At a distance of one kilometer from a private hospital in Yokohama.

Dazai watched as vehicles continued to rush towards the hospital ahead, his expression inscrutable. He stood on the zebra crossing, holding onto Hyakki, who couldn’t distinguish between red and green lights, obediently amidst the vehicles that ran red lights.

He was dispatched by Mori to serve as a trump card, naturally intending to subdue those with supernatural abilities.

The more people died ahead, the greater the deterrent power of Yumeno Jiusako.

Up ahead…

It seemed that corpses were strewn everywhere, under the control of various forces.

“Hyakki, have you smelled it?” Boredom vanished from Dazai’s face, his azure left eye unbound by bandages, wide open, shining like a teddy bear. “The scent of death.”

Hyakki promptly stepped back, pulling Dazai, who suddenly fell ill, away.

A fierce black sedan raced past the roadside!

“Wow, that was close!”

Dazai exclaimed in alarm, shouting to the driver in the black suit inside the vehicle, “The car ahead just ran a red light!”

The driver in the black suit ignored him, sweating profusely, contacting through the communication device inside the vehicle, “Yes, I’m on my way. Not only our people, but other factions have also dispatched personnel to capture this individual with supernatural abilities… Should we proceed according to the original plan? Attempt a frontal breakthrough?”

Initially, there were voices on the communication device, but they soon turned into desperate cries for help, “Don’t come any closer—Are you insane? That’s a comrade! Ah! Oh no, he’s trapped in an illusion—”

The sound of gunfire continued, and then the screams abruptly ceased.

The driver responsible for driving trembled, his face turning deathly pale, unable to maintain the air of a Black/Dark Society member any longer.

Supernatural abilities in Yokohama were rare, treasured by each faction. In their efforts to capture this young psychic, various organizations spared no effort, but they couldn’t break through the hospital’s defenses.

In a hospital room upstairs, a black-and-white-haired boy hugged a doll against the glass window.

He smiled innocently and clapped his hands.

“Hurry up and kill.”

“Oh, didn’t get that sister yet, hurry up, let’s play nicely.”

“Several more uncles are here again… Do they all want to play hide-and-seek with Yumeno Jiusako? You have to hide well, can’t let Yumeno Jiusako find you, how can we play hide-and-seek if you’re found?”

Every person who harmed Kyojo Yumeno Jiusako either died at the hands of those trapped in illusions or succumbed to their own illusions. From the moment they were ensnared until their deaths, they couldn’t distinguish between reality and illusion. Everything they saw and heard was hellish: betrayed by their closest ones, killed by their comrades, and driven to suicide in agony.

This ability is called “Cerebral Hell”!

The situation escalated rapidly, and operatives from the Special Ability Affairs Division were also working hard to contain the incident, sealing off the streets around the hospital. Those rushing to the scene at this moment were all confident of their success.

Dazai continued to make his way calmly, as walking always took longer than driving.

In just a few hundred meters, he was stopped by a yellow police cordon.

The police officer exclaimed in shock, “Go back! There’s been an accident here, you can’t go through!”

Dazai stopped, while Hyakki “turned a blind eye” and walked past the police officer, bypassing them and crouching down to crawl under the yellow tape of the cordon.

It was evident that Hyakki sensed the tragedy ahead.

“Wait for me.”

Dazai chuckled and chose to evade the police’s attempt to stop him. With a quick leap, he headed straight for the hospital.

The puppet entered semi-automatic mode!

Hyakki’s running speed was extremely fast, reaching the outskirts of the hospital in the blink of an eye. Dazai followed closely behind, a bit slower as he also answered a phone call, saying as he ran, “Dr. Mori, I’ve arrived.” His black coat draped over his shoulders remained, becoming a symbol for the Port Mafia to recognize their own.

In the spacious expanse of the mind’s eye, the flames of life flickered and extinguished in the darkness, their red glow spreading like a plague to other flames of life.

To live is to sin.

To live is to be in hell.

It was like a terrestrial hell under the control of demons, from which no one could escape.

For a moment, Hyakki, who sought to slay demons and evil creatures, was bewildered. He couldn’t find anyone who could be deemed a good person. The common feature among these life flames tainted with red light was the appearance of thin threads emanating from the flames, connecting them to the buildings behind them—where the instigators seemed to lurk.

With lifeless gray-brown eyes, Hyakki scanned his surroundings, slowly focusing on the location of the hospital ward.

[Are they demons or evil creatures?]

He leaned to the right, dodging bullets coming from the left rear.

A frenzied murky flame rushed towards him in chaos. Without hesitation, Hyakki kicked it away, weakening the flames significantly. He then managed to clear a safe zone for “Dororo” by throwing another equally troublesome flame over his shoulder.

When Dazai arrived, all he saw was the hospital littered with corpses and Hyakki engaged in battle.

His pupils reflected scenes of people killing each other.

“A grand spectacle.”

This was something the world of light couldn’t see. The police organization would only cover up this incident, tacitly allowing underworld forces to sacrifice their lives to explore the weaknesses of those with supernatural abilities.

As his emotions fluctuated, Dazai’s hand was grabbed by Hyakki, halting any further thoughts.

Hyakki wrote in Dororo’s palm: “Let’s go.” Feeling ticklish, Dazai retaliated by writing a big “×” on Hyakki’s chest.

Hyakki: [……]

Dazai, taking advantage of Hyakki’s inability to see, stuck out his tongue at him. “Ha!”

With no other options, Hyakki crouched down, signaling for Dazai to climb onto his back. Dazai quickly climbed up, holding onto Hyakki’s neck. His previously feeble combat abilities prevented him from participating in such thrilling scenes, but luckily, Hyakki’s strong close combat skills made up for his shortcomings.

“Charge, Hyakki!”

Dazai’s excitement was evident, his cheeks flushed as Hyakki carried him towards the hospital ward.

Hyakki’s movement was peculiar, jumping from the outer walls and balconies.

Finally.

A dazzling light flashed as Hyakki’s arm wielding the warrior sword shattered the glass window. The detached prosthetic limb was caught by Dazai, and the two coordinated seamlessly, leaping into the ward amidst Yumeno Jiusako’s screams.

Yumeno Jiusako was so frightened that he sat on the ground, blood oozing from his face where the broken glass had pierced.

What could a six or seven-year-old child understand? He was utterly confused.

“How did you—how did you jump up here?”

The hospital room was strewn with several corpses, and the walls were stained with blood from suicides. Yumeno Jiusako’s face was filled with fear, much like an ordinary child. It was hard to believe that just a minute ago, he was a little devil happily clapping his hands. Before acquiring the ability to discern good from evil, this child had already gained the power to easily kill.

Hyakki looked around in confusion, then glanced at the flames of life before him.

The flames appeared very young.

Short stature, probably a child under ten.

The figure didn’t seem like a disguise of a demon; the human flame was entirely red, with threads connecting it. Could such a young child also be a wicked villain?

Dazai remarked disinterestedly, “Hyakki, we’ve found the target.”

A cruel child.

Yumeno Jiusako hugged his doll, shrinking into the corner of the wall, tears streaming down his face. Amidst the chaos, he touched the blood on his face and laughed crisply, “I’m hurt…”

“Two big brothers.”

With curly hair and an adorable appearance, the child spoke innocently yet cruelly to them.

“Do you want to play with Yumeno Jiusako too?”

Suddenly, the doll in his arms emitted a strange, piercing laugh.

“Cerebral Hell” activated. Anyone who harmed Yumeno Jiusako would fall into an illusion, without exception. The darker their soul, the more they’d be trapped by their own fears and eventually killed by them!

However…

Dazai urged, “Hurry up, aren’t you supposed to play with us?”

Hyakki also looked at Yumeno Jiusako expressionlessly, hesitating on how to deal with this child.

For a moment, Yumeno Jiusako’s smile turned bewildered and pitiful, as if he sensed his impending fate. His body trembled, clutching the doll tightly, he asked, “Are you… alright?”

Dazai regarded the little devil with the smirk of a big demon.

“Of course there’s something. I’m here specifically to find you, very interested in your abilities.”

He jumped down from Hyakki’s back, still holding onto his wrist tightly, and approached the child in the corner. He patted Yumeno Jiusako’s trembling face with his hand.

“Tell me—”

“How you use your abilities and their effects.”

Dazai lowered his head, his lips curling up, displaying an expression that could give nightmares to children.

Yumeno Jiusako looked at him in terror, biting his lip without saying a word.

Dazai then cruelly pinched the wound on the child’s face with his fingers, causing him to scream in agony.

“Kill him!”

“Cerebral Hell—kill him! Kill him!!!”

No matter how much he screamed, it only resulted in more blood and pain from the wound on his face.

The bullying was over.

Dazai withdrew his hand and wiped it on the sheet. “Knows nothing at all… Honestly, a child like this, only Mori would take an interest.” He sent an email to Mori, confirming the encounter with the sealed target. The reply to the email was prompt, with Mori requesting him to initiate a live video call at the scene.

Dazai turned on the camera and microphone, capturing the scene of Yumeno Jiusako’s breakdown in screams.

At the Port Mafia headquarters, Mori covered his ears from the ear-piercing sound.

“Dazai!”

Dazai pressed the microphone, lowering the volume of the crying, and pretended, “Can you hear me, Mori?”

Mori weakly responded, “I’ve sorted out the issue with his parents. Can you ask him if he’s willing to join the Port Mafia for me?”

Dazai nodded and asked Yumeno Jiusako verbatim.

The response he received was Yumeno Jiusako’s hateful gaze and cries, “I won’t go!”

Mori hummed in acknowledgment and instructed Dazai, “Bring him back alive.”

Yumeno Jiusako cried even louder.

“Wahhh—I don’t want to go! Let me go! I want to see my dad, my mom!”

He struggled to escape, but Hyakki reached out and grabbed him by the collar. Hyakki couldn’t understand this life flame, so he intentionally got closer, his icy expression directly facing Yumeno Jiusako, reminding him of the expressionless doll that would always accompany him at home.

Oddly enough, the panic decreased a little…