[If you think it's for the best, Ikaku, I won't object. In fact, I'm grateful you've chosen to prioritize this fight, even at the cost of your own renown. Thank you, Ikaku.]

"Don't thank me, my lady. It's the smart play. I have no intention of making a bad fight worse, and I definitely don't plan on dying. Besides, this puts you in my debt. When the Akai Clan is back on its feet, I'll collect on something money can't buy."

[You planned this from the start? To put me in your debt? You're just like a cunning nobleman, Ikaku. I love it!]

Lady Ayano's eyes sparkle. She beams and nuzzles against my side.

Then she presses the soft pads of her paw to my cheek. A seal of approval.

Good. This is a start.

First, I take everything back from the Seekers of the Deep. Once that’s done, the Akai Clan rebuilds under the four sisters.

Until that day, Ikaku Akamuro is a ghost. A shadow in the dark, hunting our enemies.

This is the path.

"We're moving out. Buckle up."

I give the Akachi maid a nod through the window and pull the car from the garage, pointing it toward the burnt-out ruins of Coral Eldarian.

* * *

As Ikaku Akamuro made his move…

In the Lake District of Akai City stood a large, three-story, red-brick building.

The grounds of that warm, old-fashioned structure were separated from the outside world by a stately gate. On its nameplate, engraved in solemn script, were the words: Imperial Exorcist Corps, Akai Garrison.

The ground floor of the building was filled with long tables and chairs arranged in neat rows. The area, which had the atmosphere of a university cafeteria, served as a standby area for exorcists awaiting dispatch.

Though the Imperial Exorcist Corps carried a rigid, formal air, it was still an Exorcist guild at its core and functioned much like a temp agency.

This day was no different. More than ten people loitered in the standby area, each finding their own way to kill time.

A girl occupied one corner of the room. Her name was Kayano Tokugawa. She was a striking beauty with black hair that held an indigo-blue under-color.

Dressed in a black military uniform, she sharpened her sword with a serious expression, meticulous in her weapon’s maintenance.

Nearby stood another woman, also in uniform. She was a silver-haired beauty with androgynous features. Her name was Kazusa Kijima, Kayano’s attendant.

Kazusa stood perfectly still, watching over Kayano as she honed her blade in the noisy room.

“...Hmm. Something’s still not right.”

Kayano paused her sharpening. A persistent cloud of doubt hung over her, sparked by the latest report on the overnight massacre.

It was a topic no resident of Akai City could avoid.

“So, the official story is that the massacres happening all over the city were actually just battles involving the Church’s Exorcist units… But you don’t believe that’s the whole truth, do you, Lady Kayano?”

Kayano rested her chin on her hand.

There was a reason for her growing suspicion: she knew of a rumor making the rounds within the Akai City Police.

A rumor she had heard from her own private source.

“According to my contact in the Akai City Police, they recovered the bodies of 114 Demon cultists and fifty Demons that night. It makes no sense.What’s even more unbelievable is that the officers are all whispering the same rumor: ‘It seems to be the work of a single man.’ ‘He’s a commoner with no mana.’ ‘He punches holes through demons with his bare hands.’Frankly, it was all too incredible to believe.”

“...Ikaku Akamuro?” Kazusa murmured, as if she had read her master’s mind.

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