I stared at the small slime for a long moment, making sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. Its form was now no bigger than a fist, reflecting a pale blue glow that looked far more harmless than the giant liquid monster that had tried to digest me alive earlier.
"…You shrank?" I muttered softly.
The slime vibrated gently—not aggressive, not defensive—more like… greeting. Even when I extended a finger to tap its surface, it didn't try to attack. Instead, its body lowered slightly, as if bowing.
"Bowing? Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow, half amused, half confused. "You were about to melt me into pudding earlier, and now you're acting like a pet?"
The slime made a small plop sound, as if confirming it.
I was about to analyze it further—whether this was an effect of the Demonic Fire or because their energy core had been destroyed—when an unfamiliar presence brushed the edge of my senses. Footsteps. Several. Quick and precise, like a team accustomed to fighting together.
Instinctively, I pressed myself against a chunk of broken wall, hiding the tiny slime behind my leg. Dust still drifted through the air when the footsteps drew closer, and then—
"—Hah!? What is all this… what happened!?"
"I thought this was the place Azazel told us to investigate? Why does it look like a meteor crashed here?"
"Wait… there he is!"
Those voices were familiar. Too familiar.
And sure enough—from behind the fog of dust and rubble emerged a small group with a mixed aura: wary, trained, and… tired of dealing with absurd things. At the front stood a black-haired young man with sharp, steady eyes—Tobio Ikuse, the wielder of the Longinus Canis Lykaon.
Tobio's eyes moved quickly, analyzing the ruins of this underground mansion—cracked floors, collapsed walls, scorched air—then finally stopping right on me… and on the tiny slime peeking halfway out from behind my leg.
He frowned.
"…Who are you?"
Beside him, Kouki was already on guard, sword ready, while Sae stayed slightly behind Tobio but still assessed the situation carefully.
A fully combat-ready formation.
I tilted my head.
Funny… they were looking at me like I was the boss monster lurking behind a dungeon door.
'Hmm… since they're already suspicious, maybe I can have a little fun.'
I looked at them casually, even lifting the tiny slime into my palm just to intensify the impression of being a "strange unknown person."
The tiny slime made another soft plup sound in my hand, as if trying to soften the atmosphere that had become as cold as a freezer warehouse. I eventually lifted it onto my shoulder—the creature clung to me like a transparent baby koala.
I smiled faintly beneath my mask.
A smile that would definitely raise their suspicion even more.
"Hm," I shrugged casually. "You can call me… Cheon Ma."
Their reactions were priceless. Kouki nearly choked on his own breath. Natsume immediately reinforced her spell. Sae stared at me with a very reasonable fear, considering that these ruins were indeed my handiwork.
Tobio merely narrowed his eyes, sharpening his analysis.
I continued, tone flat as if discussing the weather,
"And yes… as you can see. All of this is my doing."
Kouki exploded instantly.
"Which affiliation are you actually from!?"
Affiliation, he says.
I nearly laughed.
"Independent," I answered completely honestly. "Not tied to any faction. Not on Azazel's list, not in hell, not in heaven."
I leaned forward slightly toward them, lowering my voice as if whispering a secret.
"And as for the rest… I'm just a little interested in you, Tobio Ikuse."
I raised one finger.
"Or more precisely… in Slash Dog."
The whole group tensed at once.
Perfect timing to give them a little demonstration.
I vanished from where I stood—a flicker of movement, a little Qi, a little Demonic Qi, and the world moved like slow motion. In an instant, I was standing right in front of Tobio.
A distance far too close to be considered a normal step.
Tobio's eyes widened for only a fraction of a second, as if his body understood what was happening before his mind caught up. Not panic—not even exaggerated surprise—more like the instinct of a predator suddenly realizing that something higher in the food chain was standing right in front of him. And of course, that reaction made his teammates move almost simultaneously, like reflexes polished over years.
Kouki immediately swung his sword, the aura from his Independent Avatar Sacred Gear flaring like someone shining a flashlight directly at my face. Sae was just as fast, drawing support energy that gathered around her like tiny motes of light ready to cling to anyone she blessed. Within seconds, they attacked from two sides at once—a formation so clean I could easily guess who trained them: obviously Azazel, who else?
I raised my hand.
"Relax."
Their attacks sliced through the spot where my body had been a second earlier, but I had already shifted atop a pile of rubble. Standing with the laziest "receiving visitors" posture, like someone dragged out of bed on a Sunday morning. From there, I looked at them one by one, observing how their Independent Avatar Sacred Gears manifested—spiritual beings, symbolic entities, extensions of themselves—as if the whole world were their theatrical stage.
'Wait… don't tell me?' I glanced at the little slime on my shoulder, who stared back innocently.
Well… hopefully it didn't suddenly do something weird.
"What's your purpose!!" Tobio shouted again, louder, more demanding.
"That's none of your business."
"It's definitely my business! If you're anything like the lunatic I encountered before, I won't just stand by! Jin!!"
His shadow cracked the air, and the massive wolf appeared, its fangs aimed at me with an intent far too serious for a first meeting. I let out a long, weary sigh.
"Oh, come on."
I stepped aside half a pace, resisting the urge to yawn, then kicked the wolf back toward Tobio as if returning a ball that rolled into my direction.
"So this is the threat, huh. Don't regret it later~"
Demonic Qi seeped outward, slow and dense, like thick black fog rising from beneath the earth. It felt almost as if the world around us curled in on itself, holding its breath. The ruins groaned, dust fell faster from the air, and the ground trembled slightly—just enough to tell anyone still alive that they had disturbed something they shouldn't have.
Sae bit her lip, her shoulders shaking as she whispered to Tobio, her voice nearly breaking.
"Tobio… we need to run. This person is different from any enemy we've faced."
"Damn." Tobio cursed under his breath, but his eyes remained locked on me—not fear… more like someone who just realized he was standing in front of the wrong kind of monster.
Kouki and Sae looked just as unsure, holding their stances like they themselves couldn't believe this fight was winnable. They weren't wrong. With the amount of Qi in my body, even what I suppressed was enough to make them break into cold sweat. Unfortunately, only a small portion of that energy could be channeled into the Heavenly Demon martial techniques—my body wasn't fully healed yet, and that technique didn't accept "half-baked" as a minimum requirement.
'But… honestly, I'm curious too. How far can I match a Sacred Gear user? And right in front of me now… is a wielder of one of the thirteen Longinus. Am I supposed to just stand here?'
Something hummed faintly in my chest—a mix of adrenaline and curiosity. Maybe even a strange kind of excitement, like someone finally getting to play with an expensive toy after years of staring at it through a shop window.
"Well, what else can I do," I murmured, lowering my head slightly as if offering respect to a performance… or about to start a small massacre.
Because without waiting for any signal, I launched the first attack.
I moved first.
To them, I might have simply vanished—disappeared from sight.
But to me, everything moved slowly… painfully slowly. As if the world were dragging its feet through mud.
I appeared right in front of Kouki.
His face didn't even have time to react.
I struck him with an open palm—not a serious blow, just a tap with a bit of demonic Qi.
BOOM
Kouki was flung like a rag doll thrown into a wall. The wall shattered first before his body crashed through it. Chunks of stone fell, and I hadn't even used enough force to call it a "real attack."
'Huh… that little and he's already flying? Their bodies must be really fragile or I was too rough just now?'
Sae screamed, "Kouki!!"
She fired binding magic with a magic circle forming in the air—the light shaped itself into a massive chain, spinning and snapping toward me. Before it could reach me, the little slime on my shoulder bounced up, making a plup sound as if wanting to participate.
I tapped its head with a finger.
"Easy. Let me."
Then I grabbed the chain.
My fingers closed around the magic—and the magic cracked.
Not "broke," not "disappeared."
Cracked, like glass forced to hold more pressure than it could bear.
CRACK— CRAAACK
"Eh…?" Sae froze.
The chain shattered into pieces, its magical light scattering like fine dust.
I looked up at Sae.
"Don't go throwing magic at someone's face, it's kind of rude."
I appeared in front of her in a short step.
Sae tensed and Jin leapt out from Tobio's shadow, a massive black wolf with glowing eyes. Its attack was fast, faster than before, driven by instinct to protect its master.
Its fangs aimed straight at my throat.
I greeted it with a single motion.
My left hand clamped its upper jaw.
My right hand clamped its lower jaw.
The wolf growled in panic.
"Relax, I'm not going to rip your head off… probably."
I pushed—just a little.
BAM!
Jin's body was dragged across the ground, carving a long trail more than five meters before crashing into a pile of stones.
His jaws trembled.
Sae screamed.
The sound echoed between the ruins, like someone realizing this was no longer a normal fight—this was a one-sided massacre.
'Good grief… this turned into an animal rescue operation. Why am I the one feeling guilty?'
Tobio finally moved.
His movement wasn't just fast—this was the kind of speed that sliced the air itself. I could even appreciate it. To a normal person, he would look like a dark blur splitting the world in half.
A scythe emerged from the shadows—dark, elongated, a shape that looked like a weapon never meant to be wielded by humans. That was Canis Lykaon, the black wolf that devours anything in the dark.
The first slash came without pause, aiming for my neck.
I parried it with my palm.
CLANG—!!!
Not metal.
But a strange impact between supernatural force and demonic Qi rejecting each other.
Tobio didn't stop.
He moved like a dancer who owned the floor—flowing, leaping, spinning, slashing from every angle. The shadow-scythe shifted shape as if it had its own will, and I knew that wasn't just style.
He changed his attack pattern, increased pressure.
Pushed me back one step.
Just one step.
'Hmm. He's quite skilled at handling his technique.'
Tobio leapt back then attacked again, crossing two shadow scythes that stretched from his right arm.
I blocked both scythes with my bare hands.
Qi danced across my skin—thin, faintly glossy like ink brushed by a night wind.
I observed it in more detail: the blade wasn't just shadow, it had a strange texture—like a blade that was once divine but had been tainted. The Ame-no-Ohabari sword stripped of purity. Lycaon's curse staining every inch of its power.
'If I didn't coat my hands with Qi, this would be a different story,' I thought while holding them off.
His slashes could bisect a human without effort.
But I wasn't a normal human.
And I wasn't being serious.
I took advantage of a small opening—the moment his footing shifted from offense to defense.
"You're open."
I vanished from his line of sight.
Tobio jolted—too late.
My palm struck his abdomen.
DEMON PALM — concise, swift, and cruel.
BOOM—!!!
Tobio was lifted off the ground, like a doll slapped by a giant hand. His breath stopped. His face twisted from the wave of pain surging through his body.
He landed on his back, skidding across the fractured floor and carving a short trench before—
BLARGH—
He vomited blood.
Enough to show the hit landed exactly where it should.
'Of course I weakened it. It would be ridiculous if an important character like him died in my hands.'
Jin—the black wolf—appeared again, this time not attacking.
His body grew larger, fur bristling, crimson eyes glowing intensely. He growled low, moving toward his master, positioning himself between Tobio and me.
His stance was clear:
Take one more step toward him, and I'll tear your throat out.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Wow… very protective."