In a pitch-black room, a sharp ding from a phone shattered the silence. The screen's glow lit up the ceiling, casting soft reflections across an air-quilt sprawled over a large bed.
A hand reached out, snatching the phone. A face appeared in the screen's light.
Soyo Nagasaki stared at the message and let out a sigh.
The text read: "Sorry! Urgent company stuff tonight, can't make it home for dinner!" Sender: "Mom." Soyo dimmed the screen, dragged herself out of the bedroom, and stashed the cold dinner in the fridge. She turned on the water heater for a bath, then came back, marked the message as "read," and typed: "No worries, I know work's important. Don't stress about home."
The message flipped to "read" instantly. A new one popped up: "I'm so sorry, I promised I'd be back! How about I take you out to eat on the holiday?"
But Soyo had already closed the chat. Glancing at the notification, she sighed again. "Way too many exclamation points."
She didn't lock the phone. Instead, she stared at the screen, eyes lingering on two contact icons that hadn't lit up with new messages in forever. Slumping back onto the bed, her hand clutching the phone smacked the soft quilt with a muffled thud.
"Maybe I should just ask it…"
Muttering to herself, she glanced at the glowing screen, her heart tangled up over those silent contacts.
Then, a strange light flickered from the bedside table, cutting through the dark room. Soyo sat up, grabbed the source—a silver ring with a pale yellow gem.
"Another demon?"
Frowning, she slipped the ring onto her right index finger, threw on some street clothes, and headed out. Not before shutting off the bathroom faucet, of course.
"Where's the demon?" she asked the ring. Guided by its glow, she stepped onto the balcony, gazing out at the neon-lit night of the new city. She clenched her fist, pressed it to her chest, and closed her eyes.
"Scáthach."
In a flash, two black longswords appeared in her hands, cloaked in a dark mist that hid their true form. The mist crawled up her arms, enveloping her body until she seemed to melt into the night itself.
Now a living shadow, Soyo vanished from the open balcony, sliding down the glass wall like a ghost and landing silently on the ground.
Then she bolted toward the demon's location.
Near the spot the ring pointed to, Soyo spotted them—demons loose in the human world. Their button-like pupils glowed red, stitches hidden in their soft fur.
They looked like a pack of stuffed toys.
Sensing her approach, the plushies turned to face her. There were more than she'd like, but Soyo and her twin blades weren't exactly pushovers.
She swung her swords, slipping between the plush demons like a wraith. Her blades sliced through their fabric skin like it was tofu, spilling white stuffing everywhere.
Weird. Are these things even demons?
Doubt crept in. Over the past year, she'd fought all kinds of demons, and no matter what they looked like, their wounds always oozed black demonic aura.
A tiger plush lunged at her, jaws wide, but Soyo flickered out of sight, reappearing behind it. Her blade tore a massive gash in its belly, stuffing pouring out like snow. The empty husk collapsed, unable to move, but Soyo felt no thrill of victory. She dodged a red bird plush's dive, slicing its fragile body in half, then faced a clumsy bear.
It hit her: these plushies weren't real demons. They were puppets, controlled by something stronger. Retreat started to sound like the smart play.
Things weren't like before. Her old team had fallen apart, and the members still in the game were all lone wolves now. Even if Soyo was better at solo fights than most, taking on a monster like this alone was reckless.
Demons didn't strike during the day—not in the year-plus she'd been at this. Better to pull back now, link up with someone else, and hit it together tomorrow night.
So, after cutting down one more plush, Soyo prepared to vanish into the shadows.
That's when a towering, two-meter-tall wooden puppet appeared behind the fallen plush.
"What the…!"
The moment it showed up, Soyo felt her movements slow, like invisible threads had wrapped around her limbs, tying her to some unseen puppeteer. Unlike the soft toy puppets, this wooden thing was the real deal—a legit demon!
"So, you're the boss, huh?"
But seeing it actually calmed her down. Bad news? This thing was strong. Good news? Its powers were exactly the kind Soyo could counter. If it was just this guy, she could take it solo.
All she had to do was unleash that ability—the one that could shut this demon down.
Pushing against the invisible control, Soyo raised both hands, bringing her twin swords together.
"Scáthach!"
In an instant, the dark mist around her vanished. She pressed her hands together, aiming at the puppet, hesitating for a split second before letting the swords snap into place with a crisp click. Her body felt light again.
The invisible threads controlling her? Snipped.
But something bugged her. There was another, stronger "thread" tying the wooden demon to something behind it. This puppet wasn't the real mastermind either—just another pawn for something lurking deeper in the shadows.
Now what? Push forward or fall back?
Knowing she could counter the enemy's power made Soyo waver. Before she could decide, the plushies and the wooden puppet ditched her, scurrying off in the direction of the thread.
Then, the sound of fighting erupted from that direction.
"Wait—Rikishi?!" Soyo's heart skipped. Could it be one of her old teammates out there? Without another thought, she sprinted after them.