The following day.
*SHRING!*
A black portal, its edges glowing with a pulsating violet hue and accompanied by dozens of white feathers falling artistically around it, opened in the center of the First Unit's headquarters dojo.
From the portal, a man stepped out with a calm, confident stride.
His presence was an anomaly. As everyone knew, every member of the Anti-Demon Corps was female. Not a single man was recorded as a member.
Clearly, this man was none other than Naoki Kamikawa.
"Hm? Bell? What's wrong?"
As the portal behind him closed and vanished, Naoki's gaze immediately fell upon Bell, who looked utterly dejected in the corner of the room. She sat curled up, radiating a heavy, melancholic aura.
"Naoki-kun..."
Bell looked up. Her eyes were glassy, clear and brimming with a sorrow so deep it seemed the dam of her tears might burst at the slightest touch.
Naoki didn't need to ask. Something terrible had happened.
Without a word, he approached her, intentionally slowing his pace. He crouched in front of her, bringing himself down to her level so they could look each other in the eye.
He reached out gently, resting his hand on the crown of her head with the lightest of pressure.
"Tell me about it."
"..."
For a few seconds, Bell remained silent. Her lips trembled, twitching as if she were about to speak, only for the words to catch in her throat. Naoki didn't rush her. He simply waited, his hand still resting steadily on her head.
Finally, Bell took a long breath—too long, like someone gathering every ounce of courage they possessed.
"Yesterday... the Third Unit was attacked."
"I wasn't there. I had to train in the dojo all day... I thought it would be okay to leave them for just a little while."
"When I got back... they were all lying on the floor, covered in blood."
"If I had been just five minutes later... they wouldn't have made it. The doctors said they were at death's door."
She couldn't go on. Her composure finally shattered, her sobs breaking through despite her tightly bitten lip. Tears tracked down her pale cheeks, splashing onto the wooden floor.
Naoki didn't interrupt. He let her cry, allowing the burden she had piled upon herself—whether from guilt, fear, or anger—to bleed out bit by bit.
After a moment, Bell took a hitching breath, trying to steady herself. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"They said the attackers were Humanoid Shuuki who called themselves the Eight Thunder Gods."
"And they said their goal is to wipe out humanity. They just came out of nowhere, without warning, for no reason anyone can understand."
"The Eight Thunder Gods?" Naoki raised an eyebrow. "What a coincidence. They attacked the Sixth and Seventh Units yesterday, too. While we were holding our exhibition."
Bell's head snapped up. Her tear-streaked eyes suddenly widened, the remnants of her sadness momentarily eclipsed by pure shock.
"Really?! How is everyone? Are they okay? Did anyone..."
She cut her question short, as if terrified of the answer that might come out of Naoki's mouth. Her fingers gripped his arm with surprising strength for someone so small.
"Relax, Bell. Except for one person, everyone is in good shape." Naoki replied nonchalantly. "After all, there were two Chiefs present, plus me. The Seventh Unit Chief, Kyouka Uzen, was injured, but it's not life-threatening. Tenka didn't even get a scratch; if the enemy hadn't been so good at fleeing into the shadows, she would've finished them off. As for me... well, I managed to permanently eliminate one of them."
"..."
Hearing this, Bell clutched her chest, letting out a sigh of relief that the tragedy that struck the Third Unit hadn't been repeated elsewhere. However, her expression quickly wilted again.
"Thank goodness. But... Ren-chan is going to be absolutely furious with me for not being there when it happened."
Naoki reached out, patting Bell's head in a protective gesture. "If Ren Yamashiro dares to cross the line with you, tell me. I'll be the one to deal with her."
Bell looked up, her eyes wide. For a heartbeat, the grief and fear that had clouded her face vanished, replaced by a soft warmth.
"Thank you, Naoki-kun... but please, don't hate Ren-chan. She's actually a good person, just very disciplined. I don't want to see you two fighting."
Naoki shrugged indifferently. "That depends on Ren Yamashiro herself. Based on my assessment, the woman still holds a grudge against me over our previous sparring match. Besides, she's the type who's too proud, convinced she's the pinnacle of humanity. It's likely hard for her to accept that a man—someone of low status in today's social order—is capable of fighting her to a draw."
"She won't let that go. Her pride won't allow it."
Bell bit her lower lip, her mind racing. She understood what Naoki was saying. She had known Ren much longer than Naoki had, and she knew exactly how vast the woman's pride was. But at the same time, she knew the side of Ren that others didn't see.
Suddenly, Bell reached out and grabbed both of Naoki's hands. Her small hands gripped his fingers tightly.
"Don't say things like that! It's true that discrimination against men has been undeniable since the gender roles reversed, but I... I have never once looked down on you like that, Naoki-kun!"
Her voice dropped to a near-whisper at the end of the sentence. And as the words left her lips, she seemed to realize something she might have been oblivious to until now: the distance between them.
Their faces were incredibly close.
When had that happened?
Bell couldn't remember. Perhaps it was when she grabbed his hands, or perhaps as she tried to convince him, her body had unconsciously leaned inward. Now she could see every detail of Naoki's face—the sharp line of his jaw, the calm intensity in his eyes, even the length of his eyelashes that she'd never noticed before.
Her face instantly turned a deep crimson. She hurriedly released his hands and scrambled back a step. "I-I'm sorry! Forgive my insolence!"
Naoki chuckled, not minding in the least. Instead, he flashed a teasing smirk. "Why so shy? Haven't we done things far more daring than just holding hands?"
The effect of his words was instantaneous.
In a flash, the memory of their "mental endurance training" session—where Naoki had stripped for her—shot through her mind. Bell's face flushed even deeper, all the way to her ears. She lunged forward, pressing both hands over Naoki's mouth.
"NAOKI-KUN!"
"D-don't just say things like that! What if someone hears?!" Bell squeaked in a panic, her eyes darting warily around the dojo while her heart hammered against her ribs.
Naoki only chuckled behind her palms, the muffled sound making it clear he was enjoying the girl's over-the-top reaction.
Bell turned an even darker shade of red. But beneath the overwhelming embarrassment, beneath the racing heart and the ragged breath, there was a warmth she couldn't deny.
Because even though she was flustered, even though she was mortified, even though she wanted to bury her face in the dirt... she knew Naoki meant no harm. It was just his way—his way of breaking the tension, of reminding her that amidst all the fear and worry she felt, she wasn't alone.
Bell slowly lowered her hands, but her mouth remained in a pout that wasn't entirely convincing.
"Anyway... don't talk about that here. Wait until... until there's no one else around."
She realized the ambiguity of her own words and immediately looked down, trying to hide a face that was still burning hot.
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