10 p.m., second floor of the Yukimi-sou Onsen Ryokan.
At the Blizzard Fiend's signal, Naoto Kobayashi slid open the door.
White silk threads webbed across the entire room.
In the middle of the tatami floor, a dagger plunged into a Black man's throat and pulled free again, spraying blood that bloomed crimson across the white.
The boy calmly fished out the man's wallet and slipped it into his backpack.
"Hm?"
Their eyes met.
A deafening crack.
Wind and snow tore the entire ryokan apart in an instant.
Ten minutes later, the boy was pinned, completely overpowered.
Half of the Blizzard Fiend's body, which had been blown away, slowly regenerated.
It didn't look at the fallen boy. Instead, its gaze lingered on the icy cross-section of the landlady's waist, lost in thought.
"The youth perishes in vain, his fame unstained, his bones already cold."
Naoto Kobayashi murmured some obscure verse as he walked toward the boy. He raised the snow-blade high, moonlight glinting on the edge, but just as he was about to bring it down, the Fiend stopped him.
The Blizzard Fiend was carrying two bodies. The mustached man held aloft in its right hand asked the boy,
"You killed them?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"He was a Devil Hunter."
"You have a grudge against Devil Hunters?"
"More like a connection."
"What do you mean?"
"My connection's with money. Devil Hunters have money."
"…"
The Blizzard Fiend dropped the middle-aged man and lifted the landlady instead.
"Then why did you kill her? She was just an ordinary person."
"She had money and still asked me for more."
"…"
With one kick, the Fiend shattered the landlady's corpse. Shards of pale-blue ice scattered across the floor.
"This is a mirror replica. You made a Contract with the Mirror Devil?"
"Yeah."
"What's your name?"
"Hoshino."
The Blizzard Fiend studied him for a long moment.
"Alright, Hoshino. You've killed six of us already. Normally, that'd be an instant death sentence. But I'll give you one chance."
It pointed toward Yuka Nakamura. "First, release your control on her."
A snap of its fingers, and Yuka Nakamura came back to her senses.
"Option one," said the Fiend, raising a finger. "Die now." Then it lifted another finger.
"Option two," Hoshino said immediately.
Ignoring him, the Fiend continued, "Option two, join us."
"Option two," Hoshino repeated.
"Fine, but with conditions."
"Alright."
"The middle-aged man and that young guy in black were Devil Hunters—one official, one freelance."
The Blizzard Fiend went on, "I saw their corpses. Looks like I was tricked. That means there are four left. You've got one night to find them and kill them. Got it?"
"Got it."
The Fiend turned to leave.
"I've got a condition too!" Hoshino suddenly said.
"Oh?"
The Fiend turned back, surprised. It hadn't expected him to still bargain at a time like this.
Naoto Kobayashi grinned. "Ah, youth. Fearless and stupid."
Instead of getting angry, the Fiend looked intrigued. "Let's hear it."
"Half your Authority."
"You've already got a few Devils under Contract, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Then why do you want so much Authority?"
"I'm addicted."
"…"
The Fiend clapped its hands twice. A mound of snow at its feet rose up, revealing two beady black eyes darting about.
"When you finish the job, you can Contract with it. The Avalanche Devil. With that, you could rule this land of snow and storms."
"No thanks. Looks like a damn grave mound—totally unlucky. I only want to make a Contract with you."
Hoshino tossed the words over his shoulder and walked off without waiting for a response, not caring about the sudden roar of blizzard winds behind him.
A few steps later, he chuckled softly.
He wasn't actually rejecting the Avalanche Authority. It was just that before making a new Contract, he had to dissolve the old one. Acting dismissive was the safest cover.
[Avalanche (Z): 0.1%]
Technically, death should've meant his Authority vanished. But to his surprise, traces of the Avalanche Devil's power still lingered.
Even a tiny fraction was enough to give Hoshino one last hope.
"Play the lapdog, seize the Primal Devil's Authority, then kill myself to trigger the next loop and open the barrier."
His eyes gleamed with fierce determination as he disappeared into the dark.