A hint of chill had already crept into the evening air.
Darkness had begun to envelop the streets, too, the pale moonlight hidden amid the hazy glow of artificial lights.
Though Misaki Town, part of Tokyo, would not fall silent like a small town, even surrounded by the bustle, people would unconsciously long for the security of a lighted room.
This had nothing to do with reason. It was an instinct engraved in the genes of living things.
That was precisely why convenience stores were always so inviting at night.
Yet at that moment, despite standing beneath bright lights, the gloomy middle-aged man could feel no warmth from them.
He had short gray hair and a tall, muscular frame. The contours of his face were as hard and heavy as steel, tinged with an unapproachable coldness.
Beneath his long black coat, the yellowish light helped his clothes outline his muscles with striking clarity, making him look every bit the lead in a tough-guy action movie.
But that naive impression would swiftly crumble at the sight of the chillingly cold, blood-red eyes in his face.
He needed neither fangs and claws nor fur wholly unlike a human's to proclaim his identity. His mere existence made him a beast capable of robbing anyone who looked at him of their courage and warmth.
"That man... what exactly is going on with him?"
Yet, just as his dour expression suggested, the man named Nero Chaos murmured in a somewhat grave tone.
Anyone familiar with him would probably have found the sight unbelievable.
After all, for nearly a thousand years, he had always remained as unmoved as a machine or an undead creature. No major event could change his expression, to the point that people wondered whether his facial nerves had died.
Among the Dead