A witch's power grows stronger at night.
Under a full moon, her magic surges even more.
Koizumi Akako lived in a standalone villa, its basement a sanctum for her witchcraft.
A cavernous, eerie space lit by torches and candles, she stepped inside, standing before a massive crucible emitting red smoke.
"Bring me dragon's whisker, mermaid's tear, and kappa's eye," she commanded.
A dwarfish man emerged from the shadows, responding, "Yes."
Soon, he presented the items on a tray. Koizumi Akako tossed them one by one into the crucible's crimson liquid.
The red smoke thickened.
"Offer this signature as the subject's proxy," she intoned, dropping the signed paper into the crucible. She stirred it with a snake-headed staff—
Chanting as she stirred:
"Dark paths of the underworld, lords of shadow, grant me power, grant me power."
"Evil king of darkness, betrayer of heaven, ruler of hell."
"Lucifer."
"I summon you here."
As thick red smoke billowed, Koizumi Akako clutched a talisman, channeling magic and casting it into the crucible—
"Reveal your wretched form and answer me!"
Gurgle-gurgle-gurgle—
A sudden gale swept the still basement. The boiling scarlet liquid flared brightly, and from the blinding glow, a blue-flame figure surged upward.
"Who dares summon me, foolish mortal…?"
"Speak, Lucifer," Koizumi Akako said calmly, her tone commanding. "Tell me the true name of the one who wrote this signature."
"Irei… Irei Günter von…"
The fiery figure slowly uttered a name, then fixed on Koizumi Akako, its voice booming. "You, who dares command us—what are you?"
"Enough. Tell me Hayato Masaki's secret," she demanded, unfazed.
Lucifer's form leaned closer.
Blue flames flickered, inches from her face.
Just as it seemed ready to speak, its body burst apart.
Blue fire scattered like dazzling fireworks.
Her butler, standing behind, yelped, stunned. "Impossible?!"
Per Red Magic's lore, a summoned demon couldn't leave unless the caster cut the magic's flow. It shouldn't vanish mid-ritual.
Koizumi Akako's face showed shock.
After a pause—
"Ugh, how am I supposed to uncover his secret now?"
---
"If the Death Note sets a target's death time, it must occur within 23 days in human time units after writing the name."
"Beyond that, it's invalid, and the named person dies of heart paralysis immediately."
So, if Hayato Masaki wrote a name on January 1st, the target could live until January 24th at most, based on his chosen cause. Writing death for January 25th would break the rule, triggering heart paralysis after 40 seconds.
This rule hadn't needed testing.
But when Hayato noticed this world's time was chaotic, he started experimenting.
"Say today's January 1st, and tomorrow's February 24th. I can't write a death for February 24th—it'd just cause heart paralysis."
"The Death Note isn't swayed by this world's time. It's still bound to January 1st to 24th."
"But…"
His eyes gleamed at a note on an earlier page.
Otoharada Kuro
March 3rd, 19:41, death by stroke from excessive drinking.
He'd written this on February 14th—Valentine's Day.
Since then, dates had jumped erratically.
Some days were March, others February or April, but March 3rd never came… and today marked 25 days since he wrote it.
Otoharada Kuro was still alive.
The Death Note seemed unaffected by this world's time yet skewed by it…
If March 3rd never arrived, Otoharada might live indefinitely.
Interestingly, with his death time and cause locked in, he seemed oddly safe until that "appointed" day.
"Too bad tomorrow's March 3rd," Hayato mused.
He'd confirmed it with others.
Since time mattered greatly to a Death Note user, Hayato always checked upcoming dates with people…
The time quirks didn't hinder his use of the Note much.
If today was January 1st and tomorrow leaped to February, he could write:
Yanumizu Yosuke
January 1st, 13:53, does XX. The next day, 14:02, dies by XX.
Thus, while the Death Note grew "less convenient," its versatility increased.
Hayato could do more with it.
***
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