Insanity [DEMO]

(official translation into English)

A deafening crash tore through the silence. The office door slammed open, and Maria Alexandrovna — the detective who had been missing — stood on the threshold.

Her arms, reduced to trembling stumps, barely hung at her sides. She was struggling to stay upright. Her breathing was erratic, her eyes burning with a feverish glare.

No one knew how she got here, how she made it across the entire city in that state. But it didn't matter. From this moment on, every second counted.

"I found out the truth about the disappearances!" Maria shouted, pushing her voice past its limits. It came out hoarse, barely intelligible — but filled with unwavering resolve.

"The Demon is alive!"

Xian and his deputy, Alan, froze for a second. But there was no time for panic or hesitation.

Why the woman had come straight to them, without letting anyone help her, was obvious.
Only the top brass knew what this was about.
Only they understood what the word Demon truly meant.

Maria took another step. She tried to speak again, but only coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the floor.

"Get a medic here, now!" Xian barked, already on his feet.

But it was too late.

With a sharp, deafening snap, thin metallic shards clamped around the woman's neck.
An unknown mechanism sliced through flesh with ease.
The detective's head hit the pale gray floor.

Staring at the spreading pool of crimson, the founder of the organization, the man known only as Xian, gave a cold, clear order:

"Prepare for combat."

     On the roof of an abandoned building stood the girl with red hair — the one responsible for the abductions and human experiments. An hour ago, maybe more, she'd failed to eliminate the persistent woman. The target had escaped.

Now the girl wondered: had the mechanism been triggered?
Or had the prisoner managed to tell them everything?

She didn't have to wonder for long.

Half an hour later, the building was completely surrounded.
The red-haired psychopath realized the escaped woman had managed to say the key words before dying.

"So be it," the girl rasped, hiding behind a crumbling wall of the ruined structure.

The blizzard had already frozen her hands numb, but using flame was out of the question — the soldiers would notice.

She stood still, listening to every sound.
Men in camo were sweeping the area inch by inch, moving carefully. They didn't even speak.

"Communicating with hand signals? Cowards," she thought, smirking.
"And I haven't even set a single trap."

The soldiers found the hole — the very one the brunette detective had fallen into not long ago.
The calm shattered. Chaos broke out. People started shouting over each other.

Then came the words that forced the girl to move:

"We've found a tunnel!"

The tunnel — or rather, an abandoned railway line — was the only exit from the catacombs.
Until today, those catacombs had been a hidden base for the red-haired girl and the Demon.

The only thing working in her favor was that the exit lay kilometers away from the ruined building.

Still, they had found it. And that could only mean one thing.

"No time left," the girl muttered — and bolted into the woods like a startled rabbit.

The soldiers nearby didn't hear her.
The storm howled loud enough to swallow her steps.

After the first kilometer, she started stumbling.
The girl was still afraid to use flame — what if they saw?
She didn't know what kind of tech the soldiers had.
And she still hadn't fully mastered her own element.

Patience ran out.
Her legs gave way halfway down the slope.
She fell, tumbling dozens of feet.

Then, thankfully, a familiar voice echoed in her mind:

"Get out."

The Demon's order was short and sharp.

The soldiers had already reached the key points underground — the lab and the torture chamber.

But they didn't know one thing: the leader was gone.

Everything was going according to plan.

     "— Nothing here either!" the soldier shouted.
The commander immediately contacted Alan.

— "Copy. It's clear."

Static hissed in the earpiece before a sharp, annoyed voice came through:
— "Your team was the last. The Demon isn't here. We're too late."

After a moment, the man asked:
— "Everyone killed?"

— "Affirmative," the commander replied instantly.

— "Get out of there, Xian."

— "Understood."

     Demon sat confidently on a disgusting throne made of failed metal alloys and weapons from past centuries — swords, axes, scythes, and spears. In front of him stood an equally grim table, crafted in the same style, and on it rested a chessboard. A king's figure was held between his charred long fingers. On the opposite side of the board sat the red-haired girl, staring at her master with wide, surprised eyes.

The monster's voice was calm but mocking as he asked,
"Miho, why do you think I didn't attack them just now?"

The girl flinched and blinked several times, confused. After a second, her voice came out uncertain and trembling:
"W-why not?"

"To give them false hope."

"What do you mean?"

Miku moved the king, ending the short game immediately. The answer came without delay, and Demon explained with a suspicious politeness:

"In our world, there is no magic or miracles for ordinary people. These insects spend whole days at work, and evenings in cozy beds. For them, nothing exists beyond the towering buildings surrounding them like a prison. But there is one organization, led by a descendant of the scientist who outsmarted me a hundred years ago, weakening me so much that I was forced to hide in darkness for many years."

The girl didn't understand where her master was going with this, but she listened patiently. Only during Demon's speeches did she behave politely and submissively.

"Before he died, a clever scientist left materials for his son, and he for his own son, and so on, a few generations down," Demon continued. "And now, in our days, we face an unofficial organization determined to end me once and for all... Today, I gave them the green light to start official experiments to create the ultimate weapon capable of killing me. Let them try to change society — then I will personally destroy all their efforts."

Demon rose slowly. The chessboard, with all its pieces, burned to ashes in that instant. The girl's eyes widened. Their leader had calculated every step in advance and didn't even bother to strain his vocal cords to explain the situation to his trusted protégé. But Miho, the red-haired girl, didn't resent him for this lazy omission. She smiled nervously, watching her master slowly leave the room.

His charred, far-from-perfect body held her gaze: enormous twisted horns, muscular but flawed form, countless scars and stitched lines... He could finally walk properly — which meant his strength was returning.