Mura casually strolled down the city sidewalk as advertisements blinked and flashed around him without effect. His yokai friend fiddled with the pink cellular device in her hands to no avail; a scowl already plastered across her face.

“Permanently revoked!! You bricked my goddamn cellphone; I can’t believe it, I just can’t believe it!!” Lilith shouted and ranted as they walked to the bar they had visited just yesterday. “You know how much this cost us? Go on, I want you to guess.”

“A solid ten-thousand sols?” Mura muttered, his mind elsewhere.

“What kind of cheap bitch do you take me for?! This was seventy… seventy-thousand… and it’s all gone. Just gone! I want you to know how much that meant to me. The most expensive, most valuable thing I ever owned… and it’s just a plastic paperweight now!!!”

Lilith sobbed tearlessly, still actively mourning her electronic friend.

“We’ll get a new one after this. I’m sorry, ‘kay?” Mura said, patting her on the head.

She pouted in return, sliding the cell phone into the inner folds of her leotard. The two approached the bar and walked through the wooden door, causing a mechanical jingle to ring out.

“Welcome back, sir! I have to say, I’m happy to have such a frequent customer like you!” the bartender said with surprised glee.

The shaggy-haired demon nodded with a smile and walked around the empty tables to the restrooms. All the while on the way over, the recent string of events weighed heavily on his mental state.

Why exactly did the phone get revoked so suddenly? The answers were blatantly clear to Mura, yet believing them meant giving validity to the creeping paranoia setting in. They were being watched. Listened to, maybe monitored as well.

He knew Kirin was actively watching him previously, but with the majority of her squadron tracking down the presence of Goetia in Japanese territories resources were already stretched tight as a drum. He never detected anyone around them, but he had already been exposed to beings that could mask their power.

That only left governmental surveillance, something that wasn’t supposed to exist to such an extent as far as he knew. Whatever it was, it clearly didn’t like the fact that Mura was questioning his superiors.

Mura opened the men’s door and was met by the familiar toilet yokai from before. The elderly yokai was dressed in a white gown, his matching silver beard was long and studiously maintained.

“The password, Tenth~?” the spirit asked Mura.

“Ugh… Grant me the boon of blue toilet paper…” he sighed, tired of saying the ridiculous line.

“Entry granted, my boy! Step on in there~!”

The yokai opened the stall door, revealing a toilet built into the floor that was made for squatting. Mura and Lilith thanked him and once they walked inside, the door slowly shut and locked behind them.

“I hate this part…” Lilith bemoaned.

Mura sighed along with his Thrall, clutching onto her as they both stepped into the toilet’s opening. As soon as they did, a blue light emanated from the toilet’s drainage hole and glowed brighter with each passing second.

The toilet flushed on its own, sucking both Mura and Lilith into the glowing tunnel. Their physical forms stretched, contorted and shrunk harmlessly to allow them entry; sucking them up like a vacuum cleaner catching a rubber band.

Within no time at all, Mura and Lilith were both spit out of the portal and inside of Zozo’s Outpost. They landed with some grace this time around, having become more accustomed to the method of exit.

The familiar décor greeted them like an old friend, wooden walls and floors with that tacky yet loveable neon sign bearing the business’ name. For once however, there was someone else present in the outpost besides the little blue imp.

It was Grendel, casually chatting to the owner while leaning across the countertop. A devilish smile was lined across his handsome face, the light highlighting his lavender eyes and accentuating his minty unkempt hair.

“So there he was, clutching that big ol’ two-hander of his, right? The idiot Beowulf stands there, all proud of himself and whatnot. So I go up to him and just let him get a good whack on me, right? Even tilt my neck so he gets a clean swing!”

Zozo sat in his chair, mesmerized by the tale the Jikininki was telling. The arriving duo however decided to stand off to side, not sure what was going on.

“Then what happened, Mister Grendel??”

“Well, here’s the best part. He swings that mighty sword at my neck and what happened? It broke into a million itty-bitty little pieces, ahahaha! You should have seen him pissing himself, falling on the ground like a newborn cow!”

Grendel laughed as Zozo’s eyes grew wide with amazement. He couldn’t really understand what Grendel was talking about, but the man was so cool in his mind that it didn’t matter. The Jikininki slowly turned to face Mura, his grin still intact.

“The rest… will have to wait until next time, bud~” Grendel crooned with a charismatic smoothness.

Mura took the chance to study the assassin ranked fourth, never really having the chance beforehand. He was dressed in a ragged mousey-brown longcoat with brick-red trim and a hood slumped behind his neck. The coat was missing sleeves, showing off the killer’s lithe yet muscular arms; adorned with swirling tattoos of Nordic design. His well-defined chest was bare, not a single scar adorning it.

Golden bangles were affixed to his wrists, matching the two golden studs pierced into each ear. He lacked any sort of footwear, standing there barefoot with dingy wrappings bound tightly to his feet and stretching up his pant-legs. What struck Mura was the similar headband Grendel wore: brick-red with a yellow cross over the left eye. On the other side of the cross, the headband’s fabric resembled a pinkish cream; like blood mixed into a glass of milk.

The demon sauntered over to Mura, roughly the same height as his junior. Up close, Mura discovered that Grendel’s purple eyes lacked spherical pupils. Instead, the killer’s pupils were the shapes of inverted triangles; giving off an otherworldly sinister glare that didn’t seem natural even by demonic standards. Underneath his left eyelid were three descending tear-stream tattoos, each ending above his cheek.

“Hey there, champ! Gotta say, we haven’t really gotten the pleasure yet of crossing paths, have we?” Grendel said, his words oozing with a sardonic glaze. “Name’s Grendel, put ‘er there~”

He stretched out his arm, offering a handshake to the hesitant Mura. Lilith crossed her arms as Mura reached forwards to shake his superior’s hand. As their fingers touched, Grendel pulled away mischievously.

“Ah! Ahahah, too slow, pal!” Grendel laughed as Lilith and Mura both frowned, not amused.

“What is it you want, sir?” Lilith asked dryly.

Grendel’s laughter quickly waned after seeing his comrades weren’t amused.

“You’re a fucking drag, you know that?” the green-haired Jikininki said, dropping his tone yet still forcing a grin. “I thought you two were supposed to be doing a mission straight from HQ?”

“Well you see, that’s just it. Some complications arouse and I needed to check back with… HQ,” Mura said, sensing something was off.

“Complications? With a human?? Hey I know you’re still green and all, but if you really need the extra chutzpah I’ll go and kill it for ya? Just a big bro helpin’ out his little bro.”

Grendel teased them with a giggle, prompting Mura to do the same as to not prompt Fourth’s suspicions.

“Thanks, but I have it in the bag, you know. Still, we appreciate it,” Mura said in his friendliest voice.

Grendel held up his hands and backed up slightly, simulating a non-existent defeat.

“Well hey, good luck to ya! Hopefully you’ll last ‘til next week,” Grendel quickly said. “Zozo, keep them on the straight-and-narrow, eh?”

Zozo saluted the Jikininki like a soldier would to a decorated war veteran. Grendel then turned without a proper farewell and walked through the exit, prompting a blue flash to signal his departure.

“Geeeeeeez, that was weird!!” Lilith finally said with an audible exhale. “I didn’t think anyone could top that Kishin dude, but this guy gave me the creeps…”

“Yeah, no joke…” Mura muttered under his breath. He walked up to the countertop where Grendel had been leaning against just a minute ago. “Zozo, why was he here? He didn’t even get anything.”

“Sorry, Mister Headband! That info is top secret for the customer only!” he said with a wagging of his finger.

Mura rolled his eyes. It was just more of the same today.

—Sure, he remembers Grendel’s name but still manages to have mine slip away...

“Listen up, Zozo. This is urgent, but I got a call from Lord Naraka. He told me to ask for the book discount.”

Zozo’s eyes perked up underneath his black-tinted sunglasses. A wide toothy smirk grew across the imp’s childish face.

“Ohohoho, so you want so discretion, eh? Well Zozo has just the thing for you!”

The blue demon ducked underneath the counter, rummaging through boxes briefly before pulling out a wooden board caked in dust. Puffing out his tiny chest, Zozo blew onto the rectangular surface; sending a cloud of dust and cobwebs to fly off to the side.

Sweeping off the rest of the accumulated dust using the back end of his hand, Zozo set the board down on the bar counter along with a crystal clear shot glass.

“Hey, I’ve seen something like this before on TV once!” Lilith blurted out.

Mura had never seen such a device. Carved into the wooden board was a set of all twenty-six letters from the English alphabet, the numbers zero through nine and the words “yes”, “no” and “goodbye”.

“This is a Ouija Board! Before the internet, pagers and Morse code, demons used these to communicate!” Zozo said proudly. “Zozo is one of the last demons to know how to use one! It allows the customer complete discretion and security.”

“How come she saw one on a television then?” Mura inquired skeptically.

“It’s all because a naughty human stole one from demons hundreds of years ago! Decided to use it wrong and got turned into Shitidama! Users who don’t know what they’re doing always get possessed, sending Ouija-grams is an artform!”

Zozo spoke with such passion about his craft that it brought a smile to Mura’s face. If Naraka trusted such a method, then he would too.

“Very well, connect me to Lord Naraka.”

Zozo nodded, placing his hands atop the glass. After a moment of silence, Zozo’s eyes began to glow an eerie white from behind his spectacles. Reflecting this change, a small white orb materialized within the shot glass as well.

Seconds passed, with nothing happening. Zozo simply stood completely still in what seemed to be a trance.

“… Yoooou okay there, buddy?” Lilith asked.

More seconds passed with noting happening. But then, slowly, Zozo’s hands slid the glass in a small circle at the top of the oaken board. After completing the spherical motion, the orb in the glass and Zozo’s eyes both changed to a bright green.

Zozo’s hands moved across the board at lighting fast speeds, darting from letter to letter in the blink of an eye. Mura tried to see what words he was spelling out, but it was in vein.

Suddenly, while still moving the glass about in a frantic fashion, Zozo began to speak. But it wasn’t in his usual stilted voice. It was in Naraka’s.

“Hello once again, Mura. I hope this isn’t too alarming to you,” Naraka said, his words echoing out through Zozo’s mouth like a bizarre, sentient telephone.

“Nope… Not alarming in the slightest,” Mura lied.

—What the hell is this freaky magic shit?!

Naraka laughed as Zozo mimed the motions, his hands shifting back and forth to spell out ‘Hahahaha’.

“You still have that wit, so nothing’s changed in the past few days. That’s good to know. But down to brass tacks: time is of the essence for you.”

“Precisely. Our phone service was permanently revoked shortly after discussing out last topics. I assume that I was being monitored?” Mura said.

“… I can’t say for certain, but most likely yes. Ever since His Majesty’s inauguration, security has become stricter than I’ve ever witnessed. I don’t mean to alarm you, but chose your future actions more carefully. You’re likely being tested for where your loyalties lie.”

Mura’s expression grew concerned. His worst fears were now a reality.

“But… why would trying to save an innocent human be treasonous? Shouldn’t we do what’s right, instead of just slaughtering everything because we’re told too?”

“Mura… My boy… I admire your kind spirit. You have more wisdom than most men I’ve met. But you’re an assassin. One of top greatest, in fact. Still though, we both are servants to something much larger than ourselves…” Naraka said with a sigh before continuing.

“There have been many times in my life where I had to choose between what was fair and what was just. In order for peace to be obtained, one of these principles must be sacrificed in the process. This exchange is sadly unavoidable... but one day, I hope we can change that. That is why I chose you as my protégé, Mura!”

The words pierced deep into Mura’s heart. He had to face the uncertainty within himself. Just like Naraka said, he would now have to choose the result he’d live with for the remainder of his life. Remain loyal to the Empire or remain true to himself?

“… Thank you, master,” the Jikininki said, trying to still his heart from racing any faster.

“Of course, but… my apologies. I didn’t mean to lecture you. Just know that whatever decision you come to, I’ll still be your comrade,” Naraka said in a comforting tone.

Mura smiled lightly, his worries put at ease for now. He had the Legendary Demon Hero on his side! No matter what, he trusted that he’d be okay.

“Now then, Mura. Based on what you told me earlier, I can definitely say that you’re dealing with an incubus. Possibly more than just one.”

“An… incubus?” Mura and Lilith said at the same time.

“Yes, incubi are very dangerous creatures. They’re harmless on their own, but they seek out hosts to possess like common parasites. Usually they target the weak-willed or hosts lacking vital Tamashiryoku which they thrive on.”

“I see… so Hangaku is possessed by incubi? Well, how can we get them out, master?”

“You won’t, not easily that is. Once bound to a host, incubi are extremely difficult to remove. They’re only active during the night, so you won’t even have a chance until then. Even at that moment however, removing just one incubus can result in fatal results.”

“Fatal??” Lilith exclaimed. “How come?! Especially if they’re just little runts!”

“It’s because they latch onto the soul of their host. Think of it like a Thrall, forcibly bounding with whomever they can. They’ll also prove potentially hazardous to those around them, as they prey on others while they sleep: absorbing their spiritual energy.”

Lilith’s eyes glistened with a mischievous thought. Her mouth stretched wide into a proud smile as she placed her hands on her hips.

“Hey guys, I have a plan that might be pretty crazy… But I’m pretty sure it’ll save Hangaku’s life.”