"Where do you think evil(惡) comes from? Not the kind from demons like us, but the evil within you humans."
"..."
Gravel tilted their head with a faint smile, letting the gesture serve as a response.
"A harsh environment? Chance? The will of a god? Some even call demons tempters and pin it all on us."
Kavnak paused, flashing a grin that revealed countless teeth, then answered their own question.
"The truth is, you humans come to us demons on your own. Let me give you a vivid example—the story of how I met my chef, who made these dishes. I'll keep it short; I'm not here to ramble on about nostalgic tales~ Heeheehee."
Kavnak spoke with a wide, toothy grin, accompanied by an eerie chuckle. With animated gestures, they picked up a red fruit and a piece of meat from the table with the tip of their claw and ate it.
"Gravel, as you can see, I love eating. But until a few years ago, before I met my exceptional chef, I was no different from a beast, mindlessly stuffing my belly..."
Kavnak's mouth was busy. While speaking, they chewed food and tilted entire plates into their maw, devouring the contents.
"So, I told that kid I'd give them everything I could offer. They were that good at cooking—worth every bit of it. I said if they wanted gold, I'd fill a room with it so they could swim in it. If they wanted someone dead, I'd cut off their head and lay it at their feet right then and there."
Kavnak's hands remained busy, shuttling plates of food toward their large mouth as they spoke.
"Guess what they said? Kishishishi."
Kavnak chuckled, recalling the memory, and glanced at Gravel to gauge their reaction. Gravel's gaze was cold, utterly unshaken for someone facing a demon.
"Power? Revenge? Gold? They said they didn't need any of that. Just the joy of killing people, cooking their flesh and entrails into the most delicious dishes—that was enough for them. Got it? Understand what I mean?"
"I see." Gravel replied.
As Kavnak tilted their head, eyes wide, practically begging for a reaction, Gravel reluctantly added a short acknowledgment to keep the conversation going.
"Isn't it a beautiful story? A human who loves cooking and a demon who loves eating. What a splendid meeting! Kihihihihi!"
Kavnak's voice slowed, almost poetic, before erupting into a cackling laugh that filled the room. The sound mingled with the clatter of a metal goblet, knocked to the floor by Kavnak's arm as they slapped their knee in amusement.
"I've heard your story." Gravel said.
"Right? A good one, wasn't it? I can't tell you more, though~ Dinner's over, and there's no more food to eat~."
Kavnak licked their teeth and lips with a long, thin tongue, addressing Gravel.
"Then, since we have no more stories to share... I'll eliminate you, Kavnak."
Gravel stood, picking up the sheathed sword from the table. Kavnak, wiping their sticky claws on a large, rolled-up cloth, tilted their head as if unable to believe Gravel's words. Slowly, they shifted their gaze from their fingertips to Gravel and spoke.
"Hmm. Since you're human... let me tell you about one of your many flaws."
"Go ahead," Gravel said, slowly drawing the Sword of East End from its sheath.
"You mortals waste your lives so recklessly. Unlike you humans, we demons live forever. But that comes with an anxiety you can't even imagine—the fear of ceasing to exist."
Kavnak stood, their knees straightening as their head nearly touched the high ceiling.
"Grgh... So, what was that you said earlier?"
Their thick torso, bloated from gorging, contrasted with their thin arms and legs, which bulged with muscle as they stepped toward Gravel. Lumps of flesh protruded from their shoulders and arms like grotesque tumors.
"How dare you! A mere nobody challenging me, Kavnak!"
With each step, the wooden floor creaked and splintered under Kavnak's weight.
"I'll obliterate you, Gravel! No, I'll kill you, cook you, and savor every bite! Graaah!"
Kavnak's hand, fingers curled like sharp hooks, lunged toward Gravel.
BOOM
Shattered chair fragments scattered across the room, bouncing off the walls in Kavnak's line of sight.
"Shihihi. You dodge well, Gravel. Good. You need to be this capable to even dare spout such nonsense!"
Gravel was nowhere to be seen in the spot Kavnak struck. Only broken chair pieces and a cracked wooden floor remained where their hand had landed.
"Not bad, Gravel!"
A long gash on the back of Kavnak's massive hand oozed sticky black blood.
"That's a fine sword! Hihihihi, it cut me! Hihihi!"
Licking the wound with their tongue, Kavnak addressed Gravel, who stood against one of the room's walls.
"It's my favorite sword." Gravel replied.
'Is this the sword... the one once wielded by Yoot, the Ghost of the Swamp?'
Gravel glanced at the blade in their hand. It was a crude, straight sword, forged without a guard, its dark blade shimmering like heat haze, exuding a white mist as if emanating from cold ice.
[Yoot Silas was the leader of the Ridas tribe, who once ruled the deep swamps at the edge of the continent. He long tormented Emperor Sen, the master of the Sword of East End.
When the emperor's army marched to conquer the last of the seven kingdoms—the swamp-dwellers' land—Yoot's forces were the first to meet the invaders in the sacred marsh.
Yoot, who had united over fifty scattered tribes and their chieftains to become the King of the Swamp, led an army armed with slings, poisoned arrows, and wooden spears. Though simple, it was enough to harass the emperor's forces.
Venomous insects, snakes, and the swamp's beasts plagued the foreign invaders, while thick fog blinded them, obscuring their vision.
For years, Yoot's legion tormented the emperor's army, striking from the sea of mist. But a crisis eventually struck.
Betrayal from within. Chieftains, seduced by the dazzling world beyond the swamp, turned against Yoot, selling themselves for gold and jewels.
Emperor Sen's strategy was cunning. Unable to pierce Yoot's fog, he blinded the chieftains with the brilliance of civilization and glittering wealth.
Yoot's army, united to defend their land, succumbed to the poison of betrayal and slowly crumbled.
Cornered, Yoot faced a doomed future. In a final attempt to twist fate's arrow, he sacrificed everything, transforming his body into a wisp of pale mist to assassinate the emperor. But even this failed, leaving behind only a roughly forged black blade—his final trace in the world.
Thus, he earned the name Yoot, Ghost of the Swamp, the guardian who became an assassin of the mist, haunting Emperor Sen's dreams for years. ]
Now, that same sword, wielded by Gravel, was aimed at Kavnak.
"Graaavel. How long can you dodge and run in this tiny room~? Hihihit."
With a piercing, eerie laugh, Kavnak raised their arms high and swung them down at Gravel.
Gravel, with a faint smile, stood motionless, staring at the massive hands that filled their vision.
BOOM
Another deafening crash. Kavnak's attack left a gaping hole in the wooden floor and wall, not unlike the previous strike. But this time, Kavnak's wide eyes caught Gravel's smug smile.
"I saw my claws pierce your forehead..."
Their eyes saw it, but their hands felt nothing—a strange, unsettling sensation. Shaking their hands as if to dispel the unease, Kavnak searched for Gravel.
"When did all this fog fill the room? Did it come through the hole in the wall?"
The room was now thick with fog, obscuring everything below the table.
"Did you challenge me just to pull some cheap trick, Gravel?!"
Enraged, Kavnak roared, grabbing the long table with one hand and hurling it at the wall. The sound of shattering plates echoed, followed by the table crashing and vanishing into the fog on the floor.
"This room's too small to test my sword. Let's take this outside."
Gravel's voice rang out, its source unclear—near or far?
Reacting to the voice, Kavnak's murderous eyes darted around, searching for Gravel.
"There you are!"