“You’ve got a good eye. That’s right, it was the work of one Ikaku Akamuro. He’s the one who called it in. Said something like, ‘A Demon was running wild at the shooting range, so I performed an exorcism.’ But after making the call, the man himself was nowhere to be found. What a pain. Seriously.Huh? You mean that big one? Yeah, it’s incredible. Blew my mind. Yep, yep. It looked like that from the start. He must’ve used some kind of fire Code to burn it to a crisp.Still, it’s insane. The thing’s practically charcoal. Solid charcoal. What kind of firepower are we even talking about? It’s beyond what a normal person like me can imagine.And it looks like there was one hell of a fight. Rifle casings are scattered all over the place. There are even signs of a grenade explosion. What a night.It started with The Matz, then a car chase, then that war at the meat processing center, cars flipped and burning all over the city, and now this is the grand finale. This thing looks like a Category Four, easy. Who the hell is this Ikaku Akamuro guy?”

Ophelia, still holding Ayano, moved closer to inspect the Demon’s corpse, which was still faintly warm.

The forensics officer was right. It was unmistakably a Category 4 Demon.

“Me-meow…?!” (H-he defeated a Category Four… single-handedly? That surpasses my own record! Not only that, but when you factor in the surrounding Demons, the Demon contractor, and their armaments, the difficulty of this battle was far… Father, it seems our Ikaku is a much more formidable man than we ever imagined!)

Cuddling the cat, now puffed up with emotion, Ophelia turned and headed back to her car. She felt an urgent need to catch up to him.

Even I have never taken down a Category Four Demon by myself. We assemble a team to hunt them. Why? Because it’s dangerous.Mister Akamuro, you are truly incredible. To be frank, you’ve far surpassed my imagination. I never thought you were an exorcist of this caliber.In that sense, I was right. When the hotel was collapsing, an impulse crossed my mind: if anyone could destroy the Hidden Flame, it might be you, not me…You’ve fought more than enough. You’ve won more than enough victories. Why didn’t you stop here? You of all people should know the limitations of a body without mana.People die. You are no exception. You’re insane. But… but you’re still just a human. No one is immortal.

When she reached Beniyama Grand Shrine, she saw a light armored vehicle parked haphazardly in the lot. It was the one from the shooting range. Her intuition screamed that Ikaku Akamuro was here.

Ophelia and Ayano dashed up the 225 stone steps, crossed the shrine grounds that had been ravaged by fierce combat, and entered the underground facility through the main hall, pushing past mountains of blood and corpses.

That was when Ophelia heard the roar of a horrifying beast. Ayano’s fur stood on end.

Now a bristling ball of cotton candy, Ayano warned, “Meow!” (There’s something really bad in here…!)

They followed the trail of bodies to the lowest level, where Ophelia sliced through a wall of flame.

There, they finally found him: a young man, scorched and collapsed.

Ikaku Akamuro looked all but dead, yet he was clearly conscious.

Ophelia laid a hand on his cheek.

I finally caught up. And just as I feared, you’re a complete wreck.

She was on the verge of tears. She didn’t quite understand why she was so emotional.

Was it because they had overcome the deadly probability that only one of them could have survived? Or was it a profound respect, a sense of gratitude for this man who, as the one left behind, had dedicated his entire being to a war of vengeance?

“…Why… my lady? I thought you were dead.”

Ikaku’s words sent a tremor through Ophelia’s very core.

Ahh. That’s right. That’s why I cast Praesidium on him. Our acquaintance has been brief, but somewhere in my heart, I knew. This man could do it. Even if I died, he would somehow see it through to the end. He had a presence that made me believe he could.And Mister Akamuro lived up to that trust. He slipped past the demonic hordes and a hail of deadly bullets, cutting down everything in his path. He fought to the bitter end, even after being wounded this badly.

“Do I look that pale? How rude. Still, I’ll forgive you.”

Ophelia maintained her calm demeanor, gently stroking the face of the fallen warrior.

Then, standing to take his place, she rose to face the colossal Demon.

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