You’ve shown your fangs now, Mr. Kaf.
Oh, wait, it’s not really appropriate to call you “mister” anymore.
After all, what normal human would turn his palm into a set of claws, and ones made out of that thick, sticky black substance?
The “Kaf” whose palm was pierced let out a series of inhuman growls. It was time to tear off the mask and reveal what lurked beneath.
Go ahead, show your true form.
The man before her began to transform rapidly, something churning beneath his skin. As his human flesh sloughed off, black, viscous matter surged underneath.
Just like those Abyssal Monsters.
Looks like either an Abyssal Monster was impersonating Kaf, or he’d been eroded and assimilated by the Abyss, becoming one of its own.
“Kaf” opened his mouth wide and lunged for Yuuri’s head.
His once-human face split into four pieces in an instant, like a hideous flower bursting open, revealing countless ghastly white teeth inside, spinning like files.
“Creepy as hell.”
Even Yuuri, who was no stranger to Abyssal Monsters, felt a bit unsettled seeing a human turn into one right before her eyes.
She stepped back to dodge the bite. With her right hand pinned, as long as she kept her distance, “Kaf” could do nothing but glare at her, no matter how much he tried to stretch his neck—he just couldn’t reach her.
Realizing his claw was pinned by the dagger, “Kaf” opened his mouth and tried to bite toward the blade, understanding that as long as he pulled it out, he’d be free to bite Yuuri’s head off.
Just as he turned his head, Yuuri sprang forward and slammed her knee hard into his jaw, almost smashing his entire head to pieces.
Taking advantage of the moment, she grabbed the hilt, yanked out the dagger along with some of that sticky black substance.
Disgusting.
She twisted her wrist—a flash of fire—and the split head was instantly severed from the body, tumbling into the filthy sewage below, raising a splash of foul water.
The headless body was quickly wrapped in flames and turned to ash in a blink.
The battle was over, and the sewers fell silent once more.
Using her fireblade as a torch, Yuuri rummaged through the sewage for anything left behind, but “Kaf”’s clothes had vanished along with his body—nothing remained.
Whatever had grabbed her ankle earlier in the sewage had disappeared too. Now only the reeking, filthy water remained.
Ugh… Thanks to the fight just now, her whole body was drenched, and covered in that murky sewage to boot.
The thought of herself reeking of sewer filth made Yuuri feel physically ill.
When she got out, she’d definitely have to give herself a good wash.
Inside and out, scrub herself clean.
Leaving the sewage pool, she saw Iris waiting for her nearby.
“Yuuri-chan~ you sure are tough. I honestly thought you were going to die in such a filthy place.”
“This level of danger isn’t enough to kill me.”
“Eh, that’s only because I taught you magic! If you hadn’t learned magic, in the pitch dark, those two monsters would’ve made mincemeat of you. Not to mention that thing just now.
But still…”
Iris glanced at the spot where “Kaf” had been dispatched. “I’m really curious, Yuuri-chan, how did you know there was something off about him? I was sure you’d get backstabbed and was already preparing to collect your corpse.”
Tch… This little evil god must’ve realized something was wrong from the start, but didn’t say a word.
That’s just like her—typical behavior for an evil god, always keeping an eye on her body, never any reason to help.
To her, Yuuri’s dead body would be much more useful than her living self.
She was an evil god who wanted to possess Yuuri’s body after all, so it made no sense to expect anything else from Iris.
“There were plenty of holes in his act.”
Now that she thought back, ever since she’d heard those sudden footsteps and met him, he’d seemed to be deliberately luring her into a trap.
Even leaving that aside, “Kaf”’s performance had plenty of issues.
He was trying to act like a terrified human, but he was overdoing it—just repeating the same lines, like some sort of pre-programmed machine.
And then, he bared his fangs way too soon.
After just finishing a fight, and without confirming the environment was safe, Yuuri was still on high alert.
If he’d really wanted to attack, he should’ve waited until she relaxed before making his move.
His facial expressions were also a total disaster—but as for her own body, Yuuri was a bit surprised.
Her reaction speed had noticeably increased; when “Kaf” attacked, she’d immediately responded and fought back.
In the past, she would’ve dodged first, then counterattacked, playing it safer.
Looking at things now, after her body had changed into a girl’s, the advantages clearly outweighed the disadvantages.
“Is that so? That’s a real shame. Still, Yuuri-chan~ you’re pretty gutsy.”
“Oh?”
Gutsy? She didn’t see it that way.
“Back then, it was always me guiding you in channeling magic, and you never actually succeeded. You had the nerve, in that pitch-black situation, to stop dodging and instead try to use magic? Weren’t you afraid you’d mess up, fail to cast, and end up as monster chow?
Tsk tsk tsk… How did you even dare? And I told you I only needed to borrow your body for a little while.”
As she spoke, the little evil god’s aggrieved voice echoed in Yuuri’s ear, “Why so cautious? It’s just for a little while. I’m not going to do anything to you.”
Hearing Iris’s whining, Yuuri shrugged. “If you wanted something else, I might’ve agreed. But anything involving my body? Forget it.”
“Eh, so stingy!”
Iris puffed out her cheeks in frustration, her silvery hair floating without wind, looking just like a white jellyfish.
“But magic is interesting, isn’t it?”
Dropping her sulky look, the little evil god’s eyes sparkled. “Hmph~ If I hadn’t taught you magic today, you’d have been in real trouble~”
She put her hands on her hips, her face practically begging for praise.
But Yuuri ignored her, gazing at the fire flickering on her dagger and muttering to herself.
“Magic, huh? It really is interesting.”
Her soft murmur didn’t escape Iris’s ears. As if she’d sensed something fun, Iris scooted closer until their faces were nearly touching.
Their eyes met. In the little evil god’s crimson gaze danced a seductive glimmer. “Well? Don’t you want to learn even more magic?
And right now, you’ve only scratched the surface! Real magic can destroy worlds, even twist the rules of reality itself!”
It did sound pretty far-fetched, but considering Iris was a being from beyond the stars, maybe magic really did have that kind of power where she came from.
“But, Iris, you’re so eager for me to learn magic—” Yuuri paused, testing her, “aren’t you worried that the stronger I get, the harder it’ll be for you to seize my body?”
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