"Ugh—!"
A muffled groan of pain escaped Ai Hayasaka's lips as she fell awkwardly onto the rain-soaked ground.
The downpour was so heavy that the drainage system couldn't keep up, resulting in a shallow pool of water about ten centimeters deep covering the pavement.
Needless to say, she was completely soaked.
Why did she fall? Because, in a moment of impulse, she had tried to help someone. She reached out to pull the person along to escape, but the moment she tugged at him, it was like grabbing onto something welded to the ground.
He didn't budge an inch. It felt as if she had grabbed an iron pillar rooted in place. The result? She was jerked backward mid-run by the counterforce, throwing off her balance.
Her rain-soaked hands slipped, failing to maintain her grip, and she stumbled and fell—thanks to the slick ground and her own misstep, she landed squarely on her back in a clumsy heap.
Because she had been pulled back mid-run, she had twisted in the process, so she didn't fall face-first but landed flat on her back.
In that moment, Ai couldn't regret her decision more. She tried to help an innocent person, only to end up harming herself instead.
Groaning, she struggled to prop herself up and lifted her head, only to come face to face with the very person she'd tried to save.
The moment their eyes met, her blue pupils contracted slightly. Standing before her was the very person she had come here to observe—Yazuki.
But Ai found herself completely speechless.
It wasn't just shock from bumping into her target by coincidence. No, the man before her was nothing like the person described to her by Chika and Miss Kaguya.
They had described him as someone entirely unrelated to elegance, practically a shut-in otaku type—a seemingly useless person.
In short, the kind of forgettable high schooler you could find in any random school.
Someone utterly ordinary, perhaps even aimless.
But what she was seeing now completely defied that description.
All Ai Hayasaka could feel as she looked at Yazuki was overwhelming terror.
That face carried none of the emotions that should belong to a human. If one had to describe it, it would be a chilling coldness—so cold it made her feel anxious, uneasy, even panicked.
But it was his black eyes that truly unsettled her—they were like gazes from another world, lifeless and devoid of humanity.
When his black pupils shifted slightly and locked onto her, she froze like a frog being stared down by a snake, unable to move a muscle.
His eyes were so deep, so suffocating, they seemed to emit a tangible pressure. The air around her felt like it had turned to lead, so heavy it made her body tremble like it was crying out in pain.
Although Ai was a personal maid of the Shinomiya family, and came from a prestigious background herself—used to being around powerful people, even those who exuded overwhelming presence—compared to Yazuki, all those people were nothing.
If they were tigers or lions, he was the apex predator of the Cretaceous period.
It was unimaginable—how could someone the same age as Miss Kaguya possess such a terrifying aura?
So this is his true self… Miss Kaguya, we were all wrong. This person isn't what he seems.
He's dangerously terrifying.
In the next moment, her pupils shrank again as a look of despair appeared on her face.
Why?
Because behind him, a monstrous creature—two and a half meters tall—was pouncing forward. A hellhound with three snarling heads.
She could see its gaping jaws lined with jagged teeth, ready to snap his head off and splatter brains and blood everywhere. Its claws, capable of tearing through solid pavement, were already swinging, aiming to rip his body apart like paper—shreds flying everywhere.
Ai could already imagine herself getting splattered in blood—
—But what followed was a scene that left her utterly stunned.
Instead of the grotesque display she expected, the hellhound slammed into something invisible—no, it was a semi-transparent white barrier surrounding him. It completely blocked the beast's fangs and claws.
Looking closely, this white barrier had a strangely divine aura to it, but inside it, dark shadows twisted and churned, tainting the pure white barrier like ink seeping into water—on the verge of bursting out.
Then, as the shadows took over, the once-white barrier turned into a deep grey and began writhing. It stretched and morphed like a transparent slime, swallowing the hellhound whole.
At the same time, Yazuki raised his hand and lightly tapped the hellhound's central head on the chin.
A flicker of black and red lightning sparked.
No—it wasn't an illusion. Ai could clearly see it.
The beast didn't even get the chance to scream. Its entire body was instantly wrapped in thousands of black and red lightning serpents.
It was as if it had fallen into a pit of snakes—its flesh was pierced, its body vaporized into nothing in an instant.
Was that it?
No.
Yazuki reached out and grasped something—something black and twisted, writhing in his hand. Its form constantly shifted, even momentarily resembling a terrifying ghostly face.
A dreadful, unnatural voice emerged from it:
"...Kill... hate... must kill... down... aaahhhhhh—!"
The hatred and killing intent were palpable. But it quickly turned into a sharp, inhuman scream so terrible Ai instinctively wanted to cover her ears.
From his hand, black and red lightning surged again, stabbing through the twisted mass like an execution. It pierced and annihilated it.
"How unpleasant," he muttered.
It was the first time Ai heard his voice.
At the same time, she saw him wear a disturbingly cruel expression. The kind of expression that would make even a homicidal maniac turn and run.
He's more terrifying than any monster.
What about Ai? Was she not scared?
Of course she was. She was so terrified, she collapsed into the puddle with her strength drained.
The twisted creature's wails only lasted four or five seconds before it turned to ash and vanished into the air.
Then—Ai Hayasaka's fear escalated to the next level, both mentally and physically. Because he walked toward her and reached out his hand.
His fingers brushed against her cheek, sliding into her damp hair. In that moment, she felt as if her blood stopped flowing and her heart ceased beating.
Then came another faint, sharp screech—this time from the back of her head?
He pulled his hand back, holding a small object the size of a marble. It was another twisted black mass. Somehow, it had hidden in her hair—sending shivers down her spine.
Once more, he showed that terrifying expression, and threads of lightning stabbed into the tiny entity, making it wail again.
"Give me your hand."
His voice was flat and cold, spoken right after the execution.
And she... actually reached out her hand.
Though her mind resisted, her body betrayed her, moving on its own—pure fear taking over and obeying his command.
He grasped her hand with his cold fingers. A second later, she felt a sharp sting—like a needle prick. Then he let go.
A black and red lightning-shaped mark had appeared on her palm, only to slowly fade into her skin.
"It only works once."
He left her with those cryptic words—and handed her his umbrella.
The way the tilted umbrella was passed to her blocked her vision. She couldn't see him anymore.
Oddly, the moment he disappeared from her view, her paralyzing fear began to fade. Regaining some strength, she straightened the umbrella and looked out—
Only to find an empty street. He was nowhere to be found.
If it weren't for the real weight of the umbrella in her hand, she would've thought it had all been a hallucination.
That was what happened just before a certain angel was attacked.