Morpheus had only been in this world for three days.
But no one could know how he had endured those three days.
During that time, Morpheus lived in constant fear, dread, and panic.
He was terrified that the yokai that devoured his predecessor would make a sudden return, discover he wasn't dead, and uncover his secret as an Ajin.
Then, it might capture him as a food reserve.
Even when sleeping, Morpheus was jolted awake by nightmares, over and over.
Now, having awakened his system and ascended to become a Extra-Dimensional Demon, he was ready to unleash all the fear, anger, and resentment pent up in his heart.
The yokai that ate his predecessor was the perfect target for his venting.
No matter who it was or what its background, Morpheus was determined to kill it.
Not even Jesus could save it—Morpheus had spoken.
To find this yokai, he didn't mind being a little overbearing.
He had this power not to reason with others, but to make others reason with him.
So, Morpheus stepped out and headed toward Ukiyoe Town.
This was his first time leaving the house since arriving in this world, his first time seriously observing it.
And he was shocked to find that this world was even more bizarre, chaotic, and unbelievable than he'd imagined.
In broad daylight, he saw malevolent spirits brazenly roaming the streets.
These spirits, unafraid of the sun overhead, clung to passersby, greedily staring at them and repeatedly asking, "Can you see me? Can you see me?"
Good grief, this was too much.
Had this world also fused with Mieruko-chan?
What a mess.
Initially, Morpheus had no intention of bothering with these troublesome spirits.
After all, there were too many of them—every street had some.
And their harm was limited. Bound by some rule, as long as people couldn't see them, they couldn't hurt anyone.
Except for a certain unlucky high school girl with top-tier spiritual vision.
But what Morpheus hadn't expected was that, while he ignored these spirits, they came looking for trouble with him.
One spirit, after confirming a passerby couldn't see it, lost interest and left.
Then it turned its attention to Morpheus, its body oozing black miasma, and approached him.
"Can you see me? Can you see me?"
Morpheus nearly cursed on the spot. I didn't come looking for you, and you dare come for me?
What audacity.
You must be tired of existing.
Without hesitation, Morpheus threw a punch, strands of radiant Light Dimension energy coiling around his fist.
With a single strike—boom!—a muffled sound rang out, and the spirit was obliterated, its soul scattered to the wind.
The black miasma melted away like snow under sunlight or butter in a hot pan.
In an instant, it vanished completely, without a trace.
But to Morpheus's surprise, his punch seemed to stir a hornet's nest.
The surrounding spirits, rather than fleeing, swarmed toward him.
"Can you see me? Can you see me?"
Murmuring incessantly, their gazes filled with greed and hunger.
Some even lunged at him, intent on devouring him.
Morpheus was speechless. Are these guys brainless?
Didn't they see what happened to the last spirit?
And yet they dared attack him.
They had guts—er, courage!
In response, Morpheus unleashed several beams of Light Dimension energy. Under his control, they morphed into translucent fists, smashing into the spirits.
Pop, pop, pop, pop…
A series of muffled blasts followed, and the spirits surrounding Morpheus were obliterated in an instant.
They didn't even have time to scream before their souls were shattered.
Dead beyond dead.
At the same time, Morpheus was astonished to discover that after these spirits perished, an invisible force flowed back into his body.
It was absorbed by the Light Dimension, and its power grew—just a tiny bit.
Truly, just a smidge.
If the Light Dimension's power was roughly a hundred million units, killing these spirits added a single unit.
Now it was a hundred million and one.
Though the increase was minuscule, almost imperceptible, Morpheus did notice it.
The Light Dimension's power had indeed grown.
What was going on?
Could he grow stronger by killing monsters?
If so, that wasn't a bad deal.
But these spirits were pathetically weak. Killing over a dozen only added one unit of power.
No wonder he hadn't felt anything when he killed the first one.
Morpheus couldn't even muster the enthusiasm to chase down the rest.
Forget it. Finding the yokai that devoured his predecessor was more pressing.
Until that yokai was dead, Morpheus wouldn't rest easy.
Once it was dealt with, he'd feel at peace.
After dispatching the spirits harassing him, Morpheus soon arrived at Ukiyoe Town.
Upon entering, he quickly noticed that this place was different.
There were hardly any malevolent spirits in Ukiyoe Town.
Not even a single one in sight.
After turning a few corners, Morpheus finally spotted a lone spirit.
But before he could act, a crow wielding weapons swooped down from the sky.
Brandishing its weapon, it instantly slew the spirit.
Morpheus recognized the armored, weapon-wielding crow as the legendary yokai, Karasu-Tengu.
No wonder there were no spirits in Ukiyoe Town—yokai were actively purging the intruders.
As for the origin of these yokai, Morpheus knew all too well.
Ukiyoe Town was the stronghold of the Nura Clan.
No other yokai organization, unless out of their minds, would help the Nura Clan clear spirits from their territory.
So this Karasu-Tengu was definitely a member of the Nura Clan.
And Morpheus, having seen the anime, knew the Nura Clan had a group of Karasu-Tengu under their command, serving the clan's supreme leader.
After eliminating the spirit, the Karasu-Tengu flapped its wings and soared into the sky, vanishing from Morpheus's view in a blink.
It didn't spare him a glance.
In its understanding, unless it deliberately revealed itself, ordinary humans couldn't see it.
But it didn't know that Morpheus wasn't an ordinary human.
He was a Extra-Dimensional Demon.