Portal

Neon signs lit up one after another above the crowd. The giant screen of Shibuya Scramble Square played a Halloween animation on loop, and the cartoon figure holding a little flag in the pedestrian signal at the intersection had been edited to wear a pumpkin head. Each time it flashed, laughter rippled through the crowd.

A boy in a black cape squeezed past with cotton candy in hand. When the hem brushed his ankles, the cheap scent of pumpkin spice drifted over;

three girls wearing devil horns tugged at one another's lace skirts. Their glow sticks traced bright yellow streaks through the crowd, and their laughter rang even clearer than the shouts from the izakaya on the street.

Someone had painted their face to look like a zombie and deliberately wandered over to a group of couples. When a girl laughingly shoved them away, they theatrically waved a fake severed hand—this was Halloween in Shibuya, chaotic and alive, with a restless sweetness hanging even in the air.

As Chen Tian was squeezed against the railing at the intersection, he glanced down at the girl in his arms. Kitagawa Marin was tugging on his sleeve and rising onto her tiptoes to get a better look. The little devil tail behind her swayed with her movements, brushing lightly across the back of his hand.

Her hair was dyed a wine red today. She wore a black off-the-shoulder crop top with white lace around the neckline, and tight leather pants that perfectly showed off the beautiful curves of her legs.

"They're selling candied apples over there!" She suddenly pointed toward the street corner and bounced, her Little Devil Horns nearly poking the man in a wizard's robe beside them. "Last year I couldn't get one with strawberry sauce. I'm definitely getting one this year!"

Chen Tian took the opportunity to grasp her wrist. His fingertips brushed the little bell on her bracelet—an accessory she'd added herself that jingled whenever she walked. "Don't jump. We'll be there in three more steps." As he turned to speak, his white hair brushed her cheek, making her instinctively hunch her shoulders.

A burst of whistles suddenly sounded nearby. Several boys in knight's armor were laughing at them, and one even held up his phone to take a picture, shouting, "You two look great together!" Kitagawa's ears turned red at once, but she deliberately leaned closer into Chen Tian's arms and hooked an arm around his neck. "They're complimenting my good taste." Just then, the traffic light changed.

The surging crowd seemed to have been switched on, instantly flowing toward the other side.

Chen Tian drew Kitagawa closer and used his arm to shield her from a pumpkin-headed mascot that nearly bumped into her. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a promotional poster for the Devil May Cry concert flashing across a giant screen by the street. It showed a photo from his performance last week, his white hair and the silhouette of his electric guitar standing out against the neon lights.

"Look over there!" Kitagawa followed his gaze, then rose on her tiptoes and pecked him on the chin. "You're not allowed to perform shirtless at your next concert." Chen Tian hadn't had time to reply before she tugged him into the crowd.

It was just past seven, and the streets of Shibuya were growing even livelier. Kitagawa held up some oden, speared a soft, tender piece of daikon with a bamboo skewer, and offered it to Chen Tian with a bright smile. "Aaah—open wide." Chen Tian played along and took a bite, then fed her a fish cake coated in broth.

The crowd surged around them, with people in all sorts of strange costumes squeezing past now and then, laughing and joking merrily.

Suddenly, Chen Tian froze as if struck by an electric current, and the smile vanished from his face.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on the sky.

Noticing something was wrong, Kitagawa asked in surprise, "Tian Jun, what's wrong?" She followed his gaze, but all she saw were flickering neon signs and Halloween animations dancing across giant screens. The crowd remained immersed in the festivities, and nothing seemed amiss.

Yet the sky had changed completely in Chen Tian's eyes. Countless masses of thick Black Mud had appeared out of nowhere, as though poured in from another dimension.

At first, there had only been a few scattered spots. In the blink of an eye, they spread like a burst dam, rapidly expanding in all directions with every passing second, as if they were about to swallow and engulf all of Shibuya.

The eerie thing was that the people around them kept laughing and joking, snapping up candied apples, completely unaware of the terrifying sight above their heads.

The boy in the black cape still held his cotton candy. The three girls with devil horns were still tugging at one another's skirts. The shouts from the izakaya and the noise of the crowd mingled together, a stark contrast to the Black Mud spreading across the sky.

Chen Tian's brows knitted together. The discomfort brought on by the Black Mud was growing clearer and clearer, like countless icy tentacles crawling up his spine. He stared at the sky, muttering to himself, What the hell is this stuff? Just looking at it gives me the creeps.

"Tian Jun?" Kitagawa poked his cheek lightly with a fingertip, the warmth of the oden still clinging to it. "You've been acting weird for a while. What's up in the sky?"

Only then did Chen Tian come back to his senses. He took her wrist in his hand, feeling the little bell on her bracelet in his palm. "It's nothing." He smiled and brushed his thumb across the back of her hand. "The lights might've been too bright."

As he spoke, he quickly glanced up again—the Black Mud had completely spread. The neon lights' rainbow colors looked as though they'd been soaked in ink; to him, they had all turned a lifeless, dark gray.

Even the giant screens on the buildings looked as though they were covered in dust. The Halloween animation's colors had nearly faded away.

Kitagawa studied his tense profile for a while, then suddenly leaned close to his ear. Her warm breath brushed his earlobe. "If you keep getting distracted," she whispered, her voice low and her final words ticklish, "you'll have to admire my new succubus outfit all by yourself."

Chen Tian's fingers paused. When he turned, he happened to catch sight of her reddening earlobe. The girls wearing devil horns were still laughing nearby, and the pumpkin-headed signal light had begun flashing again, but suddenly he caught a faint, fishy smell—not like the street food, but more like it was seeping from the Black Mud.

"Got it." He gripped her hand and edged them out of the crowd. "Let's get those candied apples first. Didn't you say you wanted strawberry sauce?" Kitagawa's eyes lit up, and she immediately answered with a cheerful "Mm-hmm!" before wrapping both arms tightly around his.

Her devil horns swayed gently with her steps, cool in the evening breeze.

They slowly moved along with the crowd. Chen Tian helped her around a pumpkin-headed mascot blocking the way, while she offered him the half-eaten candied apple. Nearby, a boy in a wizard's robe was fighting his friend over cotton candy, while a girl in a zombie costume held up a glow stick and took selfies. The din of the crowd swept over them with the aroma of roasted chestnuts, and for a while, Chen Tian really did forget about the eerie black sky.

By the time their shopping bags were stuffed with Halloween treats and street food, the clock had quietly passed eight-thirty.

Chen Tian carried one shopping bag, while Kitagawa clutched his other hand tightly. He could feel the bell on her bracelet with his fingertips—it had been knocked askew while they pushed through the crowd, and now it gave a delicate jingle whenever it swayed.

"Should we head home?" Kitagawa looked up at him. "If we wait any longer, we won't be able to squeeze onto the train."

When Chen Tian lowered his head, his white hair fell over his forehead, hiding the fleeting oddness in his eyes.

He had just said, "Mm," when his feet suddenly stopped dead.

The neon sign on the Shibuya ShinQs building blazed painfully bright. A girl in a maid outfit had just run out of the building, and the pumpkin lantern in her hand nearly hit him.

But Chen Tian wasn't looking at her at all. Just a second ago, a white figure had flashed past him. It moved as fast as lightning, its white hair leaving an afterimage in the night. The streetlight barely illuminated its profile, but the black blindfold covering its eyes was unmistakable.

Chen Tian's fingers clenched, instantly deforming the shopping bag handle. He could even feel Kitagawa's warmth against him, but his nerves had gone taut in an instant. "What's wrong?"

Kitagawa followed his gaze, but all she saw was the crowd reflected in the building's glass facade. "Are you tired?"

Chen Tian didn't answer. His gaze remained fixed on the direction the white figure had disappeared.

Under the Black Mud-covered sky, Shibuya's neon lights still flashed, but the wind stirred up by that figure had carried an eerie energy.

The Halloween animation continued playing cheerfully on the giant screen by the street, the colorful lights kept flashing, and the crowd's laughter and chatter rang without end.

He knew that figure. He knew him well—before he'd crossed over, he'd complained about him countless times.

But he didn't understand. Wasn't this world supposed to be like a light manga? Why was that guy here too?

Kitagawa clearly felt Chen Tian's arm tense. The look in his eyes as he stared ahead was so sharp and unfamiliar that her heart skipped a beat.

"T-Tian Jun?" Her voice trembled a little as she shook his arm. "What's wrong with you? You've been staring at the sky, and now you're..."

She moved closer, trying to make out what he saw reflected in his eyes, but all she could see was the dizzying neon of Shibuya.

Kitagawa's worried voice brought Chen Tian back to his senses.

He lowered his head and met her upturned face, so full of concern.

That was right. In front of her, he was always lazy and carefree, as though he couldn't care less if the sky fell—as long as she was by his side.

His sudden tension and seriousness had scared her.

His taut nerves relaxed a little. The familiar trace of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth, and he reached out to rub the crown of her wine-red hair. Her cute Little Devil Horns felt cool between her strands.

"It's okay." His voice returned to its usual languid tone, soothing her. "I was just thinking..."

He paused deliberately. Only after Kitagawa's eyes widened in confusion did he slowly add, "...that we won't be able to take the train home."

"Huh?!" Kitagawa clearly froze, then laughed heartily, as if her earlier worry had been a trick of the imagination. "Why not? Then how are we supposed to get home? Walk? We live so far from Shibuya!"

She gestured dramatically, making the Little Devil Horns on her head sway. The bell on her bracelet jingled brightly.

The crowd remained noisy, and young people in strange costumes smiled as they brushed past.

Chen Tian looked at her carefree smile, his own growing warmer.

He leaned toward her and lowered his voice, a hint of mystery in it. "The train's too slow. Besides..."

He deliberately paused, glancing over the crowd, immersed in the festivities and oblivious to the eerie Black Mud in the sky, then toward where the white-haired figure had disappeared. "...it's not very safe out on the streets right now, either."

Kitagawa blinked, completely unable to follow his train of thought. "Then what should we do?"

Chen Tian straightened up. The smile on his face was familiar to Kitagawa, just like the one he wore onstage—bold and arrogant. Neon lights cast dancing patches of color across his face, like the idol called Nero.

He looked into her eyes and spoke, one word at a time:

"I'll show you a secret."

Chapter 3: Portal

Chen Tian didn't say anything more. He simply took Kitagawa, who still hadn't recovered, and deftly twisted through the crowd, forcing a gap through the revelers.

Kitagawa stumbled along as he tugged her forward, full of questions. "Tian Jun? Where are we going? Weren't we heading home?"

"Just follow me." Chen Tian's voice rang out particularly clearly amid the commotion.

He had a clear destination. After several turns, he quickly left the surging main street and slipped into a narrow alley.

The temperature dropped at once, and the noise seemed to be shut away behind an invisible wall. All that remained were the distant, muffled sounds of drums and voices.

Only an old, dim streetlamp at the alley's entrance provided any light. A few faded event posters and carelessly scribbled stickers clung to the walls.

A few grimy garbage bins were piled in the corner, giving off a faint sour, rotten smell. They were completely at odds with the festive atmosphere only a few steps away. It was the sort of place you could find anywhere behind the bustling streets of Tokyo in 2018—quiet, damp, and a little filthy.

"What's going on, anyway?" Kitagawa finally steadied herself and looked around in confusion. They were alone in the alley. "Why bring me somewhere like this? It's so dark..."

She sounded a little annoyed, but her eyes held more curiosity about Chen Tian's strange behavior.

Chen Tian turned to face her. That familiar, slightly arrogant smile had returned, clearly visible in the faint light of the streetlamp at the alley's entrance. His white hair stood out sharply against the shadows.

He set down the shopping bag filled with treats and let it rest against the wall.

"Now," Chen Tian said, his voice echoing through the narrow space with a hint of arrogance, the corners of his mouth curling up, "it's time to witness a miracle."

Kitagawa opened her mouth slightly in surprise. Before she could understand what he meant, Chen Tian took two small steps back to put some distance between them.

He took a breath. His usual irreverent expression vanished, replaced by an intense focus, almost solemn.

His eyes slowly closed, and his body seemed to settle into an unusual stillness.

Then he raised his right hand, fingers loosely curled as though grasping something invisible.

As he clearly spoke the two syllables, a sudden transformation took place!

A speck of pure, deep-blue light suddenly appeared in the center of his empty palm! At first it was only the size of a grain of rice, yet it contained an indescribable sharpness, like a blue star forcibly compressed.

It didn't spread in an explosive burst, but instead rapidly gathered and lengthened at a remarkably steady pace!

Not a trace of light spilled out. All the energy was perfectly constrained along the path of the forming blade; only a faint, high-frequency hum in the air testified to the terrifying power within.

In just a few seconds, the light had clearly taken the shape of a Neon Sword—a straight blade, a simple, flowing guard brimming with strength, and a long hilt suited to a two-handed grip.

A low, clear ring of the blade, as if from the depths of the underworld, echoed through the silent alley.

The light instantly withdrew and vanished, as if it had never appeared.

But in Chen Tian's hand rested a weapon of antique, fearsome design: a Neon Sword!

Its entire surface had the deep, understated look of dark metal. The blade was long, straight, and barely curved. Its keen edge was concealed, yet no one would doubt it could cut through anything.

The hilt bore a golden pattern, and the guard was shaped like a pair of hexagons. The handle was wrapped in white, with a black cord beneath it. A deep-blue strap was wound around the scabbard, its two long ends hanging down.

The whole sword exuded a cold, sharp aura, as though it could tear through space itself. It was none other than the legendary weapon from the world of Devil May Cry—the Enma Sword!

Kitagawa Marin was completely frozen in place.

Her large, usually lively eyes were now wide open, clearly reflecting the sudden appearance of the extraordinary Neon Sword and Chen Tian, whose presence had abruptly turned unfamiliar and sharp.

All she could see was the sword's cold aura and the trace of arrogance still lingering at her boyfriend's lips.

Beyond the alley, the noise of Halloween continued in the distance: the laughter of people cosplaying zombies, the waving glow sticks, the shouts from the izakaya. Everything went on as usual.

Kitagawa Marin stood with her mouth open, as though her throat were stuffed with cotton. She couldn't force out a single word.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the strange, ancient long sword—the Enma Sword—that had appeared from thin air in Chen Tian's hand, emanating a cold aura.

The dim alley light fell on the blade. Its dark metallic sheen and the deep-blue strap wrapped around the scabbard both carried an eerie, unreal quality.

But the stiffness lasted less than a second.

The big eyes behind her Red Contact Lenses suddenly lit up with astonishing brilliance! Her fear and confusion flared up and instantly burned away, leaving only pure, burning excitement!

"Wow—!!!"

She bounced in place like a little spring, her wine-red hair and Little Devil Horns bouncing wildly. She jumped right in front of Chen Tian, her blooming smile brighter than the most dazzling neon in Shibuya.

"Tian Jun!" Her voice trembled with excitement. She looked at the sword, then stared hard at Chen Tian's face. "So... you're a hero?!"

"Huh?" Chen Tian was baffled by the leap in her reasoning. Even the hand holding the Enma Sword paused. "Uh? What? What hero?" He couldn't keep up with her at all.

Kitagawa excitedly gestured with her little hands, as though mimicking some kind of special move. "You know! A hero who fights monsters! The kind who protects the city! Like in tokusatsu shows!" A flood of images of people in tight suits flying around flashed through her mind.

Chen Tian was even more confused. "Monsters? Heroes?..." He couldn't help thinking, How does this setting sound so much like One-Punch Man? Is Teacher Saitama in this world too? I never heard anything about that.

Seeing Chen Tian's completely bewildered expression, Kitagawa didn't dwell on it.

Her attention immediately stuck to the sword again. Her face lit up with curiosity. "Tian Jun, what superpowers do you have? Can you only make this sword appear with a 'whoosh'? Then you turn into... um, a super great swordsman?" She imagined Chen Tian slashing through a building, and her eyes sparkled even more.

Looking at his girlfriend's overexcited expression, Chen Tian found it both amusing and a little exasperating.

"Watch closely," he said to Kitagawa.

Then he turned around, facing the empty wall at the end of the alley with his back to her. His right hand gripped the Enma Sword's hilt firmly.

The long sword instantly left its scabbard, its blade tracing a cold arc through the darkness, moving so fast that only an afterimage remained.

With almost no windup, Chen Tian casually swung his arm, making one horizontal slash through the air in front of him, then one vertical!

The air made a faint sound, like fabric being torn.

Right where the two strokes crossed, space itself was ripped open like a fragile sheet of paper!

A sharply defined, cross-shaped fissure appeared out of thin air.

Unsteady blue sparks flickered along its edges, crackling faintly.