The morning sun filtered through the canopy of trees as Yuuto faced Koneko in their training spot, deep in the forest. This was their sixth spot this week—the previous five had been... demolished by overzealous training sessions.
Koneko came at him with a straight punch, her small fist cutting through the air with deadly precision. Yuuto sidestepped smoothly, the cyan mist of his breathing technique swirling around him.
She pivoted, launching a quick jab followed by a hook. He ducked under the first, leaned back from the second.
Her eye twitched.
Another combination—left, right, uppercut. Yuuto weaved through each strike like water flowing around stones, his movements minimal and efficient.
"...Annoying," Koneko muttered, her usual stoic expression cracking slightly.
She drew her fist back and slammed it into the ground with full force.
CRACK!
The earth exploded outward in a spiderweb of fissures, shockwaves rippling across the clearing. Yuuto jumped back gracefully, landing on an untouched patch of grass as chunks of dirt and rock flew past him.
"Koneko-chan," he said with a sigh, gesturing at the destroyed ground. "We agreed you'd hold back your strength, remember?"
"...Senpai too strong," she said flatly, her golden eyes still locked on him. "So no problem."
"It's not about whether I can dodge or not," Yuuto replied, his tone taking on a slightly exasperated edge. "I just don't want our training spot to get destroyed like the other ones."
Koneko paused, then nodded once. "...Sorry."
She says that, but I know the truth, Yuuto thought, watching as she reset her stance. The moment she gets annoyed at not landing a single hit, she just starts destroying the ground beneath me or throwing whatever heavy object is nearby. It's like she thinks if she can't hit me directly, she'll just hit everything around me until something connects.
He couldn't help but think that if someone watched them from afar, it would look like Heimdall and Atreus's fight in Asgard—where Atreus couldn't land a single scratch on the god, even after catching him off guard.
They continued for another fifteen minutes, Koneko's attacks becoming progressively more creative. She tried feints, grabbed a boulder and hurled it at him (which he dodged), and even attempted to use the destroyed terrain to her advantage.
Nothing worked.
Finally, Yuuto raised his hand. "Alright, that's enough for today's training session."
Koneko stopped immediately, her breathing only slightly elevated despite the intense workout. She looked at him with those expressive golden eyes—a mixture of frustration at not landing a hit and respect for his improvement.
Before Yuuto could say anything else, a familiar blue notification appeared in his vision.
[Quest Complete: Train Your Kouhai!]
[Objective: Train with Koneko for at least a week. It will only help in the Rating Game later, so you better not reject her request. Besides, why would you reject her offer...]
[Reward: 1 Character Card]
A sense of accomplishment washed over him. Seven days of consistent training, seven days of Koneko pushing herself to improve, and seven days of strengthening their bond as comrades. It had been worth every moment—even if it meant his grocery budget had taken a serious hit from cooking for her almost every day.
"...Good training session, Senpai," Koneko said, giving him a small nod of approval.
"You too, Koneko-chan. Your speed has improved significantly."
The corner of her mouth quirked up in what might have been a smile. Then, with a flash of light, she summoned her magic circle and teleported away, leaving him alone in the partially destroyed clearing.
Yuuto let out a breath, the cyan mist dissipating around him. "Consistent training with Koneko was definitely worth it. Even if I had to cook for her almost every day now..." He paused, a genuine smile crossing his face. "I'm happy I gained another character card. And more importantly, she's gotten stronger. That's what matters."
With a mental command, the character card materialized on his interface.
[New Character Card Obtained: Mei Mei]
[Jujutsu Kaisen]
[Description: A Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer known for her exceptional skill and pragmatic nature. Mei Mei is a highly capable combatant who values money above all else and operates on a strict cost-benefit analysis. Her primary technique is Bird Manipulation, allowing her to control and share senses with birds, particularly crows. Her signature move, Bird Strike, channels cursed energy through a bird to deliver devastating attacks far exceeding what should be possible. She possesses excellent physical abilities, tactical intelligence, and an innate technique that makes her invaluable for reconnaissance and information gathering.]
Yuuto stared at the description for a long moment.
Bird Manipulation, he thought, his mind already racing with possibilities. This is... actually perfect. Not for direct combat necessarily, but for information gathering and surveillance. If I can control birds and see through their eyes, I'd have an incredible tactical advantage. I could scout enemy positions, gather intelligence on Riser's peerage members, and even keep watch over multiple locations simultaneously. Plus, Bird Strike gives me a ranged option that's completely unexpected—no one would see an attack from a crow coming.
He'd been hoping for another combat-oriented card, something flashy that would help him match Riser's immortality. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized this might be even better. Knowledge was power, after all. And in the world of devils, where contracts and schemes ran rampant, having eyes everywhere could be the difference between victory and defeat.
Mei Mei herself is known for being incredibly efficient and pragmatic. Her fighting style isn't about overwhelming power—it's about maximizing effectiveness with the resources available. That's something I can definitely use.
"Accept," he said aloud.
The card dissolved into particles of light that rushed toward him, and suddenly—
WHOOSH!
A wave of information crashed into his mind. Memories that weren't his, skills he'd never trained, knowledge he'd never learned. He felt it all integrate seamlessly—the sensation of feathers beneath his consciousness, the instinctive understanding of how to channel his energy through living creatures, the tactical mindset of a seasoned jujutsu sorcerer who calculated every move.
His demonic power shifted, adapting to accommodate this new ability. It felt different from the breathing techniques—less physical, more spiritual. Where Mist Breathing enhanced his body and senses, Bird Manipulation extended his consciousness outward, creating connections to living creatures.
Incredible, Yuuto thought, flexing his fingers as the integration completed. I can feel them. All the birds in the vicinity.
He reached out with his new ability, a mental call that rippled through the forest.
From every direction, crows answered.
Caw! Caw! CAW!
They emerged from the trees in a black wave—dozens of them, maybe hundreds. Their wings beat in unison as they filled the sky above the clearing, circling in a massive flock that blotted out the sun. The blue morning sky turned black with their numbers, a living storm of feathers and beaks that responded to his will as naturally as moving his own limbs.
Yuuto stood at the center of it all, looking up at the spectacle he'd created. The crows circled in perfect synchronization, their movements coordinated by his consciousness. He could feel each one individually if he focused, or perceive them as a collective whole.
'Sensational' he thought with genuine awe.
With another mental command, he dismissed most of them. The flock dispersed as quickly as it had formed, the crows returning to their trees deep in the forest. The sky returned to its normal blue, peaceful once more.
All except one.
A single crow descended, landing gracefully on Yuuto's extended hand. Its black eyes stared at him with an intelligence that went beyond normal bird behavior—because right now, it was essentially an extension of himself.
"While this ability isn't the most offensive option, aside from Bird Strike," Yuuto mused aloud, studying the crow, "it's definitely a great technique for surveillance"
He closed his eyes and focused, sharing the crow's senses.
Suddenly, he was seeing from a different perspective—his own body standing in the clearing, viewed from the crow's eyes. The world looked different from this vantage point, colors slightly shifted, but the clarity was perfect. He could see details he'd missed from his own perspective, and more importantly, he could move this viewpoint anywhere the crow could fly.
Perfect, Yuuto thought, opening his eyes again. The dual perspective—his own and the crow's—was disorienting at first, but Mei Mei's integrated knowledge helped him adjust quickly. I can scout areas before entering them, keep watch during missions, and even track targets from above. This'll be a great assist in combat.
He raised his hand, letting the crow take flight. It soared up into the canopy and disappeared among the leaves, but he could still feel its presence, still access its senses if he wanted to.
"It's about damn time," he muttered, a grim determination settling over him, as a image of a couple flashed in his mind "I've been waiting for this."
Today was the day. Right now, somewhere in Kuoh Town, Issei Hyoudou was probably having the time of his life on his date with "Yuuma Amano"—blissfully unaware that his girlfriend was actually Raynare, a fallen angel who planned to kill him before the day was over.
But not this time.
Yuuto summoned a magic circle beneath his feet, the familiar crimson glow of devil transportation magic illuminating the destroyed clearing.
"Time to save a pervert from a crow," he said with dark amusement. "Never thought I'd be doing that."
The magic circle flared, and he vanished, leaving only the destroyed training ground behind—the sixth one this week.
(Third Person POV)
The date had been going well. Too well, in fact.
Issei Hyoudou could barely believe his luck. After years of being the school's resident pervert—along with his equally perverted friends Matsuda and Motohama—a cute girl had actually asked him out. Not just any girl, but Yuuma Amano, with her long black hair, purple eyes, and a figure that made his teenage brain short-circuit every time she smiled at him.
They'd spent the day wandering around Kuoh Town, visiting shops, eating at a café, and just enjoying each other's company. Well, Issei was enjoying it—Yuuma seemed a bit distracted at times, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. But he was too excited to notice the small details.
As evening approached, they found themselves walking through a quiet park. The sky had turned a beautiful orange-pink, the sun beginning its descent below the horizon. Streetlights flickered on one by one, casting pools of yellow light across the pathways.
"This has been really fun, Issei-kun," Yuuma said softly as they approached an ornate fountain at the center of the park. Water bubbled up from the top, cascading down in gentle streams that caught the fading sunlight.
"Y-Yeah! It's been amazing!" Issei replied, his face flushed with excitement and nervousness. "I can't believe you wanted to go out with me!"
Yuuma stopped walking, turning to face him directly. Her expression had changed—the playful warmth from earlier had vanished, replaced by something cold and calculating.
"Issei-kun," she said, her voice dropping to a lower register. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure! Anything!" He stepped closer, his heart pounding. Is this it? Is she going to confess? Or maybe... maybe she wants to kiss?!
"Would you die for me?"
Issei blinked. "Huh?"
Black feathers erupted from Yuuma's back—massive, dark wings that unfurled with a sound like tearing silk. Her cute outfit shimmered and transformed, replaced by a revealing black leather ensemble that left little to the imagination. Her entire demeanor shifted, the sweet schoolgirl persona shattering like glass to reveal something predatory underneath.
"W-What the—?!" Issei stumbled backward, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing.
"Let me ask again," Yuuma—no, Raynare—said with a cruel smile. "Would you die for me, Issei-kun?"
A flash of blue light erupted around them. A translucent barrier materialized, forming a dome that encased the entire fountain area. The sounds of the park beyond—distant conversations, rustling leaves—all vanished, replaced by an eerie silence.
"What's going on?!" Issei's voice cracked with panic. "Yuuma-chan, what's happening to you?!"
Raynare laughed, a sound that held no warmth. "Yuuma? Hahaha..." She raised her hand, and magenta light coalesced in her palm, forming the shape of a spear—jagged and pulsing with deadly energy. "I'm Raynare, a fallen angel. And you, Issei Hyoudou, have something inside you that my superiors want eliminated."
"F-Fallen angel?! This has to be a dream! There's no way—"
"Oh, it's very real," Raynare interrupted, her wings spreading wide as she rose into the air. The light spear in her hand crackled with power. "Don't worry, though. I'll make this quick. Consider it mercy for giving me such an entertaining day."
She drew her arm back, preparing to throw the spear.
I'm going to die, Issei realized with cold clarity. I'm actually going to die. This can't be real. This can't be—
Before Raynare could release her attack, black shapes exploded from the surrounding trees.
CAW! CAW! CAW!
A massive flock of crows descended on her like a living storm, their wings beating furiously as they swarmed around her head and body. Dozens of them, maybe hundreds, all attacking in coordinated strikes.
"What the—?!" Raynare shrieked, the light spear dissipating as she threw up her hands to protect her face. "Get off me! Get off!"
The crows were relentless, pecking and clawing, their movements too coordinated to be natural. They obscured her completely, a swirling mass of black feathers and angry caws.
Issei stood frozen, his mouth hanging open. "What's happening?!"
"You're in luck," a familiar voice said from directly beside him. "I ain't a psychopath letting a pervert die for a harem."
"GYAAAH!" Issei shrieked, jumping nearly a foot in the air. He spun around to find Yuuto Kiba standing there, his usual princely composure replaced with something more casual and direct—hands in his pockets, an almost amused expression on his handsome face.
"K-K-KIBA?!" Issei shouted, his voice cracking. "What are you doing here?!"
"Saving you from that crow who's getting attacked by crows up there," Yuuto replied, jerking his thumb upward toward where Raynare was still struggling against the avian assault. "Pretty ironic, if you think about it."
"Y-Yuuma-chan—!" Issei started, but Yuuto cut him off.
"Yuuma was the false identity," he said flatly, snapping his fingers.
The crows dispersed immediately, scattering in every direction and vanishing into the darkening sky as if they'd never been there.
As the last of the birds flew away, Raynare was revealed—and she was a mess. Her hair, previously styled perfectly, was now completely disheveled, sticking out in every direction. Scratches covered her exposed skin from where the crows had pecked at her.
And most noticeably, her leather outfit had been completely shredded by hundreds of sharp beaks and talons, leaving her hovering in the air completely naked.
"HOLY SHIT!" Issei's eyes went wide as dinner plates, his face turning beet red. "Those are... I mean... She's got... I can see everything! This is the best worst day of my life!"
Focus, don't look, focus, Yuuto thought, his own composure cracking slightly as he deliberately kept his gaze on Raynare's face. This wasn't part of the plan. I just wanted the crows to distract her, not strip her naked. Mei Mei's memories didn't include a warning about this particular side effect...
"YOU!" Raynare's voice was absolutely venomous, her face flushed with humiliation and rage. She made no attempt to cover herself, too consumed with fury. Magenta light erupted in her hand as she summoned another light spear—this one larger and more jagged than before. "I'LL KILL YOU FIRST FOR THIS HUMILIATION!"
Yuuto's demeanor shifted instantly, the casual air vanishing. His eyes became sharp and focused as cyan mist began to emanate from his body—the telltale sign of his Mist Breathing technique.
"Stay where you are, Issei," he commanded, his voice cold and precise. He raised his right hand, demonic energy swirling around it. "Sword Birth."
A sword materialized in his grip—but not just any sword. This one had a peculiar property: its blade was completely black, absorbing light rather than reflecting it. A Holy Eraser, specifically designed to counter light-based attacks.
"DIE!" Raynare shrieked, hurling the light spear with all her strength.
The jagged spear of magenta energy shot toward Yuuto like a bolt of lightning, crackling with deadly power.
Yuuto didn't move his feet. He simply raised his sword and swung once.
CLANG!
The moment the Holy Eraser made contact with the light spear, the attack simply... dispersed. The magenta energy scattered into harmless particles that dissolved into the air, like mist under the morning sun.
Raynare's eyes widened. "What?! That's impossible!"
"If this is all you can do," Yuuto said, his voice dripping with mockery, "then I got worried for nothing. I expected fallen angels to be stronger than this...but this is pathetic, Yuuma chan~"
"You... You DARE mock me?!" Raynare's face contorted with rage and disbelief. Her wings flared wide. "I am a superior being! A fallen angel! You're just a low-class devil!"
"Devil..." Issei muttered, his eyes glued to the scene before him. Though whether he was more amazed by the display of power or the naked fallen angel was debatable.
Raynare summoned two light spears this time, one in each hand. "I'll show you the difference in our power!"
She began hurling them in rapid succession, with her both hands - left, right, left, right—a continuous barrage of magenta light that filled the air with deadly energy. Each spear crackled with enough power to put cracks through concrete, fired with the speed and precision of someone who'd killed many times before.
Yuuto took a deep breath, his chest expanding as he activated Total Concentration Breathing.
Then he moved.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His sword became a blur of motion, striking each light spear the instant it came within range. Every attack was deflected or dispersed, the magenta energy scattering harmlessly. He didn't move from his spot—he didn't need to. His blade intercepted every single spear with mechanical precision.
To Issei's eyes, Yuuto was barely moving. The sword strikes were too fast to perceive, appearing only as flashes of black that somehow connected with the incoming attacks.
"Incredible," Issei breathed, his jaw hanging open from the display of knight's sword skills "Kiba ... he's amazing!"
Raynare kept throwing spears, her movements becoming more desperate as each one was effortlessly countered. Twenty spears. Thirty. Forty.
Finally, she stopped, gasping for breath. Her arms shook from the exertion of channeling so much light energy in rapid succession. Sweat dripped down her face, mixing with the scratches from the earlier crow attack.
"Is that it?" Yuuto asked, his voice cutting through the silence. "I heard fallen angels were supposed to be strong, but this is a damn joke." He lowered his sword slightly, his expression almost disappointed. "You're way below the stray devil I killed a week ago. At least that one put up a decent fight."
"You... How dare you..." Raynare's face twisted with absolute hatred. She'd been humiliated—stripped naked by birds, mocked by a devil she'd considered beneath her, unable to land a single attack. Her pride as a fallen angel was in tatters. "I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"
She dove toward him with explosive speed, her wings propelling her forward like a missile. A light spear materialized in her hand, and she thrust it forward with all her remaining strength, aiming directly for his heart.
"First Form: Low Clouds, Distant Haze."
Yuuto's voice was calm, almost serene. The cyan mist around him compressed for just an instant.
Then he moved.
To Issei's eyes, Yuuto simply vanished. One moment he was standing still, the next he was somehow past Raynare, his sword extended in a perfect thrust position.
Raynare's momentum carried her forward a few more feet before she stopped, hovering in midair. Her light spear flickered and died.
"That's... impossible..." she gasped, her hands moving to her stomach. Blood—deep crimson, almost black—began to flow between her fingers from a clean puncture wound that went straight through her abdomen. "I'm... a superior being... fallen angels are... we're above devils... we're..."
Her wings spasmed. Her body tilted forward.
"You were never superior," Yuuto said quietly, lowering his sword. "You were just arrogant."
Raynare fell from the sky like a broken doll, her body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. The blood pooled around her, spreading across the concrete near the fountain. Her wings twitched once, twice, then went still.
The blue barrier around them flickered and dissolved, returning the sounds of the evening park—distant voices, rustling leaves, the gentle splash of the fountain.
Before anyone could see the body, Yuuto raised his hand. A crimson magic circle appeared beneath Raynare's corpse, glowing with devil transportation magic. In a flash of red light, the body vanished, teleported somewhere far away where it wouldn't draw attention.
The blood remained for a moment longer before Yuuto created another small magic circle that absorbed it, cleaning the scene completely. To any passerby, nothing unusual had happened here at all.
He dismissed his Holy Eraser, the black sword dissolving like particles of demonic energy.
Finally, he turned to face Issei, who stood frozen like a statue, his brain clearly struggling to process everything that had just happened.
"Looks like this is the end of your date," Yuuto said with a slight smile.
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" Issei shrieked, his voice echoing through the now-quiet park.