The rolling shutter door trembled violently with a buzzing sound.
In an instant, a blinding arc of electricity snaked through the gap, surging and spreading across the entire shutter.
Boom!
A deafening explosion shattered the silence, tearing open a jagged gash in the shutter.
A woman with short brown hair stepped through the smoke into the shop, her pale blue eyes sweeping through the dimness.
The overhead lightbulb flickered on with a snap, then plunged into a frenzy of strobing flashes, finally bursting with a piercing “zzzz” scream. Fragments fell like snow.
Behind the brown-haired woman, a squad of fully armed SAT-EX Members poured in, fanning out with practiced precision, muzzles covering every corner of the room.
“Clear!”
“Clear! No target found!”
Bang!
***
In the operations command room, Director Kawada Hou listened to the liaison’s report, face dark as he slammed a fist onto the console, making the monitor hum.
Shiying, just pushing the door open, blinked, then chuckled lightly.
“Don’t be angry. The Saints aren’t so easy to catch.”
Director Kawada Hou said nothing, leaning heavily into his chair, deep in thought.
Suddenly he spoke.
“Is there a mole inside Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu?”
“Isn’t undercover work just too common nowadays?”
Shiying shrugged.
“If you’re suspicious of our Curtain Cluster, it’s fine. We can withdraw from the operation group.”
“No.”
Director Kawada Hou shook his head.
“I don’t doubt your resolve against the Saints. It’s just… it’s suspicious how every time, we’re just a step too late.”
“Patience. In the shadows and in the light…”
***
[Barrier established]
[Requesting authentication]
[Follower – Dark Walker – Damian Thorn authentication complete]
[Bishop – Changshi God connected]
[Damian Thorn: All sweep operations are complete. No arrests made, but suspicions of a mole inside Tokushu Jishou Taiou Honbu have arisen]
[Changshi God: Tomorrow, I’ll have a Follower deliberately expose themselves to be arrested. Use their testimony to clear suspicion of a mole. You don’t need to do anything—continue to lie low]
[Damian Thorn: Received]
***
West Nest Duck Station, just three hundred meters from Tokiwagi High School.
After school, students clustered at the crosswalk, curious and anxious.
A black Mercedes S-Class skidded to a stop in the center of the intersection, tires screeching.
The rear door flew open, and Yuki Asahi burst out.
“It’s Yuki-kun!”
A student shouted.
On the open space in front of the convenience store, a man’s back was torn open, blood and flesh exposed, with writhing, slimy tentacles emerging, suspending a young girl tightly clutching a camera in midair.
The girl flailed like a leaf in the wind, but clenched her teeth and stubbornly kept pressing the shutter.
—Is this really the time to be so dedicated?
Noticing Yuki Asahi charging over, the man froze, then grinned viciously.
Another tentacle shot from his writhing back with a whip-crack, sweeping toward Yuki Asahi’s face.
Smack!
Yuki Asahi crossed his arms to block, trying to grip the tentacle as it struck, but the slippery, mucus-covered appendage slipped from his grasp like an eel.
“…………..”
With a look of disgust, Yuki Asahi shook off the nauseating slime, the numbness lingering in his arms.
The man’s face twisted in mockery, the tentacle coiled around the girl tightening suddenly.
“Ah!”
The girl screamed in pain.
“Stop!”
Golden Eyes blazed with fierce light.
Invisible power gathered from the “longing” of the watching students, instantly enhancing his physical abilities.
He endured the whipping tentacle and surged forward like the wind, closing in on the man.
Whoosh—
The man’s face darkened as his back exploded in a spray of translucent fluid.
More grotesque tentacles erupted, stabbing into the ground.
Using this force, his body lifted off the ground in a strange leap, legs together as he launched at Yuki Asahi’s chest like a cannonball.
Bang!
Yuki Asahi grunted, taking the blow squarely in the chest—but used the momentum to clamp down on the man’s ankles and slam him into the ground.
“I surrender! I surrender!”
The man’s fist stopped just short of his face as he shouted, “I give up!”
Yuki Asahi froze.
He didn’t let down his guard, but seeing the man gently lower the girl to the ground, he finally relaxed his clenched fist.
“Thank you! Thank you!”
The girl checked her camera, then stammered her thanks, voice trembling.
How much do you love photography, anyway?
“Yeah, better keep some distance.”
Hmm… did it end just like that?
Yuki Asahi fixed his gaze on the man again, feeling something was off.
The man collapsed, panting as he slowly retracted the disgusting tentacles into his bloodied back.
“I can’t beat you, so might as well avoid a beating…”
He gasped.
“Yuki.”
A familiar voice came from behind.
Yuki Asahi instantly forgot his doubts, turning around reflexively.
His arm was gently raised by Jiang Jian Yue, who took out a white handkerchief and carefully wiped the remaining slime from his hand.
Warmth from her fingertips seeped through the fabric.
“Senpai…”
Yuki Asahi’s heart raced, cheeks flushing with heat.
…Why did Senpai suddenly become so gentle?
Morita Aoya, masked, brushed past them, slipping his right hand into his suit pocket.
Then—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three sharp gunshots echoed behind Yuki Asahi.
Jiang Jian Yue had been watching Morita Aoya’s movements out of the corner of her eye, but suddenly everything went dark.
Yuki Asahi had lunged over, shielding her beneath him.
At that moment, Yuki Asahi couldn’t feel the softness and heartbeat of the girl in his arms.
He jerked his head up—only to see the man lying in a pool of blood, body twitching.
“Morita-san! Why…?”
Yuki Asahi’s eyes widened, shocked.
Morita Aoya’s gun still smoked. He calmly checked the corpse, his tone cold.
“He was about to attack you.”
Eh?
“Is… that so…?”
Yuki Asahi looked blankly at the lifeless man on the ground.
But… isn’t shooting to kill like this a bit… illegal?
Jiang Jian Yue’s face was buried against Yuki Asahi’s chest, her lips curving in a barely noticeable arc.
This tentacle guy was obviously planning to get caught and was far weaker than Yuki Asahi.
That meant she’d lost her “legitimate” reason to strike, and couldn’t “accidentally” kill him with excessive force.
After all, with Yuki Asahi’s hot-blooded and rule-abiding nature, facing someone who surrendered and seemed harmless, he’d never deliver a killing blow.
—Using tentacles in public obviously wasn’t enough to make Yuki Asahi think, “You’re no longer human!” and justify murder.
With the chance to obtain a new ability right in front of her, Jiang Jian Yue had to consider if this was a once-in-a-lifetime (?) opportunity.
As for whether she might mistakenly kill a newly awakened Parasite just looking for trouble?
—Absolutely impossible.
Because she recognized the man’s face.
In the anime, he was the Sect Leader of the “Society of Truth,” an outer organization under the Saints and Saiyonji’s undercover.
To be an accomplice of an evil cult—Yellow Springs was their rightful end.
Jiang Jian Yue felt no guilt killing such people.
“Can you let go?”
Jiang Jian Yue’s cold voice came muffled from his chest.
“Ah, sorry!”
Yuki Asahi hurriedly released her, embarrassed.
“I accidentally got it on your clothes.”
“It’s fine.”
Jiang Jian Yue tossed the handkerchief to Yuki Asahi and eagerly approached the corpse.
A new ability… come to me~
The instant her fingertips touched the body, that familiar, exhilarating sensation surged through her again.
Ah, kimo chicken.jpg.
But as the Light Bug’s power read the information into her mind, Jiang Jian Yue’s face froze.
Why?
Why isn’t it tentacles?
Could this guy be a Dual-core Cicada Molt Body, too?!
Are values inflated? Has the Dual-core Cicada Molt Body become so worthless?
The newly acquired ability was abstract—able to manipulate surrounding elements into armor.
Hiss… why does this feel familiar?
She recalled the cool “suit” the bugman wore in episode nine of the anime.
Damn! I didn’t want Prediction Verification!
Damn Dual-core Cicada Molt Body! Give me back my tentacles!
Becoming a tentacle monster is every guy’s dream (not really).
Hatred, violence, gloom…
After gaining a new ability, a wave of negative emotions flooded in—making the man’s corpse repulsive, as if his existence was to make Jiang Jian Yue angry.
It seemed that with every new power, the intensity of these negative feelings increased.
Her hands itched.
She wanted… to kill something.
Suddenly, a fresh warmth bloomed inside her.
Mixed emotions faded rapidly, like rice spilling from a torn sack.
Jiang Jian Yue spun around, red eyes narrowing in struggle.
It was the instinctive resistance of a girl manipulated emotionally, gratitude for being comforted, and an uncontrollable urge to kill.
Yuki Asahi, sensing something off, immediately activated his emotional sense—without knowing the source of this overwhelming rage and hatred.
He gritted his teeth, unhesitatingly swallowing all the negative feelings into himself.
As Yuki Asahi’s strength drained, the girl’s blood-red eyes cleared, slowly softening with gratitude.
He could feel sincere warmth from her—not through her expressive gaze, but as she let down all her defenses, letting him touch her with his ability for the first time.
With their hearts linked, words became unnecessary.
Saying more would only ruin the moment.
Yuki Asahi’s strength gave out.
He nearly collapsed, but Jiang Jian Yue reached out to steady him—
Morita Aoya, standing beside them, quietly caught the boy.
“…………..”
The young lady’s eyes, which had started to open, narrowed again as she glanced at Morita Aoya.
Morita Aoya felt a chill.
He thought Yuki Asahi looked weak and instinctively helped him—a professional habit that could be fatal.
Oh yeah she’s gonna get bombarded by the comment, but at the same time LET’S GOO