The bikaku ghoul had completely lost the courage to keep fighting Hōjō Yoru. It knew perfectly well that if it didn't kill him, its identity would be exposed—but this was no longer the time to worry about that.
If it didn't flee with everything it had, it would die right here.
It didn't hesitate. It swung its thick tail in a showy arc, striking an aggressive pose—then, the very next second, it spun around and bolted for the stairs.
"Trying to run?"
Yoru planted one foot on Matsuo Satoshi's neck, then watched the bikaku ghoul sprinting toward the stairwell and murmured under his breath,
"Devour it all—Gluttony."
The pitch-black serpent with faint golden markings thrust its head out of empty air. Its gaping maw—nearly the size of a heavy truck—opened wide and swallowed the fleeing bikaku ghoul in one bite.
Thump! Thump!
The ghoul struggled violently inside. The serpent's hide bulged and heaved as something hammered against it from within. But after nearly ten seconds, it seemed to finish digesting its prey. The swelling calmed, the body went still, and the serpent slid back into the void and vanished.
Asuna noticed that the moment the serpent completed its meal, the ever-unruffled Yoru's breathing grew rough and heavy—like someone who'd just sprinted a full-speed hundred meters.
Yoru's Ouroboros wasn't just for cleaning up a battlefield. He could summon it to fight, and even if it were injured—or somehow destroyed—it wouldn't harm him at all.
But that safe, overwhelmingly powerful method came with a cost.
It burned stamina at an absurd rate.
Most people would rely on their supernatural power as their main weapon and use their body as support—but Yoru was already excellent in close-quarters combat, and the physical boosts he gained from "feeding" meant that in most fights, Ouroboros didn't even qualify as an assist. It only came out at the end to eat the leftovers.
"Yuuki-san. Give me the gun."
Asuna nodded obediently and walked over to hand it to him. Yoru took it without fuss, keeping one foot pressed hard into Satoshi's neck as he asked in a flat voice,
"Are there any other ghouls in Sōbu High?"
Satoshi's cheek scraped against the rough concrete as he clenched his teeth.
"I'd rather die than—"
Bang.
Yoru couldn't even be bothered to let him finish. He aimed the muzzle at a spot that was both extremely vulnerable and—crucially—something only men possessed, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
What followed was a scream so vicious that Asuna couldn't have imagined it even if she tried.
It was pain beyond language.
Yet Yoru's expression didn't change in the slightest. He simply repeated the question, softly, exactly as before.
"Are there any other ghouls in Sōbu High?"
Satoshi's pupils dilated from the agony. His mind blurred on the edge of unconsciousness, lips trembling as he rasped out a faint, broken answer.
"N-no… none…"
"Good."
Yoru nodded, satisfied—without bothering to decide whether it was true.
If Satoshi said no, he might be protecting allies.
If he said yes, it could just as easily be a spiteful lie meant to make Yoru kill an innocent human mistaken for a ghoul.
Yoru knew this kind of interrogation wasn't especially meaningful.
He was doing it because it amused him.
"You can die now."
The moment the words left his mouth, Yoru drove his foot down.
The concrete groaned under the force, spiderweb cracks blooming outward—while Satoshi's neck made a crisp snapping sound.
In the next instant, the black serpent emerged again from the void and swallowed Satoshi in one bite.
"Done."
Hearing Yoru's relaxed, almost cheerful tone, Asuna finally realized a gap between them that had nothing to do with raw combat power.
Whether it was a demon with a monster's body, or a ghoul wearing a human face, the demon hunter Hōjō Yoru felt no fear, no tension, no pity—like an absolutely rational machine that never misfired.
Asuna knew it.
She would never be able to stay that calm.
Does that mean…
I don't actually have what it takes to become a demon hunter?
The thought surfaced—and then she remembered that day at the train station, staring down the Bat Devil.
Fear. Helplessness. Weakness.
And… the fierce competitiveness inside her that had sparked into unwilling fury.
She never wanted to feel the pain of being powerless again.
Chime—
A strange metallic object appeared once more.
But this time it didn't whisper. Instead, accompanied by the clash of steel on steel, the fused, spherical mass began to fall apart—splitting into hundreds of swords.
Most of them turned into fading phantoms and disappeared.
In the end, only a single blade remained, half-blurred—like a candle guttering in the wind, as if it might vanish at any moment—floating quietly before Asuna.
"This is…"
Asuna closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, a faint glimmer flashed through her hazel gaze. She reached out and wrapped her fingers around the hilt suspended in front of her.
"This is… my Throne of Swords."
"Hey. Hey, hey, hey."
Just as Asuna was basking in the thrill of awakening, Yoru's voice snapped her out of it.
"There's still someone standing right here, you know. If you want to do your chūnibyō routine, do it in private. I'm getting secondhand embarrassment."
Asuna froze—then her face flared bright red. Fighting the overwhelming urge to swing the sword at him on the spot, she spat, mortified,
"Y-you wouldn't understand! This is a required step when you awaken a special ability! You're a contracted devil-user, so of course you—"
"Oh, I understand perfectly."
Yoru waved a hand, cutting her off with a laugh.
"I never contracted some 'Gluttony Devil.' The true name of my ability is—Ouroboros."
"Ouroboros? But I thought you…"
Asuna blinked—then her eyes widened as realization struck. Her expression turned into pure, stunned comprehension.
"So that's it…"
The question that had been lodged in her mind finally unraveled.
No wonder Yoru had been so certain she had a special ability.
Because he hadn't signed any contract with a "Gluttony Devil" at all.
He'd awakened something like this long before she ever did.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 30
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 30
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