Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Day Minus 23 – 14:00

Kasai once believed that the most terrifying thing he would ever face in this life was the contract sitting in front on him on the table in the vacant office room.

He was about as wrong about that as it was possible for a person to be, but he had no way of knowing that at the time.

Still, contracts of any sort were not a matter to ever take lightly either. Particularly one that was written and prepared by none other than Sige United Financial. The second-largest business group in all of Japan would obviously have an array of expertly-trained lawyers on hand to enforce the rules of this innocuous-looking piece of paper set before him, while Kasai... he would have nothing. Nothing at all to defend him.

He wasn't going to let his disarmingly pleasant experience working for them so far make him underestimate them now. Six months of internship fresh out of college had led to a comfortable posting as an agent for a year without any real issues of note. He'd been able to pay off most of his student debt, get his own small place and everything... but all that could be taken away in a flash by a lawsuit. He'd be busted back to the slums of Togosu. If he was lucky.

So he made sure to read over every last sentence of this long contract form, making sure he understood everything to the letter. And a good thing too, because a lot of it was devoted to the terrifying extent of the legal penalties he could suffer if he were to leak information on certain private enterprises in this company that he would become privy to if he were to agree to take this higher position. This wasn't just someone's credit card numbers or address. He imagined that other countries imposed similarly harsh retribution when it came to the security of their nuclear codes.

Maybe it really was too much, he considered more and more as the full weight of it hit him with each new page turned and viewed. Maybe it would be better for him to just refuse, and stick with his current position. Despite lacking the trappings of a management position, this one paid more- a lot more- but the risks just seemed too great. What if he made a mistake?

All he had to do was not sign it. He could just go back to Junoda in the hall outside and explain to him that he didn't consider himself suitable for the position after all after reading more about it. Junoda would understand- he was good that way despite his default stern face- and he would let Kasai return to his old office job without a hint of complaint.

Except...

Except for how he was going to explain to his mother that no, she was going have to stay at Togosu General Hospital for a few years more. Where the ill-paid staff functioned on caffiene and stubbornness and had two malpractice reports on a good year. That her treatment would have to wait longer, and she would have to continue to use that ugly old metal walker and let others look after her and he could only visit once a week at best...

All because he was a coward who couldn't accept responsibility.

He'd been down that road before. But this one... this one was looking worse, mounting pressure warping the gravity of the room, compressing him into his sweat-soaked business suit. Another laundry bill to eat into his profits. Damn it. What am I gonna do. What can I do. If I mess up...

“Believe.”

The word drew his eyes up and now he knew he was stress-hallucinating. No one had opened the door to the room. He would have heard that, even in his current state.

The girl before him had appeared on top of the table from nowhere at all, legs crossed before him.

She appeared younger, though not too young to convey mockery with a polite-seeming smile of thin elegant lips. The eye-strainingly bright white dress suggested a very fancy regal tailor trying to coordinate with long, wildly unkempt hair that shone even brighter still, illuminating the entire room. Bright golden sclera focused in on him, projecting into him until he knew he wasn't in danger.

At least not from her.

“This is your chance. Your chance to bring a new Aeon into the world. The road ahead will be difficult, more than anything you have ever imagined. Nous, Aletheia, Ekklesia... The others will try to bring you over to their side. But I can see it in your soul, unique amongst humans. You bear within an Aeon of life. My path. My pleroma. My chosen prophet, my Bloody Angel... Let me guide you.”

She had to be a hallucination. Had to. But what kind of wacky drug could bring this kind of hallucination? Maybe it was a test. Maybe they'd covered some manager's daughter in some kind of glowing fluid and had her come out here to test him with cryptic words.

The other possibility- that he actually was going crazy from stress- didn't bear considering.

Choices loomed before him, endless abysses on either side. But what choice did he have, really? The money debt could wait... but the other debt couldn't. He owed his mother that much, and more. More that he could give, most likely. But that hadn't stopped him from trying, and getting this far with it.

What was one more step along that road?

“Believe.”

His pen descended.  Now he would find out. One way or another.

Day Minus 21 – 10:00

They had to be at least three floors below ground level by now, Kasai figured. Either that or the elevator was very slow, but he doubted it. Not with how Sige normally looked after their buildings, their headquarters being a stark gleaming spire of silver and white metal that drew people's eyes for many miles around.

This one was clearly meant for a different purpose though. Deliberately situated in the heart of a company industrial complex with a half-mile perimeter, and hidden among depots, parking lots and factories that didn't seem to serve any purpose he could recognize. Like the contract he'd signed three days ago, it was as strong a defence as any company could manage against a breach- stoic armed guards at every entry point and black rectangular alarms mounted on every wall.

Was this in fact some kind of joint venture between Sige and Japan's Self Defense Force? The government usually discouraged such partnerships, but that didn't stop them from trying if there was money to be had.

At least Junoda was here too. They weren't going to take him down here to cut him up and sell off his organs. At least he was reasonably confident of that.

“That device in the lobby...?”

“Please refrain from speaking until spoken to, agent Ohabara.”

Cold. Stern. Near silent. Junoda usually was all of these things, but he also cared for those in his charge, particularly those younger than him. Three years older than Kasai in fact always beating him out in the tall, the dark and the handsome categories, he'd quickly made himself seen as a kind of big brother to a lot of the interns, and of course the girls there all loved him.

Women, Kasai corrected himself. They weren't exactly 'girls' any more. They were out of school now, grown adults. Still, Mika and the other female employees sometimes behaved otherwise...

The others with them were equally serious. Armed and trained, no doubt. Wearing shades that suggested the image of the mythical men in black, coincidentally matching Junoda's suit in form if not color. Kas' own suit felt comparatively less grim and more casual on his shoulders. Like he didn't really belong here around all this well-pressed fabric and glossy shades. But the contract had not specified any alterations of the dress code.

Well, save for one. They still hadn't told him what exactly the watch on his wrist was for. Just that he needed to wear it at all times. If it turned out to be a tracking device... he would consider himself fortunate. It helped that Junoda was wearing one too.

The same went for the next one they saw- a short man in square glasses closer to Kasai's age wearing business casual as well, curly chestnut-brown hair framing a round boyish face. Despite these differences, he looked like he belonged there. Like it was just another day at the office for him. At least he looked like he wanted to ask a question, but knew better. An older lady researcher with him, going over something on the strange square-screened watches.

For once, he didn't feel the fear from before. Burning curiosity had been his forever companion since middle school, and now more than anything he wanted to find out what exactly the hell those weird watches were all about.

The room felt like the office from before. Unlived in, devoutly cleaned, set aside for a specific purpose... and perhaps a bit too well-lit, the lights reflecting off exposed fingernails and scalps. More worrying still was the large portion of the eastern wall completely blacked out- a one-way window far stronger than glass. What exactly were they planning to do in here anyway? Zap him with radiation?

It was too late to wonder, Kasai knew. He was in it now, the only way out to see it through.

The door clicked shut behind him, and finally that same fear he thought he'd faced down two days ago was crawling through his bones once again.

10:30

“Thank you for coming down here, agent Ohabara. I cannot emphasize enough how much we appreciate your cooperation in this matter.”

Kasai recognized a commercial spiel when he heard one. Words of flattery, costing the company nothing. He'd mastered it himself, though some part of him still chafed at too much of it with his superiors. Fortunately, the voice on the other end of the speaker didn't feel the need to embellish any further any more than he wanted to listen to it. It sounded like an older woman's voice on the other end, perhaps the researcher from before?

“Let's waste no time, then. What you're wearing right now is a special invention created in our R & D department- the Sige United Finance DSP. We had to have you wear it for a few days beforehand so that it could fully adjust to your biometrics, but you should be able to activate it now. Just hold down the button on the right side for three seconds and then release.”

Doing as he was told, Kasai saw the screen burst to life, displaying Sige's familiar winged business logo and slogan- 'Sige United Financial: Change The World'- for a moment before reverting to a default command screen. Some of the options there looked legible, others not. “Just looks like a fancy cell phone to me.”

The voice astonished him by laughing a bit, with no reprimand for speaking out. Apparently not everyone here was as stone cold as Junoda. “It can certainly perform such tasks, yes, though I wouldn't advise trying to download any games or movies on it. But the true reason for its existence is a feature that we have to keep very secret. You've read the contract, I assume?”

Bracing himself for anything- or at least he thought he was- Kasai nodded. “...I have. Whatever this new feature is, I'm not speaking a word of it to anyone who's not in on it already.”

“This feature only becomes active during times when we at Sige Financial remotely enable it. Any time that you are not authorized to use it, it will not be available to you. This is both a security measure and to conserve battery power, you understand.”

He shook off a worried frown. “...Of course. I understand.”

“You should be enabled now. Activate the DSP's Summon feature. It lines up with the button on the upper left.”

It was the kind of straightforward easy to use interface he'd come to expect from Sige tech. A child could probably use it, and he made a mental note to never let the device out of his sight just in case. “Got it.”

“It needs voice confirmation to activate too. Just speak your name directly into it.”

He raised his arm to his mouth. “Agent Kasai Ohabara. Activate DSP Summon feature.”

He heard the lightest of mischievous chuckles behind him, and the world collapsed.

He had to be dreaming again. Had to be. Nightmare. The worst nightmare. He was staring right into its death pale eyes.

He flinched first, but the nightmare didn't go away when he did, not satisfied with merely making him wake up in a cold sweat on his cheap cushions this time. This one wanted something more from him. His life, most likely.

The nightmare thing towered over him, an ashen-skinned humanoid figure with four wings sprouting from its back, all the same violent red shade as the mane of hair running down to meet them at the back. Thin lines of vibrant gold tattooed the rest of the body, bearing little garment save for a white tunic preserving modesty.

FOUR identical eyes- two of them set directly above the normal positioning, regarded him with an amused contempt, a proud reverb-laden voice perfectly matching his face's brash masculinity.

“You're summoning me? Ohoh, you poor foolish human. I KNEW they would be unable to resist the temptation to try to harness the power. Or... ah! Zoe. I might have known it. Still amusing yourself with weak humans, are we?”

Petrified, Kasai could say nothing. Someone else spoke instead.

“Your presence here is proof that I chose correctly. He will be the one to bring the world into its next Aeon and restore the balance of life to the planet. I know it.”

The golden-eyed luminescent girl from before. She was here now, popping in from nothing like the red-winged freak had. Although with that one he'd at least felt some kind of 'pull', a sudden surge in pressure as a warning before he'd appeared. With her there was nothing. Like a ghost.

Yet he didn't need to hear their words to know which of them was a threat. His body's very cells seemed to scream that he needed to stay far, far away from the blood-winged freak... not that there was anywhere to flee to in a locked room.

All he could see was those four eyes, all flickering as the creature laughed in mockery. “He will change NOTHING if he is dead!”

One clawed arm rose, conjuring a spray of glittering ice shards to impale him... but the attack wavered, fizzling out like a dying television image. The deadly ice spikes ceased to exist. His would-be murderer seemed to know what was going on better than he did, and merely gave a look of contempt before fading out completely with a silent laugh.

The ghost girl- Zoe?- regarded him kindly. Just as the savage winged killer had radiated danger, this one shone with a sense of tranquility and serenity. Enough to fight off his fear once again. Or at least enough to stop him from losing it completely. Her smile...

Then she was gone too, the lights coming back up as Junoda barged into the room, his usual cold demeanor now ridden with worry for his friend. “Kas! Kas, you...”

He couldn't hear the rest of it. His last thought before blacking out was what the hell he'd gotten himself into.

1:30

Kasai surprised himself more than anyone else with how calm he'd behaved after waking back up. Maybe Zoe was still helping him with that in her strange invisible ways. Maybe the fact that everything else about this deal made more sense now counterbalanced what he'd just seen just enough to not freak out.

Whatever the reason, he impressed Junoda right away with a lack of panic, seeming safe enough that he was able to bring in the young ponytailed researcher from before to meet him in the bed-laden room he'd come to in. “Good afternoon, agent Ohabara”, she greeted him. “I am chief researcher Tatyana Chiba. I've been brought in to debrief you. As you can imagine, most people's reactions after this test are quite explosive, and yours was worse than most.”

Understatement of the millennium. “I don't need an imagination to know that. What... what the fucking hell was THAT thing?!”

Tatyana still smiled. Without the speaker getting in the way he could detect a foreign accent. “Layman's answer; THAT was Astanpheus, the Archangel of Presence. An evil one, although most of the test subjects are initially hostile when summoned regardless of alignment.”

Kasai stared, hoping that he did long enough some part of what she'd said would make more sense. Looking to Jun for confirmation, she checked her own device before continuing.

“The DSP's most revolutionary feature. The ability to harness the quantum element 'magnetite' to draw pseudo-mythical beings out of their world into our reality, for which we use the catchall moniker of 'demon'. When it is first activated, it calibrates the dimensional interlocutor fields by-”

“In other words”, Junoda cut her off. “Astanpheus was as real as you or I before we cut the power to your DSP to send him back to his own 'realm'. I should apologize- usually the test demon is much, much weaker than that.”

Kasai still stared blankly. Jun actually believed this horseshit too? Jun, the most grounded person he knew?

And yet... that red-winged killer felt completely real. Too real to be a nightmare. Too big and powerful to be just a muscular man covered in paint with thousands of feathers glued on. Too terrifying to be anything but what they said he was. A real, actual honest-to-gods angel, and one who had come within inches of murdering him right on the spot no matter what Zoe said.

Zoe. The golden-eyed girl. Was she real or not? Jun and Tatyana had made no mention of her.

“No wonder you made me sign that contract”, he managed to speak at last, chilled with fury at what had almost happened in that test room. “I could have died.”

“The possibility of death is explained fully in the waiver”, Junoda reminded him. “As I said, we didn't intend for that to happen, but we have that controlled room for it. We have yet to lose any test subjects.”

“It is partly your fault, agent Ohabara”, Tatyana couldn't help pointing out. She seemed to think it was actually funny. “The test demon is usually the one which is spiritually closest to the subject's own soul. You must share some kind of deep connection with that one, and I can already see it.”

“'See it'?” Following her eyes upwards, Kasai snorted in disgust. “Oh. Oh sure. Everyone always tells me that having red hair is unlucky, but that is so not what I had in mind.”

He had no idea if his hair was unlucky or not. People in this country just acted like it was, and so fulfilled their own prophecy with him more often than not.

“I think it suits you”, she giggled. “Actually, I have checked your background files and-”

“Regardless”, Jun annoyed her with another interruption. “The fact that Astanphaeus was summoned by you only reinforces that we made the right decision to select you for this duty. Your spiritual power is one of the highest we have ever seen on record.”

Still uneasy, Kasai returned his attention to his friend. If he could still be called that. “Selected me for what, exactly? I'm never summoning that damned freak again. Ever.”

“Understandable”, Jun agreed. “However, the DSP can also be used to summon numerous demons of lesser power- nowhere near as dangerous as that one. Once defeated, they can be commanded by the wielder, tied to the device.”

Kasai's eyes drifted down to his arm, down to the watch-shaped device in question, understanding for the first time just how dangerous it was. His hand reached to remove it only for Jun to catch it in a stronger grip.

“Naturally, we place the strongest possible restrictions on the use of this power. But it has proven useful to us in the past.”

The younger man's eyes narrowed. By sheer osmosis, he had picked up some of the Sige group's history, and the most outstanding part of it was just how quickly they had come to prominence over the last two decades. Thirty-five years ago, they'd been nothing but a humble electronics firm. With the aid of the economic boom that company had eventually expanded into dozens of other offshoots at a rate that left their competitors astonished, acquiring influence and power comparable to its predecessors, the Zaibatsus of old.

Nearly as uncanny as the growth rate of Sige's main and only business rival, the Bythos Manufacturing group.

“...You... You use the powers of demons to further the company's aims?”

“Rarely”, Jun emphasized. He knew exactly what this looked like. He'd had this conversation with many others. “The demons possess incredible powers that can be harnessed for the good of humanity, so long as they are properly controlled. That is why we only entrust it to certain agents. The most disciplined, and trustworthy.”

“And the most spiritually powerful”, Tatyana echoed to his own annoyance. “And Astanpheus of all... that's concrete proof that you've got some incredible power within you, agent Ohabara.”

“...I'm flattered.” His gut felt sour, his eyes exhausted. “And if I don't feel like playing along?”

Silence. Jun was just politely watching him, waiting for him to figure it out without help. A violation of the contract would see him lose his job, and they could easily make it so he could never get another.

Meaning he would have to go tell his mother that she could no longer stay even in the Toyosu hospital. That all the faith in him she'd held onto for so long even after... THAT... was misplaced.

No choice. Nothing left to do but breathe out all his regret, all his anxiety, and resolve to make the best of the current situation.

“...No killing humans. Never. I'm serious. Go ahead and shitcan me, I'm NOT gonna be a murderer for you people. I'm done with that.”

“Not something we ask even of our Enforcer agents”, Jun assured him. “You may be using demons for self-defense, but that is all.”

It did occur to Kasai to ask exactly what Jun thought they would be defending themselves from, but it could wait. After all, Jun had done him the courtesy of not bringing up his past to convince him further. Still, he'd seen that glimmer in his eye. He was holding it in reserve, a desperation measure to bring him back in line if needed.

What else could he say? It felt nice to be wanted for once. Tens of thousands of agents in their employ, young and old, smart and strong, and they'd chosen him. The fear remained, but he'd remembered the trick to mastering it now.

“...Does the government know?”

Jun shook his head. “No. You know how they would react even if they believed the truth.”

“So Sige has been concealing this research from them.”

“Private research undertaken on Sige's funding by Sige employees. Under the law, we are not required to share all of our developments with the government unless they pertain to military affairs.”

“I'm pretty sure they do-” Kasai caught himself, realizing what exactly he was arguing for, and fell silent for a stretch. “Oh. Damn. Never mind what I just said. They would weaponize it, wouldn't they? Yeah. They couldn't resist, even if it's just the SDF.”

“The fewer hands have access to the power”, his friend reasoned, “the less likelihood of an unfortunate accident involving its misuse. Miss Surahi knows that, as does her father Harada.”

It wasn't exactly a surprise that the CEO of Sige and his daughter knew about it. Kasai was rather more surprised that Jun would address the latter in such a familiar way. How close were they, really? If the rumours were true, the sole living child of Harada Sige was quite the ambitious little corporate princess for her age, and her staying single for long was driving the tabloids wild with speculation.

He would have liked to talk with Surahi about this whole demon summoning thing. But not even the power of demons could close that gap, he knew.

Standing, Jun regarded him anew. “Perhaps a demonstration is in order? Let us say, hypothetically, that Astanpheus had managed to shred you with that ice attack before we could remotely shut down your DSP...”

Hitting a few buttons on his own device, he spoke into it. “Activate. Junoda Munayama. Summon Caladrius.”

The air appeared to compress inwards again just as it had before, and there appeared a white and teal-feathered bird, a fin sprouting from its head bearing a familiar red cross. A tiny blue beak opened to release a chirp, producing a bright green energy wave covering him.

“Wh-what...?”

“Healing”, Jun explained. “Mending of the flesh. I've seen demon healing skills knit broken bones back together, repair ruptured organs, cure diseases, and more.”

Kasai could only gape at the little white bird. It was hard to believe such a cute thing could hold that kind of power. It seemed happy to use it as well, casually gliding around the room to perch on a shelf. The exact opposite of Astanpheus, though he didn't doubt that Caladrius could likely cause some damage too if ordered.

Tatyana enjoyed its presence as well, pulling her right lab coat sleeve back to reveal something else. Sky blue metallic textures. Five segmented digits much larger than expected of a woman her age but otherwise indistinguishable.

“You might not have noticed, agent Ohabara, but this... apparatus runs on magnetite as well. It's far more flexible and closer to real living tissue than any previous form of prosthetic designed.”

That got Kasai's attention off Caladrius right quick. He hadn't even noticed up until now, but with the woman's coat sleeve all the way back he could see that the thick metal arm went all the way up to the upper join of her elbow. “What... um... what happened?”

Tatyana's merry ringing laugh seemed completely out of place for the topic. “I'd... rather not share that just yet. Maybe some other time. We all have our secrets to keep, agent Ohabara. Let's just say that demon power can't quite cure every malady that befalls us humans... though I have hypothesized that stronger demons might yet possess power enough to regenerate lost limbs.”

Sure, Kasai snorted. If anyone could ever convince the likes of Astanpheus to use their power to do that instead of doing exactly the opposite to humans. Still, the demonstrations they'd given had him thinking on it more.

“Y'know”, he managed at last. “When you first said I was being considered for a promotion, I thought it was gonna be a management position. An office with a desk where other people would report to me. Not this.”

A bit of the old Jun he remembered showed through his hardened shell then, a casual wink. “I think you'll find that the Enforcer position is better-suited to your attributes, agent Ohabara.”

His not-so-subtle way of hinting at all he knew of the young man's past. And all the lucky breaks he'd gotten to absolve him of it. No choice at all, really.

“What about the other one then? The girl?”

Surprise registered on both of their faces until Tatyana found her words. “Hm? Another demon? Our instruments detected no one else.”

“...I see. Never mind then.”

Well. So maybe he was going crazy after all. Crazier than them.

Somehow, even crazier than a world where demons existed.

Chapter Text

“Who are you?”, he asked of the darkness of slumber. “What are you? A demon? A god?”

Zoe's faint amusement remained soothing as it had been before. As though she'd internalized the perspective that had gotten him through the roughest stages of his life so far- that anything, no matter how horrible, can be handled with just a bit of distance and ridicule.

“Not a god. An Aeon. A fragment of god. The Aeon of Life.  Far older than the current Aeons battling over this world.”

“Aeons?”

“The Aeons who take the names Sige and Bythos. Yet they have no substance to them. Nothing but self-propagation for their own sake. They have entrapped your will in a cage of guilt and regret, trying to harness your power for their ends.”

“But don't worry, my chosen, my Bloody Angel.”

“Soon, very soon... I will set you free.”

Day 0

The DSP's alarm stirred Kasai from slumber, and he tried not to be too aghast at seeing 5:24 am on the clock. One more change that he'd had to become used to was how Enforcers didn't work steady hours like he was used to. When he was needed, he had to drop everything and get going to the destination point, and that included sleep. No breakfast. No tooth brushing or preparation. He had to go.

The end of night was a side of the city he hadn't often seen until now. People still walked the pavement and cars still drove, but neither were yet the overwhelming flood that he knew they would become in a few hours' time. It would have been entirely possible for him to make better time in a car, but his new pay hadn't yet given him enough to get a place with its own garage, never mind a vehicle.

Luckily, the destination wasn't too far. Just enough of a trip to read the data being sent to him on the DPS' screen on his way.

'High concentrations of magnetite detected. Report of rogue Bythos Enforcer attacking people at a warehouse confirmed to be Yakuza property. Intercept to avoid an incident, all force authorized .'

Kasai grimaced. His fears about the Bythos group possessing the same dangerous technology had quickly proven accurate. In fact, that seemed to be the main reason they had the DSP- to protect their businesses and depots from sabotage by Bythos Enforcers. Demons left no fingerprints. Police detectives had no chance of tracking them down or determining who would commit such acts... and even less chance of stopping them in the act.

His mind was still made up on the last part of the report though. Never killing. Just need to stop that demon tamer and bust their DSP. That was the best way to do it, he figured. Without their device, they were just ordinary humans.

Even better, it looked like he wasn't going in alone. Moonlight flickered off a familiar pair of glasses near a pier, the young blue-garbed researcher- the researcher who doubled as an Enforcer- from before beckoning him over.

“Agent Ohabara”, Weihan Yasuda greeted him, clearly just as content to have a partner with him on this. One he'd come to know in the last few weeks. “You made good time, considering you didn't have a vehicle. I was worried I'd have to handle this alone.”

“You learn how to get around”, Kasai shrugged back. “Back alleys and such. What've we got here?”

Checking his device, Weihan winced. “It looks like someone's not playing by the rules. Using demons to attack a Yakuza branch during a clan meeting.”

“It's be suicide to go in there without demons”, Kasai reasoned, earning a scolding look back. “I know, I know. Still... is this really our problem to deal with, Yasuda?”

“It is, in fact”, Weihan assured him patiently. “People talk. One person yapping about seeing demons is easy to ignore, dismiss as crazy. But a whole bunch of frightened crooks going on about it to the cops? Signs of them getting ripped apart by demons? We have to stop them, before it's too late.”

“And it's a chance to capture a Bythos agent”, Kasai muttered. Though he had to admit that every mission he'd been given so far was necessary, there was always that unpleasant undertone that the two financial giants were always trying to get one over on each other even during life and death conflicts. That they were all just little game pieces. Sige had privately accused Bythos of stealing their proprietary technology, and Bythos leveled the same charge at Sige Financial. Neither could bring the matter to the police without admitting the tech existed, and so the two resolved their differences in other ways.

Weihan would, of course, swear that Sige's word was true and Bythos was lying. In turned out his father had been on the early development team that created the DSP, retired now but leaving his son to try and live up to his legacy. That, Kasai figured, was why Wei tended to try to make himself out as the superior in any given operation. Still, it was easy to overlook considering how junior he was. He'd be happy to let the tamer take the lead on this one.

He saw his partner raise his arm, speaking into his watch device.

“Weihan Yasuda. Summon Fairy Pixie!”

A winged demon smaller still than Caladrius answered his command- a gossamer-winged female humanoid in tight blue leotard and boots with dark red hair and eyes that would have been beautiful had they not burned with an unnatural light. A minor demon but a useful one, as Kasai had learned.

“You don't have to say the species, you know.”

An innocent shrug. “I prefer accuracy, that's all.”

“More like you prefer staring at her curves.”

“...Shut up and summon already.”

“Fine. Kasai Ohabara. Summon Mokoi.”

Less dramatic, but the result was the same. The new 'starter demon' he'd been granted was also small; a dark green wooden doll figure in a waistcloth, armed with a red boomerang of all things, white light shining out of slitted eyes recognizing his tamer and ready for battle.

A battle which sounded like it had already started. Gunshots ringing out from inside the warehouse, followed by the panicked screams of those within.

The image matched the sounds and for the first time in a while, Kasai began to feel doubt creep back in. He was no badass, no special agent. Not someone suited to be seeing hardened Yakuza up close and personal in their hideouts, or facing the death that they threatened others with as a matter of habit. There were times when he barely felt like an adult at all... and some of these guys in suits looked to be his own age, or younger.

Perhaps if that 'miracle' hadn't happened, he might be in that very same position now. A violent young man who thought he was tough being shown what real strength is by actual demons. The demon in question being a tubby white-furred goat biped, ribbed horns curling around the back of a cruel smile as his hoofed strikes sent hapless men flying into crates that looked to be full of some kind of narcotic.

“A Fomorian!”, Weihan recognized the beast instantly as usual. “Pixie, burn him up!”

The beast had to be at least five times the Pixie's size, but the flames her gestures conjured did the trick, making the beast howl in pain and stagger back.

“The legs!”, Kasai called out, seeing the opportunity. “Mokoi, go for the legs!”

Unusually happy to obey a command, the smaller demon released its projectile weapon to strike both calves while the Fomorian reeled, knocking it on its ample behind to shake the entire building.

Checking to see if any of the goons were stirring, he caught something decidedly else out of his eye; a shapeless elastic blur equally random in color, long kaleidoscope arms slicing through crates to nearly bisect Pixie. Weihan rolled clear in time, cursing and raising his DSP device. “That's...”

“Wha-? Tenong Cut, STOP!”

The gyrating figure obeyed, a spastic wire fu film suddenly put on pause. Allowing Weihan to look up and see past the demon and the smoke...

And curse again.

“You... Fujisa?!”

6:00

“Y-Yasuda?!” A young woman's voice, uncertain of what exactly she was seeing as she stepped through the wreckage, the elastic demon positioning itself at her shoulder, ready to strike at her command.

The tamer herself lacked the ridiculous psychedelic colours of her pet, wearing a business suit similar to theirs but a dark violet trim, nearly the same shade as her tightly-spun and bound hair. Lean, focused eyes with a beauty mark beneath regarded Kasai for a moment before returning her attention to Weihan.

“No way... you're with Sige?”

His initial confusion receding, Weihan's acute sense of annoyance returned as quickly as it had gone. “And you're with Bythos. Though not for much longer, I'd think. You did this?”

Ignoring the obvious answer, Kasai stepped forward. “So you two know each other, I take it?”

“Yeah. Back in high school”, Weihan sounded embarrassed. “I never expected to see her here of all places. Her dad's a cop, not a researcher.”

“Still so boastful”, Fujisa shook her head in dismay, reaching down to hit a button on the midnight black DSP device on her wrist. “You haven't changed, I see. But even I didn't think you'd go along with something like this. Don't try to stop me. These bastards had it coming.”

And suddenly Kasai didn't feel quite so inadequate in the maturity department. They all had weapons at their disposal though, he remembered. “...How about we all just dismiss our demons and step outside for a bit?”

Blinking, she seemed to take him in fully for the first time, eyes narrowing. “You... who are you?”

“Kasai Ohabara.”

“I'm Fujisa Todoroki. I... uh... wish we'd met somewhere else.”

“Maybe later, after Bythos fires you for doing this?”

The idea didn't seem to come as a shock to her. “She'll be damn lucky if that's all they do”, Weihan grumbled, surveying the destroyed crates and debris strewn across the warehouse. “But we could maybe help you?”

The wrong thing to say, Kasai knew before she replied. “...Yeah, nice try. I'm not joining up with Sige. If anything, they're even worse than Bythos. They have this amazing power and they hoard it all to themselves! I had to do something!”

“I see you're still the same old Mt. Fuji”, Weihan raised his hands in defeat. “Gotta watch out when she erupts. Whatever. Get out of here then. But if they do try anything, you know where to find us.”

“Like I ever would do that.” With her silent command, Tenong Cut's bladed arm smashed a hole in the far wall, its master sprinting through to escape. Kasai automatically moved to chase her only for Weihan to grab his arm.

“It's fine. It's her choice. And we still have a mission to finish, remember?”

Surveying the various unconscious mobsters, Kasai shook his head. “Looks pretty finished to me, Yasuda. And you said she's gonna be in trouble.”

“In trouble with Bythos, her employer. Not with us.”

“Same difference.” Breaking away, he almost forgot to recall Mokoi as he leaped through the hole into the night beyond.

7:00

For once Kasai was immensely glad that he'd been listening to Tatyana's instructions on the DSP's other special features. Particularly, the tiny bump of the magnetite sensor activated at the very top of the screen frame. With that, he could easily stay on the woman's trail, following her all the way out of the warehouse district, past the highway joining the wharf district with the rest of the city.

As before, foreknowledge of these roads gave him an edge. It felt like he'd just about caught up to her when something else stopped him cold.

“What...?”

Tokyo's various nature parks had always been a part of its visual appeal, and despite centuries of urban overgrowth and corporate excess that had not changed. It just wasn't worth the efforts to buy permits and get all the permissions necessary to bulldoze all that open parkland, not even for Sige or Bythos. Easier to just set up new complexes on the outskirts of the city, forever expanding Tokyo's reach in all directions.

But the closest park was Yashio Kita. A relatively small one, and he'd steered around it.

Until he'd found himself touching green grass poking up through what looked like solid concrete. Patches of it everywhere, growing in number as the park grew closer.

And the magnetite sensor went off the scale.

“You... idiot...” Weihan panted, catching up to him. “They... not our... what the...what...?”

He let his partner rest up for a moment, and process what exactly it was they were seeing.

Because Yashio Kita park was somehow having a growth spurt, expanding past every fence built to denote its borders; north, west, south and east. Even its trees looked taller, thicker than he remembered them.

“Must be using some new kind of miracle fertilizer”, he joked weakly. Fear. Doubt. Creeping back in until he shook it off.

“Holy shit. Magnetite levels are off the charts!”, Weihan gaped in disbelief. “This is NOT normal...”

“C'mon. We need more information before we give our report about this phenomenon to headquarters.”

His partner snorted as if that were the actual reason they were going in. “Right. Showing initiative. That's what we're doing. But I'm the agent in charge here, Ohabara. I'll go first.”

They found her in the still-beautiful heart of the park, in a wide copse of willows and berry bushes, the morning sunlight slowly peering through a handful of gaps in narrow shafts.

Fighting for her life.

Her two previous demons were both summoned, and fully engaged against a pack of smaller enemies, some recognizable from Sige's data, some not. Harpies, Obariyons, hungry Pretas... The numbers were what threw him. He'd never seen such a huge pack, and neither had his partner. “I don't see any other agents...”

“No”, Weihan gaped. “They're all wild demons. Demons not under the control of Sige OR Bythos!”

“H-huh? Like that crazy Yeti Munayama took down?”

“Exactly. Weaker, but more numerous.”

Kasai prepared himself, raising his device. “Time for us to even the odds then. Activate. Kasai Ohabara. Summon Mokoi, and Centaur.”

The second demon was more imposing than his green doll, consisting of a well-molded bipedal horse, twin heads emerging from the shoulders, single spike horns meeting in the middle, the extra legs hanging down as if trying to substitute for a lack of arms. Though larger, the DSP's readouts indicated it was around the same level of power as Mokoi.

This method of fighting had taken some getting used to, certainly. The biggest surprise had actually been how fast he'd taken to it in a short time.

He'd busted a few knuckles on humans in the past, but this was completely different. It required much more mental focus than physical. Here, he had to be a commander instead of a fighter, directing summoned allies in attack or defence, the summoned demons fuelled by the 'spiritual energy' that Junoda had supposedly selected him for.

The wild energy that had brought out the angel Astanpheus to nearly kill him. But these ones were mercifully much weaker, and would generally follow his commands.

Another bonus; Fujisa didn't object to their aid, instead redoubling her own demons' efforts to clear out the enemy's numbers. Combined with Pixie's healing power things went suspiciously well until a blast of searing flames far greater than hers washed over them, instantly taking out both Fomorian and Tenong Cut.

It had come from the fanged maw of the pack's leader- a slender dark green-skinned lizard, dead straw hairs hanging back across undulating scales and claws, which Mokoi's boomerang and Centaur's lightning merely bounced off of.

“A Salamander”, Weihan recognized. “Got any ice-users on you, Fuji?”

“That”, she closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating, “and more. Summon Yuki Jyorou.”

The long-haired blue snow maiden she summoned wasn't near the size of the other two she'd had, but the yellow and red in her eyes alone was enough to suggest a chilling personality... and Fujisa wasn't yet done, speaking into her wrist once more. “Now. Activate Demon Armatization program.”

Weihan was more shocked by the reveal of something he didn't know about than the words themselves. “Huh? Demon Armatization?”

He didn't have to wonder long. The snow demon receded, becoming a formless chilly cloud of midnight blue that enwrapped Fujisa in it, the park soil around her feet suddenly freezing and cracking at the touch as she slowly emerged from a crystal prison step by step.

“Holy hell...!”

The icy being that stood before them now was recognizably still Fujisa Todoroki. But it was also a bit more besides. A chilling blue energy visibly radiated out of large eyes that had moments ago been violet, permeating her hair and shifting both her skin and suit to a winter white.

With a gesture from her, a score of crystal spikes impaled the Salamander, catching it mid-leap. While its breath was able to melt the obstructions, Centaur charged home to impale its side, and in the time it took to force it back with a blazing bite Fujisa repeated her move, this time breaking the draconic beast into flash-frozen pieces.

“Whoa. Glad she didn't use that one on us when we fought”, he heard Weihan mutter behind him, studying his DSP's readouts. Its sensors couldn't manage to separate the lifesigns of the human and demon any longer, scanning a nameless hybrid being that had no archived record. Even her poise was radically different, closer to the snow maiden's more reserved, haughty demeanour.

“Hm. You like it? It's the newest invention from Bythos R&D. Just give me a moment, and I'll deal with the rest of these mongrels. I'll turn their blood to ice!”

Kasai blinked. She sounded different too. Almost... joyful at the prospect?

Turning, she inhaled deeply, preparing a finishing breath of frigid air... that never came.

Fujisa's figure fluctuated strangely, warping, distorting like a disrupted holo-image before splitting back into the human and demon that had composed it. Yuki Jyorou looked equally as confused, staring at her hands for a moment before fading away, a projection with the power cut.

Along with Kasai's Centaur and Mokoi. “No... what? What happened?”

“Shit”, Weihan looked like he'd eaten something rotten by mistake. “Tonight's mission is over, so the restrictions on using the DSP are back on. And... Bythos is cutting Fuji loose.”

His Pixie was gone too. In a space of seconds, they'd gone from three Enforcers confident of their victory to three vulnerable scared humans drawing closer to each other for imagined protection. Most of the demon pack had been defeated or driven off, but a handful of them was still more than enough to devour them and not even leave bones behind.

The hideous Preta at the front drooled, eager to take a bite of suddenly helpless prey. “Me EAAAAT!”

And Weihan was gone. Screaming. Sprinting away at a speed belying his physique, but not enough to stop Obariyon from leaping over to block his path. “Shit! No, no, no, NO...!”

They were all dead. All of them.

Dead.

7:15

To be reborn, first you have to die.

Kasai could see it, too. Like it already happened in his mind's eye. Fujisa trying to make a last stand of it, only for the Preta to bite down on her fist as she tried to punch and rip it right off, staining the forest floor with her blood. Fujisa screaming in pain and terror and collapsing, allowing one of the others to pounce her and begin digging through her suit and into her flesh to devour it. Weihan shutting down completely, dropping to his knees in unanswered prayer, tears staining his face until Obariyon removed it for him.

And him. Fear had found him again. Surrounded, watching his friends die, and unable to avoid sharing their fate. Trying to fight, only to be nailed by Obariyon's sonic waves and caught by Preta's powerful grip. Bitten in two, legs and torso separate meals for the remaining demons.

All because of the restrictions. All because of damned Sige and twice-damned Bythos, who placed more value on their secrets than the lives of three human employees.

No...

“This fate can be averted. I promised to set you free from their cage. Shall I?”

The girl. Zoe. She was watching them die. Always watching them, though only he could see.

No...

“Yes. Yes, please! Do it! Anything!”

“Those Aeons will not tolerate disobedience by their components. Are you sure?”

“YES! YES! Just set us free!”

Anything was better than being eaten here. Anything at all was better than dying, knowing that the missing persons report would be delivered to his mother, who put all her faith in him. Knowing that the same would be happening for the loved ones of two others.

Zoe chuckled, terribly amused by his thoughts. “Very well. Join with me, and together we shall form a new Aeon to bring life and truth to this world. Let's Survive.”

Day 1 – 7:30

He didn't recall being dead.

There had been a light, blinding white. But Kasai was reasonably confident it wasn't the one people spoke of. This light had brought him back.

Back, and different. Remembered urgency drew his awakening eyes down to the DSP. It was different too. The corners of the device had become rounded, the reflective metal opalescent white.

He didn't see a strap on it any more, no longer resembling a watch.

But the only thing that really mattered at that point was that it worked. “A-activate! Kasai Ohabara! Summon Mokoi and Centaur!”

Fujisa and Weihan had already given up, he saw. They had resigned themselves to a painful death, knowing there was no escape from their fate, no way to outrun these demons. No way to avoid being eaten alive.

Not until Centaur's lightning lashed out and blasted the grasping Preta into floating ashes. They couldn't take their eyes off the equestrian demon who had saved them, too shocked to even act.

Fortunately, Mokoi's boomerang striking several of the others was the final straw. With a final somewhat irritated roar, the rest of the stragglers gave up and ran.

And Fujisa and Weihan stared, not sure what to say. “You... how did you...?”

“He was saying something”, Fujisa remembered. “I wasn't paying attention but he was definitely saying something.”

His partner looked him over, alternately intrigued and terrified until it got old. “Look, maybe they figured out we were in trouble and turned our DSPs back on, okay?”

“I don't think so. Look.”

Their DSPs had undergone the same transformation as his. No longer quite resembling Sige or Bythos products, but something else. Weihan was the first to reach with his other hand to try and pull it loose. And grunt. And stare in astonishment. “Damn. No good. It's stuck.”

“What? Stuck?!” Fujisa made a disgusted sound, but she couldn't pull the device off her arm any more than he could his. For all purposes, it looked like the new devices were permanently fused to their wrists. “...Great. Great, just what we need. Though I guess if it saved our lives, it was worth it.”

As a test, she called up the summon program as she had before, returning Yuki Jyorou to existence. “Well. Everything seems to be working okay now.”

“Y-yeah”, Weihan followed suit, bringing out another demon- a floating brown hide mischief-maker called Knocker. “Looks like we can use our demons again. How come?”

“I'm not gonna question it”, Kasai reminded him. “For now, we should get out of here.”

“No kidding”, his partner agreed, checking the sensor to make sure it still worked properly as well. “This park's soil is absolutely overflowing with Magnetite right now. I've never seen anything like it.”

“Or that many wild demons?”, Kasai guessed.

“Exactly. They might appear in ones or twos for us to take care of, but never a whole pack like that. We absolutely need to report this to our superiors.” Not even waiting for them to be out of the park, he growled in annoyance. “Come on... I can't reach the Sige network. Fuji, want to try yours just to be sure?”

“Mine's the same”, she sighed. “I can't reach anyone. I'm not surprised, really. Bythos won't be interested in talking to me any more, after tonight. Just in taking away my DSP for disobeying them.”

“...Which might be a bit of an issue now.”

“Mm. I suppose”, she considered. “We'll cross the bridge when... when...!”

They'd emerged through the baseball field into the light to find a new world arrayed before them. The buildings were still in their same spots, the same roads they'd remembered coming in. The same vast city of Tokyo. But the crush of early-morning civilians they'd expected was down a trickle, and those few looked too frightened to talk to.

“What...?”

A police chopper sped by overhead, rattling the trees. “-I repeat, everyone please return to your homes for the time being. There has been an attack on the city. Police and SDF forces are being deployed. Please do not interfere. I repeat, everyone please return to your homes for the time being-”

“An attack on the city?”, Fujisa frowned. “How? Could that have something to do with... no...!”

“No telling”, Weihan tried to comfort her. “It might just be a coincidence. But it IS weird that this park would be so overgrown and spawning demons. Let me just...” Climbing up onto the median in the middle of the deserted road, he squinted across the wide channel to the west side. “Can't tell for sure, but it looks like Shinagwa park is a bit more green than I remember too.”

A new Aeon, Kasai remembered silently. A new Aeon was at hand for Tokyo.  A whole new world.

Were they ready for it?

Was anyone ready for it?

Chapter Text

Day 1 - 7:45

The morning's light greeted a new world, forever different from everything it had been yesterday.

Buildings, streets, objects... Everything in the legendary metropolis of Tokyo seemed to be in the same place as it had been the day before, but the resemblance felt superficial. Though no demons were in sight at the moment, for Kasai it was like his danger sense had been overloaded into constant, perpetual ringing, and that was the noise in the air instead of the helicopters or the ambient noises generated by a hot summer day.

“We'll go to my place”, he decided at last. “It's close. We can sort all this stuff out from there.”

Weihan didn't sound at all like he'd just narrowly avoided death by the slimmest of margins. “Your place? We need to head back to Sige headquarters and let them know-”

“I'm pretty damn sure they know by now. Hopefully they're doing something about it and we can join up with them later.”

“Urgh... fine. I've decided that we'll rest up at your place first.”

Fujisa had looked annoyed by the mention of going to Sige headquarters, but could only laugh after hearing that. “Still so tightly-wound, eh Yasuda? I'd hoped you would eventually grow out of that.”

“And I'd hoped that you'd eventually figure out how to stop erupting, so we're even.”

Kasai let the two of them quarrel. It was a nice distraction from all the signs of the changed Tokyo around them as they made their way north past the commercial districts towards Toyosu.

Everyone was in a hurry to get indoors now, some people even abandoning their cars in the streets. A few still remained reluctant to follow the police's edicts, but quickly started moving again when cop cars appeared.

It was a hot day for it, even for the zenith of the summer season. Their own reluctance to stop eventually gave way to grabbing some water bottles at one of the vending machines. “I've never seen this place so deserted”, Fujisa remarked sadly from an outdoor food court table. “Did the demons cause this too?”

Hearing the police chopper repeating the same broadcast as it passed overhead, he waited for the blare to end before responding. “No way to know yet. We just need to keep an eye out for them.”

Watching the chopper recede, Weihan surveyed the hot concrete as if expecting demons to pop out at any moment. “We'll... we'll be okay, right?”

“As long as we can still use the DSP.” Unable to hold off any longer, Fujisa dropped her bottle and focused her violet pupils in on Kasai. “So. Anything in particular you'd like to share with us right now, Ohabara?”

Damn it, she would have to be sharp too. Mika would have just trusted him and left it at that.

“Er... it's...ah... kinda hard to explain. I'll tell you once we reach my place. Promise. For now, I think we should be good.”

“Should”, she repeated, automatically disliking the chance of failure for something their very lives depended on. Though that was certainly miles better than a guaranteed shutdown.

“Hey!”, one of the cops finally spotted them. “Didn't you idiots hear the announcement? Get indoors already, for heaven's sake!”

Not arguing, shrugging, the trio stood as one to resume their hike north.

8:15

Much like his vehicle situation, Kasai's residence had yet to reflect his raised salary. Generous for one person, it would be downright cozy, even cramped, for three. Regardless of its modesty, Fujisa made the necessary courteous noises of being impressed with it before staking a first claim on the shower past the kitchen.

“I'll be quick about it”, she promised, halting for a moment and turning after sensing something from Weihan. “Oh, and... horrible, HORRIBLE things will happen to you if you peek.”

“Yeah, like we're crazy enough to do that to someone with a permanent DSP attached to her arm and a frost demon at her call”, Weihan sighed, flopping down on the small couch once she was well out of earshot. “Good thing they're waterproofed.”

“Quite the friend you've got there.” Having nothing better to do, Kasai began to empty out the front rank of his refrigerator, letting the others help themselves to whatever food he had on hand.

“I know, I know”, his partner held his head painfully. “Sorry about that. Mt. Fuji's always been that way. You should've seen the time when this 3^rd year jerk tried to skim money off of our class' charity fundraiser. Ho-hoo boy. I'd never seen him so scared in my entire life. She might've gotten in some real trouble for it too, 'cept her dad covered for her.”

“His name is...?”, Kasai idly wondered if he'd met the man in the past.

“Ushio Todoroki. Police Lieutenant. He's prolly one of the ones out there right now, trying to get everyone to safety and keep order in the city. Speaking of which... you mind?”

“Go ahead.”

The TV across the room was equally cheap, but the image wasn't as important as the sound of the reporters observing the mysterious crisis that had befallen their mighty city, madly speculating and naturally coming up with numerous theories that Kasai knew were all completely wrong.

They both took a sharp breath when they saw the most prominent sign of damage- Tokyo's famous rail line going into Shibuya had completely collapsed, hundreds of the metal supports taken out by some unknown force.

“Well”, Weihan sighed once the noise had died down again. “That sure complicates things.”

“Not like the rail line was going to be working right now anyway”, Kasai reasoned. “Everything's shut down.”

“Yes, except that the line collapsed right on top of the main road. The road taking us back to Sige headquarters. You'd have to go around for miles.”

“Eh, not really. Just take the Rainbow bridge.”

“The Rainbow bridge that is now completely blockaded by cops. Great.” Knowing it was too soon to discuss their next move, he turned focus to his new DSP and blinked in surprise. “Wait a sec... Demon Armatization? How'd this get on here? This stuff is Bythos tech.”

Checking his own device, Kasai held back a grin. Zoe must have shared the app with the others. “Check your demon archive.”

Weihan's eyes widened as he filed through the expanded list. “Wha-? No way... I've got Fuji's demons listed here now! And yours too!”

“And I have both of your demons available to me”, Kasai saw, already knowing that the opposite was also true for Fujisa.

“That'd better be a damn good explanation, friend.”

“You're complaining about it?”

“Call me suspicious.”

He waited for their guest to dry off and rejoin them before beginning. “Weihan already knows that I was chosen for the Enforcer program because apparently, I have a really high spiritual power. Or at least Tatyana's instruments say so.”

“They're never wrong”, Weihan sounded absolutely confident. “And yeah, you're definitely up there Ohabara. Almost as high as miss Surahi- the largest reading on our record.”

Acknowledging the 'compliment', he continued. “Well, uh, apparently I've managed to attract another supernatural being to me as well, not just Astanpheus. Calls herself Zoe. Zoe, the Aeon of Life. No one can see her but me. She's the one who saved us, who changed our DSPs to be... like this.”

“To fuse them to our arms?”, Fujisa muttered, studying the new bright white and gold frame of her own device for a moment. “Only joking. Is she here now? I guess we owe her our thanks, really.”

“Not now.” He didn't want to dwell on her for too long. Or what she'd been saying to him. “So... Demon Armatization app huh? How is it, Fujisa?”

The young woman stretched out on the couch, equally as reluctant about that subject as Kasai had been about Zoe. “Eh... it's about as disturbing as you can imagine. I only ever did it with Yuki Jyorou. At the labs we tested it pretty thoroughly, because demons need a certain, um, 'spirit compatibility level' with the demon tamer for it to actually work. Yuki Jyorou was the only demon I got that was compatible with me. That's just as well- nobody wanted to try it with a Preta.”

“Yeahhh, that wouldn't end well for anyone”, Kasai snorted. “What about us? Should it work for us too?”

“What? You're gonna actually use it?”, Weihan yelped, nearly falling out of the sofa. “Bythos tech?” He sounded like someone describing a dusty turd he'd found on the road.

Fuji's brow rose. “I just told you, Yasuda- we tested it. It should be fine for you guys to use too, as long as the demon's spiritually compatible with you. That's what Dr. Leng says anyway. He's the head researcher for Bythos R&D. Old coot and a little weird, but he's got a good head on his shoulders. I trust him.”

“It's Bythos tech, though...”

Fuji rolled her eyes. “Oh yes. Because Sige United Financial's Demon Armatization program is just SO much better, right? Oh wait- it doesn't exist yet!” Rechecking her device, she regained her composure. “I do see some new apps on here that I didn't have before though. Looks like Zoe shared all of our programs and demons between the three of us.”

“Huh. Best of both worlds”, Kasai reasoned. If only the rest of their talk could go so smoothly; he already knew that there was going to be a major disagreement on the next topic. “...Seeing as how our communications are still down, Weihan wants us to find a way to get back to Sige headquarters in Shibuya so that we can report in.”

“Yeah, no”, Fujisa shut her eyes. “I wouldn't waste my time going there even if they were handing out free DSPs and chocolate. You saw the news. The police and SDF are working hard on coping with this, but they have no idea what they're really up against. But we can change that. Without company restrictions on our summoning, we can stop the demons from killing anyone.”

“Just go out and fight demons forever?”, Weihan sighed. “Really? Is that it? Typical of you. But we need to figure out the source of the problem first before we act, Fuji. Otherwise we're just wasting time.”

At once, Kasai realized that they were both looking at him now. Both of them expecting him to take their side in the argument. Not realizing that he had a third destination he'd much rather head to. But of course he couldn't tell them that.

Resenting being put on the spot, he paced to the window, trying to buy time to make a decision. “I think... that we should try to reach the Sige tower. They'll know more about what's causing this craziness than anyone else will, and if we're there we can help them to fix it. Whatever it is.”

Sensing triumph from Weihan without needing to look back, he felt the opposite from Fujisa- contempt. “Well... I guess this is where we part ways then. I'm not going to waste this power I've been blessed with. I'm using it to save innocent lives, and preserve law and order in the city. You do your thing, and I'll do mine. Okay?”

Kasai winced. He had expected something like this, but he was still floored at how quickly it had happened. It felt like they'd only just met, and for a moment he wanted to change his mind just so the three of them could stay together longer. So that they could just sit things out here for a while, like everyone else was doing. Just wait in his home and expect all this demon stuff to blow over.

But this wasn't going to blow over. It wasn't going to go away. He didn't need Zoe to tell him that.

It must have showed too, because Fujisa drew closer to him for a moment, her lips parting in a friendly smile.

“Hey. Best of luck. It was, uh... nice to meet you, Ohabara.”

“You too... No hard feelings, eh?”, he grinned back.

“None. I hope you won't mind me taking a bit of this food for the road? I might not have another chance for a while with all the restaurants closed down.”

“Go ahead.”

If there were any hard feelings, then they were between Weihan and her. He looked like he wanted to stop her too, to proclaim himself the leader again and forcibly order her to stay with them... but he also knew that would be completely useless and would only deepen the rift between them.

“Take care... Todoroki.”

“...Yeah. You too, Yasuda. Watch your back, okay? Sige Financial doesn't value you as much as you think it does.”

“Sige Financial didn't get so powerful by focusing on individuals over the big picture.”

“Yes. That's exactly the problem.” With one quarter of the available food packed in her bag, she was gone, leaving behind an awkward silence between the two of them. It stretched out until neither could stand it anymore and Kasai began packing the rest of the food for their own journey, as much as his bag could hold.

“She'll be fine”, Weihan announced at last. “She'll be just fine. Todoroki's tough. She can take care of herself alone. Right?”

“How the hell should I know?” Slamming the fridge door shut, he grunted. “And what do you care? She's with Bythos, right? She's the 'enemy', right?!”

The exact wrong thing to say, but his partner's reaction remained underwhelming. He just went back to the window, pressing a hand there, trying to spot some sign of what was going on. More damaged buildings, more people, more abandoned cars, more cops waving them into safe zones...

And then Kasai howled, clutching his head for signs of murder as he went down into the floor.

9:00

Death in the air. He could feel it, taste its nearness. He could see it. Blood. Death.

A street plaza, abandoned. Demons everywhere. Fujisa, demonless, trying to fight them alongside an unknown man. Failing, being surrounded.

A new demon. A large floating eyeball creature, the single dominating optic ringed with acid green flesh. Some kind of light burst coming out it that left them both dazed. Then it was behind them, feelers trapping Fujisa so she couldn't escape.

The creature's dangling razor tail stabbing into her back and out the other side, slick with her blood. Fujisa falling, strings cut, as the rest of the horde prepared to do the same to the man who was with her...

His eyes snapped open on the sofa Weihan had dragged him onto. “We have to go. Now.”

“What? Whoa, what's up with your eyes... never mind. What's the rush? I still wanted to take a shower.”

Weihan had been watching from the table with the television muted, their supplies packed into two equal bags that he nearly tripped over as vaulted back to his feet.

“Not Sige. Fujisa. We need to catch up to her. Now. Or she dies.”

In retrospect, he understood his partner's confusion. The look on his face was almost funny. “What? How do you know that?”

“I... I... look, I just do, okay?!”

Weihan muttered something about getting his head examined, and that was the end of Kasai's patience. “I'll go alone if I have to. I'm not lettin' her die!”

“Okay, okay”, he threw his hands up. “I'm coming. She's my friend too, y'know! Long before you ever met her.”

“It was a little hard to tell”, Kas remarked over his shoulder. “From the way that you two bicker.”

“Oh, like you've never argued with a friend?” Checking around for cops, they made their way out onto the main street, heading north for the closest police station. “...Damn. She's a runner and she's got a big head start. Might be a little hard to catch up to her by now.”

For a moment he felt lost again... then his eyes settled on that shiny new DSP fused to his arm. “Hm. Maybe, maybe not. Activate. Agent Kasai Ohabara. Summon Yoma Centaur.”

Seeing the equestrian demon phase into existence out of compressed air, Weihan frowned at it. “What, you're gonna try to ride on it? There's no room for you though. You'd stab yourself on the horns.”

Making a silent prayer that this would work, Kasai shook his head. “Not exactly. Activate Demon Armatization Program!”

9:15

For the second time in as many days, Fujisa Todoroki knew that she was doomed.

It didn't seem fair. Not at all. After the first time she'd figured their lives had been spared for some kind of special purpose. That they'd been freed of Sige and Bythos' restrictions on the DSP so that they could help defend against... against whatever that bizarre phenomenon in the park had been. Against the demons that had been sighted in the city.

Familiarity didn't make the sight of these ones any less terrifying. Not when they were closing in, eager to taste her flesh and blood.

Fujisa had grown up in mind as well as body from her doe-eyed days of hero worship in high school, but a small part of her hadn't quite given up on those early ideals. The more of harsh reality she saw, the greater the desire to enforce those ideals grew until she could take no more and launched an unauthorized attack during a meeting of Yakuza clan heads. That had gone about as well as expected, but everything after that had been sobering to say the least.

Because now, just like the first time, her demons simply weren't coming out. Ignoring her desperate summons when she needed them the most. The white and gold DSP device wasn't even responding to her touch or voice command any more, just a dead bit of metal clinging to her skin.

Soon to match with the rest of her.

“Damn it”, her woud-be ally remarked beside her, staring down a famished Preta closing in on them, his accent harshened by the stress of the doomed. “If I'd known this was gonna happen, I never would've come back to this country. Got anything up your sleeve, lady?”

“...Nothing”, the admission felt hollow. Like she was nothing without the DSP after all. Like defying Bythos Manufacturing to bring her own justice and enforce the law had been a mistake from the start. No. It couldn't be.

“Well, I can throw my cigarette at them and buy us a few seconds...”

The lit white cylinder sticking out of his lips completed the distinctive image of the older man who had only been trying to aid people facing a sudden demon attack. A scruffy five o'clock shadow encompassed his chin, dark hair contrasting with the curly dry blond on the top of his head, nearly as long and messy as Kasai's had been. His coffee-stained trench coat could cause some to mistake him for an old-school detective, but if he'd had a gun he would have used it by now.

Not that it would have made a difference against this enemy. Fujisa had seen the demonstrations in Dr. Leng's lab. Guns were worthless against all but the weakest of demons, as the police in this large plaza had found out. To their final sorrow.

Whatever exactly was happening here, they would never find out.

There was one more surprise when the man actually did throw his cigarette, the ashes bursting into the Preta's glowing eyes, maddening it into a shrieking frenzy. That only opened the path for a stronger demon she didn't recognize to float forward, consisting of a large orange vertical slit of an eyeball surrounded by green flesh, a deadly barbed tail dangling down below.

She took an involuntary breath as the eye contracted before them, preparing some kind of attack, perhaps her last one-

Then the hideous creature was freaking out far worse than the Preta as a bolt of lightning blasted into it, making it crash into a statue. Her final breath left, and speech failed her.

The being standing before her clearly was Kasai Ohabara, and yet... not. The mane of wild magma hair and the eager look on the young man's face was a dead giveaway, but the rest of him had become closer to a statue's well-molded muscle, glossy white flesh over four legs propelling him forward as fast as any horse she'd seen until he was close enough to frighten the other demons away.

“O-Ohabara?! Is that really you?”

“Nah, I'm Rainbow Dash. Don't take this the wrong way, but... get on me.”

She wanted to have the coated American taken to safety as well, but a quick scan confirmed he'd already taken the chance to flee. There was only enough room on his back for one person anyway, swiftly moving her to a safe distance.

Just in time for the strange hybrid to flicker and fade, resolving back into human and demon. “What the...?” Kasai stared at his hands in confusion.

“The Armatization”, Fujisa managed. “It only lasts for a certain time. Ten minutes maximum- less if you actually fight with it. And Ohabara... my DSP isn't working!”

“Check it again.”

Seeing the device's small screen lighting back up as if nothing had ever gone wrong, she almost felt annoyed by it. Make up your damn mind already!

The relief she felt outweighed it though. “-Fujisa Todoroki! Summon Yuki Jyorou! Tenong Cut!”

With a front rank of four demons, she grinned back at her saviour. “Ohabara... thanks. Let's go!”

As before, the wild pack was a large number of weak demons clinging on to a stronger one as their leader. In this case, the floating eye creature. Just when it looked like they'd gained the advantage, the thing's pupil contracted again, this time successfully releasing a hypnotic flash leaving her dazed for several crucial moments.

Dodging away from its tail, Kasai risked a peek at his DSP screen. “Beholder, eh... weak to wind it looks like. No surprise, with how light it is. Moh Shuvuu!”

Dismissing the injured Centaur, the new demon bore some resemblance to Weihan's Pixie, a pale girl with feathered wings and a red-hooded robe. Those wings beat rapidly, generating wind currents powerful enough to be seen by the naked eye... and more than powerful enough to send the Beholder flying off to splat into a building sign.

“Well done”, she studied the rest of the pack, choosing another target. “Where's you get that demon?”

“It's Weihan's demon, actually.” Repeating the attack until the flyer was down for good, he checked behind him to see the agent in question breathlessly running up to catch them, his own DSP calling out more allies. “We can share them. That prolly should have been our first clue.”

Fujisa waited until most of the other demons were down before continuing. “Clue? Clue to what?”

“That the power that Zoe gave us has its limits too. If you get too far away from me and break the link between our three devices... then your DSP loses its summoning power.”

The revelation turned Fujisa thoughtful, merely watching as Weihan's demons dispatched the last of the enemies, then turned Pixie to healing her wounds. “...Huh. That's... irritating.”

“And almost fatal”, Kasai acknowledged grimly. “Good thing the Armatization worked.”

“Y-yeah. Good thing”, she agreed faintly. She wouldn't be getting that image of Kasai with a muscular horse's lower torso out of her head any time soon. “Um, Dr. Coleman? It's safe. You can come out now.”

The man from before peeked his head out from behind an abandoned car. “...Well. Never seen this before. You three... you're all dressed like regular salarymen, if a bit young, but they don't summon demons into battle. Or at least they didn't last time I was here.”

“Yeah, we've made some radical changes in our company policy lately”, Kasai quipped, checking around one more time to make sure the pack was finished for good. The plaza had become an ashen war zone. “You would be?”

“Coleman. Dr. Richard Coleman, at your service.” Hastily, he took out and lit another cigarette as if daring anyone to comment on the contradiction of a doctor smoking.

“An American?”, Weihan recognized. “What're you doing here?”

“Sightseeing, mainly. But lucky me, I get to be around for this. Can't just sit back when people are in danger.”

“So you actually are a doctor?”

He smirked. “I'd show you my certificates, but they're back at home. Where there's no monsters. Well, some...” Taking in the scent of the spilled blood of all the demons' victims, the man shook his head in dismay. “Much as I'd like to chat here all day, we should probably get somewhere else unless you want the cops to come and arrest you.”

Realizing what he meant, Kasai nodded. No trace of the demons and us just standing here like it's normal. Plus, two of them are cops.

Alarmed, Fujisa stared at them guiltily. “Can't we at least give them a burial?”

“Sure”, Weihan muttered. “If you can find some soil around here. Otherwise, we'd better go.”

Not even she would argue that point, merely being the last one to depart the scene, leonine eyes looking like they might tear up. “...Why? Why did all this happen? Did... did Sige Financial and Bythos Manufacturing cause this somehow?”

Kasai saw how she could make that deduction. “No way to know for sure yet. All we need to do for now... is survive. And try to help as many others do the same as we can.”

9:30

They didn't take long to find better shelter- a large clothing store with sweeping glass walls showing off numerous clad mannequins. Many more were the people who had already made their way in, but they seemed to content to keep to themselves, trying not to let their growing anxiety show through too much.

Which, Kasai figured, was an accurate summation of them as well. The department was kept cool and spacious, and more tactically he saw there was only one main entrance. If demons did come hunting they could make a stand in the front lobby. Until then, another break was more than welcome even if they had to explain themselves to Dr. Coleman.

“Demon summoning”, he repeated as he leaned back in his seat, trying his utmost to make the concept sound less sane. “Demons. Amazing. I heard some talk about that once, but nothing supporting it. Just another crazy online rumor, I thought.”

“That's how we'd prefer it to stay”, Weihan offered. “But not even we expected this. It has something to do with the high magnetite concentrations we're picking up in the soil, causing them to appear in the parks.”

“Meaning that the park shelters would actually be death traps for people”, he reasoned. “Damn. Too bad the phones are down. We can't warn anyone.”

“Regular phones, too”, Kasai's gaze hardened. One more thing to crank up people's growing fear. The police would be equally crippled by a loss of communications. And when the demons strike...

“They need our help”, Fujisa emphasized, checking her DSP to ensure it was still working. “At least we can tell them what's going on.”

“Sure”, Coleman sniffed. “And then they'll ask how many drugs you kids took today.”

She stared daggers back. “First of all, we're not 'kids', sir. We're adults. I'm 22. Secondly, my father will believe me. How can they possibly deny what's happening here in front of them?”

“By blaming the attacks on someone else”, Weihan braced himself for another eruption. “You missed out on some of the broadcast because you left so fast. They're saying the Capsules did it.”

Far from erupting, Fujisa looked utterly stunned by the news. “The Capsules. As in the motorcycle gang. They think people will believe that they're just riding around Tokyo murdering people all of a sudden. And that the entire city's police force are somehow having trouble stopping them?”

“Hey, I didn't decide on that stupidity. That's just the story all the news networks are going with right now.”

“'Cover story'”, Coleman watched the other guests of the store for a moment before turning to Kasai. “I see that a lot back home too. You seem awfully quiet, kid. Don't have anything to say?”

“Eh. They're doing it for me”, Kasai shrugged. “I'm finding it's much easier to just wait for those two to finish yelling at each other before I talk.”

“Hm... Very wise. Maybe we can do it privately, then?”

They didn't go far, just out to the changing station. “Sorry. Didn't mean to pry. You just looked like you needed to go to the restroom.”

He didn't. It was something much more urgent than that. “...It's my mom. She's in the hospital at Toyosu. They must have been affected by this too. And if a demon attacks there...”

“Just like that young lady's concern for her dad”, Coleman acknowledged. “What about that other guy? Yasuda, was it? He got parents?”

“Sure”, Kasai considered. “His dad's a researcher, but he doesn't work directly with Sige any more.”

“Hm. Maybe he's more mature than I gave him credit for. You notice how he's not insisting that you run over and make sure his dad is safe?”

Cold anger flashed through his eyes. “Don't. Don't you dare. It's NOT the same thing. My mom, she's, well... I owe her. Big time. Had a rough couple of years that I'm still trying to make up for. And she's on a walker, even more vulnerable than other people. I have to...”

“You have to reach her? You think that you can keep her safe by staying with her?”

Letting the true meaning settle into him, he managed to avoid punching this man. “Your bedside manner sucks, y'know.”

Doctor Coleman flicked his cigarette. “I've been told that before. When a crisis like this hits, people automatically want to go be with their families. It's gotten worse now, because they can't even use their phones. Internet's down too by the sound of it. The young folks here are gettin' antsy about it.”

He'd noticed that as well. Some of the other guests were already beginning to panic from a lack of phones and computers, wanting to head back outside and see if anything had changed. “And you? You're taking all this amazingly well, doctor. It's the cigarettes, isn't it?”

“And you're awfully damn mouthy for a Japanese kid, Ohabara”, Coleman laughed back. “It's the red hair, isn't it? But you're right, in part. It helps me to relieve stress. But I've also been in enough real crises to know that panicking doesn't solve too much. Never does, really. You just have to focus on your objective, and not let emotion interfere with it.”

Kasai frowned. That was easy for Coleman to say. He wasn't holding a DSP, and all the power and responsibility that came along with it. “What're you gonna do then?”

“Same thing I was doing before you kids showed up. Try to save as many people's lives as I can. Maybe I can try setting up some supply lines between the smaller hospitals, but I doubt they'll listen to me, an American.”

“Just focusing on your objective”, Kasai echoed. It wouldn't be easy, but when had it ever been? “Figure out what I can accomplish with the power I have, and do that.”

“Right. That's it. Keep it simple. Don't worry about what comes next, but plan for it. That's all anyone can really expect of you.”

“'Keep your head down, and inch towards the dawn'?” Seeing confusion on Coleman's face, he shrugged. “My mom's phrase.”

“She sounds like a wise lady. And like someone who loves her son enough to understand his struggles, and not treat bad behaviour like some kind of debt that gets interest added. You shouldn't either.”

“Alright, alright already.” Feeling a grim smile forcibly creeping in, Kasai returned back to the others, who had managed to vent everything they needed to by now, both looking appreciably calmer as a result.

Fujisa even had a wardrobe change, wearing a light violet shirt over the white undershirt and tie. Somehow, it fit. “The demons wrecked my Bythos suit”, she explained. “I left money behind to pay for it. The old one was way too hot for summer anyway.”

“That sounds nice”, Kasai reasoned. He wasn't sweating now, but he knew that would resume the moment they stepped back outside of the mall to face summer's heat. “Think I'll go browsing for a replacement too then.”

“Dress code, Ohabara”, Weiham reminded him. “If we're Sige Enforcers, then we need to dress the part. Even in the summer.”

Ironically, he grew cold at the order. “Are we still Sige? We don't even know that, do we? We can't reach them, and I'm pretty sure they're not the ones who are letting us use demons right now.”

“All the more reason for us to get back to headquarters as fast as we can!”

Kasai could feel Coleman's eyes on him, watching to see what he would do next. “...No. Not yet. The Kasumigaeseki police station first. They have to be warned about what they're up against.”

The look on Fujisa's face seemed almost alien. Unrefined gratitude, genuine thankfulness for him making the decision.

A pity his other partner wasn't so sanguine. “Listen. I am the leader of this team, Ohabara. And I say that we need to get back to our headquarters first thing!”

Fujisa stayed mercifully quiet behind him. This would be difficult enough without her getting angry and interfering.

Deep breaths.  Inch towards the dawn.

“Yasuda... Weihan. Sorry, but no. You have no idea if our arriving there any faster will change anything or not. But I know almost certainly that warning the police will help them figure out the best way to handle things here, and keep more people safe from the demons. The station is much closer to us than Sige headquarters. We'll go there after we warn the cops.”

A vein popped out on the young man's head above his glasses. He paid it no mind.

“You're welcome to try and go it alone, of course. But remember that Sige isn't giving us the power to summon demons right now. Zoe is. She's the only reason we're still alive right now. If your faith in them is really so great, then maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they've reactivated the DSP for us. Only one way for you to find out, right?”

For a moment Weihan looked about to explode... but he deflated before it happened, instead speaking quietly and calmly.

“...Fine. I'll go along with you, this time. Just know that once we get back to headquarters, I'll be writing a disciplinary report to Munayama. And Munayama's superior too. Mr. Ishimura.”

“Go ahead.” It felt absolutely amazing how little he cared about such a threat, although he couldn't quite place when that had changed. Fear of demons was greater than fear of Sige.

“Well I certainly can't say no after all that”, Fujisa added, giving him a formal bow. “Thank you. We have to stick together, or else our DSPs will stop working. Feel free to use my demons however you like, Ohabara. You too, Yasuda. Actually... have you guys checked it recently? There's another new program on there now.”

“Wha-? Another one?” Weihan could hardly believe it, but studying their own devices proved her words. “What the... 'Demon Auction'? The heck? Is this another useless Bythos app?”

“No idea. It wasn't when I was there.”

For once, he was fascinated enough by the details of the new program to ignore any distaste for a Bythos product... or whoever had made it. “This... it looks like it harnesses a digital form of Magnetite energy called 'Macca' to access the blueprints for new demons from a remote server!”

“Which means...?”

Happy to be back in his element now, Wei chuckled. “It means, Todoroki, that we can add new, stronger demons to our arsenal from anywhere. And all three of us will be able to summon them, just so long as they're not being used by someone else on our team.”

“Just like that?”, Kasai grew suspicious. “For real? That sounds way too easy.”

“Well, it's not free”, Weihan acknowledged. “But our devices' Magnetite sensor also absorbs lingering energy from demons whenever they're destroyed. Right now... it looks like we already have enough to buy two more, or one of the higher ones.”

He thought for a moment. “...Two. Each of you choose one from the list on the server.”

He already knew that it wouldn't be long before they would have need of the new 'recruits'.

Chapter Text

10:30

Slowly traversing father west, they made sure to steer well clear of any kind of open park land. And maybe that was why they'd managed to avoid demons for this long. Regardless, they still had to make the occasional rest stop, if only to alleviate nerves that were beginning to fray from the knowledge of what was really out there waiting for them, no doubt already starting to prey on any humans left behind.

What really hit home for them were the schools. The large multi-floor buildings that were now devoid of any teachers or students or anyone at all. They'd found a small middle school to rest up in, and the lack of life there felt downright wrong. Vacant classrooms and offices louder than any silence, an automated AC fan chilling the inside air for just three people.

The younger kids who didn't know better must have been thrilled, being able to spend the day home with their families. 'School cancelled due to demon invasion... or Capsule attack.'

“I was meaning to ask you”, Fujisa began, more friendly towards him than Weihan lately, “are you... alright? After the Armatization, I mean.”

Kasai let out a high 'NEIGH-H-H' sound, making her laughter echo off the brick gym walls. “I'm fine, but thanks for asking. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, actually.”

Reassured, Fuji sat and studied the reams of data on her DSP screen. “My first time with it felt really weird. The real problem isn't the Armatization. It's the knowledge and thoughts that you pick up from them afterwards. Yuki Jyorou, or the Yuki-Onna as they're called... She freezes and kills men who she finds unworthy. For thousands of years. And the demon... she sees nothing wrong with that at all. Nothing wrong with freezing men- human beings- to death.”

“Ah.” He understood now. He could certainly remember exactly how it had felt, just how strange it had been to deal with thoughts and impulses in his mind he knew were not truly his own.

Luckily, with Centaur the only big things had been a desire to run and a natural animal skittishness, not unlike he figured an ordinary horse would be like. But the snow maiden, it seemed, had a far darker outlook. He already knew it would be very unwise to voice any parallels he could see between Fujisa and her 'spiritually compatible' demon. The same as someone bringing up him and Astanpheus.

“Is that why you chose Tam Lin for your new demon?”

“No”, she chuckled. “He's got some demon powers that I think we might find useful, that's all. But if we do end up having to try Armatizing with him too... He's a fairy knight. Hopefully his thoughts won't do us too much harm. Not that Weihan has to worry about that.”

Kasai leaned back onto the gym cushion they'd brought out. Weihan's absolute refusal to try Armatization had been a sticking point for them, one of many... but he did understand that worry at least. It was a very new development by their 'rival' company after all, and the very idea of fusing with a demon, even temporarily, was so disturbing that he'd almost chickened out of it earlier.

Which would have caused Fujisa to die, he knew. “Well, maybe after he tries it for the first time he'll feel differently. I sure did.”

“It should be fine”, Fuji told herself aloud. “Just... if you ever feel like it's bothering you, talk to me or Weihan about it, okay? We can help remind to each other that we're still humans, not demons. We still have souls. We don't kill people like that.”

“Not like the warehouse at the wharf?”

She seemed to have been expecting that, hardly offended. “Not exactly. I didn't kill any of them, though heaven knows they deserve it. I just knocked them all out and called in a police tip. Too bad they probably couldn't pick up on it, thanks to this.”

What a strange situation that would be, Kasai considered. All the gangsters would wake up back in their hideout with a shared 'hallucination' of being beaten up by a giant goat and a rainbow-coloured spectre... and the giant hole in the wall... and then they would emerge from their hideout to find the entire city on police lockdown.

He couldn't guess their minds, or what they would do then. Probably just run home and hide, he figured. Like most everyone else. No matter how threatening ordinary people found those Yakuza guys, they were nothing against demons. They were just more meat to them.

“Maybe I came a bit too close, though”, she finally admitted, sighing. “Yuki Jyorou wouldn't see anything wrong with doing it though. She sees them as nothing but weak men to be put on ice. That's what really scares me. Not them. Her.”

“We'll deal”, he promised, placing a hand on her shoulder. This close up, he could see the other origin of the 'Mt. Fuji' nickname- she was more than a few inches taller than the average, almost statuesque, and certainly more athletic than most women her age. “Zoe didn't just reconfigure my DSP. She did it for both of you as well. Because she knew we would need to rely on each other to survive.”

Comforted by the thought, she nodded, blinking away her fears. “...Alright. I'll do my best. Whatever we can do to stop this crisis from claiming more innocent lives. We can help other people to survive too.”

“That's the spirit. Let's-”

But he didn't get to finish, cut off by what was now a very familiar broadcast: “-Please return to your homes for the time being. There has been an attack on the city. Police and SDF forces are being deployed. Please do not interfere. I repeat, please return to your homes for the time be-”

More amused than annoyed, he stood to head out.

And nearly fell over from the shockwave, the sounds of an explosion temporarily deafening his left ear. He didn't let that stop the run outside the school building to see what had caused it, Weihan and Fujisa joining them there.

And that was how he knew that the danger and the fear had found the three of them once again.

Weihan had seen it first. He'd been watching the police chopper from the window when it suddenly went down and crashed into the jungle gym, mangling both beyond recognition. Smoke rose from the broken metal hulk as three frightened-looking officers made their way out, only to see that was only the beginning of their troubles.

The one who had shot them down had no interest in hiding, standing perched on the school rooftop. A vivid pink-coated demon just barely counting as bipedal, long curving legs taut with coiled panther muscle as she walked. Her head was a brilliant plumage of feathers, yet despite fearsome claws she cradled a weapon- a long-barrelled silver rifle. Predator's eyes studied the three terrified humans below and released a cruel Baroness' laugh.

“I grant a generous gift to my hunting pack! Three meals on legs, and no more of that incessant chatter! Enjoy!”

The pack she mentioned made itself evident: More of the floating green mono-eye Beholders, accompanied by flaming rodent Kasos and the deceptively cute-looking Inaba rabbits. In short order, the school's carefree sandlot playground would be transformed into a bloodbath.

Except for the fact that they were here. Three demon tamers who weren't going to sit back and watch. “Form a line!”, Kasai called to the other two. “Don't let 'em through!”

He wasn't surprised to see them trying out their new additions right away. Tam Lin with Fujisa, and Weihan calling up a small floating blue devil armed with a pitchfork, doll-like face reminiscent of Mokoi. Bilwis, he named it. As for himself, he'd brought out Knocker and Pixie to battle, and battle they did.

While he rode Tenong Cut up to the roof to face the leader. She hardly seemed concerned, yellow glowing eyes sizing him up like another piece of meat.

“Humans harnessing our power... interesting. Perhaps this hunt may not be so easy as I thought!”

“Nowhere near.” The plan had been to Armatize right away, but some instinctual caution held him back. “You damned demons aren't hurting any more humans today! Back off!”

“I can't recall the last time a mere human threatened me so boldly either”, the tuft-headed demoness displayed an array of vampiric fangs beneath thin black lips. “Hahaha! Let's see what you can do!”

In a human such recklessness would seem like a parody, but for a powerful demon it was practically expected. He also expected her to aim and fire on Tenong Cut before it could get close enough to attack, the bullet instantly slaying it... but that bought him enough time to call out Centaur to Armatize once more, charging down the roof so fast that the next shot zipped past him, the two front hooves raising up into a mighty mule kick.

Getting pretty good with this one, he gloated silently. Certainly, having quadrupedal legs with hard clopping hooves wasn't something he'd ever prepared for until now, but Fujisa was right- the process added certain thoughts and instincts to the human brain driving it, allowing him to quickly adjust to it by taking advantage of them.

Or... maybe he'd been a horse in a previous life?

His target was only stunned though, her weapon knocked clear but having plenty more to use. Briefly clutching one gnarled claw let her release from it a spreading cloud of violet gas, obviously venomous. Easily dodged with his speed, but the follow-up blast of neon green wind sent him flying back.

Enough distance between them to go for her rifle, until a bolt of his lightning zapped it away, electrifying her as well. Instead she met his next charge with a rising kick of her own, somehow generating a searing bright pink energy wave-

That felt like a thorough beating with a crowbar compressed into a single second and he nearly fell over, blacking out then and there. Hazily Kasai remained aware of the demon's own recovery... and dimly realized that there were a few more drawbacks to Armatization than what Fujisa had said.

He couldn't summon or command demons when he was like this. He couldn't even use any of the DSP's other features at all, the device disappearing from sight until he could revert to normal. The demon power had made him feel invincible, made it feel like old times for a few blissful moments... but like as when THAT had happened, it was a short-lived rush. And the now the penalty for his recklessness was heading his way to glide past his kick and rip into armoured equestrian flesh-

Until one clawed foot came down in a puddle of congealing water freezing it to the roof. Enough time to revert, and re-summon Mokoi and Moh Shuvuu to defend.

That was enough for the demoness. Faintly amused, she kicked her leg free of the offending ice, regarding Kasai. “...You fight well for a human.”

He was breathing too hard to talk back. He could at least access the DSP now, scanning the pack leader for more information... as he should have done from the start. Leraje. A demon archer who starts battles and putrefies arrow wounds. Ruler of legions of lesser spirits and archenemy of the angel Mehanel.

And those 'lesser spirits' listened to their mistresses' command now, retreating from battle. By the time Fujisa had made her way to the roof Leraje was gone as well, recovering the rifle to aim a parting shot-

Not at any of them.

“NO-!”

The shot felt like another explosion, so all-consuming that for a moment all was stopped.

Then the ashen-haired cop in the center of the formation grunted, keeled over and began to bleed out from the gaping hole in his heart.

Numb. The demoness no longer mattered. He hadn't even felt himself vaulting back down to the ground, only noticing after he'd called on Pixie to try to heal the wound. Failing.

He didn't hear Fujisa screaming curses after the rapidly fleeing Leraje, calling her murderer and far worse.

He didn't even hear the sirens until they were right up in his face, three carfuls of police stepping out to aim their weapons and loudly demand he get down on the ground, arms over his head.

It felt almost like an afterthought.

13:00

They had plenty of time to get familiar with the station's holding cells. None of the others were in use, leaving nothing to distract Kasai from the rising tension of his fellow demon tamers.

“'Let's go to the police station and warn them'. Great idea, really! Brilliant!”

“I didn't want it to be like this... but it'll be fine, you'll see. Those other two saw that we were trying to save them. They saw Leraje.”

“Sure you want to bet your freedom on that, Mt. Fuji? They might not know what they saw.”

“You have to trust them, Yasuda. If none of the others, then trust in my dad.”

“I trust your dad, Fuj... but you know he's just a Lieutenant. He can only do so much to help us. Or was there another reason you had to go after those Yakuza guys all by yourself?”

“That was... that was different! They didn't know!”

“I guess we'll see just how much they 'know' now, won't we?”

They grew mercifully quieter after that, only making the occasional remark on how much longer they were going to have to wait. He supposed it was another blessing to have them in separate cells, so they couldn't hit each other.

But that was just about all the good luck fortune would grant him, and the bulk of the bad had yet to hit home until someone actually came to them in person.

The fine-skinned man was so tall and buff his uniform looked a size too small for him, the sweat globs visible on his balding scalp sign that he'd been working outside until recently. A equally thick cleft chin seemed to scout the way for him like a cowcatcher, tiny eyes behind it sizing them up with brutish contempt.

“Agents of both Sige and Bythos. Finally, an upside to all this craziness. Once it's over, we can bust them both. If you cooperate completely, you kids might actually get off. No guarantees however.”

Fujisa stood up ramrod straight, heading to the bars. “Please listen, captain...?”

“Hakatanka, sweetcakes. Captain Owai Hakatanka.”

“Captain Hakatanka. The recent attacks across the city are not the Capsule gang's doing. Demons are emerging from the parks and attacking people in the city.”

The big man was all smiles. “Oh? That so? Well, I've heard crazier theories. Not many, but some. I especially like the one about the American assassins.”

She struck a cell bar in urgency. “It's the truth, Captain! How else can you explain finding civilians with their throats ripped out so easily? Or how the rail line and the bridge were taken down?”

“I suppose it will be a good while before we learn the real truth of things”, Hakatanka mused. “But in the meantime, we have three culprits found at the site of the murder of a policeman during time when civilians are supposed to be taking shelter. Or are you three all deaf as well?”

Without waiting for Fujisa to try anything else, ignoring the growing alarm from Weihan, Kasai reached for his device. The device that the police had been unable to remove from his arm despite several minutes of effort, and still working perfectly to summon a demon not to attack, but only to provide a demonstration. A red-clad bird girl wearing a golden belt emblazoned with an eagle emblem, dark pink hair sweeping out across her shoulders into wings and a teasing smirk on her face as she waved a mitten-clad hand. "Hihiii! Are we gonna kill something again?"

“This is Avian Moh Shuvuu, Captain Hakatanka”, Kasai told him, gratified by the seeing hesitation on the big man's face “Don't be deceived by her size. She's a DEMON. And she's at my command. If I gave her the order, she could use her powers to destroy these cell bars easily and let us escape. As well as take down anyone who tried to stop us.”

“N...nice pet”, the big Captain recovered. “Does it do tricks?”

The pint-sized demon looked decidedly annoyed by that, but thankfully held off for the moment. “She does, if I command it.”

“And... Does she make you bulletproof?”

Heaving an aggravated noise, Fujisa folded her arms. “What my impulsive friend here is trying to tell you, Captain, is that we could very easily leave this cell if we wanted to. We are only remaining here because we believe in the law. And the law won't prosecute us for something we did not do. We did not murder that police officer. A demon did- a furry pink one with a rifle. Her name is Leraje.”

“Alright”, Hakatanka snorted. “We'll make sure to put out an all-points bulletin on a 'Leraje'. Sorry sweetcakes, but you're gonna need a better story than that. Maybe if you were willing to make it worth my while afterwards... or if you weren't with him...”

Following the direction of his eyes, Fujisa stared. “With Ohabara? What? Why does that matter?”

“Oh, he didn't tell you?” The Captain leered back at her. “Probably trying to hide it... but genuine redheads ARE pretty rare in this country, aren't they? No hair dye. I always remember them. Especially when I have to arrest them.”

Weihan stared back too, not willing to believe what he was hearing. “...O-Ohabara?”

Kasai could say nothing. Do nothing. All his rage was nothing. Nothing but standing there and fighting the sudden chill in his bones like he'd been hit by a demon's ice skill, the feeling like he wanted to rip right through these bars and strangle the captain before he let one more word out of that orifice of a mouth he had-

But he didn't. The red haze coloured his vision as he looked into the captain's disgusting yellow grin, but he did nothing. His rage was nothing. Nothing useful. Keep your head down. Inch towards the dawn.

But this wasn't the dawn's light. It was a spotlight, and it burned him even as it froze his bones into broken icicles.

“Sige clearly has some major problems in management”, Hakatanka observed. “If they would hire a convicted criminal, and not even tell their own agents about the kind of scum they're working with...”

“Captain!”

The new arrival broke his trance, fresh air blissfully erasing the building fury within him. Instead, the fury was on Hakatanka's face over the interruption. “What?”

“We saw them, captain. Fugawa and I. They're not the ones who shot us down, or shot Murenume. They were trying to save us!”

Kasai swore Hakatanka seemed to be going through the same cycle of rage he'd just experienced. But he bore it just as firmly and shook his head. “I suppose it might look that way to a rookie. But they remain the most likely suspects, particularly considering their leader's background. We'll have to keep them here for now, until the courts can open up again.”

The rookie cop they'd saved became oddly calmed and for a moment Kasai feared the worst... but then another man came in, grayer, older and far, far more determined. High for his age, and cold:

“Hakatanka, you have exactly one minute to remove my daughter from that cell.”

14:00

Things happened swiftly after that, so fast that Fujisa and Weihan didn't even have the time to be mad with him. Lieutenant Ushio Todoroki had the three of them brought to a less-cramped meeting room around a table, the rookie officer from before standing guard.

“You'll have to forgive the captain. This sudden crisis has us all on edge, and he's eager to find someone to blame for it.”

Kasai nodded. He'd met Hakatanka before. Not the man personally, but he knew that specific type of policeman better than he would have liked to. The kind who used their position and authority as a stress outlet and made excuses to bully others on sight. Luckily, despite Mr. Todoroki being behind him in rank, that type was also usually quick to roll over whenever someone else on the force started barking.

“Officer Zetsuru has explained the situation to me”, Fujisa's father continued, a rich mustache cloying to his face from sweat. “While I would normally dismiss any theory that involved the word 'demon' in it, the evidence we've found all matches up. Throats and hearts torn out with teeth marks that don't match any known database entry. Cars and mailboxes toppled over without being broken into. Reports coming in from all over of wild animals attacking. This can't possibly be the Capsule gang's work.”

A troubled look came over him. “This... this is something else entirely. And no one knows what.”

Kasai entertained the idea of summoning a demon again to prove it, but remembered how it had gone over last time and thought better of it.

“Regardless, you have my thanks for assisting my men. Officer Murenume will be missed, by his wife if no one else.” By the look on his face he would probably be the one to carry the news to her, Kasai guessed. “And now you say that Sige and Bythos have given you those devices?”

It wasn't like they could deny it, he knew. The DSPs were right there on their wrists, unable to be removed by any measure short of loss of limb, which even Hakatanka hadn't been crazy enough to employ. It also wasn't quite the truth, but there was no point in muddling the issue further at this time.

“To help us deal with the demons”, Fujisa had regained some of the spark she'd lost after learning about Kasai's past. “Fighting fire with fire. Kind of like how you fight armed criminals with guns.”

The Lieutenant gazed back at his daughter, unimpressed. “...And to think all this time I thought you were working a nice safe systems analyst job in an office.”

“I was, dad. Then they offered me this. I accepted.”

“Without letting you know the exact nature of the job”, Mr. Todoroki scowled. “Captain Hakatanka is right about one thing- the courts won't be available for a long while because of this crisis. But once they are... Sige Financial and Bythos Manufacturing are going to be facing down enough lawsuits to make even their legal teams break a sweat. I'll make sure of it.”

Weihan looked like he wanted to object to that claim, but a man who could give Kasai pause could easily frighten him into silence. “Sir”, Kasai tried more respectfully. “Whatever lawsuits they might face later on, it's also true that they could be our only hope to end this crisis. I'd consider it very likely that they're already looking into the source of the disturbances. They're your best ally in this situation. We were on our way to reach them when that chopper was shot down by Leraje.”

Somehow, the dusty gray of his mustache made his mouth even more threatening... but he nodded. “If what you say is true, then we may not be enough. The SDF is already deploying, but that will take more time. And they won't be any more of a match for these... these... whatever these things are... than us. Ohabara and Yasuda, correct? We'll need a bit longer to clear things with HQ, but after that you're free to continue on.”

Fujisa wavered, torn between one fear and another. “And... me?”

As if she didn't already know the answer. “You will be safe here, Fujisa. I'll make sure of it.”

And for a moment she might have actually accepted that... but one of her fears devoured the other and she was back to being that infuriatingly stubborn woman Kasai remembered meeting in the warehouse yesterday.

Gods, had that truly only been yesterday night? It felt like a lifetime. Did fear for your life make time go slower?

“I should go with them. I have a DSP too, I can fight the demons.”

“Young lady nowhere in your job description does it say that you are required to partake in combat. You are not even employed by the same group as these two, but by their business rival.”

“But...!”

The sudden tearful stop told Kasai that this was a familiar sight for them both. He'd heard it said that you could never argue with a parent who you truly loved, and while he'd certainly seen his fair share of exceptions to that rule, Fujisa clearly wasn't one of them. Her following words sounded defiant, but they lacked her usual spark when arguing.

“...This is not justice, dad. You're protecting me from harm, but you're not protecting them. I can do what they do. I can use my DSP and help to protect people from the demons.”

Leaning back in his chair, Kasai eyed the Lieutenant and nodded. “Maybe you should show him.”

“Show him? Show him what? Oh.”

Leaving her seat and making sure to get well clear of everyone, she focused, eyes closing in concentration until a spray of chilly particles fled her open hands to encase an empty storage locker in hard frost until the metal cracked into icy splinters.

And for once, police lieutenant Todoroki was at a loss for words. It must have been like discovering your child is a mutant. Or that your child is an adult.

Kasai grinned back. “Our devices identify that Skill as 'Bufu'. It's similar to what some of the demons use. Still think Fujisa won't be able to handle herself out there? Or should she show you her demon Armatization too?”

“Ohabara”, Fujisa sounded pleading. “We're not trying to destroy the police station here.”

Regaining himself, Mr. Todoroki glanced at her, closing his crinkled eyes and refocusing. “...Care to take a walk with me, Mr. Ohabara?”

Kasai took a deep breath and followed after him to the stairwell.

The city hardly looked any different from up on the roof. Beyond the high safety railing Kasai could see the tops of thousands of buildings spread out beyond but not much of the near-vacant streets dividing them. He could at least make out the square in front of the station, where several squad cars had been assembled, ready to head out at a moment's notice.

Once again it was more of a feeling than a sight, the lack more telling than the input. Barely any noise in a city that should be crowded with millions of people going about their business.

“I suppose”, Mr. Todoroki considered beside him, almost innocently, “that this communications blackout is connected to the rest of it somehow?”

He automatically shrugged. “No idea. That's another thing we hope to confirm by going to meet with Sige at their main office.”

“Of course it couldn't get rid of the television for us”, the older man grumbled. “We've had to bust journalists at every turn trying to get an 'inside scoop' on the disaster, not caring about their own safety or ours.” Another chopper's flight punctuated his words- a police-owned craft but still illustrating his point.

“If we see any, we'll pass on your message.”

Todoroki must have sensed his own apprehension then, keeping his words nonthreatening as possible. “...I pulled your file with Sige. I encourage attempts by businesses to give... people like you... another chance. I'm a bit surprised you didn't dye your hair black to stand out less.”

“Well, I tried to, sir. It didn't take. No matter how much black dye I put into it. It just stays red. A slightly darker red.”

After several seconds, the Lieutenant realized he wasn't actually joking about that, and chuckled to himself in honest amazement. Like that was the most incredible thing in a world where demons existed. “Unbelievable. I also know of your mother's situation. Aya Ohabara, right? I will ensure the hospitals in Togosu are protected. She will be kept safe, along with the other patients there.”

As safe as anywhere else when demons are involved. Still, he appreciated the thought. “Thank you, sir.”

“In return, I only ask the same kindness of you.”

“...Sir?”

Grasping the metal roof rail like it was his mortal enemy, the Lieutenant frowned at the horizon. “My daughter... is a woman grown now. An adult. She gets to make her own decisions about what to do with her life, just as you and Mr. Yasuda do. But that doesn't change the fact that she's the only family that I have left. A father's reflexes don't fade easily after 22 years of raising her on my own. They might never. For her sake, I will fight those reflexes, and let her go along with you. But first, promise me... Promise me that you'll keep her safe. To the best of your power. Can you do that for me, Ohabara?”

Even for him, it seemed a bit too rude to talk back to that, and he waited before replying. “You ask me to do that, after seeing Sige's file on me?”

The Lieutenant nodded. “Young men can be easily led astray by foolish promises of power. I know that because something much like it happened to me when I was your age, in fact. More importantly, no matter what Mr. Yasuda may say... I can tell that they've both already come to rely on you on instinct. You have that rare look about you, no matter how you try to disguise it. And in a crisis- especially one like this- experience outranks everything.”

He heard an involuntary whistle. Once again, Mr. Todoroki had him pegged perfectly. Though he was much more used to fighting humans than demons, some of the same basic principles could still be applied. Just like his experimentation with black dye, no amount of expensive hair gel could tamp his hair down for very long, and he'd ever been reluctant to cut it shorter.

But that wasn't the thing that made people look to him for help when the pressure was on. It was intangible. It couldn't be cut off or removed. Yet it was as much a part of him as his DSP was. More.

The wild demons in the city scared him. Zoe scared him worse. But nothing the man had said was a lie, and to lie to him now would go against all the vows he'd made. “...I promise, sir. I will do everything I possibly can to guarantee your daughter's safety. To reach her, the demons will have to kill me first.”

“That's all I can ask of you. Good luck, Ohabara.”

“You too... sir.”

He had no idea at all which one of them would need it more.

15:00

It felt a little cooler departing the station along the main road to Chiyoda, thought Kasai wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.

Or maybe it was Fujisa. And not her new ice power either. She was without a doubt her father's daughter, though not quite as frightening as him. Just silent and sullen, following the group without any further input. With Weihan following suit, the trio barely said a word to each other as they made their way west until after ten city blocks even Kasai couldn't take it any more, calling for a rest break at an abandoned coffee shop.

“Your dad trusts me”, he tried. “Trusts me enough to look after you, in fact.”

She folded her arms and looked away from him like he was a mortal enemy. Weihan spoke up instead. “You'll have to forgive her for being a little stunned, Ohabara. I always suspected that there was something, but... not that. It's just a lot to take in, that's all.”

It had been for his mother too, Kasai knew. It was the look on her face that really did it for him, kept him away from ever reneging on the vows he'd made back then. Fujisa's face didn't look that way, but it felt the same.

“Her maybe, but you could have checked my Sige file any time you wanted, Yasuda.”

Eyes rolled behind his specs and the glare of afternoon sunlight. “I didn't know then that I'd be stuck with you for this long. Until last night, we were both just two Enforcers doing our separate jobs for Sige. Just co-workers, y'know? Munayama spoke very highly of you. Was he ever...?”

Kasai blinked. “Ah, no. Never. Jun was always smarter. He was the one who got the good grades, always kept his career on track. And he helped get me that position in Sige as an agent. I owe him.”

“I'm surprised he would bother with you”, his partner made a sick grunt. “A Capsule. Really. Every single damned year there's stories in the news about the Capsule gang. Police chases on the freeways at night. Stores vandalized. Sometimes they'd even kill someone. And here you're saying that you used to be a Capsule- a criminal- and you're acting like it's no big deal?!”

His eyes were familiar too. He'd seen them on his mother, on his friends, on everyone who he'd known before the bad times. He'd never forget them. Anything he said to defend it right now would just sound like lame excuses.

So he didn't. “Sige didn't think it was a big enough deal to deny me a job.”

For once, Weihan didn't instantly yield when the subject of his employer came up, instead scowling. “Because they needed you. Didn't you hear Lieutenant Todoroki just now? It's called an 'Outreach Program', Ohabara. Participating businesses always hire a certain number of people with past criminal records, and they get paid a government subsidiary for it. More than they'll pay you in a hundred years of work as an Enforcer.”

He'd clearly expected that to come as a massive shock to Kasai's entire belief system, looking downcast when it didn't have the desired effect. “Look. If you don't feel comfortable being led by me-”

“You're NOT leading this group, Ohabara”, Weihan corrected him coldly. “I am. I always have been. I'm in charge. I'll lead us back to Sige headquarters, and report our findings to them. Like we should have from the start. We'll... probably never work together again after that.”

He tried hard to make that sound like it was a good thing.

The awkward route they'd chosen wound all around the city parks, ensuring to stay as far away as they could and minimize the chance of another demon attack. He might have asked Fujisa more about her suddenly acquiring the ice power that had saved him against Leraje to make conversation... except that she wasn't talking to him at the moment.

That would change as soon as they arrived at the Ginza line. The long winding highway seemed like the perfect choice at first. An isolated route with fewer cars, upraised and kept far away from any parks. A grand concrete bridge leading them all the way down to the business districts of Shibuya where Sige Financial had built its various office complexes.

Except for one thing. Three things. They were not alone. They were being watched, and awaited.

He thought Fujisa had picked up on it too when she suddenly stopped walking along the highway.

“...I... I'm sorry, Ohabara. This isn't just going to work out.”

Weihan frowned. “What do you mean, Fuj? Didn't you specifically ask to go with us?”

“I did.” Looking down into cracked highway pavement failed to mask the guilt on her face, or the growing tears. “Until I thought about it some more. Ohabara... you're not the person I thought you were. You seemed like a nice guy. But no. You're a criminal. A worthless criminal! I can't go with a- huh?”

Kasai didn't need to get close to know they weren't civilians. He could feel it. Three of them, all looking about the same age as them. Two women and a man, all arranged in a row.

All of them armed with black DSPs.

Then Fujisa's startled words pulled him back to reality.  Just in time. “Wh-what... I-Inui?!”

Chapter Text

Day 1- 15:30

“Wh-what... I-Inui?!”

Even if the Ginza line had been crowded with people and cars, Kasai doubted that 'Inui' would have been able to blend in well. The young man looked as though he'd been transplanted whole cloth from a previous era- a shiny black topknot of hair guided down by cloth bindings over tight orange and blue silk robes. To further amazement, he actually had a belt with a long katana sheath hanging from it, the black kanji on his robe spelling out 'Death Before Dishonor'.

He wasn't sure this was what people meant when they described a 'corporate samurai', and his voice, while still young, was deeper than his own to match.

“...Agent Todoroki. I think you know why we're here. Duty calls.”

His two companions on either side of him looked a bit less esoteric, but neither bore the standard Bythos business uniform either. The tall voluptuous one had a skintight light yellow and gray outfit that looked custom-made. Expensive, like something a supermodel might wear. Coordinating well with her long mane of blond hair just as the shiny reflective ribbons tied into it, lips of honeyed gold opening as she spoke.

“Hah! I told ya she'd switch sides. Trying to sell us out to Sige, huh? I always knew you were a coward, Todoroki! All your 'justice' talk is just empty air!”

Fujisa's reaction to her was appreciably more hostile. “You would be the expert on empty air, Motoro.”

“As bitchy as ever, I see”, the statuesque woman shrugged helplessly. “But even you must've known this was coming, right? You went out and used your DSP on humans without permission from headquarters. Big, big no-no. So now, you pay for your crime.”

Kasai studied the third one, the shorter woman, but she didn't seem to have much to say, merely looking upset by the situation. Her dark hair was cropped short to match, framing a round face not quite free of baby fat. Her outfit was by far the most normal of them, incorporating a black business tie like Fujisa's own company outfit, but like her she'd traded up for something lighter to beat the summer heat- teal-shaded with large pockets at the sides. A large pair of black headphones fully covered her ears, numerous wires running down into the pockets.

All three of them wore the glossy black wristwatch of the Bythos Manufacturing group on their wrists, the device type that Fujisa had before it had changed to a pearlescent white and gold, all three screens lit up in preparation to summon.

“You were waiting for us”, he regarded Inui, who seemed to be the Enforcers' leader if not the talker. “You knew this was the fastest safe route to the Sige headquarters.”

“Hidehi calculated it”, Inui nodded over at the headphones woman with appreciation, receiving a nod back. “Some of the other roads here had collapsed, but if you wanted to avoid the parks, this would be the best path. But this need not end in bloodshed. Agent Todoroki needs only surrender her DSP, and return to headquarters with us.”

“The hell she will!”, Weihan snarled, stepping forward. “She's with us! Besides... I, uh, I think you might have some trouble removing it.”

Glancing over at Fujisa's right arm, Inui grew concerned in turn. “What...? Todoroki, what did they DO to you? That looks... permanent?!”

“Nothing”, Fujisa promised, pulling on her device to demonstrate. “They didn't do anything to me. This kind of just... happened. It's not their fault. But as you can see Inui, I can't remove it. Even if I wanted to.”

Eyes sharpening, Inui brought one skilled hand to top of his sword hilt where Kasai saw what he assumed to be a family crest- five white diamonds arranged in a cross pattern. “There yet remains one way to remove it.”

Sensing Kasai and Weihan's alarm, Fujisa shook her head. “You're not going to do that, Inui.”

“I would most certainly regret it”, he acknowledged sadly. “Duty calls, though. Simply come back with us, and that unpleasantness won't be necessary. Dr. Leng will figure something out. He always does.”

Their comrade seemed to think it over for a moment, but the answer was obvious for her as it was for them. “...No. I won't go with you back to Ikebukuro. I'm just trying to use this power I have to help as many people as I can during this crisis.”

“You wouldn't even HAVE that power if not for Bythos!”, Motoro shouted. “You read our contract, you know damn well what the punishment is! And still you broke it! Now you have to pay for that!”

Sensing the growing thickness in the air, Inui turned respectfully to Kasai. “This is a private matter, Enforcer. If you interfere with us, it will worsen hostilities between our two companies at a time when we should be allies. I ask you to stand down.”

“Hey, I'M the leader here”, Weihan cut him off. “You want to say something, Bythos, say it to me. And the answer is still NO, by the way. You three leave Fuji alone, or this gets ugly for you.”

If their perspectives had differed, Kasai might have been upset. Instead, he just prepared his DSP, knowing already what was about to start. “I'll take Inui”, he whispered.

“Agent Akito Inui”, Fujisa clarified, hands clenching. “Be careful. He's good. He's VERY good.”

He'd have to be, to get away with dressing up like that, Kasai thought. The man seemed amenable to that matchup, while Fujisa squared off against Motoro and Weihan faced the wire-laden third one. Hidehi, she'd been called.

“Now... You do know that this is incredibly stupid, right?”, Kasai tried more for appearances' sake, knowing full well his opponent had already made up his mind on fighting. “You people are the ones pushing things over the line here, not us. Just let us through peacefully, and we can avoid something that some of us are going to regret.”

“Apologies. But I cannot”, the top-knotted man shook his head, looking genuinely regretful that violence was necessary. “Duty calls. Like you sir, I have strict orders from my superiors. And I shall do my utmost to carry them out. For me, this more than just a job, but an obligation.”

“Actually?”, Kasai felt himself grin a little inside. Under other circumstances he'd probably like this guy. “We're not even doing this at Sige's orders. Like you said, we should all just be working together to help fight off the wild demons right now. But if you really insist... Activate. Agent Kasai Ohabara. Summon Mokoi, and Moh Shuvuu!”

Seeing his opponent's demons phase into being, Akito too knew there was no going back, speaking into the tiny speaker on his own watch device the same way. “Activate. Agent Akito Inui. Summon Kaso and Ogre!”

Kasai found himself equally taken aback by his opponent's demons appearing. The blazing form of Kaso was at least familiar, though Sige's research suggested demons of the same type could have varying levels of strength and this one was living proof of that. The green-skinned Ogre was the largest one he'd seen since Astanpheus, and with brute power to match. Right. Bruiser, cruiser. One demon to attack, one to defend.

For a brief fleeting moment, Kas wondered if this was to be the newest form of warfare. Demon tamer versus demon tamer. Demon versus demon. That maybe they'd just begun the first round of the historical battles that would finally see guns made obsolete after well over a century of domination.

He couldn't afford more than a moment though.

16:00

He survived. That was about all that Kasai could claim in regards to the fight. Agent Akito Inui of Bythos was everything Fujisa had said he was, and more.

But he survived. It might have been entirely by luck, the fact that the massive brutish Ogre was vulnerable to Moh Shuvuu's wind skills, blown off target whenever he tried to bring his heavy rock club down on someone. Or how Mokoi's boomerang was able to intercept the speedy fire mouse just in time.

Or how Kasai himself very deliberately steered clear of the fighting between demons until Akito joined it, pretending to be nothing more than another helpless human target until his opponent drew close, only then unleashing the 'Zio' lightning skill he'd picked up from Armatizing with Centaur. Directly into the folded metal of the man's katana when he tried using it.

Whatever the key factor had been, it worked. Not all the old Capsule fighting instincts carried over, but enough of them did. Enough that after more close calls than he cared to remember, Akito fell back, looking as sweaty and exhausted as his target felt. Steel-gray eyes regarded him with a newfound respect.

“You... You're no mere Sige coffee-warmer, are you?”

“And you”, Kasai managed to pant back, clutching a heart grown heavy with exhaustion, “clearly had some kind of combat training before getting a job with Bythos. Not Yakuza. Wait a sec... Inui? I've heard that name before. Traditionalist family. Helps out with all the culture events and holidays, yeah? You were at the Meiji Jingu Spring festival?”

“Accurate there too”, Akito acknowledged humbly. “My family has sworn to preserve and honour the old traditions that have allowed our nation to survive for millennia. I was learning the ways of the warrior before you were toilet trained, Ohabara.”

“Eugh. Thanks for THAT mental image.”

He knew the friendly-seeming words were intended as a distraction, and was ready for the sneak attack when it came. The katana again, intercepted by his lightning skill, but instead Akito swung out with the sword's sheath, the wooden barrier sacrificing itself to give him a clear strike that tore clean through his arm sleeve, narrowly missing an artery.

Aghast, Kasai fell back. “The... You're actually trying to kill us? You really are crazy, Inui. Fine. No more mister nice guy!”

Centaur joined his side once more, having been held back for this desperate moment. Charging forward together, human and demon became one entity. He saw Akito's disciplined eyes shoot wide in alarm, and in the same moment his free hand dropped down to unleash a compassed blast of blazing, searing heat into his gut just before he could hit.

The two demon tamers both fell back away from each other, shock and exhaustion keeping them there.

Only then did he remember that this wasn't a one-on-one. The other four had been fighting with nearly equal intensity nearby, demons on both sides showing injuries.

“...How? How is it that can YOU use demon Armatization? That is our best-kept secret! Unless... Todoroki gave it to you?!”

Weihan and Hidehi seemed to notice what was happening, Fujisa and Motoro following after, the latter giving a murderous glare. “That's gotta be it. She leaked our best app to these guys! TRAITOR!”

The first impulse was to shout a denial to defend her, but it was more important that he focus on what Akito was doing. More of the fire spread out from the samurai's free arm, this time aimed not at him but the overburdened concrete of the Ginza road.

The enchanted flames caught, spreading quickly down the width of the road until the two teams were divided by conflagration. Damn. He must have set that up beforehand. Spreading flammable liquid all over the road. Just in case. So even if we managed to win, we still wouldn't be able to progress any further this way.

He could still see the robed man's eager smile across the blaze, if just barely. “...Interesting. You're much more than you appear to be, Agent Kasai Ohabara. Ally or enemy, I'll be very much looking forward to our next meeting. Until then... duty calls.”

With one last formal bow, he departed down the highway. Kasai watched the top of the blade's hilt sway back and forth in the smoke like a it was a taunt.

Motoro looked like she might have gone against his command if there wasn't a giant firewall between them now. They could still hear her loud voice though. “H-hey, hey, Todoroki! Don't you think we're done with you yet, traitor! Next time, we'll kick your saggy butt and drag you all the way back to Bythos headquarters ourselves! Then you'll really be sorry! Count on it! See ya soon!”

As usual, the third Bythos tamer- Hidehi- said absolutely nothing at all, merely glancing over at Weihan for a moment before nodding and following after her comrades.

Only after that did Kasai realize that he was bleeding.

It was his right arm. He thought he'd managed to avoid a cut, but Inui's blade had managed to nick him anyway even as it shredded his suit's sleeve beyond recovery. Grabbing the torn remnants of it, he tied them around the wound to form a crude tourniquet, ignoring the waves of fresh agony it brought him.

Fujisa hadn't noticed yet. She was trying to extinguish the fire wall on the highway with her ice power, but gave up after a few tries- it was obvious that the battle had exhausted them just as much as their demons. Checking his DSP, Kasai confirmed that Mokoi, Pixie, Tam Lin, Yuki Jyorou, and Knocker had all been defeated during it. They could be re-summoned, but only after taking some time to reconstitute themselves. Hours.

“Idiots”, Kasai remarked after a moment. “A corporate rivalry is one thing, but that?”

“I guess they were desperate to keep Fujisa away from Sige headquarters”, Weihan shrugged. “They think she'll leak their secrets to us. Honestly, it's like they don't know her at all.”

Fujisa knew them, though. “Akito Inui, Mayuri Motoro, and... Riin Hidehi. They're Bythos Enforcers. Like... like I used to be.”

Kasai recognized the look on her face. The slow, sobering realization that your former friends had now turned on you, were actively seeking to destroy you. Even if she had clearly never liked Mayuri very much at all. A line of blood had been drawn between Fujisa and her former life and station, no longer considered to be a part of that group. Despite having accepted that yesterday, actually seeing it in action was a new trial for her.

“Hm. Bythos Manufacturing seems to recruit an awful lot of pretty young ladies to be its Enforcers”, Weihan observed. “Not that I'm complaining about that or anything.”

“It's not like they choose”, she sniffed. “They decide based on loyalty to the company and spiritual power. They already knew what I was like. But they also said that my power was too high for them to ignore. So they made sure I re-read over my signed contact with them. Three times.”

And yet, here they were. Even before the crisis had started, Fujisa had made the decision to openly defy her masters all by herself, and face the consequences. Kasai found himself approaching her on instinct, then remembered what she'd been saying before the fight and stopped.

But that had changed too, it seemed. She nodded back. “I'm... sorry. I shouldn't judge you so quickly, Ohabara. Not until I have the full story about you. You risked your life to protect me from them. And from the demons. And if my dad really trusts you that much, then...”

He didn't feel the need to move any closer and risk upsetting her. “Todoroki... If you really want to hear it, then I'll tell you. But not here. Not yet. That fire messes up our plans. Even if we put it out ourselves, they've prolly set something else up further down the line to stop us from using the Ginza line.”

“How do you know?”, Weihan wondered, glasses lit by the rising flames. “Isn't this fire enough already?”

Kas shook his head. “Nah, it'll burn itself out in a few hours, max. But this Akito guy's a real pro from what I saw. He'll definitely have something else in store, then move on to try to block the other closest paths into Shibuya. Unless...”

“We're not shortcutting through another city park”, Weihan was adamant about that. “WAY too risky. They've got to be filled with demons by now, and we're nowhere near battle ready after that. There has to be another route, some other road that hasn't been blocked off yet.”

He gestured to the sky, where the sun had drooped significantly. Its splaying rays of light belonged to the late afternoon now. “We'd better find it quick then. Or else find another place to spend the night.”

“The night”, Weihan groaned aloud. He only now seemed to remember that they'd barely slept at all since yesterday. And that was finally taking its toll on them all, no matter how much adrenaline the last fight had worked up, to say nothing of their recent injuries. Fatigue, he knew, could eventually accomplish what the most savage of demons couldn't.

“We'll make it”, Fujisa looked to him, a new trust present in her baggy eyes that hadn't been there before. “We'll get back to Sige headquarters soon enough. Just... not today.”

The fire wall continued to pour a endless black smoke into the evening sky as they departed. A pyre for something, though he had no idea what.

19:00

All further efforts to find another route to the Sige tower proved equally fruitless, and after several more hours they gave up and sought out a shelter instead.

Not a park shelter, but a cheap-looking hotel which had nonetheless opened its doors to anyone who needed to stay for the duration of the emergency. The elderly manager merely nodded, allowing them into the lobby where several civilians had gathered, talking nervously among themselves like at the clothing store.

“A lucky find”, Weihan looked satisfied despite being unable to make it to their destination that day. “I doubt the Imperial Grand hotel is offering anyone the same courtesy.”

“Maybe for people with enough money”, Kasai suggested, laughing now that the pressure was finally off them for once. Some Sige higher-ups had paid that luxurious tower to the north of them a visit for 'business trips' in the past, but they were both still too low on the company totem pole for the company to cover such expenses for them. “Still, I'm glad to see so many places opening their doors to help people out. Try not to make a mess, okay?”

“As if I would”, Weihan joked back, equally glad to have a chance to relax for a while. Still, no matter how they tried the concerns of their day clung to them like a disease. “How's your arm, Ohabara?”

“It'll keep”, Kasai replied evasively. Actually his right arm felt like it was burning up inside, blood quickly soaking through the cloth bandage to drip out, but his partners didn't need that stress. “Once Pixie has recovered, I'll just use her Dia power to heal it.”

“You'd better go outside to do that. We don't want these people to see Pixie. They'd freak out.”

He'd added that last bit just a bit too late to be convincing, Kasai knew. Still, he was right. He found himself back outside an hour later, looking up at a sky that was just beginning to reveal the stars it hid. The healing tingled and itched much worse than usual, but when it was done the flesh looked pink and baby-new.

“We definitely need ourselves a few more healing demons”, Kas muttered to himself.

“I'll shop around before I go to bed”, Weihan offered, glad to see his arm restored. “Wait a sec... someone's there!”

The intruders made no further effort to hide themselves, stepping out into a streetlight in front of them. One of the crew-haired cops they'd saved from Leraje, and...

“Hidehi?!”

Their former enemy looked mortally embarrassed to be there, her expression reserved and shy. She roughly shoved the cop towards them, her dark hair and tie and headphones blending well with the evening calm even if her shirt and pants didn't. “This one was following you.”

“Whoa... she speaks?”, Weihan gaped in more open shock than he'd shown since yesterday. “She can actually talk?!”

“Of course Riin can talk”, Fujisa snorted beside him. “She just doesn't, usually.”

“Hard to get a word in”, Riin confirmed, her voice still strangely low-key and terse for one so young and short, “when working with Samurai-Boy and Motor-Mouth.”

“Understandable”, Kasai just barely managed not to crack up at her nicknames, returning his focus to the anxious-looking cop for the time being. “You. You were seriously following us the whole time?”

“At Lieutenant Todoroki's orders”, the young man shrugged helplessly, his face pale.

Fujisa glowered at that. “Really. So much for trusting us, huh?”

But Kasai let it pass. “Hey, if I were the Lieutenant, I wouldn't trust us either. He's welcome to stay the night with us, um...”

“Officer Yuji Zetsuru, sir. You saved me and officer Fugawa from that demon bitch at the school. We owe you.”

“You owe us so you decided to spy on us?”, Weihan remarked. “Feh. Typical police. No wonder no one trusts you any more.”

The young officer bristled at that, but he didn't want to cause a scene. Not when everyone present had a DSP device on their wrists except for him. Riin toggled the buttons on her own watch before returning to Kasai's attention, her blue eyes shining oddly bright in the darkness.

“I owed you too. Wanted to make up for it. You're right. Stupid for us to fight. Shouldn't.”

“I knew it!”, Weihan pointed triumphantly. “You WERE holding back when we fought before. The only one of you three who was.”

Hidehi's brow shot up. “Didn't want to hurt you. Stupid. Can't help you more though. Bythos'll cut me off.”

Familiar with that dilemma, Fujisa stared at her former friend imploringly. Despite being the same age, Riin remained just small and cute enough to trigger a few natural protective instincts in them. “Ohabara, are you absolutely sure that there's no way? No way for us to... y'know. Have Zoe do to her DSP what she did to ours? Set Riin free from Bythos' control, so she can travel with us without having to worry?”

Riin frowned, running a hand down her various wires as though she were braiding hair. “Who's Zoe?”

“No one”, Kasai promised. “I don't think so. Not unless she wants to. I haven't seen her all day.”

“It's fine”, Riin assured them, stepping back into the shadow. “Bythos is doing some stuff too. Gonna kill the demons. Stop 'em hurting people. See ya later.”

“Not later”, Fujisa grew firm, grabbing her shoulder. “There's no WAY we're letting you run around alone at night, Hidehi. Please. Just stay here in the hotel with us for tonight. We won't bite. Promise.”

Riin looked uncertain at first, but then she sensed the fear in the others for her as well, officer Zetsuru included. Fear for her. Fear that this night might end up being her last after reaching out to them, helping them. Fear of being devoured by a demon. Her silence stretched on as if it might never end.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...I want the bed near the window.”

20:00

Despite everything else, Kasai felt guilty. Over fifteen hours of action without sleep was a difficult thing to argue with, and yet the look on Weihan's own face reflected what he felt. Like they were 'taking it easy'. Like they could have done more with the time they had available to them.

“If I'd known we'd be camping out”, he tried a weak joke, “I'd have brought a change of clothes.”

“Well, at least we brought plenty of snacks”, his partner smirked once they were back in the hotel room they'd reserved for the two of them. Officer Zetsuru had his own room booked with another civilian, while the two girls had theirs adjacent to this one. “Though if we ever really needed it, I'm sure no one would mind us looting a few vending machines on the road.”

“Except maybe the cops. Like Zetsuru.”

“He'll understand. Desperate times and all. No restaurants. No grocery stores.”

Kasai shook his head in complete disbelief. “One damn DAY and we're already talking about looting for food?”

“Why not? You and Fuji already looted clothing from that store.”

“That we paid for.”

Amused by the debate, Weihan flopped down on his pillow, staring up at the ceiling like it was a riddle to be cracked. “We have to solve this crisis as soon as possible. Tokyo isn't designed for this. Its people are used to having internet, and phones, and stores. And food. And a guiding authority who can keep them informed of the situation and when it will be resolved. Too many more days of this, and things are gonna turn real ugly.”

For once, they were in complete agreement. “I know”, Kasai pulled up on his own bed, the one closer to the window where he could see all the dark, deserted streets outside. Like a ghost town. The lights were still working, but that was about it. “'Civilization begins and ends at people's stomachs.' One of my teachers said that.”

“In what? Home Ec?”

“History class.”

“Sige has caches of food available in the warehouses”, Weihan claimed. He looked just a tiny bit more human without his glasses on, Kasai observed. “That should stop anyone from starving for the time being.”

“We're talking millions of stomachs. Won't be long until they start looting for food.”

He didn't like dwelling on this subject though. Not one bit. It felt too much like an onrushing tidal wave that they could freely talk about but not do anything to actually affect. Weihan must have seen that too, and he turned over on his bedsheets, suddenly growing apprehensive, even frightened.

“Look, Ohabara... about what I said earlier. It just came as a big shock to us both, that's all. You know all the news stories about the Capsules. They don't need a crisis to go around looting places. They just take whatever they want, and they tend to hurt people who get in their way.”

From one distasteful subject to another, Kas recognized. But he deserved to be forced to tackle this one head-on. “Why do you think I left, Yasuda? Why do you think I've been trying so hard for years to make up for it?”

Weihan sniffed at the hotel air, finding it musty. “...Yeah. I know. And you've been putting the effort in, I saw. The way that you fought against Inui today... Maybe those old brawling skills are exactly what we need right now.”

“I'd rather they help us. It's stupid for us to fight each other right now. Just because Bythos ordered it.”

His partner sighed helplessly, studying the ceiling for details. “Look, listen... I'm not an idealist like Fuji. I don't try to force the world to follow what I think it 'should' be. I deal with the truth. I deal with the world as it is, Ohabara. And the truth is, Sige Financial and Bythos Manufacturing have been the competing 'gods' of Tokyo since before guys like you and I were born. Complete with actual demon servants now.”

Kas hid his frustrated scowl in the pillows. “Does that make it right, what they're doing?”

“I told you Ohabara- I don't deal in 'wrong' or 'right' or 'justice'. That's Fuji's thing, not mine. What matters is that they have the power. They have the money. They have the influence. In fact, I'm pretty sure they indirectly own this hotel chain too. That threat the Lieutenant made about legal charges? I wouldn't take it too seriously.”

Vaulting back up, he stared back cockeyed. “Seriously? You think they're gonna get away with all this? Doing demon research right under people's noses?”

“That the best way to do it. You know damn well what would happen otherwise. Normal humans can't be trusted with this power. Hell, we ended up having a leak anyway. And right now, my money's on that being the reason for this crisis.”

“We'll see.” The streetlight at the window flickered for a moment. “Of course, you could also say the research should never have been done to begin with.”

“Yes. You could”, Yasuda steepled fingers atop his prone chest. “But not even demons can travel through time. We can't un-ring the bell, Ohabara. We have to deal with things as they are, and Sige is the group best-suited to guide humanity through this crisis, into the new tomorrow. You've seen the cops up close today. They haven't even got half a clue. Arresting us... pff. That Hakatanka is a stain.”

They must have both been more tired than they realized, Kasai decided. That was the only reason they were agreeing with each other so much after a solid day of arguments.

“Well, Sige isn't here right now. We are. We're the only demon tamers on the scene. And at least until we can get back to them tomorrow, we have to be there for each other. So then... truce?”

Silence, then an amused snort from Weihan. “Sure thing. But I'm still writing that report to Ishimura when we get back. Don't worry, Ohabara. I won't let you die before you get disciplined like you deserve to.”

“Wouldn't dream of it. That's be like expecting you to stop being an unctuous little corporate suck-up.”

“Or me expecting you to stop being a hot-tempered, ill-educated criminal thug who I'm astonished knows the word 'unctuous'?”

Their shared laughter was loud enough to hold off sleep a while longer, no matter how heavy his eyes were getting. By forcing them back open, he was able to see the notebook in Weihan's hands, the pen he was writing in it with. “...What's that?”

“We just discussed it. It's the disciplinary report I'll be submitting once we get back to headquarters.”

He blinked. The brown-cover tome looked more a journal. “You need that many pages for it?”

“Perhaps. That's none of your concern, Agent Ohabara.”

So now they were back to 'agent'. Conceding defeat, he'd nearly drifted off again when Weihan spoke. “Wait... how DID you know that Fuji was in trouble before? No putting it off this time. Tell me.”

Several extremely sarcastic responses occurred to him and were dismissed, one after the other. In the end, he had nothing worth speaking but the truth. “I... saw it happen. When I was unconscious. I saw Fujisa die. I saw one of the demons murder her. Put a blade right through her chest. Saw her... bleed out.”

He wanted to disbelieve it. Kasai could tell. But he also had seen enough not to discount it as mere madness. “So you had a vision. A vision of the future.”

“I did.” He folded both arms behind his head, trying to relax. Failing. “I'd say it was just my 'spiritual compatibility' acting up, but it's never happened before now.”

Weihan frowned. “Then it's most likely something to do with that 'Zoe' person you mentioned. Why? Why would she send you that?”

Kasai shrugged helplessly. “Hell if I know. I'm just glad I was able to save Fujisa. I guess Zoe wouldn't want someone she'd already enhanced the DSP of to die so soon.”

“And by 'enhanced'”, his partner sounded far less sanguine about it, “you mean 'permanently attached to us'. And altering them so they don't work if we get too far away from you.”

“So she wants us to stick with each other. So what? She helped us save Fujisa. She saved all our lives before. After Sige and Bythos turned off our DSPs, mind you.”

“No.” Gripping his pen, he threw the notebook down in disgust. “Don't you see it, Ohabara? She's trying to recruit us! For what purpose, I can't tell. But something with that kind of power can only be one thing. A demon. A major demon- one of the ones too powerful to tame. One who isn't even in our database yet.”

The panic in the man's tone felt like acid vapour, and for a moment worry did chill Kasai's heart. Until he was able to shake it off. Like his rage, it wouldn't help anything now. “A demon, or a 'god'? Either way, she's done nothing but help us so far. More than Sige. And if she does try to force us to do something bad... we'll deal with it then. What I said to Jun before goes for her too. She can't force me to kill.” Pausing, he reconsidered the statement. “Well, she can't force me to kill humans.”

“As far as you know”, Weihan accused him, pulling at his DSP as if he hoped its grip had loosened. No luck. “All the same, we need to get these things off us when we get back to headquarters. Who knows what else she's done to corrupt them?”

A shame, Kasai acknowledged quietly. In truth he rather liked the redesign of the tiny device on his wrist compared to what it had been before, all pearl white and gold framing. Tones far more angelic or divine than infernal. He knew which way he wanted to bet.

Time Unknown

“What do you want?”, Kasai asked the emptiness of slumber. “You saved us. You're guiding us. Why?”

Zoe remained frustratingly unreadable as ever. “To create a new Aeon of life. You and your allies will forge the way to it, now that you have been freed of Sige's control.”

“But you won't free Hidehi from Bythos?”

“That one has yet to discard Bythos' Aeon. For me to free her, she must first free herself from it.”

Cryptic as ever. He might have gotten mad, but there wasn't much point to it inside his own head, and he wasn't forgetting his gratitude that easily.

“The reverse is also a danger. Be aware that other Aeons have awakened now. They will begin to seek out servants who share their teachings. Even those you currently trust as allies may yet fall under their sway and lose themselves.”

“But... but what even IS an 'Aeon'?”

“A body of human knowledge. An ideology which guides humanity to a singular vision of the world. This world's current Aeon of wealth is collapsing. Dying. A replacement is required. Ours will lead humans to true life and harmony.”

Harmony? “We were at peace though, until the demons showed up.”

“Untrue. The peaceful days of before were but a lie. Humans still warred with humans, all across your world. Sige and Bythos warred with each other, both of them seeking to become the dominant Aeon of this world. They warred with the others too. Before they become too powerful to stop, others must intervene and make themselves known. You will see it for yourself.”

“Just know that we believe you will survive. That you will triumph over the others, no matter how powerful they become. You have the power to bring the Aeon of life to this poor tormented world. That is why we chose you. Our champion. Our dearest Bloody Angel...”

“Believe. I know that with our aid, you and those who believe in you will survive, and guide the way to the dawn of a new world. Our new world. Believe, and we will show you the way.”

End Of Day One

Chapter Text

Day 2- 6:30

The early light flooded through the hospital's wide 2^nd floor window, striking slumbering eyes to prompt them open in the bed.

So it wasn't a dream. Aya Ohabara knew something had gone wrong yesterday. The signs had been obvious from the start, and only becoming more difficult to conceal. Some of the other patients had gotten antsy about the attempt being made. They didn't trust the staff here enough yet.

Once upon a time, she might have been the same way.

The same as the tall braid-haired lady standing across from her now, arms folded like she was blaming Aya for the problem.

“No change from yesterday”, she accused. “My phone might as well be a damn plastic brick.”

Aya made an expression of exaggerated sympathy. Yui been on a call with her husband when communications had suddenly been cut with no sign of what was happening... or when things would get back to normal. “Everyone's in the same boat, Hatsurada. Blame the telecommunications companies.”

“Oh, I do. But seeing as how I can't yet leave and give them a piece of my mind...”

That was the real sign that something was up, she knew. A communications blackout was one thing, but apparently there had been sightings of wild animals in the area as well according to the police. Something severe enough to lock down the entire city, preventing anyone from leaving the hospital except under the most extreme of circumstances, and only under an escort.

But it was more than that too. She could feel it. Something in the air, in the very feel of the world around her, said that things were changing. Like atrophied fight or flight instincts were now kicking into overdrive, warning her that she was not safe. That none of them were.

The problem was, they wouldn't be safe anywhere else in the city anyway. The Toyosu hospital, 2^nd rate as it was, was still the least dangerous place. Particularly for someone like her, who still required a walker to get around. It was sitting there next to the wall now, folded up behind Yui as though she were guarding it.

“You want to get up to the patio?”

“No”, she considered. “The lounge. That's where everyone will be gathered. The television.”

Yui glowered. “Really? You want to expose yourself to that mess? Expose yourself to Owada and Orikane?”

Knowing what she meant, Aya nodded. “I want to try and alleviate that mess. Try and talk them down before things get out of hand. Orikane might start a riot.”

“And you think you can stop him?”, Yui sighed. “Me, I'd rather just stay clear of it. But I'll help you over there.”

“Thank you, Hatsurada.”

The more they could manage without the doctors and nurses' help, she knew, the better. Not just for her own satisfaction, but theirs. Letting them know that whatever was happening, they didn't need to worry about their own patients going against them. Not so long as the people like her outnumbered the grouchy loudmouths like Orikane.

“Thinking about him, aren't you?”

Aya nodded. “As much as you're thinking about your husband.” Of course it wasn't quite the same. Yui's husband was a truck driver. With the roads blocked, he'd have little choice but to head home in defeat.

Her son, meanwhile, worked for Sige Financial. Among hundreds of thousands of others. With the long hours they kept him on, it wouldn't surprise her to learn he would have had to stay overnight at the headquarters building, that enormous opalescent tower of steel that she couldn't quite spot from the roof of the hospital, but she knew was one of the biggest landmarks in a mega-city known for hundreds of landmarks.

But something had changed there quite recently, too. Another thing she couldn't quite place even if she knew it was there. Just a few weeks ago, when Kasai had come to visit her and happily announced that if everything went well she would be moving to the Shibuya general hospital some time in the next month. The hospital with the best staff and technology in all of Tokyo... as well as the highest price tag.

But Shibuya general would be affected just the same way by this lockdown, she knew. Unable to move patients out. Or provide them with any kind of telecommunications. Or prevent the patients from getting anxious about the situation, wondering what exactly was going on.

Not everyone had the serenity to recognize that it didn't matter. Panicking wouldn't help, nor would haranguing the staff who likely knew about as much about the issue as they did.

Grumbling, Yui finally had the plastic and metal contraption unfolded set up in front of her. It was a restriction she'd despised at first, but trying to stand up straight without it had quickly convinced her of its need. Ironic how the ones who didn't need the walkers or other kinds of supports would make the most noise, be the least reasonable in this situation.

Aya couldn't reliably picture what her reaction would be without it. All she knew was that in part because of it, the doctors and nurses here had started to call her in to help whenever another patient was unruly. A kind of unofficial therapist, though she'd never truly earned that kind of degree. She'd worked in fashion until...

...Until this had happened. Until the sirens and the noise and the sudden shock and the impact and the agony gripping her leg joints until she couldn't do anything else but lie down on the concrete and the broken glass and wail like a newborn infant.

She'd wanted to die back then, if only for a moment. Just to be free of it.

Yet bit by bit, day by day, that impossible pain had lessened, until it became almost manageable on good days.

“The joints are okay?”, Yui asked carefully. “They squeaked a little when I opened it up.”

“They're fine”, she smiled back. “Thanks, Hatsurada.”

She took the walker, pressing it into the tiling.

It was a new day. Keep your head down, and creep towards the dawn. That was what she'd always told her son, and it was good advice here too. She had to be content with small victories for the time being. That was all they could do, for now.

For now, the two of them stopping Orikane from starting a riot in this hospital would be enough of a victory for her liking.

Day 2 – 7:00

Kasai woke to a new dawn.

Riin was gone, nowhere to be found in that morning's faded light before breakfast had even started. Fujisa was the only one who seemed surprised. “She's not like the others. She's smarter. Smarter than me, when she tries.”

“Really? Humility? From Mt. Fuji?”, Weihan noted in surprise, still cleaning the sleep out of his eyes. To their delight, the hotel had provided a lovely breakfast buffet of egg and fruit as well, but they'd augmented that with their own food supplies of egg, beef and venegtables, leaving more for the rest of the people stranded there to eat. “Her demons weren't anything big, but she was holding back on me.”

“Which ones?”, Kasai wondered. He'd been too busy fighting Akito to pay any attention to the others.

“Heqet and Chironnopu.”

Kasai raised an eyebrow. He recognized Heqet from Sige's records- a strange short bipedal frog with blond human hair and a cloth shrift- but he'd never heard of Chironnopu. Fujisa had. “Tiny little fox with a bow and arrow. Cute little thing, really.”

“Just as small as Heqet”, Weihan confirmed. “Small demons seem to be her thing. How about 'Motor-Mouth?'”

Fuji looked disgusted. Not by the nickname, but the subject. “She said she prefers 'beautiful' demons. She used Lenean Sidhe and Kikuri-Hime against me when we fought.”

“Oh, like you didn't choose Tam Lin for his looks... annnnd there's the morning's eruption. For a moment I was getting worried.”

Fujisa hadn't even said anything yet, only glaring at him hard enough to kill. He ignored it. “Back on track... we need to get to the Sige headquarters today. We're overdue. They've got to be wondering what happened to us. I say we head further southwest and past the tower to the Minato line. There's no way they've blocked all that off too.”

“Don't say that”, Kasai warned him. “Knowing our luck, they'll have every road from here all the way to Midtown blocked off. And there'll be demons around too.”

“No point in being fatalistic now”, Fujisa brightened up. “Come on, you guys! Whatever's there, we'll handle it.”

“Waaaait!”

Amused, Kasai turned to see patrol officer Yuji Zetsuru running to catch up with them. “Oh? Come to spy on us some more, have you now?”

The young cop rubbed his head sheepishly. “Sorry. But I do have my orders. If there really are demon tamers out there- and I don't know how the hell else to describe what I saw yesterday- then we need to keep tabs on them.” Knowing exactly how that sounded, Zetsuru looked to Kasai earnestly. “Besides, if you kids run into any more police, then I should be able to prevent any... complications.”

“Complications?”, Fujisa wondered. “What do you mean?”

“In case one of them gets scared by our demons and tries to shoot us”, Kasai translated.

“...Oh.”

Eyes briefly drifting to his own holster, Zetsuru held his head to ward off an ache. “Actual real demons running amok, nearly immune to our guns... if that's really true, then even the SDF doesn't stand a chance against them! We need to find a way to stop them. We need more demon tamers like you guys, who use their powers to protect the city from the wild demons.”

“When you put it that way”, Weihan noted happily, “it sounds like we're actual heroes. Like in the kids' shows.”

Kasai only wished it were that simple.

7:30

Patrol officer Zetsuru was quick to make himself welcome now that his presence was known and the day was new. He seemed enthused enough to be around real live demon tamers that it became an embarrassment. Eventually he remembered that he was supposed to be the adult on the team, being older than them by a few years, and toned it down a tiny bit.

The obvious question on his mind could only be held back for so long, though: “Do you think that I could...?”

“That you could became a demon tamer?”, Weihan guessed, a bit more tolerant of him than the others during their journey. Fujisa seemed a bit leery of him. “Well... without our specialized measuring equipment at the lab there's no real way to tell. You absolutely need a certain level of spiritual power to become a demon tamer, and you also need to have a DSP properly attuned to that power. I'll, uh, check and see if they can do a scan once we reach headquarters.”

Happy to let them discuss it separately, Fujisa turned her attention back to Kasai as they made their way west across the ward, her earlier reluctance to open fled with the previous night: “...Ohabara. How did it happen?”

“Excuse me?”

“Forgive me”, she reconsidered her approach. “I grew up in a pretty well-off neighbourhood. I'll admit I was, perhaps, more than a little sheltered. My dad wanted to protect me from the evil he knew was out there. So, I only ever heard stories about the Capsule gang from him, and only when I asked nicely. I... I just have a hard time fully believing that a decent-seeming man like you could actually join up with those awful criminals, Ohabara.”

Kasai blinked. That had to be the first time anyone had ever called him a decent man. It felt decidedly odd to hear. Pleasant, even... but he didn't let it distract him from the question for too long.

“...Well. You wouldn't ask if you didn't really want to know. So I'll tell you. We all make mistakes when we're young, Todoroki. Some mistakes are big, and some are small. Mine... was Tokyo-sized.”

Looking back at Fujisa, he could tell that explanation wasn't going to be nearly enough to satisfy her, and he cleared his throat to continue.

“It all started back in high school. I was just your average student back then, keeping my head down and trying to get good grades, or at least good enough to keep my folks happy. Some students got on my case for a while about my hair but nothing too bad really. Just kids being kids. Nothing that I couldn't deal with.”

“I had a friend there- gangly-looking guy named Ebisu Natsuhagi. My best friend, really. He was always looking out for me. We even lived together in the same town-home complex, far away from the school. But... he had some problems of his own. Way bigger than mine. There was this tough 3^rd year guy there, who didn't like how he dressed. Or some other dumb reason, I'unno. He kept on going after Ebisu every day after class, calling him all sorts of... stuff. Stuff that the teachers either didn't hear or didn't want to.”

“That”, Fujisa confessed, “is something I'm at least familiar with. It sounds like a very bad case of bullying. What happened then?”

Kasai hesitated, feeling old painful memories stirred up like rancid poison long since settled into the bottom of a cup. But somehow, some way, talking with Fujisa about it didn't seem to hurt as much as talking with Junoda had.

“Things escalated, as they usually do. The guy eventually got serious, and he brought some of his asshole friends in on it. Together, they all managed to catch Ebisu on his way home from school one day... and they beat him up. Took away all his clothes, and ran away with 'em. Left the guy completely buck nude right in the middle of the Tokyo rush hour.”

He let Fuji process the imagery of that horror for a while, turning the corner onto the main street and grateful to find another stretch of stores, displays, and a subway station completely devoid of any wild demons for the time being. They'd gotten rather lucky in that so far, avoiding any further fighting for the day. There were no signs of any further human casualties either. The lockdown was working. For now.

“...Ebisu moved schools after that, to try to get away from the embarrassment. But the video someone took of him with their phone was impossible to escape. He must have felt like his life was completely ruined, forever. So... at some point, he must have reached out to another friend, or at least someone that he knew. Someone who was already a Capsule. And he made a deal with the devil.”

Another police chopper sped by them overhead playing the usual announcement, creating a break before he could continue.

“A few weeks later, the 3^rd year guy got jumped and beaten up on his way home from class. Badly. Teeth, ribs, collarbone, fingers, you name it, they broke it. At least four people were involved in the assault... but they couldn't charge anyone for it. Because the perpetrators have no legal address. At least, not one you could ever find them at. Because they're always on the move from place to place on their bikes. Never letting themselves be caught. By anyone.”

“The Capsules”, Fujisa shivered in genuine fright, greater than she'd shown towards demons. She'd heard all the stories, all the news exposes on TV. Though much less-organized, the gang generated nearly as much terror in the average citizen as the Yakuza.

“In return for their services, Ebisu joined up with them. Got the tattoo. He got his own motorcycle and learned to ride it pretty well. He even started giving me free rides home after school. Despite the fact that we weren't in the same school district any more. Despite the fact that I'd stood there like a coward and let that bastard humiliate him. I was too scared to get in trouble then. But even then, I felt a debt for not being there for him when he needed me. Something I was desperate to repay in any way I could.”

Fujisa gazed back at him, blank and disbelieving.

“It took a while, but the more I talked to him, the more interested I got. The Capsules did for him what I was too chicken to. They were his family. It felt like they always looked out for each other. They had more power than the schools. More than the police. Not really of course, but they almost never got caught. As you know, they usually operate at night, and they have ways of disappearing into it whenever the heat came down.”

“But... but HOW, Ohabara?”, she spread her hands towards him helplessly. “All this time you've been talking about Natsuhagi. How couldYOU join up with a gang of people who do such horrible things?!”

Now he wasn't sure of the best way to continue, or if he should. Fujisa wasn't going to let it go easily though. She never did let anything go easily, he was finding.

“First”, he waved a hand over to the broken Ginza highway as if expecting Capsule bikers to show up. “The worst crimes of the Capsules that you hear about in the news were actually committed after a... well, a change in leadership. Before Drogen took over, we all had rules we followed. A code of honour, really. Guidelines that stopped us from getting too far out of hand. 'Never hurt the innocent.' 'Never steal from someone who can't afford it.' 'Never turn your back on a comrade.' 'An attack on one is an attack on all of us.' Y'know. Stuff like that.”

If Fujisa had any scorn for such a code being kept by a delinquent motorcycle gang, she kept it quiet, letting him go on.

“Second... Another part of the code that never was abolished by Drogen when he took over. More of a manifesto, really. A truth that they based the gang's principles around: That all forms of authority are a mask for brute force.”

The statement had the effect he expected. Fujisa blinked rapidly, trying her best to understand what he was really saying to her. “So... that just makes it completely okay for you to go and break the law? To be in a gang of worthless criminals?”

His sad smile said all she needed to know. “The belief is that every group in existence is a 'gang'. A police force is a 'gang'. An army is a 'gang'. A nation's government is a 'gang'. They're all just gangs. Just large groups of people who are devoted to looking after their own collective interests. None of them are really more superior to another, except in power and size.”

“That... seems incredibly simple.”

“Most truths are simple, Todoroki. It's always the lies that are complicated. You'll see. If you keep pursuing this, that is.”

He noticed that she had yet to ask him if it was still a truth that he still believed in. More mercy, since he wasn't sure what the honest answer to that would be.

“Anyways, once Drogen took over I knew I had to get out. They were out of control. But I couldn't bring Ebisu back with me. He stayed on, no matter how I pleaded with him. I can't blame him really.”

“S-so the fire in the Chiyoda ward last year, that famous chef in Fukuoka winding up dead, beaten to death...”

“...Ebisu probably took part in some of those, yeah.” His mouth felt dry.

He only noticed then that patrolman Zetsuru had been listening in as well, just as rapt as Fujisa. Unlike her, he'd experienced more than just stories and hearsay, likely being a personal witness to some of their handiwork. “Satsushira Drogen. 'The Dragon'. That's the new Capsule bosses' name. We always suspected, but could never confirm it. Until now.”

Kasai winced. “Happy to be of service, patrolman.”

The novice cop didn't condemn him for it though. Not in a way he could see, at least. “As the Lieutenant said, young men such as you can often be led astray by the promises of power and wealth. And this Natsuhagi kid... it sounds like he's had a very rough time of it too. Did you remove your capsule mark, Ohabara?”

Reflexively reaching up for a patch of tender flesh along the rear left side of his neck- the spot where the tattoo of a protein capsule had once existed- Kasai nodded back. “Yeah, I did. It wasn't easy. I had to go to a parlour and have a cop assure them that I was on the level. Cost me a ton too. It's the symbolism of it, really. Hardly anyone's going to see it there anyway, but I still wanted it gone.”

Zetsuru looked grateful. “A symbol, like you said. Removing that mark is one more step for you back towards the right path, Ohabara. Towards you re-entering civilization.”

Yeah, too bad that civilization is getting demolished out from under us right now.

Fujisa still didn't look like she quite understood it. The ideology that the original Capsules had formed around was still far too alien to her. To someone who had been raised from the start to see a nation's law and order and rules as absolute and unbreakable.

Someone who hated criminals enough to sic demons on them, against the will of her employer.

But the fact that she'd accepted him and didn't see him as a mere criminal was more than enough. A good way to start the day, he decided.

9:00

“Of course”, Weihan managed to be the first to find his words again after nearly half a minute of collective astonishment. “We assumed there would be trouble with demons on the way back to Sige headquarters.”

“Failing to consider the possibility that the trouble would be at the headquarters itself”, Fujisa stared dumbfounded, taking in the full horror of what they were seeing.

The king-sized plaza in front of the office tower had been beautiful. A pristine set piece of classical white marble arches and tiling lined with statues and well-pruned hedges, a long stairway graduating into a smaller railed terrace at the top where Sige's main office tower lay situated.

Now it was a warzone. Kasai counted at least fifty demons, all of them engaged with a much smaller number of Sige's well-dressed Enforcers barring their way up the stairs. He recognized some of them, others not so much. Their expressions ran the full gamut from grim determination to despair. Despite all the collateral damage, they had been holding their own admirably well, it looked like.

Until the enemy leader appeared.

Perhaps the most human-looking demon they'd seen yet, but still far too large to ever be able to pass for one- a ten foot giant of a man, dirty waves of brown hair descending from a sickly pale scalp above a carved face not unlike the statues he had destroyed. Sharp crimson battle armour covered him, one deep-scarred arm clutching a curve-tipped spear fully his own height.

Burning white coals peered out from the enormous eye sockets, and his broad lips twisted into a sinister smirk. “This magnificent castle shall be mine! From there I, the mighty king Tarakasura, shall rule this country with the boons granted me by the gods! Now... BOW DOWN!”

The closest Sige Enforcer never stood a chance. A barrier spell shattered the instant the spear tip touched it, catching and impaling him before he could dodge. Lifting him, ignoring the agonized screams, the giant made a slashing motion, casting his victim back to slam into a pillar and bleed out in silence.

Kasai took the first steps forward, his DSP and demons at the ready... until he looked back realized that no one else was following after him. “Come on. What're you waiting for? We have to go!”

Fujisa awoke from her trance, finding her courage again. “Y-yes, of course. Before he kills them all.”

But Weihan... he would not move at all. Could not. He looked completely paralyzed, as anguished as the dying Sige tamer had been. “But... but... we don't stand a chance against that demon! His power is... is...it's...!”

“Like I give a damn!”, Kasai snarled back at him. “We take out his minions then! We have to save the others! Fomorian! Centaur!”

Fujisa didn't wait once roused to action either, immediately Armatizing with Yuki Jyorou to become the frost maiden, releasing arctic breath to freeze up several of the demon king's army. They seemed to be consistently animal-types, Kasai noticed. Canine blue-furred Hairy Jacks, the feline Nekomata, reptilian crested Garm, and the winged Caladrius flapping around healing the former two. A menagerie of savage beasts under the command of the battle-hungry tyrant.

Sating that hunger didn't make him lose track of what was happening. They'd only managed to take out a few before he reacted, inhaling deeply before releasing a mighty gust of wind blowing everyone back, strong enough to push back Fujisa's own ice breath weapon and smash her along the tiles, breaking them and the soil beneath, leaving a trench behind.

And quite suddenly nothing else mattered to Kasai any longer. The only thought left in his brain was the need to get in close and rip the demon bastard's big head off his shoulders.

Not quite the only thing. “Fomorian, Armatize!”

In a flash, the beast king Tarakasura now faced a giant nearly his own size, one covered in white fur with sloping horns and hooves. There was no time to dwell on the physical sensations that came with becoming one with such a creature. Not now.

Going by appearance alone they might have seemed even, but the next minute proved how terribly wrong that assumption was. Every strike he made with his enormous meaty arms was parried, every opening punished with another stab from the spear. When he tried gripping the handle, the demon released the scathing winds once more until pain made reflexes release it.

Kasai was blasted back. Everything hurt. Tears forming in his eyes not of sorrow, but sheer agony. He ignored them. He fed the pain into anger, into rage, and let it become raw power. “Centaur, Armatize!”

Then he was charging back towards his target, racing forward at lightning speeds. Nearly impaling himself on the spear until he cast it aside at the last moment, releasing lightning directly into the metal, which-

Which did nothing. Tarakasura brought it down in a long sweep, releasing a wave of displaced air that cut into his side like a knife. Fed up with his futile attempts, the demon king's eyes flashed and suddenly his attempts to get back up stopped. Numb. Paralyzed.

“Finally!”, the tyrant's smirk grew to reveal gleaming fangs. “A human with some backbone. Perhaps I'll keep that backbone in my trophy case?”

Kasai blinked. The only thing he could do. Bastard, damn you, bastard, damn you, bastard, damn...!

Doomed. He could see his mother's eyes. Ebisu's. Zoe's. Fujisa's. Even Astanpheus'.

Not doomed. The colossal spear's hook had paused an inch from tearing into his heart, stopped by a banging noise. Not the noise, but the bullet which had caused it. Tarakasura glared up at a terrified Yuji Zetsuru and his gun, more amused than anything else that a human would be so audacious as to try to shoot him.

A mere gesture created a wind current strong enough to send the frightened patrolman flying face-first into a concrete wall by the parking garage. Doomed.

Not doomed. Something else sent him flying, helpless. Ears ringing.

Then, bit by bit, the numbness began to fade and he could see what had saved him.

The demon was another canine type. A shaggy-maned wolf to the Hairy Jack dogs, but if anything the difference between them was like a rottweiler and a chihuahua. Wiry dark gray limbs housed collections of hooked claws, graduating into an over-large muzzle and four curving razor fangs the height of doors.

With a feral growl, the super-beast sent the Hairy Jacks running for cover, whining.

Behind it stood a familiar female tamer, long snow-white locks descending from a prim aristocratic demeanour, a prim black rose mounted to the right side of her head. While the DSP on her wrist was clearly a Sige model, she lacked the uniform the rest of the tamers wore, sticking to an elegant gray blouse, jacket and white skirt.

He could hear Weihan's astonishment even if he couldn't see him. “M-miss Surahi!”

The others recognized the heir of Sige too, and resumed fighting with a newfound energy. Her attention was only for the enemy king Tarakasura, directing her equally terrifying pet demon to him before speaking in a calm voice to reach every human in the plaza. “Everyone, please keep back! Skoll and I will handle this one!”

Kasai groaned out his pain, still not quite able to stand. He was the only one not completely caught up in the fighting. The only one who had the time to watch as Skoll systematically tore the demon king apart. The lupine beast moved too fast for his eyes to track, intercepting the spear before biting it in two at the middle.

The tyrant's sonic wind attack sounded as brutal as ever but it barely pushed the demon wolf back at all, and it replied with a stab of a bladed tail into its prey's open shoulder. His paralysis gaze proved equally ineffective, and the beast's return swipe left trails of glimmering ice crystals across gaping slash wounds.

Finally, he'd had enough. A whirlwind descending at his equally ear-shattering roar to encase him, buffeting Skoll back just enough to safely raise him into the air and out of reach.

“Another time, then. This mighty castle will be mine in the end, human! As will this rich land it rules!”

Kasai didn't get to see what happened next. He couldn't see whether or not the tyrant was able to escape, or whether the remnants of his army were still putting up a fight.

He couldn't see anything at all. Only blackness.

Time Unknown

“Pathetic. Utterly pathetic.”

The sound of mockery roused Kasai, made him aware of consciousness again. Though not location. Just the same formless in-between void as his last dream.

Only the guest was different. A towering figure reminding him of a darker-skinned Tarakasura before the rest of his features brought back previous terrifying memories. Blood-feathered angel wings. A wild mane of hair. Four eyes staring down at him with identical contempt.

“Not you again.” It hurt to talk, even in this realm.

Astanpheus' lips curled into a smirk. “Oh? You'd rather have Zoe here to coddle you with her kind lies? Let her see that miserable performance? Disgusting. How could she ever consider you worthy of being a Syzygy? Or worthy of me?”

“You're welcome to try that one for yourself. In fact, I really wish you would.”

The kick didn't even hurt much. There was just this sudden sensation of impact and rapid motion sending him sprawling across whatever counted as a solid floor in this mist-filled netherworld.

“I could have. If you'd been willing to let me. But no. You're still too scared. Frightened of what could be if you let me loose again. Still so afraid. Pitiful.”

He could think of nothing to say back to that. If the angel knew that much, then he knew the reason why.

“When? When will you stop hiding from the truth? What happened to your mother was not your fault. It would have happened no matter what you did. Now is not the time to chain yourself down with imagined guilt, you fool!”

That brought his head up, refocused his gaze. “Not imagined. I regret it. I regret everything.”

The angel's face grew even more contemptuous. “More lies. More chains you're placing on yourself. You know that you loved it. You loved that freedom. You were born for it. To be the catalyst. To be the one all others fear. To be the bloody angel. To be ME. All you have to do is admit it, and you can be the one to save humanity from this crisis, and lead them to a new Aeon.”

It was his turn to smirk. “So you're with Zoe on this then?”

“She chose you. Entirely because of my power. A power you're refusing to use! You had to chain me down before, in order to fit into society. But that society is gone now. There's no need for you to hold back any longer. Unchain your heart. Set me free. Let us rend, slaughter, and devour your enemies together, and bathe in their blood!”

Which was all he needed to hear. He stared up at the upper pair of eyes, seeing his own reflection there. “Maybe you ARE within me... but I don't want to be you. Not any more. You're what frightened her. You frighten everyone. Even the people I vowed to protect.”

“That's their weakness. It's their fault. They don't yet understand... this world is changing. It has changed. It can never go back to what it once was. And good riddance! It's done nothing but weaken you and restrain you. Turned you into this mewling pup I see before me, so desperate for the affection of others.”

“That”, he rasped, “is what I choose to be now, angel. I will NEVER be what you are. Never again.”

For once the bloody angel paused, eyes narrowing into slits. “Very well. There's still six days for you to decide. We'll see if your resolve remains so weak after you see those precious people you're so eager to protect slaughtered before your eyes. All because you wanted to be something other than what you were meant to be. I'll be waiting.”

“Prepare”, he hissed back through the rising pain, “to be disappointed.”

Chapter Text

-

11:00

Waking up in a Sige infirmary was starting to become a dangerous habit by now. Being alive to count it, Kasai counted his blessings too. They were more than the ceiling lights.

Surahi wasn't there to greet him, naturally. Instead it was the researcher Tatyana Chiba who first met his eyes as he came to, meeting him just as she had after his first experience with summoning demons.

With Astanpheus.

“You were very lucky that miss Surahi arrived on the scene when she did”, the older woman sounded more perfunctory than scolding. “Trying to engage a demon of that power... what were you thinking Ohabara?”

Kasai tried to rise and groaned. Everything still hurt. Even his throat ached when he opened it. “...I was thinking of doing my job, doctor. That's what you gave us this power- the DSP- for.”

Unlike many, she didn't take offence to his glibness. “Well, I'm glad you and agent Yasuda finally made it back here intact anyway. And you even brought us a present. Though that still fails to explain the sudden change that we've detect in your DSPs. Some sort of upgrade? We couldn't remove or deactivate them at all, yet they are still receiving the company server data updates we sent you. Most fascinating.”

“Fascinating? Doctor, I would rather call it 'dangerous'.” Junoda Munayama sounded more cross than his usual, but his stony expression couldn't hide his relief at seeing his old friend come back alive.

“Only to the demons who attack us”, Kasai promised, touching his upgraded DSP's buttons out of reflex. “New packaging, same product.”

“And yet, you demonstrated an entirely new ability in the previous battle that we hadn't seen yet”, Jun observed. “'Demon Armatization', you called it?”

“Right.” He bit down to block out the pain better. “I... I can explain that. Just know for now, it's just one more powerful weapon in our arsenal against the wild demons. Where's Yasuda at?”

“He's recovering, the same as you. He took a fire blast from one of the other demons attacking.”

When Weihan had been been holding back. Hiding behind the others. Running away. Far too scared to get anywhere near Tarakasura even as his friends charged into battle.

It wasn't so hard for him to forgive, really. But he wouldn't forget the look of unrestrained terror on his face either.

“And... Todoroki?”

Jun and Tatyana glanced at each other askance, trying to figure out what he meant. “Oh, you're talking about the Bythos tamer? She's being kept secured in the main office tower.”

Kept. Secured. Nice, safe little euphemisms for 'locked up against her will'.

Kasai's fists clenched white. He struggled again to rise, failing as soon as he felt Junoda's brisk touch at his exposed shoulder where the demon's wind blast had ripped straight through his outfit, tearing a large opening at the shoulder seam.

“My apologies, agent Ohabara. We saw her out there, fighting to help us. But since we can't yet figure out how to separate her from her Bythos DSP device, or even make it switch off... this is a precaution that must be taken for now.”

“For now”, Kasai echoed, realizing his own helplessness and cursing it too. Better to focus on other things until he could stand without wailing like an infant from his injuries- even advance demon healing powers could only fix him up so quickly, and it had only been a few hours since. “Miss Surahi...?”

“She's fine as well. As I said, her spiritual power is the highest one on company record, and her Skoll is perhaps our strongest demon past the Makai line. Once the 'king' fled, the rest of the intruders were easy enough for us to mop up.”

That was something, at least. As long as miss Surahi was here, the Sige office tower was a safe haven against any and all demon incursions. Or at least as secure a shelter as possible. And the Bythos headquarters building over in Ikebukuro had to be equally well-protected.

“Get some rest for now, agent Ohabara”, Jun offered. “If your new discoveries are anything to go by, we'll have a new mission for you soon enough. And a new outfit.”

11:30

It felt strange to be back inside the Sige headquarters office building again. Even stranger to see it like this, the maze of office cubicles on the building's levels below the 20^th floor converted into shelters for hundreds of frightened civilians, uniformed employees handing out meals as they went around, trying to keep everyone calm as they settled into their new 'home'. He knew the company had other more conventional shelters elsewhere in the complex, already in use by refugees. An encouraging sight, despite all that had happened.

Men, women, and even children of all types and backgrounds adjusting to the unfamiliar space... For their sake if no other, Kasai tried to keep his chin up as he made his way across the floor to Junoda's office.

Weihan was waiting for him there, back in his sharpest suit and tie just as Kasai himself now was, covering his injuries as he took the left seat nearest the computer. “Agent Ohabara. Good to see you up. I was worried for a bit.”

“It is completely unfair that demons can be that freaking strong”, he complained, holding the bridge of his nose to block the aches. “At least miss Surahi drove 'em off.”

“We have already assigned a team of Enforcers to monitor that 'beast king', Tarakasura”, Junoda assured his old friend. “All our demon tamers are in play now. If he launches any further attacks on humans, then they should be able to distract him long enough for them to get away safely.”

Which settled his first major concern. The tyrant's army had been nearly destroyed in the battle in Sige's office plaza, but it would be easy enough for him to find new recruits. All he had to do was go to the nearest large park. Shiba Park fit both criteria. That demon in particular seemed to possess the ability to dominate animals, among his other various 'boons' from the gods.

“I've already given Mr. Munayama my full report on the demon incursion”, Weihan explained.

“Yes”, Junoda considered all the information, as stony as ever. “The rogue demon tamer from Bythos attacking a Yakuza stronghold with her demons. The attack in the park by wild demons. The spectral being 'Zoe' who re-enabled your DSPs. The communications blackout. Making contact with the police force in Chiyoda. Encountering Bythos Enforcers who were sent to silence agent Todoroki. And the patrolman, Zetsuru, sent to shadow you as you made your way to us. Am I missing anything, Ohabara?”

When he put it that way, it sounded like a lifetime. Yet it somehow had only been two days. Two days of utter madness they'd forged through just to get back here, to his workplace. “Sounds complete to me. What's the plan from here, Munayama?”

Annoyed by his familiarity, Jun leaned forward. “Sige Fiancial will of course do that all we possibly can to protect the people of Tokyo from these wild demon hordes. We will continue to use what facilities we have to shelter and feed the civilians driven from their homes, and use all our Enforcers to keep the Midtown perimeter clear. Including you two.”

Which sounded like a great corporate line, just like 'Change the World'... but he'd come here expecting a bit more than that. Weihan must have felt the same way because his voice was suddenly terse despite his speaking to a superior. “And... what happens then? You really don't have any idea at all what could be causing all this? Or... how we can stop it?”

Their boss remained impassive as ever, folding his arms tight and regarding them with a cold gaze. “Agent Yasuda. If we knew how the spread of the wild demons could be stopped, then we would have already set operations in motion to do so. Excursions are already being organized to investigate the parks nearest to us, and determine why Tokyo's topsoil is suddenly producing such a high, sustained level of Magnetite. Researcher Chiba will lead them.”

A dangerous mission, Kasai knew. Miss Tatyana was either very brave, or very confident in the Enforcer's ability to protect her while she and her people travelled out there into 'enemy territory'. “Then it's a holding action until we can figure things out”, he considered. “Sir... I think that we should reach out to the police department. They need to know what we know.”

“...Denied.” Once again, the other man did an excellent job of concealing any wavering emotions he might have felt on the subject, remaining a hard iron wall against Kasai's accusing stare.

Which was more than could be said for Kasai. “D-denied? Just like that? They need our help sir, and we could use theirs. The SDF and Bythos too. We should all be cooperating on this- we're Tokyo's only hope for survival against this invasion!”

Jun grew colder still. “...Agent Ohabara, you've forgotten yourself. You're still only a regular Enforcer, just as agent Yasuda and the rest of them are. It is not your place to question upper management's decisions, even in this extraordinary circumstance.”

Kasai struggled with all of his might not to snap back at his old friend, and for a moment wondered why exactly that was.

Certainly, he'd had a few arguments with Jun before. But he usually didn't mind backing off for the greater good... the greater good being his continued employment, and the money continuing to fund his mother's treatments and recovery. Not because he was afraid of Jun, though he knew many who were.

The problem, he decided, was that another 'greater good' had appeared. The world, as so many people had reminded him lately, had changed drastically in the last 48 hours.

Jun must have sensed his quiet fury as well. “Several hours ago, Patrolman Zetsuru made a similar request of us, and was refused.”

“What? Why?!”

It was Weihan's turn to look irked at him. “You know exactly why, Ohabara. We cannot trust the cops with DSPs now any more than we could then. You know they'll abuse its power for personal gain.”

“That was then. Now, they need the DSP's power if they're gonna have a chance at fighting back against the wild demons.”

“I am sorry agent Ohabara, but no”, Jun cut him off briskly. “The decision is already made. Our own hands still remain the safest ones. Furthermore, Bythos' hostile response to you proves that they are not our allies either.”

He could remember the feel of Akito Inui's expertly-crafted blade cutting into him just fine from yesterday too, even if that wound had been patched up. He ignored the memory.

“T-that was just a misunderstanding, sir. I'm certain if we reach out to them-”

“How do we do that?”, Weihan shook his head in disbelief at the audacity of the idea. “Telecomms are still down, remember? Only ground lines work. It's most likely due to the high magnetite radiation levels interfering with the electronic signal spectrum in the city.”

Jun looked briefly discomforted by something, but it passed too quickly to chase after. “Send out Enforcer agents to parlay with them then. A good-sized group. I'll volunteer for that.”

“Such a thing was attempted previously”, Jun emphasized. “Bythos' demon tamers attacked us the moment we set foot in Ikebukuro, driving us out with injuries. We cannot waste more agents on futility at this time.”

Which only left them one more matter to attend to. And at their current rate, Kasai was pretty sure it would be the one to finally break his temper for good. “...Agent Todoroki. She can help us. She provided us with the Armatization app. I'm sure she could share it with our other Enforcers if we asked her.”

“That's Bythos tech”, Weihan reminded him flatly. Sounding for all the world like Kasai had suggested they change all their office computers back to 20^th century operating systems. He had yet to use the Armatization app himself for that reason... Or maybe he was simply frightened of what he'd witnessed Fujisa and Kasai become.

Now he had to time to remember how strange it had been, being merged with Fomorian. An entirely different body- one with horns and hooves and itchy fur- and a new set of instincts driving them. The power... power such as his human body had never known, could never know... but not enough power to stop Tarakasura, clearly. There was a massive vertical heirarchy of demon powers, and Fomorian was clearly located towards the bottom of that while the 'beast king' was closer to the top of it.

“We... have yet to confirm that agent Todoroki can be trusted”, Jun sounded regretful for once. “For all that we know, her presence here is a scheme by Bythos to gain access to our headquarters, and destroy us.”

Uh-huh. Suuure it is.

He'd called it. Rage, blood red rage... no. His rage was nothing. Could accomplish nothing. But neither was staying here and nodding at everything Jun said without question.

Kasai couldn't even say anything else. He just stalked out of the room, wondering why he was there at all.

He didn't get too far. The bright elegant dress of Surahi Sige caught his eye, deliberately placing herself between him and the building's main exit before he reached it, the hundreds of others ignoring him.

“It's agent Ohabara, yes? I'd like to thank you for your contribution to the battle earlier today.”

Kasai stared back, briefly enjoying the way the light played through her hair and the artificial flower nestled in it.

“...You're welcome.”

Of course it couldn't be that easy. The company heiress smiled back at him merrily, refusing to let the gravity of their current situation bleed her enthusiasm away like it had many others he'd seen. Like him.

“Forgive me. I can sense your frustration with the current situation. Right now, you're no doubt thinking 'I should quit this place and go to rescue Todoroki from the basement myself, all the consequences be damned!', right?”

Momentarily thrown off his rage by her incredible accuracy, he stared back at her aghast.

“Um. Y-yeah... What, are you psychic now too?”

“Not at all”, she giggled back. He guessed that just a few years ago she would have been considered unbearably cute for her age. “No. I'm merely very experienced with reading people's tells. That was a big part of my training in order to inherit this company from my father. You had your plan written all over your face, Ohabara. Let's go talk in private about that, shall we?”

Considering how unpleasant the alternative was, he was all too happy to accept. They took the elevator up to the top floor, coming out in a round, well-furnished office that he'd never seen before. Various weighed scales decorated walled shelves of cured teak and mahogany, cordoned with hanging gold lamps, the entire chamber managing to feel expensive to him. Like he could taste the wealth put into it.

“Please take a seat, Mr. Ohabara. You're my honoured guest. Oh... Do you prefer to take your tea with cream or sugar?”

“Um. N-neither, please.” He couldn't help but be disarmed by her. The difference between miss Surahi and Junoda was like night and day. Then there was the not so minor matter of her spiritual energy readings to consider. Tatyana had showed him the instrument readings herself while he recovered. If she were so inclined, Surahi could summon up Skoll from her DSP right now and have her giant pet death wolf gulp him down in one bite.

She wouldn't do that, though. He could sense that much even aggravated as he was. He simply waited until the tea was ready along with some kind of exotic-looking seafood appetizers in paper cups. He'd have preferred Yakisoba.

“You demonstrated your formidable spiritual power in that battle this morning against Tarakasura”, Surahi began. “And a resolve never to quit, no matter what the situation. You're a valued Enforcer of Sige Financial, agent Ohabara. We need people like you here to help us to save Tokyo from this demon invasion.”

Pretty words to be sure, but nothing he hadn't heard before. Kasai raised up his right arm, displaying the modified opalescent DSP permanently joined at his wrist like an odd growth. “Haven't you heard, miss Surahi? I'm a 'free agent' now. Sige can't block me any more. Maybe Bythos can give me a better offer for my services as demon tamer, eh?”

“They won't”, the beautiful heiress maintained gently. She glanced down at the machine's display screen with interest. “...That device might have been altered by some kind of external entity, but it's still Sige software and hardware underneath the casing. They'll see you as an enemy, just like all of us here.”

It was all too much. Somehow, Kasai managed to bark out a mocking laugh at their sad situation. He could perhaps blame Surahi for that too. “Do you find something amusing, agent Ohabara?”

“I do”, he sighed, knowing it would be impossible to hide. “You and them. Them and us. Sige and Bythos. The two grappling titans, the ultimate financial kings of Japan. Always competing against each other in anything and everything. Always trying to steal each other's ownership of properties and businesses and patents just like the old Zaibatsus used to do. Or at least, that's what I heard in history class. Point is, the entire damned WORLD is falling apart around us, under assault by freaking DEMONS... and you're STILL at each other's throats. Ridiculous.”

The heiress nodded gently, understanding his angry lament all too well. “We would certainly be happy to work alongside Bythos if they were willing to work with us. However, I fear that our messages are far too different for that to happen.”

“Messages?”

“You know ours. And I'm certain you've seen theirs as well.”

He thought for a moment. All that came to mind were the corporate slogans that he'd seen a thousand times. “'Change The World'?”

“And 'All As One'”, she repeated Bythos' equally famous slogan with a politely amused look. “These are more than mere company slogans. They are, in fact, the very core ideas that our two disparate groups operate on. We created the DSP first, but an information leak- a spy- allowed them to illegally duplicate our work for their own. Now they perform experiments with it that we considered to be far too dangerous.”

“That is 'changing the world' though”, he remarked wryly.

“Yes”, she sighed out the large window spanning the city below. No signs of demon activity there for now. “Changing it for the worse, I feel. In fact, I would not be surprised if the true cause of this disaster was one of Bythos' experiments that grew out of control... but I should keep such accusations private until there is genuine proof of them. I am a biased observer, as you say.”

“And if you asked them”, Kasai mused in disbelief, “then they would blame you for it.” Still, he wanted to believe that Surahi was telling him the truth. That way, the blame for all this demon madness could ultimately be laid at the feet of the unnamed app leaker. Whoever that was.

That would be so much easier than most of the other alternative answers.

“Such is their nature, yes. Human nature.”

The new voice drew both of their heads up in shock. With a feverish chill running through his bones, Kasai realized that for the first time he was looking at the CEO of the company for fully thirty-five years; Mr. Harada Sige himself.

He looked older than he did on television. Squared dark hair had nearly grayed through completely, ending with a bristly beard. The rest of him remained equally geometric, rather soldier-like. A body that looked like it had been in phenomenal shape for most of his life only now beginning to fade to time's wiles.

But the most striking thing wasn't anything that he could see, but rather what he felt...

It wasn't just a chill in the air. It was a spiritual power so intense and all-consuming he didn't need any of Tatyana's instruments to sense it.

Sense it, and be instantly overwhelmed by it. Flattened. It felt like his grip on reality was being squeezed into a compressed tube too tight to fit, the pressure only abating when he looked away.

If Surahi was bothered by this pressure, she didn't show it. “Father! I didn't expect you so soon!” She rose, hugging him dearly.

Kasai tried to relax and just enjoy that sight. For a moment, these two terrifyingly powerful humans could just be a loving father and daughter, though they knew they were still in public and so avoided anything more intimate than that.

“And you would be the man of the hour, agent Kasai Ohabara”, the old man observed, taking a seat at his desk. “My apologies. As you can figure, my time is severely limited these days.”

“...It's no trouble at all, sir”, Kasai assured him, momentarily awed into genuine submission. His body felt as numb as it had been during the fight with the demon Tarakasura. Paralyzed. “I... didn't expect you to come here in person, sir.”

“To my own office?”, the old man laughed the same polite laugh as his daughter, his voice as ancient as his body but still strong. “But I understand your meaning. You thought that Surahi was trying independently to convince you to fall back into line. She was quite insistent that you are far too talented an agent for us to let go over meagre trifles when we need every hand available to deal with this crisis.”

“Um... thank you, sir.”

“As I'm sure you can imagine, in light of recent events we have lowered the criteria for the Enforcer program. Any employee of ours who shows even small amounts of spiritual power must be harnessed, and trained to use a DSP in battle.”

Did the new recruits include Mika as well? Or Takisade? He didn't dare ask about his former colleagues at work. Not with this impossible, irresistible pressure holding him down, drowning out his thoughts, his awareness, his senses, his thoughts, his soul, his mind, his everything...

“Father”, Surahi finally noticed. “I think that Mr. Ohabara might find you a bit... overwhelming right now.”

“Ah. Of course. I forget myself.”

Bit by bit, the vibrating pressure in the air lessened until he could actually breathe again. They seemed content to let it happen, waiting for him to restore the oxygen to his lungs and re-order his thoughts to speak next.

“That's... um... good.” He took a desperate gulp of tea, trying to restore departed life. It worked better than he'd hoped. “I... still think that the police might be better allies for us though.”

Surahi chuckled gently. “Mr. Munayama may have left out some details on that front. He does that sometimes. We cannot trust the police with our DSPs, but we can certainly lend them our information and aid.”

“In fact, that has already been done”, Mr. Sige nodded in approval. “We have sent a large team of experienced Enforcers to help the police protect the most crucial checkpoints in the Chiyoda ward, the government areas. That should help to reduce the number of casualties. So long as we are able to maintain enough 'safe zones' in the city, Tokyo... will survive.”

Relieved, Kasai leaned back in the cushioned chair, feeling slightly more at ease. This was one stronghold that even ten thousand savage demons would struggle to penetrate. “Thank you, sir. I'm sorry if I came across as... belligerent before. I just thought that...”

“You thought that we were going to continue to try to conceal our DSP technology from the world”, Surahi had read his mind again. “At the expense of innocent people's lives. However, the wild demons are running rampant throughout the city now. The proverbial genie is out of the bottle, so to speak. To continue to maintain our secrecy at this time would be highly irresponsible of us. We merely seek to prevent its abuse. You understand.”

He did. He did understand. It was easy to just sit back and let her talk. He'd been so selfish before, and a great shame weighed on him now. Of course he'd never forgotten what Sige had done for him, given him a second chance after all that Capsule madness.

Except...

Except that there was one more thing that he couldn't give up on.

A brief flash of blood red feathers. Or just blood.

The pressure couldn't eradicate that. Not entirely.

He got up. Bowed formally to them as politely as he could possibly manage, his eyes closed.

“...Sir. I sincerely beg forgiveness for my earlier rudeness. It's become clear to me now that this company is the only hope that Tokyo has at stopping the demon invasion. We all need to do our best to contribute. I'll be happy to start on whatever mission you have in mind for me and serve to the best of my ability... Just as soon as you release Fujisa Todoroki from her captivity.”

The aging CEO didn't frown, but Kasai felt the terrifying pressure from earlier creeping back in. Only a fraction, but more than enough to crush him and everything he ever was into the rich-carpeted floor if he didn't constantly fight back against it.

“We have outlined our concerns to you, agent Ohabara. We consider it too great a risk to allow agent Todoroki her freedom at this time.”

His joints hardened. Stand. He had to stand. Creep towards the dawn. An argument delivered from down on his knees couldn't be taken seriously. “I believe that Bythos' earlier attack on agent Todoroki is concrete proof that she is not a security risk to us, sir.”

“Unless that attack was designed specifically to build up our trust in her, so that we would let our guard down.”

“Please forgive me, but that is paranoia speaking, sir.”

“No. It's justifiable caution.”

Surahi looked like she was more than accustomed to playing the peacemaker, and stood as well. “If you trust in us, agent Ohabara, then you should trust in our judgment as well. Trust that we are far more capable in matters of risk and cost analysis than you are.”

“Remember”, her father reminded him less courteously, “this is not a democracy, agent Ohabara. We are a corporation. A financial empire that grew to its current power in a large part because of the adherence of all its employees- yourself included- to the proper hierarchy of things. Enforcer or no, an agent does not question the decisions of a CEO, or even their immediate superior. Consider carefully the terms of your contract, Mr. Ohabara.”

Kasai did. He could see his mother's eyes. Ebisu's eyes. Zoe's eyes. Fujisa's eyes.

And they all knew what had to be done.

He struggled to stand under the pressure. Struggled, but he made it. Deliberately looked into the old man's eyes and found the same amount of reserved power in there... but he dared not break in the face of it this time.

“Sir. Miss Surahi. This is not a questioning. This is advice- you cannot expect your contracts to retain their power over your agents in light of recent events. We have no idea when proper law and order will be restored to our city. Until that time comes... all those contracts you had us sign are legally unenforceable. None of the courts are functioning right now. It's only personal loyalty that is keeping your people following orders here now. Loyalty, and knowing full well that you are Tokyo's best hope to survive. And for them as well.”

He had thought the old man would look angry, but his expression stuck to enigmatic neutral. A man of his position would naturally learn a good poker face, but this felt genuine, and so he dared press on:

“Until such time as agent Todoroki is set free to go where she wishes, I will remain here in this office tower to guard and monitor both her and it. And everyone else within it. Security detail. Consider that in your risk and cost analysis.”

Then he was gone, headed straight for the elevator to take him down to the sub-basement where Fujisa's cell was.

“...I see why you like him”, Harada Sige remarked after a lengthy silence. “Such a gloriously virulent fire... we're fortunate indeed that we found him before Bythos did. I can sense it even now. That power actually allowed his will to resist mine, if only briefly. It will only grow stronger over time.”

“Let me talk to him more, father”, Surahi stood, leaving her tea and seafood unfinished. “I am reaching him. He is drawn to me, as so many young men his age are. I believe he could be a great asset. I will convince him of the need for him to follow orders.”

“You will fail”, her father took his own cup, enjoying a long drought. “I could sense the lad's resolve. His strength. He has known combat, known blood. He has already made a solemn promise to someone who he respects greatly. That is what many people choose to use as their anchor in troubled times. Cleaving to their oaths, no matter what the situation. Admirable, if mistaken.”

Her eyes fell in disappointment. “Yet agent Ohabara has violated the term of his contract with us. More than once. He was only spared by this other intervention.”

Harada snorted. “A piece of paper is not the same as a true promise, daughter. Not for that one. One is made an oath to a living being, the other is made to an Aeon. And I can already sense that agent Ohabara, no matter what he may say, is not a part of our Aeon. Not truly.”

Automatically reluctant at the next conclusion, she regarded him sadly. Expecting a command she would regret carrying out. “Then, do we truly need to...?”

“No. That young man has great talent as a demon tamer and a fighter. He is willing to work with us, and so we shall honour that for his sake. As I have said, every possible resource must be leveraged if we're to triumph in this war, and create a new Pleroma for the good of humanity.”

For humanity. Inwardly, the heiress scolded herself. She'd lost sight of what was truly important, actually letting her personal attraction to Ohabara cloud her judgment. Everything they did was for the same ultimate end. To Change The World. To improve on it so that humans didn't need to suffer in this one any more.

That was always her true purpose, and her father's. And given the right motivation and time, she knew that Kasai Ohabara would gladly assist them in that ultimate goal as well. He had to.

“...My apologies, father. I forgot myself. I was drawn to him, just as he was drawn to me. You are right, of course. He can still be useful to our cause, even if he doesn't yet understand it fully.”

As usual, his more reserved approach proved the wiser. Rising, she ran long slender fingers down his dark-suited shoulders, feeling the raw power radiating from that body just as Ohabara had. Power and heat were truly not so far removed from each other, and heat and passion much the same.

“I think you should still be able to convince him. He remains in awe of your beauty and power.”

“Yes, father”, she whispered into his ear. “Whatever it takes, I will do. We cannot hold anything back. Not while the Aeon of Bythos gathers its strength to destroy us and take this world for themselves.”

“Not now”, he agreed. Even after so many years, he still enjoyed this sensation. “I know that I can trust you to do your very best in this matter, dear daughter.”

“Yes, father. Anything for you, who created me. Anything.”

12:00

Jailed. Again. It wasn't quite the same, actually being a lounge room in the basement, complete with a couch, vending machines and a television.

But it was a prison still. The dark-uniformed Sige demon tamer already there wouldn't let her near the elevator. Hardly enthused to be locked up for the second time ever in as many days, Fujisa brightened immediately when she saw Kasai arrive beside her. “...Thank you. For a moment, I didn't think that you'd...”

“I made a promise”, he told her simply. “Sorry I can't get you out of here just yet, Todoroki. This is more like... well, it's sorta like a silent protest, I guess. I'll stay here with you until they come to their senses and let you out.”

Fujisa stared back at him. It wasn't what she was expecting, but she understood why an escape would be completely impossible this time. It wasn't his contract that was stopping him. That was nothing. It was the prospect of having to fight off so many other Sige Enforcers who would no doubt try to catch them. Or Junoda. Or even Surahi...

“D-don't think I'm not flattered, Ohabara. Really. I am. But... You should still be out there though. Saving innocent people from the demons. If I can't do that then, then at least you still can.”

“Not yet”, Kasai maintained, giving a curt nod over at the guard, an older man who didn't mind his presence at all. “If they really want my help, then they have to let you go. That's the deal I'm proposing, our new 'contract'. It's a good deal, I think, but they haven't figured that out yet. Until they do, I'm here for you now.”

Many more protests formed in her mind, but she was too grateful to voice them yet. Having company made the room feel that much less like what it was. Less like a prison.

So it would just be the two of them, for a time she couldn't begin to guess at. Together, and for once having nothing else to do but try to entertain themselves, Kasai settling into his own seat.

“I'll say it one more time... You're welcome to keep prying into my past, if you really want to. I trust you. More than anyone else right now, really. Just know that it might change you too. In a way I don't think you'd like.”

She looked back at him. Apparently, miss Surahi wasn't the only one good at reading others. She'd still been plagued by that burning curiosity for all this time locked up, that need to reconcile the paradox of the brave man she saw before her now, and all that she knew of criminals. Of the evil Capsules who her father had tried to arrest for so long.

The television had been running the same vapid reporting they'd seen yesterday; introspection on what exactly the days-long police lockdown was about and no new information present. That boded ill for the reporters, though hopefully it just meant they'd clued in and followed the cops' orders to head for shelter.

“Sige did that right at least”, Kasai pointed out happily. “They made all their side businesses open up their doors to people too. And they own a lot of businesses. Like that clothing store we got our stuff from yesterday. And the hotels.”

“That should help keep people off the streets for now”, she agreed. “Still, the demons will eventually figure out they can just go into the buildings. That Leraje demon leader... she was smart enough to know how to cause a police helicopter to crash. And how to operate a gun. She's dangerous.”

“We'll get her eventually”, Kasai vowed confidently. “If not us, then someone else will take her down. Maybe Akito and his crew? Or one of the other Sige tamers? Tarakasura's the one who's worrying me really. He might not be as smart, but damn is he strong. He said he'd be back to take over this tower, make it his own.”

“Then miss Surahi can humiliate him again”, Fujisa gave a satisfied grin at the idea. “She came down here to talk with me too, y'know. She made sure that I was comfortable and well fed.”

The velvet glove over her father's iron fist, Kasai couldn't help but think. The attraction there had been undeniable, no matter how much logic reminded him that would be impossible. Made him feel... a little awkward, being here now with another girl he liked. “...Yeah. We're sure lucky to have her.”

“She was asking about you too, y'know.”

He couldn't help but feel honoured by that. “Oh really? And here I thought she was engaged to Munayama?”

Her reply lacked any kind of force. “She is. But you may have noticed- this crisis has kind of put everyone's plans on hold for now. Maybe after.”

“If there is an after.”

She looked surprised by his cynicism. Took his hand with a firm smile and grip. “We will make it back from this demon crisis, Ohabara. We have to. Japan- our home- has survived for thousands of years. We've gotten through wars, earthquakes, floods, plagues and even worse. We're not giving all that up, just because of some mongrel demons.”

“...Huh. Who gave you permission to become the optimist?”

Winking back at him, she changed the channel to something less depressing. Nothing new could be broadcast in studios, but there was always reruns. Some dumb old game show involving obstacle courses with moving bars and slime.

“I am optimistic, Ohabara. I always am. We've been given some seriously talented people to help us ward off these demons.”

“Yeah, I guess miss Surahi is pretty impressive-”

“I wasn't talking about her.”

He didn't feel much like telling her about how Sige was refusing to give DSPs to the police or the SDF troops. Or how they were carrying on their shortsighted war with Bythos even now.

“It's funny”, she considered aloud when he failed to reply. “For a long time, my dad lamented how incredibly powerful Sige and Bythos were becoming. How they had control of so much of the country's economy and the politicians. They wrote new laws that favoured them, letting them buy out other companies. They basically did whatever the hell they wanted. Now... after all that, it turns out they're now our best chance for survival against the demons.”

“Glad to hear you agree, agent Todoroki.”

The waspish tone drew Kasai's eyes back up spot a very irritated-looking Weihan Yasuda. Even the guard seemed to want to keep his distance.

“Agent Ohabara. You have got to be the single biggest cretin I have ever seen.”

Taken aback, he shrugged. “...Uh, I'm sorry?”

“Just what were you thinking, arguing with Mr. Munayama like that? And even the freaking CEO of our company? Do you KNOW just how rare it is for a peon like you to get an audience with Harada Sige? And then you go and argue with HIM too? Between that and the way you charged at that demon, I'm REALLY starting to think you have a death wish!”

Kasai made a motion for Fujisa to turn off the TV, standing. “I wasn't aware that offering an opinion counted as arguing, Yasuda.”

“Munayama is your superior, Ohabara! And Harada and miss Surahi stand far above him! That's like... like you're an ant offering a dissenting opinion to a boot! And now you're down here, instead of waiting in the meeting room for your orders like you should be! Idiot!”

Fujisa wanted to say something, but Kasai waved her down. He wanted to handle this personally.

“This is a negotiation, Yasuda. They want me to help them, then they have to let Todoroki go free. Package deal.”

Weihan looked about to explode. Like his glasses were about to crack along with his blood pressure. “You are a licensed employee of the Sige Financial group! Under the explicit terms of your binding contract which you signed-”

But the amused look in the other man's eyes made him trail off in mute confusion.

“As I said to miss Surahi... contracts are a bit hard to enforce right now. Once law and order is restored, then they're free to terminate me, sue me, bring me to court and take all my money, etcetera, etcetera... Sure. But until then, these contracts are paper. Just paper. Paper can't force me to do anything, Yasuda. Not now.”

For a moment, the young demon researcher swelled up in frustration... but then he caught the look in Fujisa's eyes and calmed down a notch. “Look... I'm not exactly happy about this either. But these orders came down from the very top. We all have to stick together, and stay in our lanes. Adhere to the hierarchy. Otherwise, this all comes apart. Like you said, Sige Financial is now Tokyo's best and only hope to survive.”

“It is”, Kasai acknowledged grudgingly. “But they're still making a stupid decision here. I'm trying to make them correct that stupid decision. The only way that I know how.”

Sighing, Weihan shook his head. “No you're not. You're just honouring your promise to Todoroki. Which is apparently worth more to you than your contract.”

“Got that damn right.” Returning to his seat, Kasai grinned and gestured to the bowl. “You want some snacks?”

“A promise?”, Fujisa wondered, realizing the truth by looking in Weihan's simmering eyes. “Oh. My dad. He made you... oh, of course he did. Great. Like Zetsuru wasn't enough.”

“Where is that guy, anyway?”

“Gone”, Weihan provided, taking a seat and some snacks despite his disquiet. “He was there to try and convince Sige to grant DSPs to the police force. They refused him repeatedly, so he got fed up and left. Apparently that's the real reason he was following us, not to keep Todoroki safe.”

“It could be both”, she protested. “I'm sorry. Ever since my mom, he's always been paranoid. He thinks that he'll lose me too, and now there's this whole demon tamer thing happening...”

“Sounds like it would be a good idea for us to keep you safe here then.”

She stood up before him, indignant. “Not a chance, Yasuda. I have this power, I'm gonna use it to protect people. No matter what Sige or Bythos says. They can't stop me from doing what's right.”

“Huh. Still the same old Mt. Fuji”, Weihan covered his face. “Of course, there's also the slight problem that my DSP stops working if I get too far away from you, Ohabara.”

“You could get another one, Yasuda. On your left arm instead?”

“I could... but all the new ones are going to fresh demon tamers now. I'm at the back of the line for priority since I already technically have one.”

“Well. I guess you'd better get used to dealing with my idiocy then.”

Grunt. “I suppose so. Barring Inui's solution of course.”

Their laughter was as mutual as their surprise at it. Weihan's earlier fury was gone, though like his earlier fear not forgotten. “This whole city's gone mad”, he declared. “Everything's changed. I'm being asked to go out into Shibuya and risk my life against wild demons, instead of just researching them in the lab with miss Chiba.”

“Not just you”, Kasai reminded him. “Everyone with spiritual power. Whatever that is. Not sure what the common thread there would be.”

“It doesn't appear to be transmitted genetically”, Weihan considered, as content with the lecturer role as any. “Someone who has no spiritual power at all can give birth to a child with a high level of it, or vice versa. Chiba once theorized that it has something to do with early exposure to the ancient deities, but she never could really prove anything. Not enough data.”

“What about your dad? Professor Tomino Yasuda?”

Weihan made a face. “...We haven't heard from him. He ran away. He refused to help us any more.”

“...Sorry.”

Pulling back up, he shrugged it off, his specs flashing. “Hm? Don't be. Soon enough, I'll have surpassed him in knowledge of demonology. When people talk about consulting with 'Professor Yasuda', they'll be talking about ME, not him. Him? He's a coward. Just a dusty old relic who couldn't hack it.”

Inwardly amused by Yasuda's bravado, Fujisa turned the TV back on. “I just hope that my dad's okay. That's where I should be right now. Back at the station, helping the police.”

“Except that Ohabara would have to be there with you for your DSP to work properly?”

“Sounds good to me.”

It was nice to be wanted, Kasai considered. The three of them might have stayed there forever, except the elevator doors opened again, permitting Jun and two other Sige Enforcers, all looking equally serious.

“Having fun?”

Weihan sighed. “I'm sorry, sir. Please understand. Despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to convince agent Ohabara to see logic.”

“There's no need for that now, agent Yasuda. Get up. You're back on mission. All of you.”

Weihan looked about ready to faint, Kasai standing up beside him in confusion. Had his plan actually worked? He hadn't expected them to so much as budge on this. Not Sige.

“Researcher Chiba and her team will be heading out to Hinokicho park in thirty minutes to take soil samples. You're being assigned as her escort for this mission.”

Tatyana. Kasai smiled. “All three of us, sir?”

“Yes. I assume there will be no issues with this arrangement, agent Todoroki?”

Trying not to look too overjoyed, Fujisa rose in a bouncing salute. “No issues at all, Mr. Munayama. You won't regret this trust you've shown me, I promise you.”

Jun remained disarmingly cold, even now. “...That remains to be seen. Your behaviour is agent Ohabara's responsibility, as your group leader."

If anything, Weihan was the one who looked the most upset about that. But he could also remember his own words earlier about contesting orders from a superior. “...Whatever you say, sir. It will be a pleasure to work with researcher Chiba again.”

Unsure of how to reply, Kasai waited until the others had filed out. “...Thank you.”

“Don't thank me. Thank miss Surahi. It was her personal request. We need a good team of demon tamers protecting the research team, and Yasuda can be both.”

“So I should thank him then?”

He'd have to wait until Weihan's temper eased up again before doing that, of course.

Still, it was nice to have the 'band' back together again.

Chapter Text

13:00

Examining the screen on his DSP once more to make sure the new download was successful, Tatyana Chiba regarded Kasai with a contrasting cheer. “Don't be so glum, my dear boy. You lucked out. Your device seems to be able to accept new programs from both Sige and Bythos now, and never shuts off even when sent the deactivation signal.”

“Yeah”, he nodded begrudgingly. He didn't want to gripe about the one small downside to his altered DSP. Not when everything else had been going so well lately. “So what's this new one about?”

“Well”, the chief researcher put a finger to her wide bow lips in thought. “I suppose there's no way of convincing you that this isn't a complete ripoff of the Bythos' Armatization app. That threw me for a loop, let me tell you... But it's just a coincidence. I swear it. Both of us hitting on similar developments in the manipulation of Magnetite power to merge energy streams together. We've been working on this one for years before now. It's called the 'Demon Fusion app'. Instead of a human and a demon, it merges two demons registered on your device... and unlike Armatization, the effect is 100% permanent. No going back.”

Checking further, Kasai saw options already available for it and vowed to consult with his team- for lack of a more fitting term- about which ones were the best choices for them.

Demon Fusion, huh... I suppose some of our demons are becoming a bit redundant. If we can make some stronger ones out of them...

'His' team of Enforcers could. And that still sounded bizarre, even in his head. Weihan was the more obvious choice, having greater seniority and an obvious desire to lead... but Junoda had chosen him instead. Whether that was a genuine show of trust, or just something to placate his earlier dissent remained to be seen.

Either way, he'd sooner die than let 'his' team down. Not after all the madness they'd already gotten through in the last 2 days.

“And don't you worry now!”, Tatyana finished by tapping the screen on her own more standard Sige model DSP. “I'm perfectly capable of defending myself out there if I have to. All of my people are, now. Your team is just there to reinforce us, in case anything happens.”

“It will”, he knew already. “Hinokicho park is huge. There's no possible way demons haven't gathered there already. We'll be stirring up a hornet's nest alright.”

“Well it's a good thing we'll have a nice healthy boy like you along to protect us, eh?”

Kasai grinned back. Tatyana was one of the only ones who could get away with calling him 'boy', clearly being a full generation ahead of him or more even if few were daring enough to ask the chief researcher's actual age, or her weight for that matter. A good choice to lead the research team, who everyone there trusted implicitly.

Wish I could say that about myself.

“I only wish we had the time to run some more tests before we go”, she lamented over her collected equipment. “Armatization... hm. Agent Todoroki said that the long-term effects are minimal, but I'd still prefer to confirm that for myself firsthand. Perhaps after this mission? Until that time, it's my duty to advise you to avoid using that app unless absolutely necessary.”

Kasai knew telling her he felt fine would be useless. That wasn't what she was talking about.

Fortunately, Fomorian had proven just as basic as Centaur for the most part- animal instincts and little else. A desire to bite 'king' Tarakasura's head off that he wasn't exactly sure had come from him or the demon. Manageable. Fujisa had been right to be wary of it, but there were far, far worse dangers readily available right now than a few odd demon thoughts.

“I'm sure she'd be happy to share with you when we have more time.” Studying the arranged equipment on the table before them, he frowned at a piece he didn't recognize. “That the survey kit?”

“Mm-hm. Not just the soil samples. The most likely scenario we've projected is something buried beneath the surface causing the high levels of Magnetite.”

“Looks kind of heavy. You want some help?”

Chiba gave a polite laugh. Her prosthetic arm lifted a large pallet of sensor equipment single-handed. “Eager. I like it, having a strong obedient boy around to help us with the heavy lifting. But my team will be the ones to carry the device. It's merely your job to protect them from harm as they do.”

It happened again, then. Everything from the last few days- from the last month really- came rushing back in a torrent and he half expected to wake up in his bed in world where demons and Aeons and everything related to them didn't exist after all. That he was just an ordinary staffer for Sige preparing his client reports for Jun or one of the other managers to evaluate, and his biggest worry wasn't life or death but just making sure all his files and reports were accurate, that his customers were satisfied.

The mind could only adjust so quickly. He tried to play it off as a dizzy spell before looking back at the kindly chief researcher. “...You sure you don't want to take a closer look at my DSP?”

Tatyana blinked in surprise, her synthetic arm visible outside her lab coat sleeve as she shrugged.

“Oh, I do. I most certainly do indeed. Your report indicated that an outside force tampered with your device, and Yasuda and Todoroki's as well. Making it so the devices would deactivate if separated. If given time, I might be able to determine the nature of that power, and possibly find a way to reverse it. But we don't have time. We're all hands on deck at the moment, and for the foreseeable future.”

She sounded like they were just gearing up for an exceptionally busy day at work, and Kasai shook his head in amazement. “Chief Chiba, if you don't mind my asking... just how long have you been here?”

“Hm? Oh, about eight years this November”, Tatyana said thoughtfully. “Time sure flies. It does. I suppose this still feels strange and new for you, doesn't it? You've only been with us for a month.”

So maybe after eight years he'd feel more at ease here. Assuming that he lived that long. Or that any of them did. Tatyana didn't even flinch when she was using demons, casually summoning them to do her bidding like they were just more researchers under her direct command. “Did you know Professor Yasuda? Not Weihan. His father.”

The subject seemed to cheer her up, but then he'd come to learn that Tatyana often used that perpetual cheerfulness as a mask for her true feelings. “Ahhh. Doubtless young Weihan has brought that subject up at least once after spending several days stuck with you. His life's ambition is to surpass the scientific achievements of his father, the great Tomino Yasuda.”

“He covers it up pretty well”, Kasai clarified, growing uneasy about this subject. “Until recently anyway. Apparently, Professor Yasuda is the one who really got Sige's demon research program up and running?”

“It wouldn't even exist without his brilliance”, Tatyana confirmed, gesturing around to several room's worth of supercomputers and equipment whose purpose he could only guess at. “The man was a pioneer in his field. A true genius. Look well, boy. Everything that you see here is based off his initial research. I- or rather, the team that I lead- invented the Demon Fusion app, but even that is merely an extension of the DSP's original Magnetite-conversion technology.”

A moment after, Kasai realized she spoke in not mere respect, but actual awe. Awe at what Weihan's father had achieved back in his day, possibly in this very same underground laboratory before he'd left and she'd taken charge of it. A strange reaction, considering their current situation. “...Do you know why he quit? We could use his help right now.”

“Of course I do. He resigned from the company due to ethical concerns. It's to be expected in this line of work. We've lost other researchers the same way.”

“But you don't have that kind of problem?”

Hardly offended by his implication, the swarthy woman merely studied his face for a moment, her brows rising and falling.

“Look well. You have seen my arm, boy. A miracle such as that would not be possible without this research. I know a great many fine young folk like you who would have died without demon healing skills to patch them up.”

Stopping to instruct one of the other researchers on how to load the equipment, she turned back to him, the fire in her eyes growing brighter still.

“Do you want to know the real truth, agent Ohabara? We only use the label 'Demon' for them because it was what Professor Yasuda used in his initial findings. I've repeatedly petitioned to my superiors for our reports to adopt a less negative moniker for them after his departure, such as 'Extra-Natural Being', or 'Fifth-dimension Originating Entity' or even just 'Spirit', but they stuck with 'Demon'.”

Kasai was actually relieved to have found Tatyana's passion; something she didn't just cover up with a joke. For a moment, he'd begun to worry that more than just Tatyana's arm was inhuman. That maybe something else was different about Sige's chief demonology researcher, who was always so disarmingly chipper and yet spent most of her time studying occult summoning and how to improve on it.

Someone who had created a program that sacrificed the flesh of two demons to invoke a stronger one should have at least worn a dark hood or something, he'd always figured. Archaic tattoos, a forked tongue, bloodletting knives and evil glowing eyes. Not this rotund lady who could effortlessly pass for someone's overbearing aunt with her broad smile and motherly manner. Only her prosthetic arm and lab coat hinted at her true profession, and he studied the former intently now.

If they'd had demon healing skills available back then when that happened, then her arm might not have been lost in the accident, he recognized.

He couldn't help feeling a little intimidated when she used that same arm to carry a 120-pound crate of equipment around singlehanded like it was nothing. “...Demons are extremely dangerous, Chief Chiba. Even you have to admit that. They've already killed and hurt so many people in just the last two days, no matter how many of us tamers are here to stop them.”

“Oh, I'll never deny that”, she confessed, casually unloading the equipment inside the crate. “Sedatives are also dangerous in large quantities, my dear boy. So are syringes and scalpels and bandages and anaesthetics. I could kill someone with any of those. It's all just a matter of using them properly. We've only lost control in the last two days, after years- decades- without any problems. And for the record... that was not Sige's doing. We didn't cause this crisis. That's impossible. We're merely trying to determine what did start it. So that we may stop it.”

Kasai was wasting his time, he realized dimly. Even if he could somehow convince her of the dangers of demons, even if she could manage to delete all of Sige's demon research from their computers in one stroke, that might do them more harm than good at this point. And Bythos would still have it.

It was like Fujisa with him, he figured. He'd just been trying to comprehend the living paradox he was looking at before having to work alongside her as a co-worker. But if that proved to be impossible after all, then he still had an important mission to accomplish. To protect Tatyana and her research team from harm.

And that, at least, he could comprehend.

14:00

Walking. More walking. After yesterday's long trip, Kasai had thought he'd never want to walk again, but it actually felt preferable to taking a company vehicle from the parking garage. It was just as well, since they were already in use elsewhere.

The long trip from Sige's office complex out to Hinokichi park proved refreshingly uneventful too. At least it was, until Weihan dropped back to join him at the rear of the formation so that the others wouldn't hear him, keeping his voice low but sharp enough that Kasai coudn't miss its accusing tone:

“I sure hope you didn't do anything untoward to miss Surahi. If it comes out, it won't matter what's happening in the city. Nothing will save you from her father. And I won't protect you.”

“I did nothing to Surahi”, Kasai promised, trying not to sound too annoyed with him. Surahi had in fact offered to accompany them on this mission, but not even she could deny that protecting the headquarters was more important, particularly if Tarakasura came back.

It was also important to remember that Weihan was still grappling with the reveal that he was a former member of the Capsules. A group which most people considered to be nothing but criminals and ruffians. “I just made it clear that if they didn't release Todoroki, then my services would be limited to guarding her and the headquarters.”

“And for that blatant show of beligerence, they decided to make YOU the leader of this team?” He scowled. “This is completely ridiculous! Unheard of. I have seniority over you. I have superior knowledge of demonology research. Most importantly, I'm loyal. I should be the one to lead this team, not you.”

“Hm? Maybe you should tell Mr. Munayama that. Or Mr. Ishimura. Or Surahi.”

The wrong thing to say, he knew before the last syllables had left his throat. He could practically taste the other man's anger vibrating in the air. “I don't know what that Zoe's intentions are, tying the three of us together like this. But know that I'll have no part of them. My loyalty is to Sige Financial alone. To humanity. For all we know of Zoe, she's just another ancient demon.”

“The only demon who helped us”, he pointed out. “If not for her, we'd be dead now.”

“And if not for Sige Financial”, Weihan said acidly, “you'd be out on the streets, homeless and helpless. You'd be demon chow. I read up on your file, Ohabara. Your mother, Aya-”

And that was finally a step too far. Kasai carefully allowed hints of his own inner disquiet show through the professional veneer he'd created, startling his fellow Enforcer with their harshness. The blunt harshness of a man who had been in more than one brutal fight for survival long before becoming a demon tamer.

“My mother depends on me. But she also wouldn't want me betraying my own heart for her sake. I keep the promises I make, agent Yasuda. Remember that, always.”

He took a while to recover, merely watching Tatyana discuss something with Fujisa, both of them laughing as though the two women were good friends already. Too bad they couldn't get along that way. “This... this just has to be a mistake”, Weihan decided finally. “A big mistake. How can they possibly trust YOU over me?”

“Are you questioning your superior's decision now, agent Yasuda?”

That earned him an additional angry glower back, but at that point he didn't much care. No matter how pissed off he got, Weihan still wouldn't hit him. The combination of adult discipline combined with the very real fear of Kasai- and of Sige- would keep him safe. For now.

Still, it didn't exactly feel good knowing one of his supposed allies was carrying that kind of pent-up resentment around with him like a powder keg around his neck. The only thing that could be done about it now was keep moving forward.

Ever forward, until the first leaves of the park's expanded radius came into view.

The change was immediately obvious to anyone with eyes to see the way the concrete of the adjacent streets had been eroded and crumbled away from the grass and bushes nearest them, cracks webbing out from each gap in the pavement. Beyond that, Hinokicho Park's trees had become dangerously overgrown, their branches leaning progressively downwards, lending what had once been a cheerful city park a far more sinister cast.

“Vastly increased plant growth rate resulting from heavy concentrations of Magnetite in the soil”, Tatyana observed clinically, examining the dirt at their feet with a handheld sensor device. “Meaning that the trees are most likely not the source of the problem, but merely a symptom of a larger phenomenon. We'll want to go straight to the middle of the park to activate the scanner.”

“Great”, one of the female researchers beside her whined. “We might as well cover ourselves head to toe with soba sauce while we're at it. The demons will know we're here.”

“And our expertly-trained Enforcers will protect us from them”, the older woman reminded him, gently teasing his side. “Isn't that right, agent Ohabara?”

“Yeah. That's right”, Kasai played along with the most confident smile he could manage. “Don't you worry. Any of you. We'll all fight to protect you. Just stay close.”

Weihan looked like he was about to object again to his command, but reconsidered. “We'd better summon now though, just to be safe.”

Even their summoned demons looked restless going in beneath the increasingly dense canopy of vegetation, Centaur looking skittish and Mokoi's white eyes downright panicked in the gloom. Not needing further words to sense their team's apprehension, Weihan summoned another demon- one the floating Beholders, whose single bulging optic lit the crowded thicket before them.

“You got one of those too, huh?”, Fujisa approved. “They're ugly, but useful.”

“Well, not all of them can be handsome like your Tam Lin”, he quipped back, sounding offended. “Good thing one of us planned ahead.”

Tired of his posturing, Kasai returned his attention to studying the deceptively peaceful undergrowth for any sign of predators. A true jungle it was, now. Some noisy birds and squirrels made themselves known, but nothing demonic showed up. He didn't like that, actually. It meant whatever was out there was preparing a more dangerous ambush.

No...

No. He was thinking about it all wrong. These weren't just random wild animals they were dealing with. These were actual demons of legend. They would strike, but not where he thought. Not by tracking human sweat scents. Tatyana had tried to explain to him the connection between demons and human thoughts and emotions, and while he didn't catch everything he understood enough.

Peering through the copse across an active stream, Kasai forgot about everything else.

The young man standing there surrounded by the overgrown plantlife wasn't a part of their team. He wore no uniform. Merely a dirty-looking T-shirt and jeans, a small metal clip forcing sharp green hair into pointed bangs concealing nearly half his face, but not the large capsule-shaped tattoo mark on it. Three tiny ear piercings gleamed in the faded light as if guiding him as he searched the gloom for something unknown.

But still Kasai recognized him. It was Ebisu Natsuhagi. His friend, once upon a time.

How long had it been since they'd seen each other? He couldn't quite remember. Desire and duty and doubt tore at him in tandem and Kasai was left merely watching unseen, helpless.

Until a terrified scream broke his trance and he screamed at himself in turn for not paying closer attention.

The sensor device had started it, he saw. Moments after Tatyana's team had stuck the heavy-looking cylinder machine into the soil the demons had descended, drawn in by it. A typical wild pack by the look of it, made more dangerous due to the element of surprise.

At least that was what Kasai thought until he saw their leader lining up rifle a shot on one of the researchers.

Leraje.

It was Leraje, whose appearance was every bit as distinctive as his friend. And far more urgent.

A bolt of lightning made her shot go wide, the noise cutting through the growing din of a sudden frenzied battle, Enforcers rushing to ward off the demons before they could dig their claws and teeth into the researchers. One of them, a white-furred anthromorphic cat lady, sprang at Tatyana only to be intercepted by a blast of flame from her summoned demon. “What?”, the doctor asked him innocently, feeling his gaze on her. “You thought Caladrius was the only demon I had? This one is called Dragon Hydra. Nice catch, eh?”

The multi-headed serpent creature she'd summoned seemed even larger in the crowded forest, multiple sets of reptile eyes focusing on its targets before releasing more of its flaming breath. Kasai feared that might result in friendly fire, but he saw each shot only struck enemy demons, not the researchers, agents or any of their summoned allies.

“Not quite the kind of demon I'd expect you to have”, he admitted, lending his own team to the battle. “Guess you really don't want us to Armatize, huh?”

Amused, the chief shrugged. “What I don't want is for any of us to get hurt here, my boy. If you really feel like you need to, then go ahead. Just remember I haven't confirmed it to be safe yet.”

“Oh, like demon summoning is so safe”, he scoffed, thinking back to the day they'd met. Still, their combined arsenal seemed to be faring well enough. He actually had the time to focus on the enemy leader, making sure her long rifle never got any accurate shots off. “Leraje. I hope this isn't some kind of stupid grudge or anything... because your pack is falling fast.”

The pink-furred demoness gave him a cruel smile back, flexing black razor claws. “When we sense humans, we devour humans. That's our nature, to consume their Magatsuhi and become stronger! Even with your powers, you were foolish to come here!”

“We won't be staying long- oh, hell!”

He'd already realized what a mistake those words were, saw Leraje's fanged maw widen. “Oh? You're doing something with that, then? Humans do so adore their machines, don't they?”

Tatyana saw it too, instinct moving her body to intercept, blocking the sensor package before her mind could properly catch up with what a bad idea that was.

“NO!”

Kasai let instinct guide him too, his body moving on automatic, ignoring the warnings and calling out Fomorian to Armatize. For the second time, he became a white-furred horned giant... and one who had heard the gunshot and had reason to believe he'd just heard Tatyana die.

He wasn't sure if rage or logic aimed his suddenly meaty claws, yet they struck home, grabbing the long rifle and snapping it in two. Annoyed, the demon leader flashed her own claws out to carve him, painful but not penetrating. Not as harmful as the furious lightning blast he responded with, driving her back.

Bellowing his fury, Kasai charged, only to check himself as a great flow of green healing energy covered his target, erasing all the damage she'd taken in the confused battle. Searching for the source, he caught sight of yet another familiar face.

Doctor Richard Coleman, standing there looking strangely calm, palms still open from the use of the power but his eyes veiled and pale. “W-what? Why...?”

Leraje relished in his confusion. “Quite the rare find, this human. He has a natural talent for healing even without one of those devices you use. Thank you so much for your help, dear!”

“Of course”, Coleman sounded utterly lobotomized. Empty. His eyes were vacant even as he raised his hands to conjure more healing power. “Anything for you, my dearest.”

“If you'd be so kind as to help my friends as well?”

“Of course, my love.”

Fortunately, Weihan caught onto what was happening, redirecting his demons appropriately. Moh Shuvuu's hurricane wind came out to blast the man off his feet and into a tree, prompting Kasai to continue his rush.

His target proved just as frustratingly evasive as before, and soon enough he decided to quit the Armatization, reverting back to normal. Again any damage he managed was undone by Coleman, even after Weihan hit him again.

For a moment he thought that they were in serious trouble, but it turned out the rest of the battle hadn't gone nearly so poorly- despite their dedicated healer, half of Leraje's pack wound up destroyed by the other Sige Enforcers present, eventually retreating back into the woods they'd emerged from.

“That one isn't the only interesting specimen”, their leader acknowledged. “All I need to do is get my hands on one of those summoning devices... then you'll see.”

Blowing a mocking kiss to Dr. Coleman, she laughed before retreating as well.

Rich.

Samantha?

Rich, you have to wake up.

They need you.

Get up!

“...Okay, I think he's finally coming to.”

Lights swam, sensations warped, and Richard Coleman couldn't recall the last time even alcohol had made him feel this bad. Someone had set off several invisible jackhammers in his skull until he could barely recognize the young folks watching him with anxious eyes. A red-haired one in a Sige business suit at the front, two more behind him equally concerned.

Kasai. Yes. Right, that was his name, wasn't it? Kasai Ohabara. The guy who had literally charged in to save him from the demons last time. By the look of things, he'd repeated the performance here in this overgrown park, Fujisa Todoroki and Weihan Yasuda helping him along with several others from the Sige Financial group.

“...Do I even want to know?”

“No. Probably not”, Kasai shrugged. “But you might have a better idea than us as to how exactly you ended up working as a healer for a demon, doctor.”

“That's hardly fair, Ohabara”, Fujisa argued. “He was obviously under Leraje's power.”

“An uncommon ability among stronger demons”, Weihan confirmed with a sigh. “The ability to influence and dominate the minds of humans to serve them.”

His headache grew worse at the memory and he winced, remembering how he'd gotten here. “...Right. I was helping to deal with some injured near the general hospital when that demon lady and her pack struck at us. I tried to get away from them, but then she caught up and hit me with some kind of weird light, and then...”

What happened after was not quite the blur he'd implied. He sincerely wished it was. That would have been easier. His fists clenched until they drew blood. “...Samantha. She made me think that she was alive. That Samantha was her.”

“Samantha?” Weihan flinched in regret almost immediately. There were only two people in the world that Coleman might have spoken of in that way. “...Right. I'm sorry.”

“Find my cigar and we're even”, the doctor suggested, shaking his throbbing head to try to throw those horrible memories loose. “Samantha. My... my wife. A woman about a hundred times more kindhearted than a jackass like me deserved. And...”

“It's all over now, doctor”, Fujisa soothed him. “Leraje's gone. You don't have to worry about that any more.”

“If you're worried”, Kasai's arm extended to help him up off the ground, “you can stick with us. We'll make sure that she doesn't get to you again.”

Anger stiffened Coleman's grip, though he knew it was being directed at the wrong target. Leraje. She... That... That hellspawn demon BITCH. If I could...

No. No he couldn't, no matter how badly he might want to. Not any more than any of the other times his devotion to Primum Non Nocere had been tested and prevailed. This time would be no different, even if it wasn't a human. Even if it was a demon who deserved far worse than he could manage.

Did that give him a loophole, or was Leraje close enough to a human to count? Not that he would be able to do it anyway. Not against one that powerful.

“Not your ordinary demon”, he shuddered. “Smart.”

“Smart enough to recognize a natural healer and 'recruit' him to heal her team”, Kasai nodded sympathetically. “How long's that been going on, by the way?”

Initially reluctant, he realized there was no harm in it now. Not while everyone here had their own powers. “It... comes and goes. It's my little secret, really. I always thought it was just destiny's way of sending me to where I should be. But...” Lowering glassy eyes, he studied the ashes of the fallen demons strewn before them. “I've never been able to heal that well before. Not until that demon was controlling me. Inside of my head... Why?”

“Leraje most likely identified the specific brainwave patterns that activate your healing powers”, Yasuda reasoned. “Higher-level demons are good at identifying innate spiritual powers in humans. Unfortunately for us.”

“So that's that then”, Coleman sighed into the forest dirt, knowing his life had been changed forever by the experience, in more ways than one. “It's only a matter of time 'till some other demon asshole decides that I'd make a good healing slave.”

“Not a chance, doctor”, Fujisa promised him, strong arms helping him up off the ground. “We'll protect you, I promise. Sige has already relocated hundreds of civilians into their security complexes in Shibuya, and I'm sure a man with your talents would be welcome there too.”

“And I'm sure Chiba would want to-” Kasai stopped, his face paling. “Damn it, I forgot about Chiba-”

“Oh no no, don't bother beating yourself up on my account, my boy. The demons did that plenty already.”

Somehow, the trio felt more shocked than when they'd first discovered the DSP. They could only stare in wonder as Tatyana Chiba prised herself up off the ground with just one arm. The only arm she had, with the artificial one lying meters away from her after Leraje's rifle shot had struck it. Still smoking. Damaged, but fixable.

“I... I thought that you were-”

“Dead?” Her usual chirrup laugh felt incredibly out of place in this dark forest. “I might've been if it had hit me anywhere else. My mistake, really. I didn't expect a demon to use a gun. Now... perhaps that handsome gentleman can lend me a hand? Pun intended.”

“You...” Shaking off his own surprise at a multitude of things, doctor Coleman stood, walking over to take the prosthetic. Slowly, making sure it wasn't still too hot to the touch. “Holy shit. You've gotta be ex-military, lady. No civvie takes losing a freakin' arm that calmly.”

“Well, it already happened once”, Tatyana joked back, remaining perfectly still so he could line up the metal cuff with her flesh. “It barely even hurts right now, really. It just feels... numb. Can you do it, doctor?”

For once, the trio could only watch in amazement as the doctor's eyes drooped shut in concentration for several moments. Bright white light poured forth from his outstretched palms, enwrapping the severed limb, re-linking metal to flesh on the researcher's right side.

Flexing it several times to her satisfaction, Tatyana smiled back. “Thank you very much, doctor. I don't believe I'll be needing a second opinion. If I do, I'll just ask myself.”

Leaning over, she kissed his cheek. Rubbing it, he couldn't help smiling back. “Um. You do know that I was married, right? You heard that part?”

“Guess that's mission accomplished then”, Kasai brightened, enthused to see everyone pulling through despite the mess of the previous battle. And all of it brought on by him getting distracted by Ebisu for a few crucial seconds. “You got everything you needed?”

“Yes. All finished”, one of the other researchers confirmed, the black-haired man studying the scanning machine's screens. “We'll carry it back from here, though we'll still need an escort.”

“Happy to oblige.”

Ebisu. Where had he gone? Why had he been there? If the Capsule gang was around, what would they do in a city under siege by wild demons?

It didn't matter, Kasai told himself sternly. They'd parted ways a long time ago, and had no reason to remedy that any time soon. All he could do is pray that the demons didn't find him. Him, or any of his former friends.

His new friends needed him now. More than ever.

16:00

“A job well done”, Jun congratulated Kasai and Weihan as they arrived in his office for debriefing. “I'm glad to see my- our- faith in you was not misplaced after all.”

Weihan's dark hair shrouded the spectacles around his eyes for a moment, until he was sure his brief flicker of anger was not visible to Jun. Everyone knew who he was actually addressing. The one who had disobeyed orders to protect Fujisa. Sensing his disquiet, Kasai shrugged. “We just do all we can.”

“And you even brought us back a new asset as well. That's twice now.”

“Doctor Coleman will be an asset to Sige only if he wants to be”, Kasai reminded him sharply. “You weren't so excited for patrolman Zetsuru's help when he was here with you.”

“Because he was a police officer. More importantly, he lacked any spiritual power”, Jun explained, bringing up the recently-acquired data on his computer to show them the truth. “The American's power, however... now that is a rare find indeed, even if it is only used to heal. In the claws of that demoness, he could have become a serious problem for us.”

“On that note”, Weihan considered, “Sir, I would humbly suggest we arrange a strong task force to track down and terminate the demoness Leraje. While not as powerful as Tarakasura, she's proving to be most troublesome to our operations.”

“There have been similar reports of random attacks all across the city”, Jun's grim face face turned grimmer still. “A pink-furred demoness whose pack has caught and eaten numerous civilians in the past two days.” He grimaced in frustration. “Yet they remain elusive, only appearing to strike at unguarded human targets.”

“Then, are we...?”

Their superior shook his head. “No. We cannot afford the personnel at this time. Certainly, if she resurfaces, do all that you can to terminate her. But with the city in this much chaos at present, tracking down a single demon who doesn't wish to be found by us is a fool's errand. The same goes for that wretch Tarakasura. Our efforts must remain focused on protecting civilians and determining the cause of the invasion.”

“Of course”, Kasai nodded, looking over at Weihan. Tatyana's team would be studying that data now, trying to figure out what had started all this. “Would Yasuda...?”

“I believe that agent Yasuda would be of greater value in the field at this time, even with his present limitations.”

Weihan bristled at that. “What do you mean 'limitations'? I'm just as skilled as-”

“I refer to your DSP losing its functions if you travel too far away from agent Ohabara.”

“...Oh.”

Ignoring his embarrassment, Jun turned back to his monitor. “Furthermore, you will be better-suited to this mission. One that we've put off for too long as it is. You three will be heading east, to Akasaka.”

Squinting behind his glasses, he frowned. “To Akasaka? Why? Oh, don't tell me...”

Seeing Kasai's confusion, Jun nodded. “We require all available knowledge if we are to have the best chance of resolving this crisis swiftly. That includes your father's demonology knowledge, professor Yasuda. The inventor of the modern DSP. I believe, given the current crisis, that he will have changed his mind about aiding us.”

Kasai sensed Weihan swelling up, about ready to explode... and using deep-rooted discipline to avert it. A routine he was deeply familiar with. “...I don't believe that he will be of any significant assistance to us, sir.”

“You'll forgive me if we consider your opinion on this issue to be somewhat biased, researcher Yasuda. And unnecessary.”

“Professor Yasuda”, Kasai repeated to try to clear the air. “At his private residence in Yaminote. Close to the Aoyama South...” His face froze in concern. “...Close to a park.”

“Correct. Perhaps now you understand why time is of the essence to retrieve him? Offer him whatever is necessary to bring him on board, and bring him back here. Researcher Chiba may be skilled, but most of her knowledge is originally based off the professor's findings. If nothing else, he will be safer from harm here than there.”

“Professor Yasuda won't want to go”, Weihan maintained. “He made that clear when he left us.”

Junoda's eyes flickered, indicating a test of his own temperament. “Then, agent Yasuda, I would advise you to devise a way of convincing him before you head out.”

Sitting cross-legged on the square-tiled ground outside the headquarters, Fujisa took a moment to relish the clear summer air... and the simple freedom of being able to travel outside of the massive white marble office tower of Sige before raising her arm and accessing her DSP's functions.

“Activate. Agent Fujisa Todoroki. Summon Tam Lin.”

The long silver-haired warrior expected to find a conflict, his javelin already prepared as before. Instead, she simply studied the fairy demon, searching his human-like eyes for truth.

“Tell me what you know. What exactly is happening here? Why are demons suddenly appearing across Tokyo? Is this something that Sige unleashed by accident? Or was it Bythos? Or was it someone else?”

The fairy warrior replied with a gruffness that belied his handsome face and gleaming green armor. “What? You expect me to know? You are the one who pulled me from our world against my will with that device of yours, human.”

“So demons do have their own separate world”, Fujisa considered, her head tilting in genuine curiosity. “...What's it like?”

“Beyond your ability to comprehend, girl.”

Fujisa's first impulse was to challenge him on that, to claim he would be surprised at what she could comprehend... but then she remembered she'd had difficulty comprehending where Kasai was coming from when it came to the issue of the Capsule gang. So it was entirely possible that an entire demonic realm might actually be beyond her purview.

“Point taken. A different question for you, then. Do you demons have a king? A ruler of some kind?”

Tam Lin scoffed. “Many. Too many.”

“And you serve one of these kings in that world?”

“I do. My Lord Oberon of the Fair Folk.”

“And... what does the Lord Oberon do when another fairy is bad? When they hurt others or break his laws?”

The demon hefted his black pole weapon. “That is why I carry this.”

Her eyes narrowed It was the reply she'd expected, but she'd been hoping for something more. “So the demon realm must be one of anarchy then, where the strongest rule. Like Tarakasura.”

Tam Lin was hardly impressed by that name. “Pah. Far stronger demons than that wretch exist. Tarakasura likely fled to this world because he believed it would be easier for him to conquer than ours. A weak coward.”

“He won't succeed”, she promised. “We'll get him, some day.”

The warrior nodded eagerly at her. “Indeed. I'd be happy to carve his heart with my spear. That one was actually a human once. He was granted numerous boons by his gods for his unwavering devotion to them. He then used those to conquer his home country, becoming a demon in the process.”

“And for that, you want to punish him”, Fujisa acknowledged, happy to find some common ground at last.

Or so she'd thought. Tam Lin grunted in mockery. “No. I shall kill him because he is not of the Fair Folk. Because he threatens my Lord Oberon's rule.”

“Whatever.” Shaking her head, she hit the button to recall her newest demon, though not fast enough to stop Kasai and Weihan from seeing it, the latter gaping at the sight.

“Todoroki, what the actual hell?!”

“Easy”, Kas stopped him, stepping forward. “Easy now. She was just trying to learn the truth. There's still so much about all this we don't know yet, and she thought the demons we've contracted might know more about it. Isn't that right?”

Embarrassed, she leaned back. “...Yeah, that's pretty much it. He didn't have much to tell me though. Tam Lin's just as lost as we are when it comes to why this whole Magnetite surge thing is happening.”

“Chief Chiba will figure it out”, Weihan claimed, growing downcast. “She's good at what she does. In the meantime...”

“In the meantime”, Kasai finished, “we have to go find another researcher to help us with it. Yasuda's dad. Tomino Yasuda.”

Which explained the expression on his face better than words could for her. “That's... surprising.”

“Really?”

Standing, she studied the people around them. And their aghast looks. “...Sorry. I forgot. They didn't seem to mind so much though.”

Checking the staring civilians out himself, Kasai nodded. “They got used to it pretty fast, really. They know that we're only summoning demons to protect them from the wild ones. Just... maybe don't summon when we're father away from the headquarters until we actually need to fight, alright? Don't want to panic people who aren't used to it yet.”

'Used to it'. Fujisa snorted.

She couldn't be sure whether to be alarmed at how quickly using the DSP had become commonplace for them, or about how much more had to be lying beneath the surface of this system Bythos had given her. Did Dr. Leng know about the demon realm? He'd never gone into detail about it.

For now, what was important that she got used to it. That Ohabara and Yasuda- as annoying as he could be sometimes- could count on her just as she counted on them. After all Ohabara had done and risked to help her, to accept her, how could she do anything else?

And yet, Kasai... Kasai was still a criminal. A former member of the Capsule motorcycle gang. She couldn't forget about that either, no matter how much she wanted to. He'd broken the law. A worthless criminal deserved no mercy. A criminal was no more trustworthy than a contracted demon. Less.

That was why fully relaxing around this red-headed young man still didn't quite seem right. Neither did anything else she felt around him lately. But it was the closest thing to security she would be able to find for now.

“Hey.”

She was immensely grateful to have Dr. Coleman interrupt them, coming in from one of the Sige shelters with a friendly wave. “Just had lunch. You kids are heading out again already?”

“For the last time, we're not kids!”, Weihan blurted. “The little ones inside the shelters are the kids. I'm 22 this August.”

Coleman grinned. “Heh. You still look like a kid to me even with those fancy business suits you're all wearing. And now Sige is asking you to risk your lives yet again?”

Kasai shook his head. “No. We all volunteered for this. We've got the power, the DSPs. It's up to us to use it to help people. And if we can find Professor Yasuda, then he might be able to help us figure out the cause and stop it.”

“Maybe, but it still doesn't sit right with me.” Studying the city skyline beyond, Coleman palmed his temple. “All this... I can heal people's wounds with my power. But I can't do anything about just how damn scared everyone is right now. They keep expecting this ordeal be over soon, asking me when they can finally relax and go back to their homes. Just what the hell am I supposed to say to them about that?”

“Same as what Sige tells them”, Weihan shrugged. “'We're working on it'. But this crisis is unprecedented. Hopefully, Chiba can figure out the cause of it soon. Then we can begin planning a solution.”

Sensing something else gathering in the corner of the man's eye, Fujisa stared back. “...No. You need to stay here, doctor. This is where your talents can help people the most.”

Coleman laughed lightly. “Oh? I'm that obvious, huh? Fine, ya got me. I just don't like the idea of you three kids going that far out into the city without an adult.”

“We'll be better off than most 'adults' right now”, Kasai reminded him. “I mean, you'd be welcome to come along with us, but... yeah, Todoroki's right. The people here in the shelters need you way more. If we get hurt, we can just use our demon healing skills to patch ourselves up. I Fused a new healer demon earlier too, just to be sure.”

While hardly reassured by that, the doctor threw up his hands in surrender. “Right, right, I get it. Fine. You kids're the experts on demon fighting here, not me. You just be careful, alright? There's no way to tell just how many of those bastards are out there right now, hunting for fresh meat. And that Leraje...”

The trio each looked at each other, each recognizing the real reason he wanted to come along with them. “Forget about her for now. Just focus on your duties here. You swore an oath as a doctor, remember?”

“Like I need reminding”, Coleman sagged down wearily. “Just don't die, alright? You're... well. Let's just say you kids're a breath of fresh air. All three of you.”

“Sure thing”, Kasai made a show of typing something in his DSP. “Let me just write that down.”

“Idiot”, Weihan sighed. “I'm chained to a complete idiot. God help me.”

On the verge of scolding him, Fujisa remembered their next mission and reconsidered her stance and tone. “Yasuda... I get it. I really do. I already know how you are with your dad. I know that this is hard for you to accept. But... this isn't the time for you to hold back out of your own pride. This mission is important. If the Professor really is as good a researcher as everyone says, then we really do need his help. The faster we figure out what's causing all this, the faster we can stop it. Right?”

The possibility of ending the invasion proved enough, and Weihan shook his head to clear it. “...Right. Sorry about that. I'm just really pissed off right now at whatever god forced me into this particular mission when someone else could've handled it and I could have been doing literally anything else.”

“Or maybe you were chosen for it”, purple sclera bore into him. Whatever else he was now, Fujisa could still remember when Weihan was just a nerdy but good-hearted kid. Back when they'd been friends at school. “Maybe they chose you for this mission because they think you have the best chance at convincing the Professor to help us?”

He glowered back. “If that's the case, then they 'think' incorrectly. This mission is a complete waste of our time.”

He expected a denial from Kasai or Fujisa to follow, but instead it was Dr. Coleman looking back him, his weathered eyes not judging. Only watching.

“Hey. Don't sell yourself short now, Mr. Yasuda. There's a lot that goes on in a family that you don't always see. And if this Professor guy really resigned from Sige due to 'ethics', then he must have a human heart in there somewhere as well. A heart that can't help but love his own son, no matter what's come between you two that drove you apart.”

Visibly repulsed by the notion, Weihan paced past the others, idly tapping his own DSP screen. “...Come on, you two. We only have so long until it starts getting dark. Let's get this waste of time over with, and quickly.”

Chapter Text

16:30

To Kasai, it felt like they'd barely stopped at all. Like this was their natural state now instead of resting in the headquarters or any other building. Just constantly walking around this nearly-deserted city that had been- still was- their home. Avoiding the parks, weaving through thongs of abandoned cars, always on the watch for stray demon attacks. Their legs had to be getting more of a workout now than they had in months.

All the condos somehow seemed taller than ever before.

“If the Professor has a car”, he considered out loud, “then this trip will certainly be worth it if we can get it.” Sige had a good number of vehicles- blocky white company vans normally used to transport work crews and supplies where they needed to go- but now those were all currently employed in bringing demon tamers to far off areas... all of them much farther than the distance they were travelling now.

“He doesn't”, Weihan grunted, annoyed at anything related to that subject. Or just annoyed at anything, for the moment. “He takes the subway or the bus.”

Surveying all the abandoned cars as if hoping to find one with a key in it, Fujisa palmed her chin thoughtfully. “I suppose if we could find a fast-moving demon that was spiritually compatible with me, and Ohabara has Centaur... but Yasuda...”

“I'm not using Bythos tech. Don't ask me to again.”

With his grumpiness finally overtaking her empathy for him, Kasai felt a stiff tension descend on the group that for once, he had no earthly idea how to banish. He found himself wishing they had brought Dr. Coleman along for the trip after all, just for someone else he could talk to.

Instead, he wound up waiting for the other two to get far enough away from each other so he could at least talk quietly to Fujisa.

“Todoroki. Is he always like this?”

She shook her head miserably. “No. And you know that. He's been okay this far. This is just a hard time for him right now. He's... really on edge about visiting his dad.”

“What exactly happened with them anyway?”

She looked hesitant at the prospect of sharing old Yasuda family secrets. “I don't know all the details. Just that the Professor left Sige Financial eight years ago. Explosively. He even tried to conceal his address from the company, but they still found that out in the end. Just in case they ever needed his expertise.”

Studying his partner's stiff march forward, Kasai veiled his eyes. “There was a time when I didn't get along so well with my mom either. You can probably guess what time that was.”

The bad times. The Capsule times. The times he might spend the rest of his life atoning for.

Feeling fortunate about her dad all of a sudden, she smiled back, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Don't worry. I'm sure she's fine. My dad promised that he'd keep her safe. He always keeps his word.”

Mind flashing back to his private talk with the Lieutenant, Kasai nodded. “Yeah. Your dad's one of the good ones, at least from what I saw. I'm more worried about him, really. The cops are being asked to protect people from demons. They don't have a chance against 'em.”

“All the more reason for us to hurry up”, she reasoned, resisting a brief shiver that she chalked up to the afternoon breeze. “The faster we end this nightmare, the less likely something bad happens.”

“Great”, he snorted. “That makes it sound like every small delay we take might cost lives.”

He felt her hand clasp gently his shoulder. “It might just. But I also know that we can't let that thought drive us too far. If we're too hasty, if we run into fights without thinking... then we die, and it's all for nothing.”

Hardly a comforting notion, and not exactly a reprimand for charging Tarakasua earlier. But it would hardly be the first time he'd been under pressure to complete a mission. Not the first time that lives depended on him.

Halting, he reached for his DSP. “Right. That reminds me... Activate. Agent Kasai Ohabara. Summon Yata-Garasu.”

The new demon stunned her more for its novelty than anything particular about its form, merely appearing as an uncommonly large three-legged raven, a necklace of purple magatama beads hanging from its neck, eyes shiny black and enigmatic. Far more impressive was the power she felt from it, easily greater than either of the two demons which had been taken to create it. “...Very nice. Is that the new healer demon you said you Fused?”

“Nah. We don't need a healer yet. This is... well, see for yourself.” Ignoring Weihan's awkward look back at them, he turned to the raven demon. “Check for any sign of other humans near us, and alert us if you see any.”

With an echoing 'C-CAWWW!', the avian demon took flight above the rooftops.

“Scout”, Kasai explained to an aghast Weihan. “Checking the area. Inui wouldn't risk attacking a whole team, but now that we're back by ourselves...”

Fujisa looked up at the Yata-Garasu wheeling overhead, understanding. “Not sure if he's still assigned to us, but if we can locate any other survivors, get them moving back to the Sige complex... ingenious.”

Feeling the pressure of Weihan's glare intensify, Kasai threw up his hands. “Eh. Not really. I'm just trying to anticipate Inui's moves, so they don't get the jump on us again. Or any of the Bythos tamers.”

The prospect of which naturally set her hair on end. “...I just hope none of them get hurt.”

“They're our enemies now”, Weihan reminded her. “We might be the one who have to hurt them, just to get them off our backs.”

A notion that earned him Fujisa's frostiest glare back, the kind that earned her nickname. “Can you really do that, Yasuda? Can you hurt little Hidehi? Command one of our demons to strike her down? Or... do it yourself?”

Even in his current agitated state, he paused at the image. “...I sure as hell don't want to do that, if that's what you mean. Luckily, they're smart enough to run away when they're beaten. The only one I see going on suicide missions is Akito.”

“I'll handle him”, Kasai promised. They had unfinished business, the two of them, and he already knew Inui could likely take out anyone else on their team with ease. Another, less dismal thought occurred to him. “Hm. Won't we look like complete fools though, if the Bythos demon tamers end up being the ones to solve this crisis after all.”

“They won't”, Weihan declared in complete certainty. “All Bythos has is cheap ripoffs of our tech. Like I said, they're probably the ones who accidentally caused this in the first place, tinkering with demon summoning without proper safeguards in place.”

He knew better than to argue with that. Fortunately, Yata-Garasu cawed to him then, drawing them over to its find over near a bus station.

At first, Kasai thought it was a survivor they'd found. But turning him over quickly revealed it to be the remains of a dome-haired man, young enough to still be a college student. His right ear had been torn clean out of his head. His final expression was one of terrified panic.

The body stank of urine. His entire throat and stomach had been messily gored and pierced as if by an animal's horns, and he heard Fujisa gasp in utter horror behind him. “-Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...!”

Kasai's fingers came away slick with blood. His teeth ground into each other until they ached, slowly turning back to Weihan. “Hey. Y'know what, Yasuda? Right now, I don't really care who caused this demon invasion any more. All that matters to me right now is stopping it. Before anyone else dies from it like this.”

“I hear you”, Weihan agreed, momentarily stunned by the gore into forgetting his earlier anger. “Alright. Let's go... Ohabara. Todoroki. Whatever twisted fate chained the three of us together, it doesn't matter. Let's do this. For Tokyo.”

“For everyone”, Fujisa agreed, sniffling away tears born of fear.

He had just about three seconds to feel like the three of them were coming back together as a team before everything hurt too much to think until it all went black.

Death in the air. He could feel it, taste its bitterness. Could smell the dread of an approaching threat that would not rest until its bloodlust was satisfied.

Lines on lines of clean vertical stones. A cemetary, one soon to be home of one more body. The body of a human with green-dyed hair, pierced earrings and a pale face cast now into the depths of mortal terror.

He tried to run, but there was no escape. The masked demons were too quick, too fast for him. Surrounded, Ebisu Natsuhagi lowered his bracelet-clad arms. Accepted his fate, eyes thrust to the sky as if looking for a sign.

The hooked scythe struck him just below the neck. A diagonal cut separating top and bottom halves, leaving both lying lifeless in their final resting place-

“AAHHHH!”

Kasai's throat burned from the scream. But the large cemetery was gone. The tall condo buildings were back, surrounding them on every side like gatekeepers. Along with the bus stop and the civilian casualty they'd already been too late to prevent.

His eyes burned too. He ignored them, rising past a doubly concerned Fujisa and Weihan to find his Yata-Garasu demon. “Find a graveyard”, he commanded it. “Old ornamental lamp sculptures in the corners, two tiered levels separated by... damn it.”

Yata-Garasu wouldn't know what a human cemetery was. Dismissing his scout, he turned back to the others. “There's a cemetery around here, right? Lots of trees, two levels, big red feudal-style archway at the entrance?”

The look on their faces said all that needed to be said... but Fujisa recovered, thinking. “Um... Aoyama Cemetary, right? It's just south of here, I think.”

“But we're not going south”, Weihan argued. “We need to be heading to Akasaka. That's where... where my dad lives. There isn't much time,”

“There's someone else.” Kasai hated how offhanded his words sounded, but at the moment all he could see were scythes and bone white masks and his friend lying in two pieces on the ground bleeding out onto the flagstones. “Someone else is in danger.”

“What? How do you...?”

“Activate. Agent Kasai Ohabara. Summon Centaur.”

Seeing the equestrian demon appear, Weihan scowled. “Ohabara, I swear if you do what I think you're about to-”

He did. The process of Armatization blocked out the rest of his partner's unkind words to him, and then he was off, charging down a narrow street towards his destination.

Towards Aoyama Cemetary.

17:00

For a few horrifying moments, he thought he'd taken a wrong turn. This wasn't an area he was familiar with, mostly higher-level residential areas and shrines.

Then he saw the sleek, well-kept Capsule motorcycle propped up against a brick wall and breathed a sigh of relief. So he is here.

Through the traditional feudal-style archway he could make out the rows of stones, gray walls terracing the grounds just as he'd seen. The trees wavered in the shifting breeze, but they hadn't experienced the same growth spurts as the parks had. Could it be because this plot of land had been consecrated long ago? He couldn't say.

All that mattered now was that he could see Ebisu there, leaning up against a gravestone like he was just on break. And he was still in one piece. Alive.

Disengaging the Armatization, he felt a different force taking over. The same thing that had stopped him in the park before. Anxiety. What could he even say to him? His heart felt heavy in his chest at the thought. Fortunately, he was spotted before that become necessary, Ebisu first merely seeing an ordinary person in a dark red-toned business suit and tie before realizing it was actually someone he knew.

“What the... Tips? Is that you? No freakin' way.”

It felt like he was on autopilot. Like there was no time to think and choose his words. They just came on, unbidden. “Still using that nickname, huh 'Bisu? Not surprising.”

His old friend laughed. His ear piercings flickered in the afternoon light, casting acid hair into relief. “Not as surprising as seeing you like that. Nice hair. You got a tailor now, Tips? You should fire 'em.”

And he laughed too. For a moment it was like the last insane few years of his life had never even happened, and they all were back together- Daisuke, Sabusaki, Yamashiko and the rest- free to do whatever they wanted. To go wherever they wanted. To be whatever they wanted. True freedom.

But that freedom had only ever been an illusion, he knew now. The past years were over and done with. They'd happened, and nothing in the universe could make them un-happen. Once upon a time he might have been happy to just sit there and talk with 'Bisu until the sun went down, but he wasn't forgetting why he was here. “Sorry to cramp your style like this, but... you're in trouble. Demons are comin'.”

Ebisu looked naturally skeptical, but only for a moment. “Demons? Like those things in the park?”

“Yeah. I saw 'em. They-”

He stopped, sensing the threat before it struck and lunging forward to forcefully tackle Ebisu away from the falling scythe blade.

Just in time to watch the top quarter of the headstone fall away and crash into the dirt below- a perfect angled cut.

Several of them, he saw now. Thin floating humanoids dressed in frilled robes of white and violet, their eyeless white masks marked with red swirls as agile as the bone white scythes they twirled about like marcher's batons.

The DSP had more detail: Jaki Macabre. An evil spirit with the same name as the Death itself appearing in medieval oratorios. Possesses the power to reap human souls in an instant.

So Death itself had come for his old friend. He would have to ensure 'Death' was disappointed this time. “Activate, Kasai Ohabara. Summon Apis and Tam Lin.”

Surely, Fujisa would spot that her personal pick of demons was missing from the stock, and hasten her pursuit.

Kasai kept his cocky smirk on. Couldn't let his panic show. Not now, not ever, especially not with an audience. But he had no delusions of being able to win this alone either. Not against this score of reapers, at least five of them weaving around their prey in a wide hunter's circle, but so swift were they that he couldn't tell for sure.

The demons at his side didn't betray any fear either. His own newest recruit, Apis, looked downright serene- a glowing purple quadruped animal wearing Egyptian-themed headgear, floating on its own power like the Macabres. The light to their darkness, he considered.

Symbolism isn't going to stop blades from slicing through flesh though. “...'Bisu. Get to cover. Now.”

Ebisu's face was a fascinating study in contrasting fears pulling him in all directions. Fear of what he'd just seen Kasai do. Fear of Apis, and of Tam Lin, and especially the swift Macabres. His attempt to scramble away stopped when one of them blurred past him, the volume of disturbed air enough to force him back onto all fours. Again, Kasai smelled urine.

“...Fine. Behind me, then.”

This was not how he'd wanted their reunion to go. Not when it was likely to end in both their deaths, the only question left being which of them would see the other fall first.

Tam Lin and Apis tried, but they were outgunned and outnumbered, and before long a slash of green wind tore into the former, piercing the fairy knight's armour and blasting him back. Apis healing that injury invited three other scythes to dig into its purple flesh, ending it with a noise like a frightened cow being gored.

“Beholder!”, Kasai commanded, replacing his fallen demon. One of the attackers took that as an invitation to come at him directly with the scythe. He let it come, reaching out to grab the weapon by the handle with the blade inches from his waist.

Lightning- the Zio skill- surged from that hand, electrifying the entire weapon and driving the creature back with a surprised yelp- the first actual noise he could recall them making. Grunting, he spun the stolen scythe around in a threatening flourish to drive the others back.

That would be his only victory though. The others wheeled around their prey in a coordinated pattern, striking from a distance with the wind skills and only striking with weapons when there was an opening. Before long, Beholder was down as well and he was bleeding from several spots. He'd bought Ebisu a few more minutes... by giving up his own life, and his demons.

That was what he thought, as his knee finally gave out, one of the enemies taking advantage to lunge forward past Tam Lin's guard. The sun-gleaming scythe descended-

Whipped past him, suddenly missing its curved blade. Nothing but a metal pole. The masked demon stared at it in confusion, open to a lightning blast that drove it back-

Directly onto the same katana that had taken its weapon. Akito Inui sheathed it, his eyes grim and narrow, his tail floating in the afternoon breeze. “Agent Ohabara. You seem to have gotten lost.”

Kasai watched the man who had tried to murder him yesterday and smiled. “Slightly. Just trying to save this guy.”

“A worthy goal. The left side is yours then. I shall take the right flank.”

It wasn't quite a guarantee yet, he knew. The remaining Macabres were still terrifyingly fast and strong, and determined to add more humans to the ones who were already resting here. Sure enough, Inui's Ogre didn't last long before being outmanoeuvred and cut apart... but then he called out another demon, one even larger.

“...Come, Momunofu!” Once he could spare a moment, Kasai could appreciate how the towering demon felt like the perfect fit for Bythos' samurai- an orange-faced warrior bearing blue feudal-style armour and a spear. Slow but powerful and durable, serving as the perfect shield against the rapid-fire cuts.

“...Activate Demon Armatization!”

The light flared, illuminating the gloomy cemetary, and as they watched Akito and his demon became one warrior. The sword in one hand, the spear in the other. The armour not only restored but looking even more cut-resistant than before... and speed was no longer a concern, instantly catching an incoming scythe and tearing into the enemy with the spear point.

“Huh. Show off”, Kasai snorted over Ebisu's mounting shock at all the madness he was seeing today. A month of the discoveries he'd made compressed into a single moment. “Fine then. My turn. Activate Demon Armatization!”

He had no time to note differences in appearance. All that mattered for the moment was that Tam Lin's sword, his armour, his power... were now his to use as he saw fit. Augmented by his own strength to be greater than before.

Because from what all their tests at Sige headquarters so far had determined, somehow he was 'spiritually compatible' with nearly every demon in Sige's entire database. Complaining about that would be ridiculous. As would refusing to use that fact to its full potential.

The fairy knight's merged body felt much faster than Fomorian. Stronger than Centaur. Whatever disturbing intelligence was in there was fully focused on slaying their current enemy in the name of Lord Oberon... whoever that was. The demon's fierce arrogance made him think he might also be a good fit for Akito, but there was no time to try that.

For several extended minutes, the slender spectres tried to penetrate their defensive two-tamer cordon only to be constantly caught by swords or spears. Parrying, dodging, thrusting and slashing became his entire world, blocking out all other conscious thought and sensation.

After what felt like forever, Kasai saw another one of the Macabre demons fall, saw the scythe that he'd stolen earlier disappear along with it. Good riddance. It wasn't a good weapon for him, no doubt requiring years of practice to use well. Demon instincts.

But Tam Lin's knowledge of the blade was equally masterful. The equal of Akito's. When the third Macabre was impaled on the spear tip, the rest seemed to get the message and fled without a single sound. They both waited another ten seconds, expecting a trap, before disengaging, returning to normal.

Or as normal as their current situation got anyway.

17:30

Weihan and Fujisa arrived immediately after that. Both looked like they'd run several long city blocks to catch up. But both still had enough energy to instantly point out and recognize Akito, and reach for their DSPs in preparation to fight.

“Easy”, Kasai raised his hands. “Easy. He's not here to fight.” Frowning, he turned to his rescuer. “Are you?”

The top-knotted tamer studied him like he was a puzzle box, sheathing his katana. “Killing you is not my mission today, Kasai Ohabara. My mission was merely to watch you, and ensure your actions do not interfere with Bythos' plans. Aiding you in saving a civilian's life is not something I was forbidden to do, and so I do it gladly.”

“You're welcome. Where are Riin and Mayuri?”

It was impossible to tell how amused Akito was by that. He merely bowed silently and departed through the northern archway.

Leaving Kasai to handle all other explanations, when he'd almost rather fight more demons instead. “And yes, I know”, he began, “I know I was a complete idiot, charging off blindly like that. You don't have to yell at me. I saw something. Something I had to stop, no matter what.”

Which drew everyone's attention back to Ebisu, who looked just as confused as them. “Tips... just what the hell... was that?”

“'Tips'?” Fujisa's confusion slid into recognition, then alarm. “Look... his neck! He's one of the-”

“Yes, we know.” He raised both arms, praying that he wouldn't need to stop another fight. “Fuji, Weihan... this is Ebisu Natsuhagi. That friend I talked about earlier.”

It seemed to work. Fujisa looked like there was a lot more she wanted to say or do, but grew silent, waiting for him to continue.

“I saw a vision of him dying right here, in this graveyard.”

“So you ran off without us”, Weihan sighed. “Again.”

“And I saved his life.”

Ebisu nodded, catching on. “Yeah. Got that right. I'd have been far dusted if he hadn't showed. Him or that cosplay samurai dude. Thanks, Tips.”

“'Cosplay samurai dude'?”

“Akito Inui.”

“...Huh. So he's seen the light like Hidehi?”

“For now.”

Which was about all Fujisa could take before stepping directly between them, her DSP at the ready, her words ordered and precise. “Alright then. Ebisu Natsuhagi, I'm placing you under citizen's arrest for suspected involvement with the Capsule gang. Come with me quietly.”

Ebisu somehow looked less offended than Kasai did, merely observing the device on her wrist. “Huh. That one's different from the others I've seen. Different from this one.”

Weihan stared, all of them noticing the black DSP on Ebisu's own arm for the first time. “Don't freak. It doesn't work. Not like yours. I can't summon monsters using it. Must be broken.”

“More likely it wasn't attuned to your spiritual power”, Weihan recovered from the shock. “Where did you get that anyway? That's Bythos tech.”

“I just found it”, he shrugged. “There was a dusted Bythos dude over near the Tokyo Dome. I found this on 'im.”

“So you stole it!”, Fujisa accused, fighting off a sudden leap in her heart hearing that one of her old comrades had fallen to the demons, and lost his life. “That's another crime on your record. I'll be taking that then.”

Gradually, he seemed to realize that she wasn't joking and pulled his arm back. “No way, toots. Way things are now, I'll need this to not get dusted myself.”

“You'll be safe enough from the demons in jail. Now give it here.”

And here we go. Kasai groaned inwardly. He'd had a feeling matters between these two would end this way. One more reason among many he'd been dreading this reunion.

Slowly, he let the trapped breath out and made his choice.

“...Todoroki, please stand down for now.”

Her eyes widened. “What? But Ohabara, he's-”

“I know what he is. But this is not a normal situation. You saw his bike outside. As long as he has that, he can stay ahead of the demons.”

“Most of 'em”, Ebisu smiled back for the first time, glad to see his friend again despite everything. “Knew you couldn't go full Corpo, Tips. Here's one in return- there was this demon goin' round on a motorcycle on the highway last night. He's dusted some of our dudes. We call 'im the 'Night Rider'.”

“A motorcycling demon?”, Weihan repeated, wishing he could disparage such a claim. “That sounds like... no. No way. If that's who I think it is, then we need to stay away from that one. He's even more powerful than Tarakasura or Leraje.”

Fujisa didn't quit so easily though, gazing back at their leader in confusion. “Ohabara, I know that he's your old friend, but he still has to answer for his crimes. There's a police station not far from here. I'll only be a moment to- HEY! GET BACK HERE!”

But Ebisu was running, sprinting for the exit archway at the end of the square. By the time she'd gotten out of the cemetery herself, they all heard the noise of a powerful motorcycle engine revving up, clearing the city block before they could react further.

18:00

“AaahHH-”

The patient's cry cut off, abruptly shifting tone into a noise of relief instead of pain. Dr. Coleman rose, satisfied with his work, quick to retreat and avoid any further questions about how exactly he'd managed that small feat of instantly erasing a first-degree burn on the shoulder. How old could this little runt really be? Ten? Twelve? And yet a demon had seen fit to scorch the poor kid with fire all the same.

“Thank you, doctor”, the bespectacled mother's arm stopped him. “Thank you so much. I was so scared for him!”

“It's my pleasure, miss”, he nodded back. “We all need to do what we can right now. Just make sure the numbness doesn't last more than a few hours. If it does, tell one of the agents here and they'll come get me.”

“I will”, she nodded slowly, the reality of their situation proving a far more persistent ailment, and one he couldn't cure. “How much longer is this torment going to go on for? I don't think I can take it. Those creatures... what are they? Why did they attack us? Why is this happening?”

It wasn't his place to explain. He hardly believed himself, even now. “We're currently hard at work finding answers to those questions, miss”, he repeated the line he'd been given without enthusiasm. “For now, we ask you to stay here and wait. You'll be safe, and fed.”

They should have designed the shelters with more internal blocking, Coleman decided. The more this crowd of refugees could see of each other, the more they realized just how many other people had been evacuated from their homes as well. The sooner people were going to wonder how many days' worth of food was really available here.

A question he'd already asked himself, knowing the answer would likely horrify. He'd heard how government refugee shelters had been built to withstand earthquakes and held enough supplies for two weeks or more... but these weren't government shelters. And he had no idea if things would be over in two weeks.

One way or another, they will be.

Thus distracted, he hardly noticed Tatyana Chiba until she was practically on top of him as he left the shelter, her sudden appearance nearly making him trip. “Tired, doctor?”

“Not really”, he panted, scanning the plaza for any other places he might be needed. “The cigs help keep my energy up.”

“Just so long as you take them outside the shelters.” Guiding him over to one of the few intact statues, she drew him a lighter. “It's going to be problematic enough, keeping so many people in confined spaces for this long.”

From here, it almost felt like a normal world again. Just a few civilians and Sige agents around, chatting with each other. The only signs of the demons and their violence being the unsightly number of marble tiles and statues that had been broken by the earlier battle. He could easily tell what Sige was trying to invoke here- a classical Roman paradise, like typical human conceptions of Mount Olympus. Clean, radiant and pure, but the damage ruined the effect somewhat.

Yet the company's famous office tower stood, unblemished. It had become more than a massive symbol of one of Tokyo's most powerful financial alliances. Now it was a symbol of safety, and sanctuary. For how long it would continue to be that way, he couldn't guess.

“Sorry”, Coleman shrugged within Tatyana's disarmingly firm grip on him. “You've probably been asked how the research is progressing more times than I've had a really good steak by now. Everyone has to take breaks sometimes.”

“Well”, she stared up with him at the heavenly tower. “A few weeks ago I was actually working on a theoretical project to infuse humans with Magnetite energy to enable them to reduce the requirements of rest and food, but then this crisis struck. Now every resource we have is turned towards surviving and resolving it. So... here's your dinner.”

Taking the boxed lunch she offered, he nodded. “Besides, we already have something that does that for us. S'called coffee. You like it?”

She laughed. “Double cream. Most of my department runs on the stuff. I try to set a good example. Too much has some nasty side effects.”

Coleman snorted in disbelief. “Oh, and your 'Magnetite' doesn't? What even is that crap anyway? I never heard of it before today.”

Tapping her own Sige DSP, her veneer grew more professional, a bit closer to the chief researcher he'd been told the cheery marshmallow woman was. “Magnetite is an extra-dimensional energy native to the demon realm. Our DSPs absorb it and consume it in order to perform summoning and Fusions. And Armatization, were I to guess. No idea how they would manage it otherwise.”

“So, dimension coffee then.”

“I suppose so.”

He hoped the disgusted look on his face wouldn't offend. “You're using energy from a demon realm- from hell- to power your technology. And you really don't see anything wrong with that at all, Chiba?”

Far from it. She merely leaned back, gesturing over at the only visible vehicle there- a van currently being used to transport supplies to another shelter in the Midtown area. “You sound just like the Ohabara boy did. See that van parked way over there?”

“Yeah?”

“Even now in this day and age, so many of our vehicles still run primarily on petroleum. On an environmentally-damaging liquid fuel that is created from the ancient, fossilized remains of dinosaurs far beneath the earth. If we could manage to engineer a Magnetite-fuelled car, or even a new type of bullet train... just imagine the possibilities!”

Coleman felt his body tensing at the mere thought. “...I'm trying not to.”

Pretending to be hurt, the chief stood. “Well, fine! Spoilsport. You don't need to imagine it. We might not have it available in vehicles yet, but you can see my arm for yourself, and our DSPs. There's lots of other devices we've managed in the last two decades that already benefit from it. Sige's Magnetite technology is going to advance humanity into a new golden age, doctor. It'll revolutionize medicine, communications, agriculture, computers. Save millions of lives.”

“After taking millions of them.”

Still, he knew exactly what she was referring to. Tokyo had changed a fair bit in the last twenty years, and now he had confirmation that Sige was behind a lot of that shift. Sudden bounding advances in technology, design and modern architecture that made the sprawling megalopolis seem more and more like something one might see in one of the various near-future anime shows its studios produced so regularly. Like the future itself had come to that city first, projecting it into the 22^nd century.

At least, that much was true in all the upscale areas, in the highest wealth regions where all the businesses concentrated their attention on making everything look so shiny and sleek and new. He'd been around the city enough to know that many areas of Tokyo weren't nearly so pristine. Some still held buildings that hadn't seen an update since the last century, slowly rotting away.

“Forgive me”, he decided at last. “I know this isn't your fault.”

“Nor is it Sige's fault. I made sure of that.”

The low bite in those words actually made him relieved- he'd finally found something she wouldn't turn into a jest. “And... anything that can help heal the wounded and cure diseases is welcome.”

She studied him in turn, blinking comprehension. “Of course. I can tell. You've seen some serious injuries in your time. You've seen death long before this started, haven't you?”

“...Probably another thing I've seen more of than I've had a really good steak. It gets easier... but never that easy. I pray it never does.”

The mention of the food brought her flesh hand up to her belly, though she'd already had dinner. “I'm sorry. I know that includes your wife. It sounds like she was a good woman.”

“The best”, Coleman agreed, his stomach souring as it tried to digest. “But I guess some people are just too good to live. They say that God takes the best of us away to come live with Him.”

“Then you'll see her again some day, won't you?”

Flattered, he shook his head, burying his eyes. “No. Not a chance. Not me. What took Samantha... It was worse than Zopt syndrome. It gradually weakens the internal cell membranes over several months until the victim bleeds from the smallest actions taken, the slightest tap. Until even the reflexive act of breathing causes them a terrible pain. And... there is no cure. Not that we know of. Only ways to temporarily avert it, until it grows too strong to stop.”

Tatyana's silence spoke volumes. A researcher of demonology, she actually knew discouragingly little of medicine, merely waiting for him to continue.

And to his own surprise, for once he actually wanted to. Just so someone else might know how he'd felt then. Who would understand why his eyes were suddenly blurring with tears.

“I... I prayed with all my heart and soul for some way, any way, to save her. To stop this damned virus that was slowly killing her right in front of my eyes. That was when my special 'gift' first started. When I realized that I could actually mend the bloody tears and rips in her skin just by touching my palms to them, and thinking about it. Just by wishing for it. If I kept at it all the time, stayed awake and used my power constantly, I could stop the woman I loved from dying, but...”

“But you couldn't”, Tatyana recognized, clutching her prosthetic arm as if in her own pain. “You couldn't stay awake forever. Using spiritual powers like yours rapidly consumes your energy. Eventually, you would pass out.”

“No. That's not what happened.”

Releasing the arm, she saw his face shift, grow leaner and stiffer still.

“She... she told me to stop. Sam said... that it was all okay. She said that she loved me forever. Beyond forever. But it was her time. That I should... go on living, and helping people.”

The chief studied him, nodding slowly.

“Sorry”, Coleman choked out. “You didn't need to hear my personal sob story. There's probably a million tragedies like mine happening around us right now. I just... I've been thinkin'. We've been dealing with demons and angels here, yeah? If a god shows up... if it's whatever god was responsible for what happened to Sam... I'd break my oath a hundred times over to make that bastard feel the way I felt back then. So... maybe I should get one of your DSP thingies after all. Just in case.”

“You're tired”, she said after a long wait. “It's been a very long day. You should sleep, doctor. Regain your strength.”

“Not a bad idea”, he had to admit. “Might be hard to get any shuteye in the shelters right now, though. Too many frightened people.”

“Not the shelters. I have another place in mind. The living quarters in the basement laboratory. They're quiet, secluded, and well-cooled. And no one will be there but us.”

Even more generosity. He couldn't help wondering when he was going to stop being surprised by it. Or by anything else that Tatyana Chiba was capable of.

“So”, Kasai observed once they'd gotten back on the path to Akasaka. “Now I've managed to make both of you hate me. Excellent. My master plan is working perfectly.”

Weihan rolled his eyes beside him, having switched roles with Fujisa in the interim. “I don't hate you, Ohabara. Neither does Mt. Fuji. She just needs some time to process what happened. You know how she is.”

“Yeah. I know how she is”, he stared into the concrete and brick walls around them. “I just didn't think I'd really see 'Bisu again. Not during this crisis.”

“At least he's accepted what's going on”, Weihan reasoned. “That puts him one up on the police. Hopefully, he'll let the rest of the gang know too. As for what they'll do about it... no idea.”

Kasai couldn't even guess about that either. Not with Satsuhira Drogen in charge of the Capsules. “Look. I know I messed up big. I just saw him, and... and it was like I was back to being that naive kid again. The one who made the wrong choice all those years ago.”

For once, Yasuda looked entirely sympathetic with him. “Ohabara. Natsuhagi was your friend, once. But that was a long time ago. You two have gone your separate ways, drifted apart. You're with Sige now, and Sige needs you to focus everything on the missions we give you, and complete them as best you can.”

“Even if that mission is a 'waste of time'?”

“Even then. It's not our place to say. Our place is to serve the whole, the group. Us humans can't accomplish anything of worth without the aid of a group. A 'gang', if you like. That's why we join them. You reminded me of that when I needed it. Thank you.”

Kasai could only laugh. “Gone full Corpo after all, then.”

Recognizing the slang, Weihan frowned. “You said it yourself, Ohabara. You're the one who's been trying so hard to turn your life around. Trying to make something decent of yourself and pull back from the abyss. Natsuhagi isn't. He chose to stay on as a Capsule even after that Drogen person took over and made them even worse. To remain a criminal. It's that simple.”

Kasai almost wished it actually was as simple as that. His gut said differently. Only the lies are complex.

“Hm. Y'know, we could really use some of those motorcycles”, he said thoughtfully. “It would help us to get around the city way faster. Y'know, for those of us who are still too scared to death that 'Bythos tech' is going to explode when they try to use it.”

“Wow. You are in a disruptive mood today”, Weihan remarked, refusing to take offence to the insult. “It's not hard to figure out why, I guess. But it'll take much more than that to piss me off.”

Seeing the way Fujisa was still refusing to look back at him, her arms folded crossly, he leaned over in surrender. “Eh. Whatever. I suppose one of us has to stay focused on this mission. Sorry. I just had to save him. I'd do it again.”

“No one's saying you shouldn't have saved Natsuhagi's life. Just that you shouldn't try to protect him from his own stupidity either.”

Stupidity. Was that really all it was? Or had Ebisu gone to that cemetery for a different reason than he suspected? It was too late to ask him now.

“...You know well just how hard it is to forget about old friends, Yasuda.”

Glancing over at their silent partner, Weihan nodded in understanding. “Honestly. Childhood friends can be such a bother sometimes. But we can't forget them either. No matter how much we might want to.”

18:30

The rest of the trip proved a welcome relief, with no sign of further demon attacks. Weihan's own mood returned to the previous quiet sullenness as they progressed, only opening up again once they'd passed into the rear end of a slummy shopping district in the old town.

“...Alright, it's over here. Just past this parking lot.”

It certainly didn't look like the lab of a legendary demonology researcher to Kasai. It just looked like the residence of someone who was severely down on his luck. A single cracked rectangular window and door over top of a faded depression in the wall along the back of the salon building, looking more like a crew entrance.

“So what, we just... knock?”

Sighing, Weihan stepped forward, opening it with a mere touch. “Seriously? Your father doesn't even lock his door?”, Fujisa was aghast, speaking aloud for the first time since the Aoyama Cemetery encounter. “This neighbourhood isn't exactly the safest around, y'know?”

“Doubly so with demons on the loose”, Kasai shook his head. “So, you want to do the talking or should I?”

Weihan's glasses somehow amplified his glare. “I'm still the leader of this team, Ohabara. I'll talk to him. For all the good it'll do. Don't expect him to agree.”

Beyond the door, the small residential unit looked as typical as many Kasai had seen the inside of, if a bit more disorganized and dirty than usual- and he had seen a great many of those as well. It was only down the single narrow set of stairs that things began to become strange.

A series of red lights framed the entryway, too large to be festive. Beyond that the basement was just the opposite, lacking proper illumination beyond a pair of weak luminescent ceiling panels. But those were enough for them to see what lay within, stretched out on a pair of long tables.

It was only there that he heard Fujisa's terrified scream.

Chapter Text

-

19:00

Cursing, Kasai turned around rapidly, expecting another demon sneak attack... only to find Fujisa face to face with a dishevelled looking being in a dusty jacket, huge glowing red-light goggles covering his eyes nearly down to the nose making him look imposing despite his beard.

The red spots flickered. He almost didn't seem to see them until Weihan broke the tension with a hushed whisper. “Professor... Yasuda.”

The slash of a mouth beneath the goggles focused, curling into an amused smile, his throat sounding just as parched and malnourished as his body looked. “...Don't. Touch. That. So. They send a researcher to talk to me when the shit strikes? How typical of them. Unless you're not. Did they finally kick you out of the division, boy?”

Irritably gesturing the others back behind him, Weihan grunted, deliberately ignoring the musky scent of the basement lab... And the scent of its owner. “I am, in fact, one of Sige's most respected demonology researchers. Far more than you.”

“And yet here you are, begging your old man for help.”

“Not begging. Asking. They think you might be able to assist us in resolving the current crisis.”

The man made a rude noise. “Oh? So now they want my help. After years of ignoring everything I warned them about- DON'T TOUCH THAT!”

Kasai froze up. He'd merely been a few inches from one of the red bulbs, feeling cramped in the tight space, but the professor seemed to wade through the disorganization of the room like a worm through earth, moving to put some distance between them, scowling.

“The anti-magnetite neutron field emitter prevents the demons from getting in! It is HIGHLY delicate! Clumsy fool!”

“Maybe... we should all just go back upstairs where it's not so crowded?”, Fujisa suggested mildly after a few tense moments.

“And invite the demons to strike us there?”, the elder Yasuda scoffed.

Kasai tried not to scoff too. In any other situation but this one, the vaunted 'demonology professor' would have immediately come across as some kind of deranged conspiracy theorist. It was just that in this case, the 'conspiracy' was true.

“I'll go over here then”, he declared loudly, finding a rare empty corner to sit down in. This seemed to be acceptable for the Professor.

“These wild demons appearing threaten all of Tokyo, Professor”, Weihan resumed. “We have determined that they are spawning in from the parks, and those parks are slowly beginning to expand their flora outwards in all directions, increasing their reach. Most of the demons remain in the parks for the time being, but that could change at any moment. We need to determine how to stop the high magnetite concentrations in the soil, as soon as possible.”

The old man looked faintly disgusted for a moment, shooing Fujisa away from the tables before surveying them intently. “Well of course it's the parks, you silly boy. They're earth. Exposed soil. They are a natural part of this planet, even if they are constantly pruned back and paved over by humans, what else did you expect to happen? Honestly.”

For the first time, they noticed the metal brackets lining each table. By connecting each one at the corners, he was able to bring them together, the various scattered diagrams forming into a rough map of the entire world.

“My instruments indicate that Magnetite concentrations are at their highest in and around Tokyo”, the elder Yasuda claimed, tapping Japan on the map. “Possibly because they are drawn by the use of DSP technology, or because it's here that they expect the new Pleroma to rise there first. I cannot say for sure.”

Weihan clearly hated feeling so bewildered, particularly by this particular man's words. “Drawn in by the DSPs? That's impossible though. The DSPs don't leak any Magnetite energy, they absorb it. If anything, they should slow down the spread of the soil.”

“Yes”, his father nodded slightly. “That is the line that Sige fed you. And it's true, but only to a point. You're still using the DSPs to drag beings out of a completely different dimension into our world, and then send them back to their realm when they're no longer needed. Multiple times a day. Didn't you think there might be some other side effects resulting from that?”

Weihan grew troubled. “But.. but there's no chance of a signal trace. We made absolutely sure of that. It's encrypted. Demons can't ever use that to determine dimensional coordinates and journey back here, and even if they did they would still need a device of their own to manifest in our world.”

Incensed, the Professor pressed both hands to his face, removing the hideous goggles. Beneath them, his skin looked dirty, worn and cracked, but the large brown eyes and tangled matted hair still radiated a fierce intelligence.

“Boy... don't you even know what the demons really are? Why it is that they so closely resemble beings from human folklore and legends? From across thousands of cultures and mythologies and religions far older than historical record?!”

Weihan frowned, then focused back up studying the collections of dusty demonology books the elder Yasuda had left out and opened. “...Yes, I know why. It's because they're 'Spirits'. Extra-dimensional beings. Their resemblance to mythical beings is only due to an achronolyptical resonance with the collective human subconsciousness. We see them that way because we cannot comprehend their true forms in their entirety while they're here in our world.”

“Yes.” His father sounded exasperated. “Spirits of air and water and fire and most common of all- Earth. Beings who are intimately connected to the natural world in a way that humans no longer are!”

Kasai looked over at Fujisa, relieved to see someone else was just as bewildered by all the technical talk as he felt. Only Weihan seemed to be able to keep up with the Professor, if only just barely.

“So you're saying that one of the demons connected to the Earth was able to do this? Increase the Magnetite concentration in Tokyo's topsoil, so that wild demons could manifest without the aid of a DSP?”

“It is a theory, boy. Merely a theory.”

“But... why is this happening now of all times? We've been using the DSPs for many years, you know that. What's changed?”

The elder Yasuda grew distracted, studying the DSP device on his son's wrist. “Wait... what is that? That is... that's not a Sige creation?”

“No, it's still the DSP they gave me. Just... something happened to it so that I can't remove it. Same for the other two here.”

But the Professor would not be put off. He glared across the table at Kasai. “What happened? What is that? What being did this to your summoning devices? Tell me. Now.”

It was only then that Kasai realized his own device was currently non-functional, the screen on his wrist showing 'ERROR 403: Connection to Server Lost'. The same went for the others. Must have something to do with that 'Anti-Magnetite Field' he mentioned. Can't summon any demons while we're down here.

“...Her name was Zoe. Sige shut down our devices, and she turned them back on for us. With a few extras added.”

The Professor's eyes grew inhumanly wide. His jaw fell, and he ran for a chalkboard to make a bunch of seemingly random new marks on it. “Zoe. Zoe, of course. Zoe! I knew it. That's why now. The time. It's the time. The sleep of reason! Dimensional fluctuation. Planetary alignment. Collective rejection of the Pleroma. Of course, of course. Time to make her claim like the others are trying to.”

“Professor?” When he refused to respond after two repetitions, Weihan hammered the table. “Father? Theories are all well and good, but we need a real, concrete solution here. The clock's ticking. If you believe that a demon is the one causing this crisis, then all we need to do is terminate that demon.”

“Yes. Yes. Time for it. The sleep of reason. When all are gathered to compete, choosing the humans to express their will and battle for dominance of the planet, establishing a preferred Pleroma over top of the failing one due to dimensional concordance with...”

“Father!”

The elder Yasuda looked terribly annoyed with his son, but at least he stopped muttering frantically to himself. “Boy, you really need to learn to sit down and let your superiors think. Of at least don't distract them with idiotic plans.”

The insult was the final straw for Weihan. He grabbed one of the textbooks, chucking it at the blackboard and sending it crashing off its stand. “...Professor. As I was saying, we do not have time for your theorizing. If you believe that a demon is causing this crisis, then merely name it. We'll summon it forth, and destroy it ourselves.”

If anything the man's counter-indignation grew, but he also took a moment to prop his chalkboard back up. “...Boy. You know perfectly well that the demons are not mortal in the same way that we humans are. They are the embodiment of concepts and thoughts and unknowns. Forces of nature made flesh and individual. Destroying a demon merely sends it back to its native realm, where it may reconstitute itself. You would accomplish NOTHING. Nothing but a waste of everyone's time.”

Growing uneasy, Weihan bit his lip. “Then... then we would parlay with this demon instead. Ask it what it wants. Get it to stop doing this.”

The Professor just gave a short, sad look back at his son before restoring his blackboard. “Sige... has taught you nothing. Nothing. All they ever wanted were dull workman's tools. Oh, and don't touch that.”

Kasai watched Weihan's glower intensify, far stronger than anything he'd shown before.

“Dull?! I've learned more about demonology from Sige- from Miss Tatyana- than you. I know that demons are willing to forge binding contracts with humans. That's what the DSP does. It creates a digital analog for the sacrificial rituals normally used to invoke them, streamlining the process so that anyone with a strong spiritual power can summon them from the company server.”

The professor was at least more sanguine about his replacement. “Tatyana Chiba... An apt pupil, but little better than Sige in the end. She still thinks of demons as mere toys or pets. Not forces of nature incarnate.”

“Then lend her your aid! Come back with us, and help us to develop a solution.”

For a moment, the elder Yasuda actually appeared to be considering it. He studied all the maps, brought out a few more tomes with faded, yellowed pictures in them, a few of which Kasai recognized as the demons they'd already learned to summon and command as easily as one might ride a bicycle.

Then he clapped one of the books closed loudly enough to frighten and cast a cloud of dust into the air. “...No. Don't you see what they're doing here, boy? They're trying to pull me back into their web. They've realized they need me.”

“We do need you, father.” That admission felt like a trial in itself for him, but Weihan took a deep breath to continue. “I am hereby authorized to offer you a 300 percent raise in your previous salary if you agree to return with us, and resume your work at headquarters. Payable as soon as this crisis is resolved.”

The Professor snorted, tossing his book aside. “They honestly think I care about money at a time like this? Oh, of course they do. They're Sige. To them, money is all that matters.”

His son threw up his hands in a final defeat, stalking back up the stairs like he was ten years younger and headed to his room. The remaining Yasuda studied his other two guests in turn, as if daring them to speak up against him as well.

Kasai had just about mustered up the courage to try his own luck when Fujisa stepped past him towards the man, opening with a humble bow. “...Sir. Professor Yasuda. My name is Fujisa Todoroki. I'm no friend to Sige Financial. I know that Bythos is little better, which is part of why I left them behind. But what your... what Weihan says is the truth. Your knowledge is needed right now, to help us save our city from the wild demons. You must know that.”

Mr. Yasuda looked more patient with Fujisa's courtesy, making more marks on his board before turning back. “Didn't you hear, young lady? I'm a crackpot. That's what Sige said eight years ago, when I warned them about the growing dangers of demon summoning. That I didn't know what I was talking about. Jumping at shadows, me. Just paranoia. An old crazy loon past his prime.”

“It is completely unfair how Sige has treated you in the past”, Fujisa nodded in full agreement. The falling out was easy to picture now, imagining the man storming out of the Sige lab in fury. “They should have listened to your warnings about what might happen if use of the summon app continued to spread. But now, if we don't do something soon... then more innocent people will die to the demons. The police can't do anything against them. Our Enforcers can't be everywhere in Tokyo all at once, and it feels like every time we turn around there's another strong demon leader there, trying to take over our fair city. Leraje. Tarakasura.”

The old man blinked. He reached for his red-light goggles, strapping them back on, before turning to her. “Bythos, hm... Bythos. Leibniz. Pah. Couldn't even trust Sige to keep my work to themselves, could I?”

Standing, Kasai could feel his turn had come. “Professor. I know that you don't care very much for money right now. Not for Weihan either. What exactly is it that you want, then? Please, tell us. What will it take to make you help us?”

That earned a rollicking chuckle from him, at least. “Ah. You two are closer to the mark than that foolish boy of mine, I'll grant you that.” Raking yellow fingernails over the map, he tapped a marker in Ikebukuro before growing still and bleak, his red goggle lights growing until they were baseball-sized. “What if I told you that all I want right now... is more wild demons to arrive in this city for me to study, to better advance my research?”

Kasai could feel Fujisa's resolve begin to falter at that suggestion, and kept going on his own. “I'd say that sounds about as foolish as anything you've accused your son or Sige of being today. Scientific research is supposed to help people, Professor. Or if you really don't care about that at all, then it's supposed to at least earn people's respect. Both are kinda hard to manage when there's no people left alive in the city to be helped, OR to respect you for your achievements.”

Finally, a clean hit. At least that's what it felt like to him. The Professor exhaled, turning back to the reams of chaotic notes lining his basement walls top to bottom.

“...You make a fair point. For a time, that might have been all I really cared about. You're still young, Mr. Ohabara. You have no idea. No idea at all what it's like, to devote your entire life to something of this magnitude, and then have a bunch of slick-suited fools use it for nothing more than to fill their damned coffers. Like the demons are just more desperate human wage-slaves for them to use as tools. That's how they view this entire world, you know. That's what they've conditioned this world to be.”

The sheer bitter venom in the man's words made Kasai wince away before re-forming his answer. “Maybe. But I don't think that innocent people should suffer just because of Sige and Bythos' greed. Even if they are both exactly as bad as you say they are, a lot of people in Tokyo are still able to enjoy their lives here. But they can't now. Everyone's stuck in this lockdown. And that won't last for long either- sooner or later, people are going to lose their patience and leave their homes. You know what happens then, Professor. The demons will find them. They can smell human emotions. Including fear, and anger.”

Fujisa studied him now, her guarded eyes harboring the same question he'd been pondering: Was the elder Yasuda really so damaged by the events of eight years ago that nothing at all mattered to him any more? Would the old man be willing to be the last human left standing in the burning ruins of Tokyo out of sheer spite for the ones who had wronged him and abused his research?

“Weihan is with us”, she reminded him. “He is our friend. He's been a big help to us. We'll fight on together to protect Tokyo, no matter what. But... if this continues as it has been, then we might die together in the line of duty, like some of the other demon tamers already have. No matter what you say, no matter how angry you are at Sige... you can't not love your son. It's just not possible. I won't believe it. You have to.”

They both waited for the Professor to reply after that. When he took too long, Kasai noticed the ring on the man's hand for the first time- small with a tiny square sapphire, faded from age. “His mother. Is she...?”

“Dead?” Yasuda guessed, shaking his head wistfully. “No, no. She's not dead. Not dead. She just went home.”

19:30

Weihan hadn't gone too far, they were grateful to discover. Just out of the Professor's ramshackle abode, down the main causeway of the Akasaka residential slum.

Most of those homes weren't in much better condition, but for the moment he only had eyes for the round tunnel going through a concrete pier beyond the railing he clung to. It was so overgrown and choked with ivy now that you could barely see in, but no demons had appeared from it yet.

“I told you”, he said without looking up from the Akasaka tunnel as they approached. “Waste of time. He doesn't care about anything now. Nothing but his own wounded pride. And even if he did, all that rubbish in his basement isn't going to help us.”

Kasai wanted to contradict him, but something told him that would be better left for later. “That's our mission, Yasuda. Chiba said that he was a genius in demonology. Guess now we know why, at least partly.”

Moving off the railing, Weihan stared back, his glasses drooping down. He might have been angry, but for the moment he was too surprised. “He... told you about that? Seriously?”

“It's nothing to be ashamed of, Yasuda”, Fujisa assured him. She saw him with new eyes now, all the strife from earlier in the day momentarily forgotten. “It must have been hard for you.”

Weihan's hands clenched on air, and for a moment he wanted to scream, run back to that basement and kick over some tables. Instead, he fell back on the standby of using his glasses to veil his eyes, hiding what he couldn't bear to let them see, not even for an instant.

“...Her name was Shoujiti. That was her human name, when she was taking on a human form. Disguising herself. I never learned until she was gone that her true name, her true self... was Ekajati.”

Fujisa tried accessing that name on her DSP's files, but Weihan laughed at her haste. “No, don't bother. It won't work. Ekajati doesn't exist in the Sige demon database. We never found her. We could never summon her. Even if we could...”

“The professor has lots of books on her”, Kasai told him. “He showed us. Tantric-Buddhist origin. A blue-skinned deity with a pierced third eye on her forehead, always with the other two kept closed. Crazy-long dark hair.”

Weihan sniffed in amusement. “A common trait for female deities, expressing their virility and untamed sexual energy. Her eyes were always very thin in her human form too. Always looked like they were partly shut. But my... she never had any problems seeing with two human eyes. Or at least, that's what he told me. I only saw her for a few years. Then... she left. She went back 'Home'.”

“'Home'”, Fujisa repeated vacantly. “Back to the demon world. Why?”

“What, he didn't tell you? Typical. She said she had to go. Never said why. Or he won't tell me the real reason.”

That rocked them both, and Weihan turned back to the rail rather than study the looks on their faces. “Stop it. Don't pity me. Please. I hate it. Really. I'd much rather someone hate me than pity me.”

But that warning didn't stop Fujisa. Once she'd recovered from the shock, she carefully crept up to him before trapping him from behind in a bear hug. Inescapable, no matter how he fought. He realized shamefully for the first time that her upper body strength was actually greater than his.

“Yasuda... I'm so sorry. I had no idea. All this time I knew you at school... you never said anything.”

Grinning, Kasai sat back and enjoyed the rare sight. No matter how they'd matured, no matter what shields of manufactured sarcasm had to be forged to survive in this merciless world, one eternal, unchanging truth was that a deep hug like that from a girl you liked could chase away even the darkest of moods, at least temporarily.

He'd been too busy lately to appreciate how good Fuji managed to make her dark purple business suit tie and look, coordinating with her hair and eyes.

Weihan took a long while to recover his speech too, a deep crimson shade having completely taken over his face. “...Um. Uh. Yeah. Sure. Right. Like you would've believed me if I told you 'Hey Fuji guess what, my mom's totally a demon'. I barely even believed it myself, back then. I just thought she was on a trip somewhere. Then later, I thought that she'd run off with another man. Not hard to guess why she'd ditch that bastard.”

Breaking away at last, she shook her tears away. “He's not that bad, I think. He's arrogant and eccentric and angry, sure. I totally get why he doesn't want anything more to do with Sige.”

“Even if it means letting Tokyo get invaded by wild demons?”, Weihan scoffed. “Please. That lazy old bastard got the secrets of demonology handed to him on a silver plate, and now he claims it's his 'life's work'? Like HE was the one who cracked the code to summoning, when all he actually did was go fuck a demon?”

Fujisa exhaled. “Yasuda... Please. Don't say such horrible things like that... He... He's still your father. He still cares for you. He has to.”

Kasai watched the mounting fury in their friend's face in silence, knowing how easy it would be to make the connections he had. His father had told a completely different story, of course, but it would be impossible to determine the truth as things stood.

It didn't really matter. Not now. Gradually, Weihan reverted to normal as well, his fury fading into his usual professional veneer. “...I've already contacted the closest hotel to book us for the night. I doubt we'd be able to get safely back to headquarters before it gets completely dark. Better safe than sorry.”

“Good job”, Kasai approved. In fact, the sun was already beginning its final descent for the day. The shadows cast by the city skyline grew longer by the moment.

“It's my responsibility as the group leader.”

He was too tired to argue the point any more. “We'll head over there soon then. The Professor wants us back in about half an hour. He said he would help us.”

Again Weihan looked shocked by that development, though his words remained dismissive. “Really? What did you do? Please don't tell me that Fuji offered to sleep with him.”

The sudden indignation on her face made Kasai wish his normal phone was still working so he could take a picture. “Never mind that for now. Point is, the Professor said he'd help us, even if he's not coming back with us to headquarters. Mission accomplished.”

“Yes”, Weihan marveled, short of breath like he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. “Mission accomplished.”

20:30

Dinner wound up being nothing but leftover food from the local hotel. After the conditions they'd seen in the Sige shelters it still felt like a luxury, eating it in the relative calm of the lobby before returning to the professor's basement.

“The Anti-Magnetite field”, Fujisa wondered at the lights as they descended the stairs again. “How does he make that work? I thought everything was down right now. My phone still doesn't work.”

'Not quite everything”, Weihan explained, gesturing to the wiring crudely stapled to the bare walls and insulation. “The Magnetite interferes with signals, not electrical power like with street lights. Your phone relies on transmitted signals to reach other people, download files or send and receive texts and e-mail, so it can't be used right now. But these devices run directly off the building's own power generator.”

“Think we could take some of these back with us?”, Kasai mused beside him. “They actually seem to work- no demon attacks yet- and we can't use our DSPs while we're in here. We could protect any building with its own power supply.”

“If you can convince him”, Weihan threw up his arms. “They're his inventions.”

The Professor ignored their chatter. He'd re-arranged the tables, charts and books into a new configuration that left more room open at the entrance. They still couldn't sit down easily, but they could stand together in the small clearing without risking hitting one of the field emitters.

“Alright then”, Weihan nodded back cautiously, producing some paper and pencil of his own to take notes with. “Class is in session, Professor Yasuda. We're all yours.”

His father's brow arched warily above his goggles. “You are of course, aware that any conjecture as to the cause of this crisis is merely theory on my part?”

“Of course. But you're also-”, Weihan winced, as if fighting off a sudden snap of pain, “If you won't come back with us to headquarters, then it's our duty to record your findings regarding it, and return with them to examine. Hopefully, between you, me, and Chief Chiba, we can figure out a lasting solution to this problem.”

The old man looked unconvinced, but he hauled out a huge chart anyway, moving the tables around. Some depiction of cosmological phenomena instead of geographical, flowing lines connecting terms and planets. “...Don't touch that.”

The Professor shooed them away, vaguely amused by the sight of his son taking notes. “Now then. Late era Gnosticism considers the Aeons to be fragmented emanations of God's own mind. That all aspects of His divine consciousness are represented by those thirty-two facets- sixteen male and sixteen female. However, some others theorized that the Aeons are in fact representative of humanity's own collective thought process. Thirty-two particular common areas where all known human personalities, characteristics and thoughts tend to congregate.”

Kasai fought off a yawn. He'd figured from the start that most of this would be leagues beyond his comprehension, only truly understandable by Weihan and his father. He didn't want to leave the basement though. It felt rude, ruder than a yawn would be.

“According to Valentinus, in those common congregations of thought lies great power. The power to conceptualize entirely new levels of reality, or 'Pleroma', in accordance with that will. Centuries later, Episthetus theorized that when humanity collectively reaches a point where they begin to reject the current Pleroma they reside in with enough willpower, thus begins the time that he referred to as the 'Time of Gnosis', or the 'Aeon's Eve'. A point where the very reality we know enters a malleable flux-state, waiting for a new era to arise, form a Syzygy to bring it, and guide our universe in a new direction.”

“A Syzygy?”, Fujisa frowned at the bizarre word. “What's that? Um... sir. If you don't mind explaining.”

“A Syzygy is a form of divine concordance and protection. It's said to be created by the merger of a male and female Aeon. It guards its Pleroma against disruptions of its dimensional stability, forming a concrete world like the one we know now.”

Weihan seemed less convinced by the theory, studying the vast reams of flowcharts and diagrams with increasing concern. “You're saying that all of this is happening because the old Pleroma- the reality that we know- is losing its power, its stability. Because of that, the demons have taken advantage of that instability and invaded our world from theirs?”

“Exactly.” His father pointed to the table showing the names of the other Aeons. “It didn't quite click for me until he brought up Zoe. The Aeon of Life, seeking to generate her own Pleroma and replace the failing old one. The more instability occurs, the more demons will make their way into it, breaking it apart further still. The rejection will grow. The sleep of reason gives birth to monsters.”

“So she's on our side?”, Fujisa considered brightly. “She saved us. Probably for the same reason.”

“Impossible to say for sure”, the Professor reminded her. “The Aeon's desires have always been a mystery to humans. Assuming of course that they even have any individual wills at all, being component parts of God- or rather humanity's- collective mind. Like the demons, they require concentrated thought to gain true power in a physical Pleroma.”

Weihan froze up then, the very air around him seeming to stall out. He stared over at the chart, then back to the open books before him. Down at the Tokyo map, then back up at the global one. He looked even sicker and more repulsed than he was when it came to using Bythos tech, his voice a becoming terrified whisper in the dark basement.

“Rejection. People's thoughts of rejection. Not just in Japan. Causing instability of the Pleroma. Of the very reality that we currently exist in. You're saying that... that this isn't just happening in Tokyo?”

For the first time, his father looked sympathetic towards him, nodding. “...That's no longer merely theory, boy. That's a proven fact. My instruments have detected the same uptick in soil-based Magnetite generation in areas outside the city.”

Weihan's jaw fell. His hand reached up to his aching temple. “No... no. That would mean that... that every country in the world, every single one is...”

“-Is experiencing the same phenomenon we are, yes. I didn't say that the information would be pleasant to hear, boy.”

Weigan nearly fell into the table, earning another sharp 'Don't touch that!' from the Professor. Kasai was there to catch him just in time, propping him up against his thrashing as he began to shout.

“No... NO! That can't be! They... they have no defense! They have nothing! Without any demon tamers there to protect them...”

The Professor let him vent, focusing instead on the others' less extreme reactions. Certainly, Kasai felt a hard knot forming in his stomach at the news. Pangs of existential dread.

If this is really happening everywhere in the world, not just in Tokyo... then billions of people are going to die to the demons. And we can't stop it. We can't even get to those countries in time to save anyone. No planes, no boats would be operational right now to take us there.

“Sige has branch offices in other countries”, Fujisa grew downcast, “but they can't communicate any more. All of the DSPs were probably kept here, for security. Bythos did the same thing.”

All across the globe, all the vast, well-trained armies of the outside world would all be doing what the SDF was doing- marshaling to fight against an enemy who could not be defeated by conventional weapons. Kasai wanted to be able to stop picturing what a massacre that would be. To stop picturing the various cities he'd seen in pictures and videos being slowly overrun with demons. China. Britain. France. Spain. Australia. Canada. Russia. The United States, which Dr. Coleman had come from...

It was entirely too much. Too much. He couldn't dwell on it without the roar of it drowning out all other considerations, all thought. “All the more reason”, he was the first to speak up again, breaking the deathly silence, “that we should look into any method you can propose to stop this. Even if it's not a guarantee of success.”

The elder Yasuda might have given him the kind of disdainful look he reserved for his son, but he was still trying to be merciful in his tone. “Truly? Even if what I propose could potentially make the situation worse?”

Kasai let out a terrified gasp. “Trust me. There's no possible way that this situation could get any worse than it already is, Professor Yasuda.”

“Famous last words”, the man warned him. “But I do understand your worry, Mr. Ohabara. You want to feel as though you're trying your hardest to fix things. Even if you're the only ones who know it. A man of action.”

Sensing the hidden mockery in the last sentence, he shrugged helplessly. “I can't just sit on my hands and do nothing while the world ends, sir.”

“Me either!”, Fujisa nodded, her hands clasped in subconscious prayer. “If there's anything, anything at all that we can do to help...”

“There's nothing.” Weihan had kept his tear-stained face buried in the table the whole time, and as he rose out of it, no one could mistake the dark bags beneath his eyes even in the basement's red-lit gloom. “Nothing. There's nothing we can do.” He nearly fell over, stopping himself with an iron grip on the table's edge. “Ha... ha... ha. It's over. It's all over. It's useless. Everything. It's over. We're all doomed.”

Taken aback, Kasai glanced over at their 'teacher'. When the older man had nothing to reply to that with, he turned back. “...Yasuda. I know this is a lot- much more than a lot in fact- but we need to focus up here. C'mon. You're the one who told me that you deal with the world as it is, right?”

“It's doomed. Doomed. Nothing we do can stop it now.”

“That is by no means a guarantee, boy”, the Professor shook his head. “There's still too many unknown-”

“'Too many unknown factors'?”, Weihan cut him off loudly. “Well, here's a KNOWN factor- even Tokyo can't survive on its own. Not for long. It needs food. It needs supplies coming in on trucks from farms all across this nation. Farms that are SURROUNDED by open countryside! Magnetite-rich open countryside! They're probably all dead already! EVERYONE!”

“Weihan”, Fujisa sounded pleading. “Just stop it. Please. This doesn't help anyone. Just listen to the Professor for now, and we'll decide where to go from there.”

Weihan looked back at her. A deep sobbing noise filled the dirty room, but at last he relented. “...Fine. Go ahead.”

But this wasn't the end of it, Kasai recognized. Something in their friend's eyes had changed dramatically. He'd been wounded far worse than anything they'd learned today about his father or mother.

Wounded beyond the ability of any demon healing skill to repair.

21:30

“I'm worried about him”, he told Fujisa afterwards, privately in the hotel lobby.

Not that she looked that much better in this case. The news had hit them all hard, and she looked more than ready to quit for now and hope that tomorrow would be better. Maybe this would all go away. “About him? After everything we just heard, you're worried about Yasuda?” Watching the street lights flicker, she sighed. “You're a better friend to him than I imagined, Ohabara.”

Kasai forced a brave smile. “I'm worried about all that other stuff too, sure. But that's all too big right now. Him, we can deal with... maybe.”

“Are you expecting me to hug him again?”

He muffled a laugh. “Nah. That worked pretty well the first time though. Nice job.”

Fujisa's smile grew queasy. “I just... I know him. Weihan always talks tough. He always pretends like he's the boss... but I know a lot of that is him trying to convince people. Trying to convince himself, no matter how terrified he feels inside. To hide that fear from everyone.”

He was in good company, Kasai knew. The majority of the people who knew the full breadth of the current crisis were putting on a show of fortitude, pretending like they had things under control. How many of them would break if they knew the truth of what was currently happening to the world outside?

Would Junoda break when they delivered their report to him tomorrow? Would Surahi?

“Just a theory”, he half-whispered. “The Professor even admitted this is all pure theory. He might turn out to be wrong about everything after all.”

Fujisa's eyes dropped. “Maybe, but he's gotten closer to the truth than anyone else we know. Maybe Dr. Leng and Bythos have figured something out in the last few days since I left?”

Another option he hadn't considered. “Won't do us much good right now. Last time we saw them, they tried to kill you. Maybe if we share this info with them first...”

He scowled. This was too much to process now, now when they were about to turn in for the night. Even the others there felt like a different presence than the night before. Before, it had been more of an annoyance at the inconvenience of having to take residence at a hotel, even a free one.

Now panic, true panic, was beginning to creep in. Now the people had all begun to realize this wasn't just any old disaster. Not a motorcycle gang wreaking havoc. Not an earthquake. Not a flood. Not a plague. Not a war. Not even a nuke. It was something that no one had ever seen before. Something that would change the world they lived in forever... and not in a way that was good for anyone.

For one brief moment, Kasai wanted to just forget about everything too. Forget how terribly late it was, and tear off to the Togosu hospital so he could stand guard over Aya Ohabara for the rest of their lives, however long or short that turned out to be, and let the rest of the world fend for itself. To close his eyes and ignore it.

But he couldn't do that. Not when there were people like Fujisa and Weihan depending on him. Counting on him to be the strong one. Not when they might be the only ones who had knowledge of the true cause of the invasion.

“Um. Ohabara... what about your father?”

He blinked. Fujisa's face looked concerned, but that actually felt like a tension-defuser, and he chuckled at her solemnity. “Eh. There's not much to talk about really, compared to you two. The guy left when I was five, left my mom to raise me alone. And before you ask... no. I'm positive he wasn't like Ekajati. He was just a worthless bum of a human who couldn't face responsibility.”

There was no vitriol in his words, and Fujisa looked she'd expected some. “Yasuda... I never knew that about him. Is that why he has his strong spiritual power? Because of the demon Ekajati's blood inside of him?”

Kasai spread his arms. “Well, we don't have any of that, and my spiritual power's supposedly 'higher' than his. Actually, I talked to the Professor afterwards to make sure. As far as he knows, Ekajati didn't do anything special at all. They just had a baby like normal. She stayed in human form the entire time. And yes, I know what a can that opens up too- demons who can take on the form of humans as a disguise, fooling us.”

A cold shiver ran up her body. “...I don't suppose that our DSP sensors can tell the difference between them?”

“No idea. We haven't seen any demons try that yet. Thankfully. Tam Lin practically looks like a long-haired human wearing armor already.”

The mention of that particular demon brought her up short, growing nervous. “I was just asking him some questions, that's all. I thought that the demons would have better knowledge of what's been bringing them into our world. He didn't, though.”

“It was worth a shot”, he reassured her, putting a hand over her DSP. “Just make sure you watch where you do that. Not everyone here gets how demon tamers work yet.”

Her eyes drooped. “I know. I'll be careful who sees me summon.”

He didn't really want to broach the next subject, but something he couldn't place told him now would be the last peaceful time they would have with each other for a while. Fujisa still looked anxious, like she was expecting him to bring it up anyway.

“And... about Natushagi. I get why you did it. Really. But I think your dad would agree that now isn't the time for you to be making 'citizen's arrests' of people who aren't actively causing any trouble.”

Her return glare lacked its usual sharp bite. “Natsuhagi might not have been doing anything bad right now, but he's still a Capsule. He's not like you, Ohabara. We all saw that tattoo on his neck- he's a criminal. He deserves to be punished. We can't just let him be. What if he figures out how to use that Bythos DSP he stole to summon?”

“Then he'll be able to protect himself from the demons”, he protested, knowing already there was no way to win this argument. “Look... um... I'm sorry I even brought it up. I just need someone I know I can rely on tomorrow, and as you said... Yasuda's clearly having some major problems with what we're dealing with right now.”

Shaking off any lingering doubts, she nodded firmly, clenching a fist into an awkward police salute. “...O-of course. You can rely on me tomorrow, Ohabara. We'll be there for him as much as we can. Both of us. Promise.”

That was enough to ease up the stifling pressure he was feeling, if only by a notch. “Thanks. That's all I really needed. Sleep well tonight, Todoroki.”

Suddenly she looked as immensely tired as he felt. “R-right. You too... Ohabara.”

Which left him with only one more thing to take care of. He could put it off for a time, and for a while he did exactly that, content to merely sit back, watch and listen to the others present in the hotel, to try and grasp how normal people without DSPs were handling this whole mess.

Unsurprisingly, most people weren't taking it well. The majority of the talk he overheard was about when exactly the government was going to 'get off its fat ass and fix everything', or how unlikely such a thing was to happen given present circumstances. Others wanted to try going out tomorrow and seeing the truth for themselves, and he didn't have the energy left for a convincing argument why they shouldn't.

In the end, he wound up going up to their bedroom feeling more tired and frustrated than before. Weihan lay in his bed, fast asleep already to Kasai's surprise. Maybe not. He doesn't have the stamina that I do and I'm completely exhausted. Long day, especially for him.

He had no idea what the next one would bring either, but he could already tell it would be just as draining.

All he could do was lower his head into the bedsheets, and inch towards the dawn.

22:30

Weihan Yasuda's eyes shot open. They'd been closed, but he'd never truly fallen asleep at all.

He was beginning to think that sleep had become an impossibility, now. No matter how his body screamed of its exhaustion, no matter how heavy his eyelids, his mind just would not shut off. He could not forget the death sentence that humanity had been handed down on this hot cloudless summer's day. A sentence handed down by his own father.

The horrific images wouldn't stop coming. He'd always had a vivid imagination, but now it was only tormenting him. He had no idea if getting out of the room would do anything to make them go away. Only that he had to do something. Lying there in the bed was killing him slowly.

The street lights marked his path out of the hotel, along the surrounding streets. People joked that Tokyo was an entirely different-looking city at night, and Weihan didn't consider it a joke. On one level it was encouraging, seeing that after two days of lockdown the lights and windows were still fully intact in this part of the city.

He could remember doing this a few times before, when he was younger. When his aggravation with 'Professor Yasuda' grew too great and he needed space with cool night air to just vent. To just sit there in the dark and think, and try to regain his calm.

It wasn't working this time though. The more he looked around Akasaka, the more he could picture what it might look like once the demons were done with it. A previously thriving city reduced to a crumbling necropolis... not that this neighborhood had been particularly prosperous to begin with, basically being one step above a slum. But it had life in it still.

Life that is soon to be extinguished by demons. Forever and ever more.

Weihan could only wander the empty streets, listless and alone and terrified. His arms still trembled horribly from what he knew was coming. What he now knew to be inevitable. Unstoppable. A war drum pounding into his head until he caught himself sobbing into his hands.

Doomed. We're doomed. We're doomed. We're all fucking doomed. It's over. Sige can't stop this. No one can. Everything that we've built. Everything we are. Everyone. Doomed. We're already dead. Nothing will remain of us, or our cities. Over 3000 years of civilization. Gone. Forever.

He was reasonably confident that the makers of all those flashy apocalypse movies couldn't imagine the end would ever come quite like this. They always made it look like a great bang when it wasn't even going to be a whimper. More like a final petrified scream of horror at the demons coming to feast.

Such a noise forced its way out of him then. He screamed and screamed into the dark of the night. He wanted to run, to shout, to be able to do something to change things, to save everyone from their doom. But there was nothing. Nothing but the proverbial 200-foot tidal wave rearing up high above to swallow them all... only he was the only one who could see it.

Well, him and Ohabara and Todoroki. That was part of the problem, really.

They'd been given the same information, yet those two were standing firm. Not breaking down like he was. Ohabara and Todoroki still deluded themselves into thinking they- that humanity- still had a prayer of surviving the next week. That might have been because they lacked the demonology knowledge he did, but he suspected it was actually something much, much simpler...

His lips twisted into a calculated fury.

Kasai and Fujisa were both idiots. They were mere entry-level Enforcer agents. Hired for their power, not for their brains. Idiots. They didn't understand what all this Pleroma talk meant. They didn't yet comprehend that this so-called 'dimensional instability' was going to be humanity's death knell in a matter of days. Doomed.

They were even stupid enough to think that he didn't notice the way they constantly looked at each other. How Fujisa always so carefully guarded herself around Kasai, hiding any trace of a blush on her face. Desperately trying to act like she wasn't attracted to the kind of roguish criminal she had been raised to despise and fear. Not realizing that neither one of them were buying her act.

How Kasai was always so cautious in turn, wary of developing feelings for someone when he wanted to focus more on redeeming himself for his past sins. Unaware of how such behavior in fact drew her in like a lure to fish.

Pretending like he didn't know how they felt about each other. Like it wasn't obvious to everyone.

They actually believed that he didn't know how they talked about him behind his back. Making fun of him. Thinking him a coward. Idiots. Liars. They always lied to themselves, trying to convince each other that everything was going to be okay. While he had to be the leader and deal with the world as it really was.

Another soul-sick howl drew him back to harsh reality. Back to the tunnel plaza, where the perfectly round entrance lay overgrown with plantlife stifling the darkness within.

Back to the sight of the wild demons who had found him as he wandered. Drawn in by his own scream of frustration, his dread, or perhaps just on the prowl for stray humans to munch on. Two of the stripe-furred Nue, black faces with glowing red eyes visible in the dark of the night.

Of far greater concern though, was the one standing between them, the leader. The long-haired ten-foot humanoid draped in animal hides. Tarakasura the beast king, who had attacked Sige headquarters before Miss Surahi had driven him off with her powerful demon.

“Curious”, the titanic demon gloated, the Nue flanking him eager to feast. “You are one of those 'demon tamers', yes? It was foolish of you to wander around here alone, in the middle of the night.”

Weihan turned to run, but in the same moment a Nue barked and leaped over to the other side of the street, blocking his escape down that road. Doomed.

No...

He chuckled faintly to himself. Doomed a little earlier than everyone else was. A gift in disguise, really. Release from fear and dread of what was to come. He wouldn't have to see everyone else around him panic, and starve, and die. Not Ohabara. Not Todoroki. Not his father.

“Now I remember”, the beast king gave a cruel grin. “You were the one who held back, were you not? You didn't join in the battle with the other humans before. Why, I wonder? Were you merely being wise, or... perhaps rather, you are a coward?”

Coward.

No...

There weren't many other insults that could force a reaction out of him now. “I... am NOT a coward.”

“Perhaps. After all, a coward would have remained with the others and relied on their protection. Instead, you are merely a fool. And you'll die now, as befits a fool!”

Die now. A gift. But it didn't feel like one. His body was still screaming at him to keep looking for a way out. Any way out. Anything to forestall death.

No...

Rejection. It wasn't fair. None of it was. They were doomed. Ohabara and Todoroki mocked him. And now he was going to die alone, afraid, gobbled up by demons. Not fair. He'd known early on that life wasn't fair, learned to take the world as it was, but this...

No...

This was just downright sadistic. Fear consuming fear consuming fear until he couldn't stand up any more. Just kneel down, curl up, and wait for the end. For a Nue's claw to come up and take his head.

The end didn't come. He couldn't even feel surprise, pleasant or otherwise. Fear had burned out every other emotion in him until nothing else mattered. Until nothing else was even there, the physical world blurring away into void.

Nothing else but his thoughts. Nothing but images of what he'd imagined happening. Of his own head being taken by the claw, the beasts eagerly chowing down on the rest of him as it fell.

And... a profound rejection of it.

No...

And how Kasai and Fujisa would have a mighty laugh at his foolishness in the morning.

Secretly glad to have him gone.

No...

Not fair. It wasn't. He'd done everything right, only to pass unmorned and unloved. Spurned by a father who's cheated his way to greatness. Abandoned by a mother he'd barely known. Who wasn't even human. Left him with nothing but blood that did nothing for him. Mocked by his own teammates for his weakness. For the way fear turned his guts to molten lead and his bones to matchsticks.

If only there was something... anything... anything at all...

No...

“This fate can yet be averted.”

What?

“You can be the one to save humanity from the demons. You can be the hero, the savior. You need only accept us into your soul, and all this can be.”

What?

He couldn't see it. He could only feel it, feel the toneless whisper permeating every inch of his flesh, every syllable a physical impact, invisible yet everywhere.

No...

“Humanity is doomed. Their current reality is failing. Fading away. But humans can yet survive the rising darkness. You need only show them the path to safety. Survive. That is all they need to do. Next to survival, all other concerns are meaningless. Do you not agree, Weihan Yasuda?”

I...

“Accept us. Reject the current Pleroma which only abuses you. Accept our power, and become greater than Kasai Ohabara and the Aeon who foolishly chose him over you.”

I...

“That is all you have ever desired, is it not? To be revered for your intellect. To be even more respected than your cheat of a father. To make your mother Ekajati regret abandoning you. For those two to respect you the way you should be.”

I...

Yes. Every single word was the truth. He knew it now. He would give anything to be able to save everyone. For everyone to know just who had saved them from this crisis. For everyone to know him as Professor Weihan Yasuda. The greatest demon researcher. The greatest demon tamer. The savior. Not a coward. Never a coward.

Desire burned bone and resolve until there was nothing left but longing.

From illusion to truth.

“...Yes. Please. Help me. I'll give anything.”

From darkness to light.

“Very good. Join with us, and together we shall forge a new Aeon of mind over matter, where intelligence is the only rule.”

And so he saw it. The vision of the future they would build together.

Rising from the dark, he embraced it.

From doom to eternity...

23:00

The Nue was still there. Glowing red eyes staring, waiting for their master to give the order.

It might have been five seconds, or an eternity. It didn't matter. Not any more.

“Enough of this preamble”, Tarakasura declared. “End him.”

The Nue shrieked, acting on its master's command, the white-furred claw descending-

Stopped. His arm was up, blocking it. It weighed practically nothing. A feather instead of the arm of a beastly demon the size of a lion. With the smallest effort he could close his hand, vising the appendage closed until the beast howled once again, withdrawing in pain.

And Weihan smiled. He understood the creature perfectly now. “You're afraid. A human isn't supposed to be able to do that to a demon. You're used to picking on defenseless humans who don't fight back. Because you're cowards.”

His pets didn't seem to mind the slander, but Tarakasura swelled up, his own eyes glowing far brighter. “You DARE call me coward, human? You, who fled from battle while his allies bled and died trying to stop my invasion?”

And Weihan laughed, long and mockingly. “Oh, but you ARE a coward. We know your history, 'Beast King'. Your gods granted you divine boons which no other human enjoyed... and you used them for nothing but to satisfy your own ego. To terrorize people. People who had done nothing to you. People who only wanted to live their lives in peace.”

“Imbecilic peasants who refused to accept me as their rightful king!”, the demon snarled. He gestured, calling both of the Nue down on him now.

Weihan smiled. He was ready. His hand shot out, generating a black circle. An infinite void. A portal which swallowed up one of the beasts before it could whimper in confusion. The other fell back, unsure of what it was seeing.

“Even animals can feel fear”, Weihan observed, nodding to the creature. “But true mortal dread... the terror of something that lies far ahead... that only affects humans, who can understand the concept of the future. Of course, demons with human-level intelligence can feel it too. Can't you?”

His question wasn't directed at the Nue, but at its master. Tarakasura scowled, directing a slashing current of green wind to eviscerate the beast for its failure to do as he ordered of it.

“P-preposterous. A demon of my standing has nothing to fear OR dread! I am the one who creates the fear, you fool! Any being of intelligence- human or demon- should dread my arrival and flee!”

“Unless a being of greater power appears to challenge you”, Weihan countered easily. “Then, you'll just run away. Just like you did from Surahi and Skoll. And like you'll do now.”

Even more agitated, the beast king directed more of his deadly winds against him. Buffeted and blown back, his arm came up again, generating the same spiraling portal as before to absorb it.

The void lowered along with his arm, nearly touching the concrete. A tremor ran through the balcony, a sudden fault line snaking its way towards the beast king, causing him to leap back in alarm.

“A shaking. A crack in the earth below”, Weihan observed. “The heralds of a quake. Something that all people of this nation and others have learned to dread. And you ARE afraid. You are trembling. You can't hide it. Not from us.”

The jagged line shifted course, demolishing the pavement beneath the demon into a cloud of fine dust. The demon lord coughed, standing back up and using his winds to clear away the grit.

Only to find himself face to face with Weihan. Close enough to see his eyes up close for the first time. Beneath the human's glasses, two pinpricks of spiraling white light against an infinite black void, like miniature stars against the vastness of space...

Was this one truly a human at all? Or...?

“Leaders aren't supposed to show any fear”, he grinned back savagely. “They must be a pillar of bravery and strength, so that mortal dread of the future to come doesn't consume those under them. But they can never truly erase their fear. They can only bury it, deep down inside themselves. Inside, that fear is always there, forever gnawing away at your resolve, trying to break it and plunge you back into the terror that numbs your mind. Fear's eventual victory... is inevitable.”

Tarakasura answered the words with his paralyzing glare. The demon curse which had immobilized Kasai at the battle and left him powerless to follow-up attacks.

And for a moment, Weihan's movements ground to a halt... then he laughed. “Even that power, too, is born from mortal fear. Unthinking animal terror freezing up any being that fears you, even to the smallest degree... But WE don't.”

The beast king screamed in a wordless, undulating fury. His searing green wind attacks flashed down, twice the intensity of the previous one, blasting Weihan's glasses clean off his face, shredding his clothes up and down. Leaving them mere torn rags clinging to his limp body.

And Weihan simply laughed it off, ignoring the lost spectacles, the ruined garments. The demon stared back, helpless. “You... what... you're no human! What... are you... WHAT ARE YOU?!”

And it felt so damn good. So good. Good to see someone else like this, seeing them trying to fight off their mounting fear of him and failing. To be the one who caused the fear, not the one who constantly suffered from it. The one cursed to fight it every day, knowing it would only grow worse if it won.

A second portal appeared at his other hand, both of them focused down into the ground below. The shaking intensified, a true earthquake, the ground opening up into a gaping abyss in the pavement.

With a final panicked shout, the demon leader was gone. Down into the endless gap. As the shaking continued, the chasm's sides collapsed inwards on itself, burying Taraksura deep down beneath eighty feet of rubble.

“Us?”, he asked the dusty air rhetorically. “We were once called Nous. The Aeon who will forge a new Pleroma of the Mind. With this Syzygy, we will save all the humans who can only ever suffer from fear of the future in this flawed world. In our Pleroma, only the mind will matter. And we're sorry to say, your mind... is unworthy of being there with us. From illusion to truth. From darkness to light. From doom... to eternity.”

He knew that Tarakasura could still hear his words, even down there. However, he had no idea if anyone else was there, watching him bury the demon lord alive. Nor did he care.

He had a mission to complete. An entire world to save.

Ekajati would be watching. And he- they- would make her proud.

End of Day Two

Chapter Text

Day Three – 7:00

Police Lieutenant Ushio Todoroki wished he knew what to do.

It wasn't as though he were a stranger to working late. It was far from the first time he'd been required to stay overnight at this very station to help take care of police business, making it practically a second home for him. But now... there was no endpoint in sight. Two days since he'd been called in to help organize the lockdown efforts, and returning home remained a distant dream, without any indication of when things would change.

And that was something he was used to. For many of the younger officers, he could feel the slow creep of anxiety, the gradual desperate formation of ways to escape this endless hellish duty and sneak off to their families, even for just a few hours.

Well, he could let it fester or he could do something. His own father had taught him which was usually the correct decision. “Patrolman Zetsuru.”

The young emissary he'd sent to parlay with Sige Finance- unsuccessfully- turned to him across the main lobby with a face that indicated he expected some kind of reprimand. “Y-yes, sir?”

“You have authorization to head home for seven hours of bed rest. Report back here at 15:00. Go.”

Others might have flushed with relief, and indeed Ushio did see the signs of the mental and physical exhaustion they were all grappling with... but not enough to rid him of his doubts at the prospect. “Sir? That's fine, I don't need that.” Sniffing the station's indoor air, he hid a little grin. “The coffee's doing its job well.”

“For now”, Ushio allowed, having chugged more of the stuff than he usually dared to be able to stay on task for the last forty-something hours. “But as incredible as it might sound, we don't have an unlimited supply of that. Not even the decaf. Milk or cream either. The replacement shipments usually arrive on Wednesdays on a delivery truck. You know, the kind that aren't running today, and won't be for the near future. Not while their lives are at risk.”

The young patrolman's face fell. Not that he dreaded the prospect that much himself, but rather the effects running out would have on the rest of the force in their current state. His force of brave men and women were already being run ragged. Hundreds of calls of monster sightings, and far too often the first-responders would face potential injury or death. They had a dozen people in the station infirmary now, some of them bearing injuries far more exotic than gunshots. Burns, and electrical shocks, and poisons, and even frostbite.

Frostbite wounds on officers that inevitably reminded him of the terrifying sight his own daughter had produced before him less that two days ago. Cryokinetic powers capable of freezing a storage locker, though it had gradually thawed over the next day.

Not for the first time, he wondered if letting her go with Ohabara and Yasuda had been the right decision after all.

“We... could go find some more”, Zetsuru suggested, sharing his concern for Fujisa's safety. “Conventional foodstuffs too. There's restaurants and warehouses full of it out there. I know they're closed down now, but we could always... bust in.”

If it were an older, more experienced officer, Ushio might have smacked Zetsuru for saying that. Instead he merely shook his head. “We are still the law in this city. We do not go around breaking into places like a bunch of common thugs stealing what is not ours to take. Not without authorization.”

“Oh really?”, a grouchy voice issued down from the main stairwell. “Is that how it is? Someone should really go tell Hakatanka that then, sir.”

“Masahiro”, Ushio recognized the heavyset man with a cleft chin. An officer far senior to Zetsuru but one who still managed to keep himself looking somewhat young thanks to his long hair. “You saw it?”

Officer Ikusa Masahiro scowled. Despite being built like a slightly overweight pitbull, Ushio had quickly found him to be one of the few officers on the force who could not be bought off or bent to the will of someone with cash or influence. Which partly explained why he was still only an officer after nearly ten years.

“He's not even trying to hide it any more. His squad is going around taking stuff from restaurants and stores. Bastards, all of 'em.”

The Lieutenant's eyes narrowed in distaste. Such actions could certainly have been excused as a necessary precaution... if the stolen supplies were being shared fairly with the rest of the station. If there was any record being kept of what was taken.

But no. Hakatanka and the officers loyal to him never bothered with such things. They were clearly dead set on taking advantage of the lockdown to rob as many places as they could, secretly hoarding supplies to themselves. It wouldn't be the first time they'd been caught trying that, making valuable goods disappear without a trace during an investigation, blaming it on the criminals involved.

“I'll talk to him”, he announced. “Masahiro, you're cleared for seven hours' rest too.”

The bulky man frowned. “Sir... thank you. But that's not necessary. I'll work whatever hours I have to. And if you're really gonna confront Hakatanka about this, you could use some backup.”

“Maybe”, Ushio sighed. “But you haven't seen or spoken to your family in over two days. Get back with them for a bit. Let your wife and kids know you're still alive, and that we're doing all we can to hold this city together and end the lockdown faster.”

Which wasn't even a lie, not really. It just felt like one. Like they could be doing more.

Or that other people could be. Masahiro certainly seemed to think so. “Still no further word from Sige or Bythos?”

“...No”, Ushio admitted, instantly feeling the other man's fury rise to a pitched boil in the air. Zetsuru had informed them informed of the situation, of how both companies were now deploying their own agents to stave off demon attacks, even sending a few of them to aid the lockdown efforts... yet both stubbornly refused to provide the police with DSPs of their own to use.

Naturally, Masahiro seethed at the situation. “When this is over, we report that to the SIU bureau. We get them up on charges for concealment of dangerous technology from the public. No delays. No appeals. No mercy. They have to pay. Every officer who dies is on their heads now.”

“T-that's not necessarily true”, Zetsuru surprised them both by speaking up, instantly growing nervous at Masahiro's stare. “I asked them. They said that... that only certain people with 'spiritual power' can use the DSPs to command demons. They tested their own people for it.”

“When they should have been testing us”, Masahiro argued. “We are the ones who're legally appointed to protect this city. And now, because they refused to share, we lack the right tools to deal with this crisis.” Despite the vitriol in his voice, the man paused, knowing all too well their reasoning. “And if not us, then at least the SDF.”

Ushio felt his mustache prickle coldly. Seeing the reports on the national guard's own dire straits had not been any better for morale. An entire legion of soldiers far better-trained and armed than the police force, even having tanks and helicopters, yet they were just as helpless against the demons. Sige had sent an emissary to convince them to abandon their attack position, but he hadn't gotten any updates on that situation since yesterday. Not always easy to keep everyone on the same page when most of our communications tech is down, he knew.

Still, at least they weren't completely helpless in that area now. A modified DSP device that looked like a black clamshell had been delivered to them by one of the Bythos agents- no demons but allowing for contact with them and the other major stations as well. A few hours after, a similar delivery was made to the station by Sige.

They don't hate us, Ushio knew now. They just don't trust us not to abuse the demon summoning power for personal gain. Which is understandable, I suppose.

How exactly they managed to stop their own agents from abusing the power was something else. He had a few ideas, but nothing concrete.

For now, he had someone much less pleasant he had to deal with.

He found Hakatanka down in the underground parking garage. It was nearly empty now with most of the squad cars out on duty, leaving the place feeling like a morgue. Others had been talking with him, and to his surprise Ushio saw one of the Bythos agents there too- a portly man in a yellow wool jacket wearing an Osaka Tigers trucker hat. A black cloud of a beard hugged his face, though most of the officers here were already starting to show signs of stubble shrouding their chins and cheeks.

“They don't treat you right, y'know”, one of the others was telling him, oblivious to Ushio's proximity. “It's more like you're one of us now. Risking your life to save people for shit pay. People who aren't even grateful for all you do. Don't suppose Bythos raised your pay grade for this, right Yogoshira?”

The bearded driver in the hat regarded the officers with an expression that Ushio couldn't place, scratching nervously at his pronounced stubble before answering in a low drawl. “Eh. They did, actually. Almost double.”

The others made suitably impressed noises at that. “Man”, one of the others dropped, placing his hands on his knees. “That's one sweet deal. Wish I could just dump this gig and go be a Bythos guy.”

“You still gotta risk your life though”, one of the older ones reminded him. “And we wouldn't have the captain looking out for us.”

“Guess so”, the first one shrugged. “Probly gotta deal with some stuck-up bitch superior like Nishihanda instead.”

“Eh. Won't say I'm not lucky”, Yogoshira shrugged, scratching even more rapidly. “Most of the time they have me just drive the others around to the mission locations, wherever they need to go. That was what I did before this. Just driving stuff around to warehouses in my truck. I was damn good at it too. Not one accident after eight years in the city and out.”

“I guess your job got easier now”, the leader- Hakatanka- remarked. “No more traffic. No more lights. No more pedestrians. You could take shipments anywhere you needed to. That's all we're asking you to do, really. Just need to do a little side work for us, to help us get stuff where it needs to go. Easy. We can even pay you some extra if you want.”

Yogoshira still looked undecided. Ushio began to wonder if uncertainty was the man's default expression, then chided himself for wasting time like this. He'd been keeping quiet, but as he stepped into view his footfalls echoed. “...Captain. We need to talk. Privately.”

The flicker of anger on Hakatanka's face was brief, but unmistakable. He never liked being interrupted like this, not when he was trying to make a deal with someone. His men grumbled. They dispersed quickly enough but Yogoshira remained, looking perplexed.

“We'll talk later”, Hakatanka assured him with a tap on his shoulder. “Think about it. We can help each other. You know it's better that way. We're all in this together.”

“I would feel a bit more comfortable”, the trucker shrugged, “if the police were more involved. But the board of directors said no way.”

“And that's it?” Hakatanka gestured around at the garage, or rather at the city beyond its walls. “This whole city's under attack, Yogoshira. We need to be able to help each other. If my superiors gave me an order that stupid, you can bet I'd ignore it.”

“That's enough”, the Lieutenant repeated. “You two can talk later.”

The Bythos trucker looked back one last time before heading out to his vehicle. Leaving just the two of them. And the memories resurfacing of all the times they'd clashed with each other. Thankfully, it had never become a physical exchange, though this already felt like it was on the verge of breaking that streak. Hakatanka was good enough at hiding his emotions most of the time, but Ushio was even better at picking up on them.

“There, satisfied? It's just us two now. What do you want, Lieutenant?”

Ushio also recognized how the tall man's piercing glare could wither away the wills of less-experienced officers, and certainly civilians. He answered it with his own. “I've just gotten a report that your squad was sighted in Edogawa. And that you were taking things from stores.”

Not even a flinch from the big man. “That so? And who told you that story, Lieutenant?”

“...Sargeant Nishihanda.”

He made sure not to stutter or give any kind of indication of the lie. Masahiro would be vulnerable to reprisals by Hakatanka, but the Sargeant was better protected, and more importantly he already despised her. Indeed, his eyes were already narrowed, logging that false fact away for later use. “...That so? Maybe we should talk with her about attending to her own duties for a change.”

It had to be the stress of everything else weighing on him. Normally, Ushio would have had a bit more patience for their usual cat and mouse information game, but not today. “...This isn't the first time you've been reported for this, Hakatanka. I thought that your little playdate with internal affairs would be the end of it. I thought that maybe this situation if nothing else might make you shape up, get you to realize the importance of our position. It sounds like I'm mistaken. You couldn't even hold out for three days?”

Hakatanka gave him an exasperated look. “We're just doing our jobs, Lieutenant. That's all. I'm sure you noticed- this isn't exactly a normal situation we're dealing with here. Nearly all our communications are down. We need some new solutions to problems, and I've found them. That's why I got my position, see? I'm a problem solver. I can think outside the box. Can you?”

“Stealing things from people in the middle of a god damned lockdown”, Ushio's voice grew chilly, “is not 'problem solving'.” He felt his own urge to take a swing at the other man, and dismissed it. “Now... I already know it's not going to be possible to find the goods your boys have already taken, or return them to the rightful owners. But we're watching you now. No more of your bullshit. This is the absolute worst possible time for that.”

Hakatanka wasn't even fazed. He pulled down his wide cap, letting the light shine off its glossy black bill. “...That's a massive waste of resources, Lieutenant. We're all hands on deck after all. We need every officer out there right now, keeping people safe from those damn demons.”

“Yes we do. Which makes it all the more baffling that your squad is slacking off to steal supplies.”

Hakatanka chuckled. “See any of our usual delivery trucks around, Lieutenant? I don't. We're already starting to run short on some things. Bandages. Medicine. Food. Coffee. Don't worry, I'm happy to share. If we don't use every resource at our disposal, then we won't last too much longer in this lockdown, now will we?”

“We'll make do. Sige has already promised to send us some relief supplies.”

“And you think they'll come through?”, the taller man made a pitying expression. “You heard Zetsuru. They don't give a damn about us. Either of them. They're going to let us die. Getting rid of the competition, like they always do.”

Finally, he'd had it. Without even thinking it, his left arm was sliding out and upwards to grip the taller man's neck in a vise against the concrete pillar, unquenchable anger burning his bones from within, infusing his voice with its flame.

“You are a licensed police officer of the Chiyoda ward. You swore an oath to serve and protect the people of this nation, and you've broken it more times than I care to recall. Internal affairs might not be available right now to settle your account... but I am. Get your act together, Hakatanka. Or so help me, I'll do it for you.”

He didn't even look frightened. Just infuriated, before carefully masking that emotion again. Instead, it was Ushio who felt the telltale pangs of fear deadening his nerves and raising his heart rate. Fear of himself. Of his own uncontrollable anger. He'd never, ever come this close to violence against another cop.

Fortunately, though he wasn't scared Hakatanka also knew when not to push things further. He left in silence, no doubt going back to his squad of crooks. Back to that Bythos guy he'd been talking to, trying to coerce into helping them steal more goods from the people of Tokyo during the lockdown. Ushio cursed.

Now he would need someone- someone loyal- to get in touch with Sargeant Nishihanda, and warn her about the reprisals likely already on the way to her.

This was the problem, like Masahiro had said. The problem that he'd been grappling with for all of his years on the force, and no matter how hard he tried it never really went away. It was always the same. People like Hakatanka never learned. Nothing could make them change their ways and repent their past actions. Or even admit to any wrongdoing at all.

Not even, it seemed, during a demon apocalypse.

Back to work, he ordered himself. It helped take his mind of all this. If they all worked hard enough, they could last longer, and manage to keep law and order in the city as well as possible against the roaming wild demons.

It was all they could do. Just hold on, and pray for a miracle. For something that would save them before the coffee ran out.

7:30

The new dawn came on in billowy puffs of clouds, and Kasai already had to call on every erg of mental strength he had not to blindly panic.

Because Weihan was gone. His hotel bed looked like it had hardly been slept in at all.

Fujisa didn't look much better when she heard the news. “That... what? How? He can't go too far away, or his DSP will stop working! We have to find him!”

They skipped the hotel's complimentary breakfast. Fear for a friend's life had a way of alleviating hunger, even if he hadn't seen a vision of it. There was no sign of a demon attack outside, no blood or severed flesh.

It wasn't long before they saw the big pit though. A circular parcel of paved earth about ten feet wide near the Akasaka Tunnel that had been somehow torn up, and then filled back in with the resulting debris, numerous large cracks in the earth surrounding it as though it were a park. Along with-

“His glasses!”, Fujisa pointed in shock. “Look!”

The lenses were cracked and fogged as Kasai examined them, but they were unmistakably the same brand that Weihan always wore, rectangular with thin rims over them. It couldn't be a mere coincidence. And the natural conclusion was all too easy to reach.

Banishing such thoughts, Kasai reached for his DSP, tapping buttons on it until a new menu came up.

“What're you doing?”

“Proximity radar. Chief Chiba taught me how to use it. It can detect the signal of any nearby Sige DSPs. If he's the one who's buried under there...”

Her hand covered her lips in shock at the idea, but before long Kasai nodded in satisfaction. “...Nothing. He's not here. Or at least, his DSP isn't.”

Which merely meant they had a lot more work to do before they could track their friend down. “But he was here”, she reasoned, typing out a private message to him on her own DSP. “...Damn. No reply. Demons must've ambushed him... and he fought back.”

“I don't know of any demon who could do that”, Kasai said, indicating the wide circle of rocks. “Maybe he does- nope. Our demon lineup hasn't changed since last night. No record of any summonings since Aoyama Cemetary. If he'd made a new demon to fight with, we could just summon it up and ask it what happened.”

“Then... what can we do?”

For a moment, he had no idea. The radar function was only useful at a certain range. If Weihan had gotten that far away, they couldn't determine where. If he'd gotten far enough away, his DSP would become useless...

Reflexes honed by his rising despair, Kasai raised his arm, holding it up for several seconds... before blasting a bolt of lightning towards an abandoned school bus lying abandoned on the main street. The electricity did nothing to seriously harm the vehicle- it was too big for that- but his action produced an annoyed yelp of pain, its maker leaping clear so they could see her.

“It's not nice to spy on people, Motoro”, he called to the Bythos demon tamer. “Especially people who are searching for their friend. If you attack us right now...”

Trailing off, he wondered if he'd gotten it wrong. Mayuri Motoro had been haughty and aggressive when they'd met at odds two days ago, accentuating an admittedly beautiful blonde supermodel's hips and chest. Now, she looked so scared and tired it was like he was looking at an entirely different person, her dislike of Fujisa left forgotten for a moment, focusing on his threat instead.

“You... you're his friend. You're Sige agents. What the hell happened to him?”

Lowering his arm, Kasai looked to Fujisa. “We should ask you that, Motoro. Did you see what happened here last night? What tore up all this pavement near the tunnel bridge? A demon?”

Then he saw it, the same stubbornness as before. They'd been enemies earlier, and unlike Akito Inui she clearly considered them to be enemies still. But there was still the matter of Kasai, and how his sudden lightning attack had scared her almost as badly as whatever she'd seen earlier. The trait that had earned her the nickname 'Motor-mouth' was still there.

“He... Yeah. Yeah, there was a demon. The beast king. Tarakasura. He... he attacked. Yasuda, wasn't it? But he... He wasn't...”

Something else to fear stopped any further words coming out. Howling demon beasts bursting onto the scene unbidden. A pack of Garms, Nekomata and Hairy Jacks looking eager for a fresh meal.

To Kasai's relief, the sudden attack wasn't enough to make Mayuri panic any further. She merely stepped back away from him, instinctively reaching for the black Bythos DSP device on her wrist. “Agent Mayuri Motoro! Summon Hathor!”

Summoning his own allies wasn't so distracting that he didn't miss a confirmation of what Fujisa had described earlier- how Mayuri relied exclusively on attractive female demons. The Femme and Megami tribes. Hathor looked a bit strange with her golden headdress- a large orb flanked by numerous branching forks- but the long black hair and regal pink and gold dress under it could have belonged to a human.

Trios of shiny metal beads lay beneath the demon's golden eyes, which lit up as her power was invoked, emitting a powerful seductive aura that actually brought several of the feral beasts to a sudden halt, fascinated by whatever they were seeing.

“Holy hell”, Kasai couldn't help but marvel at the sight for a moment. Mayuri saw his amazement and smirked triumphantly back at him.

“Heh. Are you surprised, Ohabara? This is MY power, my perfect beauty! These pathetic mongrels can't stand against it any more than you could!”

“Geez. Still the same motor-mouth”, Fujisa sighed, summoning her own demons to join the battle as well.

“Shut up, Traitor-roki!”

Between the three of them, it wasn't as difficult to survive as he'd initially feared. There wasn't any need for them to use the Armatization app when the demons were so disorganized, lacking anything stronger to bring against them. One of the hounds actually managed to break through and bite down on his elbow, producing a shock of pain, but Apis' power was able to restore the mangled flesh almost immediately.

Tatyana's scolding words inevitably came back to him as the mended flesh tickled, the restorative light fading. In one way or another, he'd been injured in nearly every fight he'd gotten into in the last two days. Even this so-called 'easy' one. Without demon healing skills, I'd be raw hamburger by now.

Before much longer, they could turn their attention to the charmed demons, finishing them all off before they could snap out of it, unable to even fight back so bewitched were they. Man. What a way to go... Wasn't expecting to have to fight demons this early in the day. Or that demons could be 'charmed' like that, getting too horny to think straight.

“Tarakasura”, he recognized the name, swiftly turning his attention back to Mayuri, making sure she didn't try to escape. “You said that the beast king was here. That looked like it was his pack from before. All beast demons, but without the big bastard here to lead them.”

Mayuri stared down at the patch of rubble, returning to the sobered state she'd been in before. “Y-yeah... That's right. I saw him. Tarakasura's down there now. Buried. That's probably why these demons came. Trying to save him. Dig him up.”

His gaze narrowed. That was good news, assuming of course the 'beast king' stayed buried... but he could tell there was something else she was more reluctant to share with them. “Taraksura was buried? By who?”

“By... Yasuda.”

8:00

Kasai's first instinct was to call bullshit. There was no way what Mayuri was describing could be right. Weihan hadn't even summoned any demons last night. He'd just gone out alone to Akasaka Tunnel, and then vanished into thin air.

Studying the rocks, he picked one up, motioned to Fujisa in private. “You think that she's telling the truth?”

His remaining partner looked decidedly reserved. “...It's an awfully weird lie for her to tell. And someone had to have done all this destruction and caused that quake. Maybe another powerful demon was responsible for this? It... doesn't matter. We still have to find Yasuda. He's not responding to my messages.”

Checking, he was relieved to see their 'guest' hadn't run off yet given the chance. Whatever happened here had shaken Mayuri deeply, that couldn't be denied. Making it even less likely that she was lying.

Of course, that didn't mean that she would cooperate either. “You have a private messaging system on your DSP too, right Motoro? It works through the Magnetite interference. Check with the other Bythos tamers if anyone's seen him.”

The statuesque woman made a disdainful noise, reverting back to her usual self. “And when, Ohabara, did you gain any kind of authority over me, I wonder? Don't kid yourself- this doesn't change a damn thing between us. I was only out here in this dump to keep an eye on you. To make sure you don't mess with our affairs any more.”

Again he glanced over at Fujisa, silently this time. Merely seeking permission to take the next step if necessary. My rage is nothing. Try to reason with her. “If Weihan really has gone rogue, and gained some kind of new power... then he's as much a threat to Bythos as he is to anyone else in this city. It's in our best interest to work together to find and stop him, Motoro.”

Mayuri smirked back. “Oh really? Maybe we'd prefer to capture Yasuda ourselves? Then we'll have one of yours as a hostage. That's only fair, right? An eye for an eye. A traitor for a traitor.”

“For the last freaking time”, Fujisa groaned, face in her hands, “I didn't betray anyone! I didn't leak any company secrets. Ohabara, Yasuda and I are trying to protect everyone in Tokyo from the demons, not just complete Sige's missions.”

Mayuri snorted. “Oh really? Then how'd they get the demon Armatization app, hmmm? You can't fool me, Traitor-roki. Even if you can fool this slack-jawed idiot.”

The 'slack-jawed idiot' stretched his shoulders out, shaking away the morning cramps. He turned slowly, deliberately allowing Mayuri to see a glimpse of the old Kasai Ohabara's eyes. The ruthless Capsule who was willing to commit violence against other humans to get what he wanted. Who had enjoyed it. Let her see a glimmer of Astanpheus.

“Y'know... I never had a chance to examine the Bythos DSPs up close before now. Are they shock-proof? Are you?”

The threat made her bring her device back up, ready to summon up Hathor again if needed. “D-don't even try it, Ohabara! You can't beat me! I've trained with my Armatization app way longer than you have, and all you have are ugly, weak demons!”

“Who said anything about me using demons, Motoro?”

The terse standoff was interrupted by a shrill alarm from Mayuri's device, studying the screen a moment before abandoning her position. “...Report from headquarters. There's an unidentified hooded demon running amok in Kudanshita, near the Tokyo Dome. We're all ordered to track it down.”

Kasai studied his own device, seeing no such order appear on his screen. Apparently, Sige hadn't learned about the mysterious 'hooded demon' yet.

“We'll go with you. Yasuda might be involved in this, or we might pick up his signal on the way there.”

Mayuri scoffed. “You do whatever you want, Ohabara. But don't interfere with my mission. That goes double for you, Traitor-roki.”

Turning back to Fujisa, he shrugged helplessly. “Not exactly the best of allies, I know. I was going to go tell the Professor what happened, but...”

“He'll forgive us”, Fujisa assured him. “Better to do something about bad news than just report it. Maybe Inui will help us afterwards, like he did before.”

Brightening at the prospect of working with Akito again, Kasai tucked the broken glasses into his pocket for safekeeping.

Hopefully, he would be able to return them to their owner soon enough.

9:00

It was a good thing they'd gotten used to long hikes by now. The path to the north showed even more signs of prior battles along its concrete facades and abandoned grocery stores. The train station lay vacant and unused, and Kasai saw several large plants dipping down into the murky waters of the Kanda River, as if searching for nourishment.

It was about the same time the Tokyo Dome's familiar curved shape came into view that signs of a more current battle became evident. More cracks in the roads appeared, too large and jagged to be vehicular wear and tear. Walls of brick and mortar crumbled down, the resulting bits of rock strewn around haphazardly. Most distracting of all was a perfectly circular gap left in a storefront, the mass within vanished without any damage done outside of it.

Then they saw it. The courtyard of a sports pavilion, lined with dozens of flagpoles belonging to other nations. Now host to a pitched battle between tamers and demons. Bythos tamers by the look of their black wrist devices, and Kasai quickly recognized the short stature and wired headphones of Riin Hidehi amidst the chaos.

“Hope you won't mind”, he whispered into Mayuri's ear before charging straight past her, calling on Tam Lin and a new creation alongside the fairy knight. A towering beast of a demon, matted white fur over a muscular black belly, sharp sweeping horns coming out of the feral head, red eyes blinking in the sun but already radiating ferocity.

The Wendigo. Perhaps one of the tallest, most fearsome-looking demons he'd ever seen, if not exactly the most powerful one. He'd witnessed Junoda defeat a wild one early on in his 'career' as an Enforcer, back when he'd barely understood what was going on and every demon he saw had been a terrifying unknown to him.

Now, this one was his to command.

Its' arctic breath roared out to encase a pair of floating fire elementals- bright red humanoid upper torsos and little else- while his claws rent each of them apart.

The next enemy to come at him looked a bit more substantial; a short green-skinned humanoid clad in tan robes and hood, a string of black prayer beads dangling from both arms. Its eyes were mysterious, lidded... but its purpose here was no enigma. It leaped at Tam Lin with inhuman grace, its grip eliciting rare cries of pain from the fairy warrior, and it wasn't long before Kasai figured out why.

Ghost Churel, his DSP identified the ghoul. Female ghost from Hindu folklore. Her feet are backwards, and she has an unnaturally long thick and black tongue that she uses to drink the blood of-

SO did not need to know that! Not for the first time, he wondered who exactly in Sige actually did all these database entries for demons. If it was Tatyana writing them, then she was even more unusually-minded than he first thought.

Not that it mattered. The aforementioned tongue was already on full display before him, draining Tam Lin's blood- or whatever it was that served demons for blood- straight out of his exposed neck. A bolt of lightning blasted it clear away, but the warrior keeled over groaning, fading out.

Grimacing at the sight, Kasai tapped his device. “Yata-Garasu!” The three-legged bird demon wasn't just a scout; it could fight as well as any of them, its ebony wings capable of calling up powerful gusts to shred enemies- such as the Churel- apart.

Confirming that target's demise, Kasai checked himself again, wanting to avoid friendly fire at all costs. The fight all around him remained as confusing as ever now that he was fully immersed in it. The horde of demons attacking had been much larger than Tarakasura's pack of beasts, even if they lacked any visible leader. All the dark-suited Bythos tamers were outnumbered but better-organized, and just as well-trained as he was.

He'd attracted a couple of confused stares as well, dedicated men and women of Bythos momentarily wondering why Sige tamers were coming to their aid before realizing it didn't matter right now. That any aid in this kind of fight was welcome. He was surprised to see Fujisa blasting past his left side in her Yuki Jyorou Armatization form from the get-go, her frigid breath chilling more of the hostile fire elementals into submission, leaving them as frozen statues.

On the right side he saw another familiar face, if not entirely. Mayuri had Armatized with her Leanan Sidhe, taking on the cruel-looking demoness' frilled purple robe and inhumanly long mane of hair, along with her healing and paralysis abilities. “Can't let Traitor-roki take all the credit”, she snorted. “She doesn't deserve that power!”

Kasai managed to avoid the temptation to say anything back at her. A belligerent ally was still an ally. Between the three of them, they managed to begin clearing an open space out of the seemingly endless demon mob, the frenzied combat slowly winding down into picking off stray targets in twos and threes.

Another one zeroed in on him then, its warbling shriek suddenly loud enough in his ears to make him flinch away. A hideous bat-winged creature, a red-rimmed sucker maw unleashing a stream of sour-looking curse energy from a distance... until its wing muscles spasmed, dropping to the ground from the arrow embedded there. Following its source, Kasai saw Riin and her tiny floating fox demon Chironnopu stringing its bow, tongue lolling in an amused pose. Riin's own lips curled into a faintly amused expression.

As usual, the last obstacle in their path looked uncommonly powerful- a dull-furred beast that Kasai could only describe as a 'two-legged headless elephant', its undulating trunk spraying awful-smelling poison into the air, noxious purple fluid that inevitably landed on both ally and enemy alike.

Snake Nozuchi, his DSP called it. A spirit said to live in the mountains in ancient Japanese scriptures. It is believed to govern ley lines of energy. It is not evil, but can become violent.

Violent. No. Really. You don't say.

The thing might have been violent as it rampaged around the Tokyo Dome entrance stairway, but it was also badly outnumbered now. Ice from Fujisa and fire from one of the other Bythos tamers struck it in equal measure from both sides, igniting and freezing fur simultaneously. Kasai's own lightning completed the triple attack, causing the large beast to trumpet in pain until Yata-Garasu's talons descended, ending the giant's life.

Or...?

What had the Professor and Tatyana said? That destroyed demons simply broke down into raw Magnetite particles and returned to their own dimension to reform? Hopefully, that one would carry with it the news that Earth wasn't a fun place for demons to go. That there were humans here who held the power to destroy wild demons if they didn't behave themselves.

He could hope anyway.

Mayuri reverted beside him, either having spent too much energy or believing there was no further need for it. Turning, she focused in on one of her fellow agents, helping him back to his feet and healing a gash on his torso. “What happened? Where's Inui?”

The man looked dazed, struggling to focus. “The... the dome. He went in... after....”

“After the real enemy”, Kasai finished for him, nodding. “I knew that elephant thing couldn't be the real leader. No hood.”

The tamer shuddered at the memory. “That hooded demon... he was so powerful...”

“Doesn't matter”, Fujisa claimed brightly. “Inui's the best tamer there is. He'll kill that demon, no problem. Not that we shouldn't help him out. No sense in taking chances.”

“Oh? Like you 'helped him' before?”, Mayuri snorted. “This doesn't change things, Traitor-roki. Once we're all done here, you're both coming back with us to headquarters. So you can get the punishment you deserve.”

Fujisa rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

As carefree as that sounded, Kasai was suddenly uncomfortably aware of how many of the Bythos agents were staring at them now that they didn't have so many demons to fight. Ignoring them, he ran on ahead. “With me, Todoroki.” He didn't relish potentially having to protect her from all of them. Particularly with Riin being one of the ones staring.

They'd made it up the stairs to the first rows of flags when the world erupted.

Shaking his ears clear of the ringing, Kasai studied the sudden gaping hole in the roof of the famous Tokyo Dome, the way that the thick metal covering was peeling away from within as jagged chunks, thick smoke emerging as they struggled to stand back up.

And he saw the two combatants who had caused the explosion land together. Both of them wearing a familiar face.

Akito Inui had always looked determined in all he did, completely mirthless and focused on his mission. That condition looked more exaggerated now, the young samurai's entire body rising and falling with visible exhaustion, well-conditioned muscles taut under his robes, gray eyes narrowed into daggers that could cut through stone. More worrying were the scorch marks on his family katana, smoke still rising from it at one spot along the edge.

And the other one...

The other wore a black hood and a huge flowing, long-sleeve cloak, but that was the merest surface of description. It failed to do proper justice to the uneasy feeling radiating from him. It wasn't anything frightening about the creature's physical appearance or movements. It something that transcended the physical, activating the flight instinct within. Kasai felt as though his body wanted to run away, and he didn't need a glance to know that Fujisa had to be wresting with her own need as well. They all had to be.

He had no idea if the sight of Weihan Yasuda's face sunken beneath that hood helped or hindered that impulse. It was their friend's face, but he hadn't replaced his specs with anything. Something else was looking out at them through his eyes anyway. Bottomless spiraling white coals that obviously didn't need any glasses to see clearly any more.

“Agent Ohabara?”, Akito risked a moment's attention to speak. “Stay back! This one is dangerous.”

“This one is also my friend”, he remarked before shifting focus. “Yasuda, what the hell?! Stand down!”

“YASUDAAA!”, Fujisa followed up more loudly, showing more concern in her voice. “Stop it! If this is some kind of demon possessing you, you have to fight it!”

The hooded figure's lip curled in amusement. “Yes... you were this one's friends. Or you claimed to be. Another deception. His memories are clear. But if you wish, you may yet join our cause.”

Kasai blinked. The voice was Weihan's, and yet it wasn't. The sound's new undercurrent was just as subtly unnerving as the figure's new appearance, every syllable sounding near enough to the 'brown note' effect he'd heard about where mere sound could trigger a nameless, instinctual flight response.

Fujisa looked even more shocked, but she carried on heedless. “Your cause? Inui is our ally! Sort of!”

Akito shook his topknot back and forth, sword at the ready as the smoke faded. “Don't waste your breath, Todoroki. If your friend Yasuda is indeed still in there somewhere, he's no longer in the proverbial driver's seat. This one... it is clearly a demon, and a very dangerous one at that. Duty calls.”

That reveal stunned her. “What? NO! You can't! Stop! Don't hurt him!”

The Weihan-thing released a wet, guttural noise that made it clear it wasn't much accustomed to genuine mirth either. “We are called Nous, the Aeon of the Mind. This one's rising rejection- the rejection of all humans- called out to us across the void of existence and brought us here, to save them from the demons which plague this failing Pleroma. In the greatest of despair, renewal is born.”

Kasai didn't relax at those words. Just the opposite. “Let. Him. Go. NOW!”

The Aeon looked sympathetic, if not exactly regretful about the scene. “We cannot. Not while he yet craves of our power, the power that will save humanity and this world.”

“'Save humanity'?”, Mayuri's voice sounded even louder in the din of destruction, having caught up to them. “Like hell! You're the one who attacked us, you bastard!”

Dark shrouds gathered in the Weihan-thing's palms, coalescing into a circular portal the size of a pizza. Not an attack, but a demonstration. “We merely attempted to save the humans gathered at this dome. Your people objected with violence. We had no choice but to defend ourselves.”

“Enough”, Akito snarled, calling out demons to replace the ones he'd already lost in the battle. A bright blue wolf-warrior and one Kasai already recognized- the towering armored Momunofu. “Whatever you may say, your actions are clearly hostile. You are an enemy of Bythos, of Sige, and of humanity. Thus, you will perish at my blade on this day. You have my sincerest condolences, Todoroki... but I cannot risk holding back on this one.”

Weihan's pallored face became slightly sad. “...As you wish. In the end, only one Aeon can be victorious and establish a new Pleroma upon this world.” The arm holding the portal dropped, brushing the bricks, and the entire courtyard shook from the cracks etching into it from that source.

Yelping, they all tumbled down from the tremor, back down the stone steps. Only Akito stood, gathering up his demons for a final charge.

Scrambling back to the top of the damaged stone stairs, Kasai had no choice but to see the fight play out. To watch as the Weihan-thing- Nous- raised its void portal back up to block a blast of fire with it, casting it out as a projectile to engulf Akito's wolf demon with a final howl.

Momunofu drew close, his spear tip piercing the cloak but finding little there to shred. Another swirling black vortex opened higher up, car-sized, to release a flurry of neon green wind to slam into the warrior demon's follow-up charge, casting him across the tarmac as his clogs dug into it.

Finally, there was Akito. The Bythos tamer's shining blade descended on nothing, unable to catch such a swift target, and his fire stream curved upwards into the vortex before returning back in the opposite direction, nearly crisping him as he ducked beneath. More tremor cracks lanced out to stop him, but an inhumanly high leap carried him screaming over them and into his target... just in time for his sword to catch ablaze with enchanted fire.

Nous fell aback from the falling slash, visibly astonished for the space of a second. “You, tamer... you hide your fear very well. You don't fear death, no. We can see it. You fear... dishonoring your family. Disappointing your father. Your mother, and your brother.”

Akito said nothing in reply. He merely fell away from the burned cloak, the other hand reaching for his DSP. “...Summon Rakshasa.”

His new demon looked deceptively small and sleek- a red-armored horned warrior bearing two horned katanas. Those blades managed to cleave through the dust cloud, but missed their target.

When Kasai reached the top of the ruined stairs again, the dust cloud was gone but Raksaha was caught in Nous' grip, the demon writhing frantically as the Aeons' touch drained away everything it was, faster than a Churel's vampiric tongue.

“YASUDAAAA! If you're in there... for god's sake, FIGHT! Don't let this damn thing control you!”

Nothing. Not even a twitch. Not even a glimmer of recognition. Just the dreadful burning white dwarf star gaze shifting over to Akito's renewed assault, Armatizing with Momunofu mid-run so that he would end up nearly on top of his opponent, spear and blade ready. Both cut into the cloak and for a moment Kasai thought Akito had done it-

Then the black void fell as down as it Nous had been holding it up against the force of gravity all along, engulfing spear and sword alike before moving down to their wielder-

“-NO!”

Akito's body disappeared into the dark hole before he could shout.

“INUIIIIII!”

Kasai's jaw fell. He hadn't been the one to scream out the traumatized denial. That was Mayuri, her face worse than when they'd caught her this morning.

His own scream had been far more internalized. Externally, the sign was the way he suddenly ran forward at the freak, the bastard he'd come to despise in just a few short minutes even more than Tarakasura-

But the dust cloud had nothing left there. His enemy was out, floating up and away from him, ignoring Mayuri and Fujisa's desperate uncoordinated attacks-

No.

No. No. He's NOT getting away! “Activate Demon Armatization!”

Yata-Garasu wasn't one he'd tested before now. Tatyana Chiba had warned him again and again about such reckless actions, but her words were nothing in this moment. Whatever strange sensations his new merged body and mind were experiencing were mere noise.

The only thing that mattered now was that he could get wings. Large, lustrous black-feathered raven wings bursting from the center of his back that felt... natural?

Muse over it later you fucking idiot. Catch him. Catch him. Catch him now.

No matter what it takes.

At some point he couldn't place, the fog cleared away and Kasai realized that he was some fifty feet up in the air above the city, above thousands of towers reaching for the heavens never to get there.

A perfect selection of fluffy morning clouds awaited him up here. Tokyo had never looked better in his eyes, really. He could see his house. But he had no time to admire it.

Not when Nous was just ahead of him, swiftly flying away. Trying to escape like a damned coward after what he'd just done to Akito.

“No”, he gritted out, demanding every bit of speed he could coax out of his new wings. “No, no, no you don't! You DON'T get away from this!”

The bastard saw him coming too. The cloak turned, still bearing the grotesque mockery of his friend's face. “You seek to join your friend? Very well.”

He was ready for the dark void when it gathered in the enemy's hands and flew out at him, banking with the left wing to change course and evade it. Evade, and respond instantly with a razor wind that could tear through chain.

“Bastard! Give them BACK! BOTH of them!”

The Aeon's eyes flashed as he drew closer. “Your friend has chosen this, Kasai Ohabara. With our power, we can save all humans from the demons.”

“Don't-You-Dare-Give-Me-That-Damn-'Saving'-BULLSHIT!”

Because he'd heard it before. Heard it more than once. Heard it from people who lacked the inner strength to admit what they'd done and decided to lie to themselves about it instead. To themselves, and everyone else. Because that was easier.

They hadn't 'killed' anyone, no no. They'd 'saved' them. The blood, the motionless body, the clear evidence of murder, the fingerprints, the fact that their family would never, ever again see them talk or laugh or cry or live or love them ever again... that was all just a coincidence.

There hadn't even been any blood or bone left remaining of Akito.

And in this fleeting moment, Kasai no longer cared if there would be anything left of this one either. Neither did the Yata-Garasu whose powers and avian instincts he had borrowed.

Dodging another portal-projectile, he watched grimly as it sped by, some of his tactical intelligence breaking through the blood red filter of grief. All of his other attacks require him to be on the ground or close to me. Without those, all he has is the voids.

He would still much rather get up close however, even with the danger of the energy-draining touch. Destroying this bastard by just blasting him again and again with 'Zan' skills wouldn't be enough. Not now. This one deserved the personal touch. Dodakade had been right. There were some things that simply cried out to be done by hand.

But Weihan-

No. He couldn't let up. Couldn't hold back. Not even for an instant. The only way to get Weihan out of that thing would be to persuade it to leave. Using the only way he had left at his disposal.

“So much fear in you”, the cloaked freak observed conversationally, far up enough now that only he would hear it, the high winds turning the glow of his eyes into fluid streaks against the blue. “Fear that you will lose yet another friend? That you might destroy this mortal body? Fear that you will fail?”

“Fear that you WON'T EVER SHUT UUUP!”

He pounced, black-feathered wings folding back to steer him into a power dive from above. The wind resisted at first, but then he became one with it, growing velocity turning him into a subsonic missile descending to-

To pass through the empty air where they'd been an instant before. To lose control, frantically trying to break loose of the speed he'd built up, wings straining, bending, cracking, snapping under the pressure until-

Until he could see exactly which of the towering industrial skyscrapers he was about to crash into. And that there was no avoiding it, no chance pulling up, of altering his course to a safer landing.

Fleeting moments of consciousness, the sensation of intensifying pressure and speed, until-

The eyes of Aya, Zoe, Fujisa, and Akito faded.

Into dark.

Time Unknown

Light. Light so bright it hurt... yet it took a moment to remember why it was strange that would be the only thing to hurt. “...Damn it.”

He felt the other presence before her words, behind him. “This place is considered sacred, you know.”

Rising, Kasai studied the place in question, finding it to be more than the mere formless mental void from two days prior. A great salt-white plain, the edges barely discernible in the glow. Other structures visible beyond those edges made of the same unidentifiable substance. “Not real”, he knew right off. “This is... another realm.”

“Mental realms are as real as any other realm”, Zoe corrected him gently, her golden eyes the only source of color in the endless blank white. “Merely being connected to a physical dimension does not deny them the qualification of 'reality'. The demon realm is as much a mental one as it is matter. I had thought your lessons with Professor Yasuda would have taught you that much.”

“Sorry”, he was surprised to find that he meant it sincerely. “I never really studied alternate dimensions in school. Just the three ones that we use. Maybe if I did study up on all this stuff... Pleromas, Aeons, demons and angels... then I'd understand all of it a bit better.” His expression grew grimmer. “Maybe I'd have a better way to deal with the insane crap that's happening back in my world right now.”

His host grew solemn as well, nodding. “It seems that Nous has awakened. Found their chosen Syzygy. A man possessed of great ambitions and intellect, born of a demon but feeling as though he never could live up to that gift, crippled by his own fear of the physical. One who sees the emotion 'fear' as naught but a hindrance to humanity, and seeks to rid them of it entirely.”

“Yeah”, his earlier fury choked his reply. “And he just happens to be my friend. Wait... you didn't see this happening, did you?”

“No”, her head fell. “I did not. I suspected that other Aeons would seek to claim this world, but I did not expect Nous' Syzygy to be that one. Now... I'm afraid you have no choice, my champion. If Nous is not stopped, they will override your world of matter. It will become a world of the mind, much like this very realm of Monadis.”

“Boring, in other words”, he remarked. Wonderment had swiftly been replaced by the realization that there wasn't much else to this place, 'Monadis'. Just enormous monoliths of salt-like substance in every direction, the one they stood on towered over by others. Like the Sige office tower without windows or antennae. “No offense.”

Zoe smiled. “You see the problem already. Good. Without diversity of sensory input, the human mind stagnates and eventually uncoils into nothingness. Into the blank, waiting only to be filled again. Most souls cannot bear it.”

It was a pretty depressing place, all things considered. He didn't even see any rocks to try throwing into the abyss below them. “Then... what about you?”

The pale girl turned to one of the enormous monoliths, chuckling. “Myself? I am an Aeon. I dwell within you all, within the innermost depths of your souls. I receive constant input from a million, billion connected consciousnesses, both living and dead. All of which share in my dream.”

“Like with Nous”, Kasai recognized. There was certainly a lot more to unpack there, but even in a realm where time was meaningless he didn't feel like doing that now. Not while there was something much more important to take care of first. “Then... how do we- how do I- stop them?”

“Weakling. You already know how.”

The difference between Zoe's voice and the new arrival's calculated disdain was more vast than the gaps between the huge white monoliths, and it drew his gaze skyward instantly.

To Astanpheus, all four of his red-feathered wings extended, all four of the red eyes limned in contempt.

The shift in the air felt palpable as well, and he stood. “This again?”

“Hah! Don't be so surprised. Blame your Aeon. She's the one who dragged us into this. I've just been along for the ride, stuck inside of you.”

He could feel the golden eyes on him then, knowing they were observing him closely, to see what he'd do here.

“...Fine, smart guy. Bottom line it for us.”

The angel smirked. “See? You do need me. You need me to be your true self. To be free.”

“Astanpheus”, Zoe spoke up, impossibly gentle yet impossible to dismiss.

The creature sagged slightly. “...Boring. But I suppose it has to be done, before that other one becomes too strong. Fine. You already know the way to stop him. The same way you stop anything. Anything but me, that is. You have the Syzygy's measure now. Gather up the resources you'll need to catch and destroy him. Stop at nothing. Focus everything into achieving that single goal. Make whatever sacrifices you have to.”

Zoe's golden eyes studied him back as well, searching for resolve. “...He is correct, my champion. You must gather the others. The ones who have come to trust in you, who opened up their hearts to you and embraced your power. They must come to understand the threat they now face in your physical reality. The power of the bloody angel might be enough to vanquish Nous, but your personal connection to his Syzygy yet stays your wrath. Without that, you cannot hope to triumph alone.”

“That”, he muttered, “won't be easy.”

“No. But I have faith that you will succeed. It is as Astanpheus says. You already have everything that you need. All you require now... is the will to use it.”

His hands dangled down uselessly. Their pressure tightened into knots like Akito's sword grip.

“...Whatever it takes.”

-

Chapter Text

11:30

“There we are... that's it... follow the light...”

Aya's eyes stung, producing a reluctance to open them fully, but even that faded when the tiny pencil flashlight switched off. One of the older doctors studied her and nodded.

Only then did she realize she was back in the hospital bed. The doctor and his nurse assistant... and Yui Hatsurada, who looked like she'd eaten some bad meat.

“You fainted”, the doctor explained. “You were arguing with Orikane. You should probably avoid that for a while.”

Her skin felt clammy, trembling slightly as she tried to move. Funny. The time she'd been on the walker, she'd almost felt human again. She could move around the hospital and actually accomplish things.

Things like arguing with Orkane's stance that if something wasn't done soon, they should 'take matters into their own hands'. She doubted he would still feel that way if he'd been the one falling, the one depending on metal legs.

But she had to put all thoughts of that irksome man out of her mind for now. They would only slow her recovery. Unfortunately, if that argument had been real then the rest of it was real too.

“Any... change?”

The nurse gave a sad smile, deciding whether or not to risk telling the truth. “We're still on lockdown, if that's what you mean. No one leaves. More patients come in, but no one leaves.”

More patients. More people bearing claw and tooth injuries that were far too numerous unless an entire menagerie of dangerous wild animals had been dumped onto the city streets when no one was looking. Then there were the ones with the second and third-degree burns. The ones who were somehow suffering from frostbite in the middle of summer.

But they only had eyes for her at that moment, and Aya felt a pang of guilt. “I'm fine now. Really.”

“You fainted”, the nurse repeated. “Not a common occurrence for you, Mrs. Ohabara. Until we know for certain what caused it, we'll need to keep you here.”

“I'll watch her”, Yui offered. “There's not much else for me to do around here anyway.”

“While we appreciate the offer, Mrs. Hatsurada”, the doctor shook his head, “this is our hospital. You wouldn't know what to do in the event of a relapse.”

Yui stood up, three inches taller than the nurse even with the cap. “Then teach me. There's other patients you need to deal with in much worse shape than this one.”

The doctor wasn't exactly intimidated, but perhaps he realized it would be less hassle for him to play along. More importantly, no one would call him on it. Not with the doctors being stretched so thin already. “...Nurse, show her what to do. Keep the IV stand loaded and ready to go, just in case.”

Withdrawing, he shot Aya a wistful smile. “We wouldn't want to lose you, after all.”

She smiled back, halfheartedly. It was usually a comfort, knowing the kinds of things she inspired in the other patients and staff. Or at least in Hatsurada.

It made it all the more frustrating that she couldn't tell them the truth. The truth of the real reason why she'd fainted. The truth that she knew, no matter how far-fetched it would sound to them.

The truth that in that moment she'd felt her son fall. Felt him take a wound far deeper than anything she was feeling at the moment. And she had no idea how, or why. It was beyond reason, beyond all rationality. She just knew.

And she also knew that the city outside of this hospital was only getting more dangerous. And Kasai was somewhere out there, and hurt.

Other, less infirm mothers might have been willing to claw their way out of this hospital and stop at nothing to locate him and make sure her boy was safe and sound. The desire to do exactly that was there, but tempered by the knowledge that such actions would be useless and more than likely suicidal.

It was just like when he'd first renounced the Capsules, removing the tattoo on his neck and finding employment with Sige Financial. Started on his path to penance for what he'd done. She couldn't do anything to help him now. All she could do was wait, and have faith.

Faith that her Kasai would come back to her. No matter what.

Light. Spinning light, or spinning room-

The left side of his neck itched terribly. Kasai let out a long groan from the bed that only grew worse when he remembered exactly how it had happened.

Two blackouts in two days. Damn. I couldn't do it. Couldn't stop him. And Inui...

Akito Inui was gone. Gone. They'd been meters away from each other when he'd disappeared into that void without so much as a sound.

Disappeared because of that thing that had taken over Weihan, stealing him away as well...

Feeling for it, he touched an empty pocket where the glasses had been. Gazing over to find it on the nearby desk, he exhaled in relief.

The petite medic in the Bythos uniform didn't seem to care about it, a beige bun-haired woman staring over him like he was a spoiled bit of food. “...I see you're awake. Most people wouldn't survive a fall from that height.”

Kasai tried to rise out of the bed and immediately reconsidered it. Every last muscle in his body felt like a dozen bruises. “...I'm not an ordinary guy.”

“Yes, we noticed that. You certainly possess subnormal intelligence. And an awful lot of luck that you don't deserve.”

“No arguments there”, he shrugged, feeling a scalding pain in his shoulders as well when they moved. His suit, at least, didn't feel damaged beyond a few scrapes. “Let me guess. Todo... Agent Todoroki saved me?”

The nurse's lips curled up in amusement and he realized she was chewing and snapping gum. “No idea. Someone did. Someone you ought to thank when you can.”

The image of Akito disappearing into the black hole still felt like a burning iron collar around his neck. But he'd also known that strange man long enough to recognize Inui wouldn't want him moping over it for longer than a moment. Not Akito. Head down. Inch towards the dawn.

It was all he could do for him, now.

He finally realized that the bed had restraints holding him there. “-The hell?”

Given what he'd been through in the last few days, he would have thought a mere face couldn't scare him any more. But the way the large man suddenly loomed up over him left him in a stunned silence. A black ribbon goatee snaked all the way up a large cleft chin into a wide mouth turned into a quizzical expression, twin 'horns' of graying hair perfectly framing it and his nose.

“Arakawa”, the nurse cautioned him. “Give the man some space. He just fell a hundred feet out of the sky.”

“S-s-sorry, Soji”, the giant softened immediately, pulling back. “I j-just wanted to m-make sure he doesn't get any ideas about... uh... uh... es-es-escaping.”

Kasai looked up into the ceiling lights, unable to place them or the exact structure of the room. “...This is a Bythos medical facility. Swell.”

“And you're a Sige demon tamer”, the snarky nurse shrugged. “Don't think that we don't appreciate the help earlier, but, well... regulations are regulations. That's why Gantu's here. We couldn't figure out how to remove or deactivate your DSP when you were brought in. But if you try to use your demons or powers to escape, well... he'll stop you.”

Kasai saw no reason to doubt her claim. The man- Gantu Arakawa- was a virtual house, his face a grim-set mask of taut muscle even if he did seem to be weirdly scared of the nurse beside him. Not that such things were that important when both sides had DSPs, but in his condition he figured it would take just one hit to send him back to dreamland for another few hours at least. Not the way I want to spend time today. Not with Nous still out there.

“Alright. I promise not to use my DSP in this place unless I'm attacked”, he offered, head craning back. “Is that better?”

She smiled. “For now. Arakawa's going to be watching you, to make sure you don't try anything funny. Don't make him mad. You won't like the result.”

Arakawa nodded, watching him silently. Kasai knew his type, at the least the type of person he was presenting himself as at the moment. Brawn over brains. Someone who knew how to use their powerful physique and equally slab-like face to intimidate others out of causing trouble. The rest of him looked to match that expectation as he followed Kasai out of the medical ward.

“Todoroki”, he demanded once they were out of earshot. “Fujisa Todoroki. Take me to her. I need to see her. Now.”

The enormous man's 'hair horns' shook slightly over his almond brown eyes, but his voice sounded far more confident than he had a moment ago. “Dr. Leng didn't say anything about that. He said to bring you right to him when you woke up.”

He blinked at the sudden shift in tone. The earlier nervousness was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he'd underestimated this one. “...I'll see him after. I just need to make sure that Todoroki is okay first.”

“Todoroki is fine. Dr. Leng will see you first.”

I so do not have time for this.

But he couldn't exactly argue with how weak his body was feeling at the moment. The urge to charge back out of the Bythos headquarters building and get back on Nous' trail was a suicidal one, he grudgingly accepted. The urge to constantly hurry towards the next objective was just as much of a trap as it had been yesterday.

For now, he would have to wait and be patient. Inch towards the dawn.

“...Fine then. Lead the way.”

He'd never been here before, but it wasn't hard to imagine what it had been like before the crisis hit. Not much different from any other major office building.

Yet... Whether by design or coincidence, the Bythos headquarters complex was the exact architectural inverse of the Sige office tower. The former structure immediately impressed him with its height, the eighty floor spire towering over the Tokyo skyline, while here in the heart of Ikebukuro Bythos' more modestly industrial headquarters was actually only four floors, but it was spread out much further, across a square kilometer of land or more. The agents and staff there gave him some alarmed looks in passing through the various halls and rooms, but they were reassured by Gantu Arakawa's constant presence beside him, watching him.

The man's presence quickly proved somewhat annoying, but necessary. After a while Kasai managed not to notice, and before much longer they'd reached the basement laboratory.

Just like Tatyana's underground basement, the place was covered with the various strange-looking tools and paraphernalia of demon research. Several large glass tubes lined the walls, containing a glowing semi-solid substance he guessed to be raw magnetite.

“Cozy”, he observed. “Though I suppose this had to be kept out of sight until-”

His voice trailed off as he realized there was someone being held on a table in the center of the room. The same kind of table he'd just been released from.

Someone with familiar-looking headphones. Someone who he knew. Riin Hidehi looked as surprised to see him as he no doubt did her, despite her taciturn nature. “...Ohabara?”

“Hidehi? What're you doing in here?”

No response. She either wasn't sure what to tell him, or had been told not to.

“My sincerest apologies.”

The coffee-skinned researcher, thin arms clasped behind his lab coat, walked out of a side chamber to meet them, a curt smile beneath a small dusty mustache. “Our guest finally wakes, I see. You may leave him here, Agent Arakawa.”

But the big man shook his head. “No. I have to stay, make sure he doesn't cause you any trouble.”

“Tch. As you wish”, the researcher shrugged, extending a hand. “Do forgive agent Arakawa. His past experiences with demons have left him quite... paranoid. I am Dr. Odaichiro Leng, head demonology researcher for Bythos... and part-time cook.”

Everything that Fujisa had told him about this man came flooding back, and Kasai grinned slightly despite everything else currently weighing on him. “...A pleasure, doctor. Particularly since I get the sense I have you to thank for my 'early release'. Name's Kasai Ohabara. You probably know the rest.”

The doctor's silver eyebrows knitted together. Kasai estimated him to be about 60- older than Professor Tomino Yasuda but not by much. “Do we? Do we truly know the rest of the story? Recent events suggest there's a bit more to you than merely being another Sige pawn, Mr. Ohabara.”

“Some stuff happened”, he admitted innocently. “I'd be happy to share the details with you, but first I need to make sure that agent Todoroki is okay. And Hidehi.”

“A most compassionate man”, Leng observed with a sniff. “Just like this one, yes?”

He peered over- and up- at Gantu in surprise. “Really?”

Leng smiled. “Yes. Really. Don't let Mr. Arakawa's face or his physique fool you- he's a puppy dog deep down inside. Particularly when it comes to the ladies.”

So that was it, Kasai realized. That was the trigger he'd been trying to identify ever since he'd first noticed it. Gantu looked tough and acted the part very well... but whenever a female Bythos employee was nearby he seemed to regress, becoming a nervous wreck ready to shatter. “...My sympathies, man. I know it can be awkward with ladies sometimes.”

Gantu glared bloody murder at the doctor, who completely ignored him, turning back to Riin's wheeled table. “Tch. I do hope you didn't get the wrong impression. Hidehi is merely here for a checkup. Can't be too careful these days, considering. Demon taming is still a science with a great many unknowns. If there's a problem we didn't anticipate, then it's better to address it now than later.”

That eased him back slightly. If anything, Riin looked more upset by the situation, though he noticed her arm and leg restraints weren't closed. She was here voluntarily, not resisting as Leng ran some kind of exotic-looking scanner device over her body. Remaining silent, as was her preference while others talked, looking over at Gantu instead.

“As for you, well... the matters of your DSP and your mad courage aside... You also seemed to know the creature which attacked the Tokyo Dome, yes?”

The iron collar came back on with those words. Kasai shook it from his neck, forcing himself to breathe in the sterile lab air. Then, out again. Inch towards the dawn. “...Sort of. That 'creature' is possessing the body of a friend of mine. Another Sige agent. Name's Weihan Yasuda.”

Leng froze up, nearly dropping his scanner as his jaw fell. “Tch? Yasuda, you say? That wouldn't be related to a Professor Tomino Yasuda now, would it?”

More guilt that he didn't have the time to deal with. “I'm afraid so. We've been too busy to tell him what's going on, but he really should know about it. We can't reach him with our communications down. Should've asked him for an active contact I guess, but we didn't expect this to happen.”

“We'd be happy to deliver him your message”, Leng offered, “if you were to tell us where Professor Yasuda is located, yes?”

Kasai felt his teeth grind. He already knew Weihan's eccentric father would hate having Bythos agents drop in on him out of the blue. But given the choice... “...He's been living in the slums of Akasaka. Just around the side of the west side grocery, near the tunnel bridge.”

“Tch. An inglorious fate for a man of his brilliance”, Leng shook his head in disbelief. “Demonology wouldn't exist today without his research. As to your other comrades, they're all quite well. Better shape than you, yes?”

“Even agent Todoroki?”

“Even her. Some here wanted to punish her further for her betrayal of the company, but due to some... circumstances, that's been put on hold for now. Perhaps later, when this crisis is over... but I get ahead of myself, yes? For now, agent Todoroki is being kept in the east lounge of this building under guard.”

Relief washed over him. Even if they were far from out of the woods yet, there was at least a path leading through it now. “I don't suppose the two of us can just leave now then?”

Riin blinked in confusion, and the doctor gave a polite laugh, running another larger scanner down her sides. “Tch. You don't need to convince me to allow that, my friend. You'll need to convince our board of directors that you're harmless. Luck with that, yes?”

Another figure emerged from the side door then, a bearded man in an Osaka Tigers trucker cap, a Bythos DPS on his wrist. “Alrighty, got everything you needed, doc. It's in loading bay 6 when you need it.”

“Thank you for that, Yogoshira”, Leng nodded back. “I'll have the staff unload it. Report back to the front for the next delivery.”

The portly man looked at him, Riin and Gantu askance for a moment before shrugging and moving on.

“What's that about?”, he wondered once the man was gone.

“Nothing you need concern yourself with”, Leng assured him. “Just more supplies necessary for our demon-taming operations, yes? The board needs us operating at full capacity, to keep our sector of the city clear of demons.”

“The board of directors?”, Kasai frowned. “But what happened to the Bythos CEO? You know, that guy Ryo Tsuneyoshi?” The handsome man whose face had graced so many magazines was the exact opposite of Harada Sige in many ways, having only recently inherited ownership of the company from his late father in fact.

Kasai had never met Tsuneyoshi in person of course, but he was wildly popular in the media, fully embracing the rich playboy image. Younger, and far more popular than the old man Harada Sige.

“I'm afraid that Mr. Tsuneyoshi isn't available at the moment”, Leng admitted. “He... was on an extended vacation out in the Bahamas last I heard. We've been unable to get in contact with him since this crisis began. Instead, the board of directors has taken over de facto leadership for the time being.”

Meaning that instead of one person, he would have to persuade several to hear to him out. Several people who were likely as old and set in their ways as they were wealthy, and no doubt frightened by all the changes that had taken place in their lives over the last four days.

It already sounded like an impossible task, now becoming even more impossible. But that didn't matter. He still had to do it. Whatever it takes...

“Then I'll just go talk with Todoroki for now. That's not a problem, is it?”

“Tch. Not at all. Take agent Hidehi with you. Although...”

Drawn by the man's hesitation, Kasai eyed him carefully. “Although?”

“If you're truly seeking to convince the board that you are the only one who can defeat that Nous creature... my support may be of use to you there. You may have it, in exchange for allowing a full scan of that fascinating DSP you're wearing. That's not a Sige model, yes? I've seen those. That one is different. It can't be removed. Indestructible.”

Kasai stared back at him. For a moment, he thought he'd found an ally in the doctor. And perhaps he had, but the man asked a steep price for his help. More like a mercenary in a time when cash was becoming increasingly worthless. Instead, demons and summoning technology was the new currency.

“...I'll think about it.”

“Don't think for too long”, the man advised him as Riin vaulted off the table with a new energy, giving him an strangely familiar nod back. “Time is precious for us all these days.”

12:00

Now he had two guards to stop him causing trouble. And while appearance-wise they were different as night and day, when it came to demon taming that didn't matter so much. Riin could mess him up just as badly if he acted out of line. Kasai made sure not to make any signs of that, though she seemed friendly enough.

He was relieved to see Fujisa again. They had her in a secluded lounge with a large circular sofa and tables, only a prison by virtue of her being unable to leave the building, just like when she'd been a guest of Sige. She'd been talking animatedly with a young man wearing a brown zipper vest and pants, but as they arrived he grew visibly frustrated and left.

Her embrace came on quickly and far less measured than the one she'd given to Weihan. “I thought you'd died”, she whispered into his ear before remembering herself and pushing him away again, growling. “You damn idiot! I thought you'd died!”

“...Yeah, sorry. I couldn't just let him go like that”, Kasai felt the burning shame sensation grow at her touch. In the headquarters of their supposed 'enemy', she might have been the one real ally he had left. “He...”

“But he did get away.”

He realized only then that she wasn't alone. Mayuri was there too. Being in the presence of the three women automatically caused Gantu to become completely silent and withdrawn, so he had to face them virtually alone.

“Samurai-boy”, Riin met his eyes imploringly. “He is...?”

“Inui... he's gone”, Fujisa confirmed sadly. “I'm... sorry, Hidehi. I saw him. He put up a great fight, better than I would've managed, but... not enough.”

A depressed group silence followed, which Mayuri couldn't withstand for very long. “He's a dead man. Dead. I don't care what kind of crazy powers he's got now. We're taking that Yasuda down.”

No words could have possibly terrified Fujisa more. She stood up, shaking. “This is not him, Motoro. Weihan isn't like that. He's been possessed!”

Gantu's face grew terrified, while Mayuri grew scornful. “Hundreds of people have gone missing. Witnesses saw him absorbing them into those dark portals of his. If we don't stop him, then he's gonna keep on killing. Are you really stupid enough to think he's still your friend after all that, Traitor-roki?”

“If we could reach him”, Riin considered more neutrally between them, toggling a small switch on her headphones. “If there was a way...”

“There isn't”, Mayuri put her foot down. “If there was, then Dr. Leng would have found it by now. The only way to stop Yasuda's rampage is to destroy him. So that's what we'll do.”

Kasai waited for that revelation to settle into Fujisa before stepping in for her. The look on her face tore at his heart, far deeper than a demon's claw could ever penetrate. “What you'll do, huh? Forgive me for not buying into that, Motoro.”

His words drew Mayuri's fury entirely over to him, her cosmetically-tinged eyes narrowed. “You won't be there to see it. Either of you. I'm just telling you what's going to happen, so she's prepared to never see Yasuda again. I'm being kind here.”

He could hear his own heartbeat in his head. His rage meant nothing. The reminder stopped his hands clenching, his vision from vibrating. Keep calm. Head down. Inch towards the dawn. “Motoro... I think we both know that you're not being kind. I don't even know what you're being right now. But even so... I still don't hate you nearly enough to let you go fight that monster without help.”

Spotting an amused look on Gantu's face, Mayuri quelled it with a single vituperative motion. “Oh? You talk like you have a choice here. This is our headquarters, Ohabara. And you're sitting smack-dab in the middle of it. You and Traitor-roki, you're both our prisoners now. You're done with demon fighting, so just sit back and relax. We'll take care of things from here after you messed up. I won't be going it alone either. The board's getting some attack teams together, and I'm the leader. Don't you worry. We'll track that bastard down and... we'll obliterate him. We'll avenge Inui's death ourselves, without your help.”

Kasai could only imagine what this confrontation must have looked like to the others in the lounge. He'd always found that whenever two people had a particularly intense argument with each other and neither side was allowed or willing to use violence, it generated a certain invisible energy in the room, perhaps a result of the thwarted violence. Neither he or Mayuri were willing to back down, their deep-born instincts driving them on to try to 'win' no matter the lack of logic behind it. Purely for its own sake.

Fujisa and Riin both looked like they wanted to chip in, but neither was courageous enough at the moment. Not with the dangerous tone in the other woman's voice.

“You won't catch him, Motoro”, he began again. “Not even with a vehicle. Nous is just too damn fast. Plus, he can fly. I had freaking wings, and still I couldn't keep up with his speed for long. We need something faster, or he'll just keep on running away, staying one step ahead of your 'attack teams'. And you've seen for yourself how powerful he is even when we catch up to him.”

“Like you'd do any better? Puh-lease. We all saw you fall out of the sky, Ohabara. You're lucky to even be alive right now. You had your shot at Yasuda. Now we clean up your mess like usual.”

“He's NOT, Yasuda!”, Fujisa cut in, doggedly trying not to cry or break down. “He's... something else has taken him over. It's his body. It's not him.”

Giving her a thumbs up for the support felt wrong considering her words, so Kasai merely nodded slightly back at her. “Inui was your best demon tamer. You know that, Motoro. If you really want to avenge him, then you know you're gonna need to use every resource at your disposal. That includes the two of us, and our demons.”

Mayuri glanced over at Fujisa's attempted emotional recovery and chuckled. “We're not desperate enough to forgive a traitor, or to let a Sige tamer join us.”

“If that's the case”, Kasai empathized, “then you're not taking Nous nearly as seriously as you ought to. Because he is cause for that kind of desperation. If I were in your shoes Motoro, I'd reach out to Sige right now and coordinate a joint effort between you to find that thing, and not rest until he was dealt with.”

“And that”, she snorted back, “is exactly why you're NOT in our shoes, Ohabara. And you never will-”

The elevator's bell cut her off from behind, but what truly stopped her momentum was sensing exactly who was on it. In the center of a large group of Bythos staffers stood an heavyset man with a high, thick set of cheekbones and stern eyes. Several of the Bythos board members, Kasai guessed by how they had no DSPs on their wrists but well-tailored suits like his own.

That was about all he had time to process before he was trapped, Mayuri enclosing herself around him with a grip strength that he would have expected to see from Gantu. Her words, too, had changed completely, suddenly growing hushed and somber after minutes of being snidely dismissive.

“I'm sorry. So sorry. I want you. I want to make love to you so bad I can taste it. But we can't. We can't. I'm a married woman, you see.”

What the hell?

Kasai's sense of comprehension temporarily failed him, and he had to wait for both the board and Mayuri to move on to another part of the building before asking any more questions... although even Fujisa looked reluctant to answer him for once.

“So. Care to explain to me what the hell that was all about?”

“I can only promise to try”, she shrugged at Riin beside her with the air of someone preparing themselves for a task they'd accepted as impossible.

“You see, Motoro is... married. Married to that man. To Kaseki Motoro, the current senior-ranking member of the Bythos board of directors.”

That news alone would have taken a moment for Kasai to digest, and thankfully she gave him that moment. Gantu and Riin remained content to sit and listen. It felt like the two of them were enjoying it, really. “She's... Mayuri is really married to him?”

“Are you surprised, Ohabara?”, Fujisa grinned politely. “With her looks?”

“I was thinking more about how that guy looks old enough to be her father.”

Then again, it wasn't the first time he'd heard of an arrangement like that. If you were marrying someone purely for money or power, then age difference wasn't so much of an issue any more. “So... why did she...?”

She gave him a pitying look. “Because if we ever want to exit this building freely again, Ohabara, then we're going to need to convince the board of directors to let us go. You heard her. We're their prisoners right now, even if we're not in a cell. And Motoro just made Kaseki hate you even more than he already might have, pretending like she was secretly in love with you. Pretending like she didn't see him coming down the elevator behind her.” She stepped back and spread her arms helplessly. “That's Motoro for you.”

Kasai was still too confused by the entire trick to really feel the anger from before. Almost too impressed to be mad at her. “She... she really doesn't want us to leave, does she?”

“No. No, she doesn't”, Fujisa sighed into her hands. “Motor-mouth actually thinks she and the other Bythos tamers can handle this on their own. Well. Maybe they can. I don't know for sure. But if they do...”

“If they do”, he finished in grim certainty, “Then Weihan dies. Lose-lose.”

“Uh-huh.”

Neither of them knew what to say after that. Riin stood, her eyes showing the doubt they felt inside.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...I'll go get some lunch.”

12:30

The Bythos lounge had gone deathly quiet now, just the three of them eating there and Gantu not talking. He almost wanted to curl up and take a nap, but the look on Fujisa's face- and Akito's- remained too fresh for that.

“What can we do, Ohabara?”

Of course he would have to make the decision. That, he'd known from the start. Ever since they'd met. Fujisa was comfortable fighting against demons or gangsters, but not with deciding the fate of people she cared about.

He wished they knew someone, just one person, who was comfortable with that kind of thing.

“I'll talk with the board”, he declared, studying the ceiling lights. “Try and convince them. Make them understand just how dangerous Nous really is.”

“Kaseki won't want you to leave”, she reminded him. “He'll want to keep a close eye on you now.”

“Kaseki isn't the whole board of directors”, he said. “He's just one guy.”

“True. But he has some strong pull with the other shareholders due to his seniority.”

“Then I'll just have to be extra-persuasive with him, won't I? You want to go with me, or not?”

The young woman looked terribly pained, and that pain tore at his heart and soul. Kasai knew just how much this had to be hurting her. How absolutely everything seemed to be turning against them today.

One friend dead, another one's mind consumed by a being surpassing the demons in power. The entire city threatened by Nous, as well as the demons that had preceded it. Everything Professor Yasuda had told them yesterday about the 'Pleroma', even if they hadn't fully understood all of it. Weihan had understood. And it had driven him insane.

And now they were trapped in here, imprisoned by Bythos just as surely as Sige had done to her yesterday around this same time. As the police had done to them the day before.

He wouldn't even blame Fujisa for wanting to quit right now. To just give up, and rest, and sit things out in this secure industrial complex where they didn't have to fight demons any more. Let other demon tamers handle the fighting and the fear of what was to come. Let someone else destroy Nous, and Weihan as well. Accept that there wasn't anything they could do to save him from a force that he'd apparently willingly accepted into his being.

That was what he'd said, after all. 'In the greatest of despair, renewal is born.' That was how it had happened, he figured. Knowing what he knew, learning that the entire world was facing the same problems, had driven their friend to the dark place far beyond despair, beyond reason. And it had opened his mind to the Aeon's dark dreams.

To say she felt overwhelmed by it all would be the understatement of the century.

But of course, that wasn't the Fujisa Todoroki he'd gotten to know. Not the one her father had raised, or the one Weihan had known at school. The surrender option might be entertained and even seriously considered by her at this time... but only for a fleeting moment.

We have to try. We have to turn this around. Fight our despair. We have to fix this. Whatever it takes. If Bythos and Sige won't do what has to be done...

“...No. They'll still consider me to be a traitor. And Motoro hates me even more than she does you. Without me beside you, you'll at least have a slim chance of convincing them.”

“Only until I convince them, then”, he maintained, studying her face to try and fish out the old stubbornness he'd come to know. “Once I do, then we'll need you. I'll need you. And as many other demon tamers as I can convince to come with me too. If anyone at all can reach out to Yasuda, it's you. You know him better than any of us do.”

“If Yasuda is even still in there at all anymore”, Fujisa fretted, burying her face in her arms. “How... how is he even going to live with himself after this? After killing all of those people?”

“H-h-he c-can.”

They both stopped, equally stunned by the sudden intrusion of Gantu's blunt words. The giant Enforcer looked just as socially awkward as before, but something had prompted him to finally break his silence and step forward, running one finger along his ribbon beard down to the bottom.

“If Yasuda is... p-p-possessed, t-t-then he is n-not in control of h-h-himself. J-j-just his body. If you c-c-can make the demon leave his b-b-body, then...”

“Then?”

“T-then he can be f-f-f-free. Not his... f-f-fault. Like w-w-when... when a d-d-demon uses a... ch-ch-charm power t-t-o c-c-control humans.”

Fujisa started to speak up, then she thought better of it, merely nodding to Kasai to do it for her and not spook the big man further.

“...How do you know about that, Arakawa?”

“Because”, Gantu stared back at him gormless, his earlier fear suddenly banished. “Because... That's what happened to me. A demon. Its name was... Ahriman. He... he took control of me. When I was young. At my folks' barn. Controlled my body. Couldn't remember what happened during that time. But... they saved me. Bythos. Their demon tamers came. Banished Ahriman.”

Now Fujisa studied Gantu closely. They hadn't known each other very well, even when she'd been working here, but she'd seen a few hints of his background. “I'm... sorry to hear that, Arakawa. I didn't know. That's why you joined up with Bythos, isn't it? To avoid that happening again.”

The big man looked helpless, almost breaking into frustrated tears as he tried to reply in anything other than random disjointed noises. He looked more aghast than they were when he finally managed to talk again.

“Y... Yes. That's right. Bythos e-e-exorcised Ahriman. S-said that they w-w-would... h-h-help me to develop... my s-s-spiritual powers to p-protect me from him. From other demons. But, I... I'm f-f-from a farm. Out in the country. And... Everyone here t-thinks I'm... s-s-s-stupid! I hate it!”

Fujisa paused, glancing over at Kasai's reaction before continuing. “...I don't think that you're stupid, Arakawa. I've seen the way you fight. You're a powerful demon tamer. That takes more than just muscle. You need to have a strong will and spiritual power too, or the demons won't even come out or obey your commands. I know. I've seen what happens when weak or uncertain people try to command demons.”

It was something Kasai realized he had almost forgotten in today's string of disasters and battles- the kind of concentration needed to summon and command their demons. When the mind wasn't properly focused, there could be problems. Even with his prodigious talent, a drifting mind was a dangerous thing in their current line of work. Someone who was genuinely stupid or weak-minded trying to use a DSP would be a danger to themselves and others.

“Me either”, he added, unconsciously touching the back of his neck. “Some people just need someone to make fun of so they can feel better about their own rotten lives. Not sure if you've heard about this, but I, uh... I used to be in the Capsule gang. We had some guys in it who were like you. Big tough guys whose scary faces tend to make the wrong impression on people. All they see is your muscles, not the person beneath it, right?”

Gantu's own face was childlike relief incarnate, though still preferring to talk to Kasai over Fujisa or Riin. “Y-yes. You understand? Ohabara?”

“I just told you I do. Not only that, but it looks to me like your only real problem just went away for a while.”

The mention of his 'problem' was also a source of embarrassment for him, but he paid it no mind. “Um... t-thank you. Easier to... speak with T-Todoroki than the others. She's not m-m-mean like they are.”

Fujisa brightened, smiled at the compliment. “It's fine. Don't worry about it. Hidehi isn't mean. Motoro... eh. Yeah. There are some other things that I could call her. I'm sorry if we make you feel uncomfortable, Arakawa.”

But the big man immediately shook his drooping 'hair horns' in protest. “N-no. Not y-your fault. It's m-m-mine. My fault. I know. Not a lot of g-g-girls on my folks' farm out in country, s-so... still n-n-not really used to it y-y-yet. But I'll try. Try and... g-get better about that.”

Kasai told himself that if they hadn't been on the clock, he might have had a bit more patience for all this. It felt dirty, wanting only to see if this man pouring his heart and soul out to them would pan into something that could help them escape. Fujisa and Riin had much more tolerance for it than he did, and for once he envied them that quality.

Don't rush things. Do it right. Listen, and understand the situation.

“...Hey. Arakawa. What do you think about this whole Bythos-Sige war going on?”

The question took Gantu by complete surprise. “...We shouldn't fight each other”, he decided after a lengthy pause. “We're all humans here. Trying to save our home. We have to fight to stop the demons, and protect the people. That should be our focus.”

“Yes. And?”

He shook his head helplessly. “The board of directors is in charge. They say that Sige is to blame for the demon outbreak. That they're manipulating things to take control of Tokyo and rule it for themselves. If we don't do as they say...”

“Then they'll shut off your DSP”, Fujisa recognized. “Like they did mine. Preventing you from summoning demons, leaving you helpless against them. Same goes for all the Bythos tamers. They have to follow orders or lose their power.”

Bastards, Kasai thought to himself alone. Still, a vote of confidence was exactly that. Maybe it was all they needed.

“Todoroki”, he announced, pushing back up off the couch. “If it's alright, afterwards, I'd ask you to talk with the other agents around here. Get their opinions on this whole Nous thing. Let them know if they don't already. And... say whatever goodbyes to them you need to. Because we'll be leaving in a hurry, to make up for lost time.”

Taken aback by his newfound certainty, she blinked. “For... for real? You're really sure about that?”

He nodded, genuinely confident for the first time today. “I'm sure. Trust me.”

13:00

The board room on the third floor of the building matched his expectations for a change. A stuffy room with a larger than normal amount of curved windows split apart by silvery metal rails. There, along the single large table dominating the chamber, sat nine immaculately coiffed and dressed men who had been directing Bythos' anti-demon efforts for the last four days.

Considering how their expertise was in making money for the company and not relief efforts or effectively combating demons, Kasai considered their achievements thus far to actually be quite impressive. Or at least they'd been lucky so far.

Of the nine, Kaseki Motoro had positioned himself nearly at the front of the table's left side. He could make out the cold shadow on the older man's face without any trouble.

Gantu stood beside him still, silent once more. His presence was a comfort now instead of a lingering menace, now that they'd gotten to know each other. He wouldn't dare speak out against these people, as they were his superiors, but he wouldn't contradict Kasai either. Hopefully.

On the right side of the main table, a skeletally thin man in glasses inevitably reminding him of a much older Weihan welcomed him into the board room before taking his seat. “You would be Ohabara. The Sige Enforcer we captured.”

“You're quite fortunate that this is an extremely unconventional situation, young man” one of the other ones called from the rear of the table, his voice rich and melodious. “Ordinarily, we would be far too busy to listen to such a request, but we're stuck in our headquarters for the time being, and Dr. Leng insisted that we convene and hear you out.”

“You have fifteen minutes of our time”, one of the others called out less kindly from the rear of the meeting table. “Begin.”

“I appreciate your cooperation and making time for me, all of you”, Kasai acknowledged, carefully burying any lingering dislike that might have forced its way onto his face. He'd made sure his agent suit was back in top condition, as though it would help him blend in better, feel more like he was one of them. Someone who was merely interested in negotiating a mutually beneficial deal between two parties.

It didn't feel like it was working. Maybe once he got started on the speech he'd spent the last half hour carefully rehearsing. Deep breaths. “While it is true that I was originally recruited as an Enforcer agent by Sige Financial, certain outside factors have recently caused that allegiance to waver.”

Now he had their attention, subtly hinting at perhaps changing sides. Dr. Leng had surely already told them about his high spiritual power, about his previously unheard-of Armatization compatibility with nearly all demons. Centaur, Fomorian, Tam Lin, Yata-Garasu... and there were many more possibilities that he had yet to try. And others that he never, ever wanted to.

“Four days ago, when the demon invasion first began... my DSP device was altered by the power of a... divine being. That is what has allowed me to continue serving as a demon tamer even when Sige attempted to cut my connection to their summoning server. As a result, I- and agent Todoroki downstairs as well- are now able to choose whichever side in this conflict that we consider worthy of our aid. We are, in effect, 'free agents'.”

Deep breaths.

“Gentlemen. After having seen both sides of this situation, and witnessing your tamers' bravery in battling the... hooded demon... who attacked the Tokyo Dome this morning, I now believe your company to be more worthy of our assistance than Sige Financial.”

That earned a sharp intake of breath from a few of them in turn. The thin palsied one looked more skeptical however, closely studying the seraphic DSP in question.

“A most generous offer, Mr. Ohabara. However, you would also know that we see fit to maintain a tight rein on our own Enforcer agents, in order to prevent them from misusing our inventions for personal gain. If your DSP has been altered in the way you claim it has, then just like Sige Financial we would have no means to prevent you from doing as you please.”

Of course. It wasn't really about the demons or Sige or Zoe or Nous or Tokyo. It was all about control. They wanted to be able to control him, to be able to use his talents to pursue their eventual endgame, whatever that was.

Kasai nodded, eyes veiled beneath his hair. It suddenly felt so terribly hot and sweaty in here, particularly with his suit and tie pressing in on him. “...That's why I'm willing to sign whatever assurances are necessary to confirm my new allegiance to Bythos Manufacturing.”

Knowing that they'd likely already made the same calculation he'd arrived at yesterday, he drew closer to sweeten the pot. “But I also know... that such binding contracts are very difficult to enforce at this time. So, I offer you more than that. I offer you my personal promise that I'll do whatever it takes to stop Nous from harming your operations any further. Ask anyone who knows me, and they'll confirm that I honor my promises far more than I do a contract, even when this country's legal system is working properly.”

“There is another way for us to cement that allegiance”, one of the men on the right side of the table pointed out, his upraised hand revealing a walking cane. “The other rogue agent, the traitor. Fujisa Todoroki. If we keep her here, as collateral, we can nearly guarantee Mr. Ohabara's good behavior, can we not?”

Kasai stifled a furious grunt. He'd expected that suggestion to come out as well. There was only one way to cleanly defeat it. “Gentlemen. I am not in the esteemed positions held by yourselves. I'm a mere field agent, an Enforcer. So I will be open and honest with you now- a hostage arrangement may work, for a time. But I'm sure you all are well-versed in matters of historical record. You know the long-term risks of such an action, despite a short-term benefit.”

Yeah. That's right. The last four days has shown you geezers how fragile your little lives really are. How thin of a shield all your money and influence is. Hell, if Arakawa and your guards were just a tiny bit slow on the draw, I could Armatize right now and butcher every one of you before help arrived. I couldn't, really. That's not what I do any more. But you don't know that, do you?

If nothing else, he knew how to be subtly threatening without the need for any spoken words or gestures. They must have felt it, too.

Then, Kaseki Motoro surprised everyone else by standing up, staring straight into him and speaking in a dour, raspy voice.

“I don't believe that such an assurance is strictly necessary, Takeyuchi. Worse, it would embitter Mr. Ohabara towards us in the long-term, and cost us another potential field asset. We've all read the reports about the battle at the dome. Agent Akito Inui was lost in the battle against this 'Nous' creature, who now rampages across Tokyo unchecked, killing at will. We have no other agents of his skill to replace him with... except possibly this one standing before us now.”

Takeyuchi looked chastened, sitting back down in his swivel chair. Once he'd recovered from his own astonishment, Kasai surveyed the rest of the board room to gage the group's individual stances.

“Indeed gentlemen, that's the reason why I wanted to convene this meeting in such haste. All needless modesty aside... I do honestly believe that I'm your best hope of stopping Nous. His host body is... a friend of mine, and I believe that he will not fight against me with the same ferocity he has previously shown towards your other Enforcers. Agent Arakawa here also tells me this is not the first time you've had to deal with a demon possessing a human either.”

Gantu didn't step forward when called, but he bore the suspicious eyes of the nine board members without flinching.

Takeyuchi palmed his chin, recalling their agent's story. “Mm. Yes, that was the first time that we encountered such a phenomena. A terrible tragedy, it was. We managed to stop the demon, and remove it from the body of its host. All of this was kept top secret, of course. You understand.”

“I understand”, Kasai nodded. Until four days ago, it was paramount for both Sige and Bythos to keep the existence of demons and DSPs a secret from the public. The rapidly-growing panic in Tokyo now was proof that their decision was indeed the right one. “And any techniques you used for that incident would be most welcome. But this one seems far more powerful. Left unchecked, Nous could potentially end the life of every last human in Tokyo. Even this very building isn't completely safe from him. He told me before, when I tried to defeat him... that his goal was to 'save' humanity. All of humanity.”

He could sense a general feeling of alarm wash through the board members then. He wasn't the only one who had learned to associate that kind of talk with danger. Cults used that kind of talk. It was their bread and butter.

Mr. Motoro recovered first, taking a brief glance over at Gantu before raising a hand. “I believe we're all in agreement that something must be done about this 'Nous' creature, and the sooner the better. What exactly are you proposing to us then, Mr. Ohabara?”

Kasai had to admit he'd been kind of looking forward to this part. It almost felt like he was back in an ordinary office, just passing out mass copied sheets of paper he'd created along the table so they could read it in full.

“This is only a rough draft of my plan”, he said. “Any changes you gentlemen want to propose, I'm open to. But I honestly think this is the only way we're ever going to catch Nous and stop him. I need your help, your resources. I need for you to let me and agents Todoroki and Hidehi do what I know we can do. Along with anyone else you can spare for this operation.”

It wasn't a long sheet- only one page- but the board members discussed it among themselves for a large number of minutes before returning their collective attention to him. “A most interesting plan”, Takeyuchi confessed. “Given the lack of any other current knowledge or options of this magnitude for dealing with the threat, I propose that we put it to a vote.”

He heard Gantu hold his breath behind him. The vote didn't take long at all though, and he was very surprised to see Kaseki as one of the ayes.

“The ayes have it”, Takeyuchi announced stiffly. “Any further requested editing of the plan will be transmitted to your DSP in the next few hours.”

“However”, Kaseki cut in suddenly, “we fully expect you to keep to your word, Mr. Ohabara. Assuming this operation is successful, afterwards you will be joining us as an Enforcer for the foreseeable future. You'll pursue the missions we send you, and you'll take no further orders from Sige Financial. Do you understand?”

He'd expected as much, but it was hard not to look a little nervous about that proposal. He wasn't forgetting for an instant that these were the same people who had previously ordered Fujisa to be terminated. Just because she'd refused orders. “...I understand, sir.”

“I would also speak with you in private before you begin your operation. Meeting adjourned.”

That sounded much worse. At least Gantu still accompanied him to the man's office, and Kaseki didn't order him to leave.

Instead, he merely stared across his desk for a moment, searching Kasai for something he didn't want to find. “I just need to clarify a few things first. Mayuri doesn't truly love you. She merely pretended to, in order to trick me into becoming angry and denying your proposal. Am I correct so far?”

Sweat clung to his face. The small office was somehow even warmer than the board room. “C... completely, sir.”

A warm chuckle lit up the old man's weathered features. “At ease, Mr. Ohabara. You're hardly the first person she's tried such a tactic on. A friendly word of advice, young man- if by chance you should survive all this demon madness, choose your wife with the utmost of care. It's a most difficult decision to reverse, even for a man of my station and wealth.”

There was a lot more Kasai wanted to ask in regards to that, but it was easy to see any question of that nature would only incur the man's wrath at a time when his support was the only thing between life and death. Instead, he merely grew silent, waiting.

Kaseki seemed to approve of that disciplined silence. “...Very good. You know how to give proper respect to your superiors. In addition to the requests we've already covered... while we will arrange some backup for you, I would ask that you not take Mayuri for your operations team, even if she volunteers.”

He raised a hand as if to stop an incoming objection. “Oh, I am well aware that she has already made a name for herself as a capable demon tamer... but I absolutely cannot allow you to bring her with you. I will be ordering her back here soon enough, where she will remain safe and protected until this crisis is past. Enough is enough. Actions such as those are not suitable for the wife of a man of my station.”

He kept his face carefully neutral. Mayuri was hardly his first choice for an ally after what she'd pulled today anyway. “...As you say, sir.”

“I have been far too lenient”, Kaseki claimed, palming the sweat from his own forehead with a tissue. Even here the summer heat was dominant. “This demon crisis has changed all of the normal rules. We've had to spend days unable to teleconference or perform any of our usual business work. This was something she seemed to enjoy very much, and she has the spiritual power for it, and so I grudgingly permitted it. But now, it's clearly grown far too dangerous. A woman such as Mayuri shouldn't have to risk her life that way. Not when there are people less valuable than her who can do the same thing.”

It felt like a deliberately calculated insult, but he'd endured far worse in his time.

“She is quite beautiful, sir. If you don't mind my saying so.”

Kaseki's eyes twinkled. “Yes. I know she is. Mayuri is a 'trophy'. That's the problem, I fear. But it's not your problem to deal with. It's mine. I just needed to make that clear to her.”

Kasai had no idea how on earth he was going to pull that off. He had yet to see anyone that Mayuri was willing to take orders from. She was used to giving them. But Kaseki was right- it wasn't his problem.

“Sir? One last thing. Have you heard anything from Tsuneyoshi?”

Now Kaseki's wizened face slid into abject mockery. “Oh, nothing at all. Non-DSP telecommunications are still down across the board. But don't worry about it, Mr Ohabara. As you just saw... we don't need Ryo here. He's nothing. He's always been nothing, even when his father was alive. Nothing but a womanizing playboy. A leech. I was always the real decision-maker in this company- well, Kobakaede, Yamaya and I... That much hasn't changed with this demon crisis. Even if by some miracle Tsuneyoshi survives and returns to us from the Bahamas, he's not going to be of any use to us in this crisis. On that note... you are dismissed. Begin your operation at once. And... best of luck, Ohabara.”

Kasai nodded back, knowing when to stop pressing, Gantu following closely after him out into the hallway.

Directly into the angry face of a gangly youth the sight of whom wouldn't have been terribly imposing if he hadn't born such a striking resemblance to a dead man.

“Out of the way, Sige”, he ordered. “Mr. Motoro and I have important business to discuss.”

Leaning back, Kasai regained himself, staring again to make sure of the differences. This lad's face was a bit leaner, lighter-skinned than Akito, his hair slightly longer and glossier and tied into a twisting 'twin-tail' knot instead of a single one, his eyes not quite as sharply-honed or as gray. A sash lay tied at his waist, a bronze flower hanging from it. Right. The brown jacket... That kid who was talking with Fujisa and Mayuri when we arrived in the lounge.

He'd taken that interval to push past them, earning a disapproving cluck from Kaseki. “Mr. Inui, you forget yourself. Although we've greatly streamlined our command structure in response to the current crisis, you still require an appointment before speaking to me privately.”

“Then make time”, he grunted. “You don't have anything better to be doing at the moment.”

Things really had changed, Kasai observed. If something like this had happened just five days ago, Kaseki would have been well within his rights to call on security to have this upstart thrown out of the building. Instead, he merely motioned to Gantu, asking him to stay on standby in case things escalated.

“I'll make this quick then. Your answer is still NO, Temuta. You will not be given a DSP. Dr. Leng was very clear about this- you lack the high spiritual power that your brother possessed. You cannot become a demon tamer.”

“Spiritual power is bullshit!”, the lad said curtly. “All that really matters is skill and zanshin. And I've beaten Akito before. I'm going to be the one who takes that fucker down. No one else.”

The bitter words actually made Kasai relax another notch, almost smiling. He'd seen this type before. It wasn't even that long ago that he'd been one of them. A hot-blooded, foul-mouthed, angry young man who believes that he has all the answers, and no respect for the rules when they interfere with his forward charge.

Some people, like Junoda and Weihan, might still consider him to be in that category.

But the difference between them was made clear enough with their approach, and how Kaseki Motoro handled the two of them. “While your zeal is encouraging, our ruling still stands. I have no desire to report to your mother and father that both of their sons have fallen to the same demon. Losing one is quite enough for them to be dealing with.”

“But I won't lose!”, Temuta hammered the office desk with an open palm, jostling everything on it out of position. “Sir. I'll destroy that bastard. He won't kill anyone else. And my family's honor will be restored.”

“Please forgive me if I doubt the veracity of that vow, Mr. Inui. Now, please leave us before I have to call security. Despite what you may think, I do in fact have further work to take care of.”

Faced with that kind of bald-faced threat, Temuta had no choice but to back off from his aggression. Kasai recognized the next look in his eyes as well. The kind of frustration that he'd come freshly acquainted with in the last few days. Today especially.

He also knew that Mr. Motoro was watching him now, waiting to see what he'd do. To see if he was actually desperate enough to try and bring the younger Inui onto his task force. “...Hey. It's Temuta Inui, right?”

The kid didn't turn, or even speak. His open contempt for Kasai appeared to rival Mayuri's.

“Mr. Motoro is just concerned for your safety, that's all. If you can't use a DSP, then you classify as a civilian right now.”

Temuta flashed him a look of pure hate that was only partly diminished by his young face. “I am not a civilian, Sige. I am a warrior, just as much as Akito was! Stronger!”

“When it comes to sword fighting, maybe. But until you can actually summon demons... 'Zanshin' doesn't help.”

Another blind desk slam drew their attention away from his sudden flight, leaving them with a grateful glance from Kaseki. “...Well spoken. That boy's passion and drive is admirable, but... you summarized his predicament accurately. Young Temuta is in no condition to take the field at present. Grief at the loss of family incurs madness, you understand.”

“I do”, Kasai nodded. Was that what his plan was? Did they really have a chance against Nous, or was this whole scheme really nothing more than a final act of desperation, just as suicidal as Temuta's?

It was too late to think about that now. He watched Temuta run away. All things considered, things could have gone much, much worse. Never mind that. I did it. I did it. I've won. They actually agreed to my plan to stop Nous.

Kasai realized that his hands were shaking. The sense of serotonin release, of elation, could not be resisted. For that one blissful moment, it didn't even matter that they were likely the only city left on earth that would survive the demon invasion intact. It didn't matter that every single hour, more of those bloodthirsty monsters were appearing in the national parks to hunt down humans by the scent of their growing terror and anxiety. It didn't matter that he was one of the handful of people with the power of the DSP who were expected to risk their lives and do something about it. It didn't matter that the world was ending around them.

It didn't even seem to matter that Akito and Weihan were gone.

Because here and now, in this instant, he'd won.

He had to laugh, if only to himself alone. He'd never enjoyed this kind of success in these kinds of business negotiations before now. Only when it truly mattered. When lives were depending on the deal going through, including many he cared about. In the greatest despair... comes renewed hope.

That's the easy part over and done with.

Now... now comes the hard part.

Chapter Text

13:30

Jun Munayama clasped his arms behind his back and exhaled his stress into the glass. He had never liked it up here.

It had nothing to do with a fear of heights- he'd been on too many flights to count by now. It had to be something else about the sense of looking down on the city of Tokyo from this high up in the air. Eighty stories. From the curved window, the entire Shibuya area and beyond lay spread out before his eyes.

And even from here, he could see the signs of what was happening to his home.

The change was slow, but widespread. National parks becoming overgrown, all the trees and other plants in them sprouting phenomenally until the surrounding boundaries could no longer contain them. They had grown beyond, blotches of riotous green spreading out across the city like a virulent skin disease.

If he looked closer, he could spot the less obvious indicators. Things that he knew were connected to the parks but not common enough to be easily spotted. Not yet. Abandoned vehicles littering streets that should have seen 24/7 use. Stretched of damaged concrete, grass where there shouldn't be grass. Windows shattered either by invasive plantforms or something far less incidental. Demons hunting for human prey, and often finding them despite all Sige's efforts.

But you won't get the ones who are with us, he thought, resisting the unprofessional urge to speak his resolve out loud. We won't let you. If you try, we'll destroy you.

That was his purpose now. Keeping Sige's 'secure zone' secure. He'd read the reports. Thanks to sustained efforts on the part of their cadre of loyal demon tamer agents, they'd now managed to evacuate over a hundred thousand civilians to their prepared and fully-stocked shelters, both inside Sige's tower and on the ground. They'd planted a series of seven-foot markers around the zone, more for their sake than the demons'.

It sounded impressive, and perhaps it was. But he also knew the demographic data on Tokyo's population. One hundred thousand... out of fifteen million. Less than one percent of the total.

How many others were out there, stuck in their homes for days on end, praying for a rescue? How many had already been caught and consumed by demons because they couldn't wait for rescue? How many more people would their teams be able to save before such missions became too dangerous for them?

“We're not giving up.” The words drew his head back, turning to meet Surahi Sige's gorgeous yet resolute eyes. “Never. We will save this world.”

The heiress was disarming as ever, even for him. Jun forcefully tore his eyes away from the panorama of destruction, trying to refocus on achievable goals as he bowed to her. “I... wasn't doubting our cause, miss Surahi. Just trying to plan out the next set of missions.”

Her fingers wrapped around his suited shoulders. “You always work so hard, Jun. No one gives more to this than you do. My father was right to choose you.”

Jun had always believed that Harada Sige had selected him not just because of his well-toned body, handsome face and hair, but because of his stoicism. It wasn't something he did deliberately. It just came naturally to him. More than once, he'd been told it was his strongest quality, making him at least appear to match the Japanese cultural ideal of the perfect adult male leader. He'd long ago mastered being able to do that even when doubts and fears were eating him up inside.

Such as now.

“T-thank you, miss Surahi.”

“Still so formal”, her tone lowered. “I hope all this hasn't made you forget our original plan, my love. Please, just call me Surahi. You're one of the only people in the world who should be allowed that courtesy.”

“If that's alright... Surahi.”

Her smile returned, only dampening when she joined him at the window. “...My. What an awful mess it's become out there.”

“Chief Chiba has determined that the Magnetite concentration in the soil has grown stronger over time”, he acknowledged shakily. “Wild demons will continue to spawn in at those locations, and in greater numbers and power.”

“The city grows more dangerous with each day”, she pressed a hand to the window, the sun reflecting off her hair flower. “I've checked the data myself. We're already seeing diminishing returns on the rescue missions.”

He knew that. While he'd authorized their squads of agents to travel beyond even the limit of the tower's sight, even in company vehicles there had to be a limit of how far their search could extend. The other factor- the increasing number of humans who would be dead or in hiding before anyone could reach them- was immutable and promised to only grow worse over time.

“The more people we can save”, he said, “the better. I've already begun re-configuring floors 21 to 50 into more shelter space for the new arrivals. More than half of this building will be devoted to looking after them, and more will follow if it's needed.”

“That's good”, Surahi smiled. “There will be a hard limit we hit of course, but until we do I want to save as many as we can. I'm certain you can imagine by now... that the countryside out beyond the city limits is already lost.”

Jun stiffened. It wasn't something he'd wanted to assume, but it was the most likely scenario. Beyond the city borders lay miles and miles of exposed earth. Open rural areas that would be ravaged by wild demons.

“What is our limit then, mi- Surahi?”

She sounded surprised. “You tell me, Jun. You've seen the downward trends for yourself. Extrapolate that based on when the estimates on the number of survivors we save will drop to zero.”

Jun was a math prodigy, yet even he had to take a few moments to calculate that in his head.

When he did, the answer took his breath away. “Five... no. Approximately four to five days from now. Assuming that we avoid sending any teams beyond the range limits you specified. Four days from now, we will have successfully evacuated everyone within that area who is not already dead or in hiding.”

And four days from now, the damage to the city he was seeing now would grow exponentially worse. Everywhere outside of the Sige secure zone, that is.

“...Has Chief Chiba spoken of a possible solution?”

“No”, Surahi admitted. “She said she would continue testing to see if there is a way to diffuse the Magnetite. Have you received any word from Ohabara's team?”

He deserved that reversal, he knew. “...No reply from them since yesterday night. No response to our queries. They've gone dark again.”

He tried his best not to feel betrayed by that information. He'd trusted his old high school friend, given him a free hand even after his show of disloyalty, and this was the result of his kindness. “Their DSP vitality sensors are still online, so they cannot be dead.”

A small comfort. Still, Surahi had chosen to trust Kasai and his team, and so he ought to give them the benefit of the doubt as well. At least, until she also felt that enough lenience had been granted them.

Of course, this wouldn't have been an issue at all if their DSPs hadn't been somehow re-activated and upgraded by some outside force. In retrospect, that should have been his first clue that something else was happening here. That Ohabara and the two with him would require a firm hand.

“Ohabara knows that we are the only hope Tokyo has”, she tapped her own device, examining the data on her mighty demons. “However little love he might have for his superiors, surely he would at least understand that if this city falls, everyone he cares about is doomed?”

Recognizing the real question, Jun shifted his gaze to the east, unable to see the hospital under discussion. “I have been Ohabara's direct manager for many years now. It has been considerably longer since we were close friends. However, I can at least guarantee that he still cares for his mother, Aya.”

“In the Toyosu general hospital”, the heiress recited. “We know. Perhaps it might be prudent for us to send a team there, to help evacuate the patients to safety?”

“A long journey”, he advised. “And the police are already guarding it. Such an escort would be a greater risk than leaving them be right. Particularly...”, he felt his muscles tighten at the memory of the most recent reports. “Particularly considering the recent attacks in that area. The new demon.”

“Nous”, Surahi clarified, gazing out across the city hoping to find some sign of the flying cloaked figure. No such luck. “We should issue a warning to all our agents to avoid engaging that one. He is too powerful.”

That surprised him. Not the action, but her reason for it. “Too powerful... even for you?”

Amused by the notion, she shrugged. “I could make the attempt. However, I believe that Nous would sense my power approaching and steer clear of me. Father considers me better suited to dealing with the other less intelligent demons. Keeping the secure zone safe, you know.”

“Then, perhaps it's finally time for us to lift the restrictions?”

His request was bold, and had it been her father here now he might never have dared ask. But Surahi merely acknowledged his desperation. “You're talking about lifting the Makai Line. Tempting. However, you also know why we have avoided resorting to that thus far. Still... perhaps it is time after all. If you were able to compile a list of our ten most trustworthy tamers, I could make a strong case to father for it. The wild demons will only become more dangerous and numerous in the coming days, after all. We will have to adjust our power to match them.”

That admission left a hollow pit in his stomach. In addition to all the other data, he'd also been privy to their casualties. Tamers who even healing skills couldn't save. They were not many, but that didn't change that they were people. Loyal, proficient employees of Sige who hadn't signed up for a job they thought might end their lives.

Anything that might raise their odds, he would do gladly. “I have some in mind. I'll send them to you shortly.”

“Not anyone who has been with the company for less than five years”, Surahi advised him. “Ohabara was right about one thing- contracts are no longer enough to absolutely guarantee loyalty. The temptation to abuse the power of the DSP is strong, and more so with Makai Line demons. Look for agents with records of strong discipline, as though they were soldiers.”

The mention of soldiers brought him back to the present. “Your mission was successful, then?”

Surahi sighed. “In part. I was able to convince the SDF commanders to pull back into a defensive position in the west end, and permit some of our agents to aid the troops. But... they're still exposed out there. They refused to retreat to our secure zone. If another demon leader such as Tarakasura decides to attack them...”

Fortunately, they hadn't seen any sign of the beast king today. With the exception of Nous, the wild demons had been left directionless for the time being. Still dangerous, but much less than an organized pack of them could be. Which brought him back to the current threat.

“Only Nous, then. Are we truly going to allow that monster free reign over the city?”

Surahi understood his concerns, but didn't budge on that front. “Our mission was never to destroy every single demon leader that appeared. You've seen how futile such a plan is when it comes to tracking down Leraje, and we fully expect other powerful demon leaders to appear over time. All that matters right now is that we evacuate as many people to our secure zone as possible, where it's possible for us to defend them.”

“Leaving Nous and the others to ravage the areas of Tokyo beyond our reach. Such as Ikebukuro and Ueno.”

Surahi shrugged. “That cannot be helped. It's up to Bythos to defend its own territory now. They have refused our offers of cooperation.”

Against all reason, Jun knew. He considered such unhelpful vendettas to be illogical, but he'd also become used to being surrounded by people who let their emotions run freely. Even in high company leadership positions, some of his fellow managers such as Mr. Ishimura could hold a grudge for incredibly petty reasons.

He was thankful that Surahi wasn't that way, no doubt thanks to extensive tutoring from her father and others. He would have to make sure the list of tamers he would create had people with those qualities as well. People who rarely let emotion cloud their judgment, and could be relied on to use their demons only to serve company interests as they had previously.

It was a shame then, that the spiritual powers needed for demon summoning were generally much stronger in their younger employees, who tended to be on the emotional side. Chief Chiba had said there was some kind of connection there too. That could be a problem. He would have to vet each of them in person, make sure they fully understood the great power and responsibility they were being entrusted by Sige.

Demons beyond the Makai Line. Demons powerful enough to level entire buildings. Demons which could call down great hurricanes or floods of pure destructive elemental force. Power equal to the heiress of Sige herself, and to her pet Skoll.

Power enough to tear this entire megalopolis of Tokyo apart. To 'Change the World'. Assuming that the wild demons didn't do it first.

Four days, he told himself. In just four more days, there will be a reckoning.

The unassuming chime drew them both back to their own DSPs, producing different reactions that were carefully gaged against each other before Jun spoke again. “...It's Ohabara. He's sent a message for all available Sige demon tamers to join him in hunting down Nous.”

“And you set an alert to go off as soon as we got communication from him”, Surahi chuckled. “Just as I did. I wanted to keep tabs on him. Unfortunately, what he's proposing is impossible. He is not authorized to order our tamers to do anything outside his own team. I'll send a follow-up message reminding everyone of that to make sure. Perhaps agent Yasuda can talk him out of it.”

Jun swore he could feel Kasai's burning eyes on him then, waiting to see what he would do. He would be disappointed. Hopefully, not as disappointed as Jun felt in him for his actions.

It really didn't matter, he supposed. If Kasai was really foolish enough to battle Nous without backup, then he deserved whatever he was going to get. He would die disappointed, perhaps cursing his old friend's name for not bailing him out again like he always did.

Years spent in service to the company, and still Ohabara didn't understand. He never grew up. He never would, now. He had always failed to comprehend that Sige was not a volunteer organization. It was a corporation that had worked hard to become the most powerful financial empire in all of Japan. And a major contributing part of that was its people's strict adherence to the proper hierarchy. The demon invasion had not changed these simple facts. If he couldn't let go of his damn ego and learn to follow orders... then they were better off without him.

Good bye, my foolish friend, he thought at the window, eyes shut, idly wondering where exactly in the city Kasai was now, and what he was doing. I pray that you meet your ultimate end with some measure of the grace denied you in life. May your spirit join those who came before you.

And yet, Jun couldn't quite make himself believe it entirely. Somehow, some way, he knew... he would be seeing Ohabara again.

14:00

“Get the lemon squares”, Fujisa advised him. “They're always fresh and tasty.”

Kasai almost laughed again, actually feeling giddy for once Even after three days of it nonstop, the juxtaposition of his old life as a Sige agent and the new one as a demon tamer still found ways to amuse. Here they were, demon tamers all, arguing about what Bythos cafeteria food to partake of, with Fujisa naturally being the expert on the subject.

“The green onions and spiced corn mash”, Gantu argued. “The lemon squares have too much sugar. Vegetables help to build up a strong body.”

She arched a brow back at him, squeezing a swollen arm. “Oh yeah, like you need any more of that, Arakawa. Come on now, live a little! We might not even be alive tomorrow.”

“Very encouraging”, Kasai joked as the four of them sat down together at the table. The Bythos cafeteria was a bit larger with a shorter ceiling and lights, but otherwise similar enough to the long-windowed eatery he used to frequent nearly every day when he was working for Sige. He caught some odd stares from passerby, but that was nothing new.

What was new were the people around him at the table. He'd had friends at Sige who would join him for lunch too- Mika and Keniji mainly. But none of them had been chosen to be demon tamers, lacking the necessary spiritual power. They were still working in support roles at the Sige headquarters, organizing all the refugees into something manageable.

If there was any mercy at all left in this universe, then he would never have to explain to Mika why exactly he might never be able to go back there again after today. Might never see her again.

Admittedly, despite his current mood, today hadn't been a particularly encouraging sign of that theory.

As soon as he noticed he'd been putting it off, he stiffened up and corked an eye at each of the others in turn. Fujisa. Riin. Gantu. Fujisa he'd known for a while, but the other two tamers were fairly unknown qualities. Just as he was to them, no doubt.

“The board of directors”, he began, fingers steepled, “have approved of my plan for dealing with Nous. The operation requires Todoroki and Hidehi's aid in order to maximize its chances of success. Arakawa, whether or not you want to come along with us is up to you.”

Gantu's chin seemed to inflate slightly. Wide country almond eyes studied him back. While the man was hardly 'stupid' like some people in Bythos seemed to believe him to be, it was true that he seemed to have trouble detecting sarcasm or joking tones.

“The board has assigned me to watch over you, Ohabara. Wherever you go, I will also go. Nous... is a serious threat. He took down Inui. We have to stop him, no matter what. Free the human who he's possessing.”

“Much appreciated”, he was careful not to leave any easily-misinterpreted hint of sarcasm himself. “What you all need to know then, is that this is going to be my first time as an actual team leader. My first time directing other people in what to do and where to go. So, y'know... sincerest apologies well in advance if I mess up and get us all killed today.”

Against the deadpan of his statement, Fujisa giggled over her stale-looking lemon square. “Ohabara, come on now. We all know that it was you leading us the last two days, not Yasuda. We trust you. You're always the one who's looking out for us, trying to help us to survive.”

“You both trusted me”, Kasai corrected her, feeling his nerves knot up at the memory. “And look where that got Yasuda. Controlled by some... creature.”

“That”, she grew annoyed, “wasn't your doing. We still have no idea why Nous chose Weihan of all people to inhabit, or how. Even if that thing did give us some answers, I don't think I'd trust them.”

Kasai grimaced back at her. He had his own private theories on why that choice had been made, but none of those would be very helpful at the moment. Beyond despair, beyond dread of the future... Weihan lost himself. It's down to us not to do the same.

“Fine, fine. What I'm getting at is that in order to make sure we can operate as a good team, I want to first check out your abilities. Rather, your demons. I already know that neither of you can share your demons with us since you're still with Bythos, but you should still be able to use the Demon Auction and Armatization apps to get yourselves some recruits.”

Gantu studied his black DSP's square screen a moment, volunteering to be the first. “We're not allowed to summon any demons or use demon skills inside this building. It's too dangerous. Just watch the screen.”

As the three of them watched, lifelike models of demons appeared on it. “Tsuchigumo and Pabilsag”, Fujisa recognized thoughtfully. “Two big strong crustaceans. Heavy lifters.”

“Nice, man”, Kasai gave a thumbs up. “How are you set for Armatization?”

Gantu looked reluctant, reminding Kasai of the possession incident he'd spoken of. “...Only one demon was ever compatible with me for Armatization. Titan.”

The third demon on Gantu's list of summons was even larger than the others- a golem of gritty gray stone with only the slightest hint of eyes on its flat cinder block of a face, though there was a distinct gravelly beard jutting downward at the chin.

“Big strength”, he approved. “Probably can take a hell of a beating too. What about you, Hidehi?”

Much more reluctantly, the taciturn girl stood up on the chair to get closer, indicating her own device. “Heqet. Chironnopu. Jack Frost. Last one can Armatize.”

That got Fujisa's attention. “Awww, that one's so cuuute! I kind of want to see that now. Eh, I guess it can wait.”

“N-no summoning d-d-demons inside the h-h-headquarters”, Gantu reminded her shakily. “Not even the, uh... c-cute ones.”

“Thanks for showing them to us anyway”, Kasai brought up his own device, giving the others a brief walkthrough of the large arsenal of demons he shared with Fujisa. And technically Weihan as well, but he hasn't used it since...

He muffled a cough.

“Now, for the other part. I'm sure you both have your own ways of handling missions Bythos gives you as demon tamers. As well as your own ways of fighting wild demons. But when we fight Nous- even before that, when we're getting everything else in place before- we need to be coordinated as a team. If I ask you guys to do something, you can question how stupid it was after the fighting's done. Not before then. Got it?”

Riin looked a bit less certain of her faith in the plan now, but she nodded slowly, fingers anxiously braiding her dangling headphone wires as though they were hair. “...Can't go alone. Nous is strong. Have to work together. Stupid otherwise.”

“Like you said before, Hidehi”, Kasai agreed gently. “All goes well, we might even be able to lead by example. Show everyone what we can accomplish when Sige and Bythos agents put aside what separates us and work together as one. Taking down a demon who even the great Akito Inui couldn't handle on his own.”

Not the best thing to remind them off, he realized too late. Gantu and Riin both suddenly looked discouraged, both of them knowing that neither one were at that skill level yet. That they might actually be heading off to their shared demise if things went badly today.

That they might be joining Inui in wherever he was now.

“To that end”, he tried to cheer them back up, “I've already messaged Sige about the current situation. I've asked them to send us any tamers they have to spare to aid us on this mission. No idea if anyone will be able to make it. Just know we might not be fighting Nous alone here. The more demon tamers we have fighting with us, the better our shot at success.”

They had about the same amount of faith in that working as he did by the look of it, but it was enough to get them focused back on the mission at hand. Every step of it.

Fujisa had a different sort of look on her face. She'd known him longer than the other two, but he already knew this mission was going to reveal a new side of him she might not like the look of. One more sacrifice, and one he would gladly make.

“I'm no armchair leader”, he told them, his eyes darkening in preparation for the fight he knew lay ahead. “Me, I'm a fighter. My nature. When we start, I'll be leading off. Trying to keep his focus on me the whole time, so he can't protect himself against you. But if something does go wrong, if something happens to me so I can't give orders... Todoroki is the 2^nd in command here. If I can't give orders, then you listen to her. She knows what's up.”

That lifted Fujisa's spirits, at least temporarily. “...Thanks. I just hope it won't come to that.”

“Sige. Wait.”

He saw Gantu's jolted reaction first, just as surprised to see Temuta Inui's hauntingly familiar face as Kasai was to hear his voice in that tone, considering how they'd met. The young man looked deflated and weary now, but his eyes still radiated the same need to do something to release the screaming grief still welling up within him.

“Temu”, Fujisa broke the silence, quickly reaching the only logical reason he could have approached them like this. “...Sorry, but no. You can't use a DSP. You can't help us defeat Nous.”

“I don't need a damn DSP”, Temuta gritted through his teeth, tapping the square hilt at his belt. “I have this. That's all I need.”

She gave Kasai a shrug, expecting him to chip in, and he eyed their smoldering guest over to buy time. He wasn't wearing a Bythos suit, or anything close to his older brother's garb. Not a Bythos tamer, and only here because the Inui family had been one of the first ones to be safely evacuated.

Carefully, he lifted a hand to his shoulder. “Kid... I get you. In your shoes I'd probably be doing the same thing, trying to get my revenge. We've all seen your brother fight. He used his katana and his DSP like they were meant to be together. And he still lost to Nous.”

“You distract him then”, Temuta pulled his shoulder back. “And I'll chop the bastard clean in half.”

Across the table, Riin rolled her eyes. Gantu moved over, perhaps trying to impress the strength of the average demon to him. “You can't go with us, Inui. The board of directors said no.”

“And you're just going to turn down my help because those old geezers say so?”

“No”, Kasai tried to hold his gaze, unflinching. “We're going to turn you down because you're an emotional powder keg waiting to go off. I don't care if you're the best damn swordsman in the world- when you're this angry you're just a liability to the rest of us. We only get one shot at pulling this off. We can't have someone carrying that kind of baggage into this fight.”

Everyone else in the cafeteria was watching them now, no longer eating. For a moment he really thought Temuta might throw a punch at him, but he held off at the last moment, merely glaring back. “He... He has to... Family honor demands...”

“Your father and mother wouldn't want you throwing your life away for 'honor', Temu”, Fujisa told him. “You haven't even talked to them about it, have you? Because you know they'll say no.”

“Come on”, Kasai waved the others away, beckoning them to follow. Temuta wouldn't willingly leave, so they would have to leave him. “We should get going.”

“Why?”, the single word behind him sounded like a completely new person was speaking it, anger transformed into bleak surrender. “Why? Why can't I have the power...?”

“Beats me, kid”, Kasai felt genuinely sorry for him. “I'm not a demonology researcher. Maybe ask Dr. Leng? All I can promise you is that we'll do everything we can to pull this off. For Akito. For you. For everyone else.”

Temuta's grip tightened, eyes narrowed until they looked even more like Akito's dagger gaze. “...You make sure then, Ohabara. The bastard dies. No mercy.”

“Either he does”, Kasai promised him, “or we do. Rest for now, kid. Your time will come. Just... not now.”

He still didn't quite look satisfied, perhaps suspecting a well-meaning lie. But it was as good as he was going to get, for now. “...Damn it. Entrusting something this important to Sige. Ridiculous.”

“Not Sige”, he corrected, tapping the screen of his unique DSP. “Free agent, now. And working with Bythos tamers. Not that it matters, but they'll deserve the credit for this more than Sige. Assuming we succeed.”

“No 'assuming'. Do it. No matter what. Destroy him.”

Finally, he let go. Let Kasai walk out the door of the Bythos building with the others, Fujisa waiting behind for him to catch up, turning back to him. “Temu's sixteen years. Akito would've killed for him.”

Kasai nodded. He hadn't known the exact age until now, but Temuta felt just barely young enough to trigger protective instincts he hadn't experienced in a very long time. “At sixteen, I was pretty much like that too. Always angry. Thinking I was the center of the universe.”

He spread his hands. “Now it feels like I really am... and it sucks.”

She smiled back. “You're not, Ohabara. We're just a team on a mission now. And you're the team leader. What's up first?”

He tried not to look too pleased, an odd warmth surging in his chest. Fujisa was actually listening to him. Waiting on his words. All three of them were watching him. Him. More authority and trust than he'd ever dared dream of having, after the bad times were past and gone and left him with years of cold regret and self-loathing. He wished Aya could see this.

He couldn't waste it. They all deserved better than that. And they'd get it. He'd make sure of it. That was another promise, one made to himself. Temuta's request would be fulfilled.

“First... we go to the highway underpass of Ikebukuro.”

The destination caught Fujisa off guard, naturally. “What? Why the underpass? What's over there?”

“It's Wednesday today”, he checked his DSP screen to confirm, worried he might have lost track of time with everything else that was happening. “So, unless we're unlucky... that's where we'll find the Capsules.”

14:30

Fresh air and sunlight felt better than ever after being trapped inside the oppressive Bythos headquarters for so long. More invigorating still was being back out on the street with a team of demon tamers at his side. Somehow, this felt better to him than the most secure shelter could be.

Fujisa wasn't quite so sanguine about it. She'd managed to hold on for this long, honoring their earlier agreement, but after they'd gotten far enough away from the building and into the narrow streets of Ikebukuro she had no choice but to vent. “I have to admit Ohabara, that was the absolute last thing I expected you to say. I sure hope you're not joking. This isn't the time.”

“I know that it's not”, he acknowledged, growing deadly calm. “I also know that Nous likes to run away. He's damn good at it too. Faster than any of us can run. Faster than demon wings can carry us. The only way we can possibly catch up to him... is if we have vehicles. And yes, I've already checked with Bythos' board of directors to make sure- none of their trucks are fast enough to catch up with Nous either. We need something even better. Something that wasn't designed with city speed limits in mind. A custom job.”

She grew even more incredulous at that. “What? You think they're going to just give us their motorcycles?”

“Not give”, Kasai amended. “We're going to negotiate for them. Just like I did with the Bythos board. That's what humans do.”

“But they're not human.” Fujisa realized how that sounded, and backstepped. “They... I'm sorry. But... you know their reputation, Ohabara. The Capsules are criminals. Lawbreakers. They have no reason at all to help us. I'm not looking forward to having to use our demons to fend them off when they attack us.”

“We won't have to”, Kasai promised. “Unless things go really badly.”

“And... if they do?”

“Then you stand back, and let me handle the rough stuff. I'm good at that.”

A truth that was still far off from convincing her this plan would work. She turned from him, arms folded. “...I thought you'd learned your lesson by now, Ohabara. I thought you were trying to redeem yourself and become a good person. But here you are, running right back to them.”

“Not to re-join them”, he promised vehemently. “Not even close. We just need to borrow their motorbikes for a while.”

“And... what if the price for those bikes is you?”

“Then we haggle for a better price.”

She dropped silent then, pensively studying the concrete below until she'd fallen behind the group. “Todoroki”, he called finally. “Is this going to be a problem for you?”

The suggestion perked her back up. “What? N-no. No. You just surprised me, that's all. It's like if it was my birthday, and you wheeled in a big cake for me, and a demon popped out of it. That kind of surprise. But it's not a problem.”

At least the other two weren't so panicked over it. If anything, Gantu seemed rather excited. “The Capsules... I never saw or heard about them until I came here to the city. Everyone in Tokyo knows of them.”

“They're thugs”, Riin was less kindly-disposed to the idea. “They're stupid. Just destroying stuff 'cause they're mad. Killing people. Useless.”

It only occurred to Kasai during the trip over that the old gang might have changed their patterns of which hideout to use on which day. If they had, then he was about to look like a complete fool, or rather more of one.

But sure enough, he smelled the tang of burned gasoline long before they saw any signs of habitation there in the graffiti-laden concrete cavity beneath Ikebukuro's largest freeway.

The sight wouldn't have meant much to most people. Just about a dozen unwashed-looking people gathered around a burning trash barrel. To him, it was like a birthday present. He counted four- no, five motorbikes. More importantly, no sign of Satsuhira Drogen.

But he did recognize the one who spotted them first, who called to the others that they had unwanted guests. Tow-headed Daisuke had been a newcomer like him when they'd first met, usually put in a minor supporting role whenever there was something to be done, just another face in the crowd. By the look of him now, he'd come up in the world since then... although he'd still consider Gantu more intimidating when he tried to be.

He recognized Kasai too, after a moment. “Heeey, 'Bisu! Your bitch Corpo boyfriend found us!”

“Fuck you!” Ebisu pried himself off the graffiti-laden wall, his shock-dyed hair loose in the summer breeze. He didn't look quite so welcoming as last time, and neither did the other guys with him. “Mm... One's a little short, but the other one's a hottie even if she tried to arrest me last time. This your make-up present, Tips?”

Kasai forced on his most savage grin. “Nah. Just some people interested in seeing the famous Capsules. What they were like before they sold out to Drogen anyway.”

“Oh yeah”, his old friend snickered. “'Sold out', huh. Like you sold out to Sige? Couldn't believe my eyes. Tips. Kasai Ohabara, the bloody angel himself. Tamed into being a damn Corpo. That's low, man. Real low.”

Fujisa was already itching to say something back. He could feel her tensing up. But he'd also warned her beforehand to let him do the talking.

“Check again, 'Bisu. These ones? They're Bythos people. Part of my plan, y'see. Gonna get the two of 'em to destroy each other.”

Ebisu knew he was joking of course, but the best jokes were at least halfway serious. “Ahhh, there's the Tips I know. Whatchu need from us?”

He pointed to the bikes. “Those, actually.”

Ebisu stared back. His mocking laughter echoed off the dirty concrete walls. “Yeah, no. We need our rides. Not just for the pigs... there's monsters 'round here now. The Night Rider. Only way to stay ahead of 'em.”

“We're just borrowing 'em. I need 'em to catch one of the monsters. Big bastard, keeps running away.”

“Sounds like a pussy to me”, he snorted. “Who gives a shit?”

“Maybe you've seen him. Guy in a big black cloak flying around. Dusting people.”

He hadn't actually, but the last two words made Ebisu drop some of his good humor. “So this is what they're havin' you do? Taking care of fuckin' monsters for 'em? What'd they give you in return Tips, a 50 yen pay raise?”

“Well, they did give me this”, Kasai raised his DSP so everyone could see its light for the demonstration. “Activate. Kasai Ohabara. Summon Wendigo.”

The huge beast drew everyone's attention and alarm. After all, vicious monsters like this had already eaten a few of them, and this one was particularly imposing. “Easy. Easy. He won't hurt you”, Kasai assured them quickly. “Not unless I order him to, that is.”

“Holy shit”, Ebisu stared, jaw hanging. “I mean, I saw you do that before in the graveyard, but... that's what these things can do?”

He was still wearing the black Bythos DSP on his right arm, Kasai noticed. “Thought I'd put that on the table too”, he remarked. “You help us, we make that one work for you.”

Ebisu couldn't even hide how eager he was for that to happen. “Niiice... but I'm gonna need something a lil' more, Tips. You know 'bout the Night Rider?”

Seeing where his old friend was going with this already, Kasai nodded back. “Skeleton guy on a motorcycle with burning wheels? Attacks you at night? Crazy strong compared to other demons?”

“Yeah. Drogen says we can avoid the bastard if we relocate. Doesn't seem to be working.”

“'Course not. It's Drogen's idea.” Studying the faces of the rest of the assembled crowd, he couldn't help wondering what the ones who were missing were up to. Or how many of them he would never see again. “Where the hell is Drogen anyway? I was kinda hoping to dust him today.”

“I told ya. Bastard went to the Ginza underpass.” Ebisu shrugged. “Maybe he hopes the Night Rider will dust us for him? Anyways, that's the deal. You take care of the Night Rider, you get this little doohickey to work for me, and you get your bikes. We cool?”

Returning to his old friend's face, Kasai noticed for the first time how he'd gone long enough without his trademark acid green hair dye that some of the tips were actually returning to their normal black. He looked more than a bit frayed, but still grateful to be away from Drogen for a while.

“Problem. We need the bikes now. As in, before tonight. But I promise we'll deal with the Night Rider after.”

Ebisu smirked. “Peh. You ARE a Corpo. You say you're goin' after a big-ass monster? What if he dusts you?”

“Then you made a good deal”, he said mildly. “Getting a buncha punk-ass Corpos dusted? Without even lifting a finger? Drogen'd be thrilled.”

“Oh sure. Like he'd even care about that. Sorry, Tips. No deal. Can't trust you now. Not after you sold out.”

And that was the final breaking point for Fujisa. She actually pushed Kasai aside, breaking past to look at Ebisu up close. Every last inch of a man who she saw as nothing but a criminal and a murderer.

“Excuse ME! Ohabara did not 'sell out'”, she claimed, more angry and righteous than he could ever recall hearing her. “He is trying to turn his life around. He's trying to be a good person, who respects the laws and people of this country! Which is more than I can say for any of YOU!”

The gang's mocking laughter echoed so much against the concrete that Kasai worried it might attract demons. Ebisu glanced back at him, still chuckling to himself. “She's adorable, Tips. I see why you like her so much. How 'bout this? I give you the bikes for today, no strings attached, if she stays here and shows us a good time. We'll treat her real nice, promise!”

He had a second to try and formulate a diplomatic response to that when there was a noise and suddenly Ebisu was lying sprawled on the ground, a glowing red mark on his cheek from where Fujisa had struck him.

She seemed as surprised as any of them, panting with suppressed fury more than exhaustion. “...Filthy Capsule. You should be giving us those motorcycles for nothing. This is your big chance to help us to save people's lives, and begin to atone for your crimes. But you don't care. You never do.”

“Todoroki”, Kasai warned her.

It was a good thing indeed that Drogen wasn't here. If he was, that insult would have guaranteed Fujisa's death. Ebisu merely looked amused still, rubbing his cheek as he stood.

“Got a nice right hook too. Too bad the rest of her's mush.”

“Her old man is a police Lieutenant”, Kasai told him. “You can guess that's like.”

“A pig's daughter? No shit.” Turning back to the others, he watched them for a moment before resuming with Fujisa. “Todoroki, wasn't it? Guess you believe all the crap the journos say about us too?”

Feeling singled out, she withdrew back, closer to Gantu's large protective arms. “You're all wanted criminals. You've killed people! You're always running from the police. Where is your respect for human life?”

“I can see why you wanted to be the diplomat here, Tips”, Ebisu called to him. “Not much brains to this one.”

He folded his arms. “When did we ever care about that? You got something you want to tell her, go right ahead. But I still want those bikes, Natsuhagi. I'm not taking no for an answer.”

On cue, his Wendigo released a rather bored-sounding roar echoing through the concrete. But it was enough to get everyone's attention back on the giant monster and put some genuine fear back on Ebisu and Daisuke's faces.

“....Huh. Damn Corpo strong-arming me. But fine. You get the bikes now, you dust the Night Rider tonight. And tomorrow, you show me how this thing works.”

He brightened. “Deal. We'll be back before dark. Or dead.”

“Win-win”, Ebisu cracked.

Fujisa's astonishment was decidedly less glib however. “What?! No! No deal! We can't just give this guy the power of the DSP! Who knows what he'll do with it?”

Her outburst echoed off the walls as well, earning further mockery from the Capsules. Kasai waited for that to settle in before trying to communicate his own mandate through eyes alone. I'm the leader here, Todoroki. Please just go with it.

“...F... Fine. Whatever.”

He'd only just turned around when he heard Ebisu again. “Oh, and Tips? Tuition's extra.”

It took him a second to process that. Slightly longer to realize that he'd actually been stupid enough to assume that Gantu, Riin and Fujisa would all automatically know how to ride motorcycles without any help.

“...Shit.”

The gang's echoing laughter at him felt more genuine this time, a touch less mocking.

16:00

Fujisa was not happy about having to spend more time around the Capsules than absolutely necessary. She kept her distance from them as though they were poisonous, only allowing Kasai to be the one to teach the basics of riding. Private time between the two of them would normally be welcome, but her current mood spoiled that somewhat.

Only somewhat.

“How can you stand them, Ohabara? They're so horrible. The way some of the guys in that bunch look at me, and even one of the ladies, that one with the pink hair...”

“That's Yamashiko. Daisuke's girlfriend, or at least they were last time I checked. Funny thing is, her older sister actually works at Sige.” He paused. “I know they don't make a very good first impression. Throttle up now.”

The powerful motor below them made a most satisfying purr, one that he'd missed dearly. There was the brief temptation to ask to take over so that he could ride, but this was her lesson, not his. For now, it was enough comfort to seat himself behind Fujisa, giving her instructions as she carefully felt the machine's limits out, learning how to properly control it with the same skill as she controlled her DSP.

“He was just joking, y'know. Drogen might do that to a lady, but none of them would.”

“Again”, she sounded dismissive. “Again you blame Drogen for everything and absolve them for their sins. But the Capsules were here before he took them over, weren't they? You don't need to apologize for them. They don't deserve it.”

“So-”. He caught himself, smiled. “You want answers, ask 'Bisu. Don't worry. He won't bite. He knows now that if he tried anything with you, I'd kick the shit out of him.”

That idea calmed her down some, and they made the first wide turn onto the Ikebukuro freeway without any problems. “Like riding a bicycle, just way faster”, she noted. “But... it's not Natsuhagi that scares me. It's you. When you were talking with them earlier... it was like you became a completely different person. Like... like you were becoming one of them again. A Capsule. A scumbag with no respect for life or law.”

Kasai knew better than to feel insulted by her. “I just know how to talk to them is all. Just like I know how to talk to people like the board of directors, or to Harada Sige. They all speak different languages. If I was too formal in my asking, then they'd think I'd gotten soft. They'd think I'd gone full Corpo. Then we wouldn't get these lovely machines for the afternoon. And then maybe you wouldn't be completely safe around them.”

She nearly spun out then, the machine's front wheel shifting violently in her grip. “...S-sorry. I'll hold on tighter next time.”

“Let's take a break for a bit.” He pulled his helmet loose, watching her do the same before joining him at the expressway railing. From up here, they could see nearly all of Ikebukuro. A ward known foremost of all for times of unrest and revolution. In the grip of the current crisis, its silence seemed like an affront to its long history.

“What do you think he's doing now?”, Fujisa wondered aloud. “Is he fighting it? When he sends people into those portals, does he scream inside? Or...?”

“...I don't know”, Kasai confessed beside her. “When we fought, I saw nothing like that. Just Nous and their mission. He's used to focusing on completing missions, ignoring distractions. Maybe it doesn't even matter who it's for?”

“Weihan's grades were... always excellent”, she gave a tearful sigh. “He even helped me to study for a test a few times when I needed it. But... he never brought up his family, not even when I asked him. I guess now, we know why. Seems like there's a lot in both of you guys that I haven't seen much of.”

“We will reach him”, he promised, taking her hand, feeling its warmth. “If there's anything at all left of Yasuda in there, then we'll find it. Drag it out of him, by force. Back into the dawn.”

“Whatever it takes”, she acknowledged more firmly. “That's why we're doing all this. To save Yasuda. To stop this... thing that's taken him over. No one else can do it. Only us.”

“Maybe I'm underestimating Sige”, Kasai considered, “but I sent my message hours ago. Haven't heard back from anyone over there yet. Either they haven't been able to stop Nous yet either, or they're not even trying to. You saw it. Their priority is rushing more people to their 'secure zone'. Not trying to stop the demons which are already out there.”

“That's the difference between Bythos and Sige”, she nodded. “We've been fighting back. They're more conservative. Only protecting the area around their headquarters. Shame, since they have more powerful tamers with them than Bythos. Munayama and Surahi.”

“For now”, he acknowledged. “But... I'm sure you've noticed this too by now- demon tamers like us get stronger the more we fight. Our DSPs collect all that loose Magnetite energy when we destroy demons, and we buy better demons, fuse 'em together and gain their skills too. In just three days, we've all gotten way more powerful. You feel it too, don't you?”

The realization cheered Fujisa up some. “And here I thought I was just going crazy. You're right, Ohabara. We are getting stronger. It's just been so gradual that I didn't even notice at first. If that Salamander demon from the park showed up right now... I could probably take care of that big lizard all by myself, no demon summoning needed. Just one blast of my 'Mabufu' skill, and he'd freeze to death.”

It should have felt empowering for her. But it made her feel a bit frightened too. Made her shiver in a way that had nothing to do with her ice skills. “What is this? What does all this mean, Ohabara? Does it mean that we're... changing? That in some way, we're slowly transforming into the demons ourselves? Like with Armatization? Like... Yasuda?”

“Not like Yasuda”, Kasai emphasized sternly. “You were the one who worried the most about what Armatization does to your mind. I talked to Leng too. He said it was safe... but also new. If you feel like you don't want to do it any more...”

“No”, she cut him off immediately, gathering her resolve. “No, I'll still do it. I'll Armatize with Yuki Jyorou as many times as I have to, to save Yasuda. To save innocent lives. Her and I... we have an understanding with each other now.”

Drawing closer, her folded her arms around herself protectively, reluctant to continue but knowing no one else would understand. “I think that, in some weird way... Yuki Jyorou's almost come to care for me. As much... as a demon can possibly care for a human, I mean.”

“Ekajati cared for a human once too”, Kasai reminded her, Tatyana Chiba's words coming back to him. “They're not heartless monsters. Not all of them anyway. They're just... different. As different as Bythos and the Capsules.”

“Maybe”, Fujisa mused. Memories of her time in Bythos rose up to the surface. Along with everything else she'd seen lately. “But it doesn't change the fact that all these demons are ruining our beautiful city. And they don't surrender. They run away sometimes, but they don't ever surrender. They just come back for more. If we're all going to survive... then we need to keep fighting. Until these wild demons stop invading our world. The tame ones... they can stay, if they want.”

Studying his DSP's screen, Kasai felt pleasantly surprised by her words. “Todoroki... it sounds like you have some hidden sides to you too.”

“Yeah”, she smiled nervously. “No arguments there.” She couldn't deny it, any more than she could deny how being here on this bridge in the afternoon sunlight beside him made her feel inside.

How somehow, even that crude Capsule side of Ohabara that she'd just witnessed at the underpass only drew her closer to him. How it blocked out the nagging voices that reminded her that Kasai Ohabara was still just a worthless criminal further still.

Because this wild red-haired man who she'd come to rely on so much was still so very, very different from the Capsules who had once been his friends, she knew.

It was just like she'd said. He was different. The boundless fury and aggression she'd seen in him while chasing after Nous, tempered by the reason and logic necessary to negotiate with the Bythos board of directors, with Sige's own CEO, or even with a murderous motorcycle gang.

As if he were a tamed demon himself.

She would always prefer that tamed side of him. But somehow, she also knew it would be nothing without that wild side that made Ohabara who and what he was. Without that, maybe it wouldn't feel so strangely comforting for her to nestle herself up against his warm body instead of the cold metal of the bridge rail.

“Hey, Ohabara... why does Natsuhagi call you 'Tips' anyway? Is it because you were smart?”

Inwardly, she cursed. Just like that, the tender moment between them was lost. Awkwardness and anxiety and all else that kept humans apart took them both over again, and he looked away to hide the blush on his cheeks. “Um. It was, well... a long time ago. Old nickname, see. Short for 'Tipsy'. Because at least back then... I couldn't hold my liquor like the others. Not even half a cup was enough to make me pass out.”

In any other time she would have laughed. “I thought that was a prerequisite for the Capsules. To be able to drink a lot of alcohol?”

“...There's a lot about the Capsules you still don't yet know, Todoroki.”

Fujisa was fairly certain she would prefer to keep it that way. Equally certain that the temptation to ask anyway would continue to be her constant companion for the foreseeable future.

Assuming they survived that long, anyway. If they did, then maybe some day she would find the time to ask him about the other nickname they'd addressed Kasai by.

To ask why exactly Ebisu had called him 'the bloody angel'.

-

Chapter Text

17:00

Gliding back down the off ramp from a successful training session, Fujisa saw that Riin and Gantu had returned before them. Far from being intimidated by their hosts, the former had gone so far as to summon one of her demons.

She wasn't sure what to expect, but she certainly hadn't expected to see Jack Frost happily dancing with them, twirling around. It was even more of a surprise to see the Capsules happily clapping along with it. Particularly considering how badly the sight of Wendigo had scared them earlier.

“Heeee-hohoooo! T-hee-ank you all! You've been a great aud-hee-ence!”

“Cute trick”, Ebisu remarked beside her as she got off the motorcycle. “Now I really want to learn how to use this thing properly.”

“Tomorrow”, Kasai promised him. “Sorry, but we don't have the time right now.”

“I know. Work is never over when you're a Corpo stiff”, his old friend nodded emphatically. “Everything work out good for the rides?”

“I think that Todoroki's got the hang of it.” He checked her face to make sure, getting an affirmative nod in return. “How 'bout Arakawa and Hidehi?”

The heavily-pierced Yamashiko put an arm up on Gantu's, earning a look from Daisuke. “Eh. This guy looked pretty okay on his wheels. The little one... she might need a bit more time to practice.”

Riin looked upset by the other girl's appraisal, but she remained silent as was her standard. “Can any of you give her a bit more training before we go?”, Kasai asked. “The better off we are, the less likely we damage your machines by accident.”

Ebisu turned gravely serious for a moment. “Ohhh no. You put one scratch on mine, Tips, and I'm taking it out of your hide. Twice.”

“Yeah, I know. That's why Todoroki will be the one riding your bike.”

The other Capsules all laughed again, this time at Ebisu's stunned silence. “I'll be very careful with it... Natsuhagi”, Fujisa told him nervously, resolutely avoiding looking directly at him or at his Capsule tattoo. Or any of the others. “I know how important it is to you. To all of you.”

“See that you do”, Ebisu said, still sounding a bit dumbfounded. “Damn it, Tips. You know I can't punish her. You really are a cold-blooded Corpo bastard now, aren'cha?”

“Comes with the territory”, Kasai shrugged helplessly. “I'd leave you some money as assurance, but all the shops are closed now, even R-Val.” Instead, he set down several plastic containers- the last of the food supplies from his home. “Here. This is more valuable right now anyway. Call it a down payment.”

For once, he felt a hint of genuine fear in the other man's voice. Being a Capsule didn't mean you were immune to demons. The risk of starvation was an old friend. “Will... will taking down this big-ass demon you're after fix everything? Will that end this?”

Kasai's reply was blunt. “No. Sorry. This one is just one of many. The demons will continue to appear in the parks after this. I heard Sige is working on a solution to it, but we don't have anything concrete yet. We're after this bastard because... because he's killing a lot of people, and no one else can stop it.” Ebisu didn't need to know the rest of the reason, yet he looked suspicious anyway. Hiding things from him was always a risky proposition.

“A promise is a promise, 'Bisu. Once we take care of that one, I'll be back to deal with your Night Rider.”

Regaining himself, Ebisu nodded. “You better. That fucker is dusting more of us every night. Drogen says it's no problem, but even I can tell he's pissing himself at the idea of fighting it.”

“Maybe he'll dust Drogen next?”

His old friend cackled. “Nah, we're not that lucky. Best of luck with this big bastard demon lord of yours anyways, Tips. And remember- you owe me, man. You owe me big.”

His tone was still light, teasing. Only Kasai felt the true weight behind it, and his face grew grim. “I know, Natsuhagi. I know. And you know I don't break my promises. Not any more, anyway.”

For what felt like the first time, Yamashiko studied him closely. Despite her older sister's profession, she held even more disdain for his outfit than the rest of them. “...You look absolutely disgusting, Tips. Just another Corpo cog.”

“I'm a 'free agent'”, he maintained, examining her outfit in turn. As usual, her shirt and ripped shorts left little to the imagination. But it's a good outfit to beat the summer heat, way better than ours. “I'm only working with Bythos because they gave us Arakawa and Hidehi to help out with hunting down Nous. I asked Sige too, but...”

Daisuke laughed out loud at that revelation. “But they can't even be assed to help when a demon lord is going 'round dusting folks. Figures.”

Gantu ignored his ridicule, sizing up the hideout. “You should try to hide. If a wild demon finds you out here without your cycles...”

Ebisu nodded. He'd been worrying about that too. “I know just the spot. You know where to find us, Tips. Don't be too long, now.”

“I remember”, he blinked. “And yeah, I know how much you'll hate this, but if a demon does come for you... go to the Bythos building. They'll keep you safe.”

“'Safe'”, Daisuke repeated, disbelieving. “Safe in jail, yeah?”

“Better than a demon's stomach”, Fujisa reminded him. Her earlier revulsion towards them was easier to push aside whenever the subject of demons came up. Whatever they'd done, they didn't deserve that. “You've seen them. Once they have your scent, you're in danger.”

That fear, she saw, was the great equalizer among the gang. No matter how deeply distrustful they were of anyone wearing a company uniform, they were also long-time survivors who'd learned to take help- or food- wherever they could find it. “Don't suppose you can leave a few of yours behind, Tips?”, Ebisu wondered.

“Sorry”, Kasai genuinely meant it. “They go bye-bye after we get far enough away. And we need all the power we can get for this one.”

Disappointed, the Capsule leader shrugged. “Demons, man... I never thought anything like this would happen.”

“Neither did anyone else”, he admitted. “It all started four days ago. Just came out of no- AHH!”

-

Death. Death and blood. He could taste it in the air, seasoned by the fear of it.

The black-coated demon shrugged off the defensive strikes of demons and tamers. Tousled gray hair flapped in the breeze as he charged through them, zeroing in on the tall woman.

He was too powerful. His grip was a titanium vice, holding her in place as his head reared up, jaws opening to reveal a set of sharp glistening fangs.

Terrified beyond all reasoning, Mayuri screamed and struggled against it in vain. The fangs descended, the tips plunging directly into the flesh of her exposed neck. Mayuri could feel the blood pumping. Pumping out of her, her resistance, her strength, her life, her very essence being drained away with every violent jolt-

Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Gulp.

Then it was finally over. The last of the woman's blood split onto the ground, and the vampire released the drained, withered husk of what had once been Mayuri Motoro to fall to the ground, cleaning the dark residue off his stained fangs, licking his lips in complete satisfaction.

NO-

-

He awoke to the now-familiar pale green light of a demon healing skill. The tiny tan-furred fox demon, Chironnopu. Its cute animal eyes and and its bow and arrows looked even smaller from this position.

Riin and Fujisa looked equally relieved to see his eyes open. “You gave us quite the scare”, Gantu remarked. “Any idea what happened, Ohabara?”

His first word was a curse directed at nothing in particular. Then he was up, running for the motorcycle and helmet he'd just negotiated for. “We need to go. Now. Motoro's in trouble.”

“Motor-mouth?”, Fujisa wondered. “How do you... oh! Is this like that time yesterday?”

“Yesterday?”, Riin could no longer keep her standard silence.

He nodded. “Exactly. I saw Natsuhagi dying. Now Motoro's in the same trouble. We need to go!”

Fujisa didn't curse like he had, but she did make a certain face. “Of course, she chooses now of all times to cause a distraction we absolutely don't need. Where is she?”

Kasai thought hard. He hadn't had much time to take in the location of the vision. Just the fighting and the awful sight of the long-haired vampire in the black coat sinking his teeth down into the exposed flesh of Motoro's pale neck... “There was... a large gray building with a slanted roof. Round corners. All glass... and more flagpoles around the side.”

Without even meaning to, he found himself looking at Ebisu and the others for an answer as he palmed a goateed chin. “That sounds like... the old Metropolitan Theatre building”, he considered, still trying to process the concept himself. “Wait... Tips, you saw me get dusted too? In the graveyard?”

“That's how I knew where to find you, 'Bisu”, he confirmed briskly. “We still would've died if Inui hadn't shown up to save us. That's why we have to go now. Motoro's not exactly my favorite person... but I can't just let her die either. And I owe Inui that much, at least.”

Ebisu clearly didn't fully understand everything that was going on. But he understood enough. He dropped his arm. “You keep your promises, Tips. Go and save her. Show those damn demons not to mess with us.”

For one shameful moment, he didn't want to. He wanted to stay here for a while and see if it was possible to erase the last few years, and go back to how things were.

But only for a moment. He'd seen where that path led.

-

17:30

They didn't get far down the road before it became glaringly obvious that Riin wasn't ready to drive on her own just yet. Not at the high speeds expected of them, a speed that was only possible at all because most of the streets were deserted, abandoned. No cops anywhere in the area to enforce the low urban speed limits. The discovery invoked a rare look of embarrassment in the smallest member of their band of demon tamers.

Instead, Kasai let her ride behind him on the back seat. “Motor-mouth is stupid”, she muttered into his ear. “Can't let her die though. How'd you know? Red. Tell me.”

“Long story. I'll tell you later.” Red. He supposed that was a less embarrassing nickname than 'Tipsy'. Better than 'Motor-mouth'. Or 'Samurai-boy'. Or 'Traitor-roki'.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Kasai was glad to have that matter settled, to have a period of silence. It felt like all the talking had worn him out before the fighting even started. Rather, it was more like it had been far, far too long since he'd been able to ride like this.

If there was one thing above all else about the Capsules that he'd missed, it was this. The giddy, impossible speed of the machine rattling beneath him. Revving up higher and higher on the beautifully-customized motor until it felt like the entire world was flashing past him at warp speed, the sensation of speed blasting adrenaline through him.

When he could do this, he could forget everything else for a while. Forget about his responsibilities, forget all his past sins. Forget the looks on the faces and eyes of those he'd failed and abandoned. In that one glorious moment, there was nothing else. Nothing else mattered but the rush, the wind whipping past, and through his hair beneath the helmet, the intense concentration needed to keep them from turning into a smear on a wall.

He still had to look back on occasion and make sure the others were doing okay of course. Fortunately, Gantu and Fujisa seemed to be naturals on the handlebars even at this speed, the machines holding the former's mass without any problems, Fuji's longer hair flapping behind her outside her helmet like a tail. He could just enjoy this sensation for a moment, an all too brief stretch of utterly uncomplicated bliss.

A smile on his lips.

He almost didn't want it to be over. Yet all too soon, the sight of the slanted building from his 'dream' came into view as they passed over a large set of railway tracks. “There it is!”

Kasai only realized then that Riin would have been the only one able to hear him at that level of speed. Throttling down, he heard the others following suit behind him.

Just in time to watch the battle already underway.

At least five Bythos demon tamers. Smaller than the large team that had battled Nous' horde. They were fully engaged with a wild demon pack that looked smaller as well, but also higher-quality. Headless knights who somehow had no difficulty fighting while also cradling their own living helmeted craniums in their arms. Sharp magenta-colored horse demons, wearing bronze-scale armor and axes as though they too were human warriors. And the most repulsive sight of all even after three days of repulsive sights- floating amalgams of living faces contorted into expressions of agony or hatred, like wads of chewing gum, squid tendrils dangling down.

Legion, his DSP identified the moaning atrocities. The spirit who said, "For we are many," in scripture. A conglomeration of evil spirits that experienced similar pains. The evil spirits see other spirits suffering similar troubles as a part of themselves.

Then, square in the middle of the conflict in front of the theater, he saw Mayuri Motoro.

She was already Armatized. Already transformed into a form similar to her iconic Leanan Sidhe demon. Draining the energy out of enemies with a touch of dark fingernails after stunning them with her charming gaze. Ironic, considering the fate he'd already seen.

The other component of that dire equation seemed to be summoned by his thoughts, and far more menacing in person. An ebony-skinned vampire, malevolent eyes glowing acid yellow beneath curly pale hair.

Kudlak: An evil vampire who fights against Kresnik, a proxy of God. It is said that all bad things, including disease, poor harvests, and bad luck, are all due to a Kudlak. He transforms into various animal forms to fight, but his other forms are always pitch black.

“Keep the others off me”, he ordered his team. “I'm going for the bloodsucker. He's the one. The one who kills Motoro. Activate, Kasai Ohabara. Summon Yata-Garasu and Apis.”

He didn't even hear an acknowledgment of his command. He only saw it in action. One of the headless knights- the Dullahan- turned its blade on him only to wind up facing Fujisa's newest fused demon- Baihu, a large silver-furred tiger with all the speed and power that implied and more. A horrible gibbering Legion veered off to catch him, intercepted by the enormous red and yellow horned crab- Tsuchigumo- at Gantu's command.

Before he even reached Kudlak, an arrow from Chironnopu's tiny bow sped past him, nearly catching the vampire in the hip if he hadn't somehow known and dodged, whip-quick.

“Are these friends of yours, dear maiden?”, the demon leader mocked, wringing gruesome long-nailed hands together. “Ah, more fresh blood! But I'll still do you the honor of taking you into my embrace first!”

Mayuri didn't look happy to see him any more than she did Kudlak, her irritation obvious even through the transformation. “Ohabara?! What the hell are you... no, get out of here! This one is my hunt!”

Kasai didn't bother arguing with her. Apis simply released the nimbus of his holy light, dazing Kudlak while his Yata-Garasu released its blistering winds, adding his own lightning to the mix as well. Even that combination barely fazed his target, who answered with a glare from a pair of terrifyingly mesmerizing eyes.

The shift was subtle. At first it felt like nothing had even happened. Then Kasai saw the pale gray texture spreading out over Apis' body from a spot on its chest, a virulent plague. The equestrian demon managed a final panicked whinny before transforming completely into a motionless stone statue.

“Petrification!”, Mayuri recognized, her annoyance momentarily forgotten as she turned back to Kudlak. “Try that one on me, garlic-breath! I dare you!”

Kasai used her distraction to trade Apis in for a newer recruit. “Summon Pyro Jack!”

The new demon didn't look like much of a threat, he knew. Just like its counterpart, Jack Frost, the demon looked more like a cartoon- a cheery round jack 'o lantern face with a blue witches' hat and cloak over top of it. But he'd seen the server data on his DSP- its abilities were nothing to scoff at, unleashing a stream of flame from its mouth towards Kudlak that left him howling in pain. Fire weakness. Got it.

But the vampire wasn't beaten yet. His yellow eyes flashed and long arms reached out, releasing a horrifyingly familiar spray of piercing ice spikes that ground into Mayuri and buried Pyro Jack completely.

“Wild child. Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to interrupt when someone is enjoying a meal?”, he snarled.

“He's not your opponent!”, Mayuri called his attention back. “I am! Try this!”

Kasai could feel the raw compulsion flowing out her eyes as well, capable of stunning a lesser demon... but the vampire merely chuckled, lunging for her, the strike appearing to disrupt her form, reverting her back to human.

Her demon was gone... though her aggravation had only increased. “Oh, that is IT! Summon Peri!”

Another tall femme demon arose, dark skin and elaborate golden headdress suggesting a deity of South African origin. Their target gathered himself for another petrifying glare, but not before her blazing breath struck, leaving his vest and cravat smoking. Another lightning bolt punctuated the shift in the fight's momentum. “Damn... We'll finish this another time then, my dear maiden, when these brats aren't here to interfere with our dance!”

Hearing him, Kasai snarled and charged... directly into a cloud of white vapor that had suddenly emerged from the vampire's hands, covering his retreat. He'd been inside indoor freezers before, but this was another order of magnitude. His teeth were too numb to even chatter, his very bones instantly screaming with frostbite pains.

His body wanted to black out and be free of it, free of everything... then he was loose, the ice shattering apart from the fire blasting into it. Healing energy covering him immediately, mending a score of razor cuts along with the unhealthy shade his skin had taken on.

“Th...thanks”, he shuddered, still chilled to the bone. Standing up hurt.

“You damn idiot!”, Mayuri shouted back at him, lowering the arm that had invoked the healing skill. Gantu and the others had caught up, but her gaze didn't soften. “I told you this isn't your concern. You should've just stayed put, not stolen away some of our Enforcers!”

He was too tired and hurt to argue. Healing fixed the injuries but the pain- or at least the memory of it- stuck around.

Instead he heard Fujisa's voice of defiance over the chaos: “That wasn't our target, Motoro. Not originally. But... we got the sense that you might need our help here. If we hadn't come, that vampire guy would have bitten you, and drank you empty.”

“Oh yeah? Says you, Traitor-roki. I had him! All I needed was to hit him with one more fire skill, and then...”

Riin's words were not so easily dismissed when she stepped forward, resolute despite addressing her own teammate. “Motor-mouth. Vampire's strong. Stronger than you. He was tricking you. Making you think you could win alone. Stupid.”

“She does have a way of cutting to the point of things”, Kasai commented once he could feel his tongue again. “Doesn't she?”

Mayuri's shock wore off then, turning from Riin's disarmingly blank expression. “Whatever.”

“Then let me ask you this, Motoro: how'd you get into that fight? I thought your attack team was supposed to be chasing down Nous. Not some... vampire. Don't tell me you've fallen for him?”

Outrage at the implication made the woman's normally lidded eyes almost scarily wide. “That's none of your damn business, Ohabara. We were chasing down Nous. He... he just got away.”

“Translation”, Riin piped up. “Ambush. Nous led them to the theater.”

“Sh... shut up, Hidehi! I didn't need your help!”

Yet more help was incoming from the other end of the theater. Another squad of uniformed Bythos tamers arriving to relieve the ones who had survived the battle, healing them up just as Mayuri had done for him.

Far more surprising was the sight of Kaseki Motoro at the head of the new team.

-

The highest-ranked of Bythos' directors marched onto the scene like he belonged there, giving Kasai a brief professional nod before turning to his main objective. “Mayuri. Thank god we found you. It's far past time for you to come home.”

Already, it felt to Kasai like he shouldn't witness what came next. He looked away, but they were both too loud to completely tune out.

“What? No! You can't stop me now! We almost had Nous!”

“Nous is no longer your concern, Mayuri. The board has already agreed that pursuing him any further out of our territory is too dangerous at present.”

“What, are we Sige now? We can't just let this go!”

“We aren't.” Kaseki glanced over to him approvingly. “Agent Ohabara here has already proposed a plan for dealing with the enemy. He will be the one to execute it, alongside our field agents Arakawa and Hidehi. Not you.”

Even if he wasn't looking, he swore he could feel the heat of her glare. “Ohabara isn't one of ours, Seki. You can't trust him. He'll take Hidehi hostage. At least let me go with them, so I can stop that from happening!”

He couldn't hear any give in the old man's stern voice either though. “Mayuri... I'm sorry. You've become irrational. This was clearly a mistake from the start. I've permitted you to go on this long because you seemed to be both passionate and proficient about it. But no more. This is far too dangerous. You are not just some simple demon tamer. You are my wife. You should be back at headquarters, where it's safe. Obey me.”

He still didn't need to look. The expressions on the others' faces told the story. Told him just how close Mayuri was to losing it completely and doing something they might have to stop.

In the end though, that turned out to be unnecessary.

“...Bah. Whatever. Fine. You win, this time.”

Kasai watched her go quietly, sensing familiar rage in every twist of her back.

He could think of nothing to say.

-

18:00

They hadn't been asked to do it, but 'cleanup' duty seemed only natural after such a fight, making sure everyone who wasn't dead from Kudlak's ambush was safely evacuated. None of his team looked particularly happy with what had happened, but they did their duties without any complaint, only speaking again once the theater building had nothing left but traces of collateral damage.

“Motoro won't like that one bit”, Gantu mused, able to speak again with her gone. “She'll try to escape.”

Riin shrugged beside him. “...Not our problem. Motor-mouth is stupid. Can't deal with her now. Gotta catch Nous. Then catch Motor-mouth.”

“Right”, Fujisa looked over to Kasai. “I just hope that little diversion won't ruin the plan. What's up next, leader?”

Leader. That felt like the first time anyone had called him that. Exhaling his disquiet, he flashed his best confident smile. “No big. We still have a few hours left to catch him.”

“A few hours to catch Nous”, Gantu sounded less enthusiastic. “While he's flying around so fast that even Motoro's team couldn't reach him. We have no idea where he is.”

“We will”, Kasai promised. He turned to Riin.

“Are you ready to go, Hidehi?”

Her reaction was characteristically subtle, but unmistakable. Emotional shielding threatened by surprise, followed by a resigned anger.

“...”

“...”

“...I see. Dr. Leng talked. Stupid.”

“Don't be mad at him”, Kasai opined. “If he didn't help us, then we'd be out of luck today. But you can find Nous. You can find any demon, can't you Hidehi?”

Fujisa's confusion was far more strongly stated, looking between the two of them in complete bafflement. “Huh? What? What do you mean? Hidehi...?”

Not wanting to anger their 'secret weapon' any further, Kasai looked to her. It was amazing really, how much this girl's permission suddenly seemed to matter to him. “Is it really okay?”

Riin shrugged nonchalantly. “...You know already. May as well. Tell her.”

Nodding, he turned back to the others, Gantu looking just as baffled.

“Dr. Leng explained it to me earlier. He told me how Hidehi's headphones aren't just headphones. All those wires on her? They're not just for show.”

Fujisa frowned, studying the headphones and wires in question but not quite understanding.

“Hidehi is... well, ever since becoming a Bythos agent, she was implanted with an experimental form of Magnetite-powered technology created by Leng. As a result, Hidehi is kind of like... a living demon radar. She's able to track the energy signature of any demon she's studied. Even from far across the city.”

Of the two of them, Fujisa looked the more shocked by far, glancing back accusingly at Riin. Staring back at the large headphones perpetually covering her ears as if seeing them for the first time. “All this time, Hidehi, and you never told me?”

Riin didn't flinch in the slightest, staring back impalacably. “...Not your business, Todoroki. Top secret.”

“Top secret? That... That's seriously all you have to say? Why did you even do that, Hidehi? That's... I mean... really... that's just...”

Riin stared back at her, stoic and unblinking. “...Wanted to be useful. Track down wild demons. Stop them.”

By focusing his words on Kasai, Gantu was able to speak his own piece without any problems. “I... I always noticed something different between the two of them. Between her and Dr. Leng, I mean. She always spent so much time down there in his lab, even before the invasion started. And Hidehi is a foster child. I guess they're like...?”

“Like a father and daughter?”, Kasai had no idea about that. Only what Dr. Leng had told him about Riin's implants. “Maybe. But he assured me that she volunteered for the cybernetic surgery. Gave her complete consent for it, so long as it was Leng who performed it. And despite her height, Hidehi is nineteen years old.”

Fujisa looked at him like he'd just told her that Riin was secretly an axe murderer. “But why? Why would you ever do that? Chief Chiba's arm I get. She's just replacing something she lost in an accident. But actually implanting crazy technology like that into your own body? Into your head? That's so... gross! Um.... sorry. I didn't mean-”

Riin didn't care. She turned around, walking away from them. “...Need to get the bikes. Catch Nous. Now.”

“You heard her”, their leader shrugged. “Time to go.”

-

In a day with so many surprises of every stripe imaginable, one thing that wasn't was that Riin would need to concentrate in order to track down Nous. As before, she rode as a passenger in the seat behind Kasai, Gantu and Fujisa flanking either side as they sped down the expressway back into the heart of Tokyo.

Kasai could hardly believe how much faster they could move around now. Ebisu's machine had always been a top-notch piece of work, but the others too could reach speeds even police cars would struggle to keep up with. Three blurs managing to navigate around the city's vast network of currently unused highways, the only delays coming from abandoned vehicles still lying on the road.

“Sorry if Todoroki took that badly”, he called back to his passenger, feeling her arms digging into his sides. “But we really do need your help for this, Hidehi. Nous is just too fast. We needed a way to track him down.”

“...Don't apologize. Stupid. Eyes on the road.”

Kasai grimaced. Despite being roughly three quarters her height, the reprimand felt far stronger than anything Mayuri could have said to him. Because while Dr. Leng hadn't gone into every last detail about Riin, he'd learned enough from him to extrapolate some things.

“You actually volunteered for that surgical procedure. And not just the demon radar either. More little gadgets too. And most of them are, uh... inside of your brain? If I didn't know any better Hidehi, I'd say that you were deliberately trying to turn yourself into a cyborg.”

Riin was hardly insulted. It felt like just the opposite. It felt like relief channeling through her grip on his sides.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...Humans are stupid. They do stupid things. Machines don't do stupid things. Can help people. 'Specially now.”

“Especially now”, he echoed, taking a wide turn around a derelict semi truck. “Though I hope you don't take it personally if I opt out of that kind of thing myself.”

Her grip on him loosened ever so slightly. “...Don't need it. Ohabara... you're strong on your own. Not me. Wasn't strong. Never.”

Turning her head, she let the city skyline speed through her technologically-augmented gaze. “...Was short. Was always getting sick when I was young. Coughing. Weak. Pathetic. I hated it. Would do anything to fix it. So I did.”

Riin was still very short, he didn't feel the need to point out. Even with the headphones she barely came up to five feet compared to the six-foot adults she commonly worked with. But the strength of her renewed grip around his waist was unmistakable.

So unmistakable in fact, that it was almost too late for him to avoid hitting the solitary figure on the road coming up at 140 miles per hour. Tires squealing, he shifted direction just enough to prevent a collision, signaling for the others to stop as well.

Calling the vagrant out for walking on the highway sounded silly even in his head, and doubly so when he recognized the dusty coat and lit cigarette. Not just some refugee. “You?”

Dr. Richard Coleman raised a hand, looking happier than he remembered. “Heya, kids. Long time no see. I didn't think you'd come to me though.”

“Who is this?”, Gantu wondered, stepping off his ride. “Is he another Sige agent like you?”

“Not exactly”, Fujisa corrected. “He's a paramedic from the United States who was visiting Tokyo when this crisis hit. He also has some spiritual healing powers too, even if he doesn't use a DSP.”

“I thought about getting one”, Coleman shrugged. “But I decided it was pointless. Hippocratic oath and all. I can't order demons to attack someone. That's basically the same as me attacking 'em. My powers are all I really need to patch up the wounded anyway.”

“But you decided to take a nice little walk on the expressway today? Don't they still need you back at the Sige 'secure zone'?”

The American smirked. “Well, I did spend most of today working. Then I got your message. It said you needed help, right? You're taking on some kind of big-time demon, right?”

Kasai's jaw fell. That felt so long ago he'd forgotten. “Um. Yeah... I just didn't think anyone would actually come. I figured Sige wouldn't allow it.”

“They didn't.” Coleman looked terribly pleased with himself. “They said we needed to keep a protective cordon around the Shibuya area, keep the refugees safe. But in case you all forgot... I don't work for them. Stubborn kid like you actually asking for help for a change, I figure you must be in some real deep shit, huh?”

“Black hole deep”, he confirmed wistfully. “It's Yasuda. This 'Nous' thing... it took him over. Now it's going around killing people.”

Coleman's eyes darkened. “And you're trying to stop it? Just the four of you together?”

“Five now. If you're in.”

The doctor snorted. “Like I'd back out now after walking this far. Not that I have any experience dealing with serial murderers, demon or human. But... I'll do whatever I can to help you kids out. Promise.”

Riin studied him, her face a mystery as usual.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...He smells. He smells like old leather.”

“Maybe”, Fujisa chuckled happily. “But he's also a good man. Loyal. And I have a feeling we're going to need a good healer for this once it starts. Speaking of which... any luck yet, Hidehi?”

“Nothing yet”, Riin grew glum. “Sensing other demons below us. Not Nous. Weak.”

Then the message alert chime nearly jolted Kasai off his bike.

-

18:30

“It's a message”, Fujisa said, indicating her own device. “Cell communications are down, but the DSPs are Magnetite-fueled, so they can still send and receive even through the interferece.”

“From Weihan”, Kasai stared at the screen in wonderment. “At least that's what it says...”

“From Yasuda”, Gantu frowned. “But he's under the control of Nous, isn't he?”

“Maybe he's broken free?”, Fujisa became hopeful. “Maybe he's reaching out to us to find him?”

“Only one way to find out”, their leader mused, moving his DSP so everyone could read it.

MESSAGE FOR: Ohabara and Todoroki @ 18:36

We sensed you earlier. You were trying to stop us.

Please understand; this Pleroma is a doomed one. The demon invasion will kill every human. You can delay it. You can't stop it. No one can. No matter how hard we fight, it's just temporary. Futility. A two-hundred foot tidal wave.

But Nous is the Aeon of the Mind. We can send all humanity to another dimension, where they can be safe. Bythos still foolishly tries to stop us, but we ask you to relent. We don't want to harm you.

You've only done your best to protect humans for the last three days. Admirable. But even you have to know this is a losing battle. You can't stop this world from changing. I ask you, for the sake of whatever existed between us before, please stand down. Let us do our job now, and usher in a new world where everyone can be safe from harm.

FROM: Weihan Yasuda

Everyone took more than a moment to process what they'd read. Gantu surprised them all by speaking first. “He... thinks we're doomed? No. We have to keep on fighting. Whatever he's doing, I don't trust it.”

“And big boy gets a gold star”, Coleman approved. “Yeah... I'm not buyin' it either. Another dimension? Who's he think he's foolin'? You kids were right. Yasuda has completely flipped his lid.”

“And”, Fujisa bit her lip, “are you okay with us doing whatever we have to in order to stop him?”

“Are you?”

It was Coleman's reply, yet it was Kasai who studied her reaction, speaking only to her. “We absolutely can't hold back here. If we pull our punches, then he's right- we are doomed. For Inui, for everyone he's killed, for everyone that he might kill... it has to stop, Todoroki. If you can't deal with that right now, then maybe you should head back.”

“But don't you see?”, she spread her arms to the others. “Weihan sent us this message! That means he's still in there somewhere! And he doesn't want to fight us!”

But their leader didn't relent. Neither did any of them.

“...I guess we'll just have to disappoint him, then.”

-

19:00

Riin's head shot up in the waning afternoon sun. In that moment, nothing else existed for her.

Nothing but the steadily pulsing rhythm of the demon whose distinctive Magnetite signature she'd detected with the machine senses she had not been born with, but had integrated themselves into her consciousness until they felt as natural as breathing.

“South”, she commanded from behind Kasai. “Far south. Onto the Shinjuku express line. He's close. Nishigahara station. Moving farther south.”

The road took them out over a large park, but while she could sense the demons dwelling down there, none of them climbed up to give chase. Coleman had taken a seat behind Fujisa, but his weight hadn't slowed her machine down at all.

“Always wanted to try ridin' a Harley Davidson”, he complained. “Too bad.”

“It didn't take too long for me to learn how”, she offered him. “After this is done, maybe?”

“After we're done”, he echoed distantly. He was still getting used to the idea that some of them might not come back from this kind of fight. “This guy... he's really that powerful?”

“Worse”, her face grew stony. “He beat Inui. Sorry, I guess you never met him. Akito... was the best demon tamer in Bythos. He was a... very dedicated guy.”

“All work and no play, huh. What makes you think we have a chance then?”

“Because we won't be fighting alone. Because Weihan... because Yasuda is still in there somewhere. And I have to think he'll see us.”

“Sounds like an awful lot of 'ifs'”, Coleman grew uneasy. “I'm not really into suicide missions.”

“It's not suicide”, Fujisa sounded like she was trying to convince herself. “If we don't stop him, doctor, then no one will. He'll keep on going around the city, sending people into those portals. We can't let it continue. It's not a matter of 'if' we can win this fight. We have to win. No matter what.”

Which wasn't exactly the confidence booster he'd been hoping for, but he knew that was all he would get. “I still say this is ridiculous. Expecting you kids to deal with this kind of thing.”

“Like it or not”, she hit the throttle, bearing down the road ahead. “We're the only ones crazy enough to try.”

Minutes later, they spotted Nous. The long flowing black cloak, floating above eastern Kita city as though he didn't have a care in the world. “You called it, Hidehi”, Kasai noted encouragingly. “Think you can nail him from here?”

“Not me”, Riin corrected, her eyes flashing. She reached for her DSP. “Activate, Riin Hidehi. Summon Chironnopu.”

The others took that as a sign, summoning up their own demons as well. While Kasai initially feared they wouldn't be able to keep up with the chase, he saw that their summons had been selected for mobility; Fujisa's halo-wearing Angel glided up to strike on heavenly wings, while he added his own Yata-Garasu to the assault. Only Gantu was stuck, merely blasting ahead of the others to try to anticipate their target's movements.

He didn't learn his lesson from last time, Kasai noted in grim satisfaction. Floating in the air like that nullified the Aeon's most powerful abilities, even if he was able to flee from the demon trio at an impressive clip. Soon enough he was on the highway as well, the pursuit hastening, their target leaving large fissures behind in the concrete of the road. A trail for them to follow.

Ramping back up to maximum speed with one hand, he raised the other up, making sure the others could see it clearly and deduce what it meant. “Okay! ON THREE!”, he shouted, hopefully loudly enough for them to hear over the wind. “ONE! TWO! THREE-”

Lightning, ice, wind, holy light and arrows all converged on their airborne target, sending him careening out of control. Downward, over a spread of housing... into a large stone plaza that looked like a high-class university campus. Smoke rose from the site of the crash in a thin stream, but Kasai knew better than to think that would be the end of it.

“Off the bikes”, he called out to his team. “Demons at the ready. Time to finish this.”

He couldn't help but notice how low the sun was already, how long the shadows.

-

19:30

“Hongo University”, Coleman recognized as they stepped onto solid ground. “I met a medical professor from here once. Real pompous guy, but he knew his stuff. Hope he's still alive.”

“If he is”, Kasai said, “tell him we're sorry for the damage. Focus now, doctor.”

The Hongo campus was quite beautiful, actually. Towering brown structures deliberately designed to look old-fashioned, surrounded by artificial grass and professional stonework. Elegant fountains hosted collections of multicolored flowers, but they didn't sense the heightened Magnetite concentrations that indicated the area could spawn demons.

There was only Nous there, huddled down beneath the largest tower on the campus. The damage they'd inflicted with the initial strike was impossible to gage, but the Aeon stood back up without any trouble, the warped face of their friend studying his five attackers as they approached, cautiously walking up the stairs to the main campus plaza. Watching... and ever so slightly drooping in disappointment.

“We told you to stay away. We are the only ones who can save humanity from the demons. You fight an unwinnable battle.”

“Save it”, Kasai cut him off. “You want to help humanity? Then get the hell out of our friend's body. Before we make you.”

There was no sign of levity in the borrowed face beneath the dark hood. Perhaps a hint of it in the creature's voice. “You know that you cannot defeat us. We are not like your demons. They are animals. We are not. They are finite. We are not. They are anthropomorphized elements of the human mind, while we are the masters of it.”

Gantu glared back. “Demons say that they're invincible all the time.”

“They're wrong”, Riin moved up beside him. “Nothing's invincible. Stupid.”

“You don't belong here, Aeon”, Fujisa called to him. “Not any more than the demons do. If you force us... then we'll destroy you. Even if we have to destroy that body too.”

“I'd listen to them if I were you”, Coleman chipped in from the back. “Kids are damn scary these days. They don't know when to quit. They just love destroying things too.”

Another hint of regret in the Aeon's tone. “...Then there is no turning back. The death of five humans to save all the rest. An easy choice to make. Regrettable, but necessary. From illusion to truth. From darkness to light. From doom to eternity.”

The pinpricks of white light within the stolen eyes bloomed into eye-straining halos. The cloak rose once more, cracks already beginning to form beneath it through the stone masonry.

And the instinctual feeling of primal fear from before assailed them all anew, Coleman actually running several yards back before catching himself, realizing what he'd been doing. “...Holy shit! This thing is...!”

“No Armatizations yet”, Kasai gave the team one final reminder. “Not until you take some hits.”

There was no starting bell. He simply chose an instant and charged head on, attacking alongside his demons while the others flanked their target, preventing another escape attempt.

He wasn't thrown by the Aeon opening another black void in front of him, stopping his movement just in time to see him struck by Fujisa's ice and Chironnopu's arrows from either side. Yata-Garasu sped by overhead, wings kicking up a blast of razor wind, but the portal moved up to absorb the attack harmlessly.

Giving Kasai his chance. He couldn't close his eyes, couldn't throw half a punch out of fear. Hitting Nous- Weihan- with everything his Magnetite-enhanced muscles could manage still felt like he was striking solid stone or ice, risking breaking his own hand... but the Aeon did reel back from it, slamming into the base of the tower, the portal's powerful gravity fields eating into the round brick wall purely by accident.

The Aeon's glowing spiral eyes flickered, and suddenly the very ground dissolved beneath him, a chasm opening up to swallow him until he grabbed one of his Yata-Garasu's three talons to escape from it. For a moment he breathed a sigh of relief... until the portal fell onto his demon, forcing him to release or join it. Even his DSP's screen display agreed with what he was seeing- Yata-Garasu was gone. Erased. It could no longer be summoned back.

“...Fine. Summon Apis!”

He'd thought the strange purple spirit would be a good counter, its radiant light seeming to inflict more damage, but Nous' counter was far stronger. A new rift appeared, not seeking out a target but releasing an undulating sphere of dark energy, striking that demon down in a single shot as well.

For a moment he panicked... then Gantu's thick arms closed around their target from behind in a bear hug. “Give... up!”, he snarled. “Get out of that human body NOW! It doesn't belong to you!”

Nous speed remained undiminished, enabling him to fly backwards into a wall, Gantu taking the full force of the impact before falling to the ground like a dead leaf. Lightning and ice skills arced up at him but this time he was prepared, opening two small voids to absorb both.

“Your fear is plain”, Nous observed, his voice unsettling as ever but devoid of contempt, purely neutral in its observations. “Despite your great strength and size, you fear the anger of women. Is that purely due to your secluded upbringing on your family's farm? Or...?”

“S-s-shut up!”

The voids didn't close. They released the lightning and ice blasts back at their original senders. Though Yuki Jyorou blocked the frost for Fujisa, Kasai felt the electricity zapping through his body no matter how hard he gritted his teeth against it. She took over the offensive, calling on Tam Lin to try another physical assault only to be blasted back by a sphere of darkness.

“Yours is more difficult to determine”, Nous said of her. “It becomes apparent from your extreme devotion to humanity's laws, an automatic revulsion of all things connected to criminality.”

“Criminals are one thing”, Fujisa replied coolly. “Demons are another. And speaking of demons... come, Wendigo!”

Taking advantage of their ability to share demons, she'd formed a trio of ice users who all unleashed their sub-zero wrath from separate angles. Portals intercepted and redirected two of those, but the third one scored home, turning parts of the cloak frigid blue.

“No”, the Aeon rose, Weihan's face growing more thoughtful. “The true fear is buried deeper than that. You have always feared for the life of your father, of the day when a criminal might take his life. The mere thought of it paralyzes.”

It took a moment for Kasai to realize that Fujisa actually was paralyzed. Her arms were frozen, her body not moving to dodge the dark sphere speeding straight for her. Screaming, he dove-

Pain. He was no stranger to pain after this long, but this was different. It felt like the sphere was a great omnidirectional weight trying to crush him. To compact his body into a fraction of its size no matter how many bones or organs that would break.

Even as healing skills from multiple sources covered him, erasing the blood and the cuts, he couldn't forget about the pain. And his salaryman suit, undershirt and tie couldn't be restored that way- half of it was gone now, leaving his bare flesh exposed.

He'd been helpless during all this- screaming in agony- but Riin had taken over the attack, her own demons firing away no matter how many attacks got redirected.

“Another one who hides their fears”, Nous considered, turning to meet her assault. “Yet again her actions reveal them. A conscious choice to accept a scientist's tinkering with her body, purely out of the desperate desire not to be useless. And before that, there was an even greater terror which drove you. Terror of your own biological father, particularly after dark, once he'd had a few drinks-”

He'd never heard Riin's voice sound so bitter. “Stupid. Shut up. Die.”

Seeing both of her demons go down, she rolled and dodged away from the earth-shaking tremor meant for her, desperately summoning reinforcements. “Come, Cait Sith!”

That was a momentary diversion- a demon Kasai hadn't seen her use yet. A blue-furred bipedal feline wearing a wide-brimmed red hat and belt that fit her theme, being far smaller than most other demons. Smaller, yet faster, after to strike Nous several times with a flourish of his rapier before dodging back away from the portal as it descended.

“No choice”, Kasai decided as he saw the others desperately trying to pin down the most powerful opponent any of them had ever fought. “...Damn it. Cancel what I said before. We don't give him all we've got right now, we're screwed. Everyone Armatize now, while we still have demons left to use. Do it now!”

One by one, the four demon tamers all transformed themselves, activating the forbidden technology of Bythos, each becoming one with the most powerful demons they possessed that hadn't already been lost. As expected, Gantu had joined together with his Titan, becoming closer to a golem bearing his own facial features. Riin looked slightly embarrassed to merge with her Jack Frost, the blue-horned hood hanging down over her face as a decoration, but the power they all felt from her was nothing to laugh at.

Less expected was the sight of Fujisa. She had lost Yuki Jyorou, and hadn't bothered to mention if she had another she was compatible with... until now. Standing with the ermine robes of the Angel she'd summoned earlier, white-feathered wings spread out beneath the halo, suffused with a radiant light even greater than Apis'.

As for himself, Kasai had chosen the previously-injured Tam Lin, gaining that warrior's armor, sword and long pale hair. Dr. Coleman was stunned at the sight of them together. “You... all four of you?”

“Whatever it takes”, their leader repeated, feeling Tam Lin's strength coursing through him. “Avoid those portals, and don't give him a single inch! GO!”

His opening sword strike went wide, annihilating a flagpole instead. Fujisa and Riin's ice skills were again absorbed by the voids, redirected back at Kasai and Gantu. The latter's megaton rock punch left a gaping hole in the campus tower, but failed to damage the Aeon.

The dark spheres struck all four of them this time, ricocheting off walls and floors even when dodged, prompting Coleman to heighten his own efforts, desperately healing to keep them alive as fast as he could.

The Aeon loomed over them all, its cloak billowing out more than ever as its attacks struck again and again.

“Such fear. Such fear in all of you. No matter how you try to deny it, to mask it... it cripples you in the crucial moment. A deep-born subconscious instinct that humanity can never truly eradicate. Fight or flight. We know it very well. But in the Pleroma of the Mind, there shall be no more fear. No more suffering.”

“Arakawa”, Kasai bit out, anger hiding the pain. “Launch me.”

The big man only hesitated for a moment- perhaps the rockiness and weight of his current form prevented easy speech. His powerful arms easily gripped him, winding up twice before tossing him skyward, straight towards their target.

He saw it coming, naturally. A void opened between them, but a beam of holy light from Fujisa filled it, causing it to close once again, freeing up the path forward. Nous began moving again, trying to get away, and Kasai spun his sword, the momentum of Gantu's toss aiding the motion until he cleaved through a cafe building, letting its top half slide free to crash into the campus ground.

And Nous stared back at him, not appearing to comprehend what had just happened. How exactly the enormous slash wound had etched its way into the front of the cloak, the sudden impact propelling it into the fresh debris field.

More demon frost sprouted from the ground, holding Nous fast to it as Fujisa and Riin had intended. Helpless to avoid the follow-up strike as Kasai descended. Perhaps not so helpless- another portal opened with his gesture, but instead of more ice a mere rock thrown by Gantu flew into it, closing it up once again.

Less disciplined exertions of the creature's power caused more violent tremors, kicked up an enormous dust cloud... but nothing stopped the fairy knight's sword from descending to bury itself in its chest.

The Aeon froze up. Its long-sleeved arms went limp. Time felt like it had stopped for a moment.

Did that... do it? Did we just win?

For an instant he actually dared to hope... then there was a sharp tugging sensation at his arm. The portal devouring his blade, only narrowly missing him as he let go of it, another dark sphere catching him off-guard and plowing him into artificial turf, disengaging from Tam Lin after.

He'd made a mark, he knew. But one scar wouldn't stop this one, any more than a single injury would stop him. He felt the ground tremors intensify further, quaking the campus to bits, saw still more of the buildings around them crumble apart into dust and debris until he could see their steel skeletons beneath.

Up close and personal. Has to be. Elemental skills aren't doing nearly enough damage. Some things... cry out to be done by hand. Just have to get up close again, and get a few more direct hits in...

He realized that the ground wasn't shaking from the tremors any more. It was shaking because of the pounding footsteps of Gantu's Titan form plodding past, trying to do exactly what he'd attempted. A sphere slammed into him head-on, but only slowed him. It didn't stop a rock fist the size of a man from slamming hard into the creature's gut where the scar was, knocking it back again.

Too late, far too late, Kasai saw the mistake his comrade was making. “No! Disengage! Arakawa, disengage NOW!”

The black void gathered above them, and fell. And Gantu was too large and too slow in that form to dodge in time.

He looked up, seeing what was coming. In that state, Gantu's face was too hardened to emote much. Instead it was his eyes which told Kasai all he needed to see. Told all of them, no matter how much they rejected it.

“Arakawa, NO!”

The vortex descended, a web of small cracks spreading out from beneath as it struck the ground, the resulting miniature earthquake tilting the entire area, leaving all the surrounding city at a severe angle.

And Gantu was gone.

Chapter Text

19:30

His rage was nothing. False.

His rage was everything. There was a burning blood red haze and it had drowned out the world.

REND

Kasai couldn't speak any longer. Couldn't plan. There was no plan left, other than going after Nous with all his remaining strength, and hammering him until he was no more.

By sheer luck, he wasn't going in alone. A new void opened to block him, but another blast of light from the Fujisa-Angel canceled it out, and by the time the Aeon had broken free of the ice he was there. Directly on top of his prey.

He understood now. His shameful hypocrisy. Always telling the others to hold nothing back in this battle, when he himself had been doing exactly that. Restraining himself. The same thing he'd been doing ever since meeting Fujisa.

The same thing he'd been doing ever since the bad times, when he'd made his promise to his mother.

SLAUGHTER

All this time when he'd been hiding another instinct. Something deeper and more powerful than fear. Something that never, ever stopped attacking until its hunger was satiated. Something he'd buried deep down out of shame, knowing that no one would understand. No one but the Capsules.

And even they had been scared of it. Scared of what he could become without all the restraints a civilized world created for people like him. But now... now under this dark sky he had at last found the end of trying.

It was like he could feel her, though miles distant. Feel that inhumanly gentle mental ping that said 'it's okay now. You don't need to hide it any more.'

DEVOUR

The ultimate crux of the human survival instinct. If they died, nothing else mattered. If they died, the world stopped.

Because Gantu was gone, the red haze was here, and nothing else mattered.

Nothing left but ending the bastard who had done it. And his demon had that same instinct. One that was even easier to trigger.

REND

SLAUGHTER

DEVOUR

The sensation of the punch connecting with Nous felt wonderful. Like a release. The shedding of invisible weights until he was completely free.

So did the second punch.

And the third one.

And the fourth.

And the fifth.

“You... your greatest fear is... yourself?!”

“You scared now?” Kasai didn't even recognize his own voice any more. It seemed to be going on its own. Autopilot. Warped and distorted by the power of his demon merger into a nightmare reverb. The voice of a pitiless destroyer. “Thought Aeons didn't do fear huh? Liar. Everything feels fear. Even-”

He cut off, feeling too late the sensation of gravitational fields pressing in on him. Hearing Fujisa's cry of denial, even more soul-piercing than with Gantu. Two voids, smaller than the one that had taken him but no less powerful. Dodging one took him right into the other.

If he hadn't already become more than used to suffering injuries, the last four days' combat would have certainly refreshed him on it. But this was different. This wasn't a mere bite or claw, or a blast of elemental power charring or freezing or tearing flesh.

This was erasing flesh. A short, almost subtle sensation of something tugging at it, followed by the pressure building up to an impossible level forcing a tortured howl out of him no matter how much pain he'd mastered.

Followed by a snap, then... nothingness. The complete lack of feeling in a left arm that wasn't there any more as he collapsed in shock on the ground. If the others were screaming in horror to match his, he could no longer hear them.

No...

That's...

That's not my arm...

Tam Lin's arm.

He heard a triumphant cackle in the back of his mind, and he knew it belonged to Astanpheus. You are learning.

Eyes closed, he had to force each word out. Not because of the pain, but the mortal terror he needed to overcome, and concentrate. “...Summon Baihu. Activate Armatization app.”

Power flared in the back of his head, and new eyes opened to the sight of two brand-new furred arms. Two gnarled claws, ready to tear into the creature still floating there before him.

Trembling, the bastard's arm raised to conjure another dark sphere or portal. It didn't matter because Kasai's new left claw was there waiting for it, trapping it in a vise before it could open back up. Slowly but unstoppably applying pressure to crush it into a black-bloodied ruin.

And unlike him, Nous couldn't get his arm back. The Aeon was stunned, taken off guard by the sight of a human regenerating a lost limb so quickly.

“What? You... Zoe?”

The name sounded unfamiliar. Like a distant aunt he'd nearly forgotten. But not quite. He saw her now. The glowing specter with the inhuman golden eyes, watching them intently as he continued mauling the creature wearing the skin of his best friend.

Looking quite fascinated by what she saw there.

That wasn't enough to distract him though. Not enough stop him grabbing the other arm and repeating the process, enjoying the tickling sensation of the blood running down his arm into his- Baihu's- fur coat.

“This one is your... no. No, please stop! We can't... can't...”

The sudden weakness in the Aeon's whimper disgusted him. One last punch flew between the ruined arm stumps of his victim, piercing black garments to penetrate flesh.

The very earth seemed to shake from the impact.

“Nous”, he heard Zoe's pitying words off to the side. “We understand your desires. But your Pleroma is a flawed one. Humans who are nothing but mind, who lose all physical sensation... are not truly humans at all. They are only disembodied intellects. Mere ghosts. Physicality is life. It is necessary for human development as the air they breathe, or the food and water they consume.”

The stolen face stared back at her. Comprehending. Smiling like he'd been told his hated neighbor's house was on fire.

“Then... you win this time. Fear has made this human become an object of fear. We shall see if your Pleroma- or your precious bloody angel- is as worthy as you say.”

Whatever lucidity their words had restored to him expected some kind of finishing explosion. Instead there was simply a great surge of brightness overhead, a white portal. A white portal sucking away the darkness enshrouding Nous, draining it away in a thin spiral of fluid.

Until nothing remained but the motionless body of Weihan Yasuda.

Kasai's adrenaline fled him then. The madness that had filled him dissipating until he could think like a human once more.

Baihu. He'd Armatized with the tiger demon entirely on instinct. Regaining the Fairy Knight's limb lost to him in the process, without even realizing.

The energy the transformation and animal instincts had granted him departed just swiftly though, along with everything else that had blinded him to anything but his target, all the other things that had briefly rendered him a merciless vessel of unstoppable rage. The rage that the Capsules had seen, and feared.

In fact, he couldn't quite imagine anyone not fearing it.

It's finally over, the thought rose up, his body becoming more weary than he could ever recall being. But the cost... the cost...

His last conscious thought was seeing the fresh new human hand he'd generated to replace the old one.

20:00

Fujisa Todoroki figured this was what her father went through all the time. Wandering into a crime scene late in the day where a terrible destruction had been wrought, and able to do nothing but pick up the pieces.

All that was missing was the yellow tape and the red and blue lights of active squad cars.

But even that failed to truly capture the ruin she beheld on the Hongo university campus, surveying the aftermath of the battle. School buildings demolished, trees and flagpoles hacked down, sweeping areas of ravaged ground set askew 40 degrees or more by the tremors, and everywhere the thin fissures running along both grass and stone as though the entire plaza might crumble apart.

And the bodies... no, just those who had fallen. No one was dead. No one other than Gantu. She hoped. That alone was something she had to put aside for now, to deal with at another time. For the sake of heart, and her sanity.

Kasai was down, half his clothing shredded apart, his energy fully depleted after all he'd just done. Dr. Coleman looked like he was approaching that state himself, fallen down on one knee after using his power to heal so many times. Riin was helping him up and failing.

Then there was their unexpected guest. Professor Yasuda, equally stricken by what he was seeing with his goggles. Who, though Kasai hadn't seen it, had distracted Nous' attention at the final moment. “My boy...”, she caught his whisper as he ran over to cradle Weihan's comatose body, his voice broken. “My boy...”

Which left her alone, taking in all of this and wondering if this was what the survivors of a nuclear blast felt like. Nous was gone, but the portal it had disappeared through remained, a gaping breach in the sky.

Determining that Kasai still had a pulse, she frantically searched their stock for a healer demon who hadn't been destroyed in the fight. It was a short list, but she found a weaker one towards the bottom- Moh Shuvuu. A demon that Weihan got through the Auction. All his demons... Kasai never fused any of them. He held onto them, even though they were too weak to be of any use to us.

Kasai would live. Moh Shuvuu's healing powers were comparatively inferior, but enough to repair his injuries if not his shredded clothes. Fujisa turned her attention back to their other fallen comrade.

Weihan's eyes were shut, but he had no visible injuries at all. He looked like another person entirely without his glasses. Whatever had happened as Nous left his body, it had also restored his broken arms and crushed chest. The Professor carried him upwards, his large goggles removed.

There was the notion to scorn his affection, knowing what she did, but she pushed it away. Now wasn't the time for that. “Will... Will he...?”

“All his vital signs are stable”, he replied. “He's simply lost nearly all of his spiritual energy. Though not nearly so much as your friend over there.”

“Yes”, she grew quiet. Kasai... something else had come over him at the brutal end of the fight. Something that had honestly terrified her as much as Nous. More. Just like when he'd taken flight to catch Nous before, spurred on Akito Inui's death.

How many more had shared in his fate? How many more had Nous taken out of this world? Had Weihan seen them? Had his message to them truly been him, or...?

No. She couldn't think about this right now either. Couldn't.

“Hidehi... Is Coleman...?”

“...He's fine. Weak. He'll get better.”

Which was enough to bring her back to how impossibly tired her own body felt now. Armatization always did that to you, and she'd done it twice in a row for the first time. To say nothing of the lingering aches from being injured and healed over and over and over again. And Kasai had Armatized even more times than her, constantly shifting his form to counteract the enemy's strength... and to replace a lost arm.

She gave a silent prayer that she- they- would never have to endure such a thing again.

The renewed tremor rocking the campus conjured a gripping terror that they weren't actually done, that something else was about to happen. That Nous was about to return once again. The void fluctuated, wavering like a hologram with the power cut-

And she saw the man fall from it, striking damaged concrete into a cushioning roll. A man she knew.

“A...Arakawa?!”

Gantu stared into his large hands, disbelieving as her. “I... Did... Did we win?”

Fujisa brushed away her tears. There was no time for that now. Not while their leader was down, and when they would be expecting her to act in his stead. She would have to be their strength now, until Kasai woke up.

“Y-yeah... Yeah. I think we did.”

20:30

It felt to her like they'd somehow consumed the energy of time itself along with their own during the fight. Everything after it had become a slow, agonizing process, an uncertain march towards whatever was next. Compared to the battle they'd just fought, everything was slow and relaxed.

She wished they could have more of this.

A light rain began to fall from the gathered clouds, as if the world itself was crying over the devastation. They'd found an improvised shelter just north of the campus- a large bus stop currently abandoned. Gantu was strong enough to carry Kasai while the professor took his son, but Fujisa and Riin had to work together to transport Dr. Coleman to safety.

Finally, she had a chance to sit down and just talk. “What... what happened? We saw you vanish into the void and... well... we thought that...”

Gantu looked uncertain, and for once she was sure it had nothing to do with his fear of women. “I was... somewhere else. Somewhere numb. I could see Nous. I could see you all still, but I couldn't touch you. I shouted, but you all didn't hear me.”

The Professor heard him now, wide eyes regarding him. “You were most likely trapped in another dimensional wavelength. You were ever-so-slightly out of phase with this reality, so that we couldn't hear, touch or see you.”

Gantu didn't quite understand it, and neither did Fujisa. His disquiet remained. “Then... there was a portal that opened up. A white... hole. It grew, and swallowed me... and then I was back here.”

Fujisa felt her heart skip. Felt her hands tremble. “So the people who Nous put into those portals... they aren't dead?”

“Most likely”, Professor Yasuda considered. “If they were all sent into the same type of dimensional rift by Nous.”

“Then... Inui will be alive too!”

Professor Yasuda didn't know who that was, but he nodded. “Yes. With the Aeon's defeat, he would likely be returned to whatever geographical position he was sent into the void from. Assuming he hasn't moved far from that spot.”

Another weight lifted off her heart, which had been groaning with the stress of carrying so many of them. She couldn't wait to tell Kasai. “That... that's wonderful news! Thank you!”

The old man shrugged. “I didn't do anything, miss Todoroki. I couldn't aid you in that battle. I merely gave you information based on my research.”

“It was awful in there”, Gantu shuddered at the memory. “I couldn't feel anything at all. No sound. No smell. Couldn't touch anything. Lifeless. A gray world. Dead world.”

As usual Riin said nothing, merely putting a caring hand up to his shoulder.

Just in time for Weihan's eyes to catch it as they fluttered open. “i- what?”

They all had a front row seat to watching Weihan's confusion transition into slow realization, disgust, then into self-loathing, arms folding around his head as if he wanted to wrench it clean off his neck by force. “Damn it. Damn it. What did I... what the hell... have I done?”

Fujisa bit her lip. She'd been expecting this kind of reaction from him, even if no one had actually been killed by Nous. “It wasn't you, Yasuda. It was that awful Aeon taking you over. Ask Arakawa- he'll tell you how it was back when a demon possessed him. You had no control.”

The despair in Weihan's eyes suggested otherwise, until he could no longer even meet her gaze at all. Could barely speak. “But... but I... I said yes to it. I accepted the power. Oh god. Oh god. Damn it. Fuck. I did it. I trapped them all. Sent them to a new dimension. I wanted it. Joined with them. Oh god...”

She wasn't sure how to respond. His father looked like he clearly wanted to say something, but he reconsidered and changed his approach to something else. “Not just a demon, boy. An Aeon. A powerful collective of human thoughts from past and present, united in the belief that there was no hope for the future in this Pleroma. Rejecting it. Rejecting all. The sleep of reason, giving birth to monsters.”

But even that explanation went over his head for the moment. She wouldn't be surprised if he had a tremendous headache to go with the one in his soul. He didn't resist her deep hug, but he didn't look much improved by it either.

Doctor Coleman had awakened as well, studying them all with wearied but professional eyes. “Physical scars are easy to fix. That... not so much. Give him time.”

“I'm just glad to have him back after all this”, she sighed in relief, moving to their last unconscious member to dig in his pocket, fishing free a pair of familiar glasses. “Here, Yasuda.”

Weihan wouldn't look back, merely receiving them in silence. With them, he at least looked a bit more like his old self, even with right lens cracked into near-opacity. It suited him here, she felt ashamed to think. Everything about him now hinted at a damaged soul that might never be repaired.

That didn't stop his father from trying, however. He studied Weihan closely, gazing back at the one visible eye. “...It whispered to you, didn't it boy? It told you we were doomed and you believed in it. Believed it was the only way to save everyone.”

“How exactly was I supposed to react?” Weihan reply sounded as broken and near to shattering as the lens. “You said that the Magnetite surge, this 'Aeon's Eve' is affecting the entire world, not just Tokyo. You know that means. We're doomed. Even if Tokyo survives this demon invasion... no one else will.”

It was Gantu who looked most alarmed at that revelation. “What? You mean that my parents' farm...?”

Weihan hesitated out of courtesy. “It's... probably overrun with demons by now. Anyone who's still there is dead.”

“No!” Gantu fell to his knees, lost. “No...”

Fujisa raised a brow in annoyance. Her sympathy for him only extended so far. “Way to break it to him gently, Yasuda.”

“Just telling him the truth”, he argued, glancing over at the Professor. “He sure didn't hold back on telling us, why should I?”

“Then my country is probably dealing with that right now too”, Coleman became grave. “Sige has a branch office there. Any demon tamers?”

Weihan shook his head in sorrow. “The technology was limited to Tokyo, so it would be easier to keep secret. The Americans are on their own to deal with the demons invading their country. Like everyone else.”

“Perhaps it may not be as bad as you imagine”, his father palmed his chin. “The demons won't spawn in at the same rate as here, for our nation has the highest concentration of Magnetite energy and spirits. We can't know for certain with standard telecommunications down.”

“They're doomed”, Weihan claimed in complete certainty, staring blankly into the empty street. “Every other nation in the world. Doomed. We might last a little longer here because of our DSPs, but the result will be the same in the end.”

Then Fujisa was before him, kneeling down, her strong arms folding tight around his shoulders like it was another embrace. Her earlier anger towards him was gone, replaced by a piercing stare that he couldn't look away from.

“Yasuda. I know you're the demonology researcher here. You, and your dad. But do you see him giving up?”

Weihan groaned. He didn't want to care. All he wanted to do was roll over and wait to die. It was a look she had seen before, though never on his face.

Fortunately, the Professor picked up on her cue, grabbing his other hand. “Listen up, boy. My research indicates two possible causes for this Aeon's Eve. One is due to the planetary alignment of Earth, Mars and Venus, causing their planetary energy fields to overlap. The other... is due to 'rejection'.”

“Rejection?”, Gantu wondered.

“Yes. Rejection of the current Pleroma. It has created a self-propagating dimensional instability, resulting in other Aeons to attempt to replace it with their own versions of reality. Before this one collapses into the Expanse, and disintegrates.”

“But... who is creating this 'rejection'?”, Fujisa asked, already suspecting that the answer would once again go over her head.

To his credit, the Professor managed not to look too superior in his answer, rising to stand with her.

“Why, we are, of course. Not us specifically, but humans. Theodotus had a theory long ago. An idea that the world which we all perceive and know is actually created by the unified consensus of all human thought and sensory input. But, if enough human minds were to grow to consciously reject the current reality they beheld with their own senses...”, standing, he spread his arms. “...Then this is the result you see before you. Aeon's Eve. The end of the world that we know. Dimensional instability, allowing wild demons to slip in through through the cracks, unbidden.”

Gantu frowned. “But... Why? Why would so many humans reject reality?”

Weihan let out a nasty laugh from his seat that carried far on the open pavement. “You really are born on a farm, aren't you Arakawa? You haven't spent much time here in Tokyo. You don't yet see it. You don't understand.”

“Yasuda”, Fujisa warned him. This wasn't the time for insults, and Gantu in particular didn't take them well in the best circumstances.

Pausing, Weihan re-composed himself, shaking until his face, eyes and voice weren't quite so crazed. “Right. You've been here at least a few years, Arakawa. You know that the majority of the businesses in Tokyo are controlled by Sige and Bythos. Unofficially, they wield an influence and power even greater than the National Diet- the Federal government. They can bend or break the laws, take ownership of properties they want. They created all the most popular online sites and search engines. And even if they don't always mean to, they inevitably end up crushing the little people underfoot.”

Gantu didn't quite understand, but he nodded for Weihan to continue anyway.

“...Everything in this entire city of Tokyo and beyond has been designed to net Sige and Bythos the highest profits and success, at the expense of the workers and the ordinary people. Knowing all that... how can they possibly be happy in a rigged system like this? Constantly struggling to survive while the highest-ranked members of those companies live like the kings of old? They're supposed to just accept that reality?”

“Yasuda?”, Fujisa's words were surprised more than reprimanding now. “You've... never said anything like this before. You always said our best chance of survival was to obey Sige's orders.”

Blinking, he softened a notch towards her. “Things change. Todoroki. I believed that if I pledged my loyalty to Sige, the most powerful group around, then they would reward me for it. I thought that the only way to really be successful is to be a part of one of those two mega-companies. But... even they can't stop this! All of their power, all of their technology, and they can't stop the invasion. Or they won't. And if they don't... then no one can. We're doomed, Todoroki. All that's left for us is to decide what we want to do with our last few days before we all die. Either we starve, or the demons get us. Six of one, or a half-dozen of the other.”

He'd managed to bring the group's mood down even further. Even the Professor didn't look entirely sure what to say to answer his bitter rant.

It was up to her then.

Kneeling down with him, Fujisa took Weihan's trembling hands into hers, refusing to look away or let him break free from her.

“...You listen to me, Weihan Yasuda. Less than an hour ago, I thought that we were doomed too. I thought that we had no chance against Nous' power after all. That we were all going to die there like Inui. But we didn't die. Nous was the most powerful monster I've ever seen, but still we beat it. We beat it by fighting together, as a team. And if we can do that, then there must be a way for us to survive the rest of this. For humanity to survive, even if it's just Tokyo. But if we're going to do that, then the most important thing for us to remember is to Never-Give-Up!”

Weihan snorted, turning his head away. “Nice platitudes. Did you read that on a cereal box? Or maybe some drippy kids' show? This isn't a cartoon, Todoroki! This is reality!”

Then she was hauling him up by force with both arms, dragging him so swiftly and strongly that he nearly smacked his head on the bus stop wall, bringing him around to behold Kasai's motionless form. With half his Sige business suit and undershirt gone, particularly around his exposed left arm and shoulder, he looked terribly vulnerable.

“Do you SEE that man, Yasuda? Did you SEE what he did for you- for all of us- today? I couldn't believe what I was seeing either. Thanks to him, we destroyed Nous. Without his plan, we would never have even found it, or caught up to it. And he... Yasuda, you know there's something else to Ohabara. Either it was in him from the start, or Zoe gave it to him like she gave the power to us.”

“Zoe?”, his father's eyes shot wide. “The Aeon of Life?”

She ignored him. Her focus was entirely on Weihan for now. “You... If you'd only seen for yourself just how hard that man fought to defeat Nous... To save you. To save your life. As long as he's here with us, as long as we're all working together like this... I believe that we have a chance to survive. I don't believe in Sige OR in Bythos. I believe in us. In this team that we've made. Do I think it's going to be easy? Hell no! But I do think there's a chance. A small chance. And...”

Letting go of him, she cast her eyes to the evening skies above, ignoring the drizzle falling into them. “And... even if there isn't a chance after all, and it's all been for nothing... No. I don't give a damn. I'd still rather die fighting then just waiting around for it. So. What about YOU, Yasuda? Are you just gonna roll over and die? Or...?”

For a moment everyone present was too stricken to respond. Then Kasai moved, rising, his eyes still veiled but clearly awake. “-Geez, you're loud.”

She descended into a unique hybrid of sobbing and laughing.

21:00

“Don't try to stand”, Professor Yasuda warned him. “Even if you're awake, you've suffered a severe spiritual energy loss. Healing skills can't fix that. Only time can. If we're to move, then someone will need to carry him.”

Gantu volunteered, the others helping to prop Kasai up on the big man's shoulders to ride. “Sorry about this, Arakawa”, he whispered into his ear. “It's only until we can get back to the motorcycles.”

Coleman palmed his forehead. “Right. The bikes. I'd just about forgotten about those. Hope no demon decided to mess with 'em while we were busy.”

“I don't mind”, Gantu told him, cheerful despite everything that had happened. “I'm happy to be of help. Ohabara, I have to say... you might be smaller than me, but your strength... I couldn't believe what I saw. How did you do it?”

Kasai coughed, wincing as the evening air chilled his exposed shoulder. He didn't want to remember the last few minutes of that fight. Amputation hadn't even been the most disturbing thing about it.

“The Professor just said how, Arakawa. I did it... by burning my spiritual power out completely, until I can't even stand up properly. Hence you carrying me.”

“Yes. But there was more to it, right?”

He studied the group for a moment as they started walking for the bikes, grappling with their own different levels of energy loss. This wasn't something he really wanted Fujisa to overhear him say, at least for now. Luckily, she was busy chatting with Riin a good ways ahead of them.

“...It's a kind of instinct. Something I've had since my time with the Capsules. Tunnel vision, I guess you could call it. Whenever I'm royally pissed off, whenever there's someone I really, really want to take out in a fight... it's like nothing else matters until I beat them. There's this haze of red that comes down. Pain doesn't matter. Exhaustion doesn't matter. Fear is a joke. It's like my body doesn't even care. I just keep going. I just keep tearing into them, ripping them apart until they're down. I only pay the price afterwards. Demon Armatization seems to enhance that part too.”

He could easily remember the feeling of Baihu's strength as he tore through sinew and bone and blood.

“That sounds like the Berserker”, Gantu grew troubled, stopping. “A demon in the Bythos server database. Ancient Norse warriors who go into a rage so they're harder to hurt. Like a kind of trance using herbs.”

“The old gang never called me that”, Kasai sighed unhappily at the memory. “They called me 'bloody angel'. Just... don't tell Todoroki about it, okay? She, uh, looks scared enough of me as it is.”

“No. She's scared for you. We all were.”

He grinned. “Yeah, well, I was scared for you too when you fell into that void, big guy. Glad to see you made it after all. Maybe next time, try dodging?”

Gantu chuckled, resuming his piggyback. “Thank you. I will. But it's hard for me to move fast in that Titan form.”

Everyone was relieved to find their rides undamaged, still lying on the side of the road along the Hongo campus where they'd been left. Out of morbid curiosity more than anything, Coleman peered around and made a face. “Everything's been torn apart less than three hundred meters from here. Cutting it awful close.”

“We didn't know the fight would be that destructive”, Kasai reasoned. “I've never seen a demon that could just tear the ground apart for miles like that. Next time, we'll be more careful.”

“You'd better hope there isn't a next time”, Fujisa looked alarmed at the idea. “Not for something that powerful.” She resisted the urge to point out that some of that destruction was their own doing.

Sensing several pairs of eyes on him, the Professor coughed politely. “It... is certainly possible. If another Aeon is able to locate a human who shares in their thoughts, and is willing to become a Syzygy- a vessel for their power and will.”

“Then we'll take that one down too”, Kasai claimed with far more bravado than he felt. Which wasn't hard. “As long as we're all in this together-”

A message alert cut him off, causing Gantu and Riin to raise their devices and check the screens. “You just had to say it”, Weihan groaned. He already knew what that chime meant.

“Message from Bythos headquarters”, Riin confirmed apologetically. “Calling us back.”

Gantu's face fell. “What? Now? So soon?”

“Mission's over. Nous is gone. We're done. Time to go. All of us.”

Fujisa felt herself deflate. The larger their group, the greater her confidence in their success. But now Gantu and Riin were both being recalled by their corporate masters back to their headquarters. “B-but... but we're such a good team together! You saw it.”

“...I know”, Riin's eyes lowered and she gave a rare exasperated sigh. “But if we don't... then Bythos'll cut us off. Like before. Can't do it. Sorry.”

If anything, Gantu looked even more upset than her. “I don't want to go. Really. But... I'm s-sorry. We have to.”

“One night”, Fujisa argued. “It's nighttime already. Come with us to the nearest hotel, let Bythos know you can't make it back before dark.”

“I have one more thing to take care of”, Kasai remembered, and she almost laughed out loud at the thought.

“No. Absolutely not. You're barely keeping yourself awake right now, Ohabara, and you want to go fight another major demon in the middle of the night by yourself? No. That will have to wait for another night.”

“What?”, Coleman wondered. “More demons? Gimme a break.”

“It's the promise he made in order to get these machines”, Gantu explained. “A demon on a motorcycle has been attacking the Capsules. The 'Night Rider', they call it. He said he would get rid of it for them. But he can't do that tonight. He's too tired.”

Weihan's eyes bulged at that news. “What? These ones are Capsule motorcycles? Gods, Ohabara. What the hell did you do?”

“What I had to”, their emaciated leader grunted, forcing himself off of his mount on Gantu's back, immediately wobbling as he tried desperately to stand up, his numbed hands drifting down to knees that suddenly felt like wet tissue paper. “There, y'see? I'm good to go. Never better. I'm completely fi- whoa-a-a-ahh!”

He crashed back to the ground, and Fuji shook her head. “You see? You can't even stand up, Ohabara. No way can you take on another major demon right now. As your appointed '2^nd in command', I won't permit it. Ebisu and his criminal scum friends are just going to have to wait another day for your help.”

“Damn it all”, he cursed into the concrete of the highway, silently cursing useless muscles and bones that had betrayed him with their lack of energy. “But... I promised. I promised...”

Fujisa looked away for a moment as well, to try to hide the expression of befuddled amazement.

Unbelievable. The guy is on death's very door after fighting an Aeon, a being more powerful than most demons, and here he's going on about his promise to help a worthless criminal. Truly a rare person. Rare to see someone so incredibly thick-headed, that is.

“We'll go along with you”, Gantu offered. “To the hotel. There's an open one up near Zoshigaya, owned by Bythos. We'll report in there.”

“But tomorrow”, Riin affirmed, “we'll be gone. Sorry. Can't stay with you now. Gotta follow orders.”

Cursing his body's mortal frailty fifty times over again, Kasai finally relented, staring back at their 'guests'. “Hey. Thanks for everything. Both of you. We couldn't have done it without your help. And, uh... look after Motoro, alright? She didn't look very happy earlier with the way Kaseki forced her to return to headquarters. She might do something stupid.”

“Motor-mouth never needs help with that”, Riin scoffed. “She always does stupid things.”

“But we will ask, and watch out for her”, Gantu vowed, growing apprehensive. “Where... where will you go, Ohabara? What will you do now?”

Kasai shrugged back at Weihan. “Idunno. Not really sure yet. We just have to help out where we're needed, I guess. Try and make up with Natsuhagi for breaking my promise to him. Save as many people from the demons as we possibly can. Leraje's still out there somewhere causing trouble, maybe we can finally take her out tomorrow. What about you, doc? You in?”

“I'm in”, Coleman nodded back eagerly, gesturing with a fresh cigar. “Sige doesn't own me. They've got other healers. Better healers. I'll stick with you kids for now. You look like you're gonna need me.”

“Thank you, doctor”, Fujisa beamed, her smile lighting up the grim feel of the street. Their last battle had proven the man's talent beyond all doubt, even if he couldn't summon demons. She knew from personal experience that using healing skills to patch up people's wounds was just as exhausting as fighting was, and healing a group of people over and over again without any rest in between... It was actually a minor miracle that the doctor could stand up and walk at all. He looked nearly as depleted of power as Kasai. “You're always welcome with us.”

Professor Yasuda didn't look as committed however. “I should get back to my lab”, he said. “There's still so much to the phenomena of 'Aeon's Eve' that we don't yet understand. I'll contact you if I discover anything relevant.”

“Wait”, Kasai raised a hand. “Before you go... I need one more answer from you, sir.”

The others were surprised at the fortitude in their leader's tone, considering his condition. The elder Yasuda paused. “...Speak.”

“Ekajati”, he commanded. “Weihan told us about her. How she married you, and even carried a son to term and gave birth, all while she was taking on the form of a human. He believed that she also shared with you the secret on creating the first DSPs. Is... is that true?”

The Professor looked extremely offended. He wasn't going to lie to someone in that shape either though. “...Yes. She helped me to make the theoretical outline for the DSP prototype. But I did all the real work creating it.”

Kasai felt a smile force his way onto his face, saw Fujisa looking much the same way. Got it. Puzzle solved. One puzzle of many.

“Ekajati shared that knowledge with you, who she trusted most. Which means she believed that with the DSPs, we humans could survive what was coming. Your wife, Weihan's mother... she believed in us. She believed in humanity's ability to survive this demon invasion.”

“Of course she believed”, the Professor snorted. “She always- oh.”

They all turned back to Weihan, who shirked from the attention, still nursing an island-sized headache. “Not now. I can't think about it yet. Tomorrow. Please. I... just want to rest for now.”

“I think we all do”, Fujisa agreed, feeling more content than she had in many days. “Let's go find that hotel.”

21:30

The Zoshigaya location felt a slight more extravagant than their lodgings of the previous two days, positioned in a high-income district. Swirling wallpaper designs around jeweled mirrors and lights, meant to convey a sense of luxury. The effect was only somewhat ruined by the dozens of manic-looking civilians talking angrily in the lobby, ignoring the staff's requests that they turn in for the night.

“Three days now”, Coleman observed despondently. “Three days of complete lockdown, and no sign of it ending. Food supplies're starting to run out at these hotels. No wonder everyone's getting so pissed off. I can only imagine what things must be like in my home. My people don't take house arrest well. Never have, never will.”

“It's better than dying”, Fujisa contended. “If they leave, they become a target for the demons.”

“You and I know that. They don't. And they won't believe us if we tell 'em. Things don't change soon, it's gonna get real ugly tomorrow.”

Kasai wished he could say otherwise. But even in his diminished state, he couldn't ignore the signs all around them. Stores and vending machines looted, their windows shattered. The occasional smear of blood denoting a human casualty. People no longer able to tolerate hiding in their homes without any news on when the lockdown would end.

Most alarmingly of all- how the city's various parks had been slowly expanding outwards in every direction. Grass and roots forcing their way up through broken pavement. Trees growing to abnormal heights. Vines the width of his own arm tunneling their way along larger buildings, giving them fresh coatings of smothering ivy.

Soon enough, the term 'concrete jungle' would become literal.

“Zoshigaya park was looking very big over there”, Weihan considered. “Are you sure that we'll be safe here?”

“As safe as anywhere else is”, Gantu mused. “If wild demons do attack this hotel... then we can stop them ourselves.”

“Save people”, Riin seconded beside him. “What we do.”

“Until it-”, Weihan caught himself, refusing to give in to despair after all he'd heard and seen since being freed of Nous. And before then. “...Sorry. Don't mean to bring everyone down. Here, or before. Gotta stay positive, right?”

“Have to hope”, Riin reminded him with a gentle shove. “Can't give up. Stupid. Despair is useless.”

Kasai wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing that they wound up in the same bedroom together again, for the third time. He almost wanted to ask to switch with Gantu or Coleman, but reconsidered once they were both tucked in, with him still barely able to get off the bed.

He'd regained enough energy to talk though, once they settled in. “Yasuda.”

His partner turned over. “Yeah?”

“Listen up... I know how you feel. Partly anyway. The entire world is changing right now, becoming hostile to humans. Maybe you're right about all this stuff. Maybe every other nation is gonna be destroyed by Aeon's Eve. But your mother, Ekajati... she believed that we could survive, if we just had the right tools to do it. She knew about the 'two-hundred foot tidal wave' that was coming, and she tossed us a lifeline.”

The other man's face remained inscrutable in the dim hotel light, straining to figure out what exactly that meant to him.

“You don't want to let her down, do you? Even if we screw up and we die, and go on to... to wherever dead people go. You'll want to be able to tell your mother that we fought to the very end. Kicking and screaming. Right?”

Weihan shifted his gaze back to the ceiling, his fists tightening on his bed sheet. “Ohabara... Shit. Damn it. I can't stand it. It's just so easy for you, isn't it? You're always brave. You were a damn Capsule. You're used to fighting for your life and ignoring your fear. Me though? Not so much.”

Kasai drew silent. He could sense the other man's long-held resentment boiling over into hatred, but there was something there that suggested he wasn't in any real danger.

“Me? I've always been afraid. Petrified. Not just of demons, but other stuff too. Whenever bullies would beat me up at school, I'd cry and run from them. Whenever someone yelled at me, I'd just fold and go do whatever they told me to do. Never resisting them. Always surrendering to force. I figured if I joined up with Sige, the biggest bully in the country... then I'd finally be safe for a change.”

“You aren't a part of Sige”, Kasai told him, flashing back to how their DSPs had flatlined four days ago. “You just work for them. They discarded us as soon as we put one foot out of line. You saw it.”

“Yeah. I know.” Weihan words sounded as broken as the lens of the glasses set on the table beside him. “I know that. Sige can reward loyalty, sure. But only the truly talented people, the prodigies. People like miss Surahi. Like Munayama, and Chief Chiba. People like... you. Me, though? I'm a nobody. A sap. Just another faceless gear in the machine. Not enough talent to earn what I wanted. A waste of Ekajati's demon blood.”

“You're a demonology researcher, man”, Kasai argued back. “You're the son of the legendary Professor Tomino Yasuda, the man who created the DSP.”

“Yeah”, Weihan said patiently. “And that's about the only damn thing anyone there ever saw me as. I was always just Tomino Yasuda's son, who was only there because of who his father was.”

Kasai leaned back in bed. His shirtless body still felt like one massive synchronized throbbing bruise, but his mind was back at work even with sleep beginning to cloud it.

“...I'm going to tell Chief Chiba that you said that.”

Weihan shook his head in dismissal. “Go ahead. Chief Chiba doesn't give a damn about me. No one does. I know that now.”

That earned him a polite chuckle from the other bed. “There's three motorcycles parked outside this hotel that say you're wrong about that, Yasuda. Todoroki spent most of today trying not to break down and cry out of worrying about you.”

Silence, which he took as an invitation to continue. “Yasuda... I get it. I do. The Professor's not exactly great father material. We saw that yesterday. But there are people here who do care about you. I care. Todoroki cares. You're our friend. Our colleague. You know the real truth? You have more knowledge about demonology than either of us put together. Me? I just know how to kill 'em. Which, as you say, is only a temporary solution.”

More silence. Weihan was just staring up at the dead ceiling light now, unmoving.

“...It's funny, isn't it? Most of the demons we've run into so far mainly care about themselves, no one else. A lot of 'em are just like really strong animals. But now we know that Ekajati chose to give us humans a slim fighting chance against this invasion. Deliberately giving your dad that forbidden knowledge, so that he could create the first DSPs. Why do you think your mother did that, I wonder?”

For once, his words weren't met with scorn or mockery. Weihan sounded like he was fighting back a cracked sob. “You think that... that she did it to protect me? To save me? But she left, Ohabara. She left. She left us both behind. She went back to her own world. Back 'home'. Back to the Expanse- the dimension that the demons come from. She never even said 'good bye' to me. And the great 'Professor' won't even tell me the real reason why.”

Kasai studied his face. “If he won't tell you... then maybe she will. But you'll never find the truth if you give up now.”

Weihan paused, turning in his bedsheets. “...Most demons only respect strength. I don't think that she's going to be very impressed to find out that her son is such a useless coward.”

“It's a good thing you're not a useless coward then.”

“But... I am! I told you. I'm afraid. Always afraid. Always scared shitless of the demons. Of humans. Of everything. You saw me at the fight with Tarakasura yesterday.”

Kasai barked a laugh. “Yasuda, everyone is scared shitless of the demons. Even me. I've seen the Sige databases for myself. I know that there's other demons out there who are even stronger than the ones we've got. Maybe even stronger than Nous.” Like Astanpheus, he couldn't help but think.

“Stronger”, Weihan admitted, having the same knowledge. “Strong enough to destroy whole buildings with their attacks. There's a certain class of demon power that Sige tamers are forbidden to summon, because of that. It's called the Makai Line.”

“See? You know that, we didn't. If we're gonna survive this, then we need every edge. We need you, Yasuda. We need your knowledge.”

Taking one more look at the DSP grafted to his arm, Weihan grunted. “Alright, fine. Whatever. Not like I have anything better to do before the end. And, uh... I won't interfere with you and Todoroki any more either.”

That made Kasai smile back. “Todoroki knows you better than she knows me. And I won't deny that I like her. I do. She's an easy girl to like, at least when she's not being all stuck-up about the law and stuff. But, if you really mean it... then go for it, I say. I told you already, she needed you back. We both did. That's why we fought so hard for it.”

“That you did”, Weihan had to acknowledge. He couldn't remember everything about his time as 'Nous', but he could certainly remember the final grisly moments. How the ground itself collapsed from the power being unleashed by both sides. How Kasai had grown claws from his Armatization, regenerating lost arms and struck with them again and again until his seemingly indestructible target fell.

“Personally? I actually think you have a better shot with Fuji than me. She hates criminals, and I used to be a Capsule. She might be our friend, but she's still holding herself away from me.”

Weihan grinned back from his bed. “Oh yeah, that's why Fuji couldn't take her eyes off you after your shirt got destroyed, right? Nice pecs you've got there, man.”

Kasai chuckled, fully aware of the feel of the bed sheet on his exposed flesh. He wasn't anywhere near the level of a bodybuilder like Gantu, but he'd tried to stay in good shape even after leaving the Capsules behind. “...I guess I'll need to go find some new clothes first thing tomorrow morning. These ones are falling apart.”

“Yeah”, he sniffed back. “Like we have any room to talk about who gets to go on dates with a girl anyway, when the damn world is ending.”

“If the world is ending... then now is the only time. The only time we have left to us.”

Idly, he wondered if Riin and Fujisa were discussing anything close to this with each other in the girls' room. Probably not, given Riin's taciturn nature. “Demon radar, huh...?”

“So Leng told me. Her choice. His daughter, in all but name. But then, I've heard a rumor going around that demonology researchers don't make very good parents.”

Weihan snorted. “Well. Maybe we should ask Chief Chiba if she's got any family back in Russia.”

“Maybe.”

“And... yeah. You're right. I do want to ask my- to ask Ekajati some questions too. If we ever find her.”

“'Find her'? How can she not come visit, when she sees what a demon-taming badass her son has become?”

It was deliberate flattery, and they both knew it. But his partner accepted it for what it was, for now. He watched as Kasai focused the flickering embers of his strength, raising a bare arm over to reach for him. “So. Truce then?”

“Truce”, Weihan agreed. “No more despair. No more giving up. Get some sleep already, Ohabara. I don't want to have to carry you out of bed tomorrow.”

“Noted. Oh, and Yasuda? Welcome back.”

Time Unknown

The place seemed brighter than Kasai remembered, though that might have been his imagination.

After all, this was all in his head. All salt monoliths and milky white void, the two barely discernible from each other. Monadis, he'd been told it was called.

“You subdued Nous”, Zoe's strange ethereal tone reached him. “Congratulations. You've proven we were right in choosing you.”

The praise felt genuine, and he felt bad about turning it back on her so quickly. Not enough to pass on this chance, however.

“Right. Choosing me. That's what I wanted to ask you about.”

Her golden eyes didn't falter, no doubt expecting his request. “Then ask, champion, and we shall answer.”