"Oh dear, will I make it? There are so many things to do, and so little time. What to do? What to do?"
Such were the helpless murmurs of a single, ordinary woman as she walked through the crowded streets of Kyoto.
The woman in question went by the name Aoiro. She pushed her newborn son along in a stroller while balancing several grocery bags in her arms. Normally, a woman who had recently given birth would be advised to rest, but following such advice would only lead her to ruin.
There was no one else to should Ier her burdens.
The supposed father of the child, the man she had been seeing at the time, was the adventurous sort. The kind who enjoyed drifting from one woman to another. Aoiro had simply been one of many.
…No, in truth, she had only herself to blame.
Her friends had warned her repeatedly that the man was no good, yet she had stubbornly refused to listen. In the end, just like any irresponsible wanderer, he disappeared the moment he learned of her pregnancy.
Worse still, the only person she truly considered family, her mother, had recently passed away. As for her remaining relatives, they made no effort to hide their desire to have nothing to do with her.
And so, she was left to handle everything on her own.
Was it unfair? Yes.
Was it her fault? Definitely.
In the end, she was merely paying the consequences of her own choices. Not once did she regret giving birth to what she held as her most precious treasure, but the reality of being a single mother was harsh. There were nights when the weight of it all became too much, when she could do nothing but cry herself to sleep.
Aoiro let out a quiet sigh.
A soft sound reached her ears.
"Mm… ah…"
Aoiro blinked and looked down at the stroller. Her son's small face had scrunched up, tiny fists waving in the air as if he were fighting an invisible enemy. His dark eyes fluttered open, unfocused yet curious, searching the world above him.
"Oh?" Aoiro's lips curved faintly. "Did you wake up already?"
She adjusted her grip on the grocery bags and leaned closer, lowering her voice. "You know, you picked a very bad time. Your mother is very busy right now."
The baby answered with a weak gurgle.
"…Is that so?" she replied gently, as if she truly understood him. "You're saying you don't care?"
Another gurgle followed, accompanied by a clumsy kick of his legs.
Aoiro couldn't help herself. A small laugh slipped out before she could stop it. "You really are troublesome. Just like someone else I know."
She reached out and brushed a finger against his cheek. His skin was warm, impossibly soft. At her touch, his expression relaxed, and his mouth curved into something that almost resembled a smile.
"There, there. If you grow up healthy, that's more than enough for me. I don't need anything else."
For a brief moment, the noise of the city faded. The crowd, the weight in her arms, the worries gnawing at her chest all felt distant. There was only the quiet rhythm of the stroller's wheels and the gentle rise and fall of her son's breathing.
"…See? We're doing fine. Somehow. I know! How about I get you your favourite… your favourite…"
Her voice trailed off.
It looked as though Aoiro had simply forgotten what she was about to say, and her child, sensing the pause, frowned faintly in displeasure.
However, the reason she stopped was not forgetfulness.
She had noticed something was not quite right.
Aoiro lifted her gaze to the electronic billboard mounted on the side of a department store. 8:00 PM. It was far too early for the city to be asleep, and yet an unnatural silence had settled over the area, like the stillness of a forest at midnight. The air itself felt out of place.
…Come to think of it, I haven't seen anyone since a while ago. With that uneasy thought lingering in her mind, Aoiro continued forward, pushing the stroller in front of her.
When she reached a major road, three lanes stretching in both directions, the vague discomfort twisted into an undeniable sense that something was blatantly wrong.
No one was there.
No pedestrians entered or exited the massive department stores lining the road, arranged neatly like drinks on a convenience store rack. The footpath, once uncomfortably narrow, now felt grotesquely wide. Not a single car traveled along the runway-like road, and every vehicle parked along the curb sat empty, as though abandoned in haste.
It was as if everyone who had been walking this road had vanished from the face of the Earth.
What is this… Aoiro couldn't make sense of it. The sensation of stepping into a place governed by rules she did not understand tightened around her chest. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.
"Do not be afraid."
A soft, masculine voice echoed from all directions, slipping directly into her mind.
A figure stood in the center of the road, roughly fifteen meters ahead, cutting off her path.
"Huh?"
She blinked.
She hadn't noticed him at all. It wasn't a matter of poor lighting or inattention. An instant ago, there had been no one there. Then, in the brief span of a single blink, the stranger had appeared.
"I can understand that expression you're making, but there's really no need to be afraid," the man said lightly then continued. "A colleague of mine made use of an Opila rune for a people-clearing field. In short, everyone around this area has had their focus subtly diverted so they avoid coming here for whatever reason. Most are probably inside the buildings, so no need to worry. Okay?"
His tone was casual, almost soothing. Under different circumstances, it might have been charming.
Right now, it was anything but.
An unknown man appearing out of nowhere was bad enough. The unfamiliar terminology he used only deepened the sense of unease curling in her stomach.
No, it wasn't that complicated.
Aoiro simply understood, on an instinctive level, that the man standing before her was dangerous.
He was tall, about one hundred and ninety centimeters, towering over the average Japanese man. Despite that, his face appeared younger than Aoiro's.
His age was likely around twenty-three or twenty-four. His height suggested foreign blood, yet his facial features were unmistakably Japanese. He wore a loose white jacket, left unbuttoned, revealing a black turtleneck beneath, paired with black pants and white sneakers.
Standing upwind or not, Aoiro could smell the horribly sweet perfume clinging to him even from over fifteen meters away. It was almost suffocating. His shoulder-length hair was black, but not the kind she was familiar with. Some claimed true black hair didn't exist, that it was merely dark brown. This man's hair, however, was a deep, absolute black, as though dipped in ink. In contrast, his eyes were grey, an unsettling combination. A lollipop stick bobbed between his lips as he idly licked it, and a dragon-like tattoo curled along the lower left side of his neck.
His clothing along with the stype was clean, yet his overall presence felt rough and unruly. It was not the appearance of a good man.
But Aoiro's attention drifted to what he carried on his back.
At first glance, the case resembled one meant for a guitar. Yet it was too narrow and its shape wrong. It looked more like the kind of case experts used to transport a sword across long distances. Even more ominous, the case emanated a chilling bloodlust as if silently declaring its intent to "cut" the enemy.
"…!"
That was when she realized it.
He was carrying a weapon.
The fact that he could do so without drawing attention from anyone, police included, sent a jolt of fear through her. The blade itself was hidden within its scabbard, but the unique black casing looked ancient, weathered like the pillars of an old Japanese building.
There was no doubt about it.
That sword was real.
Perhaps noticing the tension on her face, the young man tilted his head this way and that, studying her with mild curiosity.
"Hm? Hm… hm… hm. What's with that look? Do you think I'm here to hurt you?" The lollipop in the corner of his mouth bobbed as he spoke. "I must say, ma'am, you're really funny. Thinking I'm the dangerous one when you're the one carrying something far more concerning. I don't know if I should laugh or cry."
Aoiro frowned. "Dangerous? What are you talking about?"
"You don't know?" he said, almost amused. "Oh, right. I keep forgetting that ordinary people don't have access to this kind of information."
He scratched the back of his head with a casual air before continuing. "Tell me, have you ever heard the term Devil?"
"What? Devil? You mean Akumu?"
"Hm. I suppose you can call them that. In simple terms, thousands of years ago, the material plane and all the heavenly ones used to be part of a single structure known as the «Sefiath Tree.» At some point, those planes split apart for reasons unknown. Some time later, a nasty son of a gun tried to join the realms back together. Naturally, he failed spectacularly, I might add. None of His remains have ever been found, except for two fragments. But his little minions? They still crawl their way into this world now and then, hurting people like you in the process. That's why certain individuals exist, those capable of tracking, fighting, and killing these creatures."
He paused briefly, his expression shifting into something colder.
"My codename is Night Eater, but you can call me Shiki."
The man reached behind him, gripping the hilt of the weapon within its case. With a fluid motion, he drew the katana free. Its polished blade gleamed faintly under the dim streetlights, reflecting the emptiness around them.
A cruel smile curved across his lips.
"I'm one of those hunters. An executioner of devils."
"…!!"
It happened faster than the eye could follow.
The moment the katana left its sheath, the young man completely vanished from Aoiro's sight. There was no blur, nor afterimage. One instant he stood fifteen meters away, and the next, he appeared directly in front of her. Before Aoiro could even blink, the katana came down in a merciless arc, the air itself splitting apart with a shrill scream.
Strangely, the blade was not aimed at her.
It was aimed at the stroller.
"No—!"
The cry tore itself from her throat.
Helpless, Aoiro could only watch as the stroller was cleaved apart like tofu, metal and fabric shredded in an instant. Her mind went blank, bracing for the sight of blood, for the unthinkable.
But the crimson she expected never came.
Instead, something burst outward.
A blue, translucent mass erupted from within the stroller, its surface rippling like gel. From its body, a scythe-like limb shot forth, curving unnaturally as it swung toward both of them in a single, lethal sweep.
Shiki clicked his tongue.
"Troublesome."
He twisted his wrist, the katana flashing as he redirected the swing. Steel met the gelatinous limb with a sharp, ringing impact that sent ripples racing across the creature's blue surface. The force of the collision split the road beneath them with cracks spiderwebbing outward.
Aoiro stumbled back, her legs nearly giving out.
"My baby…!"
"Not quite," Shiki said without looking at her. "But I can tell you it's certainly ugly. The little bastard hid itself well."
The blue mass recoiled with its form wobbling violently. What had once looked amorphous now began to take shape. Veins of darker blue pulsed beneath its translucent surface, and several more scythe-like limbs unfolded from its core, each one dripping viscous fluid that hissed where it touched the asphalt.
A shrill, inhuman cry pierced the air.
Aoiro clamped her hands over her ears, but the sound crawled into her skull anyway, filled with malice and hunger.
"That's a parasite-type lesser devil. Their strength isn't all that but their concealment is more advanced for its rank. Unfortunately, like any other lesser devil, its intelligence is low and can only possess things like newborns to pass off among the human race. Additionally, they're absolutely disgusting."
The creature lunged again, its limbs striking in erratic, overlapping arcs.
Shiki stepped forward instead of back.
His movements were calm, almost lazy, yet impossibly precise. The katana traced clean lines through the air, each swing severing a limb with surgical accuracy. Blue fluid sprayed across the road, evaporating into mist before it could reach the ground.
The monster shrieked as its body convulsed.
But then it changed.
The severed limbs dissolved and reformed, merging back into its core. Its shape compressed, becoming denser and heavier. At its center, something darker began to emerge, a pulsing nucleus that beat like a heart.
Aoiro's breath caught.
"What… what is that?" she whispered.
Shiki's smile vanished.
"Tch. It already bonded that deeply." He glanced sideways at her. "Ma'am, don't move. No matter what you see, no matter what you hear."
The creature turned.
For the first time, it faced Aoiro directly.
Within its translucent body, an outline appeared. A tiny shape curled at the center, as if asleep.
Aoiro froze.
Her vision swam.
"That's… that's my...."
"It's just an imitation! Don't look at it!"
The monster let out a wet, gurgling sound, almost like laughter. Its surface rippled, and a distorted cry echoed from within, eerily similar to a baby's wail.
Aoiro's knees buckled.
"No… no, that's not…"
In a blink, the creature surged forward and leapt straight toward her, abandoning Shiki entirely.
"Like I'll let you!"
Shiki reappeared in a flash of displaced air, planting himself squarely between Aoiro and the lunging creature.
The katana screamed as it moved.
A horizontal slash cleaved through the incoming scythe-limb, blue gel exploding outward like shattered glass. The severed appendage dissolved midair, evaporating into mist before it could touch the ground. Without pausing, Shiki twisted his body and followed through with a rising cut that tore into the creature's core.
The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the street.
The lesser devil shrieked, its cry splintering into discordant layers that grated against the mind. Its body deformed violently, rippling as if boiling from within. Cracks of darker blue spread across its gelatinous mass, radiating from the wound where Shiki's blade had struck.
The nucleus was exposed.
For a brief instant, Aoiro saw it clearly. A pulsating core beating erratically like a diseased heart. Threads of translucent flesh clung to it, stretching and snapping as the creature convulsed.
Shiki's eyes narrowed.
"Bingo."
He stepped in close, closing the distance with a speed that defied reason. His grip tightened, muscles along his forearm tensing as he thrust the katana straight toward the nucleus.
The blade sank in halfway, and the lesser devil screamed.
The sound was no longer merely loud. It was a invasive pressure that crushed against the ears and forced its way into the skull. Aoiro screamed as well, collapsing onto her knees and clutching her head, with tears streaming freely from her eyes as the noise shredded her thoughts.
Shiki endured it without flinching.
Great amount of dark energy flowed along the blade, coating it in a layer of blackness as the katana began to vibrate. The creature thrashed wildly, its remaining limbs striking the ground in blind panic. Each impact shattered asphalt and sent debris skittering across the road.
Blue fluid sprayed everywhere.
The lesser devil's body began to destabilize, its once cohesive form collapsing in on itself. Portions of it liquefied, sloughing off and evaporating into foul-smelling vapor.
However, it was not dead.
"Tch."
The nucleus pulsed, then contracted. The blade was forcibly pushed out as the creature's body compressed, shrinking rapidly as if trying to fold in on itself. The outline of the infant within flickered, distorted, then vanished entirely.
The lesser devil screamed once more, but this time the sound carried fear.
It turned with its remaining mass surged backward, flowing across the ground like a living tide. It abandoned any semblance of attack and poured itself toward the far end of the road, moving with desperate speed as it entered a tremendous retreat.
"Running already?" Shiki muttered amusedly.
He was about to give chase when the air shifted.
A wave of heat rolled across the street.
The lesser devil reached the end of the road and slammed into something invisible. The moment it made contact, the air ignited.
It was as though a bomb had gone off. The pale blue darkness illuminating the world below was swallowed and colored by a burning orange like that of the sunset. Giant flames erupted like a firehose loaded with gasoline and formed a blazing barrier that stretched from one side of the street to the other. The heat was overwhelming. It was to the point that the asphalt beneath it glowed faintly red, warping and cracking as if it might melt.
The lesser devil recoiled violently.
Its body hissed and steamed where the flames licked its surface. Blue gel sizzled and blackened, chunks of its form burning away as it shrieked in agony. The creature thrashed, attempting to retreat, but the fire expanded, boxing it in. The air itself seemed to burn with pressure mounting as the flames intensified.
A calm voice echoed from beyond the inferno.
"Trying to escape already? That is disappointing."
A silhouette emerged through the fire, untouched by the flames.
A tall woman stepped forward, her figure framed by the blazing wall behind her. She wore a long brown coat that fluttered in the heatless wind surrounding her, embers drifting lazily around her boots. Her platinum-blonde hair was long and voluminous, cascading past her shoulders in thick, loose curls, giving her hair a luxurious, almost doll-like fullness. Her bangs swept diagonally across her forehead and partially covering one side, her green eyes focused as they locked onto the writhing lesser devil.
She raised one hand and the flames surged inward, tightening like a noose.
The lesser devil screamed again, its body collapsing further as fire consumed what little structure it had left.
Shiki let out a slow breath.
"About time," he said casually, resting the katana against his shoulder. "You nearly missed the fun."
The woman glanced at him briefly, then smiled.
"Sorry, I was a bit late. Did I miss everything?"
"Not really. I was just about to slay that devil before you butted in. I had everything pretty much covered."
"Is that so? My apologies, then."
Her gaze drifted past him, settling on Aoiro, who was curled on the ground.
"So what's the situation?"
Shiki followed her line of sight and shrugged.
"You don't have to worry too much. She's just shaken up. Anyone would be, after finding out their child was possessed by a devil. That, and she was exposed to the devil's demonic power."
"And the host?"
"The child's still alive. But we need to separate them before you burn both to a crisp. Angela, can you be a dear and handle that?"
"Hehehe~ with pleasure."
Angela stepped forward against scorched asphalt as the flames obeyed her will and peeled away from the lesser devil. The blazing wall thinned, condensing into a hovering ring of fire that kept the creature trapped, its shrill cries weakening by the second.
She stopped a few steps from the stroller's remains and lowered her hand. The fire dimmed instantly, leaving only a faint shimmer of heat in the air.
"Relax," she said lightly, glancing at Aoiro. "I'm not going to hurt your baby."
Aoiro's body trembled. Her arms instinctively tightened around herself as she shook her head, tears blurring her vision. Words refused to come out, her throat locked by fear.
Angela crouched down, her expression softening. The playful edge in her smile faded, replaced by something calm and reassuring.
"The devil is clinging to the child's life force," she continued. "It's weak. Newly born hosts are fragile, but that also means the bond isn't stable yet. If we act now, we can pull it out cleanly."
"How long?"
"A few seconds," Angela replied matter-of-factly. "Maybe a minute if it struggles."
She extended her hand toward the stroller. A thin, golden glow spread from her palm, weaving itself into a delicate sigil that hovered in the air. The heat vanished completely, replaced by a gentle warmth that felt almost comforting.
The baby began to cry.
The blue jelly-like mass writhed as wisps of dark energy were tugged from the child's small body, stretching like sticky threads pulled from tar. The lesser devil shrieked, its form destabilizing as it was forcibly separated.
Angela clenched her fingers and the thread snapped.
Following a nasty sound, the devil was ripped free, collapsing into a distorted lump that immediately ignited in a flash of white-hot flame. The sound it made was brief and hollow before it was completely reduced to ash.
Silence fell over the street.
The baby's cries softened, then settled into quiet whimpers.
Aoiro scrambled forward on unsteady legs, barely registering the burns and cracks in the road. She reached the stroller, hands shaking as she lifted her child into her arms.
A sob tore free from her chest as she clutched him close, tears soaking into his blanket.
Shiki watched the scene quietly for a moment before turning his gaze back to Angela.
"Clean work."
She smirked. "Of course. I told you I'd handle it."
The distant sound of sirens began to echo through the streets of Kyoto, growing louder by the second.
Angela glanced down the road. "Looks like we should disappear before questions start flying."
Shiki nodded.
"Yeah," he glanced once more at the crying mother and child. "Let's leave the rest to them."
The flames vanished completely, leaving behind nothing but scorched asphalt and drifting embers as the two hunters melted into the night.