He moved his arm away from his waist and sneaked out.

Dazai opened his eyes, reached under the pillow, and retrieved his phone, activating its location and listening devices.

Outside, Hyakki was wrapped in bandages from head to toe, vigilant and brimming with murderous intent. He stood in an empty space nearby, waiting for the second Demon god from the original work, thanks to the reliable system provided by the unreliable Time Travel Department. His confidence in completing the mission and restoring his bodily organs was stronger than ever.

But…

He did not encounter the flashing red light of the Demon god. Instead, he saw the words “Teleportation Failed” in disappointment.

“System, where’s the Demon god?” he queried.

A minute passed, and the system went offline again.

Hyakki stood there despondently, squatting down, holding his head in his hands. Having defeated the previous “Demon god” without any mission rewards and now unable to bring the next one over, how was he supposed to complete the main mission?

At this rate, he might as well have chosen the first mission reward option, at least he could have seen “Dororo” clearly!

Dazai, wearing slippers, emerged from the corner.

“Go back to sleep,” he advised.

【……】

Under the blow of the auxiliary system’s disconnection, Hyakki withdrew into himself.

Where was the Demon god that was supposed to be delivered to his doorstep?

“Listen, tomorrow we’re going to beat up that guy and brush him off ten times,” Dazai suggested to Hyakki, reasonably assuming the reasons for someone’s downfall, though he hadn’t expected Blanc Jezebel to be so useless that not even a single organ could be harvested.

Dazai exerted some effort to coax Hyakki, who was staring blankly and unable to sleep in the middle of the night, back inside.

The moonlight was beautiful.

But sleep was more important for recovery!

While embracing each other, Dazai slept lightly, ever vigilant against any sudden developments from Hyakki. Judging by psychology, Hyakki’s current mental state was fragile and needed comfort during the day. In his drowsiness, Dazai felt Hyakki trembling all over and immediately woke up, turning on the light and sitting up. “Hyakki!”

Attracting the dog, the black-haired youth who defeated the demon king in the blanket shivered uncontrollably, his thin body curled up like a bamboo pole under the bandages, thickly coated with the smell of burn ointment.

Fate hadn’t abandoned him, just arrived a little late.

Under Dazai’s wide-eyed gaze, something seemed to grow in the heavily burned muscles of Hyakki’s face, where a layer of flawless white skin covered the ugly, contorted features, now without eyes or nose but with imperfect lips.

“Hyakki… you have skin now…”

Dazai reached out his finger, applying the gentlest touch of his lifetime to Hyakki’s cheek.

It was human flesh and blood.

Soft.

Like a newborn baby.

“What a strange feeling. What happened… to my face?” After his body’s uncontrollable state subsided, Hyakki quickly reached up to touch his cheek. He couldn’t sense the presence of skin, feeling around in confusion, unable to distinguish any obvious differences from the face repaired by illusion.

Dazai chuckled and swiftly began unwrapping the bandages from Hyakki’s body. Sure enough, the severe burns and injuries disappeared miraculously, the skin healing completely without a trace of external scars!

The black-haired youth sat bewildered on the bed, lowering his head to touch his perfectly intact right leg. Under the lamplight, his entire skin emitted a soft glow, untouched by wind and rain, devoid of any battle scars—a newborn miracle that no illusion could replicate.

“You don’t need to wrap the bandages anymore, Hyakki!”

Dazai, who found no joy in money, power, or authority, rejoiced in Hyakki’s recovery.

As Hyakki looked closely again, the system window displayed a new change:

【Main Quest: Defeat Twelve demon god (2/12).】

【？？？】

At what point did he defeat a demon? Was it the one from earlier… Finally settling the rewards?

*Confusion in the Human World.jpg*

Though he didn’t understand what these demons were all about, Hyakki couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Without a tongue.

But finally, he could laugh.

Dazai covered Hyakki’s empty nose and eyes with his hand, looking him up and down, trying to forget the terrifying smile from earlier. “No, why does this feel like another round of visual assault…”

Just as he was getting used to Hyakki’s true appearance, he adjusted his aesthetic expectations and wasn’t mentally prepared for the second round!

【Dororo?】

Hyakki pulled Dazai’s hand down, solemnly “staring” at his girlfriend.

【Don’t disdain me, I have skin now.】

“…”

Dazai wiped away tears from his yawning eyes.

Hyakki, you do have skin now, but who gave you this beautiful illusion?

“Let’s sleep, where everything is in a dream.”

In a tear in the fabric of time and space, the light from an interdimensional teleport disappeared, maliciously intercepted. Ravenous after chasing after Saiki, Hound of Tindalos finally had its takeout, spitting out a big mouthful of mud.

What the heck???

The demon Mud Ghost, the second appearance in the world of “Dororo,” tragically suffered before even making its appearance.

Its odd, mud-like remnants slowly began to decompose.

The demon returned the organs it had devoured to the Son of Heaven.

— Skin.