One hour later, Chiya and Aki arrived at Tokyo Public Security, preparing for their assessment.
The assessment venue was an underground facility within Tokyo Public Security, containing a combat arena surrounded by reinforced explosion-proof glass on all sides.
A few individuals in Tokyo Public Security uniforms sat outside the glass in the observation seats, clearly responsible for evaluating the candidates.
"Which one of you will go first? The other can stay outside and observe."
The examiner addressed both of them.
"I'll go first," Aki replied immediately.
"Alright, then enter through this door."
The examiner unlocked a nearby blast door via fingerprint recognition, granting access to the combat area.
"Good luck," Chiya said.
Aki nodded, his expression calm as he stepped into the combat arena.
"Hayakawa Aki, before we officially begin, there are a few things you need to be aware of," the examiner stated.
"First, you may choose the difficulty level of the demon you'll face. The harder the demon, the higher your potential rating—but only if you successfully hunt it down. You must achieve a kill to pass; failure means immediate disqualification."
"Second, if you can't hold out, shout 'forfeit,' and we will immediately restrain the demon."
"Third, take this assessment seriously. No matter how strong you are, a poor attitude will result in disqualification."
"That's about it. Now, choose your difficulty level—say 'one,' 'two,' or 'three.' One is the easiest, three is the hardest."
Without much hesitation, Aki answered, "One."
For him, the rating didn't matter; he only wanted to secure a place in Tokyo Public Security.
Choosing 'one' was the safest option—failure would be too costly.
"Alright. Raise your hand when you're ready."
The examiner had barely finished speaking when Aki raised his hand.
"Then the assessment begins."
Moments later, a massive passageway opened in the reinforced glass before him. From within the darkness, a towering demonic figure emerged.
As it came into view, it was revealed to be a Fly Devil—essentially a grotesquely enlarged version of a common housefly, made even more repulsive and terrifying.
"Human, surrender now. Otherwise, I won't hold back," the Fly Devil taunted the moment it emerged.
Tokyo Public Security didn't always eliminate demons during missions. Sometimes, they captured and detained them in the underground facility.
Some devil were too weak to be valuable for contracts. Others refused to form contracts with humans—especially Public Security Devil Hunters—either out of pride or by setting absurd contract terms.
Even so, Tokyo Public Security still found a use for these "worthless" demons—using them for assessments.
Lose, and you die. Win, and you get to live a little longer. Either way, Public Security would never release them.
So the Fly Devil had no intention of going easy—it wanted to survive.
"..."
Aki ignored its words. His katana was already drawn, his physique enhanced by demonic power.
He chose not to use his Curse Devil's abilities. Doing so wouldn't necessarily raise his rating, and the cost—his lifespan—was too steep.
That power was his trump card, reserved for emergencies.
Seeing that negotiations were futile, the Fly Devil grew impatient. Its massive wings flapped violently as it lunged toward him.
At first, Aki struggled slightly to fend off its attacks. But once he figured out the Fly Devil's patterns, he counterattacked.
The devil's abilities were simple: it relied on its wings for high mobility. Other than that, it had no real strengths—just pouncing, charging, and biting.
Before long, Aki reversed the situation.
He severed all of the Fly Devil's legs, rendering it immobile, then swiftly beheaded it with a single slash.
Lesser demons weren't particularly resilient—once decapitated, they usually died.
As the Fly Devil's head hit the ground, unmoving, the blast doors reopened.
"Assessment complete. You may exit," the examiner's voice announced.
Hearing this, Aki stepped out.
Chiya had been watching the entire time, now gaining a clear understanding of the difficulty level of a 'one' ranked demon.
The Fly Devil seemed only slightly stronger than an Ant Devil but weaker than a Crayfish Devil. No wonder the examiners had assured them this level should be manageable.
Now, all that remained was for the Fly Devil's corpse to be cleaned up as Chiya continued to wait.
The examiner reopened the blast doors and addressed Aki, "Well done. Congratulations on passing. However, your official rating will be determined by tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll arrange some preliminary procedures for you."
"Understood," Aki responded.
At that moment, he looked physically drained, his breathing heavy. The price of enhancing his physique was having part of his blood siphoned by his contracted devil—the amount depended on how much power he had used.
"Now, register your details, including the demonic abilities you used in this fight. Tokyo Public Security maintains strict records of all such information."
After addressing Aki, the examiner turned to Chiya.
"Otonashi Chiya, your turn."
Chiya gave a slight nod and calmly entered the combat arena.
"You heard all the instructions I gave to Hayakawa Aki, so I won't repeat them. If you have any questions, ask now," the examiner said.
"No questions."
"Then, which difficulty level do you choose?"
The examiner continued.
"Three," Otonashi Chiya answered without hesitation.
He had already made up his mind while observing the fight. Choosing the highest difficulty would not only maximize his rating but also earn him more attribute points.
Unlike Aki, Chiya cared about his rating.
A higher rating meant a shorter "internship period"—for instance, A-rank candidates only had to train for one month.
During the internship, recruits weren't allowed to take on high-risk missions, only patrols. This meant they rarely encountered powerful demons, and even killing common demons was difficult since civilian Devil Hunters often got to them first.
Public Security wasn't allowed to interfere with demons already targeted by independent hunters. Only those that the civilians couldn't handle were handed over to Public Security, and even then, rookies weren't permitted to take on those dangerous assignments.
Upon hearing Chiya's answer, the expressions of the examiners in the observation seats immediately changed.
The examiner who had been speaking this whole time now looked serious.
"Think carefully," he warned. "'Three' is the highest difficulty—the demon you'll face has consumed flesh from the Gun Devil."