“What do you mean, who? You’re basically him!”
The woman, Mio, marched towards him, never acknowledging the screams of his boyfriend.
“Oh, wait. On second look, your eyes are red, not blue. And you’re wearing a robe and not his signature military uniform.”
She casually touched his robe. “Wow! The material is so soft and smooth! I wish I could use this for my cosplays!”
“...”
Julius never blinked. His eyes were locked on the strange woman.
“MIO!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!! HELP ME—”
“Ugh, shut up. I’m trying to think here.” He waved his hand annoyedly at the man.
In the next moment, his mouth sewed shut again. Furthermore, instead of clawing his face, his hands had resorted to punching himself.
Painful, but not enough to make a mess.
He then turned his gaze back to the woman, who was now staring at him with starry eyes.
“Is that some form of mind control?! Like the one Lady Lavenzia used against the Colman army?!”
“...Woman, can you please slow down?”
She pouted. “I can’t! You literally look like a character from an anime, and not just some cheap cosplay! And you just used some kind of power to make Takuya do things!”
“And—”
Mio suddenly gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
Then, she shyly glanced at him, some of them occasionally landing on her boyfriend.
The sight of blood and peeled skin apparently didn’t faze her.
“A-Are you here to take me away from my boyfriend? Is it that kind of story?”
Julius blinked. Then, his grin slowly returned.
“...I’m glad we’re at least on the same page there.”
Her face began to flush at his words, and her hands timidly twirled her chestnut-brown hair.
“MFGHHHHGFH!!”
But her expression hardened at the next moment when she heard her “boyfriend’s” muffled scream.
At last, Mio’s gaze was fully focused on the man on the floor, his face swollen and skinned, his nose bleeding.
Footsteps echoed as she slowly approached the source of carnage.
“MHFHGHH!!! HMFHGHHMH!!”
Mio stopped in front of him, her eyes unreadable.
“Do you want me to stop?” Julius arrived beside her.
The woman didn’t answer immediately. The man kept trying to crawl towards her, but something always stopped him from coming closer.
“...No. He deserves this.”
She then knelt, her white nightgown drenched in the blood of his suffering.
“You heard me right, Takuya. You deserve this.”
The man’s eyes widened, as though her words punched him more than his own hands ever could.
“You’ve changed. You’re not the same person that I met back in fifth grade.”
“All you ever do now is lust over my body and brag about “conquering” me to your friends.” The disgust in her voice was apparent to everyone.
“MGHGHHHGFF!!”
She scoffed. “Don’t give me that look. You’d have to be brain-dead if you think I don’t know that you took my underwear several times a week.”
“If my parents weren't forcing this relationship, I would've left you years ago. But as long as I still depend on them... I didn't have a choice."
“But now,” she glanced up, looking at Julius’ entertained face. “I don’t have to do that anymore.”
“I don’t have to pretend to care about you anymore.”
She giggled derisively. “Though I must admit that my mask is slipping way too often nowadays, so you probably already know all about my real thoughts.”
“MNGHGHFGH—GHH!!”
The man's head snapped to the side as Mio's palm slapped him across his cheek.
“God, I always wanted to do that.” She flicked her hands, trying to get his blood off her palm.
Then, she braced her hand again, preparing to slap him on his other cheek.
But Julius was faster.
“Kyaa!!”
“Alright, that’s enough for now, you adorable woman.” He chuckled, carrying the flustered woman in his arms.
“A-Adorable?!”
Blood smudged her cheeks, yet the red was overpowered by her own blush.
He laughed. “You’re stealing my job. Though I understand why you would want to do that.”
Julius scanned the woman, her body curling up into a ball in his arms, her arms squishing her modest breasts.
Then, she pursed her lips, closing her eyes.
“...What are you doing?” His lips curled up in amusement.
Mio slowly opened one eye. “I-I thought you were going to kiss—mfh!”
His lips captured hers as he leaned down, savoring her soft lips.
“MNGHHGGJGHFHG!!” A voice screamed louder, yet it would never make him stop.
In fact, he went even further, his tongue invading her mouth, entangling with hers.
Mio’s hand began to creep to his chest, pulling his robe and the man closer, as her tongue timidly fought back.
The room was filled with the strange combination of anguished wails and the passionate sounds of two people locked in a kiss.
Finally, Julius pulled back, a string of saliva still connecting them.
The woman was left breathless, her eyes hazy.
“...That…was my first kiss…” She touched her lips, as though trying to replicate the sensation.
The man grinned, leaning down next to her ear.
“I know.” He whispered.
Her body shuddered, as Julius could feel her body temperature rising.
“Patience,” he hugged her body closer. “He doesn’t deserve to see your true beauty.”
Mio’s brows scrunched for a moment, but her eyes immediately widened when she realized what he was implying.
With her face fully red, she meekly nodded.
He smiled one last time at her before sparing a glance at the man who had lost all his voice.
His face was unrecognizable from the lack of skin and the red bruises that covered his expression.
“See? I told you I would make her fall madly in love.”
The man didn’t answer. His hands never stopped punching himself.
“Oh, right. You probably can’t see anymore. Or hear. Or feel anything.”
Julius nodded, and the man suddenly fell to the ground as he relinquished his control.
He lay there for a few seconds before painstakingly raising his head, facing him.
“You…monster…” he whispered.
Julius blinked. Then, in the next moment, his unnatural, monstrous grin returned.
“You’re the one who invited this monster.”
Right after, darkness began consuming his figure, enveloping him protectively.
But Julius didn’t disappear immediately.
He made sure that the last thing the man would ever see was the sight of the woman cradling his neck for security and his crimson eyes gleaming in amusement.
Only then did he disappear, leaving the room quiet, save for the soft splat of a lifeless body hitting the floor.