Kasumigaoka Utaha murmured thoughtfully, "What did Kawashima-kun mean by that last sentence?"
"He clearly seemed wary of the girl next door, yet he told me to run to her if I encountered danger?"
She wasn't stupid; she figured it out immediately.
Kawashima Toya saying that proved the girl wasn't simple and would protect her.
[Commission Issued: Eliminate the Evil God's Minion — Aki Tomoya.]
[Reward: 10,000 Source Points.]
"Now I have even more reason not to let him go."
Aki Tomoya's Residence.
On the other side of town, Kawashima Toya followed the location marked on the system map and rushed toward Aki Tomoya's home.
TAKI-kun... so it really is Aki Tomoya.
I hope Aki hasn't completely lost his mind.
After raising his physical fitness to the peak of human potential, Toya arrived outside Aki Tomoya's house in just ten minutes.
His clear, sky-blue eyes scanned the three-story residence.
Wherever he looked, the entire building was covered in a pitch-black, chaotic aura. It even showed signs of spreading to the surroundings. It didn't look like a human dwelling at all.
Without a doubt, this was the home of the culprit who had polluted Kasumigaoka Utaha.
"It seems there's no hope left," Toya noted with a hint of regret.
With this level of infection, the consequences for Aki Tomoya living inside were easy to imagine.
Even if he hadn't become a minion of the Evil God, he would have died inside.
With a calm expression, Toya stepped into the area of the three-story house. The black aura shrouding the entire residence instantly rioted, as if trying to devour him.
At that moment, a non-human monster located inside the house sensed Toya's intrusion.
Standing at a window, the anomaly—which resembled a lizardman but was a hundred times more twisted and chaotic—looked down at Toya.
Its twisted, mad eyes seemed to say: Look, prey has delivered itself.
Toya raised his head, locked eyes with the anomaly exposed at the third-floor window, and chuckled lightly.
"Eternal Arms Mastery is working well; indeed, I feel no fear."
"Don't think about running. You are worth a full 10,000 Source Points."
As he spoke, Toya pushed open the front door, his brow furrowing slightly. "Inhumane..."
The moment the door opened, he saw two corpses lying in the entryway.
Judging by their positions, they had been trying to escape. They were killed the instant they were about to flee.
The dried blood trailing through the house revealed just how much pain these two had suffered while they were alive.
"Rest assured, I will avenge you."
Toya stepped past the bodies and walked straight toward the stairs.
Just as he was about to head up to the third floor, the narrow space beneath the staircase caught his attention.
"There's still a survivor?"
"Kato Megumi?"
Toya looked down with a surprised gaze and discovered a girl wearing a JK uniform.
She had a bob cut, fair skin, and correct features. Her figure was curvy in all the right places—undeniably a beautiful girl.
Even though she was in the home of Aki Tomoya, who had become a minion of an Evil God, her expression was extremely flat, as if she were comfortably sitting in her own home.
However, if one looked closely, they could see the pale complexion of her face and the terror hidden within her calm, beautiful eyes.
"A normal person? She hasn't been infected by the Evil God's aura?" A trace of surprise flashed through Toya's clear blue eyes.
Ordinary people would feel unwell physically and suffer a mental breakdown just by being within the range of the Evil God's aura.
The girl, suspected to be Kato Megumi, had clearly been staying in the compartment under the stairs for quite some time, yet she showed no signs of infection.
At least in his observation, the girl wasn't entangled by any aura of the Evil God's minion.
Is it because her presence is too low? Did the Evil God's aura wandering through the house ignore her, completely failing to notice her existence?
Kato Megumi, who had already fallen into despair, saw Toya appear. Her flat eyes gradually lit up, then dimmed again.
Staring at Toya, she spoke anxiously, "Leave quickly... if you stay, you'll be killed by the monster upstairs."
Fighting through her physical weakness, she spoke the only words she had uttered in days.
"You can communicate? Then there's no problem," Toya said gently. "My purpose in coming here is to eliminate that anomaly."
"Young lady, do you have any strength left?"
"If you have strength, go outside on your own."
"Don't worry, that anomaly won't stop you."
With that, Toya turned and stepped onto the stairs, heading toward the third floor where the monster that used to be Aki Tomoya was waiting.
Kato Megumi stared blankly at Toya, unable to believe that this boy, who looked about her age, could be a match for that monster.
"Don't go..."
Due to prolonged dehydration and hunger, Kato Megumi's voice was so faint it was almost inaudible.
She could only watch as Toya left.
I must find someone to help!
Anxious, Kato Megumi pushed her exhausted body up and stumbled toward the main door.
Just as she reached the door, the aura of the Evil God's minion—invisible to her eyes—silently wrapped around the two dead human bodies.