Tsukaima no Monogatari

First Soul - A Man with a Scythe (Part 1)

Escaping.

Escaping was the first thing I had in mind the moment I broke out from the hellish prison. Escaping from the fangs of the ferocious bloody Cerberus that chasing after me.

It has bared fangs that could tear anything it bites and it was huge enough to devour me.

Behind the huge creature were four hooded devils who summoned it along with several Hellhounds. They were the four prison guards that were instructed to catch the target -me.

Metal blades clashed as the chase continues. Despite being outnumbered, I desperately tried to avoid any more fights. That same moment, Cerberus has already launched a powerful beam towards me. I was caught off guard that I took a direct hit from it. I was strongly pushed back that made me fall in the bottomless pit.

Ignoring the loud beatings of my heart, I continue to move forward and hastily stretched my right arm in front of me. In my signal, my arm emitted luminous red lights which caused the cracks in the thin air that appeared.

<Void Walk> One of the abilities I was capable of by manipulating the dimensions. It is an ability that allows me to open a portal between spaces and use it to travel from one place to another, and more.

As the space cracked,I immediately jumped to it. A pitch black room with no windows or doors nornoise could be heard. All I could see was the dim light far away from me. Withoutfurther ado, I ran as fast as I could until I reached the end where bright lights welcomed me and was transported into another world. A world I once visited before.

I paused for a moment to grasp in my surroundings and got assured for my safety until loud roars echoed behind me. They were still after me. One after another, the Hellhounds came out of the still open portal. I was surrounded and left me no choice but to fight them all before they could completely got out of it.

With the comparison of our forces, I was totally at disadvantage. The Hellhounds gave me quite a fight until I saw a slight chance. I forcefully closed the portal as quickly as possible so that the remaining Hellhounds couldn‟t slip through it. With their sharp claws, they struggled to break free and so am I. It was like pulling rope at both ends, a tug-of-war.

Using the last bit of my strength, I overpowered them and completely closed the portal. Silence then filled the air.

"It‟s over."

The only thing I mumbled.

I am Shiki. A Grim Reaper [1] , an entity that collect the souls of the living.

But right now, I am afugitive from the Underworld. The latter was preparing for war against theHeavens‟ Sanctuary, known as Asgard. I detest the fact that the Underworld willinclude dominating the world of the humans to weaken the force of our swornenemy. I stood up against the plan and was directly sent to the dungeonswaiting to be punished. Thanks to my subordinates, I managed to escape.

Mentally unprepared, I stood blankly and didn‟t realize the place where I first landed. I stood on a high and concrete construction with a wide space. It was called a building, I think. From my location, I could see the other buildings and the ground full of cherry blossom trees.

"The human world huh? It‟s been a while." I murmured.

Of all the realms I‟ve gone, I never had imagined getting back to this one. A world where the humans reign. It felt very nostalgic. I am having my emotions mixed. I do not know what to do. Then I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.