Even the small-time punks lurking nearby didn't dare approach after witnessing this brutal scene; they all scattered and ran into another alley.
Too terrifying!
Compared to these two, they were practically model citizens—upright, law-abiding citizens!
…
And so—
Only after beating them senseless for a full ten minutes did Iori and Kohei finally stop, feeling satisfied.
Looking at the two who were now completely unrecognizable as human, Iori and Kohei nodded in satisfaction.
After being hunted for so long last time, they'd finally vented their anger!
"Whew, that felt great. I feel way more energized all of a sudden."
"Yeah, if you've got resentment bottled up, you really should let it out. Otherwise it's bad for your health~"
Listening to the two demons chatting, the two pig-faced boys couldn't help but cling to each other and tremble.
So… could you maybe vent your anger some other way? Beating people up gets you pork cutlet rice, you know!
The problem was… they didn't even dare call the police!
(っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)
After all, they really were the ones who struck first—and if they called the cops… they might miss the goddess's meet-and-greet!
Judging by the time, it was probably about to start.
Now they could only hope these two demons had calmed down and would let them go soon.
If they had known these two were this strong, how could they have courted death by getting close?!
Thinking about it, Tadakuni shot his good buddy a glare—this was all that bastard's fault!
This time, they'd been greedy.
If they hadn't been greedy, they would've already handed over the location and gone to line up.
Sure enough, they should've just stuck to being information brokers!
Smack!
"Alright, you two, stop sniveling. This is entirely your own fault."
Iori wasn't about to coddle them; he kicked them lightly with his foot. Since they'd attacked from behind, they'd better be ready to take a beating.
Hearing the demon speak, Tadakuni and Hidenori instantly put on fawning smiles.
"Yes, yes, it's all our fault!"
"Aniki is absolutely right!"
Though with their swollen faces, they looked a bit like ugly yokai.
Seeing this, Iori's mouth twitched. "Forget it, don't smile, I've got something to ask.
You guys are from a certain high school, right?"
Iori's gaze sharpened. The only ones he could think of who'd put out a bounty on them were those beasts from that particular high school.
"Uh… well…"
After witnessing their brutality, Hidenori hesitated. "Um, should we say yes, or… not really?"
Iori, Kohei: (???)
"Are these two idiots?" Kohei couldn't even watch anymore. Was that something a normal person would ask?
Iori rubbed his face in pain. Just as expected of Kamishiro's old school—he shouldn't have expected anything.
"Forget it. You already gave yourselves away while begging earlier. Let's get straight to the point!"
Bang!
As he spoke, Iori somehow pulled out a brick and looked at them with a disturbingly kind smile.
"So… how did you find Kohei and me?"
After all, their makeup was so outrageous that even they barely recognized themselves.
So how the hell did these two bastards identify them?!
"Ah… about that…"
"Special abilities?"
Tadakuni and Hidenori answered cautiously, in perfect sync, deliberately avoiding the real reason—it involved their trade secrets.
If they said it out loud, these two plus Kamishiro Shiro would definitely become alert, and it wouldn't be so easy to find them next time!
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Of course, of course!"
They nodded furiously, thinking the demons had finally believed them when—
Crack!
The sound of a brick shattering startled them.
Tadakuni went pale as he stared at the fragments between his legs.
That thing had almost smashed his little brother!!!
Iori smiled as he pulled out another brick, looking as gentle as a kindly old neighbor.
"I'll give you one more chance. You wouldn't want to lose your little brother at this age, right~"
Tadakuni: !!!
I don't want to lose it at any age!!!
At that moment, Tadakuni admitted he was terrified. Given how brutal these two were, he had no doubt they could actually do it!
"Tadakuni, don't believe them—they're just trying to scare—OH OH OHHHH?!!!"
Before Hidenori could finish, he let out an exceptionally miserable scream.
The blond demon beside him was smiling as he stared at the pig-faced boy's crotch—where a brick now rested.
Kohei turned to Tadakuni, looking embarrassed. "Ah, sorry about that. My hand slipped~ Your friend won't blame me, right?
You… won't blame us either, will you?"
At that moment—
Tadakuni's psychological defenses completely collapsed!
"I'll talk!!!"
Chapter 454: Run!
"So… such a terrifying thing actually exists!"
"It's an extreme distrust of human appearances!"
Iori and Kohei stared in horror at Hidenori's phone, fingers trembling as they scrolled through the photos.
Now they finally understood how they'd been exposed. Accustomed to using the stock camera, this was the first time they'd realized how terrifying photo editing could be.
They were putting makeup on their faces—these guys were putting makeup directly onto their photos!
And they'd done it in every style imaginable!
"Hehe… well, it's just a bit of cleverness. Nothing worth mentioning."
Hidenori gave an awkward smile, though the pride in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Instantly, the way Iori and Kohei looked at him grew dangerous again.
If this guy wasn't eliminated, he'd definitely become a serious threat!
But before that, there was something they had to confirm.
"This thing… people from that high school don't all have a copy, do they?"
"How could that be! This is something worthy of a patent!"
Hidenori looked smug. There was no way he'd just hand over his hard work—if everyone knew about it, his advantage would disappear.
Judging from these two demons' reactions, he was clearly the first to discover them.
Didn't that prove how important his "invention" was?
"I spent several nights painstakingly photoshopping this bit by bit!
I thought it'd take a while before I could use it, but you showed up again so soon!
My results finally came in handy!"
The more he spoke, the more excited he became—perfectly normal for an inventor whose creation had been proven effective.
This kid was actually holding back quite a bit.
Probably because his body was still hurt.
After all, several times he tried to stand up and passionately express his pride, only to give up because of the pain.
As Iori and Kohei listened, their smiles grew brighter and brighter.
They didn't care how much effort it took.
They only focused on one thing—
This thing hadn't spread at A Certain high school yet!
That alone was enough.
As for how many people knew about it exactly, they could just ask in more detail later~
Like a demon tempting souls, Iori continued, "So only you two have these pictures, right?"
Tadakuni: !!!
Still relatively clear-headed, Tadakuni immediately sensed something was wrong and instinctively tried to pull his friend to warn him.
However—
The moment he met the blond demon's gaze, everything stopped.
That brick was like the Sword of Damocles, hanging above him.
Thinking it over carefully, he still wanted to remain a man and Hidenori's life wasn't that important.
So… Tadakuni very sensibly shut his mouth and silently made the sign of the cross over his chest.
He hoped that after dealing with Hidenori, these two demons would spare him.
Don't worry, Hidenori!
Even if you're unconscious, I'll carry you to the goddess's meet-and-greet!
If Goddess Momo sees you still showing up in this condition, she might be moved and give you the collaboration slot!!!
Thinking of that, Tadakuni's breathing grew rapid.
If that slot really went to Hidenori, wouldn't that mean it went to him?
After all, Hidenori would be unconscious and wouldn't know anything!
At that moment—
Tadakuni finally figured it out.
Hidenori was basically his lucky star!
Of course, only when Hidenori was unconscious!
Tadakuni's eyes lit up with fervor; he almost wanted to beat his good buddy half to death himself.
Seeing Tadakuni like this, Kohei and Iori both shivered.
Why did this guy look even more excited than they were?
Translation
Was there a problem in one of their steps, or was there something wrong with this guy himself?
This guy couldn't be some kind of super masochist, right?!
Thinking of that possibility, the two of them felt a bit awkward—Tokyo really did have all kinds of perverts!
Off to the side—
Hidenori, who had already sunk into his own little world, didn't notice anything strange at all and kept answering crazily, "Of course not—only I have it!"
Something this confidential obviously had to be kept on his own phone!
Good buddies or whatever were totally untrustworthy!
"So that's how it is~"
Hearing that answer, Iori and Kohei nodded in satisfaction.
Then, ignoring the two of them, they took the phone and continued studying it.
Kohei: "So now that we've got the thing, what should we do with these two?"
Iori: "Tokyo Bay?"
Tadakuni: ???
Hey, big bro, are you guys seriously fugitives?!
Kohei: "Wouldn't going to Tokyo Bay right now be a bit unsafe?"
If they didn't know the roads well, wandering around in the open with two sacks would be very likely to attract the police's attention.
Not to mention their current outfits… they didn't exactly match the 'sack-carrying' aesthetic.
"That's true… wait, what's this?"
Iori opened the phone case and took out a silver ticket.
No wonder it had felt weird to the touch earlier—there was something else in there.
This was…
Just as Iori was about to take a closer look, a figure suddenly lunged at him!
"Give it back!"
The moment he saw that silver ticket, Hidenori snapped fully awake.
He didn't even have time to think about how his phone had ended up with the demons—he just rushed forward, trying to snatch the ticket back.
In his heart, this thing was even more important than his phone!
Unfortunately…
In the face of absolute strength, even a last-second power-up was doomed to be useless~
Bang bang bang!
After a brief but intense scuffle, Iori sat on top of Hidenori with a look of surprise.
He really hadn't expected that after being beaten for ten straight minutes, this guy would still have the strength to resist.
On the other side, Tadakuni was firmly restrained by Kohei.
The instant Hidenori was pinned down, Tadakuni knew that trying to reclaim the ticket by force was probably impossible.
He could only hope that these two were gentlemen who had no interest in Goddess Momo's meet-and-greet.
But…
Could anyone who hung out with that scumbag Kamishiro really be a gentleman?!
Tadakuni didn't believe it for a second!
To keep his own ticket from being exposed, Tadakuni chose to abandon his friend once again and turn tail to run!
Sadly, it was useless… he was once again blocked by the clever blond on his escape route~
And then…
Tadakuni: "No no no no!!!"
"Please, spare me! I'm just an accomplice—that really can't be taken!"
"That's everything I have!"
"No no no no!!!!"
No matter how Tadakuni screamed, Kohei didn't stop what he was doing. Before long, he pulled out a silver ticket identical to the one in Iori's hand.
Kohei: "There's one here too. Looks like they're going to some kind of event."
Iori: "It's not a meeting to plan our encirclement or something, is it?"
Kohei: "..."
Kohei: "Do you seriously think you need tickets to attend something like that?"
Iori: "Good point… let me take a look."
As he spoke, Iori examined the ticket carefully. Luckily, the address and event details were written clearly, so it wasn't a total mystery.
"Meet-and-greet. Momo is waiting for your arrival~
Address: ?????"
"This name sounds kind of familiar."
"Not just the name—the address sounds familiar too."
Kohei rubbed his chin, thinking. He was sure he'd seen this address somewhere—and very recently!
With that thought, Kohei leaned out again to take a look.
The moment he stuck his head out, he got his answer!
It was the place with the huge line they'd just seen!
"Kitahara, I f—found it…"
He turned back, about to share the news with his buddy, only to find Kitahara standing there trembling, eyes locked onto the ticket in his hand.
That stare was way scarier than when he was looking at some hardcore porno.
"What's wrong with you?"
Kohei leaned in and waved a hand in front of his eyes.
"Momo… Momo…"
"Is she a voice actress?"
"Of course not!"
"Then never mind. Not interested~"
"How could you not be interested?!"
As if he'd just heard something utterly heretical, Iori grabbed Kohei by the shoulders, eyes bloodshot.
"She's an actress! An AV actress!!!"
As his body was shaken back and forth, Kohei's mouth twitched. He finally understood why this idiot was so excited.
"Alright, alright, I get it. So what?"
"So what? Of course we're going to see her!!!"
"Then… what about Kamishiro?"
"Kamishiro? What Kamishiro? Do we even know that person?"
Huff!
Lust gradually took over Iori's eyes. At this moment, his mind could no longer contain anything except Momo.
That was a chance to meet an AV actress face-to-face!
If he left a strong enough impression, maybe he could finally get rid of his virginity!
Didn't movies always say AV actresses liked teasing virgins and then helping them lose it?
Those guys in the movies always acted reluctant at first.
Bah!
They were just blissfully ignorant!
Please, let me bear this sin!
Kohei: "..."
As his close friend, Kohei knew just from Iori's expression that normal reasoning was useless now—this guy was completely ruled by his lust.
"Do you really think you can beat all of them to it?"
Kohei pointed toward the direction of the line. The people there probably all had the same idea as this beast.
Hearing that—
Iori glanced over casually, then a confident smile spread across his face.
"A bunch of clowns, that's all."
"..."
Great. Very confident.