Reincarnated in a Light Novel

Eclair slumped to the ground, his Omi reserves reduced to a mere trickle. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving with exhaustion. Wilson was down, and for a fleeting moment, Eclair felt a sense of safety.

"This kind of crap only happens to protagonists… Why is it happening to me?"

Eclair was certain that the demon fused with Wilson wasn't a higher-class demon, but a powerful middle-class one. 

If it had been a higher-class demon, he would've been dead long before now—or crippled at the very least, even if the demon was toying with him.

He forced himself to catch his breath, each inhale sharp and laboured. Thankfully, he wasn't poisoned, or he would've been finished much sooner. The thought of it sent a chill through him. Helpless prey…

Eventually, as the adrenaline began to wear off, a wince of pain twisted Eclair's face. His body ached, and he suspected some of his bones were broken. He struggled to his feet. Staying here, especially with the corpse of a possessed human nearby, wasn't wise.

Eclair didn't know what the pact conditions had been, but he knew that breaking them usually bred resentment. 

It was better to leave before something worse happened. He limped away, trying to distance himself from the corpse.

But then, Aura suddenly enveloped him. Instinctively, he summoned his own Aura, trying to shield himself. His teeth chattered with fear, the suffocating pressure of the malice pushing against him.

And then, Wilson stood.

Eclair's blood ran cold as he watched, frozen in horror. A portion of Wilson's head was missing, but his remaining eye twitched in every direction before locking onto Eclair with eerie, relentless focus.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Eclair's voice broke with panic as he scrambled back, but Wilson's aura kept him rooted in place, the oppressive weight of it choking his movement.

Wilson stumbled forward, his sense of balance askew. Despite this, the eels coiled around him, helping to stabilize his body. With each step, the dread in Eclair's soul deepened.

"Y-You…"

Wilson's voice was guttural, twisted as if his very being was being torn apart from within.

Eclair tried to move, tried to crawl away, but the malice pouring from Wilson's aura kept him still, like an invisible hand pressing him into the earth.

"If only this vessel was stronger…"

Wilson's eyes were pitch black now, his skull partially exposed with bubbling, rapidly healing flesh. Eclair had no Omi left. He was helpless.

With every slow, deliberate step Wilson took toward him, Eclair's dread grew, sinking into hopelessness. 'This is it,' Eclair screamed in his mind.

Then, just as Wilson stood above him, ready to strike, something unexpected happened. A small shark shot up from the ground, snapping its jaws onto Wilson's remaining head and ripping it clean off. 

The creature landed on the other side of the demon's body, its form sinking down the ground as if it were water and swam away.

"H-huh?" Eclair stared in stunned silence, his mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

***

She huddled beneath a tree, resting near a slope where she could crawl down and sleep comfortably.

Truth be told, she didn't like that boy. He had hurt her—hit her, made her bleed—and that was painful. The pain was something she hated.

Suddenly, flashes of the horrible man filled her mind, and tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't want to remember. It hurt, and she hated pain more than anything. She preferred to remember the times she spent swimming through the waters, hunting for her food. Those memories felt easier, gentler.

But even then, she couldn't fully block out what the boy had said. "I'll be back," he'd promised, with an apologetic look. Despite the pain he caused, she couldn't stop anticipating his return.

Her thoughts drifted to what food he might bring. That small grub he'd left behind had been surprisingly delicious. Her nose twitched, and the scent of something drew her out from under the tree.

She crawled forward, her heart racing. There, in the distance, she saw him—holding something. She felt a thrill of excitement. What food is it? Is it delicious?

But just as quickly, the excitement was smothered by a cold rush of dread. The man—the same one who brought pain—appeared out of nowhere. 

He was dripping with malice.

She instinctively shrank back, her body tense with fear. She watched as the bad man hurt the boy, forcing him to drop whatever he was holding.

"A-Ah…" she tried to make a sound, but fear stifled her words.

She watched, helpless, as the bad man continued to hurt the boy, and she could do nothing. She tried to approach, but instead, her eyes fell on a plastic Tupperware container.

She didn't know what it was, but the scent of the porridge inside made her pause, intrigued. She sniffed it, and the aroma pulled her in. Without thinking, she took a sip—and it was delicious.

For a moment, she forgot about the boy, lost in the taste of the food. But then, as she glanced back at him in the distance, something gnawed inside her, the desire to help returned. She wanted to be there for him, but she didn't know how.

She followed, hoping to do something, anything. But with the bad man so powerful, how could she intervene?

Then, she saw it—he had fallen. Half of the bad man's face was shredded. She felt relief flood through her, but also sadness because she had done nothingto help the boy.

 When she saw the boy struggling, she hesitated. Something within urged her to act, but she couldn't. After a moment, she shook her head, shrugging off the hesitation. She had to help him.

'He isn't a bad person' she thought

Just as she began to move toward him, the boy's face contorted in terror. She froze. Why won't he move? she wondered, until she saw it—The bad man was back on his feet.

She hoped silently for the boy to move, but he just trembled, unable to do anything. Why? she thought, but then stopped thinking altogether. The bad man was already standing before him.

A wave of memories came crashing over her—hands coming down from above, painful and relentless. She didn't think. She moved.

Her body morphed, shifting into the sleek, predatory form of a shark. In a single, swift motion, she launched herself at the bad man and, with a powerful snap, bit off his head.