------------------------------------
Demons are not born evil.
They are forged into it by humans themselves.
And the resentment that gnaws at our hearts.
Will it ever fade away?
-------------------------------------
01:15 a.m.
Kurayami jolted awake, her eyes glowing crimson as she pointed toward the window.Seoki rose and looked outside. Fireworks burst across the sky, and above Tokyo, Yure's avatar flew back and forth.
"What the hell…?"
Before he could react, Dango's voice came through with an urgent report.
"Seoki-chan! This is bad—really bad. People are gathering in the heart of Akihabara. The glasses everyone bought are devices Lady Kurayami used to link her mind with others. That means the damn chip is a control panel! You have to snap Kurayami back to her senses now, before tens of thousands of people turn into vegetables! I'll keep you updated, but move—fast!"
Hearing this, the white-haired young man turned back toward Kurayami.She was gone.
"Roger. I'm on it."
Seoki sprinted out of the infirmary and spotted Kurayami running into the communal restroom. He chased after her—only to see her pass straight through the wall and vanish outside.
"A decoy…"
Hundreds of Yure's avatars filled the sky. Seoki raised Kurayami's glasses and put them on. In an instant, everything disappeared.
"Activate Admin control system. Locate Kurayami via IP tracking."
The glasses displayed her coordinates—she was sitting in a taxi, heading toward Akihabara Street.
Rapid footsteps pounded against the ground, breath coming in sharp bursts.Oni burst through the door onto the rooftop of the OMUP building.
Thud, thud, thud—
"OOOOOOORAAAAAAAH!" Seto roared as he leapt from the rooftop at full speed. The fleeing oni turned back—and found himself face to face with a young man whose eyes burned with pure anger. Seto raised his baton, ready to smash it down onto the demon's skull. But the oni reacted just in time, blocking with his arm. The impact sent both of them crashing down, rolling apart in opposite directions.
As the oni struggled to his feet, he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked.
Click! clack.
Seto fired.
Bang! The demon rolled aside with practiced ease, dodging the bullets before leaping off the edge of the building. A grappling hook shot out and caught onto the structure across the way.
Seto aimed with both hands as the oni clung to the cable, running along the glass exterior of the office building. Seto shattered the windows with gunfire, throwing the demon off balance. Using the momentum, the oni swung straight into the office interior.
"How long do you think you can run?"
Seto leapt down, grabbed the grappling line, and followed him inside.
The demon pulled out a gun and fired back. Seto dove behind a photocopier for cover.After a moment, the oni stopped to catch his breath behind a wall and shouted back mockingly.
"You really think I didn't have a backup plan? I already put a hit on that brat's head before coming here. Won't be long before some street trash takes care of it."
Hearing this, Seto stepped out to confront him.
Both men raised their guns and fired while moving sideways. Bullets tore through office walls, one grazing past Seto's body, while a shot on the other side buried itself into the demon's collarbone—yet he didn't flinch in the slightest.
They slammed through a door and stumbled onto a glass-lined corridor, facing each other eye to eye.
Seto tried to fire again—but the last round in his chamber was stripped away in a blink.
Click!
The oni snatched Seto's gun, dismantling it effortlessly and tossing the parts aside like a toy.
"So what?"
He raised the gun, ready to pull the trigger.
With razor-sharp survival instincts, Seto dashed into the office, using thin walls as blind spots to throw off the demon's aim.
Seto burst through the partition, slamming the oni into the window. Cracks spiderwebbed across the glass.
The demon turned sharply—and froze.
Below was a narrow metal walkway attached to a massive billboard.
"Fuckin' shit!" By the time he turned back, Seto was already charging, crashing straight through and driving them both outside.