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No doubt about it. This was a story headed for a tragic end. But now, with Yuto thrown into the mix, that doomed history might just get a rewrite.
"Hello, Miss Yomi," Yuto said politely, offering a handshake to Isayama Yomi. Her soft, pale fingers brushed his palm for a moment before slipping away. It was tough to picture someone with such delicate skin as a swordmaster.
"I'll leave you three to it," Jinguuji Ayame said. She had a knack for reading the room. With a quiet spin of her wheelchair, she rolled out, leaving Yuto, Isayama Yomi, and Iwanaga Kotoko alone.
"So, based on what I've found…" Yomi started, "I think there's a strong chance Kuubou will show up near Mount Osore tonight."
"Have you two heard about the recent demon attacks? People being eaten?"
She flipped through a report in her hands. "They're saying it's linked to a curse infection. Over a hundred humans have been swallowed up already."
"The one pulling the strings is the evil spirit Kuubou, along with his group, the Possessed."
"I know some of them," Iwanaga Kotoko added, her voice quiet. "A few used to follow me." She stared down at the papers, her mood sinking. Her demons were good at heart, never harming a soul. But now, warped by the curse, they'd become monsters. As the princess of demons, it stung deep.
"Tonight, I'll take you both to Mount Osore," Yomi said, her tone firm. "Stick close to me. I can't guarantee your safety if you stray."
In less than twenty minutes since she'd walked in, she'd already locked in the night's plan.
Her sharp, no-nonsense style caught Yuto's attention.
........
Time slipped by fast. Before long, night settled in.
Mount Osore at night was as grim as its name. Sulfur steam and the sharp smell of volcanic gases hang over the place, painting a bleak, empty picture.
Up ahead, a white sand beach stretched along the crater lake, quiet and lifeless. Mount Osore was known as Japan's closest link to the underworld. Legends call it a bridge between this world and the next, a meeting point for souls. People here believe the dead come back to the mountain.
"Everyone, it's dangerous at night. Stay together and follow me," Yomi warned. They moved along a rocky path wrapped in volcanic mist. Further in, a dark forest waited. The night woods felt lonely and shadowed. No moonlight pierced through, and the sky showed no stars.
A cold wind sliced through the air, biting at their skin. In the heavy silence, it seemed like hidden eyes were watching from the dark.
Kotoko pressed closer to Yuto, gripping his sleeve. "Y-Yuto… this place is way too creepy at night," she said, her voice trembling.
"I told you not to come if you were scared," Yuto replied.
His words were sharp, but he still pulled the shaking girl into his arms, holding her steady. Kotoko was small. In his grip, she felt almost weightless. Her slim legs, covered in thin white stockings, poked out.
A soft, milky scent floated from her, warm and sweet. Yuto's nose twitched a little.
"Hey…" Kotoko's cheeks turned pink. She tilted her head, staring at his sharp face. "You'll protect me, right?"
"Maybe not," Yuto said flatly. "If a demon pops up, I might just drop you and run."
"What?!" The white-skirted girl puffed out her cheeks, reaching out to pinch his chest with her small hand.
His unexpected reply ticked her off.
"You jerk! Where's your manners?"
"The one grabbing my chest doesn't get to complain," Yuto fired back.
"Tch, I don't even want to. It's hard as a rock anyway."
Their playful bickering cut through the forest's gloom. Just then, Yomi, up front, stopped cold.
She pulled her sword and faced the dark ahead.
"Be careful. I feel demon energy closing in fast. And… there's more than one. Dozens, at least!"
Right as she spoke, a huge shape crashed into sight. Covered in black feathers splattered with blood, it wore a wide hat that hid half its face. A long, fiery red nose stuck out.
With a quick flick, it launched a dark spear through the night toward them.
"Look out–it's a tengu!" Yomi yelled.
She swung her sword without a second thought.
A loud boom rang out as the blade glowed bright, her cursed energy spiking. Then, a strange, fierce beast appeared in the dark forest's heart. It landed beside her, letting out a deep, ringing roar at the enemy.
This was Nue, the spirit beast sealed in her sword. A giant red lion with a tail of twisting snakes. Called Ranguren, it lived in the sword to drive off evil spirits, with its own simple mind and emotions.
With Yomi's polished sword skills and Ranguren's massive size and deadly roar, the tengu locked up midair.
"Hmph!"
Yomi let out a quick breath. Her tall, graceful form moved like a flash of midnight, fueled by cursed energy.
In one clean strike, she knocked the tengu's spear away.
A sharp glint sliced through the dark.
The red-nosed tengu felt a chill at its neck, then hot blood poured from its throat.
At the same time, weird black winds rushed in from every direction.
With eerie laughter, they dove at Yuto and the others.
"Kill!"
Yuto's chest burned with each breath, like fire running through him. His pounding heart beat loud in his ears, steady and strong.
One arm held Iwanaga Kotoko's tiny frame. The other flung Black Keys—short blades glowing with three-colored runes in every direction.
Buzz!
Buzz buzz!
The glowing daggers flew like a storm, stabbing into the tengu's heads. They cut through smooth and easy, sending up trails of black smoke as the creatures screamed.
Yuto didn't let the moment slip. His dragon-blood strength flared, and he jumped high.
The Sword of Promised Victory sang through the air. Its cold edge carved the tengu's neck wide open.
Rotten blood sprayed out in a rush.
These cursed demons had solid bodies, but their insides were soaked with corruption. The Black Keys' runes, driven in deep, hit them hard.
In the Fate world, demonic possession was a real danger. As a Church favorite, the Black Keys were built for this.
With his A-rank Baptism Rite skill, Yuto took down the demons like it was nothing.
In seconds, the winged tengu dropped to the ground like broken toys, piling up in a messy stack.
"You…?"
Yomi stepped through the muddy ground, clutching her sword.
Her long frame was streaked with blood from the fight. Her gray-black eyes locked on Yuto, standing cool and calm among the bodies, full of surprise.
"Yuto, you've really impressed me," she said.
"Hehe, pretty cool, right?" Iwanaga Kotoko clapped her hands, grinning at Yomi. "When it comes to fighting, he never loses. Even the strongest sorcerer lost to him."
"What? You beat Gojo Satoru?!" Yomi's eyes widened.
Even her steady calm broke as she stared at Yuto like he was something unreal.
"I saw Gojo Satoru take out a cursed spirit once, on a mission," she said. "That kind of power… I couldn't even imagine facing him."
She held her breath for a second. This boy, who looked like just a pretty face, was hiding real strength..
In the stillness that followed, the four pressed on slowly.
.......
Meanwhile, at another entrance to Mount Osore, three new figures rolled in.
A girl named Higashiyama Kobeni drove a black military truck along the highway's edge.
The night forest was dead quiet. No light cut through the dark around them. Only the engine's hum and the headlights' glow gave her shaky heart a sliver of comfort.
Higashiyama Kobeni, from Tokyo's Public Security Anti-Demon Unit, Section 1, was a timid devil hunter who clung to life.
Growing up, her family had little money. She wanted college, but her parents wouldn't pitch in, and she had to help them instead. With no other options, Higashiyama Kobeni bit down hard and became a devil hunter. Otherwise, she'd have faced an even worse fate selling herself.
But joining the devil hunters didn't turn her luck around. Instead, the constant dance with death pushed her mind to the brink.
"Kobeni, you're nervous, huh?" Himeno asked, sipping a cold beer from the passenger seat.
"Ah!" Kobeni flinched at the sudden question, stumbling over her words. "N-no, not at all, senpai."
"Really? I can hear your teeth shaking," Himeno said. She finished her beer, then opened the window, letting the cold night wind tug at her hair.
"Today's mission is dangerous. It's fine to be scared."
"Ugh…" Kobeni's pale face scrunched up. She let out a small, pitiful sob, tears pooling in her eyes. "Himeno-senpai, I don't want to die… I'm still young. I really don't want to die."
Lately, Tokyo's Public Security Anti-Demon Unit had lost so many that devil hunters were quitting fast, unable to take the strain.
In this job, every day was a roll of the dice. They carried their lives on their belts, knowing death could strike anytime. Not everyone could stay steady under that pressure. Just yesterday, Kobeni's teammate got smashed into paste by a Tomato Devil. She nearly froze in terror but somehow dodged and made it through.
Before she could even think it over, Himeno pulled her into the car.
They'd gotten word the Zombie Devil was at Mount Osore. This devil could turn humans into zombies with a touch. It had cut a deal with a gang, but the gangsters couldn't handle its power and all turned. The Public Security Anti-Demon Unit had tried to trap it before, but the Zombie Devil always slipped away.
Today, they'd pinned it down again.
To make sure it didn't escape, the bosses sent three devil hunters at once. No matter what, they had to end it. If its power spread, the whole city would be at risk.
In the Chainsaw Man world, devils come from human fears of certain things.
Each one has its own strange, strong abilities.
Like the main character, Denji, who turns into the Chainsaw Devil and can wipe devils out of existence.
But in Yuto's world, there was no Chainsaw Devil. And this era was the Age of Demons. As human fear piled up day after day, the devils from hell only grew tougher.
Kobeni's soft sobs bounced around the car, pulling at Himeno and Tendou Michiko's hearts in the back seat. But all three knew they weren't kids anymore. They had duties to carry. Crying might let off some steam, but it didn't fix anything. Kobeni knew that too.
After a short cry, she wiped her eyes, parked the car, and followed Himeno into Mount Osore's depths.
.......
"Human, your blood sacrifice plan is clever. I can feel their fear growing," a voice growled.
Deep inside Mount Osore, two powerful devils crouched, staring at a strange spirit-seizing array.
The array pulsed with thick, bloody light, turning countless zombified humans into pure cursed energy.
On the other side, that energy flowed like black smoke, sinking fully into the two devils.
Oswald, a man in an old suit, had long been overtaken by an evil spirit.
And now, carving the array was him and his sister, Dorothy Flamsteed.
"If I hadn't seen it myself, who'd believe zombies from the Zombie Devil still have their own minds? Their fear is so much stronger," Oswald said.
He kept a polite mask, but inside, dark thoughts swirled.
'Idiots.' They actually thought this was a free gift. They didn't know—the more curse they took in, the easier it'd be for Lord Kuubou to crush them. As Kuubou's most loyal servant, Oswald had already given his soul to the mighty spirit. Kuubou promised that once it had enough power, it would let them return to the human world with real bodies.
For that dream, Oswald would throw away anything. Yes, his plan was to set the devils against each other.
Let them soak up fear and Kuubou's curse together. By the time they caught on, it'd be too late—they'd be powerless, ripe for the taking.
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