Not knowing the exact timeline of the plot, Qiuyun Yuhe had been lingering here for the past few days, and today he finally waited for the right moment.
Qiuyun Yuhe left this place and headed for the Hyakuya Orphanage, where he had some more preparations to make.
After escaping, Hiiragi Mahiru arrived at the Hyakuya Orphanage.
Saito was not around today, but she had an agreement with him that she would come today to take away a child.
To serve as a test subject for the Seraph of the End project.
"Are you the person Mr. Saito sent to adopt Junji?"
Looking at the beautiful young girl before him, the orphanage director asked.
Hiiragi Mahiru offered a sweet smile.
"Yes."
"All right, please wait a moment while I go handle the adoption paperwork."
The director turned and walked toward the office.
"Um, big sister, what's your name?"
As Hiiragi Mahiru was admiring the sky and daydreaming about eating saury with Guren Ichinose, a childish voice suddenly interrupted her.
Hiiragi Mahiru looked down and saw a brown-haired girl with twin tails staring up at her.
Hiiragi Mahiru crouched down halfway.
"My name is Yamada Yumiki."
A fake name, of course.
"Miss Yumiki, can I ask you a question?"
"Are you kind?"
Hiiragi Mahiru was puzzled.
"Why do you ask that?"
"Answer me first, okay? Are you kind?"
"Hmm~ Are you worried I won't treat Junji well? What kind of person do you think I am?"
Hiiragi Mahiru considered this possibility.
These children must surely think of each other as family.
Hyakuya Akane answered innocently.
"You're very pretty, and you should be very kind too. I hope you'll take good care of Junji."
"I will. I'll treat him like my own younger brother."
Hiiragi Mahiru gently stroked Hyakuya Akane's head.
I'm sorry, but I won't be able to keep this promise.
……
After getting approval from Hyakuya Akane and Hyakuya Mikaela, Junji reluctantly waved goodbye to everyone.
Hiiragi Mahiru walked out of the orphanage gates, glanced around, and headed toward a small sedan.
Hiiragi Mahiru opened the door with Junji and got into the car.
Strange, there was no driver.
Hiiragi Mahiru found it a bit odd that there was no driver, yet the car doors were unlocked.
Without thinking much of it, Hiiragi Mahiru started the car and drove toward Kyoto.
Hey! Your driving skills are so terrible! If I replaced the steering wheel with a piece of meat, even a dog could drive better than you!
Trapped in the trunk, Qiuyun Yuhe was suffering terribly.
Having read the plot, he had arrived early to wait, managed to lure away the driver, and then sneaked into the trunk.
Next, he just needed to wait and see how things unfolded.
……
Just as expected, the car was intercepted by vampires.
Although Hiiragi Mahiru had undergone enhancements, facing four higher-tier vampires at once was still quite a struggle.
Or rather, this was the outcome she had desired all along.
Guren also managed to catch up to the scene, but Hiiragi Mahiru hinted to him not to clash with the vampires.
"Kyoto... Vampire Queen..."
With her neck gripped by a vampire and on the verge of being drained to death, Hiiragi Mahiru squeezed out these words.
Upon hearing this, the vampires exchanged glances for a moment and ultimately decided not to kill her.
The vampires left, taking Hiiragi Mahiru and the knocked-out Junji with them to their destination—Sanguinem.
However, she had left "Asuramaru" behind!
The car was totaled, but fortunately, the trunk wasn't too badly damaged.
Crawling out of the trunk, Qiuyun Yuhe made a beeline for the Japanese katana lying quietly on the ground.
"Hey! Kid, where did you pop out from?"
Just as Guren noticed the katana, he saw a silver-haired child pick it up directly and couldn't help shouting in interrogation.
Qiuyun Yuhe turned around unhurriedly, his expression turning wronged.
"This is... Mahiru-neesan's thing. I have to return it to her..."
Guren was taken aback.
He got a clear look at Qiuyun Yuhe's appearance.
"You're that kid from the Hyakuya Orphanage! Do you know Mahiru? What's your relationship with her?"
"Perverted big brother, you're so rude! Why are you calling me an orphan? Don't worry, I'm not going to steal Mahiru-neesan from you, so stop glaring at me with such hostility."
Qiuyun Yuhe casually grabbed the hilt of the sword as if by accident.
He drew the blade out just a fraction.
"What on earth are you babbling about?! Hey! Stop messing around, kid!"
Noticing Qiuyun Yuhe's movement, Guren hurriedly called out to stop him.
Demon Cursed Gear was not something a child could just play with; demons preyed upon human desires, a fact he knew all too well.
How could a mere seven- or eight-year-old boy like the one before him possibly resist the temptation of a demon?
Yet Qiuyun Yuhe had no intention of listening to him.
A surge of demonic energy burst from the blade, and Qiuyun Yuhe's consciousness was pulled into a pure white space.
"Yo, kid, who gave you the courage to draw me?"
A boy of around eleven or twelve stood barefoot atop the sword stuck in the ground not far away.
He wore robes, possessed crimson eyes and pointed ears, and had long blue-purple hair cascading down his shoulders, possessing an otherworldly beauty.
"I really didn't expect the one who drew me wouldn't be Mahiru's man, but a little brat instead."
Qiuyun Yuhe sized up Asuramaru.
Well, his looks were definitely a 95 or higher; somewhat bewitching, looking less like a demon and more like a succubus.
Being male himself, Qiuyun Yuhe felt his heart beat a little faster looking at Asuramaru.
Still, in my heart, Princess Krul is the most beautiful in the entire world!
"Hello there, demon."
"Oh? Your very first reaction upon encountering this situation is to greet me? You're an interesting little fellow."
Asuramaru looked slightly surprised.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Asuramaru, and I'm the demon inside this sword."
Asuramaru squatted on the sword hilt, casually flicking the blade with his fair fingers.
The blade emitted a crisp metallic ringing sound.
Such hard nails; wouldn't his finger hurt?
Just by hearing the sound, Qiuyun Yuhe could imagine the force behind Asuramaru's flick. If he flicked his head, it would probably crack his skull open right away.
"My name is Qiuyun Yuhe."
"What a lovely name~ But this sword doesn't belong to you. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you go."
Asuramaru said lazily.
"Mahiru still has a mission for me, and since I've spent over a dozen years dealing with that fellow, I suppose I need to help out with this little chore."
Qiuyun Yuhe wore a smile.
"According to the rules of you demons, shouldn't you be trying to stimulate my desires right now, and whoever wins takes control?"
Asuramaru found it incredible.
"You even know about that? Demon Cursed Gear shouldn't be so common knowledge yet, and Mahiru never mentioned the Qiuyun family among Japan's power holders."
Qiuyun Yuhe didn't really answer.
"Well? How about trying to tempt me?"
Asuramaru burst into laughter.
"Interesting, hahaha, just as interesting as Mahiru."
"But I'm sorry, although stimulating a kid's desires should be a piece of cake, I haven't finished my task yet, so..."
"Asherah."
Asuramaru's words faltered.
"......What?"
Qiuyun Yuhe began to put on an act, maintaining a calm expression as if he had Asuramaru completely figured out.
"Asherah Tepes."
"Well, well, it sounds like I just heard a rather remarkable name."
Asuramaru found the name somewhat familiar, seemingly tied to memories from before he became a demon.
"Can we start the game now, then?"
Asuramaru narrowed his eyes, closely scrutinizing the little brat before him.
……
"Hey, Zhiye, is there any way to help him wake up?"
Holding the unconscious Qiuyun Yuhe, Guren called out to the demon within him.
"Well, this demon is on the same level as me, or even stronger. Even an omnipotent being like me can't do anything about it."
"Do you really call yourself omnipotent?"
Guren retorted mentally.
The current situation was something neither Mahiru nor Zhiye had anticipated.
Originally, Zhiye was supposed to collect Asuramaru and hand him over to Guren Ichinose when necessary.
Yet looking at how things turned out, some unexpected hitches had occurred.
"Nee-nah, what does Guren plan to do with him?"
Guren frowned deeply.
"Right now, we can only hand this child over to the Imperial Demon Army."
"Aren't you afraid the Imperial Demon Army will use this kid for experiments? Those kinds of torturous experiments... If you do that, you'll have killed an innocent child. Anyway, the Imperial Demon Army hasn't surveillance on this area yet, so let's sneak him back to the Moon Demon Company instead."
Zhiye didn't want Guren to do this. Now that Asuramaru had been drawn, he couldn't hide a demon radiating such powerful demonic energy.
If this child were handed over to the Hiiragi Family, there was a high probability Asuramaru would never be retrieved.
Guren hesitated for only a moment before making up his mind.
He shook his head.
"No, the Imperial Demon Army has been eyeing the Moon Demon Company like a tiger eyeing its prey; we can't leave them a single handle to use against us. Besides, this kid said he knows Mahiru, so he's hardly innocent. Handing him over to the Hiiragi Family is the best choice."
Guren Ichinose had never been an indecisive person.
Just then, Qiuyun Yuhe suddenly opened his eyes. A flash of crimson crossed his purple pupils before quickly fading away.
Qiuyun Yuhe smiled coolly.
"Big brother, you'd even lay a hand on a kid? Mahiru-neesan is going to hate you for this~"
Guren was startled. He simply couldn't imagine how a seven- or eight-year-old brat could defeat a Black Demon-class Cursed Gear weapon.
"How is that possible?!"
Zhiye was equally shocked.
To wake up after using Demon Cursed Gear for the very first time meant he had either resisted the demon's temptation or the demon had voluntarily let him go.
Regardless of which it was, the mental toll on the wielder was immense. Wielders of King-class Demon Cursed Gear usually ended up unconscious, let alone Black Demon-class.
This little brat had actually woken up after being unconscious for just a few minutes, and showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
The only explanation was that he had won with absolute ease, or Asuramaru had accepted him.
Zhiye felt the latter was highly unlikely.
That would make this kid a once-in-a-million genius who could borrow almost the entirety of the demon's power.
"Um... Guren-gege, can you let go now? The two of us guys hugging like this is getting a bit ambiguous."
Guren was stunned.
Huh? Are kids these days maturing this early? Hiiragi Shinoa is like that, and this brat is too. I'm full of anxiety for Japan's future... Oh right, Mahiru said the world is going to end...
With a grave expression, Guren released Qiuyun Yuhe and stood up.
"Kid, you're coming with me."
A genius like this must never be allowed to fall into Mahiru's hands; regardless of who he was, he had to be brought back.
"Aha, if Guren-gege is going to be this possessive, I'm really going to hate you. No wonder Shinoa says your view on romance is twisted~"
"So, what if I'm not planning to go back with you? Per~vert~ Guren~"