Demon Declaration

"Attending classes by day and working by night—my life is ruined."

Toyokawa Jousei sat on the grass, grumbling incessantly.

"The night training is to improve your combat effectiveness, and the duty shifts were agreed upon in your contract," Noguchi Yuji replied, his tone devoid of mercy as he looked at the sky, which still held a trace of blue.

Toyokawa Jousei curled his lip. "I'm telling you, don't let those old geezers lay a hand on Nanako, or I'll throw their entire families into Tokyo Bay."

"Hoshino's agency already knows your identity. They wouldn't dare offend an extraordinary being like you. In the future, a single word from Hoshino Nanako might carry more weight than anything their boss says, so you don't need to worry."

Noguchi Yuji paused for a moment. "You should try to have a child with Hoshino Nanako as soon as possible to see if extraordinary abilities can be inherited through bloodlines."

Toyokawa was nearly stunned into silence.

"I'm only 15! Nanako is only 18!"

Noguchi Yuji's expression remained unchanged. "You should know that certain laws can be handled with special exceptions in your case."

Toyokawa fell silent. "I don't want my child to become an experimental subject, just like Aunt Kobayashi."

Noguchi Yuji said nothing, and in the sky, a figure was already being observed in advance.

"Target approaching, stay alert," Noguchi Yuji signaled to Toyokawa. It would be a waste not to use his ability for negotiations; its survival potential was simply too high.

"The Saintess has returned!"

"Thank goodness, as expected, the demons cannot harm the Saintess."

As soon as Inagaki landed, these two fellow believers hurried to their feet, congratulating her with excitement. Even though these two had no access to the internet, they acted as if they had witnessed the entire event in person, believing it with absolute certainty.

"We must remain vigilant. There are still many cunning demons hiding in the surroundings, watching us," Inagaki warned her followers.

"Understood, we will remain vigilant."

"Speaking of which, Saintess, look—these people just arrived. I feel they have ill intentions."

While they were speaking, Noguchi Yuji and Toyokawa Jousei walked to within about three meters of Inagaki.

"Hello, I am Noguchi Yuji from the Action Division of the Special Incident Countermeasures Bureau, and this is Toyokawa Jousei. Could we have a chat about the demons?"

Inagaki looked the two of them over carefully. Only after confirming there was no demonic aura did she nod. "Very well, we have a common enemy."

Half an hour later, Inagaki, having finished her meal and changed her clothes, arrived at a small conference room in the hospital. Three cups of tea sat on the table.

"Ms. Inagaki, may I ask if you know about the Flame Giant incident that occurred a while ago?"

"The cafeteria television broadcasted it."

"Do you know or have you met Ito Seigo?"

"No."

"Have you heard of the Holy Infant Society or the Holy Son Pill?"

"No."

"Forgive me for asking, but which sect is the Saintess from, Ms. Inagaki?"

"The Supreme."

"What kind of church is that?"

"The Supreme exists in the hearts of every one of us. It is the only sacred power in the human world capable of resisting demons. If the Supreme is absent from one's heart, the vessel becomes easily polluted and even replaced by demons. Therefore, strictly speaking, the Supreme is not a church, but rather something everyone should hold in their hearts to ensure they are not disturbed by demons."

"...Then, you call yourself a Saintess—isn't that to recruit followers?"

"I have never called myself a Saintess. They have obstacles in their perception of the world, so I simply go along with their thoughts. As long as the Supreme is rooted in their hearts, the process is irrelevant. Are you not aware that this is a psychiatric hospital?"

Noguchi was nearly choked by the retort. She hadn't denied being a Saintess when he asked earlier, had she? Could it be that she considered him a psychiatric patient as well?

"Then where does your power come from?"

"The Supreme bestowed the Saintess Fruit. After consuming it, I became the new Saintess and gained the power to eradicate evil."

Listening from the side, Toyokawa roughly understood: she hadn't originally been a Saintess, but because she was surrounded by the mentally ill, they believed she was one. She didn't deny it, taking the opportunity to spread the faith of the Supreme. However, today, the manifested Supreme had bestowed the Saintess Fruit upon her, officially making her a Saintess and granting her the power to destroy demons.

The room where Inagaki was kept was a high-security ward equipped with surveillance. Noguchi Yuji had reviewed the footage earlier and found that the cameras had been manually turned off for a period during the evening. So, according to her story, the timeline matched up.

There was no doubt that this so-called Supreme was, in all likelihood, another extraordinary being that had descended from a high-energy plane.

The only question was: had that extraordinary being laid plans for Inagaki long ago, or had it disguised itself as the so-called Supreme based on Inagaki's specific situation?

He had pondered this same question regarding the Holy Infant Society, but because Nakai Hayato had not been captured, the matter remained unresolved. Now, there was no chance of Nakai Hayato cooperating to give them a clear answer. However, based on testimonies obtained from some Holy Infant followers, he was more inclined to believe that these high-energy extraordinary beings disguised themselves based on the reality of the situation.

Damn it, why was this Earth leaking like a sieve? People from the outside were constantly coming and going. Was there no legendary Gaia consciousness to resist or suppress them?

Could it be that this was already the result after suppression?

The more Noguchi Yuji thought about it, the more his head ached. He would leave these questions to the experts in the Bureau.

He continued to ask a few more questions. Inagaki did not deflect the topics; instead, she was very cooperative and shared everything she knew.

She was arguably the most cooperative extraordinary being Noguchi Yuji had ever encountered.

Based on Inagaki's statements and demonstrations, Noguchi tentatively named her two abilities "Psychokinesis" and "Evil Detection." As for weaknesses, it seemed that as long as one could break through the limits of her psychokinesis, they could inflict damage on her body.

[Hand of Consciousness]

Manifests the power of consciousness to manipulate objects in various ways; can also be applied to oneself.

[Demon Declaration]

Every "existence" is influenced by the malice of life. When the accumulated malice of an "existence" breaks through its limit, and in "your" eyes, you firmly believe that this existence is an utterly heinous demon, you may issue a Demon Declaration against it. This existence will transform into a demon based on the amount of accumulated malice and condense a demon soul, leaving behind only an instinctive urge to slaughter life. If its accumulated malice has not broken through the limit, the declarer will suffer the backlash of its malice.

After taking some time to grasp the concepts, Shiraishi Wataru summarized the descriptions of these two abilities, and what concerned him greatly was the term "existence."

What is an "existence"? Could a stone, a tree, a river, or even a storm all be considered existences?

A consciousness from the void told Shiraishi Wataru that his thoughts were correct.

This was, perhaps, the most terrifying ability he had obtained thus far.