"It's me," someone answered from outside.
Yuichiro smiled. "Open the door. It must be Iron Pillar."
But sweat had already broken out on Muichiro's forehead. "No. That isn't Iron Pillar's voice."
"What?" Yuichiro froze. His younger brother turned, snatched a kitchen knife from the table—and before Yuichiro could react, a deafening crash rang out. A tremendous force smashed the door to pieces.
A figure stood outside, his skin ashen, two small horns jutting from his head. He grinned, his tongue hanging down to an unnatural length.
"So you recognized my voice." He scratched his head. "That was a mistake."
"It's a Demon!"
Yuichiro's face changed. He instinctively stepped in front of Muichiro. "Run, little brother!"
"Neither of you is going anywhere!"
As he spoke, his tongue lashed through the air like an iron whip, cracking as it shot toward Yuichiro's face. Yuichiro had no time to react. His vision blurred, and blood sprayed through the air. Somehow Muichiro had stepped in front of him and slashed. Blood dripped from the kitchen knife, while half a tongue writhed wildly on the floor.
"Muichiro... you..."
Yuichiro stared, speechless.
Battle
Muichiro was trembling!
He really had severed the tongue with the kitchen knife.
But that did not mean he wasn't afraid.
In that instant, he had had no choice. The slightest hesitation might have let his brother die before his eyes.
He could not let that happen, so he had struck without hesitation.
But now, as he stared at the Demon standing in the doorway, blood still dripping from his severed tongue, fear surged through him.
Though he stood in front of Yuichiro, he could not stop his hands and feet from shaking.
And tangled up in that fear was his dread of explaining himself to Yuichiro.
"Muichiro... you..."
Yuichiro's voice came out