In a high-end apartment near Ikebukuro, in Nerima Ward—
Ding-dong.
As the doorbell rang repeatedly, Tsubakihara Mira, dressed in casual homewear, stepped out of the living room, changed into her slippers at the entryway, and walked to the front door. She peeked through the peephole into the hallway outside.
When she saw the figure standing there—a black-haired, red-eyed girl with a sharp, athletic aura dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt—Mira immediately understood. It was an employee from her jewelry store, coming by.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Opening the door, Mira addressed the sporty girl standing outside: "Thanks for this, Toka. Even though it's after work hours, you still came all this way to deliver something for me."
"It's no trouble at all," Takanashi Toka replied calmly, tilting her head. "Compared to all the times Mira-nee takes care of me, riding over on my bike to drop off a package is nothing."
As she spoke, Toka nudged the cardboard box at her feet with her shoe and gestured toward the door down the hall. "So, like always, am I dropping this off at Room 302?"
"No, just leave it here this time."
Mira stepped aside and waved her in. "Would you mind bringing it inside for me? I've been overworking my arms a bit lately because of my job, and they're too sore to carry much."
"I don't mind at all," Toka said, eyeing a pair of men's slippers at the entrance. Her expression remained calm. "As long as Mira-nee doesn't mind me being nosy and asking whose shoes those are."
"Ah?"
Mira glanced over at Luo Shu's house slippers and immediately pressed her lips together, her expression contorting like she had just tasted something sour. She stammered awkwardly, unlike her usual cool demeanor when dealing with Luo Shu: "Toka, you know how it is... Wearing heels all the time really makes your feet sore, so when I'm home I usually just wear men's slippers…"
But, Mira-nee, isn't your place… the apartment next door?
With a flat expression, Toka pointed toward the unit next to them. "I was just here last week. You moved already?"
"Ah… yeah… more or less." Mira's tone turned evasive, clearly losing her usual composure.
"Well, if you're not going to explain, I won't pry."
Toka crouched down, picked up the box, and looked back at Mira. "Mind if I borrow the slippers? I don't really feel like waiting around."
"Sure, go ahead." Mira stepped aside again to make room.
This time, Toka entered the apartment smoothly, slipped on Luo Shu's slippers, and walked into the living room with the box in hand.
As she casually glanced around, her eyes fell on some men's laundry hanging out on the balcony—including a freshly washed pair of boxers. Her expression didn't change as she asked, "Where should I put this?"
"In the study—wait, actually, just put it on the table in the living room," Mira corrected herself quickly.
That sudden switch caught Toka's attention. She glanced toward the open study door and noticed that the room was unusually spacious. Inside, she could even see workbenches from the jewelry shop setup.
Toka silently studied the apartment's layout. Based on the visible interior, there's no way this unit should be able to house such a large room. Suspicion flickered across her face, but she didn't voice it. Instead, she called out, "Alright, I'm putting it here. The watch parts and other stuff you specifically asked for are all in the box. Don't forget to check it."
"Got it," Mira replied, re-entering the apartment. She had just stepped out to grab a pair of backup slippers from next door so she wouldn't need to keep borrowing Luo Shu's whenever someone came over.
Watching Toka, who was now changing back into her sneakers, Mira asked in surprise, "You're in a rush to head out?"
"Yeah, I've got a useless little sister at home who needs looking after," Toka said while slipping on her shoes. "If I don't get back soon, she'll probably just eat some nutritionally worthless convenience store bento again."
"That sounds tough," Mira said with genuine sympathy.
"It's nothing. I'm used to it."
Toka stood up and tapped the toe of her shoe against the entryway tiles, then added, "Oh, right—Mira-nee, I've got class at the culinary school tomorrow."
Mira quickly clasped her hands together in thanks. "Got it! I'll let the store manager know. Thanks again for everything!"
"Mm…" Toka nodded silently, then added with a touch of awkwardness, "If you ever have a kid, Mira-nee… I could be the godmother or something… or, whatever, just forget I said anything."
Mira blinked at her and smiled gently, her eyes full of innocence.
Toka turned and left, closing the door behind her. As the chilly wind met her outside, she muttered, "You could've just said no… It's not like bullying that little brat a few times means I'm not qualified…"
Shaking her head, she turned toward the elevator.
Back in the apartment, Mira was holding her burning face, flustered. "That Toka… what's with all the talk about kids…"
Still embarrassed, she rubbed her flushed cheeks, then turned to walk into the living room—only to realize that she'd forgotten to shut the door to the study, exposing the Astronomy Club's hidden space inside.
Instantly, Mira's senses sharpened. "She didn't notice anything… right? Toka's not the type to snoop around someone else's home…"
Mira sighed, already dreading how she would explain this to Luo Shu later. She stepped forward, picked up the box from the table, took a deep breath, and carried it into the Astronomy Club's hidden room, placing it on the workbench.
Riiip.
As Mira sliced open the packing tape with a small knife, a flash of white shot from the opening—a phantom-like white insect leapt straight out from the slit.
Faced with the sudden abnormality, Mira didn't panic. Instead, she abruptly vanished from her spot and reappeared ten meters away in an instant.
"What?!" Suspended mid-air, the insect—its back bearing a distorted human face—stared blankly at Mira, stunned by her reaction.
Mira's expression was complicated. "So, it's just as Luo Shu suspected… The demon warlock had targeted me from the start, seeing me as a backup vessel in case their primary resurrection attempt failed?"
Taking a deep breath, she asked calmly, "Should I call you Mapa? Or would the name Mind Flayer Isaha be more appropriate?"
Mapa—no, Isaha—showed a deeply shocked expression, clearly not expecting her identity to be exposed so easily.
"You hid your real gender at the beginning, operating in a male body. So, if your plan failed, you intended to switch to a uniquely positioned female body to divert attention and throw off any pursuers... That's exactly what Luo Shu and Utaha hypothesized."
Hearing Mira spell it out, Isaha realized her plan had completely unraveled. She had lost her chance to take Mira's body and to pursue the highborn demon bloodline.
Worse yet, she realized she might be standing in the heart of enemy territory.
Thinking quickly, Isaha raised the insect host's body and began chanting in the demonic tongue, her human-faced back intoning the prayer:
"—Noble Prince of Hell."
"—Master of Lost Knowledge."
"—Herald of Premature Futures."
"—Great Demon God Vassago!"
"I beseech your guidance! Grant me the wisdom to escape this place!"
In that moment, from the depths of the abyss, a vast and overwhelming will descended upon the world—upon Isaha herself.
It was the will of a Hellish Lord, one of the Seventy-Two Pillars of the Demon Gods, the very progenitor of Isaha's bloodline. Through their link, he had heard her call and responded.
But as Isaha reached out for knowledge and leverage…
That will—Vassago himself—suddenly faltered, as if startled.
And then, through the shared vision granted by the prayer, Isaha saw what Vassago now understood.
—The place she stood in… was a divine realm of an Elder God.
—Her actions… were an attempt to seize the body of an Elder God's chosen within that god's own dominion.
—The gaze of the Elder God… had already fallen upon her.
—Vassago's instinct to flee… was crushed instantly by that gaze.
—Vassago, in fury, declared that her prayers would be permanently severed.
At that moment, as all this descended upon her consciousness, Isaha—
—was utterly dumbfounded.