“Senpai! Goodbye!”
After sending the three little ones to the station, Yuki Asahi’s mind lingered on the conversation from just now.
He wasn’t surprised by Hattori Yumeko’s existence.
What surprised him was that she had possessed Kazama Yin and left Mejiro.
However, he couldn’t provide answers to the remaining questions.
It wasn’t a matter of distrust—Yuki Asahi’s investigation into DRG was limited to a few fragmented words.
Of course, he knew about Jiang Jian Yue’s concept of the “Enterprise Nation.” He also knew it was a promise made to reward the Homecoming Faction.
They were supposed to return to Japan after the Asia War, but… they didn’t.
The original return plan hadn’t been fulfilled. Perhaps the brutality of the Euro-African War and the internal strife within DRG had exceeded imagination.
When the Asia War ended and DRG didn’t return, Yuki Asahi planned to go to Central Africa to meet Jiang Jian Yue.
But Japan at that time was still under post-war military administration.
Plus, the new government and his companions needed him to stay, so he delayed for a while.
Later, the Time Distortion and the Tokyo Ominous Day occurred one after another.
Yuki Asahi knew that those who wanted to destroy peace were still lurking in the shadows…
As Japan’s supreme combat power, he couldn’t leave.
A heavy sense of responsibility drove him to torture himself with inhuman, long-duration, sustained work.
At the same time, he was deceiving himself internally.
No matter the outcome of the war, Jiang Jian Yue was so powerful—she would surely survive and come back to see him.
He hadn’t put her first—that was what Jiang Jian Yue wanted… a mature Yuki Asahi.
Of course, after the Asia War, while following SAAC under the Pacific Treaty to deal with supernatural incidents everywhere, Yuki Asahi also kept an eye on developments in Europe and Africa.
When the bloody battle reports of the “Pale Gray Witch” massacring ordinary people reached Japan, Yuki Asahi’s first reaction was disbelief. He thought it must be the European Union’s frame-up.
As more and more evidence was exposed, Yuki Asahi’s heart fell into unprecedented torment and doubt.
Was this the real Jiang Jian Yue?
A great demon who treated life like dirt?
What difference was there between her actions and those of the superhumans he had faced who were utterly indifferent to life?
On one hand, there was the fragility and tenderness Jiang Jian Yue had shown before his eyes; on the other, the daily rising massacre numbers in the battle reports…
Yuki Asahi even had the thought that everything Jiang Jian Yue had shown him… was a disguise.
But he kept waiting, waiting for the day Jiang Jian Yue would personally explain to him.
Instead, he received the end of the Euro-African War and the news of the “Pale Gray Witch’s” death.
Yuki Asahi didn’t know how he got through that period. He only knew that many people came—old companions, colleagues he had worked with at Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu and SAAC, and people from the new government.
Did he still have feelings of love for Jiang Jian Yue?
Yuki Asahi could easily detect the emotional changes within himself, so his answer was: yes.
When he realized this, his simple values threw him into a vortex of self-loathing—even if Jiang Jian Yue was a demon, he still liked her… What a beast…
After the Euro-African War ended, Yuki Asahi locked himself in his room every day, using his domain of emotional detection to scan and catch targets that triggered intense panic in the surroundings.
Doing this… as atonement? Or rather, more as self-punishment and escape from reality.
Until that female communicator named Pian Lai Meng inadvertently revealed the reality.
Japan no longer needed Yuki Asahi.
There was a more complete monitoring system, a new generation of strong people… Yuki Asahi’s self-punishment was meaningless.
Yes, it was time to let go.
He didn’t believe Jiang Jian Yue had died so easily.
He wanted to go to Central Africa to search for traces of Jiang Jian Yue.
No matter the outcome, Yuki Asahi had to let go.
Yuki Asahi knew that no matter what, he could never forgive Jiang Jian Yue’s massacres… and also… the resentment for her not contacting him for so long.
Of course, before that, he would clean up Japan one last time and visit old friends along the way, because this might very well be a farewell forever.
If he found Jiang Jian Yue, he thought… dying at her hands would be a good ending, right?
“Gui Ren Jie and Jing Ji Zhenwu are both dead…”
Deep beneath Tokyo Metropolis, the old Edogawa Drainage Canal Ruins.
This place was once a magnificent underground temple that protected Tokyo from floods. Huge concrete pillars stood like a forest in the darkness.
But now, it had become a dark corner where sunlight never reached—a gathering place for waste discharged by this glamorous “Pacific Treaty” era.
The air was filled with the smell of machine oil and the sweet, rancid stench of something rotting.
Dozens of tattered figures gathered in the shadow of the giant pillars.
Some had metal collars around their necks that flashed red light—those were dangerous elements judged to have “Heart Insect Instability.”
Some had partially alienated bodies, with extra limbs or scales covering them—these were Semi-Devourers who still retained their sanity.
Others were strays wearing old Japanese military uniforms or priestly robes.
They shared a common name: the “Inferior Species Mutual Aid Society.”
Their aim was to overthrow the current system that defined them as “inferior” and enforced comprehensive monitoring of parasites.
“Dead? All dead?!”
A furious roar echoed through the empty underground temple.
The speaker was a huge man with a bloated body, half of which was pieced together from various mechanical prosthetics and unknown flesh chunks.
He was one of the four executives of the Mutual Aid Society, “Feng He Shi.”
“Jing Ji, that stubborn old fool, might have been pedantic, but his strength was recognized by the leader… and Gui Ren Jie, that guy was a pure monster who had eaten hundreds of people! All gone?”
The intelligence is accurate.”
The bird-man reporting was covered in sweat from his feathers.
“The battle ended in less than three seconds. It was a one-sided massacre.”
“Three seconds…” Feng He Shi scratched the suture lines on his face, and his tone suddenly calmed down. “There aren’t many people who can do that…”
“It was done by a superhuman named Yuki Asahi.”
“Yuki Asahi… Isn’t he useless? Didn’t they say he had mental breakdown and become a waste hiding in a corner?”
Feng He Shi punched a pillar, shaking down countless dust: “We must eliminate him! If we don’t gather all our strength to surround and kill him now, by the time he comes to us on his own, we’ll all die!”
“That’s right! Kill him!”
“For survival!”
The underlings below began to stir. Fear gave birth to extreme madness.
“Quiet.”
There was no loud rebuke, just a light word.
But the entire underground temple instantly fell into a dead silence.
At that moment, all light seemed to be swallowed. Darkness surged like a living thing from every corner, converging in the center of the crowd.
The darkness writhed and rose, finally forming a human silhouette.
It had no facial features, no physical form—like a shadow standing up from a two-dimensional plane.
“Le… Leader.”
The previously furious Feng He Shi fell to his knees with a thud, like a frightened bird.
“You want to go and surround and kill Yuki Asahi?”
Ying Shi’s voice seemed to come from all directions, carrying a heavy bass that confused the mind.
“Foolish!”
Do you think you, rabble, can kill that Yuki Asahi?”
“But… he killed Jing Ji and Jie! If we don’t counterattack…”
“Counterattack is necessary, but not by seeking death.”
The black mist on Ying Shi’s body surface churned: “Yuki Asahi may be strong, but he has a weakness.”
“He is too arrogant. So arrogant that he thinks he can protect everyone.”
Then what is your intention?” Feng He Shi asked cautiously.
“Make him suffer. Make him despair. Make him watch the hope he wants to protect extinguish before his eyes.”
Ying Shi raised a hand formed of black mist, pointing at a certain direction in the void.
“Those three brats. Students from Tokiwagi High School. People Yuki Asahi saved.”
“If these three seeds of the future are brutally tortured and their tragic corpses placed before him… what will happen to that man, who is already on the verge of collapse?”
“He will… go mad?”
“Exactly. When he becomes completely insane and loses his reason, that will be the best time for me to harvest his power.”
Ying Shi turned his head to look at Feng He Shi.
“This task is yours.”
“Remember, don’t kill them all at once. Slowly, bit by bit, cut their hope to pieces.”
“As you command, leader. I will make them experience what true ‘hell’ is.”
“As for Yuki Asahi…”
Ying Shi’s figure began to dissipate, merging back into the darkness.
“Leave him be for now. He is my prey. I will personally… enjoy him.”
A single-family house in the Amuro residence.
The living room light was a dim yellow. The television was playing a boring variety show, but no one was watching.
On the dining table was a simple dinner: grilled fish, miso soup, and a bowl of white rice.
Yuki Asahi didn’t pick up his chopsticks.
He sat on a chair, his long black hair covering his expression. His fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a dull sound.
At his hand lay a black bank card.
Funae Amuro sat across from him, her hands nervously twisting together. Her eyes darted between the bank card and her brother’s face, a strong unease rising in her heart.
“Brother… what is this?”
“This is some money I’ve saved over the years.”
Yuki Asahi’s voice was very calm, as calm as if he were talking about someone else. “The password is your birthday. The amount is enough to pay off the loan on this house. The rest, if you don’t waste it, will be enough to support you for a long time.”
Funae Amuro lifted her head sharply, her face instantly turning pale.
“You… you’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
Yuki Asahi pushed the card a little toward her. “I should have left long ago. These two years… sorry for the intrusion.”
“Intrusion…”
Funae Amuro chewed on that word, and suddenly it felt extremely harsh.
“Where are you going?”
“Somewhere far away.”
Yuki Asahi stood up, as if unwilling to explain further. He turned to go pack his things.
“Is it because of me?”
Her trembling voice came from behind.
Yuki Asahi’s footsteps stopped.
“Is it because… I was too harsh on you before?”