The eyes felt as if they were being pierced by red light.

In a world shrouded in darkness, a red figure took on a human form, darting around with trails of red light lingering wherever it passed. This alone hinted at the immense atrocities it had committed.

Hyakki stepped on the traces left behind, finding himself in the “hell” of red light left by his opponent.

“Go to hell, demon.”

The opponent was unimaginably weak, but there was no doubt he would kill him!

Bai Lan, who was being pursued, felt like coughing up blood. He hadn’t yet obtained the Marley Rings, which limited his combat power. He dared to come out early because he knew Dazai needed him, and thus believed he would be safe on Yokohama’s turf. He cursed his parallel universe self to death. What nonsense about Dazai being a generous employer, and about him always being honest in transactions, never playing mind games…

Turns out, you never met Hyakki, and all the uploaded memories are traps!

“I surrender! Dazai!”

You deceitful mud spirit.

“I have information—I can heal your beloved Hyakki! His eyes, ears, nose, and mouth can all be restored! Super discount, only one billion dollars per organ!”

Bai Lan shouted desperately, unable to even produce musical notes or wave lines anymore.

Nakahara gasped: One billion dollars?!

Dazai said, “That’s too expensive.”

“It’s not expensive at all! Developing artificial organs requires initial funding; it’s much more reliable than illusions!” Bai Lan, with a shoulder injury, painfully used his combat experience from the parallel universe to escape Hyakki’s prediction range by exchanging wounds for survival. Hyakki, once his killing intent was triggered, fought with all his might and no tricks. He battled in a manner beyond human imagination, with every joint and muscle supporting his fight.

Dazai expressed regret: “If I kill you, I won’t have to spend a billion dollars.”

He lifted his amber eyes with a faint smile.

“Farewell, Mr. Lan. I’ll prepare a funeral for you to thank you for your healing.”

“…!!!”

Bai Lan had a sudden flash of inspiration, catching the flaw in his words, “You mean—the way to lift his curse is for Hyakki to kill me?”

“**Demon god, give me back my organs—!**”

Intense emotions erupted in Hyakki’s gray-brown eyes.

Bai Lan surprisingly understood; this was the effort of a fragmented human striving to achieve health. He had saved many such people in parallel worlds, making them obedient to his commands, but none were as extreme as Hyakki, who sought wholeness through killing.

“Spare me! I can let him kill a hundred, a thousand of me!”

“…Huh?”

“…What?”

A sword pierced through his abdomen, and Bai Lan clung tightly to Hyakki’s elbow.

The white-haired boy, bleeding all over, grinned fiercely and said, “I don’t want to die like this. Believe it or not, I haven’t killed anyone… The sins of others have been placed upon me… Killing me won’t benefit you in any way with such judgment. The one behind me is the truly vicious one, stained with endless karma…”

Dazai’s expression slightly changed.

Hyakki, without any hesitation, prepared to withdraw his katana for the next strike.

“Dazai…”

“Don’t you want to know Hyakki’s origin…”

“He’s not from here at all… You know what I mean…”

Hyakki is not from this world; he does not belong to this era. His every move reveals a jarring sense of incongruity with the modern world, as he hails from an unknown realm.

Bai Lan’s desperate confession granted him a sliver of hope.

Dazai walked up behind Hyakki and covered Hyakki’s eyes with his hands, also blocking his spiritual sight from locking onto Bai Lan’s life force. Only he could achieve this.

In a calm yet gentle tone, Dazai said, “Rest for a while, kill later.”

In the depths of the abyss, Hyakki’s restless and boiling soul was soothed by an invisible force, and the red aura around him dimmed.

Under Dororo’s touch, he could no longer see the evildoers or the demon gods.

But he understood—

Something else had happened, and he needed to wait.

“Okay.”

The sword was sheathed for the one he cared about.