59: Command Seals complete, Master reclaimed! My boss is the first to be killed!

Toshima Ward, inside a cramped rental room.

The forum posts scrolling on the computer screen were Takahashi Shota's only connection to the outside world.

The light from the screen illuminated his face, which was excessively pale from a long-term lack of social interaction, as well as his eyes, which were filled with disgust and disdain for the real world.

Suddenly, the air temperature in the room began to plummet.

An inexplicable chill crawled up the back of his head along his spine, causing Takahashi Shota's body to freeze instantly.

He subconsciously looked at the screen; in the reflection of the dark monitor, he saw a silhouette.

A figure that shouldn't have existed in this sealed room was right behind him, silently coalescing into form.

Fear gripped Takahashi Shota's heart.

He wanted to scream, but his throat couldn't make a sound; he wanted to turn around, but his neck was too stiff to move.

That figure slowly solidified.

Long red hair, formidable oni horns growing from the top of its head, and a pair of golden beast-like pupils emitting a non-human luster in the darkness.

It was the Oni King who had only appeared in the news, the one who had razed the Yasukuni Shrine to the ground.

Berserker.

"Your soul is hungering for destruction."

A voice rang out directly in Takahashi Shota's mind, carrying a strange allure, like a demon's whisper.

Shuten-dōji took a step forward and stood by Takahashi Shota's side, looking down at this human curled up in the computer chair, trembling all over.

He smelled it—the resentment toward the entire world emanating from the depths of this human's soul.

Pure and concentrated.

"Do you want power?"

Shuten-dōji's voice was full of temptation.

"A kind of... power that can completely smash all of this."

In an instant, the string in Takahashi Shota's mind called fear snapped.

Extreme ecstasy erupted like a volcano, instantly swallowing all reason.

He didn't need to think, or even weigh the pros and cons.

"I... want it!"

Takahashi Shota squeezed out the words hoarsely, his voice completely distorted with excitement.

Shuten-dōji revealed a satisfied smile.

He extended a slender finger, dark red light condensing at the tip, and lightly tapped the back of Takahashi Shota's right hand.

"AAAAAAHHHHH—!"

A sharp pain, like his soul was being scorched, suddenly erupted. Takahashi Shota could no longer control himself and let out an incoherent scream.

His body convulsed violently, and he fell from his chair onto the floor.

The intense pain came quickly and left just as fast.

It lasted no more than three seconds in total.

Takahashi Shota lay on the cold floor, gasping for breath, cold sweat soaking his T-shirt.

He slowly raised his right hand.

On the back of his hand, a blood-red mark composed of three twisted strokes was deeply branded there, as if he had been born with it.

command spells.

The moment the mark formed, Takahashi Shota felt an unprecedented, world-destroying power establish a connection with his soul through this mark.

It was the violent and pure power of destruction belonging to Berserker.

He looked obsessively at the mark on the back of his hand, stroking the burning pattern over and over with his left hand.

Power... this is power!

Takahashi Shota slowly raised his head, looking up at Shuten-dōji in a posture of near-worship.

"What... what should I do? I want revenge!"

Shuten-dōji laughed cruelly.

"Then, my Master, who is your first target?"

A light of extreme malice burst from Takahashi Shota's eyes.

He almost gritted his teeth, uttering a name word by word.

"Sato... Tadashi!"

The department head who had once stepped on his dignity and trampled it at will... Inside the office of an IT company in Shinjuku Ward.

Department head Sato Tadashi stood with his hands on his hips, shouting at a new employee.

"Are you a pig? How could you get such simple code wrong! What did the company hire you for? To waste air?"

The mean words echoed in the quiet office. The surrounding employees all kept their heads down, angry but not daring to speak.

Just then, the air in the middle of the office distorted without warning.

Shuten-dōji appeared out of thin air, carrying a strong scent of alcohol and a faint smell of blood.

"Who's there!"

Sato Tadashi was startled.

Panic instantly broke out in the office, and several female employees let out short screams.

The moment he saw the visitor clearly, Sato Tadashi's pupils shrank suddenly.

It was that face!

The monster that had appeared countless times on TV and the internet, the one who destroyed the Yasukuni Shrine!

While stumbling back, he reached under his desk, trying to press the emergency alarm connected to the security room.

Shuten-dōji completely ignored the others who had fallen into chaos.

He simply raised his hand and made a light grasping motion toward Sato Tadashi.

Instantly, the space around Sato Tadashi's body froze.

He was imprisoned in his seat, frozen in his leaning position as he tried to press the alarm, unable to move an inch.

Under the gaze of all the employees in the office, Sato Tadashi's face began to undergo a bizarre change.

The terror on his face soon turned into blankness, and then into extreme distortion.

He began to twitch silently in his seat, his body trembling violently.

Strands of black blood slowly seeped out of his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth... Inside the rental room in Toshima Ward.

Takahashi Shota's vision was now completely synchronized with Shuten-dōji's.

He clearly saw Sato Tadashi's face, distorted by extreme pain, and the black blood flowing from his seven orifices.

"Ah... haha... hahahahaha!"

The long-suppressed mad laughter finally erupted from Takahashi Shota's throat.

He laughed so hard he doubled over, and tears even began to flow.

Satisfying!

So satisfying!

Shuten-dōji had inflicted the purest mental attack on Sato Tadashi.

Within a single second, his soul was made to experience all the tortures that the legendary hell could contain.

Torment, tearing, burning, freezing... Sato Tadashi's vital signs completely vanished under everyone's gaze... "Oni-Hunting" Operation HQ.

A piercing alarm suddenly blared.

"Report! On the thirty-seventh floor of the Sigma Tower in Shinjuku Ward, dozens of emergency calls have come in simultaneously! The target has appeared on the scene!"

Shuten-dōji released his hand, and under the watchful eyes of the crowd, his entire body turned into a gust of black wind and dissipated into the air.

In the office, only Sato Tadashi, who had died with his eyes open, and his group of mentally broken subordinates remained.

Sakamoto Masao stood up abruptly, staring intently at the frozen image on the surveillance screen.

"Seal it off! Immediately mobilize the First Division to blockade all streets around the Sigma Tower!"

"Bring all scanning equipment online! Conduct a carpet search of everyone in the area!"

"Even if you have to turn Shinjuku upside down, you must find that Master for me!"

...Inside the rental room.

Takahashi Shota took the initiative to cut off the shared vision.

He greedily, almost obsessively, stroked the burning command spells on the back of his hand.

Just one was not enough.

Far from enough.

Takahashi Shota raised his head and, in a dreamlike whisper to the empty room, spoke his next target.

"Everyone... who has ever mocked me, deserves to die!!"