Narrator POV
Isagi glanced sideways at the alley the student was leading him through. The place reeked of piled-up trash and stale moisture. He had already stepped in several puddles of filthy water reflecting the dim streetlights like shattered mirrors.
That made him frown slightly. The walls were stained, covered in graffiti and dark cracks. The garbage bags stacked along the sides seemed to shift with the wind… or with something else.
—Hey, kid, you sure this is the way? Feels like any second now some random thug's gonna pop out asking us for the time. —Isagi said suspiciously.
In his previous life, alleys only meant one thing.
The boy swallowed audibly. He was sweating, even though the air was cold. His fingers twisted nervously, as if trying to grab onto something that wasn't there. With a tense voice, he replied:
—Y-yes… it's this way, Mr. Devil Hunter.
He raised a trembling finger and pointed further ahead, where the alley narrowed even more and barely any light reached.
—(Suspicious… smells like a rat.) —Isagi thought, narrowing his eyes. He tilted his head slightly and spotted a small gray mouse nibbling on a piece of cheese near a torn garbage bag. —(Ah… that's why it smells like rat.)
His suspicion faded almost instantly. For a moment, he had considered the possibility that the student was plotting something—but no.
Just a rodent minding its business.
Still… jokes aside, Isagi did have doubts. How had the kid managed to escape a devil? The odds were simple. One of two things.
1. He had used his friend as a distraction.
2. He was insanely lucky.
Isagi didn't say it out loud, but his gaze turned a little colder as they kept walking. Because if the first option was true…
Then the devil wasn't the only thing he should be worried about.
Isagi stopped abruptly. His Danger Sense activated like an electric shock running down the back of his neck.
Without thinking, he spun around immediately and crossed his arms in an X in front of him, instinctively reinforcing them just as—
Boom!
An explosion—then a heavy impact echoed through the entire alley. The sound was brutal, like metal crashing into concrete, and a blast of compressed air expanded in all directions, lifting dust, papers, and garbage bags into the air for a few seconds.
The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly.
Isagi was pushed back several meters, his shoes scraping against the pavement until he stabilized himself. He made a faint click of annoyance as he slowly lowered his arms. The hit had been strong. And he hadn't reinforced his body with cursed energy in time.
In front of him, a figure straightened up heavily.
It stood at least two meters tall. Its silhouette was humanoid—but clearly not human. Its skin was dark like charcoal, cracked in several places, and from those fissures small flames flickered, releasing tiny sparks that drifted around its body.
A pair of curved horns protruded from its head. The air around it felt hot.
—Not bad… —Isagi said, lightly shaking his arms to get rid of the numbness. The impact still vibrated in his bones.
The devil, who had dropped from above to deliver the surprise punch, rose to its full imposing height.
—You managed to block it? You're not as weak as you look.
Its voice was deep and rough, like crackling embers. A slow smile formed on its face as black smoke slipped between its teeth. Its completely yellow eyes gleamed with an obvious hunger for battle… and destruction.
The alley, which had once seemed merely dirty and narrow, now felt like a trap snapping shut.
—And who the hell are you supposed to be? —Isagi asked calmly.
He let his arms fall to his sides, relaxing his posture as if he weren't standing before a two-meter-tall flaming threat. But the fingers of his right hand slowly drifted down until they brushed against the hilt of his katana.
When the student saw the devil standing there, he began sweating even more. His breathing turned irregular, nearly hyperventilating. His hands visibly trembled as he forced himself to step forward and speak.
—I-I brought a Devil Hunter like you asked… —he said, his voice cracking with fear—. Now give me back my friend!
The devil slowly turned its head toward him. Its smile faded slightly as it recognized the human it had allowed to escape earlier. Its expression no longer showed excitement…
Only boredom.
But it was no less cruel.
—Ah… right. —It tilted its head slightly.— Turns out I got bored, so I blew your friend up. It was entertaining… big and brief. —As it spoke, small sparks escaped from the burning cracks in its skin. Its yellow eyes gleamed with something sickening.— He screamed quite a bit… —it added with satisfaction.— I liked that part.
The student felt his world collapse.
—We had a deal! —he shouted, his voice shattered by desperation.
The devil smiled wider, openly savoring the boy's pain.
—You said it yourself… a deal. Not a contract. They're not the same, human. —It raised a finger in an almost pedagogical gesture.— I wasn't obligated to honor it.
Its grin widened further, revealing dark teeth with black smoke leaking between them.
—But don't worry… you'll be joining him very soon.
The student saw that look in its eyes. And something primitive activated inside him.
It wasn't bravery. It wasn't dignity.
It was pure survival instinct.
He turned without thinking and began running down the alley, nearly tripping over his own feet, trying to escape with what little hope he had left.
The devil didn't move. It simply chuckled under its breath. It raised one hand and casually pointed toward the boy's back.
It snapped its fingers.
A single, sharp sound.
And the student exploded.
The burst was instantaneous. For a second, the air filled with a grotesque rain of blood and fragments of flesh that splattered across the alley walls.
The echo of the snap seemed to last longer than the scream itself.
Silence. Isagi watched the scene without looking away.
—Brutal… And I think I'm going to get scolded for that death. —Isagi said calmly, brushing a small piece of flesh off his shoulder with his hand.
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End of the chapter.