Hayate shakes his head, resigned.
“Ikaku... were you really that strong all along?”
“You’re only just realizing?”
“I kind of got that martial arts had its uses. But against mana and guns? I figured it’d be worthless. No chance to even use it. That’s what I believed.”
“Mana: hundred points. Talent: hundred points. Effort: another hundred. Then you added fifty more with that demonic boost. That’s three-fifty. Meanwhile, I’ve supposedly got one-twenty—pure effort. Make sense now?”
“Don’t mock me, Ikaku. I’ll admit I miscalculated. You were five hundred on effort alone.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
I pull the pin on a holy water grenade.
“Go ahead. Die screaming while your lungs and skin burn.”
“Wait, Ikaku. Don’t you want information?”
I freeze.
He’s right. I can kill him anytime. Might as well squeeze him dry first.
I keep the safety lever clamped tight. No spray until I let go.
“Where are the Akai family members? Are they alive?”
“Beats me.”
“Guess you feel like dying.”
“I’m serious. The barrier went down, then the Demons came. I wasn’t guarding the dance hall. Fighting broke out everywhere. Radio chatter turned to chaos. Survivors grouped up, tried to fight back… but it didn’t matter.”
“Huh...? But you’re the one who let them in.”
A flicker of confusion crosses Hayate’s face. Then a casual “Ahh,” like something clicks.
“You think this inferno was my doing? No, no, no. Not me, obviously.”
“What the hell are you talking about—”
“I betrayed them today. Like, not even an hour ago. Demon worshippers were about to kill me. I cut a deal. They said if I accepted Demonic power, I’d live. Had to prove myself. Kill someone on our side. A noble or an Exorcist—didn’t matter.”
His eyes drift to the body on the landing.
“So that’s what you meant by ‘choosing’...”
“Right? Pretty pathetic. I had no choice. Kill or be killed. Become Demon or die. Anyone would pick Demon.”
“You should’ve gone out swinging.”
“Not everyone’s built like you.”
“Who are the Demon worshippers? Give me names.”
“No clue, I swear to God. An hour ago, I was loyal to the Akai family. I’d have died for this place. But staring death in the face, I realized I didn’t want to. That’s all. I’m a traitor, sure… but I’m not the mastermind. I swear.”
“Fine. Then give me anything. A hint. A lead.”
“There is one thing. I think... they were after the Akai young ladies. I saw them take them. Knocked them out. Carried them off.”
“Who? Which one?”
“Pretty sure Lady Reika. Might’ve taken the others too.”
“Kidnapped... They burned the whole estate for that? What the hell is their goal?”
“Told you I don’t know. But hey, final gift from me to you. I called them Demon worshippers earlier, but the ones running this might not be.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. That’s all I’ve got. So anyway—Unguis Ardens!”
The corpse’s forearm—Hayate’s been clutching it this whole time—suddenly bursts into flames. Carved letters flare. Blood hardens into crystal, ringed with fire.
I’m forced to back off.
“Pointless tricks won’t—”
I stop.
Something’s coming. Fast. From the front door.
I can’t see through the smoke, but I hear it. A weird, high-pitched pyauuu, rising sharp like a kettle scream.
The wall near the second-floor entrance explodes inward. A massive shadow crashes through, flinging debris.
Wind howls through the breach, stirring flames higher. A monstrous blur charges straight at us.
“A bird?”
It grips the second floor with taloned feet. Its head juts into the hallway like it’s pecking for bugs.
The thing’s grotesque. Slick with blood. Skin blistered and peeling.
Fourteen lidless eyes glare. Inside its beak, human teeth. Dozens. Stacked in jagged rows.
Its body’s absurd—easily twice my height at the torso. Wings span over ten meters, casting firelit shadows across the corridor.
It grabs Hayate and shoves his lower half into its beak.
Then takes off.
“No you don’t!”
I fire. Click.
Reload in 0.7 seconds. Fire again.
Jam. Clear it. Fire.
Jam again.
I ditch the gun, pull a silver knife, and hurl it.
It hits, but barely scratches.
I throw another. Then another. Down to my last blade.
Hayate turns back mid-air, grinning, waving.
“Don’t you run, coward!”
“Sorry, Ikaku. Can’t really afford to die myself.”
“Fight! We’re not done!”
“You can have the victory. Later, partner! Let’s both live long lives! Ah-hah-hah-hah!”
I chase them through the blasted wall.
But the bird’s gone, wings cutting through the smoke, rising toward the blood-red moon.
I can’t catch it.
“Shit. Slipped away.”
So that scumbag is a traitor, but not the mastermind.
As much as I hate to admit it... I believe him.
Hayate’s the type who runs the numbers before making a move.
If he decided the Akai family was finished, of course he’d jump ship.
In that way... I could trust him. Twelve years of friendship wasn’t a lie.
Doesn’t make it hurt any less, though.
I head back inside and climb to the second floor.
The corpse is still there, sprawled out, arm stolen for Hayate’s fire ritual.
His face is frozen in shock.
I close his eyes. Make the sign of the cross. Say a prayer.
I check what he’s carrying. One pistol. No mags. No Soulgear.
He’d fought and just barely survived. Then Hayate shot him in the back.
To betray a comrade on the battlefield... is the lowest filth there is.
“I’ll avenge you, I swear it. I’ll kill that filthy traitor. Let me borrow this for now.”
I take the pistol. Ten rounds left. Not much—but it’ll do.
I grab the magazine from the busted gun I ditched earlier, slot it into my belt, and take off running toward the dance hall.
Maybe someone’s still alive. Maybe someone’s fighting Demons right now, needing the help of an Exorcist.
I charge down the burning corridor.