"No, I, I just wanted to, wanted to find a secluded place to, to use the restroom…"
Looking at the driver's head, whose face was ashen and from which blood was flowing profusely, Yamada Elf was on the verge of tears. Her eyes were misty, her voice trembled, and her body shook like a reed.
At this moment, Yamada Elf desperately wanted to be saved, desperately hoped that this monster in front of her would believe her words one more time. If the other party believed her again, she would definitely run faster than before!
"..."
However, the driver's head did not respond to Yamada Elf, it just quietly stared at the girl.
"Drip, drip…"
In the silent night, apart from the distant sound of a tram, only the continuous dripping of blood from the driver's head onto the ground could be heard.
"Um… will you… still let me go?"
Seeing that the monster hadn't reacted for a long time, nor eaten her, Yamada Elf slightly tilted her head to look at the monster, then cautiously asked.
"Pat!"
Suddenly, a hand patted Yamada Elf on the head, scaring the girl so much that she froze instantly. She glanced backward with her eyes, but didn't dare turn her head.
Had that monster's body… already reached behind her?
"It's already dead, don't be afraid."
Just as Yamada Elf thought the monster's body was behind her, a gentle voice of comfort reached her ears.
The voice was clearly male and very pleasant to hear.
Hearing this, Yamada Elf looked up and discovered that at some point, a young man was standing beside her.
The young man wore a gray suit, which faintly shimmered under the moonlight. There were no patterns on the suit, only a small motif resembling a sword on the collar and cuffs.
"Na, Nakano…"
Looking at the young man's handsome face, the moon and the young man were reflected in Yamada Elf's eyes as she softly spoke his surname.
How could she not recognize him? This was the human youth to whom even monsters submitted, one of the "Twin Stars of Yin and Yang"—Nakano Yu!
For a chuunibyou girl like her, how could she not know such a young man?
But… if she remembered correctly, wasn't Nakano Yu with Kasumigaoka Utaha at the banquet? Why would he suddenly appear here?
Also, it seemed that Nakano Yu had said something just now, but she didn't hear it clearly.
Just as Yamada Elf was confused, a dull falling sound suddenly came from in front of her.
"Plop."
Hearing the sound, Yamada Elf looked forward, only to see that the driver's head had now turned into a pile of rotten flesh, and even the long neck was the same.
"There's no more danger, go home."
Nakano Yu said, as the Twelve Radiant Swords returned to his side and merged back into Joyeuse.
After that, Nakano Yu walked forward. He had smelled blood and judged that the driver had already encountered an accident. He planned to go and check, and deal with it.
In the past, Nakano Yu wouldn't have bothered with such matters, but now the Nura Group and the monsters had been pushed to the forefront because of him. Although they had received dual recognition from the Kyoto Onmyoji and the Police Department, many people still couldn't accept the existence of monsters.
Their stereotype was that monsters were evil, and monsters were synonymous with slaughter.
If such an incident happened now, people would easily associate it with monsters. At that time, the Nura Group and some rogue monsters would be pushed into the spotlight.
There was no other way; human nature is exclusive, regardless of the era.
Seeing Nakano Yu leaving, Yamada Elf quickly stood up and followed him.
Noticing the girl following him, Nakano Yu didn't tell her to leave. After all, it was late, and after what just happened, even an adult man might not have the courage to walk alone in this dark alley, let alone a girl like Yamada Elf.
Soon, Nakano Yu stopped. Under the moonlight, he could see a headless body lying quietly in a pool of blood not far ahead.
The head, separated from the body, stared at the sky with wide-open eyes, its expression full of fear and confusion. It was easy to imagine how desperate she had been at the moment of death.
"Na, Nakano…"
Yamada Elf, who was following Nakano Yu, saw the body and immediately recognized that it was the driver she had spoken with earlier. From the beginning, although she had been somewhat annoyed, Yamada Elf had still been willing to talk to her, which showed that the woman had been quite talkative.
But such a person had actually… died at the hands of something, even though… her family also had monsters.
With a strange expression, Yamada Elf felt her stomach churn. She quickly looked away after just one glance and moved closer to Nakano Yu.
"She wasn't killed by a monster."
At that moment, Nakano Yu suddenly spoke.
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Yamada Elf was confused. Not killed by a monster? But if that thing just now wasn't a monster, then what was it?
Seeing the girl's confusion, Nakano Yu explained:
"Monsters in Tokyo don't dare to casually kill humans, and this world isn't only about monsters."
Nakano Yu wasn't lying to Yamada Elf; this was indeed the truth. With him and the Nura Group present, some foreign monsters didn't dare act freely. Previously, the Nura Group sent monsters on patrol every day to prevent harm to humans.
Now that the Nura Group was public, they practically patrolled every day, and openly, without worrying about their impact on people.
These days, Nakano Yu had noticed that the monsters passing by actually enjoyed this, because they could walk freely on the streets without fear of scaring people or being reprimanded by the Nura Group.
However, the Police Department and the Nura Group's defense team had more headaches, because there were always monsters causing trouble.
Returning to the topic, the killer was indeed not a monster, but some strange phenomenon. Nakano Yu didn't know how such phenomena came into being; it was as if someone told a story, and those things appeared out of nowhere.
As if… words became reality?
God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God told a story about a strange phenomenon, and that phenomenon was born.
"Now I'll revive her and erase her memories related to tonight. Do you want to join?"
Nakano Yu said, as his eyes and palms faintly glowed with emerald green light, looking at Yamada Elf and asking.
"Will it hurt?"
Hearing this, Yamada Elf was somewhat hesitant and asked.
"No."
Nakano Yu answered very directly. He could simply erase her memories as well, but he liked this girl, so he gave her a choice.
Of course, his liking was only on the level of personality. If he could choose, Nakano Yu would still choose Eromanga-sensei!
"Then… then I, just a little erasing? I, I don't want to forget Nakano-sama."
Hearing that it wouldn't hurt, Yamada Elf was tempted. After all, she was just a girl, and the events of tonight had left a deep psychological mark. If she could forget, that would be best, but she didn't want to forget how Nakano Yu saved her.
Hearing this, Nakano Yu was slightly surprised. He knew Severance could cut memories, but he had never tried whether it could be selective.
"I'll try."
Nakano Yu nodded slightly, then turned toward the body on the ground.
A person who had become a corpse had only one line of death. Nakano Yu waved his hand, and the line of death was immediately cut. Then, under Yamada Elf's excited gaze, the body on the ground began to glow with a pale green light.
"Wow!"
Covering her eyes with her hands, Yamada Elf peeked through her fingers at this miraculous scene, unable to help but exclaim.
Before today, Yamada Elf had always believed that the dead could not be revived, but today she believed it. When Nakano Yu said he would revive the person, she didn't have a trace of doubt, simply because it was Nakano Yu, one of the "Twin Stars of Yin and Yang"!
Soon, under the effect of Severance, the body rapidly recovered. The separated head, as if it had consciousness, moved toward the body on its own and reattached. In just a moment, the cold body returned to a living person.
At the moment the woman revived, many lines appeared in Nakano Yu's eyes. He immediately found the woman's memory lines, raised his hand, and with one motion cut off all her memories related to tonight.
Then he waved his hand, and two beams of moonlight shone on the woman and the taxi.
When the woman woke up, she found herself lying in the car, and the car was parked by the main road.
"Na, Nakano, that auntie…"
Seeing that the woman and the car had disappeared, Yamada Elf asked curiously.
"I sent her away."
Nakano Yu's answer was simple. Turning to Yamada Elf, he raised his hand and pulled. Before Yamada Elf could react, in the next moment she felt dizzy. When she recovered, she had completely forgotten what happened tonight.
"Na, Nakano, did, did you save me?"
Seeing Nakano Yu, Yamada Elf's eyes lit up, and she quickly stepped forward to ask.
"Mm, go home early."
Nakano Yu looked at Yamada Elf, nodded slightly and said. Then the moonlight shone again, and when Yamada Elf reacted, she found herself at the main entrance of the Police Department.
"Nakano-sama…"
Looking around, Yamada Elf did not find Nakano Yu. She murmured and clenched her hand, her eyes flickering slightly, not knowing what she was thinking.
On Nakano Yu's side, after sending Yamada Elf to a safe place, he simply left.
Although he hadn't had dinner tonight, it was completely fine. In any case, he wasn't in a hurry.
Thinking this, Nakano Yu returned to his bedroom in the villa.
As soon as he returned, a gust of wind entered, and a black feather flew into the room, landing in Nakano Yu's hand.
At the moment the feather touched his hand, it turned into a blank sheet of paper.
"More news from Yosuzume?"
This black feather was Yosuzume's message-transmitting spell. The transmission speed wasn't fast; it took about a day and a half to arrive from Kyoto to Neon.
Looking at the content on the paper, Nakano Yu raised an eyebrow. The paper was filled with events that had recently happened in Kyoto, but they could be summarized in one sentence:
Abe no Seimei will soon descend!
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