A few moments prior.
The smile on Kyle’s face was gone, replaced by sheer terror as he looked at Seth. To anyone watching, it seemed genuine. Convincing, even.
But the tone that followed told a different story.
Light.
Almost... playful.
One only needed to hear it to understand what his real expression truly was.
"I say this out of goodwill, but you should be careful of your back. There’s a rat that is trying to make its way towards you. I’m... not so sure you’ll be able to handle it. That rat is quite strong."
He nudged towards the back of Seth.
What he meant, only they knew.
"...It shouldn’t be long now."
Dantalion spoke once more, leisurely turning his wrist to check his watch.
"Yes, not long."
He clenched his hand, then loosened it, before slowly lifting his head to look at Seth. For a brief second, he said nothing. Then the corner of his lips curled upward as he turned his gaze away, toward the distant Jester.
Seth didn’t move, his eyes never leaving Kyle.
And when Kyle finally spoke, the voice that came from his mouth was no longer the same as before.
"I’m sure you’re not happy about the current circumstances, right? You’ve failed your goal, and your ’host’ has given up on his body. It must be a terrible feeling..."
It was raspier...
"There’s no way for him to ever turn back into a human, and while he might be able to withstand the current onslaught of attacks, you know very well that it won’t be long until he dies. In such a situation, what are you going to do...?"
Kyle blinked repeatedly, each blink quicker than the last.
With every flutter of his eyelids, his expression shifted in subtle, unsettling ways. A small mouth briefly split open along the side of his cheek, only to fade moments later, replaced by a single eye that lingered for an instant before vanishing as well.
"Oops."
Covering his cheek, Kyle looked at Seth.
"It seems there’s less time than I expected. This body isn’t exactly ideal. At least, not compared to the one that I had chosen, but... I guess it’ll do for now. There’s plenty of time to create a new on—!"
Twitch!
Kyle’s face twitched violently. Flesh shifted with a sickening ripple as another mouth tore open at the top of his forehead, followed by a pair of eyes forcing their way out along the side of his left cheek.
The sight was enough to freeze the blood. It looked as though countless souls were trapped beneath his skin, writhing and pressing outward, desperate to escape.
Holding onto his face, Kyle cracked a smile as he looked at Seth.
"...It really does look like you’re running out of time, Mr. System. So...? What are you going to do? You don’t have many options."
Twitch!
Lips slowly formed at the top of Kyle’s forehead. They were faint, barely defined, but Seth could see them clearly enough.
They were pulled into a smile.
Almost as if it were mocking him.
No... it was mocking him.
There wasn’t much time left before Dantalion fully took over Kyle’s body. Once the demon succeeded, there would be no way to stop it. The only reason it hadn’t done anything until now was that it couldn’t.
The demon needed a proper vessel in order to fully exhibit its powers.
To make matters worse, if ’Seth’ made a move against Kyle now, the Jester would almost certainly respond. No matter how ’Seth’ played it, he’d be put at a disadvantage.
"Wouldn’t it be better if you joined me?"
Twitch! Twitch!
Kyle’s face twitched again, more features forcing their way out along the side of his skin.
The sight was deeply unsettling, and yet, nobody seemed to notice such changes. It was almost as if Seth was the only one capable of seeing and hearing the truth behind the mask he wore.
But amidst the changes, one thing remained the same.
That smile.
Kyle... or to be more precise, Dantalion never stopped smiling.
At least, that was until Seth moved.
".....?"
It all happened in an instant.
Swoosh—!
So fast and unexpected that not even Dantalion was able to register it.
SPURT!
"....."
"....."
By the time realization set in, all he could do was slowly lower his head. Blood streamed down his abdomen, a long knife buried deep into his body.
The smile that had lingered on his lips vanished at once.
In its place was something far rarer.
Surprise.
"You...?"
Seth’s gaze remained unmoved as his grip over the knife tightened, and he began to slowly twist the knife.
"——!"
There was an immediate reaction.
Despite this not being its body, it could still feel pain.
That was also the moment when the two felt changes coming from the surroundings.
"Kyle!!!"
A scream ripped through the surroundings, followed by several shadows as they headed in Seth’s direction. However, Seth remained completely indifferent to the changes around him as time slowed down for the two of them.
"Why can’t I...?"
Dantalion’s voice whispered a moment later.
Though he was surprised, he seemed more curious than surprised. Perhaps this was the reason why he had slowed time down using Kyle’s node, but looking closely, it became obvious that he was massively overdrawing that very same node.
Cra Crack—
He could already hear faint cracking sounds beginning to form. If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before Kyle’s node gave out entirely.
"Why can’t I... use my powers? Why... can’t I transfer away?"
Dantalion’s voice whispered in the air.
"What have you do—"
"Are you done speaking?"
"....?"
"It was never about stopping you," Seth replied, his gaze drifting briefly over their surroundings. "The real issue was finding you. And there’s something else you miscalculated as well."
Seth looked at Kyle up and down, his expression calm.
"...I have no attachment to the body you’ve taken. You should already understand by now that I am not human. I do not possess emotions. To me, the sacrifice of a human life in order to erase a demon is simply an acceptable exchange."
Seth’s grip on the knife tightened. Blood spilled more freely onto the ground, pooling beneath them as Kyle’s face drained of color. His expression warped further with each passing second, caught somewhere between pain, surprise, and something far more unnatural.
"Y-you..."
But regardless of what face he showed, Seth remained indifferent.
"Stop struggling. You’ve already wasted enough of my time."
Drip! Drip...!
Blood continued to pour as Kyle reached for the knife embedded in his abdomen with both hands, his twisted expression slowly softening as he gripped the hand still latched onto the blade.
But no matter how much strength he put into it, Seth didn’t move.
If anything, the blade sank deeper.
"——!!"
Dantalion’s expression faltered, the color draining from his face as his resistance weakened. His eyes widened, breath hitching as the pressure mounted.
For a brief moment, it almost looked like he was going to give in.
Like he was going to break.
But only for a moment.
"Just kidding~"
A playful smile spread across his face the very next second, the pallor on his face fading completely as he completely let go of Seth’s hand.
At the same time, time snapped back to its normal pace. A shadow passed over the two of them, and somewhere above, the soft jingling of bells echoed through the air.
Jingle~!
Seth didn’t need to look to understand what was happening, but instead of showing a reaction, he continued to pull the dagger deeper and deeper into Kyle’s body.
"You do anything, and I’ll kill him."
The words were enough to stop the shadow behind him, the sudden pause marked by the faint echo of jingling bells ringing out from the darkness.
Jingle~ Jingle~
In the meantime, Seth maintained his focus on Kyle as his brows furrowed slightly.
He could feel it.
The stares. The numerous stares that were directed at him. From the distant Paragons to Sylas, Zoey, Clara, and the numerous drones in the air.
He could feel them all.
And so did Kyle.
"Kh——!!"
Kyle’s expression twisted with pain, and as he slowly raised his head, the smile was gone, replaced by a sad and pained expression.
"S-seth..."
His voice cracked, his face turning paler. But this time, he didn’t look at Seth. He looked elsewhere.
Towards the shadow standing behind Seth.
Towards... the Jester.
"I-I’m dying."
(H-help me.)
Jingle~ Jingle~
A powerful breeze carried through the next second, causing the bells on the Jester’s head to jingle once more, even as its expression remained fixed on Kyle. In that very moment, its mask began to twitch.
It was faltering.
The demon could feel it.
"I... d-don’t know what... the t-wo of you are planning, but... I... I will.. try my best to stop... the two of you...! I.. know you two are... in it together. You are the ones.. responsible for all of this! You are—!!"
(S-seth... help me. It’s... me, Kyle. I... please, help me. I... d-don’t want to die like this. I d-don’t know what is going on, but please... help me. I know you’re in there. P-please help me—!!!)
Swooosh!
Kyle’s plea was cut short as the Jester lunged forward without warning!
BANG!
Long, clawed fingers slammed into his cheeks, gripping his face with terrifying force. The pressure was absolute, crushing, silencing him instantly.
Kyle’s face changed almost immediately, and even the indifferent ’Seth’ had a change in expression as the sudden turn of events took him completely off-guard. But before he even had the chance to properly react, something unexpected occurred.
Under the watch of everyone present, a sharp cracking sound echoed from the Jester’s grip.
Cra Crack! Cra Crack!
The sounds multiplied, sharp cracks piling atop one another, all coming from the same place.
Kyle’s body began to convulse violently under the Jester’s grip, jerking in unnatural spasms as if something inside him was being forced apart.
The sight was enough to make several faces go pale, expressions twisting as the realization of what they were witnessing slowly sank in.
Zoey’s face in particular paled as she stared at the scene in front of her in horror.
"Kyle!!!"
But before she could even move or react, a figure appeared behind her, holding her back.
"No, stay back."
"What do you mean, stay back!? Kyle! K-Kyle...!"
CRACK!
A loud cracking sound rang out without warning, sharp enough to make her freeze in place.
Then—
Thump!
A heavy impact followed as a body collapsed to the ground.