After that high stress situation, I'm sort of… blanking out right now. I'm exhausted and in pain, as well as not sure what the heck is up with my current situation.

"You need to get healed there ho,"

Yes, I very much need to get myself looked at because I have no idea how to perform medicine on myself. What do I say to the doctors about how I got injured? I jumped out of a moving car?

"Dia!"

A green glow enveloped me momentarily before disappearing as if it wasn't there. And I feel… marginally better? It's sort of hard to tell when it still hurts a lot.

"DiaDiaDiaDiaDia," the snowman huffed out in quick succession. Once it finished it sat down let out a breath, "Phew, that took a lot out of me. Ho, make sure to watch yourself with demons like that Kobold hee ho."

What the hell? All of the pain is gone, I feel perfectly fine. Was that some sort of healing spell? It would have to be, would there be any other explanation if it wasn't? Considering these 'Demons' had come out of some sort of portal and the ice Jack Frost had used, it couldn't really be anything other than magic.

And that demon is called Kobold it seems.

With one less thing for me to constantly feel it's easier to concentrate and try to process this situation.

And one of my only sources of information is trying to leave, "Hey, wait! I still have things I want to ask!"

"Sorry hee ho. Need to hurry and recover, others may need saving soon ho!" it stepped into the portal, "Find the Demon Summoners, they can answer your questions ho," it disappeared into the darkness within the tear in the air.

As soon as I lost sight of Jack Frost I had the urge to follow after it to shake it down for more explanations. I shoved the thought down, I'm not going to follow the snowman to an unknown place with Demons that could easily kill me.

And speaking of Demons killing me, it seems that not all crave for human flesh considering Jack Frost didn't go for a bite of me. Why did it help me? It wanted to pretend to be some sort of super hero? Or it could be that it was on a whim. Considering that it isn't human it could potentially be predisposed to certain behaviors like helping others.

It mentioned Demon Summoners also. If I were to assume correctly, people who can summon Demons, like the one who tried to eat me and the one who saved me?

Do they take control over Demons? The cause for unleashing Demons into the area? Or do they fight and kill them?

Huh, looking at the impossibility of physics happening before me, was the portal always that small? Wait a second it looks like it's shrinking. Does that mean it would close on it's own? That might have been why Jack Frost and the Demon that tried to eat seemed to be in a rush.

Maybe they can't stay here for long? Or do they just prefer the comfort of their own home? Who knows.

And now my active mind finally caught up with what my eyeballs have been seeing for the past few minutes, that the canine-like Demon called Kobold is slowly disappearing into red particles that dissipate into the air.

I'm not even surprised at this point, all of this new crazy information is starting to make me numb to even more new discoveries. Or I'm just overwhelmed and need to rest and clear my head.

What those red particles are I have no idea. Are all Demons made up of the stuff?

I shake my head, "It doesn't matter, I just want to go fall in my bed, sleep, and pretend this never happened."

The door opened and I shuffled in with a bag of groceries in one hand and my jacket in the other.

"Hey Onii-chan you're late!" Komachi tilted her head as she looked at me with a frown, "What happened? You look terrible, well more so than usual."

Thanks, I can't help it when these same terrible looks attract such incredible attention from those who are looking for a piece of me.

But seriously I also feel terrible, my ruffled up clothes and hair combined with me having an even worse slouch than usual isn't helping my appearance either.

I gave her the groceries I nearly died for, "Yeah well, some things happened."

Komachi took the bag and gave me a scrunched up face, "Uh huh, you mind telling me?"

"Sorry, don't feel like it."

"Fine," she rubbed her forehead and sighed, "Onii-chan since you were late I made dinner with some leftovers."

"Don't feel like eating," reminds me of being eaten myself, "I'll just sleep."

I ignored her "Hey!" and left for my room.

I entered, closed my door, and collapsed into my bed.

Seconds pass, minutes, then even hours later.

I cannot sleep.

Thoughts of Demons permeate through my mind. Of being prey.

My body still doesn't feel safe. It won't sleep.

I got up and left for the kitchen.

I opened up the knife drawer and took one out. A typical kitchen knife and not overly large, but it's still sharp and has a point.

It will do.

I headed back into my room and held the knife in front of me.

I can't pretend that the event never happened. To turn my back on the truth.

They must be related to the missing person cases as well as all those dead bodies across Japan.

This is no isolated incident, they'll just keep taking humans and eating them.

Next time… there very well may not be another benevolent Demon to save me.

And what I need is a weapon. To actually do some damage and not just softly pelt them with punches. And that weapon is this kitchen knife.

Hopefully no one notices it's disappearance.

And so I practiced using it.

I need confidence in my handling of a knife. Can't accidentally stab myself or misuse it in the heat of battle.

More time passes, sweat pours from my face. What was once awkward became more natural and quicker to swipe with as I repeated my motions.

My paranoia lessened and worry subsided. I decided that it might be a good time to sleep.

5 A.M.

Hand holding knife under pillow.

Goodnight.

Strange how the perception of one's own sense of time can become distorted depending on their current mental state.

Time seemingly goes faster or slower depending on all sorts of conditions.

If one was constantly thinking and concentrating on multiple topics then it is possible time will seemingly slow to a crawl. Especially when they were to be hyper focused on the time. Of course it could also just be the opposite with constant new thoughts distracting from the passage of time.

Mindless repetition on the other hand can cause time to go faster as one's thoughts are not constantly thinking. With no new stimuli to rouse the brain time will blur and it passes faster than one may expect. On the other hand it may just make time slow down with nothing to occupy the mind with anything substantial.

Actually I suppose it isn't actually so strange if one were to compare our perception of time with how the human mind perceives a multitude of other things.

Like familial love, so often it comes to annoyance when interacting with family but despite that there are times when a person knows that they love them while other times less so. This constantly changing perception is somewhat similar to the constant changing perception of the flow of time.

It never seems consistent. However with our flawed human minds and with how inconsistent it is, it may as well be consistent.

A yawn came out of my mouth. A stretch of the arms and pop from my bones.

It's time to enter the train to Kyoto along with the rest of the class.

As Tobe enters my vision I'm reminded of the request he had given the club. And honestly? I had forgotten about it completely because of the whole incident yesterday.

I move towards a seat near the back and sit down right next to Totsuka. I greeted him and from my current tired state and wandering mind I can't bring myself to react how I normally do with him.

"Hachiman! Have you not been getting enough sleep? You have dark circles under your eyes."

"Yeah, I was a bit busy with something."

He puffed up his cheeks, "You shouldn't stay up late, it isn't healthy."

"I'll try to go to sleep earlier."

Yuigahama popped up from the seat across, "Hiki! Those are some really dark eyebags!"

And once again I wave off the concern.

A conversation was initiated between Tostuka and Yuigahama, with me occasionally inserting a word or two. My thoughts kept bringing me back to the Demonic incident making it a bit difficult to concentrate on the exchange between the two.

The knife in a makeshift sheath hidden underneath my belt at my waist isn't helping as the handle digs into my side each time I shift my position.

The day progresses with the students on the trip going to various shrines and tourist attractions. As I view the area around me I wonder where I could even find those Demon Summoners that Jack Frost had mentioned. Would it be in places that would be more spiritually connected? Like shrines or something? That's just a guess though. How would I even recognize if a person is a Summoner or not either?

Couldn't that snowman have elaborated on how to find them?

It seems that for this trip groups of at least three are mandatory to stick together the whole time. I absentmindedly go through the motions and am vaguely aware of all of the things around me. With the actions of mostly Yuigahama trying to fulfill the request of Tobe's. Although I do still notice the occasional glances she sends my way.

Yeah yeah I know, I shall endeavor to concentrate more on helping Tobe. In fact, did you see that one piece of advice I gave him to help Ebina put up the blessing paper! I'm totally pulling my weight in this request!

And so the dark sky comes much faster than I anticipated. The whole day was a blur.

The students are all in the hotel in their rooms. Me? I don't feel like sleeping yet. As a result I'm down in the lobby looking for some Max Coffee.

But as I stare down into the clear glass of the vending machine a profound sadness permeates my soul as I see no sign of the sweet cold drink. I suppose I'll have to settle for another brand for my can of coffee.

I opened the can as I sat down on a sofa within the lobby. I drank from it and I noticed Yukinoshita with her tied up from the corner of my eye carefully browsing the shop within the Pan-san panda bear section.

Figures.

She noticed me as she paused in her movements and turned her head slightly in my direction. She seemingly hesitated before walking in the direction away from me.

"Night."

Yukinoshita stopped in her tracks before turning to my direction, heels clicking on the ground.

Because I acknowledge your existence do you feel obligated to acknowledge mine now?

"Hikigaya, what a coincidence to find you here."

Trying to play it off now huh? "A little late to say that."

"Why are you down here? Did you run away from your room because it got uncomfortable?"

Running away hm, "If I would have run from something like that I wouldn't be on this trip."

Thinking back I wonder if running would have been the better choice? It certainly could have saved me from the pain, but it might not have worked out. In fact it could have just ended up with me being dead in the end. What actually had happened was probably the best possible outcome for me. No permanent injuries and also still alive.

"...kigaya! Are you there? Is your repulsive nature rotting your brain or is your mind distracting you with obscene thoughts?"

I blinked at that, "Oh uh, sorry. Just thinking about some stuff."

"Really," she raised an eyebrow, "I had heard from Yuigahama that you were and I quote, 'way out of it'."

I just shrug, "Yeah there's just been a… situation recently that I can't keep my mind off of. It won't affect my ability to help with the request so don't worry."

She shook her head while sighing, "That isn't quite what I'm worrying about Hikigaya-kun. It's–"

A woman with a coat and sunglasses walked past us.

"Hiratsuka-sensei?"

She jolted and turned her eyes to me at first since I was the one to say her name before noticing Yukinoshita as well.

Also wearing sunglasses indoors and when it's dark? Really? That is not the best way to be incognito.

"Ah! It's you two," she shifted her eyes side to side, "Can you keep quiet about me going out? I would bribe you guys with some ramen but I really can't bring you guys out with me right now."

She's going outside right now? By herself during the dark?

The thumping of my chest is suddenly very noticeable and my throat feels very dry.

"Actually is it fine if I go with you? Food that I don't have to work for tastes the best after all."

She scratches her head as she looks to the side, "Erm, I don't think—"

"Well I'm sure the other faculty members would be interested to know why one of the teachers went out, leaving some students unsupervised. Especially with the recent incidents."

Hiratsuka-sensei visibly flinches, "Geez, fine, fine. What's with you today? Do you really want ramen that much?"

I don't actually want ramen that much, It's just for my own peace of mind, "Yeah, I haven't tasted Kyoto ramen yet."

She sighs and turns around, waving to me to follow her, "Yukinoshita you're coming too. Might as well."

Well it's not exactly ideal but as long as I have a view of them both when they're outside when it's dark.

I let out a silent sigh before flinching as I saw Yukinoshita scrutinizing me with a glare.

Yeah I know, I had cut you off in the previous conversation and that was out of character for me so please stop staring at me like that.

A satisfying meal later we're all in a cab. Nothing unusual happened if you don't count Yukinoshita being overwhelmed by the flavor from the ramen.

As we exited the taxi we were right outside of the hotel. Hiratsuka-sensei mumbled under her breath about being unable to buy alcohol with me and Yukinoshita with her.

Sorry for ruining your plans on getting drunk for the night sensei. But you know I'm sure that the constant drinking scares off your potential lovers. Ya hear me~? Oi, I'm sorry don't glare at me like that, it was just a joke.

How does she even know what I'm thinking so often? Is it my face? Does it give my thoughts away?

I watched as Hiratsuka-sensei entered the building first followed by Yukinoshita. They turned around to stare at me as if to ask why I hadn't gone in yet.

"Don't worry about me, just want to take in some fresh air," I need to give myself some space from other people right now. Want to organize my thoughts in peace.

"Just don't stay out too long. Students aren't supposed to be outside right now."

Yukinoshita simply shook her head and walked further inside the building.

I stood still outside of the building, staring out into the streets around me. I took a deep breath and my heart rate decreased. The other two are finally back inside and I don't have to constantly stress myself out now.

Man, I probably shouldn't be so paranoid. Has any student from my school gone missing? From what I can tell, no. Then again I don't always keep in touch with the news or listen to others gossip about other students.

Of course there's always a chance of it happening. Just like in my situation.

I absentmindedly noticed one woman walking on the sidewalk across from me. Just as she walked in front of an alleyway, a furry hand grabbed her head and slammed it against the ground.

I jolted to attention as I saw the woman get dragged further into the darkness of the alley.

Oh shit, shit! It's happening again! Did I actually just jinx myself!? Well unlike in my situation this time the person isn't given a chance to fight back. My stress is rising again. If I interfere I could die, if I don't she would die. She could still die if I interfere. I can't let someone else get taken to be eaten, I can't. I can't!

The guilt would kill me if I don't do something!

Without me even realizing I had sprinted towards the alleyway and saw a streak of blood smeared on the floor. At the end of the alleyway is a crack in the air, a portal!

No hesitating. I have no idea how much time until she is killed. Throw away my fears and remember the indignation I felt when I was dragged away. Use that feeling to force myself forward but don't lose my head in a situation where I could easily be smashed to bits. I need to be quick, before the demon get's the upper hand and destroys me. Before other demons come to it's aid.

I jumped through the slowly closing portal and sweeped the area for dangers. The only obvious one I had seen was a demon, a Kobold, dragging the woman by her leg. Anger surged. It's back was turned, time for revenge for the pain you put me through you monster!

I took my knife out of my belt and it's homemade crappy sheathe made out of cardboard. The distance between us isn't great so I ran towards it and during the last stretch I jumped at it. And through my anger I unintentionally shouted, "Die!"

"Huh?" It turned its head and was greeted with a knife coming for its eye socket. The Kobold tilted its head to the side just in time for me to miss and instead stabbed into its shoulder, "Arrgh, you damn piece of meat..."

It grabbed my arms squeezing hard, the pain making me flinch, and threw me away from itself. I tumbled on the floor some meters away from it. The top half of my knife broke, the blade now half of its original size. For all I know it could be lodged in the Kobold's shoulder or during my tumble it broke it in half.

Shit that hurt, and I failed my sneak attack. I'm an idiot, don't shout in a sneak attack. I need to rein in my anger, seeing another Kobold affected me more than I thought. It's not the same one, the previous one is dead. Things just got a lot more complicated. Can't take it head on, can't rescue the woman with it standing over her, can't do anything properly at all it seems… Need to hide and think of a plan. How? Distraction? Environmental factors?

Now that I think of it I haven't actually properly looked around. A brief look gives me… shrines, a lot of them. With tall hotel buildings in the distance. This is weird, really weird.

A place filled with demons has buildings that looked like they were built by humans. Other humans could have been here and built them. Or it was the demons that built them. But why? Perhaps the crazy amount of shrines were for some spiritual reason that would affect them and the hotels for living in.

If that were the case, then why are they almost exact replicas of what I would see back in Kyoto? Would demons have copied our designs?

A look behind reveals a hotel as well. Well I could lose it inside here. And so I ran towards the entrance of the building and surprisingly the glass doors were automatic. What was even more surprising when it really shouldn't have been considering my earlier thought, was the multitude of creatures or rather, demons, within the first floor. Some big, others smaller, and one with a wallet for some reason.

God dammit! Demons in front of me and a definitely hostile demon behind me. I'll take my chances up those stairs. And I better hurry because the Kobold just crashed through the glass door without waiting for them to open!

As I ran up the stairs and to the second floor I heard it shout, "Where is that human!?"

Looks like it didn't see me going up here. But if I stay here it'll eventually find me. There's a multitude of rooms to go into but I don't know if there are demons in there or if they're even unlocked. I don't want to test my luck here with the Kobold right behind me to potentially block escape. Escaping out the window may be my best bet, the demon is inside the hotel right now and wouldn't know right away that I left the building. With luck it may have left the woman behind as well.

A window is right next to me, nice. I opened it and dropped down back into the ground. The jolt from the height numbed my legs a little. Should have rolled or something to mitigate the shock.

Well it seems my luck is turning, the Kobold left the woman behind to chase after me. I scooped her up and carried her over my shoulder. Shit I am not used to carrying people at all, or rather any heavy weight at all. Blood dripped from her forehead. Hopefully it isn't too serious.

I looked to where the portal I came from was and my heart dropped as I saw it gone. Took too long and now it disappeared.

Does the amount of time it takes for a portal to close vary? Are there multiple factors that I'm unaware of that affects it? Maybe time of day? Maybe not. It's not like I have enough info to make a definitive answer. Dang, I feel like that's the case for basically everything that's been going on recently.

Where else can I go? Looking around there's the shrines and a building just holding a restroom. Well, time to test my luck again, let's see if the restroom has any demons in it. It's not like I can just stay out in the open where we would be easily seen and preyed on.

Instinctively I went to the men's side. Funny, even now when there is no reason to, I go for the option that's most ingrained in me. Well it's helpful to me in this situation since I don't have to waste time thinking about something so inconsequential.

On a surface level it seems that the bathroom is safe, no demons in view. I need to check the bottom of the stalls to see if any of them are in there for one reason or another. Don't want to be surprise attacked because I wasn't thorough.

Okay that stall is clear… clear… clear, …not clear. There's a person in there…

Let's put down the woman just in case and keep my broken knife ready. For all I know it's a hostile. No doubt the person in there heard my somewhat noisy entrance in my hurry to get to shelter. If they didn't react it could mean multiple things, they're preparing an ambush, hiding from me, fell unconscious, or they might be even… dead.

Holding a knife with my right hand and left hand opening the door. It's better to surprise than to go slow, so let's slam the door open and get ready to stab just in case.

And I slammed open the door harshly… only to see a man slumped over on the toilet seat with a bloody gash on his side.

"Hey! Are you awake!?"

No response.

I hesitantly reach out with my free hand to check his pulse on his neck.

No pulse.

He's dead. He's Dead.

I scramble backwards away from the… the corpse.

I took a shaky breath.

Of course I would encounter dead humans in a place that demons would hunt.

Of course, it should have been obvious. But… I wasn't prepared for it. I didn't bother thinking about such a possibility. Or more like I didn't want to think of it at all.

Come on Hachiman. Come on! Now isn't the time, think of a plan and find a way to get out of here.

My gaze went right back to the body, I needed to check if he had any items that could help me. I swallowed down the bile that was threatening to come out and looked him over.

I… think he may have died only recently judging by the lack of decomposition. But it does seem that he was prepared judging by the bag and the katana sheathed on his side.

Sorry about this, I'll pray for you when I get back.

I put the knife down as I fiddled around with the belt loop until I got it off along with the sword. With some trouble I managed to put it on myself with the sword hanging from my left. Moving on I opened up the bag on the floor and noticed a first aid kit in there.

It seems that he passed away before being able to use it.

The thought shook me. A way to increase the chance of survival gone unused because of a lack of time. The fragility of life.

So I'll take the time to bandage the woman before her wound gets any worse, before her fragile life gets snuffed out too. I took the kit out of the bag and opened it up. There are a number of supplies in there like bandages, medical tape, gloves, alcohol pads, gauze, and other items I don't know the purpose or name for.

Bringing the kit over to the unconscious woman I begin to attempt to help her. With the basic knowledge that wounds should be clean to prevent infection I put on the gloves and tore the package with the alcohol pads open to clean the head wound.

I cringed at me touching the injury, a part of me worried I might make it worse with my lack of knowledge and another not wanting to touch an open wound. After what might be considered sufficiently cleaned I brought up some gauze from the kit and placed some of it on her head injury. With some fumbling and the gauze not staying where I want it to be, I managed to wrap medical tape around her head to secure the gauze in place.

I grimaced as I looked at my own handiwork. It was messy but it'll have to do.

With that done I went back to my search through the bag. What I found in addition to the first aid kit from before were some rations, water, a long folded bag for storing the katana, some strange glowing gem like items, and… a box of ammunition.

That means he has a gun somewhere! I have no idea how he got one with how strict the gun laws in Japan are. The ammunition doesn't seem like that of a hunting shotgun, one of the few types of guns I think are allowed for citizens. Or rather hunters. It says it's 9mm.

Now where is it? It doesn't seem like it's in the bag, so it might be on his person. I went through his pockets to find two pistol magazines also loaded with ammo. After finding that I lifted his jacket to see a shoulder holster holding a gun. I pulled it out and placed it on the floor before attempting to remove the holster to minimize any risk of me shooting myself.

Boy would that be an embarrassing way to die. 'I wasn't careful and accidently shot myself while trying to get the holster off a dead body.' Actually that sounds less embarrassing and more depressing.

Okay, time to put the holster under my jacket. When I get out of here I don't want people noticing the gun on me. I picked up the handgun and observed it, and honestly I have no idea what this gun is called. Not really a gun person.

The slide was pulled back, does that mean it's out of ammo? Carefully, I checked the mechanisms on the gun. There's the safety which was flipped off and a button for the magazine release mechanism. I clicked on the mechanism, releasing the magazine within. Checking the inside I see that it's not loaded with anything. I grabbed the ammunition box and opened it to see that about half of it was already used.

I loaded it up to what seems like it's max, which was sixteen rounds. After that I slided the magazine back in its place and with some hesitancy born out of inexperience I clunkily released the slide back into its place.

Once that was done I placed the gun back into the holster and looked over the body once more. There's a gauntlet they're wearing on his left hand… Weirdly enough there's a screen on it.

I tapped the blank screen causing it to light up, making me jump. It's an electronic? Why the hell is it embedded on a piece of armor?

"Previous user deceased," I jolted at the robotic voice coming from the gauntlet, "New user found, wear to confirm new ownership."

I had never seen a device like this before in real life. The closest things that pop up in my head right now are smart watches but those aren't attached to metal plates. What could its purpose be? It could be helpful considering this guy only bought things that would be useful to him in this place.

So, with some hesitation I slipped the gauntlet out of the guy's hand and wore it on my left. It felt a bit loose–

"Automatic adjustment."

And now it fits me perfectly.

"User confirmed, functions now available," the screen changed into a menu of sorts with different icons spread throughout. However one icon caused me to forcibly concentrate my attention on the picture and name; a picture with a pixelated creature with the title Demon Summoning Program below it.

This guy was a Demon Summoner!

I clicked on the icon and it pulled up… blank squares. Did this guy have no demons or something? Do I have to go through a process to summon them? I have no idea and no way to confirm anything.

I exited out of the application seeing as I couldn't do anything with it. I skimmed through the other icons, only seeing some of the names like Harmonizer and Fusion. Another one caught my eye, Portals.

Is that what I think it is?

I tapped on it and it transitioned into another screen that showed a simplified picture of a portal, "Use this application to open recently closed portals and close those same portals."

Yes! This is what I need, I just need to get back from where I came in.

Satisfied with what I got I began to make sure everything is secured properly and to put the open first aid kit away back into the bag. I picked up my broken knife off the ground and put it into my cardboard sheath underneath my belt.

I slung the bag around my back and with some effort I carried the woman by slinging her arm around my shoulder and carrying her that way.

Okay, let's hope that there aren't any demons in the way to the portal. I won't hold my breath about it though.

I peaked around the corner of the doorway and saw the Kobold looking around. Shit I can't move out of here without alerting it. Should I wait it out? It might move on or look someplace else. If I'm unlucky it could attempt to look for us in the bathroom first.

…And I'm proven right by it moving in this direction. I can't have the fight be in here, too enclosed and it would be easy for the unconscious woman to get in the crossfire. It seems that it's time to take down this son of a bitch.

I placed the woman on the floor and rushed out of the door while drawing out my pistol. Both hands on the grip and squeeze the trigger.

"Demon detected, Harmonizer automatically activated," briefly a sort of digital grid spread outward from my gauntlet before disappearing.

"What the–"

Bang Bang Bang

…My aim is absolute shit, only one shot hit in center mass while the other two shots missed. Not used to the recoil and kickback of it. The trigger pull was something I had never thought was a thing either. I was assuming it was more like game controller triggers but the pull weight was noticeably heavier and caused me to anticipate my shots earlier than they actually came out.

The Kobold growled and pounced at me with it's club swung to my right side. Seeing this I attempted to pull the katana out of my sheathe. The fact that one hand was still holding the gun did not make the attempt any easier.

The club slammed into my right side and sent me flying in the opposite direction. Shit I got hit, and… and it didn't hurt as much as it previously did and I took the full brunt of it this time. I'll take this as a sign that I'm going to carve this fucker into pieces! I'll think about why later!

As I recovered from my tumble, I got back up and took the chance to draw my katana out, wielding it with my right hand and my left with my pistol. I charged back at the demon with my gun pointing in it's direction before pulling the trigger multiple times.

Note to self, my arm is a lot more shaky without my other arm to support the gun. I'm not sure if they're actually hitting but the Kobold is stumbling backwards, whether it be from getting hit or trying to dodge, I wouldn't know. But I will take this chance to take it's head off. As I closed the distance the katana was pulled back and with as much force I could muster I slashed horizontally.

Unfortunately it seems that I lack the control to aim properly with a sword too since I just sliced into the chest. Maybe power as well since I don't think I cut too deeply.

Hmm, wielding it with two hands may solve both problems.

Not right now though, close range makes it impossible to miss. I bring up my pistol and unload.

Blood splattered, Kobold's club raised high, "Bash!"

I barely moved out of the way as the club crashed onto the concrete floor, scattering pieces of cement, one cutting into my cheek.

No time to put my gun back into its holster, drop it, both hands on the handle of the sword.

Shing

With all my might I had sliced straight through the right arm holding the club, leaving a stump on the Kobold. The sword had also clanged against the concrete, the sudden stop on a hard surface causing a shock of vibration going from the sword to my arms. My hands feeling numb from the impact.

"I'll kill you!" it's only other arm swiped against me catching me off guard. It sent me to the side as I rolled across the floor.

I winced as I rose from the ground. The pain around my chest has gotten worse from that hit. My breathing is labored, actually it's a bit difficult to breathe. Let's hope it's from the bruises rather than some internal injury.

Damn, I really shouldn't have been so unprepared after slicing the Kobold's arm off. It can still do damage with one arm. Also next time let's not strike tough surfaces with a blade. Especially if it was part of the reason why I let go of it when I was knocked back.

Pistol is also back on the ground next to the demon. Only have the broken knife now.

I took out the small blade and held it in front of me.

A stare down began, it seems that neither of us wants to engage. Who's going to falter first?

Well it wasn't me seeing as the Kobold rushed at me. I sidestepped to the side with the missing arm right as it swung it's other arm at me. The tiny stump had twitched as it likely instinctively tried to use it's right arm to hit me. But with no retribution coming toward me I jumped upward and wrapped my free arm around its neck to keep it steady.

Knife raised then plummeted into it's eye socket.

Screeching and howling came from the demon as it shook and squirmed. I only pushed it in further to try to kill it for sure. However with all the shaking I fell off of it and broke the rest of the blade into its eye.

With just the handle in hand, I landed on my feet and scrambled backwards as I observed the thrashing. Prepared just in case that wouldn't kill it. The thrashing slowly went down as the demon became seemingly more and more lethargic before it just stopped moving.

I let out a breath and slumped over.

I stared down on to the handle of the knife and shrugged before tossing it on to the ground. Not like I could do anything with just that.

It's finally over.

The red particles start emitting from the corpse–

"Holy shit!"

Those same particles went towards my direction as I was unable to react to the situation. All of the particles went straight into the gauntlet and within a second of that happening my body gave off a soft red glow as a tingly feeling spread throughout. After a moment I felt back to normal.

I- I have no idea what that di–

"The 'Bash' skill has been assimilated."

What? Like when that Kobold shouted that word? It's a skill? Similar to skills from a game or something?

Something wrapped around my legs and pulled.

"What the fu–" my face slammed down onto the floor.

"Hoh ho, what a coincidence, did not think I would find another with that uniform so soon."

My Sobu High Uniform? Where would it have even seen it? And that voice sounds feminmine.

More of my body is getting wrapped up by what seems to be a snake tail. And this may be a cause for worry considering I don't have any weapons on me! I am in a horrible situation right now!

I slammed my fists on the scaly tail and evidently it didn't work because it still hasn't let go! Prying? Nope, still isn't working. What else? My eyes drift to my gauntlet, not really any other option so may as well try it!

So I raised my left fist with the gauntlet, thought of that damn Kobold and shouted, "Bash!"

I slammed my fist down onto the tail and I visibly saw and felt the impact that it had against the scales.

"Ahh!" the snake tail unfurled around me, "You bastard!"

Even though I initiated the skill, I still was not expecting that to happen at all. I jump back into a standing stance. I looked over to where the scaly tail had come from and what greeted my sight was a topless woman with a long snake bottom half.

"What do you want?" That appearance really surprised me, what with the top half being a beautiful woman and the other half… not being that. It's giving a bit of whiplash.

I inch slowly backwards to where my weapons were. Don't want to give her a reason to rush at me sooner.

"Was hoping for another easy meal to take apart with my teeth," I tensed, "Trying another young man with a similar fashion sense would be oh so aesthetically pleasing to me."

Once again another comment regarding my clothes. Does she have another student? Or even another Sobu student?

"Oi, who else are you referring to? You trying to complete a collection or something?"

"Oh it was just someone dressed just like you, someone who didn't fight back much in comparison to you."

Someone else with a school uniform…

The half snake lady began to leave.

"Where are you going!"

She stares at me and scoffs, "Some place else, you're too much of a hassle to take, boy. And I have no reason to hunt difficult prey so soon."

I stood at attention, staring as she slithered away into the shadows. Leaving her alone may not be the best decision but I was already cutting it close with my fatigue and injuries. Including the woman I still need to take to safety.

I went back to where I left the unconscious woman and lifted her up again. My body nearly gave out me right then and there but I forced myself to push further on. I constantly looked around me for other demons that would ambush me.

But it seems like life finally decided to cut me some slack as I reached where the closed portal was before with no opposition.

Actually with all these supernatural incidents should I say that Kami decided to cut me some slack? Or some other god or kami? Going by that logic then I should also blame them for the shitty situations I've been through! Screw you gods! Pick someone else to be your chew toy!

I opened up the Portal application on the gauntlet, and within a second the portal picture changed to show Kyoto within it. A button appeared on the bottom of the screen: Reopen.

I tapped it and a light emitted from the gauntlet, which was directed towards the open air. After a moment something began to show, a crack opened up and within the other side I could see the alleyway I came in through.

"Yes… This'll be over soon."

I stepped through the opening and was back into the real world. I took a breath and it felt… different compared to that other dimension. I hadn't noticed earlier because of everything that had taken place but I feel lighter out here.

Something different in the air over in that demonic dimension? Actually that makes me slightly worried about breathing over there. That dead man didn't have any sort of breathing apparatus to help him but I shouldn't rely on conclusions based off of his gear too much considering that he isn't alive.

Man I really want to sleep, about to collapse soon.

I took out my phone and dialed 119 for the ambulance. I have no idea if the woman is going to be okay so she needs medical attention other than my subpar treatment.

That snake lady had taken someone else with a similar uniform as me. Who could it be? When? Some time during this trip would be possible. I don't think there was anyone missing though.

Actually… What about Yamato? Did Tobe ever end up finding him? A shiver went down my spine as the thought of someone I could put a face to being taken apart and eaten. Okay, it might not be him but I should check with Tobe soon anyway.

If I'm taking the time to be optimistic for once I may as well hope that the other person hasn't been eaten yet. The snake lady apparently didn't need to hunt right away as evident by her leaving but that could also just mean that she's full.

Let's go for the former because I'm going to go back here to hunt that snake down and to tell me where the person wearing the uniform is! Admittedly the thought of going back there scares me but not doing anything would just riddle me with guilt.

Now then, just what am I going to tell the emergency phone operator?

A/N

Word Count: 7439

Date Posted: July 13, 2021

You know despite this being a Megami Tensei crossover I had forgotten to mention the 2021 E3 trailer for SMT V in the previous chapter.

General thoughts: It looks good, especially the graphics and animations. I like a lot of what they're doing like with the different size demons. Gameplay changes to Buffs and Press Turn I'll wait to see how it goes. I don't mind it too much though. Honestly the only thing I'm not too big on is the hair of the MC actually. It's a pretty small nitpick but I'm sure I'll get used to it. It's actually a similar case with Flynn's hair for me too.

Added word count and date posted because I like to see them in other stories.

During this chapter I drew Hachiman with the demon summoning gauntlet and when it was mostly finished, I didn't like how it looked. This brought about me practicing drawing rather than writing for like a week because I felt like I stagnated in my drawing skills since the start of High School or something. And I'm in college. It didn't help that my favorite drawing I did was back when I was in Middle School.