I, Izayoi Sakamaki, Joined the Chat Group at the Start

Contract Documents from the Demon King fell like raindrops, drawing everyone in the city into the scope of the Gift Game. "This is..."

As Izayoi Sakamaki looked up, White Night Yaksha, who had long been prepared, noticed it as well. Just as she was about to do something, a dense cloud of black mist flew in from the horizon, trapping White Night Yaksha within a barrier formed by the mist.

"Demon King?"

"It's over! The rumors were true! Run!!"

"I didn't do anything! Why am I a target of the Demon King too?"

"There's no use running. Hurry and hide. When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."

The spectators, who had been buzzing with excitement moments ago, scattered in panic upon seeing the Contract Documents land in their hands.

Seeing this, Black Rabbit grabbed a microphone and swiftly directed the crowd to evacuate.

"Looks like I won't be getting any rest." Kasukabe Yō, whose stamina had just been restored by Izayoi Sakamaki, smiled helplessly. "Izayoi, I'll go find my opponent first."

"Yeah. Be careful. Don't try to take everything on by yourself."

Izayoi Sakamaki nodded. He knew Kasukabe Yō was still holding back a lot of frustration after her recent defeat, and the Demon King's appearance had come at just the right time.

Izayoi Sakamaki had already chosen Kasukabe Yō's opponent for her.

On the outermost city wall, two people watched the panicked crowds fleeing below. The female demon among them grinned. "Looks like it's begun. The scent of fear really is wonderful."

"Ratin, stop talking nonsense. The master has already made his move, so let's get started too."

"Then let's do it, Wesir!"

The two leaped from the city wall at the same time, preparing to deal with anyone of notable strength.

Their division of labor was clear. One would control the weaker civilians, while the other would protect the fragile mage.

One offense, one defense—their coordination was perfect.

But things did not go as they wished. An aurora that pierced heaven and earth shot over from afar, blasting straight through even Hakoniwa's constructed city wall.

"Who was that?"

The two narrowly avoided the attack, their hearts still pounding. Could it be that monster White Night Yaksha had not been restrained after all?

What they had yet to realize was that the aurora had separated them, leaving one in the south and the other in the north.

Before either of them could inspect where the attack had come from, a white figure launched a surprise attack from the side, targeting the male demon called Wesir.

Thud—

Wesir hastily blocked the ambush. He turned to Ratin, who was some distance away. "Ratin, leave this to me. You go on ahead."

"Okay. Don't die, big guy."

Tall and provocatively dressed, Ratin knew exactly what she needed to do. Leaving Wesir behind, she flew straight toward the center of the city, where White Night Yaksha was being restrained.

Seeing that the person who had attacked him did not try to stop her, Wesir let out a breath of relief and asked in confusion, "You're not going to stop her?"

The white figure—Kasukabe Yō, whom Izayoi Sakamaki had directly thrown over—shook her head. "No need. Someone will deal with her. You should focus on fighting me instead, Demon King."

"Demon King? Sorry, I'm merely a third-rate demon."

"You're a demon too?"

Kasukabe Yō froze slightly. In that moment of distraction, Wesir seized the opportunity and fired a gray beam of light at her.

Caught off guard, Kasukabe Yō could only dodge. Izayoi Sakamaki's warning gradually surfaced in her mind.

Your opponent is the incarnation of the River Weese from a fairy tale. He is a demon born from natural phenomena such as Earth Calamity, river flooding, and land collapse.

It seemed she could not fight him while standing on the ground.

Based on the information she had, Kasukabe Yō quickly came up with a crude fighting strategy.

Stepping on the air, Kasukabe Yō's hands and feet became covered in cat claws.

"Though I may not be your match, I'll do everything I can to defeat you, incarnation of the River Weese!"

"Oh? So you found out? But what does that change? Little girl, battles are decided by strength."

A storm rose, the earth collapsed, and the battle was on the verge of erupting!

Meanwhile, Izayoi Sakamaki, who had thrown Kasukabe Yō over, sat cross-legged beside the restrained White Night Yaksha, watching their battle with great interest.

"Hey, Izayoi, aren't you going to have some fun too? This doesn't seem like you."

White Night Yaksha looked speechlessly at Izayoi Sakamaki. "We don't need you keeping us company."

"No rush. Let Kasukabe Yō and Hisato Asuka give it a try first. If they really can't handle it, don't we still have Leticia and Aisha, Ghost Fire's Aisha?"

"So you want to temper those two. But isn't that forcing their growth a little too quickly?"

"No." Izayoi Sakamaki awkwardly scratched his neck. "The previous world was too peaceful. This is the perfect chance for them to grow."

"I see." White Night Yaksha glanced at Izayoi Sakamaki's missing headphones and seemed to understand something. "What I'm most curious about, though, is what the Sin of the Sun is."

"You're asking me? I don't know."

"...Tch."

Watching Izayoi Sakamaki pretend to be confused, White Night Yaksha clicked her tongue. Trapped within that strange black mist barrier, she could do nothing except chat with Izayoi Sakamaki and watch the battle.

Ignoring Izayoi Sakamaki, White Night Yaksha turned her attention to the combatants as well.

At that moment, Kasukabe Yō, who was beginning to fall into a disadvantage, barely used her rebounding cat claws to block Wesir's attacks.

Just as Wesir prepared to speed up his attacks, expand his advantage, and secure the foundations of victory, a Scarlet Spear pierced straight through his shoulder!

"Kasukabe, are you okay?"

Leticia, who had somehow Morphed into her Mature Form, raised a hand and recalled the Spear of Piercing she had thrown earlier. "Are you hurt?"

Though this spear was not as famous as Great God's Declaration Gungnir, it was by no means weak. It was a weapon born from the sublimation of Leticia's past—the tale of "Dracula the Piercing Demon King," the King of Vampires—and could easily pierce her opponents.

"I'm fine. It's just that this person is very strong. I can't face him head-on."

Taking advantage of Wesir being pierced through the shoulder, Kasukabe Yō erupted with her power and forced the two tangled combatants apart. She moved to Leticia's side, gasping for breath as she hurried to recover her stamina.

For her as she was now, facing such a powerful demon was still too early. Then why had Izayoi Sakamaki sent her to fight this demon?

Kasukabe Yō had been unable to understand it, but after Leticia arrived, she gained a hint of realization.

So Izayoi Sakamaki wanted her to learn how to cooperate with others against an enemy?

"If the weak want to defeat the strong, they need more than sharpened wisdom. They must also know how to stick together."

After signaling to Leticia, Kasukabe Yō was the first to attack their powerful enemy.

A fierce gale wrapped around her cat claws as she slashed toward Wesir's freshly wounded shoulder!

I, Izayoi, Final Trial of Humanity

"Hehehe~ Little girl, we meet again."

Ratin, who had avoided Kasukabe Yō and was hurrying toward the center of the city, happened to encounter Hisato Asuka, who had come to stop her.

Holding a Vertical Flute, she looked like a lady, yet simply standing there gave off an alluring aura.

"Again?" Hisato Asuka looked at the enemy before her, seeming to recall something. She instinctively shielded the Little Fairy on her shoulder. "You were one of the people who attacked us at the exhibition before?"

"People? No, I'm a demon."

Ratin chuckled, leaping backward to widen the distance between herself and Hisato Asuka. She raised the Vertical Flute to her lips.

"Fweee—"

A melodious tune flowed from Ratin's mouth, forming wave-like ripples of mental energy. This wide-range mental attack made the fleeing crowd clutch their ears and crouch down in agony.

"This is..."

Hisato Asuka, who was closest to Ratin, also felt a strange force trying to burrow into her mind. Frowning deeply, she crouched halfway down.

Squeak, squeak, squeak—

The flute's melody brought more than just mental attacks. Swarms of disease-carrying rats crawled out from the sewers.

They were packed so densely that everyone who saw them felt their scalp go numb.

"Asuka~"

Though the Little Fairy on Hisato Asuka's shoulder was in great pain as well, she was not too heavily affected. She gently patted Asuka's cheek.

"What is it?"

"Headphones~"

The Little Fairy pointed to the headphones Izayoi Sakamaki had given her earlier. It seemed to be trying to explain something, but its vocabulary was too limited, and with the flute's interference, it could not figure out how to say it.

"You mean the headphones can help me?"

Fortunately, Hisato Asuka was not a foolish person. Considering their current situation, she roughly understood what the Little Fairy meant and put the headphones directly over her ears.

In an instant, the world became quiet.

She could still clearly hear the flute, the crying, and the rats, but the mental attack that had tried to control her was gone.

"What amazing headphones. No wonder Izayoi keeps wearing them."

But Izayoi Sakamaki was so strong that he generally would not need headphones like these.

Their purpose was most likely to commemorate something.

"Wah~"

The Little Fairy's voice made Hisato Asuka smile as she prepared to face her enemy seriously.

"Then let's focus on the fight now."

Without the interference of the flute, Hisato Asuka felt capable again. What could a mere demon do besides resort to underhanded tricks?

"Come forth, Water Tree, Hellfire!"

She directly took out her Gift Card and summoned a massive tree and blazing black-red flames.

The power of her authority unleashed its original might through her words. "Water Tree, wash away those rats with water! Hellfire, burn her!"

The controlled Water Tree rooted itself in place, driving its roots deep into the soil to draw in water elements. Its leaves began to sway as streams of water gathered in its canopy, forming a torrential flood that swept over the densely packed rats.

Meanwhile, Hellfire obeyed Kasukabe Yō's command and roared toward Ratin, who was playing the flute.

"I didn't expect you to have this trick up your sleeve, little girl. But do you think this is enough to defeat me?"

With a faint smile, Ratin easily dodged the surging flames. With a light breath, the melodious flute music changed, taking on a frenzied undertone.

"Tch."

Seeing Hellfire easily avoided, Hisato Asuka clicked her tongue in displeasure.

Though she could control some ownerless or relatively weak Gifts, control did not mean possession. Whenever she used those Gifts, she was always a beat slower, unable to wield them as naturally as her own limbs.

"Be careful, Asuka."

Suddenly, the Little Fairy cried out in fear.

Swish—

The sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air followed. A Lesser Dragon person with bloodshot eyes swung a sword at Hisato Asuka.

"Water Tree!"

Just as the sword was about to strike Hisato Asuka, the Water Tree's tough branches blocked it.

Seeing the Lesser Dragon person who had lost his mind and fallen under Ratin's control, Hisato Asuka gave a cold smile. "Is that all?"

Did a mere weak Defense Army soldier think he could defeat her? He was thinking too highly of himself.

"Hehe."

Ratin ignored Hisato Asuka's mockery and continued playing the flute. One Lesser Dragon person and ordinary civilian after another fell under the melody's control, picking up weapons and rushing toward them.

Some elite Defense Army soldiers even took out their bows and fired arrows at Hisato Asuka.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Tens of thousands of arrows rained down upon Hisato Asuka.