Raito lay on his back, one arm draped over his eyes as the dull hum of chatter buzzed faintly from downstairs. Even with the bedroom door closed, he could still pick up the muffled voices of Raika's friends, their frequent laughter, and the occasional squeal of excitement. He wasn't sure if it was from seeing Emi or from Akemi's presence—or maybe both.
What he did know was that he'd made a tactical mistake.
"I forgot to take Emi with me," he muttered under his breath.
There was no denying it now. Akemi had seen Emi. Which meant...
"She definitely knows."
"You're slipping," Kurai teased, her voice like black velvet dripping with smugness. "What kind of criminal mastermind forgets to hide the most obvious evidence?"
"I'm not a criminal," Raito grunted, shifting to sit up on the edge of the bed.
"Oh, no? Because from where I'm sitting, you let a baby be kidnapped, infiltrated a trafficking ring, murdered about a dozen people, and lied to a bunch of schoolgirls. That's at least a couple felonies per hour."
He sighed heavily, ignoring the pointed sarcasm. His mind was still on the strange encounter at the warehouse.
The leader. That man with the strange aura. Kurai had said he was bound to a demon… but one that wasn't like her.
That unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.
He glanced at the wall, then at the ceiling, as if Kurai might physically appear if he stared long enough.
"Kurai."
"Mm?"
"How many more of you are there?"
There was a pause.
Then: "Oh? That's not a question I expected from you. Getting curious?"
Raito didn't reply.
Kurai giggled.
"Don't worry your pretty little head about it. None of them are a threat to you. As long as you keep killing for me, I'll keep lending you my power. And I," she purred, "am the strongest of them all."
"You sound awfully confident."
"Because I am." Her voice was proud, laced with a strange kind of twisted pride. "The others? They're little more than shadows. Weaklings. Parasites clinging to desperate souls. I, on the other hand, chose you. And you're thriving under my guidance."
Raito leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "But the man at the warehouse… he had one too. And it felt different. Not as strong, but it wasn't weak either."
"Tch. Of course it wasn't. I told you, pests. Noisy little bugs with inflated egos." Kurai sounded annoyed now, like a queen talking about rival nobles. "But I'm still leagues beyond them. They don't matter."
"…You're sure you're the strongest?"
That made her pause.
"…Why? Are you doubting me now, dear Raito?"
He stayed silent.
"…Fine," she huffed. "I'll tell you the truth, since you're in a mood. If I had to name one potential equal... well, I do have a sister."
Raito blinked. "Wait. You have a sister?"
"Yes. And she's… irritating. Self-righteous. Arrogant. Thinks she's better than the rest of us because she doesn't enjoy what we do. She calls herself a 'guardian' now, if you can believe it."
"Why haven't you told me this before?"
"Because it was irrelevant. Until you brought it up." Kurai's voice grew sharper. "She's not here. She won't interfere. She prefers to pretend she's above it all. I'm the one who's active. I'm the one who matters."
Raito leaned back against the wall, folding his arms. "Still. She's a variable."
"Oh, don't get all calculating on me now. You already have enough to worry about. If she does show up, you'll know. And when that day comes, I promise you this—" her tone dipped into something darker, more primal, "—I'll make her kneel before me."
That didn't reassure him in the slightest.
Another demon. With power on par with Kurai. One that hadn't made herself known yet.
And Kurai had conveniently failed to mention her until now.
Raito stared at the floor, his thoughts spinning with new complications. If she was anything like Kurai—worse, if she had her own human contractors—then things could get messy.
Really messy.
He exhaled through his nose and rubbed his temples again. He could hear the baby giggle downstairs, followed by some more gushing from Raika's friends.
Akemi was down there. Probably enjoying herself. Probably putting things together.
And now, he had a whole new layer of trouble to consider—demonic family feuds.
Wonderful.