Boom—
Deep beneath Tokyo Metropolis, the espers lurking here had never expected to be besieged by an Emergent Body.
And this Emergent Body gave them no chance to surrender or escape.
Fear gripped their hearts. A Semi-Devourer knelt before the man, trembling as he shouted, “I have information…”
Bang! Watermelon fragments splattered all over the concrete wall.
Yuki Asahi retracted his side-kicking leg and turned to look at the staff member from the Management Department who came rushing over.
“Too slow.”
The blue-haired girl at the front shrank her neck and bowed apologetically. “Sorry, Lord Yuki!”
Then her eyes glowed, and she reached out to grab the air. A wisp of white mist appeared in her hand.
After asking a few questions, she casually released the mist and spoke to Yuki Asahi.
“Lord Yuki, these people call themselves the ‘Sewer Home.’ It’s a mutual aid society composed of Semi-Devourers and unstable espers who escaped from the management facility.”
Yayoi. Yuki Asahi lightly nodded, signaling the other accompanying espers to start searching for more information.
After returning to the surface, Yuki Asahi saw the vehicle that the Management Department had already prepared for him, and… Imai.
“Yuki-kun.” Imai Yayoi waved from the passenger seat, signaling him to get in.
The black luxury sedan drove steadily through the night of Tokyo.
The neon lights outside the window were dazzling and bizarre, casting flickering shadows on Yuki Asahi’s expressionless face.
The interior of the car was deathly silent, except for the faint whirring from the air conditioning vents.
Imai Yayoi sat in the passenger seat, secretly watching the man in the back through the rearview mirror.
He was still that same Yuki Asahi, wearing the white shirt stained from battle and then simply cleaned, with his long hair tied loosely at the back.
But there seemed to be something different.
“Yuki-kun…”
Imai Yayoi hesitated for a long time before finally breaking the suffocating silence.
“Mm.”
Yuki Asahi didn’t look at her; his gaze still fixed on the fleeting street scene outside the window.
“I… submitted a leave of absence request to the school.”
Imai Yayoi’s fingers twisted together tightly, her voice somewhat dry. “Although the principal tried hard to keep me, I still decided to leave.”
“Where to?”
“The People’s Coalition Party.”
Imai Yayoi took a deep breath. “Saiyonji… Saiyonji is gone. The party is in chaos now. Without a leader with the prestige of Saiyonji, it will definitely lead to a split…”
“Sayaka can’t hold it alone. Hitomi is capable, but she’s still inexperienced.”
“So, I have to go.”
At this point, Imai Yayoi’s voice trembled. “But… Yuki-kun, can I really do this?”
She was truly afraid. Saori Saiyonji’s departure not only took away her best friend, but also pulled the backbone out of the entire People’s Coalition Party.
Although the former Free Superpower League, the predecessor of the People’s Coalition Party, was established under her leadership, unlike before, the current People’s Coalition Party is a new, emerging party— the second largest party participating in the Coalition Government.
It’s different from the former civil opposition organization. She hoped to get even a word of comfort from Yuki Asahi—a “It’s okay, you can do it” or “I’ll help you.”
However, Yuki Asahi didn’t give her comfort. “You have to go.”
“Saiyonji took over the People’s Coalition Party precisely because you didn’t want to get involved in politics.”
“But I…”
“No buts.”
Yuki Asahi interrupted her, his tone without pity. “You enjoyed the sky that Saiyonji held up for you. Now that the sky has fallen, you have to prop it up.”
Imai Yayoi lowered her head, her eyes slightly reddening. She knew that Yuki Asahi was right… but why did he have to be so cold?
Tokyo Metropolitan General Hospital, ICU Ward. The air here was thick with a heavier smell of disinfectant than outside, and the cold ticking of instruments sounded like a countdown.
Yuki Asahi pushed open the door to the ward.
On the hospital bed, Kazama Yin lay quietly. His body was full of tubes.
Although his left arm had been reattached, it was fixed with thick plaster and bandages.
That face, usually carrying a hint of chuunibyou and vitality, was now pale as paper and lifeless.
Beside the bed, two figures were keeping watch.
Kagegaya Tsubaki was lying on the edge of the bed, apparently having cried herself to sleep, her shoulders occasionally twitching slightly.
Hanyu Suoluo sat on a chair, peeling an apple, but the peel had broken several times.
His eyes, usually carrying a scholarly air, were bloodshot.
Hearing the door open, Hanyu Suoluo snapped his head up. “Senior Yuki…”
He quickly stood up, nearly dropping the apple and knife.
Kagegaya Tsubaki, who had been lying by the bed, was also startled awake.
She rubbed her swollen eyes, and upon seeing Yuki Asahi, tears uncontrollably flowed again.
“Sen…Senior! Kazama is…”
“What did the doctor say?”
“The multiple bone fractures in his body have been treated with abilities, and the severed arm has been reattached.” Hanyu Suoluo’s voice was hoarse. “But… his consciousness hasn’t returned.”
“The doctor said it might be due to a massive mental shock, or… some kind of damage on the soul level.”
Soul level. Yuki Asahi’s gaze fell on Kazama Yin’s face. He knew why.
Hattori Yumeko, the ghost residing in the boy’s body, had witnessed her husband’s death.
That extreme grief and rage not only tore her apart but also affected Kazama Yin, the host.
“He’ll wake up.” Yuki Asahi reached out and gently smoothed the messy hair on Kazama Yin’s forehead.
“This guy’s tough. He won’t die.”
Hanyu Suoluo watched Yuki Asahi’s actions, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked the question that had been lingering in his mind.
“Senior… those people in black battle suits who appeared at the wedding…” Hanyu Suoluo’s gaze sharpened. “They… are DRG, right?”
Kagegaya Tsubaki also stopped sobbing and looked up at Yuki Asahi. “That man who saved us, Kazama called him ‘Hattori’…”
“Yes.” Yuki Asahi did not deny or avoid it. “It’s DRG.”
Hearing this affirmative answer, Hanyu Suoluo’s hand clenched suddenly, unsure whether to feel happy or sad.
The Dark Crows saved them, but also took away Senior Saiyonji.
“DRG’s target is only Saiyonji. The ones who caused this massacre, released those monsters, and harmed Kazama like this… are those rats hiding in the sewers.”
Hanyu Suoluo wanted to say something more, but felt that now was not the time to ask about DRG.
Just then, the door to the ward was gently knocked. The blue-haired girl they had seen earlier in the sewers poked her head in, looking hurried.
“Lady Imai, Lord Yuki, the Intelligence Department of the Management Department has an urgent report.”
Yuki Asahi and Imai Yayoi nodded, signaling her to enter.
The girl glanced at the others in the ward, hesitated, but seeing that the two great seniors did not intend to avoid them, she quickly stepped forward and handed a tablet to Yuki Asahi.
“Based on the data from the base you just cleaned out and the memory reading of the captured member… We’ve locked onto another location that seems to have traces of connection to the ‘Sewer Home.'”
“Where?” A flash of killing intent instantly passed through Yuki Asahi’s eyes.
“It’s underground in Shinjuku.” The girl swiped her finger on the screen, calling up a complex underground pipeline map.
“Inside the abandoned deep tunnel of the decommissioned Ōedo Line, which was originally an unfinished underground mall. According to SAT-EX’s recent reconnaissance, a strange nest has formed inside.”
“Good.” Yuki Asahi handed the tablet back to the girl and turned to walk toward the door. “To Shinjuku.”
“I’ll go too!”
“I want to go too!”
Two voices sounded simultaneously behind him. Hanyu Suoluo and Kagegaya Tsubaki almost simultaneously rushed to behind Yuki Asahi.
“Senior! Take us with you!” Kagegaya Tsubaki wiped away tears, her eyes full of determination. “Kazama was harmed like this by them… I can’t just sit here and watch!”
“My ability can help with reconnaissance, even if it’s as bait!” Hanyu Suoluo also said urgently.
Yuki Asahi stopped, his hand on the doorknob. “No.”
He turned around, looking down at them, and pointed at Kazama Yin lying on the hospital bed.
“If you go, it will only add to my burden, and you might end up becoming the second Kazama Yin lying here. It’s meaningless.”
“But—”
“Stay here.” Yuki Asahi’s voice brooked no argument. “Take care of Kazama and protect yourselves. That’s the only thing you can do now.”
With that, he ignored the looks of frustration and humiliation from the two behind him, pulled open the door, and strode out.
In the corridor, Imai Yayoi caught up. “Yuki-kun, your words just now… weren’t they too harsh?”
“Harsh?” Yuki Asahi walked while adjusting his cuff, where a faint smell of blood still seemed to linger.
“If I don’t make them feel the pain, if I don’t make them face reality, they’ll end up like me today…”
He paused slightly, his voice dropping very low, as if speaking to himself.
“Only able to watch helplessly as important people leave, powerless to do anything.”
He raised his head and looked out the window at the end of the corridor.
Tokyo’s night sky was still bustling, but beneath the bustle, undercurrents surged.
“Let’s go. To Shinjuku.”
Shinjuku, deep area of the abandoned Ōedo Line subway. This was a dark abyss that sunlight could never reach.
The humid air was filled with the smell of rot and mold. The walls were covered with sticky mycelium, like the interior walls of some creature.
Drip. Drip.
Unidentifiable liquid dripped from above, gathering into streams that gave off a foul odor.
Deep in this labyrinthine tunnel, a huge space suddenly opened up.
Countless white strands crisscrossed, weaving into a giant web that covered the entire space.
At the center of the web, cocoon-like things were hanging.
Some cocoons were still twitching slightly, as if containing living things—those were abducted humans or low-level espers used as nourishment.
“Hiss…”
A half-human, half-spider monster was hanging upside down on the web.
Her upper body was a seductive woman with unhealthy grayish skin, and her lower body was a swollen, giant spider abdomen.
Eight sharp, spear-like legs gently brushed against the silk.
She was the “Human Spider,” one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Mutual Aid Society.
“That idiot Feng He Shi… is he dead?”
The Human Spider used her forelegs to comb her steel-wool-like messy hair while letting out a sharp, piercing laugh.
“Hee hee hee… Good death, good death. That idiot who only knows how to eat should have died long ago.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.