The moment her shift ended, Eliss did exactly as they had agreed, and he waited for her outside the Moonlight Club.

And now, there he is with his back pressed against the wall of an abandoned warehouse while Eliss stands before him, her eyes brimming with lust and playful malice.

Renji’s heart pounds wildly in his chest. At best, he had expected some playful flirting that might perhaps end in a kiss — something he could later show off to Miori as proof. Never in his wildest imagination had he expected things to go this far.

He swallows nervously, desperately trying to maintain appearances while hiding the suffocating fear and crushing inferiority complex devouring him from within.

He is terrified, painfully aware that he is standing on the verge of the most humiliating moment imaginable — the embarrassing secret known only to Miori may soon be exposed to Eliss as well.

No matter how hard he tries to hide it, Eliss does not miss his discomfort.

"What’s wrong, womanizer? Where’d all that confidence from earlier go? Don’t tell me you’re nothing more than a pathetic coward. Though honestly, I can’t say I’m surprised — you already proved that by beating up someone younger and weaker than you. Very manly of you, huh?"

"S-Shut up and suck my dick, you fucking slut!" Renji snaps nervously.

"Oh, for the love of God, stop embarrassing yourself. Believe it or not, before I became Aoshi’s girlfriend, I had an endless line of suitors — at least a thousand. I’ve met countless guys like you. The more they talk, the less they’re worth, and honestly, I wouldn’t even be surprised if you’d already cum in your pants while dragging me here. Either way, I didn’t bring you here to stroke your fragile ego."

Eliss points a finger at Renji.

"My beloved Aoshi is waiting for me at home — and because of you, he can’t even go to the bathroom on his own right now. So I’ll keep this brief. In a few seconds, you’re going to die, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. I’m not going to say things like ’tell me the truth and I’ll spare you,’ because that would be a lie — I’d kill you anyway. I could manipulate your mind and tear every piece of information I want out of it, but if you save me the trouble, you’d be doing me a favor — and I might even consider killing you without making you suffer... too much."

"Y-You’re completely insane! You fucking bitch, don’t you dare mess with me, or else—"

PEW!

A horrifying scream rips through Renji’s throat as a thin beam of purple energy shoots from the tip of Eliss’s finger, piercing straight through his shoulder.

"W-What the fuck was that...? W-W-What are you?!"

"It doesn’t matter, and knowing won’t save your life. Tell me why you hurt Aoshi, and I’ll kill you without making you suffer. Otherwise, I’ll torture you until you die from the pain."

"M-Miori Yukinaga... she’s the one who told me to beat up Aoshi..."

"Miori Yukinaga... she’s Aoshi’s ex, right? Why would she ask you to do something like that?"

"To give herself an excuse to get close to Aoshi again and reconnect with him — that’s all. Apparently I’m not enough for her anymore... Yeah, she asked me to beat him up like that just to create some stupid excuse. And like the pathetic little lapdog I am, I obeyed without hesitation..."

"Y-You’re saying that bitch wants to seduce my Aoshi?!"

"Looks that way... and unfortunately for you, Miori always gets what she wants — that much I can tell you. It doesn’t matter how much Aoshi loves you or how much prettier you are than her. Miori is undeniably beautiful, but her cunning and cruelty surpass even her looks. It’s only a matter of time before she succeeds in tearing you apart..." Renji murmurs weakly as he collapses sideways into the widening pool of blood beneath him.

"That’s what you think."

"A-Are you planning to kill her too...?" Renji whispers weakly.

"Yes — after all, she’s the one who ordered the attack on my Aoshi, and she deserves to pay for her crimes just like you. But like I already told you, there’s no point worrying about it, since you’ll be dead soon as well."

Eliss points her finger toward Renji once again. A small sphere of purple energy forms at the tip of her index finger.

"Worry about Miori? Don’t make me laugh..." Renji rasps with a faint, forced smile. "Actually, there’s one favor I’d like to ask before you kill me — consider it the classic final wish of a condemned man."

Eliss simply stares at him in silence, intrigued as she waits for his final request.

"P-Promise me... that you’ll make Miori suffer until her very last breath... please..." Renji sobs.

His glassy eyes fill with tears that mingle with the blood covering his face.

And yet, there is no trace of despair on his face — only a faint smile, despite the fact that his life is only moments away from ending.

A life that had been anything but happy or fulfilling — marked by loneliness and humiliation long before Miori had ever entered it.

The life of someone who, during his first year of high school, had been forced to quit the basketball club because of the physical defect he had always been ashamed of — a defect he had never paid much attention to until the day he saw his teammates naked in the locker room... and especially when they saw him.

Three years of relentless mockery and humiliation had turned him into a broken outcast, until he finally moved far away from Tokyo — his hometown — to Ueda, hoping to start over and bury the reputation that had haunted him for years.

But that hope vanished the moment he met the irresistible Miori. So beautiful, so sweet, so kind — the kind of girl no one could possibly resist falling in love with. She gave Renji everything he had always dreamed of: acceptance, admiration, respect, and above all the feeling of finally belonging among the cool guys — the ones he had always watched from afar back in high school, desired by every girl and envied by every boy.

And yet, that dream soon turned into a nightmare when Miori revealed herself to be the cruelest of all his tormentors, transforming what Renji had believed to be paradise into the worst hell imaginable — a hell he once thought he would never escape from... until now.

Should I be afraid? Anyone else in my place would be. And yet... I feel so relieved. So light.

Finally... finally, it’ll all be over. Finally, no one will ever laugh at me again.

Finally... a way out of a life of humiliation.

"Don’t worry, I was already planning to make her suffer even without you asking me to," Eliss concludes coldly.

Renji lowers his gaze, closes his eyes, and...

PEW!

A second beam of energy bursts from Eliss’s finger and pierces straight through his skull, killing him instantly.

Eliss tilts her face toward the night sky.

"Raelor, get down here and clean this up," she orders in a calm, emotionless voice.

"How perceptive, Princess Eliss — I didn’t expect you to notice me," says Raelor from atop the warehouse roof.

"Actually, I didn’t know exactly where you were, but considering you keep watch over me twenty-four hours a day, I assumed you were somewhere nearby."

Raelor leaps down from the roof and walks toward Renji’s corpse.

He extends a hand toward the body, and a small cloud of glowing purple particles spreads from his palm.

Within moments, both the corpse — clothes included — and the blood staining the asphalt begin dissolving, as though being devoured by those very particles, leaving no trace behind. In the blink of an eye, it becomes as though nothing had ever happened: not even a single strand of Renji’s hair remains — completely consumed by Raelor’s powerful demonic magic.

"Princess Eliss, I’ve told you a thousand times already that using your powers out in the open like this isn’t wise — you could end up being seen by a Monster Slayer, and if that happens, we’ll be in serious trouble. Anyway, what are you planning to do now?"

"Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to give that Miori the exact same fate as this guy, and anyone who dares hurt my Aoshi will end up the same way!"

"Please, try to be discreet."

"Ugh, who do you think you’re talking to? I’ve already thought everything through, so relax. For now, I’ll just keep an eye on her for a few days, study her movements, and wait for the perfect opportunity to kill her without being seen. O-Obviously I’ll have to ask my boss for a few days off first — otherwise he’ll get mad and refuse to pay me, and that would be a huge problem for my beloved Aoshi. Besides, I’m fully booked with reservations this week, so I guess I’ll start following her next week. Actually, now that I think about it, next week’s pretty packed too... oh, whatever! Now that I know who dared hurt him, I’m not in any particular rush anymore — I can wait a few weeks if I have to."