Chương 40: Awakening of the Dough Demon: Mochi's Wrath unleashed!

Mochi lay on the ground, barely able to move. He looked up at Hogsthawts.

"Well... Doctor... what you went through must've been rough." He struggled to breathe.

"I apologize... on behalf of the Dough Demons for what you've been through..." Hogsthawts' expression twisted with rage. He stepped down onto Mochi's head. Mochi cried out in pain.

"AAAGHRHH!"

"You apologize?" Hogsthawts' voice shook with anger.

"YOU THINK A MEASLY APOLOGY WILL BRING MY LOVED ONES BACK?!" He pressed down harder.

"YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" Mochi groaned.

"Please... don't..."

"I DON'T WANT YOUR SHITTY APOLOGY!" Hogsthawts glared down at him.

"I WANT YOUR HEAD! THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT WILL MAKE ME EVEN SLIGHTLY SATISFIED!"

"Hogsthawts stop this!" Amelia shouted. Mochi struggled beneath his foot.

"Please... stop..." Hogsthawts' eyes burned with hatred.

"Oh, you want me to stop?" He pushed harder.

"DID YOUR PEOPLE STOP WHEN MY VILLAGERS WERE BEING SLAUGHTERED?!" Mochi cried out in more pain..

"NO!" Amelia desperately tried to stand.

"Mochi!" Her legs trembled beneath her as she collapsed back to the ground.. Ace forced himself up and rushed toward them.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Hogsthawts extended one hand.

"Stay out of this." A powerful shockwave blasted Ace backward.

"Ace!" Hogsthawts returned his attention to Mochi.

"This one will pay for the sins of his people." His foot lifted.

"With his life." Mochi's eyes slowly closed. Inside his mind, everything became silent. He stood before a wall of dark purple flames. Mochi stared into them.

"I promised..." His hands trembled.

"I promised I'd never use you again." The flames flickered. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I remember now..." His memories returned. The village. The screaming. The people running. And himself. Mochi lowered his head.

"I was part of that attack." His voice cracked.

"That's why the Doctor's name sounded so familiar." He clenched his fists.

"I've carried that guilt for years." He looked toward the flames.

"But I'm going to die if I don't use this power." He thought of Ace. Amelia. Thomas. Zeal. Everyone he'd come to care about.

"People I love are going to die..." Mochi slowly raised his hand.

"So if I lose control..." His fingers reached toward the darkness.

"... then so be it." He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." His hand disappeared into the dark flames. Back in reality, Hogsthawts raised his foot.

"NOW DIE!" He brought it down.

"Mochi!"

"Mochi!" At the last moment... Mochi caught Hogsthawts' foot with one hand. Silence. Hogsthawts' eyes widened.

"What the!?" Amelia stared in disbelief.

"He... caught it?" Ace's jaw dropped.

"With one hand?" Hogsthawts pushed down with everything he had.

"Die!"

"Die!!"

"DIE!!!" But Mochi didn't move. He slowly looked up. Then effortlessly threw Hogsthawts aside. Hogsthawts crashed into the ground and rolled several feet.

"What the...?" He pushed himself up.

"This isn't normal!" Mochi slowly stood. Dark purple and black magic surrounded his body. Amelia stared.

"Mochi..." Ace's expression hardened.

"That magic..." Mochi lifted his head. His horns had emerged from between his jaw and chin. A dark crimson scar stretched down the left side of his face. And his eyes... They were no longer blue. They were pitch black, surrounded by a scarlet hue. Amelia took a step back.

"That's..." Ace stared at him.

"He's completely different." Hogsthawts froze. His mind flashed back. Another Dough Demon. Donur... The exact same horns. The same scar. The same eyes. Hogsthawts' hands began trembling.

"No..." He clenched his fists.

"It can't be." His voice grew louder.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!" Mochi smiled. A cold, unfamiliar grin.

"Oh, but it is, Doctor." He tilted his head.

"Your worst nightmare... incarnate." Hogsthawts stared at him in disbelief. Mochi turned toward Ace and Amelia.

"I recommend you two flee." Amelia froze.

"What?" Mochi's grin widened.

"Because if you stay..." His eyes returned to Hogsthawts.

"... I can't guarantee you'll leave here alive." Ace stared at him.

"What's wrong with Mochi?" He glanced at Amelia.

"He's nothing like he was before." Ace clenched his jaw.

"Is this even the same person?" Mochi's dark aura intensified. Ace finally stood.

"Alright." He helped Amelia to her feet.

"We'll go." Amelia looked back at Mochi.

"Please... make sure you're safe." Mochi looked at her. His grin became unsettling.

"You should be more worried about the Doctor." He turned toward Hogsthawts.

"Because what I'm about to do to him..." He cracked his knuckles.

"... is going to be one hell of a bloodbath." Mochi laughed menacingly. Amelia's smile faded. She and Ace slowly retreated from the battlefield. Hogsthawts remained frozen, staring at Mochi. For the first time in years... He wasn't looking at a Dough Demon. He was looking at a ghost from his past. Hogsthawts suddenly began laughing.

"You know what?" His grin widened.

"I'm glad you're like this." Dark magic erupted around his body.

"Now I get to defeat you one-on-one!" Mochi stood silently. Hogsthawts raised his fists.

"Get ready, filthy demon!" His aura intensified.

"I'll eradicate every last one of you! Only humans will thrive on this planet!" He pointed toward Mochi.

"And I'll start with your kind!" His eyes burned with hatred.

"The worst of the worst!" Mochi laughed.

"Alright." He lowered himself into a fighting stance.

"If you're that confident..." His grin widened.

"Bring it." Hogsthawts vanished. He appeared directly in front of Mochi and drove his fist into his face. Mochi's head snapped backward. Hogsthawts grinned.

"Got you." Mochi slowly brought his head back into position. Then he chuckled.

"That's all?" Hogsthawts' smile disappeared. Mochi cocked his fist back.

"Then my turn." His fist slammed into Hogsthawts. The doctor was sent flying into the ground, carving a trench through the dirt before finally coming to a stop. Hogsthawts slowly pushed himself up.

"What... power..." He stared at Mochi.

"How..." His hands trembled.

"HOW ARE YOU SO POWERFUL?!" Mochi grinned.

"This is the true power of the Dough Demons, Doctor." He cracked his neck.

"You should've figured out who you were messing with before picking a fight with someone you know nothing about." Hogsthawts gritted his teeth.

"Damn you, son of a..." He raised his hand.

"Magic Skill: Eradicator Ray!" A massive beam erupted toward Mochi. Mochi calmly stepped aside, extending one arm. The beam tore straight through it. His arm was completely severed. Hogsthawts' eyes widened before he burst into laughter.

"HA!" He pointed at Mochi.

"YOUR ARM IS GONE!" He continued laughing.

"Next time, don't act so high and mighty boy!" Mochi suddenly started laughing too. Hogsthawts stopped.

"... What?" Mochi looked at his missing arm.

"You didn't know?" Dark energy gathered around the wound.

"I can do this." The flesh rapidly regenerated. Within moments, Mochi's arm had completely returned. Hogsthawts' face went pale.

"N-No way..." He stumbled backward.

"That's impossible!" His voice cracked.

"THIS ISN'T FAIR!" Mochi stared at him.

"It was never fair." His grin disappeared.

"You lost the moment you challenged me." Dark purple and black magic exploded outward from his body. The ground beneath his feet cracked. Hogsthawts instinctively stepped back. Mochi slowly raised his head.

"Now..." His eyes glowed with a scarlet hue.

"I'M GOING TO TAKE MY SWEET TIME MAKING YOU SUFFER!." Hogsthawts stared at him. For the first time... He wondered if he'd made a terrible mistake.