The warehouse loomed like a forgotten lung.
Concrete. Silent. Detached from the living rhythm of Amamura District.
Kouji adjusted his gloves. Yuusuke kept his hand near his side weapon. Akechi and Hanzo walked ahead of them in complete silence.
None of them spoke.
Ketsu had followed them in secret.
This was Ryo's Order before he was sent out, to an important Mission.
The structure wasn't marked on any Association map. No communication relay. No backup team.
Just coordinates.
But Akechi was with them, so it was safe.
"This place isn't empty," the Devil whispered.
They stepped inside.
The air was sterile — not dusty, not cold.
And waiting.
In the center of the warehouse stood three figures.
Human. Still. Watching.
They didn't speak. They didn't twitch. They just stared back.
Kouji felt it immediately — their aura. Strong. Stable. But warped. Artificial.
Demi-Humans. But not failed ones.
These were complete.
"You're early," one of them said.
The large doors creaked shut again — this time, not by accident.
Akechi walked in slowly, hands folded behind his back, coat unbuttoned, boots echoing lightly against the steel floor.
Hanzo stepped to the side, behind him, without a word.
Kouji's chest tightened.
Akechi stopped a few meters away, glancing at the Demi-Humans like an artist admiring statues.
Then his eyes settled on Kouji.
"I wanted to speak with you alone," he said gently. "But this works just as well."
Kouji didn't move. "What is this?"
Akechi raised his hands slightly.
"A story," he said.
"There was a researcher," Akechi began, "years ago. Brilliant. Isolated. Obsessed with the idea that Devils and humans weren't natural enemies — only misunderstood."
He paced slowly, voice even.
"He believed coexistence was possible. That one could give themselves to a Devil without corruption. Without madness. A balance."
He smiled faintly.
"I admired him. I studied his work. Even tried to reach him."
Kouji's breath was shallow. The Devil in his mind was still. Listening.
"And then," Akechi continued, "shortly after a certain boy joined the Hunters, I found something… fascinating."
He turned to Kouji.
"You. And your name."
Kouji's eyes widened.
Akechi's voice softened. "It was your father."
The silence dropped like a knife.
"The Association banned all Devil research after his discoveries. They claimed it was too dangerous — too unstable. And they were right, in some ways. It requires subjects. Volunteers. Human experiments."
Akechi tilted his head.
"And they never forgive rulebreakers. They had him executed."
Yuusuke's voice cracked the silence. "Shut up."
But Akechi ignored him.
"Still," he said, "he left behind his masterpiece."
He stared into Kouji's eyes.
"You. The only known being born with a Curse and a Blessing."
Kouji's fists clenched.
Akechi continued:
"Your Curse — Reconstruction. Your Devil's gift. Beautiful. Controlled. A rewrite of existence itself."
He took a step closer.
"And your Blessing — Analysis. Precise. Adaptive. Your father's Blessing, embedded in your bloodline."
Akechi's smile shifted — not mockery, not cruelty. Something deeper. Almost reverent.
"I knew it the moment I met you. I could feel it."
Kouji blinked, once. "How?"
Akechi's aura pulsed.
A deep, trembling vibration echoed through the warehouse.
"Because I carry one too."
He raised his hand — and behind him, the shadows moved.
A figure peeled out of the space, not separate from it — a presence cloaked in memory, in regret.
"The Devil of Past," Akechi said softly.
"Born by the fear of consequence."
From the rafters above, Ketsu landed, coat fluttering like a broken banner.
He didn't bother hiding anymore.
"Past Devil, huh?" he muttered.
Akechi turned toward him, unshaken.
"Welcome, Blood-Slave-Boy."
Ketsu flinched — barely. His jaw tensed, aura rippling faintly around his frame.
Yuusuke stepped beside Kouji, whispering: "This is real, right? We're not hallucinating?"
"No," Kouji muttered. "This is the truth."
Akechi turned away from them, walking toward the edge of the room.
"There was only one person who made this hard for me," he said.
He paused — then looked over his shoulder, calm as ever.
"Ryo."
Kouji's heart dropped.
Akechi smiled faintly.
"He was too good at sensing aura. Too cautious. Too pure."
He turned fully now, hands at his sides.
"But don't worry."
His eyes glinted.
"He won't be interfering anymore."