Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

All of their weapons pointed directly at the man standing in the middle of the chamber with his hands tied behind his back.

The queen didn't bother greeting her people, and her eyes settled on the human. For millenniums, humans had vanished from the world. Yet, in the last year, they had been popping up like insects.

Most of these humans were weak. They got captured and enslaved by setting up simple traps to attract them. Sometimes they fought back, but the result remained unchanged. The oni always won.

But this man had done something unthinkable. He had killed an Oni, and not just any Oni, he had killed her brother and she wanted to know how.

After all, till then, she hadn't viewed the humans as anything more than insects. But one had to think of a countermeasure once the insects get rowdy.

"Your Majesty—" an attendant called out, but the queen didn't stop.

She stepped forward, circling the man like a predator.

"Tell me, human," she said, "how did you kill my brother?"

"Did I kill someone?" The man shrugged casually. "If I did, it was probably a weakling. What's the point of talking about him?"

The room fell silent. The attendants were speechless while the guards gripped their weapons tighter. They looked at the queen for her reaction. But instead of getting enraged, the queen laughed.

"You're quite funny," she said. "What's your name?"

"YuWon," he answered.

"YuWon... it's a weird name," she tilted her head, smiling. "I'm Akari, in case you're wondering."

The Oni court shifted uneasily, confused by the queen's friendly interaction with this human. It was rare to see their queen so entertained, let alone by someone who had killed one of her own.

It seemed like someone had possessed the queen, and they were right. Akari wasn't acting of her own free will. YuWon had already sent a soul to latch onto hers, controlling her with no one's knowledge.

"Leave us," Akari ordered her people. "I want to talk to this... human, alone."

The attendants and guards exchanged worried glances, hesitant to obey. The thought of leaving their queen with a stranger felt out of place. Besides, if something happened to her, the royal bloodline would be in danger.

"Your Majesty," an attendant mumbled, "we should stay—"

"Now," Akari snapped.

The fierceness in her voice pushed them out of the room. No matter how worried they were about her and the bloodline, everyone loved their head more than anything.

As soon as they were alone, YuWon's posture yawned and turned towards Akira.

"Remove my restraints," he instructed her.

Without hesitation, Akari stepped forward and loosened the ropes that bound his wrists. YuWon rubbed his sore wrists, feeling the blood flow back into his hands.

Then he grabbed Akari, pulling her close and holding her as a hostage. As a queen, Akari had a strong mentality. [Soul Bind] could deactivate at any moment and YuWon wanted to have some precautions in place.

Alright, let's find Lysandra and get out of here.

But before he could take a step, Akari's lips curled into a sly smile as she grabbed his hand.

"Oh, do humans find Onis attractive?" she whispered.

Before YuWon could react, she threw him over her shoulder with ease before slamming him down onto the stone floor. YuWon hit the ground hard. He stared up in shock, realizing too late what had happened.

Akari straightened, brushing off her clothes, all the while staring at YuWon.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice your little trick?" she mocked him.

YuWon gritted his teeth and scrambled to his feet. Since Akari already knew, there was no point in pretending anymore.

Just then, she lunged at him, her claws aimed at his throat. YuWon drew his blades just in time to parry her strike. Sparks flew out as the two collided.

YuWon's muscles strained as he blocked her powerful blows. The thing about onis being strong wasn't a lie. Akari was indeed strong, but not strong enough to overpower him.

As Akari applied more pressure on him, YuWon subtly turned sideways, pushing Akari off balance. She fell, but not before grabbing YuWon's hand. The force pulled him down with her, his hand pressed to her throat.

Upon feeling his grip on her throat, Akari's reflex kicked in and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She locked YuWon in place and thought the force around his waist would force him to let go.

However, before that could happen, the chamber's door swung open and a wrinkled old Oni peeked in. However, his eyes widened at what he was seeing.

The human was on top of the queen, with her legs wrapped around his body. The old Oni's face went bright red, and his mouth fell open in shock as he realized why the queen wanted everyone to step out.

The old man quietly turned around and left the room in a hurry before either person could notice him.

Outside the room, a few other guards and attendants approached the old Oni. They had sent him in because they heard some noises but didn't want to charge in recklessly and get killed.

They expected something was off, but their worries melted away when they saw the old oni smile.

"The queen has found her match! The royal bloodline is secured."

Everyone sighed in relief, and some even hugged each other.

"Finally," someone mumbled, "we were starting to worry she'd never choose a mate."

"She turned down every strong Oni warrior who approached her." A dissatisfied oni spoke up. "But now she picks a human?"

"Who cares?" another one chimed in. "As long as we get an heir, that's all that matters."

Everyone nodded, and some even rushed towards the chef to have him prepare a feast. After all, the royal family was set to have an heir after 126 years. It was a joyous occasion!

Little did they know that YuWon and Akari were locked in a deadly fight, not wrestling to secure the royal bloodline as they assumed.