Episode 15: The Crimson Sky
After the hot spring, Soma and the others fell asleep.
Suddenly, Soma had a nightmare.
In his dream, his family stood before him—
their bodies stained red with blood.
They were blaming him.
Startled, Soma woke up with a scream.
Hearing the noise, Kei appeared holding a lantern.
It seemed Kei also had trouble sleeping, so the two of them decided to talk on the balcony.
There, Soma and Kei spoke about their pasts and the goals they wished to achieve in the future.
Eventually Soma fell asleep again.
But Kei stayed awake a little longer.
He was writing a letter to Kurose.
In the letter, Kei wrote honestly about everything that had happened.
> “Soma has a very kind heart.
He reminds me a lot of Momoka.
One day, I would like you to meet him.
Of course, Touka and Rokunosuke as well.
If we are still alive…
I hope we can meet again someday.
—Himuro Kei”
After finishing the letter, Kei finally fell asleep.
---
The next morning, Soma woke up to the sound of an alarm clock.
Without saying a word, he folded his futon and headed to the washroom.
He carefully brushed his teeth, washed his face, and dried it with a towel.
Then he walked into the kitchen.
Kei was already there, silently boiling water.
“Good morning,” Soma said.
Kei looked over at him.
“Morning, Soma. You’re up early as always.”
“Yes. Waking up early is important.
Though I did stay up a bit late yesterday.”
“You really are diligent and sincere, Soma. That’s admirable.”
While speaking, Kei poured hot water through a coffee filter.
He finished brewing the coffee, then placed ham, cheese, and salad onto slices of bread and toasted them in the oven.
“Breakfast today is ham and cheese toast.
Soma, go wake up Touka and Rokunosuke.”
“Understood.”
Soma headed to their room.
“Both of you! It’s morning! Please wake up!”
“Already morning, huh? Fine, I’m getting up,” Touka groaned.
“Just five more minutes…” Rokunosuke muttered.
“No! Please wake up properly!”
Soon the four of them gathered and began eating breakfast.
“Let’s eat.”
Some civilians were also present.
Kei had prepared food for them as well.
“This is delicious.”
“Right? It’s easy to make and tastes great.”
“Hey Kei! There’s salad in this! I don’t want vegetables!”
Rokunosuke complained loudly.
“Rokunosuke, vegetables are important. Eat them.”
“Geez… fine.”
Reluctantly, Rokunosuke ate the toast with the salad.
“I’m done eating. Wanna play some games?”
“Sounds good!”
Touka and Rokunosuke returned to their room and started playing video games.
Meanwhile, Kei stepped out onto the balcony.
He sat down in a chair, opened a newspaper, and took a sip of coffee.
“…Fourteen thousand victims from cursed spirits yesterday.”
He sighed.
“The damage caused by cursed spirits keeps increasing… troubling indeed.”
After finishing his coffee and reading the newspaper, Kei took out a whetstone and began sharpening his sword.
To him, the sword was like a partner.
It had to be maintained carefully.
“This new blade… Seidan.
It’s quite a good sword.
Kurose went out of his way to send it to me. I’ll take good care of it.”
After sharpening it, Kei returned the sword to its sheath.
---
Meanwhile, Soma was looking up at the sky.
Birds were chirping, and the air was clear.
But for a moment—
The sky turned red.
“Huh…? The sky… it’s red…”
Soma was startled.
It was the same sky he had seen before—
the sky that appeared before terrible misfortune.
But it lasted only a moment.
Soon the sky returned to its normal blue.
“…No. It must have been my imagination.”
Soma returned to the room.
---
At that same time, in Osaka—
Kurose woke up.
After preparing for the day, he put on his uniform and polished his beloved hammer.
“Well then, partner. Let’s get to work today.”
He spoke to the hammer as if it were alive.
Then he headed toward the Osaka branch.
“Good morning! Today we’re hunting cursed spirits again! Stay sharp!”
“Yes sir!”
Kurose left the branch and began eliminating cursed spirits.
Osaka had an unusually high concentration of them.
“Human… human…”
“Kill… my prey…”
The cursed spirits rushed toward him like starving beasts.
“Oh dear… this will take some effort.”
BOOM.
A thunderous impact shook the air.
Kurose’s hammer struck the cursed spirits.
It wasn’t just a blow.
It was pure destruction.
In an instant, the cursed spirits were completely annihilated.
But Kurose already knew—
Someone else was behind him.
“…I know you’re there. Why not come out already?”
A woman’s voice answered from behind.
“Oh my, I guess I got a little too close.”
“You think you can fool these old eyes?”
The cursed spirit radiated an overwhelming aura.
Without question—an S-class.
“My name is Konbaku.
And you are?”
“Kurose Taizo.
I’m afraid I can’t ignore a wicked spirit like you.”
“Oh my. Then shall we begin?”
Konbaku produced a jewel-like object in her hand.
(What is that… a cursed tool…?)
Suddenly—
The jewel transformed into cursed spirits.
“Go on.”
The creatures rushed toward Kurose.
“Hmph. This level won’t stop me!”
He prepared to destroy them.
But then they spoke.
“Help… us…”
“Please… kill us…”
“…What?”
Kurose realized something horrifying.
These might be humans forcibly transformed into cursed spirits.
At that moment—
Konbaku had already moved behind him.
“Oh my. What an opening.”
“Damn…!”
“Soul Alteration.”
Her hand touched his back.
“Ggh…!”
Kurose swung his hammer, shattering her arm.
“You’re fast. I couldn’t react in time. Impressive.”
Konbaku stepped back.
Her arm regenerated instantly.
(What…? Regeneration?
Cursed spirits shouldn’t regenerate… is that her technique?)
Suddenly—
Blood spilled from Kurose’s mouth.
“Ggh!”
“Oh, it worked after all.”
“What did you do…?”
“Oh, who knows?
If I had touched you a little longer, you might already be dead.”
She smiled like a demon.
“Well, this was just a greeting.
I’ve gathered enough information. Goodbye.”
She disappeared.
“Wait!”
Kurose tried to chase her.
But Konbaku released numerous modified humans.
They attacked nearby civilians.
“Help!”
“Damn it… how cunning.”
Kurose clenched his teeth.
“Saving lives comes first.”
He destroyed the monsters and rescued the civilians.
But Konbaku had already escaped.
“That cursed spirit… Konbaku.
She’s dangerous.”
He decided to report everything to Kei and the higher command.
---
That night, Kei received a call.
“Kurose? What’s wrong?”
“I encountered a dangerous cursed spirit today.”
Kurose explained everything.
Her name.
Her ability to create modified humans.
Her regeneration.
Her lethal touch.
“…Be careful.”
“I understand.”
But Kei dismissed the unease.
“Things will probably be fine.”
He shared the information with Soma and the others.
“An S-class cursed spirit…? One that even pushed Kurose back…?”
“Unlikely to come here. But stay alert.”
“Come on! If she shows up we’ll beat her together!”
But the others felt uneasy.
Meanwhile—
Konbaku was speaking with someone in her hideout.
“So, how was Kurose Taizo?”
“He was interesting,” she smiled.
“That old man…
If we had kept fighting, I might have lost.”
The man spoke calmly.
“Konbaku. You know where we’re going next.”
“Yes.”
“Oita Prefecture.”
“The place where Amagi Soma is.”
While Soma and the others remained unaware—
A dark shadow was already moving toward them.
And the sky…
Slowly turned crimson.
