Having gone through several painful lessons, Ren Kuroda had been quietly experimenting with ways to activate his Half-Demon Transformation without letting it overwhelm him.
After countless trials, he finally discovered something: aside from sheer willpower, shortening the transformation window was another way to restrain the violent surge of emotions that came with his demon blood.
Just as he had done tonight—slipping into his Half-Demon state for only an instant, killing the enemy in a single decisive strike, and then immediately forcing himself back before the demon instincts could cloud his judgment.
It had only been an experiment, yet it turned out exactly as Ren had predicted: so long as the activation was brief, he could maintain control.
And with more training—strengthening his mental resilience, stretching out how long he could remain lucid—one day he would gain complete mastery over his Half-Demon Transformation.
…Though the price of trial and error had been steep.
More painful than the exhaustion of having his demon power drained dry was the memory of what his personality had turned into mid-transformation.
Just thinking about it made his face burn.
Because when Ren entered his half-demon form, for some reason he became a full-blown chuunibyou—dramatic tone, ominous speech patterns, and worst of all… he had actually referred to himself as "I, the Abyssal One" or something equally mortifying.
Remembering it made him want to crawl into a hole and never come out again.
"I need to get a proper handle on this 'Half-Demon' thing ASAP. If I keep using it recklessly, there's no way I'm letting anyone see me like that ever again."
Because Ren Kuroda simply could not endure that level of embarrassment.
Meanwhile—
Kujo Hinano, Captain Yuzaburo, and the rest of the investigation team all stood frozen in shock, staring at the bisected corpse of the Rat Demon King—larger than a minibus—cleanly sliced in half by a single sword stroke.
It took several seconds before the realization settled in.
They were still alive.
They had actually survived tonight.
And from this night onward, they finally understood the world they lived in.
If someone had told them yesterday that rat monsters the size of vehicles existed, they would've smacked that person and told them to stop talking nonsense.
But what they had witnessed tonight shattered their entire worldview.
Flesh tough enough to shrug off bullets had been cut apart by a single sword.
Tattered old talismans had transformed a frayed hemp net into a barrier strong enough to rival military-grade fiber.
Who could possibly believe such things?
No one. Tell this story to an ordinary person and they'd accuse you of spinning wild fantasies.
But the rat corpses scattered across the street—especially the enormous one split clean down the middle, its presence still suffocating even in death—were undeniable proof that everything tonight had been horrifyingly real.
Ren dusted off his hands and spoke flatly.
"Since I've resolved the matter I agreed to handle, our cooperation ends here.The scene is yours now. You're the professionals when it comes to cleanup—do whatever you need.I'm heading home.
And since everything's finished, do me a favor: forget I exist. Don't come looking for me again. I have a peaceful life, and I'd like to keep it that way."
Kujo Hinano hurried toward him, followed by the others. Captain Yuzaburo even looked like he wanted to grab Ren's hand in gratitude.
After all, even though Ren hadn't fought alongside them directly, the two talismans he'd left behind had saved their lives. Without them, things could've gotten far worse—possibly fatal.
And after witnessing everything tonight, Captain Yuzaburo had grown even more convinced that Ren was the disciple of some shrine's onmyoji master.
Ren's method of slaying yokai differed from what Yuzaburo imagined, sure—but every shrine had its own traditions. Perhaps Ren's lineage specialized in sword-combat, fighting yokai face-to-face.
The earlier "Yokai Aura Detection Talisman" had also proven authentic. So now, not just Yuzaburo, but the entire team believed Ren's identity without question.
Unfortunately for them, none of them had realized that their so-called prodigy exorcist was actually a yokai himself—just one whose methods differed sharply from others of his kind.
Ren was fully aware of Yuzaburo's earnest gratitude and met it with pure frost.
He hadn't helped the police out of goodwill—he had been forced into cooperation tonight. Left to his own devices, Ren would've handled the incident quietly, cleanly, and without anyone ever noticing.
That was how he had always done things.
But this time, the police found the scene first. If they had gone in alone, they would've provoked the Rat Demon King and triggered needless casualties. A bigger disaster. That was the only reason Ren stepped out of the shadows and agreed to collaborate.
Ren was satisfied with his current lifestyle. He wanted no ties, no disturbances, no obligations.
His message was painfully clear: he wanted nothing more to do with them.
Seeing Ren's unchanging expression and the way he turned away without hesitation, Captain Yuzaburo awkwardly withdrew the hand he'd reached out.
Several detectives quietly snickered—amazed that their tough old captain had finally met someone he couldn't handle.
But none of them dared to express even a shred of dissatisfaction with Ren's "arrogant" demeanor anymore.
Because in every world, strength rewrites the rules.Age and status become irrelevant.
And right now, to Captain Yuzaburo and his men, Ren's aloofness wasn't arrogance—It was exactly how someone of his caliber should act.
Even if they didn't like it, there was nothing they could do.
Their most powerful weapon—a standard-issue pistol—couldn't even scratch the Rat Demon King. Ren had sliced it clean in half with a single swing.
"…Forget it," Yuzaburo finally muttered, exhaling. "Just surviving tonight is already miraculous. Trying to build a relationship with him was wishful thinking."
He straightened, regaining the professionalism expected of a veteran detective captain.
"Notify transport. Then contact headquarters and make a full report. Handle everything discreetly—don't alarm the residents. If this leaks, panic is inevitable."
He'd been captain for years; handling crises was second nature to him.
Something of this magnitude had to be escalated upward. Their squad alone couldn't take responsibility for it.
And matters involving "monsters" couldn't be exposed to the public—not yet.Ordinary people learning that unknown, unstoppable creatures lurked in their daily lives would plunge society into fear.
In fact, simply reporting the incident would already count as a significant achievement—let alone the fact that they'd eliminated a large number of rat demons.
Yuzaburo's report hadn't even fully reached the higher-ups before alarms went off—figuratively, if not literally.
The response was immediate.
Unexpectedly, none of the superiors questioned the validity of the report.Aside from being shocked that the incident had actually been resolved, they acted as though the existence of "monsters" was something they were already aware of.
As if this world had been operating under hidden rules long before Yuzaburo's team stumbled into them tonight.