Gaio didn't say another word. He grabbed Kitagawa, who was still processing what was happening, and deftly maneuvered through the chaotic crowd, slipping through gaps like a fish through water.
Kitagawa stumbled along behind him, her mind a whirl of confusion. "Gaio-kun? Where are we going? Weren't we heading back?"
"Just follow me," Gaio's voice cut through the noise, clear and steady.
With a clear goal in mind, he weaved through the bustling streets, dodging and turning until they broke free from the crowded main road and slipped into a narrow alley.
The temperature dropped instantly in the alley, the festive clamor muffled as if blocked by an invisible wall. Only faint drumbeats and distant voices lingered in the background.
A single, dim yellow streetlamp barely lit the alley's entrance. Faded event posters and random graffiti-covered stickers clung to the walls. A few grimy trash cans sat in the corner, giving off a faint sour stench—a stark contrast to the vibrant energy just steps away. This was the underbelly of Tokyo in 2018: quiet, damp, and a little messy.
"What's going on?" Kitagawa finally steadied herself, looking around the empty alley with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "Why'd you bring me to a place like this? It's so dark…"
Her tone held a hint of complaint, but her eyes sparkled with curiosity about Gaio's unusual behavior.
Gaio turned to face her, that familiar cocky grin creeping back onto his face, illuminated by the faint glow of the streetlamp. His white, tousled hair stood out sharply in the shadows.
He set down the shopping bag full of snacks, letting it lean against the wall.
"Get ready," his voice echoed in the narrow space, laced with a touch of arrogance, his lips curling into a smirk. "You're about to witness a miracle."
Kitagawa's mouth fell open slightly, her brain struggling to catch up with his words. Before she could respond, Gaio took two small steps back, creating a bit of distance.
He took a deep breath, his playful demeanor vanishing, replaced by intense focus—almost solemn.
His eyes slowly closed, his body slipping into an odd, serene state.
Then, he raised his right hand, fingers loosely curled as if grasping something invisible.
"Yama."
The moment those two syllables left his lips, something extraordinary happened.
A tiny, pure, deep blue light sparked to life in the center of his open palm. It was no bigger than a grain of rice but carried an indescribable sharpness, like a compressed blue star.
The light didn't burst outward chaotically. Instead, it expanded steadily, coalescing and stretching with precision.
Not a single bit of energy leaked; it was perfectly contained within the forming blade's outline. The air hummed with a faint, high-pitched buzz, hinting at the terrifying power within.
In mere seconds, the light solidified into the shape of a neon katana—a sleek, straight blade with a simple yet powerful guard and a long handle designed for a two-handed grip.
Hum—!
A low, resonant sound, like a blade singing from the depths of the underworld, echoed through the quiet alley.
The light dimmed and vanished as if it had never been there.
In Gaio's hand was now a striking, ancient-looking neon katana.
Its dark, subdued metallic sheen gleamed faintly. The blade was long and straight with a subtle curve, its edge radiating a quiet menace that suggested it could slice through anything. The handle bore intricate golden patterns, the guard shaped like paired hexagons, with white wrappings and a black cord. A deep blue band wrapped around the scabbard, its loose ends trailing silently.
The entire weapon exuded a cold, razor-sharp aura, as if it could tear through space itself. This was none other than the legendary blade from the Devil May Cry universe—Yama, the Demon Blade!
Kitagawa Marin froze in place.
Her lively, sparkling eyes widened, pupils reflecting the otherworldly katana and Gaio, whose presence now felt unfamiliar and razor-edged.
Her world narrowed to that chilling blade and the lingering, cocky smirk on her boyfriend's face.
Outside the alley, Halloween's chaos continued—zombie cosplayers cackling, glow sticks waving, izakaya shouts filling the air. Everything carried on as normal.
Kitagawa's mouth hung open, her throat too tight to form words.
Her wide eyes locked onto the strange, glowing katana that had appeared out of nowhere in Gaio's hand, its dark metallic sheen and blue-wrapped scabbard radiating an eerie, unreal vibe under the alley's dim light.
But her shock lasted less than a second.
Those big eyes, framed by red contact lenses, suddenly blazed with excitement. Fear and confusion ignited into pure, fiery enthusiasm.
"Whoa—!!!"
She bounced in place like a spring, her wine-red hair and little devil-horn headband bouncing along with her. She leaped toward Gaio, her smile brighter than Shibuya's flashiest neon signs.
"Gaio-kun!" Her voice trembled with excitement as she glanced at the katana, then up at his face. "So… you're a hero?!"
"Huh?" Gaio blinked, thrown off by her wild leap in logic. His hand, still gripping Yama, paused. "Uh, what? A hero?" He was completely lost.
Kitagawa's hands waved animatedly, mimicking some grand attack move. "You know! A hero who fights monsters! The kind who protects the city, like in tokusatsu shows!" Her mind raced with images of spandex-clad heroes soaring through the sky.
Gaio's confusion deepened. "Monsters? Heroes?" He couldn't help but think: This sounds like something out of One Punch Man. Is Saitama-sensei in this world too? Never heard of that.
Seeing his baffled expression, Kitagawa didn't dwell on it.
Her attention snapped back to the katana, her face glowing with curiosity. "So, Gaio-kun, what's your superpower? Is it just summoning this cool sword with a whoosh? Or… are you, like, a super swordmaster?" She pictured him slicing through buildings, her eyes sparkling even brighter.
Gaio looked at his overly excited girlfriend, a mix of amusement and exasperation washing over him.
"Watch this," he said simply.
He turned away from her, facing the empty alley wall, his right hand firmly gripping Yama's handle.
Shing!
The blade slid from its scabbard, carving a cold arc of light through the dimness, so fast it left only an afterimage.
Without any buildup, Gaio swung his arm casually—once horizontally, once vertically.
Rip—!
The air let out a sound like tearing fabric.
Right where his swings intersected, the space itself tore open like fragile paper, forming a perfect cross-shaped rift.
The rift's edges crackled with unstable blue electric sparks, emitting a soft pop-pop sound.
Beyond the rift wasn't the damp alley wall but a vast, inky void dotted with scattered, multicolored star-like flecks, floating and spinning chaotically like broken data streams.
A portal to an unknown realm had been opened with two casual swings!
"…" Kitagawa Marin was speechless.
She clapped a hand over her mouth, her red-contact-lensed eyes wide, reflecting the glowing cross-shaped portal and the surreal starlight swirling within.
The light danced in her eyes, like cosmic fireworks. This was a hundred times more thrilling than her favorite anime or wildest cosplay fantasies!
Gaio sheathed the blade with a fluid motion, as if he'd done it a thousand times. Turning back, his lazy grin returned. He extended a hand to Kitagawa, still reeling from shock and excitement.
"Let's go, Marin," his voice rang clear in the quiet alley. "Time to head home."
"Y-Yeah! Okay!" Kitagawa snapped out of her daze, nodding eagerly like a bobblehead, her cheeks still flushed with excitement.
She grabbed his outstretched hand without hesitation, the warmth and strength of his grip grounding her.
Practically bouncing, she followed him closely as they stepped into the shimmering, starlit cross-shaped rift.
Their figures vanished into the swirling mix of colorful starlight and deep darkness.
Back in the alley, only the lonely shopping bag remained by the wall, bathed in the faint glow of the old streetlamp. The faded posters and graffiti stood silent, the sour stench of the trash cans lingering.
Outside, Shibuya's Halloween revelry echoed faintly, like a distant world.
The portal's electric edges flickered a few times before the cross-shaped rift sealed shut, as if it had never existed.
Kitagawa felt a rush of colorful starlight blur her vision, her body weightless for a moment. Before she could process it, her feet hit familiar wooden flooring.
Her vision cleared.
The dingy alley was gone, replaced by warm, bright light and the faint scent of household cleaner. She stood in Gaio's living room—a typical Japanese single-family home, complete with a cozy recliner, a low table, a wall-mounted TV, and the cute stickers she'd stuck on the wall last time she visited.
"Huh?!" She spun around.
Behind her, the starlit cross-shaped portal hadn't fully closed, its blue electric arcs still crackling like a window to another world hanging on the entryway wall—equal parts eerie and magical.
"Gaio-kun!" She whirled back, her wine-red hair and devil horns bouncing with her movement, pointing at the portal. "Can we do that again? Just one more time! It was too fast—I didn't get a good look!"
Gaio looked at her sparkling red-contact-lensed eyes, brimming with childlike wonder and eagerness, like she'd just found the coolest new toy.
Her earnest plea made him chuckle. He reached out, ruffling her fluffy wine-red hair, his voice teasing, "Next time, I promise."
"Ugh…" Kitagawa pouted at the rejection, but her brief disappointment was quickly swept away by overwhelming excitement.
Like a happy little bird, she spun around twice before letting out a cheer and flopping onto the soft couch, sinking into it.
"Ahh!" She lay back, staring at the familiar ceiling, her cheeks still flushed, her eyes shining. "I can't believe it! My boyfriend's a superhero! This is, like, a million times cooler than cosplay!!"
Gaio laughed, plopping down beside her. With a playful tug, he pulled his still-giddy girlfriend into his lap, wrapping his arms around her.
"Alright, Marin," he said, nudging her little devil horns with his chin. "Calm down a bit, or you'll be too hyped to sleep."
Snuggled in his warm embrace, Kitagawa finally settled a little. Then she remembered his odd behavior back in Shibuya.
She tilted her head up, curiosity sparking again. "Oh, right, Gaio-kun! Back in Shibuya, you were acting weird, looking up at the sky… Did you sense something? Like, a supervillain showing up?!"
Gaio's arms tightened around her slightly, his gaze flicking to the simple clock on the living room wall.
The hands pointed clearly to 8:40 PM.
He gave a small nod, acknowledging her guess.
But in the next moment, the warmth in his eyes faded, replaced by a cold, detached calm.
Images of Shibuya's crowded streets flashed through his mind—the wild crowds, eccentric cosplayers, excited faces…
Neon people?
What did it matter if they died? Just fodder, nothing more.
His mind conjured the image of that eerie black sludge in the sky, and that white-haired figure.
That guy who'd end up sliced in half, Shibuya, Halloween…
A sly, amused smirk curled on Gaio's lips.
Since he'd spotted it, why rush to deal with it now?
The "plot" was just getting started… Why not let it simmer a bit?
It'd be a perfect chance to test just how far his powers could go in this real world.
Lose? Him?
Gaio glanced down at Kitagawa, her cheeks still pink with excitement, her warmth pressed against him.
He let out a soft chuckle, brimming with absolute confidence and a trace of subtle arrogance.
Lose? Don't make me laugh.
He gave her back a gentle pat, his tone light. "Don't worry about that stuff. We're home early tonight—wanna watch a movie or play a game?"
Kitagawa was still curious, but his calm demeanor soothed her, and the wild experience had drained her a bit.
"Hmm… how about checking out my succubus outfit?" A shy blush bloomed on her face.
Gaio caught her bashful look, his eyes flicking to the clock again.
8:42 PM.
Plenty of time.