Time to Raise Some Hell

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"..."

Erina Nakiri and Hisako Arato froze when they heard what Hayasaka had just said. Their pupils dilated in shock.

Their earlier emotions were forgotten as they stammered out a single question:

"All of you?"

Erina's voice was strained as the words left her mouth. She looked at Hayasaka, then glanced nervously at everyone else in the room.

On the other side, Hisako was struggling to believe it.

"Wait, they're actually devils?!"

Then wasn't this whole place basically a den of devils?!

Hisako looked at Hayasaka and the others, her throat tightening as she swallowed hard.

Something about this gave her the creeping sense. That at any moment, the people in front of her would peel off their faces and reveal terrifying forms—then devour her whole!

"Uuuu..."

Just imagining that made Hisako shiver uncontrollably and let out a pitiful whimper.

Hayasaka Ai just sighed.

"Relax. We were human before we became devils."

"Ehhhh?"

Both Erina and Hisako blinked in confusion, clearly not following what Hayasaka meant.

After thinking for a moment, Hayasaka clarified, "To be more precise… we're now half-human, half-devil."

"Before the transformation, we were just regular humans like you."

Even though they'd turned into devils, their human blood hadn't been erased—it still coexisted within them in a surprisingly compatible way.

Since there was a good chance these two might end up becoming part of the familia someday, Hayasaka figured it wouldn't hurt to explain a bit.

A few moments later, Erina and Hisako finally understood.

"So basically…" Hisako hesitated, "Miss Hayasaka, you're both a devil AND a human right now?"

Hayasaka nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."

Erina nervously asked, "Then this is your true form?"

Hayasaka answered calmly, "Of course."

Well... when she shifted into devil form, there were definitely physical changes.

But this was her default, normal appearance.

Hearing her confirm it eased both Erina and Hisako's nerves a bit.

"You feel better now?" Hayasaka asked dryly, her expression unreadable as she looked at them.

The two girls exchanged awkward glances and gave sheepish smiles. "Sorry, we just—"

Hayasaka raised a hand to cut them off. "It's fine. It's normal for humans to be afraid when they hear the word 'devil.'"

Honestly, most people would probably think it was just a bad joke.

But once you saw supernatural power with your own eyes, the idea of devils didn't seem quite so impossible anymore.

Oh well. At least she didn't have to waste time explaining any more.

While they walked toward the kitchen, Erina suddenly asked, "So becoming a devil... means you get powers? Like how Kaguya-san has that cold aura thing?"

She was thinking of the strange chill that always clung to Kaguya Shinomiya.

Combined with what Hayasaka had just said—about all of them being normal humans before.

So basically… Becoming a devil = gaining supernatural powers?

Hayasaka nodded. She didn't try to hide it.

"Yeah. When you become a devil, you naturally gain devilic powers."

Even ordinary people could get power like that?

Erina's mind began to race. A curious spark lit up in her chest.

Could I... become someone like those manga protagonists who command the elements or battle monsters?

Then another thought struck her.

"But wait," she asked, "Aren't there humans who are born with supernatural powers too?"

She was thinking of her God Tongue.

That definitely seemed like something beyond normal human ability.

Up until recently, when she still believed this world was purely mundane, she had assumed her God Tongue was just a rare natural talent.

But now... there was a better term for it: Supernatural power.

Still, if her special power was just tasting food and judging chefs, wasn't that kind of lame?

Like seriously? All she could do was taste dishes and give critiques?

That's it?

Erina's face twitched slightly at the thought.

God, that's so underwhelming.

Up ahead, Hayasaka responded to her question with a hum, then offered an example. "There's a first-year girl at Shuchiin who was born with the ability to see spirits and curses."

"Yotsuya Miko. She has spirit sight—can see curses, ghosts, that sort of thing."

"Curses?!"

Both Erina and Hisako yelped at the same time, suddenly feeling a chill creep down their spines.

Then, out of nowhere, a cold voice whispered in their ears: "Mind if I join you two in learning?"

"AAHHH!!"

They jumped nearly a foot in the air, practically crying from fear.

"What's wrong with them?" Kaguya asked, confused, glancing at Hayasaka.

Hayasaka sighed. "Can you please turn off the cold air?"

Kaguya frowned slightly. "But Lord Lynn said it feels nice when he hugs me like this."

As she spoke, Kaguya blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl in love.

Hayasaka was speechless.

Well, duh. Of course it felt nice.

He's basically using you like an air conditioner.

"So... you're just staying like that all day?"

Kaguya puffed out her chest proudly. "I'm training as Frost Devil!"

"That way, I can always maintain the perfect temperature Lord Lynn likes!"

"...???"

Hayasaka paused, then gave Kaguya a weird look, glancing down at her chest.

"Wow. I can't believe you actually thought of that."

A fully adjustable chest. Damn... Kaguya's got a serious edge now.

Kaguya grinned smugly at the praise, hands on her hips.

Now, when she warmed Lynn's bed, she wouldn't have to worry about him being uncomfortable!

Yup, clearly, the two were having very different conversations.

Meanwhile, Erina and Hisako watched this exchange in stunned silence, then glanced at each other.

They could both see the disbelief in each other's eyes.

Curses?

Just thinking about the horror movies they'd seen made their hearts skip a beat.

Devils were real. So curses?

Yeah... not that far-fetched anymore.

They both started glancing nervously around the room, clutching their hands as if bracing for something to appear.

Of course, the more they couldn't see anything... the more freaked out they got.

Hayasaka noticed right away what they were worried about.

"Relax. This is a devil stronghold. No cursed spirit with half a brain would dare wander in here."

Plus, there was a barrier set up around the territory. Not even a fly could sneak in unnoticed.

"And besides..." she added casually, "normal humans can't see cursed spirits anyway."

"Eh?"

Erina and Hisako blinked. "R-Really?"

But before they could breathe a sigh of relief, Hayasaka added with a chilling smirk:

"Of course... the moment you do see one... it probably means it's already decided to eat you."

Their faces froze.

Eat us?

AAAAHHHH!!

Why did you have to say that?!

Now they were even more terrified!

Erina and Hisako were both trembling, frozen in place with wide eyes, not daring to move a muscle. It was like they were afraid some cursed spirit would suddenly pop out from the shadows.

Hayasaka Ai: "…"

She sighed, clearly exasperated. "You've lived this long, haven't you? And you've never actually run into any cursed spirits."

"Oh… that's true!"

Erina blinked, then slapped her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

But still, even knowing that, she couldn't shake the fear completely. Her eyes kept darting toward the dark corners of the room, half-expecting some creepy, misshapen monster to leap out at any second.

Seeing her like that, Hayasaka continued, "Besides…"

"If you ever do see a cursed spirit, just pretend you didn't. Act like it's not there."

"Huh? Pretend it's not there?"

Erina looked confused.

Hayasaka explained, "As long as you can't see them, low-level cursed spirits can't actually attack humans."

After joining the familia, she and Kaguya had taken down a few cursed spirits together, so she had a decent grasp of how they worked.

That said, she didn't completely get it either.

Why was it that cursed spirits couldn't attack humans if the humans couldn't see them?

And more importantly, this rule only applied to the low-level ones.

It kind of felt like someone had intentionally set things up that way.

...

Hearing Hayasaka's explanation, both Erina and Hisako felt their fear slowly start to ease.

However, Hisako, ever the sharp one, caught an important detail.

"Wait—low-level?"

Hayasaka nodded calmly. "Yeah. Cursed spirits are ranked by levels."

She paused for a beat before continuing. "Low-level ones don't have enough cursed energy to affect the real world. That's why regular people can't see them."

"But…"

"High-level ones can mess with reality."

She said it so matter-of-factly.

"And if you ever run into one of those, just lie down on the ground and don't move."

Erina's eyes lit up with hope. "So if I don't move, they can't see me?"

"No."

Hayasaka shook her head. "That means you're 100% screwed. If you even try to struggle, you'll die horribly."

Erina: "…"

What kind of answer was that?

She gave Hayasaka a wounded look, like a puppy that had just been kicked.

Hisako's lips twitched as well.

How could someone sound so cold and deadpan while saying something so terrifying?

Then again, it made a weird kind of sense.

Hisako sighed in resignation.

The more you know, the scarier this world becomes.

She should've just plugged her ears and ignored the whole conversation.

Why the hell did she even get dragged here in the first place?

Hisako shot Erina a betrayed look.

She was just a regular secretary! No one ever told her that being Erina Nakiri's secretary would be this dangerous!

Erina and Hisako, having just had their worldview completely obliterated, sat in stunned silence.

It took a long while before they could even begin to accept this terrifying reality hiding behind the world they thought they knew.

Eventually, Erina asked curiously, "What about that girl who can see them? How's she doing now?"

To be born with the ability to see cursed spirits… that had to be a miserable existence.

She couldn't even imagine how hopeless that must feel.

She must be living such a pitiful life, right?

Erina found herself genuinely worried about her.

"You mean Miko?" Hayasaka paused, then said with a touch of sympathy, "She's probably off in another world somewhere, fighting monsters and leveling up."

"Huh?"

Erina blinked, completely lost.

Another world?

Fighting monsters??

Leveling up???

Wait—did that girl get isekai'd?!

What the hell?! How did the tone shift again?!

— — —

Meanwhile, in the Bleach World— Hueco Mundo

Katerea Leviathan stood tall atop a sand dune, grinning wildly as she waved her arm. "Let's gooooo~"

"Time to raise some hell!"

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