The Deities of Hell

The houses and public buildings made it impossible for them to leave the sanctuary.

Knowing that, Ritsu and Pomkichi entered the castle and decided to look for a path leading to the wall from inside.

Having defeated a devil, Ritsu was no longer afraid.

As long as he used the Evil Eye and made a contract, it was possible to suppress the devils.

“H-huge!”

The castle, illuminated by the moonlight, was excessively large.

It was to the extent it was even bigger than a school.

On top of that, there was a wide garden outside to match.

Various playground equipment like balls were scattered around in the garden.

“If I get out of this Sanctuary, I will go see Kaori. The Bat Bastard will fulfill its part of the contract, so I think Kaori will be leaving at the same time as me. Then, after meeting her, I’ll marry her.”

“That sounds nice.”

“What will you do, Pomkichi? You’ll become a superstar if you go to the outside world, you know.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I think so. After all, you’re a moving and speaking plushy. It will definitely appear in the newspaper and on the news. The TV will be after you, too, I’m sure. You could earn as much as you want!”

“Yay! Then, I will use that money for your and Kaor’s wedding!”

“Seriously!? Then let’s make it a promise. I will marry Kaori, and you will fund our wedding after becoming a superstar. Got it?”

“Yeah! I promise!”

As the two talked about silly topics and made promises for the future, they infiltrated the castle.

“I just thought of something. I just jinxed myself, didn’t I? The people who make promises in horror movies always die.”

“That’s true… If we die now, it’s your fault, Ritsu.”

“It’s okay. I am above jinxes.”

Inside the castle was a grand staircase that split into two going left and right, like one you’d see in a movie.

Cat statues stood on each side of the staircase.

“It’s that! The stair before the last boss in an RPG game! If this was a game, it would be our save point!”

“Uhm, what’s a last boss?”

Pomkichi pointed to the top of the stairs.

There, a man was standing, looking down at them.

Although he didn’t look like a normal human, he was someone Ritsu knew well.

Dressed completely in black, he had his face covered by a hood.

One of his hands was handcuffed, and the chain attached to it was hanging down to the floor.

Only headphones and the man’s mouth could be seen under the hood.

Two large devil-like wings on his back were spread out as if to threaten them.

“A last boss… Hmm, well… Like a devil like Lars.”

“Lars? Those handcuffs and headphones look so familiar…”

A man in his twenties and 180cm in height—Lars stared them down before slowly descending the stairs.

“He’s coming!”

“Haha, moron! I am the Devil Killer, Ritsu Saienji!”

“Get ‘im, Ritsu!”

“Eat this, Lars! Evil Eye Balor!”

The color of Ritsu’s eyes turned red.

He used the red Evil Eyes to stop Lars’ movement.

Lars’ feet stopped along with the rest of his motion.

“Hey, Lars, before I show you what pain is, enter a contract with me.”

One of Ritsu’s eyes turned yellow, and elevated his sword in the air, ready to attack at any time.

However, Lars didn’t react and lowered his foot to continue descending.

“No way!? How can he move!?”

As if to restart the engine of a car, Ritsu changed back to his red Devil Eye.

However, Lars didn’t stop walking.

“Damn it! Is he not some type of devil!?”

Lars reached the end of the staircase.

He was now in the reach that Ritsu would hit him if he swung his sword.

Lars seemed as if he was looking down on Ritsu, but there seemed to be something lurking beneath his hood, something akin to a mixture of sorrow and rage.

Ritsu quickly swung his sword at Lars’ neck.

“Wha–!?”

“H-he stopped it!? He stopped my sword with the chain of his handcuffs!?”

Ritsu’s sword was firmly blocked by the chains.

“Retreat, Ritsu! He’s too dangerous! It’s not just his appearance that’s different from the other devils! He has intelligence and reason! He’s more like a human with the power of a devil!”

Pomkichi said, but it was already too late.

Lars kicked away Ritsu and swung his handcuffs to hit his forehead.

“Ugh!”

Ritsu hit the ground. Blood dripped down his face.

“Ritsu!”

“It’s so vexing! But we’re running away, Pomkichi!”

Ritsu ran toward the left aisle with Pomkichi, feeling the pain from his wound.

“So he’s a human!? A human with wings!? In that case, it makes sense the Evil Eye wouldn’t work. Damn it! Even though I made a strategy to defeat the devils! Now it’s all useless!”

“Why isn’t he following us? What does this mean?”

Ritsu ran frantically down the aisle, but Lars didn’t go after him. Instead, he simply stared.

However, it was only for a few seconds he remained like that.

Soon, he spread his large wings and flew after him from above.

His speed seemed to be slow at first glance, but it was still faster than Ritsu’s running.

“It was a feint! A feint that he wouldn’t come after us! He’s taking his time coming after!”

“Shut up and run! Look for an opening!”

Chased by Lars, the two of them turned in the corner of the hallway.