In a high-end apartment near Ikebukuro, Nerima Ward.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang incessantly.
Mira Tsubakihara, dressed in casual wear, immediately walked out of the living room, changed into slippers in the entryway, and then approached the door, peering through the peephole at the corridor outside.
When she saw the black-haired, red-eyed figure standing outside, clad in a black short-sleeved shirt with a valiant demeanour, Mira instantly realised it was an employee from her jewellery shop visiting.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Mira promptly opened the door and addressed the sporty-looking girl outside:
"Thank you for your trouble, Tōka. Even though it's after work hours, you still came all this way to deliver something for me."
"No, it's nothing," replied Tōka Takanashi calmly, tilting her head. "Compared to how much you usually take care of me, delivering something by motorcycle is hardly anything."
As she spoke, Tōka nudged the cardboard box at her feet with her shoe and pointed to the neighbouring door:
"By the way, same as before—deliver to Room 302?"
"No, this time just leave it here, it's fine."
Mira stepped aside to make way, waving at Tōka:
"Could you help bring it inside? I've been overworking my arms lately and don't have much strength left to lift things."
"I don't mind at all," Tōka said, glancing at the men's slippers in the entryway with an utterly unfazed expression. "As long as you don't mind me asking whose shoes those are."
"Huh?"
Mira Tsubakihara glanced at Luo Shu's house slippers, pursing her lips immediately, her expression resembling that of someone who'd bitten into a sour plum. She began stammering incoherently:
"You know how it is, Tōka... Wearing high heels all the time makes my feet uncomfortable, so at home I usually wear men's slippers..."
"But Mira-nee, your home is next door, isn't it?"
Tōka Takanashi calmly pointed at the neighbouring door:
"I was there just last week. Did you move so quickly?"
"Ah... well... something like that." Mira Tsubakihara couldn't find the words; her usual composure when dealing with Luo Shu was completely absent.
"Fine, if Mira-nee doesn't want to explain, I won't pry."
Tōka Takanashi crouched down, picked up the box, and said to Mira:
"You don't mind if I borrow these slippers, do you? I can't be bothered to wait."
"Of course." Mira Tsubakihara stepped aside again.
This time, Tōka Takanashi easily entered the room, changed into Luo Shu's slippers, and carried the box into the living room.
Casually scanning the men's clothes hanging on the balcony - including freshly washed men's underwear - Tōka remarked expressionlessly:
"Where should I put this?"
"In the study... no, actually just leave it on the living room table."
Noticing Mira's sudden change of mind, Tōka glanced at the open study door and spotted an unusually spacious interior, complete with what looked like jeweller's workbenches.
Silently calculating the room dimensions and realising such space couldn't possibly exist within the apartment's layout, Tōka felt suspicious but ultimately didn't inquire further, simply calling out:
"I'll leave it here then. The watch parts and other items you requested are all in the box - remember to check them."
"Understood."
Mira Tsubakihara re-entered the room, having fetched spare slippers from next door to avoid future visitors needing to wear Luo Shu's footwear.
Seeing Tōka preparing to change shoes at the entrance, Mira asked in surprise:
"Are you in such a hurry to leave?"
Tōka laced up her trainers while replying:
"Yeah, got a useless little sister to look after. If I don't go back, she'll probably eat some nutritionless convenience food again."
"That sounds exhausting." Mira couldn't help but sympathise.
"It's nothing. I'm used to it."
Tōka stood up, tapped her toes against the entrance tiles, then added:
"Oh, Mira-nee, I've got culinary school tomorrow."
Mira immediately clasped her hands together: "Understood, I'll inform the jewellery shop manager. Thanks for your hard work!"
"Hmm..." Tōka nodded silently before adding: "If Mira-nee ever has kids, I could be their godmother... Never mind, forget I said that."
Mira blinked, smiling at Tōka with utterly guileless eyes.
Tōka turned away, exited the apartment, and muttered into the cold wind after closing the door:
"Fine, be like that. It's not like I bullied some kids in front of you or anything..."
With that, Tōka Takanashi shook her head and turned towards the elevator.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Mira Tsubakihara covered her flushed cheeks in embarrassment and muttered:
"That Tōka... calling me a child like that..."
She sighed and rubbed her warm cheeks before stepping into the living room, only to notice the study door had been left ajar, revealing the Astronomy Club's interior.
This immediately snapped Mira to attention:
"She... didn't notice, right? Tōka isn't the type to snoop around people's homes..."
Wondering how she'd explain this to Luo Shu later, Mira sighed again. She picked up the box on the table, took several deep breaths, then carried it into the Astronomy Club space, placing it on the workbench.
With a ripping sound.
Mira used a knife to slit open the box's seal. At that moment, a translucent white worm-like creature suddenly shot out from the opening.
Faced with this sudden anomaly, Mira didn't panic. Instead, she abruptly vanished from her spot and reappeared ten metres away.
"How?" The creature named Mapa stared blankly at Mira's sudden evasion, its worm-like back bearing a human face frozen in shock.
Meanwhile, Mira wore a complicated expression:
"So it's just as Luo Shu said... The Demon Warlock has been targeting my identity all along, keeping me as a resurrection vessel in case of failure?"
Taking a deep breath, she then asked:
"Should I call you Mapa... or Mind-Snatching Demon Miss Ishaha?"
Mapa—or rather Ishaha—displayed utter astonishment, clearly not expecting her identity to be exposed by Mira.
"By initially hiding your true female identity and operating through male hosts, then switching to a specially positioned female body if things went wrong, you could evade all pursuers' attention. Exactly as Luo Shu and Utaha predicted."
Hearing Mira explain her scheme, Ishaha realised her plan was thoroughly exposed. There was no chance left to seize Mira's body and continue pursuing the High-Rank Demon bloodline.
Worse still, she now found herself in enemy territory.
Realising this, Ishaha immediately raised her worm-like body. The female face on its back began chanting in demonic tongue:
"Noble Prince of Hell."
"Master of Forgotten Knowledge."
"Herald of Past and Future."
"Great Demon God Vassago!"
"I beseech your guidance, grant me the knowledge to escape this place."
At that instant, a vast will descended from the distant Abyss into the mortal realm, settling upon Ishaha.
It was a Hell Overlord, one of the 72 Pillar Demon Gods, the progenitor of Ishaha's bloodline, responding to its descendant's call through their connection.
Yet just as Ishaha prepared to receive this knowledge and gain an informational advantage—
The descending Vassago exhibited unmistakable surprise.
Through their prayer link, Ishaha shared her progenitor's wisdom in that moment:
—Her current location was a divine realm of an ancient deity.
—Her action was an attempt to possess the body of an ancient deity's chosen within their divine realm.
—The gaze of the ancient deity had already turned this way.
—The progenitor wanted to flee, but this thought was shattered the instant the ancient deity looked over, crushed by the divine will contained within that gaze.
—The progenitor Vassago angrily declared that her prayers would be permanently blocked.
At this moment, Ishaha, who received such news, was utterly dumbfounded.