She was lying face-up on the grass. Wet air clung to her skin, while the sky was barely visible through the fog all around her.
How am I still alive after that fall?
With a soft groan, she reached down into her pocket and pulled out her phone. The cracked screen flickered before showing the time: 5 a.m. Her gaze lingered on the fractured glass, heavy with exhaustion.
Only after a moment did she notice the faint glow of a missed call notification from Miss Nishimura.
Uh...Why would she call on a weekend?
A dull ache pulsed at her temple. It was way too early to call her back, especially after… all this. She'd just survived a car crash seconds ago. In that instance her stomach rumbled, breaking her thoughts in half.
"I'm sooo hungry, I could eat a horse right now," she said.
Her body felt heavy, like someone had filled her bones with sand. She rolled over onto her side and winced as a sharp pain shot through her hip.
Someone groaned nearby, getting her attention.
It came from the right.
Yuki pushed herself up, legs wobbling, and limped toward the sound. The shape came into view all at once — the limo, or what was left of it. One side had completely caved in, the rear end bent upward like a crumpled tin, and near the front wheel, flames licked up from the grass.
A body squirmed underneath.
It was the fat bandit. His left leg was pinned beneath a chunk of twisted metal, the tire just inches from his foot. He saw her and immediately screamed.
"Hey!—I'm stuck! Get me outta here!"
Yuki stopped a few feet away from him. Her mouth stayed shut, while her hands trembled.
If I pull him out, he'll turn on me. I'm sure of it. That's what people like him would do…Right? He'll wait until I turn around and—
Desperation carved into his face.
"Please, I won't try anything funny, get me outta here, I swear."
Her fingers curled into a fist.
What if I save him and he realizes I'm not his enemy? What if that's all it takes for him to change?
Yuki crouched. Her fingers trembled above the grass, then flew to her temple. She clawed at it with both hands, as if trying to tear the frustration out.
What should I do? What should I do what should I do—
Her breath caught.
The scratching stopped and just like that, her eyes went cold and empty.
Panic drained away, leaving her hollow.
The bandit blinked.
"H-Hey… thank you. I mean it kid, you made the right decision. Like I said, I won't hurt you."
She didn't answer him. Her eyes drifted away, searching the ground. That's when something caught her attention – a broken glass half-buried in the dirt. Her chest tightened as her fingers closed around it, feeling its jagged edges press into her palm.
"I can't let you live… you'd just find a way to kill me later."
His mouth dropped open.
"Wait—wait, kid! I said I won't hurt you! Please don't—!"
Yuki drove the glass shard down, her wrist snapping forward. The broken edge cut through the fog, aiming straight for his exposed throat.
Then something caught her.
A grip clamped down on her wrist mid-motion, halting the shard just inches from his skin. Her entire body jolted with the sudden stop.
Slowly, panting, she turned her head.
Sayuri was there, as the drifting fog coiled around her legs and waist. Her magic collar that prevented her from using magic was no longer around her neck.
"Why did you stop me?" Yuki snapped. "Don't you know he knows our faces?"
Sayuri didn't move. She calmly pulled out her notebook and raised it to Yuki's face. In neat, black letters it read:
"I'm not here to be your moral compass. I'm just here to protect you, as Master Shin ordered."
"For someone trying to protect me, you seem pretty keen on keeping this bandit alive," Yuki hissed.
Sayuri's pen scratched across the page again. Her expression shifted to a more ominous one.
"Move. This does not concern you."
Her chest tightened as she stepped back, eyes wide with dread.
Sayuri crouched next to the fat bandit and scribbled another message in her notebook before turning it to him.
"Do you need help?"
"Y-yes," he sobbed, nodding furiously. "Please, trust me, I'll behave. I swear I'll do anything!"
Sayuri wrote without blinking.
"Master Shin will only save those who have money. Are you prepared to pay?"
"Of course! Anything, just tell me how much!"
She flipped the page, revealing a bold number written in thick, black ink:
"One Million Dollars."
His eyes widened, mouth falling open.
"Wh-what!? That's insane! I don't have that kind of money. Why do I have to pay one million dollars just for you to pull me out? It should be easy for you!"
Yuki stared in disbelief. Sayuri's face didn't change, her hollow eyes locked on the man as she wrote again.
"For shooting my thigh, causing my Master Shin to be humiliated by your actions, and now separating us due to your reckless driving. You must pay one million dollars for all the trouble you caused."
"L-look, lady. I-I-I apologized! So, please spare me. I was just following the boss, and now look — both of them died. You can see their bodies, don't you? … they've been crushed!" He begged, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Sayuri extended her hand further and gently cupped both sides of the bandit's cheeks. The man shivered at her touch, feeling a sudden warmth spread across his skin.
"Oh… t-th-thank you for t-taking p-pity on m—"
His neck twisted a full 360 degrees as his head was ripped in a violent fury. Bones snapped like dry twigs.
Yuki flinched back, her entire body trembling as the sound of tearing muscle echoed through the silent fog.
Sayuri stood there, calmly wiping the blood off her face.
She watched the body slump to the ground, head twisted at an impossible angle. It all happened so fast. A sickening chill crawled across Yuki's skin, nausea coiling in her gut as the reality sank in. Was that really all it took to end someone's life? Sayuri didn't even flinch, as if killing meant nothing at all, as if it was another part of her duty she'd done a thousand times before.
Riko was right… She really is a demon.
A cold thought settled deep in her mind.
If she can do that to him, what's stopping her from doing it to me one day?
Her jaw tightened as anger bubbled up inside her.
No… damn it, I've got to stop thinking like this. It's that stupid paranoia trait… it's messing with my head.
She took a shaky breath and forced herself to speak.
"W-we should keep moving to find Sasaki and Riko."
Sayuri nodded once in agreement.
***
As they walked through the fog, Yuki glanced around. Rusted fences stretched into the mist. The ground felt uneven under her feet, patches of dead grass crunching beneath her shoes.
"Where are we, anyway? It looks like a farm, but there's barely any crop."
Sayuri didn't stop walking as she pulled out her notebook and scribbled. She turned the page for Yuki to read.
"I don't know much about this farm. However, I know that the Sorcerer King owns it, as we could have reached the main gates of the mansion located at the mountain peak if we hadn't crashed here."
The silence stretched between them until Sayuri wrote again.
"Before I forget, when Master Shin and I visited your house, I noticed a cursed spirit roaming inside your Deathmark. It seems to be that human friend you mentioned, isn't it?"
Her head snapped toward Sayuri.
"Yes, it's him. I've felt his presence for some time now. And… I have this other memory. I'm not sure where it came from, but if it's right, then we just need to find a magic tool that has the same symbol and chains as my Deathmark."
Sayuri's left eye narrowed as her pen scratched across the page.
"You need to tell this to Master Shin. Let's hurr—"
The words never finished.
They both froze. Yuki felt a crushing weight pressing down in the air. Her chest tightened, each breath feeling too shallow. Sayuri must have sensed it too. Her left eye narrowed further, scanning the fog.
Something was out there. She was sure of it.
Yuki squinted, her breath catching as she tried to see through the shifting gray.
Then a man stepped out of the fog, his silhouette unyielding against the dim morning light. In his right hand, he held a massive sword – jagged along the edges like seven broken teeth fused together. Thick fog poured from the blade itself, curling around his legs.
His left hand was wrapped around Sasaki's throat, lifting him off the ground like he weighed nothing. But even then… even with his windpipe being crushed… Sasaki was smiling. That same eerie grin carved across his face.
He was a tall older man with broad-shoulders, his presence filling the fog like a shadow. Deep scars ran across his weathered face. While his thick white hair was tied back into a ponytail, strands still fell loose around his short white beard.
He looked like the very definition of a battle-hungry warrior.
Across his neck hung a tiger tooth necklace, it looked like it was recently ripped from the predator's jaw.
Who… is this man? He's holding Sasaki like a gorilla holding a rabbit.
Her heart pounded as his sharp amber eyes flicked toward her. Just a glance, but it felt like her soul shriveled under it.
Behind him, Riko stood silently. Her eyes were downcast, and she seemed too afraid to look up. The fog curled around her ankles, making her look smaller.
Sasaki coughed, as a rattling sound scraped out of his throat.
"It's a pleasure… to be in your presence once more, Sorcerer King Daigo Hoshigiri."