About ten minutes after Luo Guang left, several figures appeared near the ghoul's corpse.
They were all wearing raincoats, and the occasional flash of lightning revealed their faces. They were all young women, each with a different kind of beauty.
"President, it seems we were a step too late," one of the girls said. A few strands of black hair peeked out from under her raincoat hood. Her face had the soft features characteristic of East Asians. Her eyes were as clear and bright as a ray of morning light in a forest, and her skin was as fair as a newly bloomed flower petal, with a faint pink blush.
"It looks like it. And it's a clean cut. The wound is smooth and neat, so the killer must be a master with a sword," another girl said as she crouched down to carefully inspect the mangled corpse. The injuries, which would make an ordinary person gag, were as simple as flowers and plants to her.
"I wonder who did it?"
"It's unlikely to be the 'doves' from the human faction. They aren't very strong and usually operate in groups. After killing ghouls, they'd just secure the scene and wait for the cleanup crew to handle the bodies. So it could be an exorcist or a jujutsu sorcerer."
"Rias," the speaker, Akeno Himejima, said. "Weren't there some stray fallen angels sneaking in a while ago? Maybe it was a rogue exorcist they brought with them."
Akeno and the girl named Rias were both students at Kuoh Academy.
On the surface, they were ordinary high school girls, but in reality, they were devils concealing their identities.
Unlike the demons in TV shows and movies who feast on blood and guts, modern devils look exactly like humans and have formed a magical society and order that is far more advanced than that of mankind.
Devils, fallen angels, angels, and some human and other factions all hold power and co-exist in this world.
Kuoh City is part of the devils' territory, and it is ruled by Rias Gremory, the young heiress of the pure-blooded Gremory family.
Assisting her in managing the city were her "servants," whom she had gathered herself.
"The ghoul was chased here and killed. The perpetrator is very strong. The fight barely affected the surrounding environment," said Koneko Toujou, her face expressionless.
The white-haired girl, who had been crouched on the ground examining the corpse, was much more petite than both Akeno Himejima and Rias. She looked like a middle school student.
"There's no holy energy here, so it's probably not an exorcist," the only male present, Yuuto Kiba, said while scratching his head.
"Since we can't find the culprit, let's head back. At least from what we've gathered, the killer holds no ill will towards ordinary people," Rias said, standing up with a troubled expression.
In recent years, for some reason, the number of stray devils, ghouls, and exorcists had been increasing.
This didn't even include the evil spirits and cursed spirits that were born from humans.
The attacks that occurred every so often were starting to wear her out.
If it weren't for the help from the human faction, she and her servants wouldn't be able to manage such a large city.
Kuoh Academy, Occult Research Club.
This was the base of operations for Rias and her servants.
"Rias, regarding the ghoul that died earlier, I have a guess: we might know who the killer is," Akeno Himejima said as she dried her hair with a towel after her shower.
At that moment, an image of a person appeared in Rias' mind.
"Are you talking about the transfer student, Luo Guang?" Rias said, turning to look at her, her elegant red hair swaying gracefully.
Her waist-length scarlet hair stood in beautiful contrast to her fair skin.
Beneath her school skirt were a pair of pristine, beautiful legs without an ounce of excess fat or imperfection, showing the healthy traces of regular exercise.
At the mention of his name, Rias recalled the first time she had heard it, and her mood became complicated.
"Didn't Yuuto Kiba have a match against Luo Guang in the Kendo club back then? After about five or six rounds, Yuuto lost to him," Akeno said, her voice filled with admiration.
"Yuuto Kiba's swordsmanship is obvious for all to see, but he still lost."
"If it hadn't been for that match, I wouldn't have even known there was a person like him at this school."
"Rias, you wanted Koneko to recruit him and make him one of your servants back then. Do you remember what he said?" Akeno asked.
"Of course I do. 'How can a true man stoop to serving others?'"
When Rias first heard those words from Koneko, she was dumbfounded.
It was the first time she had ever been rejected like that.