A Truly Unexpected Surprise

Inside the entertainment facility shrouded in darkness, a true monster slowly walked into the field of vision of Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita as the shadows on the ground swayed.

It was a grotesque creature with a strange, pale blue body covered in scales, with slime constantly oozing from between them.

The creature stood over three meters tall, resembling the merfolk of legend. Its hands and feet were tipped with webbed, sharp claws, and its head was hideous and ferocious, filled with fangs. Its eyes bulged out like a frog's, making it look both bizarre and terrifying.

"What is that...?!"

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but take a few steps back. The expression on her face was less about fear and more a distortion caused by physiological discomfort.

It couldn't be helped; this was her first time seeing such a monster. Even when she encountered the fallen angel Vaden a month ago, he at least maintained a human form, merely possessing the wings of a fallen angel. He was nothing like the creature before her—neither fish nor beast, neither man nor monster—which made her stomach churn just by looking at it.

"That is what a typical devil looks like after falling."

Leo, however, remained composed, calmly continuing to educate Yukino Yukinoshita.

"Without any constraints, it means there is no guidance. Since demonic power is a force that can, to a certain extent, make one's wishes come true, peerage devils from humble backgrounds often end up like this after indulging in power and evil desires. Before they even realize it, they complete a physical transformation, becoming the most nauseating version of themselves."

This was one of the reasons why stray devils were to be hunted down by everyone. If a monster like this were to enter human society, there was no telling how much chaos it would cause.

The three factions were currently in a state where they could not survive without humans, so they naturally had to maintain the stability of human society and prevent it from collapsing.

Therefore, even if the stray devil's original master didn't issue a warrant or bounty, the official devil authorities would immediately investigate the whereabouts of the stray and commission devils active in the human world to hunt them down.

It was because of a communication from the underworld that Sona Shitori learned a stray devil had broken into Chiba City, leading her to contact Leo and task him with handling it.

"Do all devils without guidance end up like this?"

Yukino Yukinoshita felt a sense of relief that she hadn't chosen to leave Leo due to her initial reluctance.

If she were to end up like this after leaving her master, she would rather be run through by a fallen angel's spear.

However, the stray devil before her seemed to lack such self-awareness.

"I've already fled to the human world, so why won't you let me go?"

The merfolk-like creature spoke in a low voice. Although the words sounded like an expression of resentment, the creature chuckled while speaking, appearing to be in a somewhat delirious state.

Looking closely, the viscous fluid flowing from the corners of its mouth, which looked like saliva, appeared to be crimson.

That wasn't saliva or slime at all; it was... blood.

"What have you been doing here?" Leo's gaze turned cold as he looked at the creature. "Whose blood is that?"

Reminded by Leo, Yukino Yukinoshita also realized what was happening and saw the state of the creature's mouth clearly.

The blood didn't look like it was flowing from the stray devil's mouth; it looked like it had been smeared on.

It was just like when someone accidentally gets a white stain on their lips while drinking milk.

"Did you notice?" The stray devil's low chuckle grew louder and louder, eventually erupting into a frantic, manic laugh. "Look at me, honestly. I'm a grown adult, yet I forgot to wipe my mouth after eating. How could I be so careless?"

"But that's all that tramp's fault, isn't it? His life was already effectively over, so wouldn't it have been better to just contribute the last bit of value his flesh had to offer? Why struggle so hard? It made it so difficult for me to take a bite!"

"The girl I specifically snatched is much better. She passed out right away, so there's no way she could struggle. It's just a bit of a shame that I can't hear her delightful screams."

Hearing this, it wasn't just Leo; even Yukino Yukinoshita knew exactly what the monster before them had just done.

Instantly, feelings of anger replaced her discomfort and fear, filling Yukino Yukinoshita's heart.

The hesitation, wavering, and resistance she had felt about killing a creature of her own kind vanished completely, replaced by a coldness and ruthlessness befitting her title, ice flower.

"Finish him, Yukino."

Leo spoke, his face expressionless.

Yukino Yukinoshita slowly stepped forward, ripples of white mist swirling around her.

It was a sub-zero temperature, a frigid air capable of freezing everything.

"Crack... crackle, crackle..."

Radiating cold air, Yukino Yukinoshita walked forward step by step. With every footfall, a layer of frost spread out across the ground from her soles.

The earth gradually began to turn into an ice field, causing the temperature in the air to plummet instantly.

Seeing Yukino Yukinoshita like this, the stray devil felt no fear; instead, he became excited.

"Is this girl the one who's going to fight me? Not bad, not bad, this is truly not bad. She's just as pretty as the one I specifically snatched earlier, and she looks just as fresh and delicious."

The stray devil's expression became even more hideous, and the blood at the corners of his mouth was replaced by actual saliva, dripping down drop by drop.

"I'll gladly accept this food that the scum of the underworld have sent me!"

With that, the stray devil moved.

"Whoosh!"

Like a fish suddenly flicking its tail in the water and swimming away rapidly, the stray devil slammed his viscous feet into the ground, sending slime flying as he charged toward Yukino Yukinoshita.

His speed was immense—so fast that even without the intelligence provided by the underworld, Leo could easily judge that he must have been a knight-ranked devil in his peerage.

Even after betraying his master, the characteristics of a knight remained. His massive, three-meter-tall frame transformed into a meat tank, hurtling toward Yukino Yukinoshita at high speed.

"Bang!"

The next moment, the meat tank slammed straight into Yukino Yukinoshita, triggering a loud collision.

However, the stray devil did not end up hitting the girl's delicate body, but rather a thick wall of ice that had risen before her at some unknown moment.

The ice wall was streamlined like frozen flowing water, causing the stray devil that slammed into it to be repelled along with a spray of ice shards.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...!"

Immediately following, a series of intense collision sounds rang out incessantly.

These weren't caused by the stray devil attacking Yukino Yukinoshita again, but rather by Yukino Yukinoshita's own actions.

The moment the stray devil was repelled, she mercilessly chose to press her advantage. She caused the ice wall to explode on the spot, turning it into countless scattered, irregular ice projectiles that slammed into the stray devil one after another.

The ice projectiles struck the stray devil like a machine gun, bursting upon impact and creating a constant dull thudding, forcing the stray devil to let out pained howls.

"You damn brat...!"

The stray devil was enraged; he no longer chuckled, but instead let out a roar.

"I'm going to tear you to shreds!"

Covered in ice shards and frost, he charged toward Yukino Yukinoshita again with a face full of fury.

However, he failed to notice that his joints had frozen over, making his speed significantly slower than before.

"Don't come near me, you ugly thing."

Yukino Yukinoshita transformed into a true winter goddess, becoming even more cold-hearted and sharp-tongued than usual. White mist surged around her in waves, from which various forms of ice flew out to attack the stray devil.

Ice bullets, ice spikes, ice pillars, ice blades, ice darts... all sorts of projectiles made of ice flew out from the white mist as if they were endless, continuously striking the stray devil and driving him back.

Seeing that he couldn't prevail, the stray devil initially tried to dodge and maneuver around Yukino Yukinoshita's line of attack. But Yukino Yukinoshita didn't care at all; she let him dodge, simply raining down a barrage of ice and striking him from all directions, leaving him with nowhere to hide.

Gradually, the stray devil's angry roars turned into shrill wails. The scales on his body were either frozen solid or sliced open by sharp ice spikes and blades, leaving him a bloody mess.

He wanted to get close to Yukino Yukinoshita, but he was either forced back by the barrage of ice or nearly frozen into an ice sculpture by the white mist swirling around her, scaring him into trying to run.

But Yukino Yukinoshita seemed to have prepared for this as well. The moment she saw signs of the stray devil trying to flee, she immediately froze his feet, causing him to fall to the ground.

The young girl ruthlessly trampled the monster, the scene looking exceptionally captivating.

"This is quite a pleasant surprise."

Leo, who had originally thought Yukino Yukinoshita might suffer a bit due to her lack of experience, saw this scene and his eyes lit up.

Admittedly, Yukino Yukinoshita had never experienced real combat and lacked practical experience, but she was very intelligent. As long as she could think calmly, she would certainly be able to adopt the most appropriate methods based on the situation of the battle.

She had likely already figured out the stray devil's movement patterns and fighting style, and had probably already formulated a battle plan in her mind on how to achieve victory. Thus, she was unfolding her offensive in an orderly manner, slowly forcing her opponent into a dead end.

What surprised Leo the most was that Yukino Yukinoshita had not summoned the ice princess; she was fighting using pure demonic power.

Yes, Yukino Yukinoshita was not using her longinus, but had achieved these results relying solely on her power as a devil.

"Spare me!"

Seeing both hands and feet already frozen into ice, with even the rest of the body slowly turning to frost, the stray devil began to beg for mercy.

"Disappear!"

Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated for a split second, but upon recalling everything the creature had just said, she immediately steeled her resolve.

"Crack, crack, crack—"

Before long, the entire body of the stray devil was encased in a massive block of ice.

"Bang!"

The ice shattered, causing the vicious stray devil to disintegrate into ash, scattering like ice dust dancing across the sky...