Ren walked calmly through the quiet streets of Kuoh Town with both hands inside his pockets.
The cool night breeze brushed against his clothes while streetlights illuminated the empty roads around him.
Most of the nearby shops had already closed for the day, leaving only the occasional convenience store and restaurant still open.
Every now and then, a car drove past before disappearing into the distance, its engine fading into the peaceful night.
To anyone passing by.
He looked like an ordinary high school student taking a late-night walk.
Nothing more.
Then he suddenly turned slightly.
The next instant…His figure vanished.
One moment he stood on the sidewalk…
The next, he appeared atop a tall apartment building overlooking part of the town.
The distance between the two locations may as well have never existed.
The wind greeted him immediately, rustling his black hair and causing his school blazer to flutter softly behind him.
Standing near the edge of the rooftop with perfect balance, Ren gazed over the brightly lit streets below.
Kuoh Town looked peaceful from up here.
Rows of glowing streetlights stretched into the distance while apartment windows shone warmly against the darkness.
People continued living their ordinary lives, completely unaware of the hidden world that existed alongside their own.
Ren’s glowing red eyes slowly shifted downward.
Toward an old apartment complex several buildings away.
There was something inside.
A dark presence.
Hidden carefully from normal humans behind layers of demonic energy.
Even most supernatural beings would’ve walked right past it without noticing unless they got close enough.
But for Ren…It stood out like a blazing torch in complete darkness.
There was no hiding from his eyes.
‘A stray devil,’ he thought lazily.
His expression remained completely indifferent.
He’d hunted enough of them over the past year that this hardly counted as excitement anymore.
Just another pest causing trouble in his town.
Another thing to deal with before going home.
Without hesitation, he lightly tapped his foot against the rooftop.
The surface beneath him cracked slightly, thin fractures spreading beneath his shoe.
His body dropped straight through the building itself.
There was no hole.
It was as though the concrete simply allowed him to pass through.
He phased downward through several floors effortlessly, passing through apartments where ordinary people continued their nightly routines completely unaware that someone was descending through the building like a ghost.
A family watched television.
Someone cooked dinner.
None of them noticed a thing.
A few seconds later, he finally landed inside a ruined apartment room.
The smell hit instantly.
Blood and rotting flesh.
The entire apartment had been torn apart.
Furniture lay shattered across the floor, deep claw marks covered the walls, and broken glass crunched beneath his feet.
Blood stained almost every surface, making it painfully obvious that a violent struggle had taken place.
Standing in the middle of the destroyed room was a grotesque-looking stray devil hunched over the body of a woman lying on the floor.
Or rather…Trying to feed on her.
Its mouth and claws were stained red while dark demonic energy leaked continuously from its twisted body.
Every bite it took was accompanied by sickening chewing sounds that echoed throughout the apartment.
Ren stared at it blankly.
Then sighed.
“Disgusting.”
The stray devil immediately sensed his presence.
It froze mid-bite before slowly turning around with a savage snarl, blood dripping from its jagged teeth as its glowing eyes locked onto him.
It never got the chance to react further.
Ren casually raised his hand.
BOOM.
The devil exploded instantly.
Its entire body burst apart into blood, flesh, shattered bones, and scattered chunks of meat that splattered violently across the apartment walls, ceiling, and broken furniture.
Not even a scream escaped it.
Ren lowered his hand calmly before walking toward the injured woman lying on the floor.
She looked pale and weak, barely clinging onto consciousness.
Several deep claw wounds covered her body while blood continued pooling beneath her.
Somehow…She was still alive.
‘She’s not dead at least,’ he thought.
A soft green glow emerged from his hand as he held it above her body.
Warm spiritual energy slowly flowed into her, causing her injuries to begin healing rapidly.
The deep wounds gradually closed while the bleeding stopped.
Color slowly returned to her face as her breathing stabilized little by little.
Still…Ren intentionally stopped before fully healing her.
Completely restoring a normal human after such injuries wouldn’t be smart.
‘The hospital can handle the rest.’
He carefully picked the unconscious woman up, supporting her so her injuries wouldn’t worsen.
Even though she’d regained some color, she remained completely unconscious, her breathing now slow and steady thanks to his healing.
Just as he was about to leave…A bright crimson light suddenly illuminated the apartment.
A large magic circle spread across the floor, its intricate symbols glowing brightly as demonic power filled the room.
He let out a tired sigh.
‘Them again.’
He’d seen that teleportation magic enough times over the past year to know exactly who was arriving.
Without waiting for the teleportation to complete, Ren vanished alongside the woman.
Not a second later.
Two figures materialized inside the destroyed apartment.
Rias and Yuuto Kiba.
The crimson-haired devil slowly surveyed the devastated room, her blue eyes carefully taking in every detail.
Broken furniture, blood-covered walls, and the remains of the stray devil painted a gruesome picture.
Beside her, Kiba quietly walked through the apartment before crouching near what little remained of the devil.
“Missed it again,” Rias muttered while narrowing her eyes.
“Seems like it’s the same person as always.”
Kiba examined the bloodied remains more closely.
There wasn’t much left to inspect.
Whoever had done this hadn’t simply killed the stray devil.
They had erased it.
“Yes…” he said thoughtfully.
“But yesterday’s Fallen Angel had a stab wound.”
He gently brushed aside a broken piece of furniture while continuing his inspection.
“This one was completely destroyed.”
He looked toward Rias.
“Could it be someone else?”
Rias crossed her arms beneath her chest as she thought quietly.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted honestly.
Her gaze slowly swept across the apartment one last time.
“But I want to get to the bottom of this quickly.”
For the past year…
Stray Devils had been disappearing throughout Kuoh.
Occasionally, the body of a Fallen Angel would also be discovered.
Every single time they arrived too late.
Her instincts told her something dangerous was moving through Kuoh Town.
Something powerful, someone who hunted supernatural beings without belonging to any known faction and whoever it was.
They remained completely invisible to her peerage.
Not once had they managed to sense the person’s presence before everything was already over.
Meanwhile…
Ren had already left the area entirely.
After dropping the injured woman near the hospital entrance, hidden just enough that the night staff would quickly discover her, he made sure she was breathing normally before disappearing once more.
With his job finished for the night.
He casually made his way home, both hands resting comfortably inside his pockets as though he’d merely gone out for an evening walk.
Peace