eyes stared at the nothingness, and Kagehara carefully closed them with his fingers. He stroked her hair one last time, and carefully placed her on the ground.

He didn't love her. He never had. But "they" finally showed their face. It was that monster. That was the encarnation of all the pain of the last months, of the fear, of Hikkari's death. 

He grasped the table leg tighter in his hand, his knuckles turning white due to the effort. Revenge. For Hikkari.

All the pain, all the anger, all the hate, the sadness, the feelings of uselesness. Everything was burning on him, making him faster, stronger. He was as big as the monster, he was the monster. He wanted death, he wanted destruction.

And then he turned off the flame.

He walked up to the hole in the wall, to confront the monster, calmly, silently.

A tentacle flew next to him, looking for another body to consume. 

With a single hit, the boy slashed it in half, the silvery blood spraying from the cut in the appendix. Another one flew, now towards him. 

He dodged to a side and with a downwards cut, severed a large chank, that fell heavily to the floor. 

The creature had managed to get through the hole in the metallic cage, and was slowly getting closer. Kagehara jumped down the building, directly at the Amalgamation's main body.

Holding the table leg with both hands, he aimed the point right between the thing's eyes. The monster looked upwards, its mouth full of teeth open to receive him gently into its stomach. 

The boy, still relaxed, breathed in the middle of the air, and as the darkness surrounded by teeth that was the creature's mouth got closer, he threw his weapon at it. That gave him enough thrust to bypass the mouth, and land on its body.

The creature screeched, in pain for the table leg, that had gone directly into its throat, and because of the boy on its back. The rest of the tentacles though, still were covered in that clear gray substance that exploded on contact.

The student knew what he had to do. 

He pulled on one of the tentacles, the one that looked the thinner, trying to pull it out of the creature's back. It was slimy and soft, but he didn't care. The boy made use of his feet to kick it at its base, which combined with his strength and the adrenaline of the jump and the fight, managed to pull it out, spraying more of that silvery liquid. 

The monster had been screeching louder and louder, but to Kagehara, they sounded really distant, as if everything was miles away. He then simply used the tentacle as a whip, to hit the creature.

The appendix flew, whistling in the air, and connected with its face. 

As soon as the substance of the tip touched the skin of its past owner, it exploded, sending bits of silvery meat and gray metallic blood everywhere. A final screech echoed through the streets, as the Amalgamation expired.

The tentacles went limp and collapsed into the floor all around the boy, opening craters and launching dirt and concrete everywhere.

He didn't care.

Nothing mattered anymore.

Kagehara slid on the monster's corpse to reach the ground, and walked up to the figure that awaited for him next to the massive metallic bars that still stood. He was wielding a golden arming sword, and a round shield that the boy knew very well.

-Hey, Kagehara, I was about to intervene- the trainer tried to excuse himself.

-She's dead. My emotional bond is gone master- is all the boy managed to say, covered in the metallic goo and holding still part of the appendix- I didn't manage to save her as I thought I would. It's my fault.

The nightmare's eyes looked at a side, with a tint of guilt and deep sadness.

-Listen. It's not your fault. You can't predict when an Amalgamation is going to attack. Specially such a strong one. No one knows where they even come from. And the hunter that was supposed to protect you all was taken by surprise, she was one of the first victims- he added.

Lies. The boy knew those were lies. He couldn't care less.

-Where is she? The hunter- he asked, his voice cutting as the sharpest knife and cold as an iceberg.

-We didn't retrieve her body- he said, with a quieted voice.

Lies too. They knew what had happened to her body perfectly well.

-You want to ask me something, I can see it in your eyes and gestures. What is it?- asked the boy. He was getting tired of the pointless conversation.

-I told you we would contact you. When you finally managed to beat me to a combat- he replied-You haven't died so many times for nothing. I want you to join our organization. You disappear from the map, we make sure you stay safe and well off. At least until the missions start- he explained, quickly and efficiently.

-What are the missions about?- he asked.

-You will be part of the elite division of Amalgamation Hunters- he replied.

He hadn't answered to his question, but he knew he wouldn't, at least not without lying.

-What if I say no?- he asked.

-Why would you?- he answered.

He was right. That was the plan all along. Anyone he cared about was dead or gone. So why wouldn't he go. It was the perfect opportunity to get revenge against the Amalgamations and to stop others from dying like Hikkari had. It truly was a perfect plan. Or it would be, if he hadn't realized that it was a crafted plan from the beginning. He knew it was all lies, that he wouldn't be protecting innocents.

He still didn't care.

-Good point. I will go with you- he agreed.

-You definitely made the right choice- stated the swordsman.

Lies.

But have your friends close, and your enemies even closer.

Revenge wouldn't be fulfilled until "they" were dead.

And "they" weren't the Amalgamations.

They were the true monsters.

He followed the nightmare, through a secondary alley, out of everyone's sight. A helicopter flew in the distance, probably to fight the monster, but Kagehara had been faster.

I don't love you back Hikkari. I'm sorry. But I still will give you the gift of revenge, as an apology.