Kurayami, sitting in the taxi, noticed a big bike tailing them closely. Sensing the incoming threat, she shut her eyes tight. A man dressed in black, armed with a handgun, twisted the throttle and pulled up alongside—but suddenly, something burst out of the taxi. It took shape as a pale-faced woman, jaws tearing wide open as if to bite. The rider slammed on the brakes in panic, lost control, and crashed hard.
Seoki was right behind her. When the girl spotted him, she projected an illusion of Haruki sitting behind her on the bike.
"What do you think you're doing? My sister's happy as can be—just look at her."
"Don't be scared. It's just an illusion," Seoki muttered to himself as he gunned the engine, charging across the elevated rail bridge. More assassins sent by Oni began to appear, one after another, weapons drawn. Seoki pulled out his pistol and sprayed bullets at those closing in on him.
"What the hell—?" Kurayami's taxi driver panicked and was about to slam the brakes, but a scalpel pressed against his throat.
"Keep driving," Kurayami whispered into his ear, then pointed toward Yurei floating above Aki Street. "That way."
Seoki weaved through traffic growing thicker as crowds poured in—under Yurei's control. They wore VR goggles and wandered aimlessly, unable to distinguish illusion from reality. Police tried to intervene, but the more they did, the more violent the resistance became. The possessed civilians lashed out whenever they were blocked.
"Seoki-chan, be careful around there—the crowds are getting dense," Dango warned through the comms.
"How's it over there, Seto?" Seoki asked as he chased after Kurayami's taxi.
"Ow—my back's wrecked," Seto replied through the earpiece. At that moment, Kurayami rolled down the window and leaned out, spewing blood-colored smoke that blanketed the road and blinded their pursuers. The bounty hunters slammed into the cars ahead, wrecked in heaps.
"Goddamn," Seoki cursed as his goggles snapped down over his eyes. Entering the virtual world, he saw the hands of a mysterious woman parting the bloody fog, like a goddess pointing him toward the light.
Yurei, possessing Kurayami, saw this and shouted, "Damn it. I should've destroyed you from the start."
As for Seto—he lay there, exhaling beside Oni after crashing down onto a metal grate.
"Little frog, you're just as crazy as your old man," Oni laughed, slowly pushing himself upright, while the black-haired young man rolled away to regain his footing.
"Tough bastard," the young man muttered, leaping from a billboard onto the rooftop of a parking structure. Oni followed, stripping off his armor until only a thin undershirt remained. Seto still had a pistol with seven rounds strapped to his ankle holster, but the demon kicked his own gun aside and drew a short katana, displaying it openly.
"I remember your father—stabbed through the palm by this very blade as payment to the yakuza," Oni said. The words made Seto clench his fists. Confusion clouded his mind, smoke swirling so thick he could barely see. He could end Oni's life with a single pull of the trigger—but that wouldn't satisfy him.
"Scumbag," Seto spat, switching to a tanto knife. "Killing you now would be too easy."
"You know that girl's been looking for me. Even knowing I killed her family, she still begged me for help—offering something I needed in return. That damn brain chip from the black market, expensive as hell. And look at her now, playing god. She'll find out soon enough what happens when you defy nature." Oni stepped closer. "The moment I saw your face, I knew Hayashida had left a pearl buried in the mud. Son of the yakuza's deadliest killer, huh? You know I pitted your families against each other without taking a single yen—because the Makoto and Bito clans have been enemies since past lives. Let them use me as fuel and burn each other down. What's wrong with that?" Oni laid everything bare before his enemy.
"You are the one who fucked her up. I'll make you pay for it."
"Letting her die slowly—that's my kind of fun. But wrecking the whole city? That's the kid's own masterpiece."
Seto fell silent, then lunged forward, stabbing at Oni. The masked man slammed the blade aside with his mask like a wild beast, leaving a small crack. "Everything was going just as I planned—didn't expect to run into you now." Oni pointed the blade at him.
"And my edge will be the last thing you ever see." Slash~slash. Seto flicked his knife up and down.
"You still don't know me, brat!" Oni raised the sword with both hands and swung. Seto yanked himself back, but it was too late—Oni had stomped on his foot, and the blade sliced past his right cheek.
"Ghk!" Seto tightened his grip and thrust for the demon's masked heart. Oni caught the tanto barehanded, the blade buried to the hilt, stopping it inches from his chest.
Seto's eyes widened. "What the hell are you?"[1]
"Oh, just getting started." Oni grabbed him by the throat with his other hand
"Hrrng!" and slammed him into a car window. Crash!
[1] Top Down OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5rre2EbB-A