"Is danger approaching?"
Katsuhiko Yakushiji's temples bulged, and veins were faintly visible on his forehead, making him look as if he were suffering from some vascular disease.
However, in reality, this ability to sense approaching danger originated from demons.
Yes, Katsuhiko Yakushiji was a demon, albeit not of a very high lineage. Nevertheless, he had managed to evade countless dangers thanks to the traits of his race.
And now, he sensed danger drawing near once again.
Katsuhiko Yakushiji didn't have time to think too much. He quickly took out a disposable communication phone and dialled Ken Yakushiji's number:
"Ken, is the target you mentioned getting closer to me?"
"Yes, Uncle. He should arrive in about ten minutes."
Ken Yakushiji's tone was very respectful, causing no issues for Katsuhiko Yakushiji.
But Katsuhiko Yakushiji did not believe him, as the sense of crisis he felt was continuously growing.
'Is it because of the approach of the SDS member who took the Demon Heart?'
'It's possible. After all, the person who snatched it from Sharon would definitely instil a strong sense of crisis.'
'However, the task I assigned to Ken Yakushiji was to attract the opponent nearby while I observe in secret, deciding whether to launch a sneak attack.'
'So, was there a leak of the address?'
"You need to leave the arranged route immediately, without alarming anyone. Retreat according to the original plan. I will contact you at midnight. If I don't get in touch, act according to Plan B."
After quickly giving instructions to Ken Yakushiji, Katsuhiko Yakushiji hung up the phone and turned to look at the man on the bed.
"Was it you who did this?"
Katsuhiko Yakushiji glared sharply at the middle-aged man before him, stripped down to his white dress shirt after his outer clothes had been removed.
"What did I do?"
At that moment, Mr. Yukinoshita—who had been suppressing his discomfort for the sake of his wife and child, determined to play dead here—let out a confused sound.
'What was this old pervert with excessive foreplay up to now?'
Hearing this, a murderous glint flashed in Katsuhiko's eyes, but he quickly suppressed the urge to kill.
Because murder wouldn't solve his problem. The sense of crisis was growing increasingly palpable, and he couldn't afford to waste time.
The top priority now was to escape this stronghold.
'No—wait, I'm already surrounded.'
It was only then that Katsuhiko finally sensed human presences—close, numerous, making him feel encircled from all directions.
"A concealment technique? Or perhaps an Abyss Artefact of that type?"
"Impressive!" Katsuhiko gritted his teeth lightly, chuckling. "Seems the SDS has capable people!"
Completely baffled by his words, Mr. Yukinoshita stared blankly at the man fighting wits with thin air.
'What's wrong with this guy?'
But just as Mr. Yukinoshita was puzzling over this, Katsuhiko suddenly leapt off the bed, tore off his own clothes, picked up Mr. Yukinoshita's discarded suit from the floor, and put it on.
"What are you doing?"
Mr. Yukinoshita instinctively shouted. Then his pupils contracted as he watched Katsuhiko gradually transform into his exact likeness.
"How...?"
As shock gripped him, Mr. Yukinoshita suddenly realised something. Without a second thought for his clothes, he threw himself at the curtain-covered window beside him, smashing through the second-floor master bedroom's glass pane in a desperate bid for escape.
With a crash, the glass shattered as the man plummeted towards the lawn below.
Mr. Yukinoshita was no fool. If his opponent had taken his form, it clearly meant impersonation—and if successful, not only would his wife and child be in danger, but his own life would be forfeit too.
Faced with this situation, Mr. Yukinoshita chose to jump without hesitation.
A second-floor leap might kill him, but staying would mean more than just his death—it would enable Katsuhiko's scheme. So he chose the window, shattering Katsuhiko's plans in one decisive act.
"Damn it..."
Mr. Yukinoshita's sudden resolve made Katsuhiko's expression darken. He hadn't anticipated such courage from this man.
This ruined everything. His plan to assume the other's identity and use him as a decoy had clearly failed.
Fury at being thwarted by an insect and rage at his ruined scheme drove him to pursue the man immediately—but then, like lightning, instinct made him throw himself against the wall.
In that instant, the wardrobe exploded without warning, wood splinters flying as a brown haze billowed out.
Only afterwards came the distinctive crack of a sniper rifle.
Upon spotting someone leaping from the window, the sniper had immediately fired into the room.
Though shooting blind through rippling curtains, the pricking danger at his temples told Katsuhiko this was no ordinary marksman.
"Damn it!"
Katsuhiko Yakushiji had no time to worry about appearances. He rolled on the spot and, with a loud crash, used his formidable physical strength to burst through the door into the second-floor corridor.
Only then did a woman's scream echo from the first floor below. Clearly, the fallen Mr. Yukinoshita had been discovered by the mother and her two daughters in the living room.
Realising the presence of the three women downstairs, Katsuhiko's eyes gleamed with malice as he immediately prepared to rush down.
Yet at that very moment, alarm bells blared in his mind. He forcefully leapt towards the adjacent bedroom.
Simultaneously, five or six blade-like gashes abruptly appeared across the corridor's floor, doors and walls.
"Wind Art?"
The well-travelled Katsuhiko instantly identified the attack method and, from its application, deduced his assailant's affiliation.
"The Fuga Clan?"
"Did that dark web bounty bring them here?"
With no time to ponder further, Katsuhiko charged back into the corridor. Not out of foolishness, but because he was aware of Wind Art's weakness.
A Wind Adept's Wind Blades required dense compression of wind elements. While feasible outdoors, indoor usage would temporarily deplete the ambient wind elemental energy.
Though risking hypoxia, this meant the sorcerer couldn't launch another powerful assault in this room soon. Hence, Katsuhiko chose the stairs over following Mr. Yukinoshita's leap from the window.
Bursting onto the first floor, he saw the three women who'd opened the glass door to the garden, now clustered around the fallen Mr. Yukinoshita.
Suddenly, air currents swirled violently in the hall as several Wind Blades formed, though far slower than before.
Now alert to the Wind Adept's presence, Katsuhiko wouldn't give them another chance. Spotting the technique's vulnerability, he veered from the main exit towards a wall.
As he charged, his body grotesquely expanded - muscles bulging unnaturally, flesh darkening rapidly to deep violet. His chubby human head elongated into a slender demonic visage crowned with beetle-like horns.
He meant to endure the Wind Blades' slashes and smash through the wall to escape.
With a thunderous crash, Katsuhiko breached the wall into the garden. One mighty leap carried him over the three-metre iron fence onto the asphalt road beyond. His scanning eyes sought the pre-scouted sewer access.
But as he cleared the house, a voice blazing like wildfire rang out:
"Just as that man predicted... Now die, demon!"
"--Manifest, Flame Thunder Halberd!!"
Katsuhiko's pupils contracted violently at the sound. Instinct drove him to leap towards perceived safety.
Yet in that instant, ethereal chains of wind coiled around his entire body like invisible shackles.
'This strength... this speed... It's on a completely different level from the Wind Art just now!'
'Was he holding back earlier? I've been deceived!!'
Realising this, Katsuhiko Yakushiji immediately opened his mouth to unleash the Demon Technique, Profane Utterance, aiming to mentally assault his enemy and seize a chance for survival.
Yet before he could, the wind-forged blade seemed to foresee his move, piercing straight through his throat.
"Ghk!" Katsuhiko managed only a choked gasp as his pupils dilated abruptly.
'Too late?' Katsuhiko calmly assessed.
And then.
A flare of firelight expanded endlessly within his vision.
Before his cleaved body separated, Katsuhiko gazed serenely at the crimson-haired girl now within arm's reach:
'...The Kannagi family, and that hidden Wind Adept? I'll remember you both.'