Under the vastness of the moonlit sky, a black-haired young man sat cross-legged on a patch of clean grass, in a state of concentration. In front of him was an unconscious young lady resting in a shallow pool of blood mixed in with chunks of grass and dirt.

It had been an hour since Chekhov had released his split soul into Raynare. Upon entrance, his split soul had cleanly devoured her and began its process of digestion. However, his split soul lacked energy during digestion, and thus fell into a short hibernation.

He had since been releasing a continuous stream of dark energy into her body.

‘Although my precision isn’t meticulous enough to hold her entire body together, I can prevent the larger hemorrhages from bleeding out. However, the most difficult area to rejoin is her left eye.’

Chekhov had chosen to pierce her left eye because he deemed it as his safest soul transplantation method. Unknown to many, the human soul was an intangible object positioned within the temporal lobe of the brain.

All of a sudden, a powerful wave of dark energy pulsated through Raynare. His split soul had begun to awaken; hence, Chekhov gradually began to withdraw his energy.

‘My split soul is indeed very weak right now, but she should still have better control of the dark energy within her own body.’

As Raynare opened her left eye, a massive amount of dark energy rushed inward, generating a funnel-like structure. Her violet iris began re-attaching itself using thin black threads. A spherical black crystal materialized in place of her former damaged pupil.

She carefully sat upright, exuding a wise and profound aura. In contrast to the previous Raynare, her face was not compressed; her muscles were not flexed, nor were her eyebrows clenched. She revealed a calm and indifferent expression despite the intense pain.

Raynare slightly turned her head, gazing at Chekhov. Illuminated by the fluorescent white moonlight, their calm eyes interlocked with each other as she spoke out with a soft voice.

“I can temporarily rejoin my injuries while my body heals on its own. With time, everything is expected to heal except for my left eye. Although I can replicate my pupil, I’ve entirely lost vision.”

Chekhov reached toward his backpack, taking out a small white plastic containing a fresh set of women’s clothes that he had prepared beforehand.

“How long do we have until you deteriorate?”

“I’ll start deteriorating in 16 days and will fully disappear in 22 days.”

Chekhov tossed her the white plastic as he stood up. While zipping up his backpack, he asked her one last question.

“You know what to do and where to find me, right?”

Raynare’s beautiful violet eyes glittered in the moonlight as she revealed a light smile.

“Yes, I’m well aware.”

. . . . .

A few days later.

‘This is the place where high quality nourishment can be found.’

A luxurious three-story building stood tall on a uniform rectangular expanse. As the sun was rising, its crepuscular rays shed light on the polished light gray walls and neatly arranged arrays of laminated glass windows.

Known as Kuoh Academy, this enclosure accommodated a plethora of facilities including indoor pools, baseball stadiums, and outdoor track fields.

From outside the black iron gate, Chekhov was peering up at the majestic building. He was wearing the standard Kuoh Academy boys' uniform consisting of a white long-sleeved shirt, a black ribbon on the collar, and a black blazer on top.

Clearly, he had enrolled in Kuoh Academy for the upcoming semester. Although this establishment seemed like an opulent high school, it was secretly an undercover base for two Devil peerages.

‘There’s no security guard standing outside. The gate is wide open, too. It’s probable that they’ve placed numerous magic formations.’

Standing still, Chekhov released a shallow channel of dark energy in front of the open gate.

‘I can’t detect anything. It could also be that I’m too weak to interact with magic formations?’

He casually strolled along the spotless white concrete, reaching the main building’s giant, open entrance. Leaning forward, he pretended to admire the view inside while looking for signs of hostility from the environment.

The interior was floored with glossy dark blue tiles. Within sight, there was a straight-run staircase with golden railings leading to the second floor. Strangely enough, the area seemed entirely deserted.

‘I might be overthinking things, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Even so, I should never conduct a wide-scale scan. If a high-class Devil like Rias or Sona is nearby, they might be able to trace it back to me.’’

At this moment, he detected the motion of a human-shaped figure heading toward him.

‘It’s moving in my direction… very clumsily?’

The figure didn’t seem to notice Chekhov’s presence nor was it trying to be stealthy. He decided to wait a little while to see who would show up.

‘I can guess that this yellow-skinned squirrel is female and does not possess any supernatural strength. Although that’s not who I was looking for, I can still get some information out of her.’

It wasn’t long before the quick pitter-patter of footsteps resounded within Chekhov’s ears.

A young woman with long brown hair was scurrying down the stairs. She was wearing the standard Kuoh Academy girls’ uniform, and her hair was styled into a high ponytail with a pink ribbon.

Clearly, she had a flustered expression on her face. She appeared to be holding a large stack of papers with both hands while descending the staircase in a rush.

As the she approached the ground floor, Chekhov was planning to trip her in a similar manner to how he tripped the blonde waitress. However, the young woman unexpectedly lost her footing even without Chekhov’s impingement.

She uttered a brief squeal as she stumbled.

“Aah!”

Her papers scattered into the air as she plummeted face-first. Just as her fragile body was about to inexorably crash into the dark blue floor tiles, she found herself suspended in the air while being held gently in warm and companionable arms.

She glanced upward, and her cheeks reddened as she saw a handsome young man with caramel brown eyes. Chekhov softly let her back down and gave her a cordial smile.

“It’s dangerous to run down the stairs with all those papers in hand.”

Her heartbeat rapidly paced as she stammered.

“I-I…”

She collected herself as she continued.

“I’m so clumsy. Thanks for catching me before I got hurt.”

Chekhov assured her with a suave voice. “No worries, I’ll help you clean up this mess.”

He bent down and started gathering the scattered papers; the young woman shyly followed suit. As Chekhov was picking a few of them up, he quickly glanced at their content.

‘These fliers advertise a school-wide event hosted by Kuoh Academy’s Cooking Club. Another opportunity presents itself to me.’

While the young woman was collecting her fliers, she gathered the courage to request Chekhov for his name.

Peeking up at his face, she asked, “Uhm, I’ve never seen you around before. What’s your name?”

Chekhov looked back at her and responded with a smile. “I’ve just enrolled for the upcoming semester. It’s nice to meet you, my name’s Chekhov.”

“Chekhov,” she mumbled as she engraved his name deep into her heart.

“That’s a wonderful name. I’m Miwa.”

Chekhov resumed collecting the fliers and casually asked her a question.

“By the way, Kuoh Academy seems quite empty. Have you seen anyone else around?”

“Oh, for the past few days I haven’t seen many students.”

Miwa paused for a moment, placing her right index finger on her cheek as she was thinking.

“Other than you, there’s only the Tennis Club, the Women’s Track Team, and the Cooking Club which I’m part of.”

‘She hasn’t seen the Occult Research Club or the Student Council. That’s unusual, but they should still be lurking around here somewhere.’

Chekhov replied with a zealous tone. “Miwa, can I join the Cooking Club? I have a piquant sushi recipe that I would love to share!”

Miwa was taken aback at this serendipity.

“Y-you want to join the Cooking Club?”

“Of course! Unless there’s a problem with me joining.”

She frantically replied while shaking with her hands, “No, never! There’s never a problem with you joining!”

“That sounds delightful. Where do I sign up for it?”

“Umm… Well, Cooking Club registrations aren’t open until the semester starts. But I’ll talk to our president to make an exception for you!”

She continued with sparkling eyes and a hopeful expression. “I’ll just need a way to contact you…”

Chekhov handed her the rest of the fliers as he spoke, “We can exchange our numbers. How does that sound?”

Miwa’s heart paced even faster. She squealed with excitement as she exclaimed, “Yes! That’s perfect! It works for me.”

She promptly took out her phone and exchanged numbers with Chekhov. As she was gazing at his face one last time, Miwa remembered that she was in a hurry.

“Oh my gosh. I need to get back to my club. I really wanted to chat with you longer, Chekhov.”

“That’s all right. Just make sure you walk carefully this time!”

Miwa reluctantly grabbed the stack of fliers with both arms and scurried out the front entrance. As she disappeared from his view, Chekhov conducted a low-scale, precise scan to make sure no one was watching.

‘A huge opportunity just waiting to be exploited is the Cooking Club. All that’s left is to build up some reputation with the Occult Research Club.’

After confirming that he was alone, his face gradually returned to a cold and indifferent expression.

‘I wonder how my split soul is doing. She should have arrived at Kuisui Town by now.’

. . . . .

Kuisui Town, Japan.

A beautiful girl with silky black hair was standing in a deserted parking lot. It was enclosed by tall gray buildings composed of Bedford limestone. The only entrance to this site was a 7-foot-wide congested alleyway, allowing for only one car to pass through at a time.

Moreover, the sun was at its highest point, casting light upon the dilapidated asphalt concrete floor littered with cracks and crevices. Waste was scattered around every nook and cranny, producing an awfully noisome odour.

Despite the foul stench, the young lady’s face showed no sign of irritation as she stared at an unconscious man on the floor.

He appeared to be in his 40s; his appearance was disheveled with a shabby gray beard, unkempt curly hair, and a threadbare brown coat. Black particles were accumulating around him, encompassing the man with a foggy spherical atmosphere.

The young lady wore an indifferent expression as she held her delicate right arm out. After the sphere had fully formed a thin layer, she rotated her forearm upward and then slowly closed her fingers into a fist.

In complete silence, the dark sphere collapsed into a miniscule black dot, eventually disappearing into thin air. Other than the peculiar disappearance of the beggar, the parking lot seemed to be unchanged.

‘I should be able to recover to my full strength once I finish digesting him.’

She lowered her arm to her side and calmly walked out of the alleyway, appearing on a semi-populated sidewalk. Stepping out into the open, the midday sun’s parching rays illuminated her face, revealing her porcelain light skin and bewitching violet eyes.

‘I can now start looking for rations to feed my main soul.’

After devouring the original Raynare, she had spent a few days in Kuoh Town recuperating her injuries and rummaging through her memories.

This morning, she had recently arrived in Kuisui Town. It was a remote community; no one would care if a few citizens had mysteriously disappeared. Additionally, causing trouble here wouldn’t create any unwanted butterfly effects.

‘While angling for carp, I may be able to catch a rainbow trout.’

Raynare walked at a steady pace along the sidewalk, secretly inspecting the auras of pedestrians and passengers who came into proximity with her. After 15 minutes, she had noticed that the sidewalks had become much wider and increasingly crowded.

When she came to a stop at the streetlight, a particular store caught her eye.

Across the road was an old-fashioned coffee shop. Although the interior was diminutive, it had an outdoor exterior filled with rounded white tables and black folding chairs. Many people were prattling with each other and cramming themselves full of sweet and sugary diabetes.

‘I remember seeing this coffee shop on the internet. It’s located along the edge of the Kuisui Plaza, and it comes into proximity with the most bustling intersection in this town.’

She crossed the street and approached a brown folding sign. Written in white chalk, it listed the coffee shop’s opening and closing hours.

‘This café closes at 7:00 PM. Perhaps I can buy the cheapest item on the menu and start loitering around the open exterior.’

Raynare lightly pushed open a dual-door entrance and she was greeted by a lightly caramelized and almost nutty aroma.

The first thing in her sight was a young man with unkempt blue hair and light freckles, operating an old-fashioned countertop. His left elbow was on the counter, and he was leaning on his hand with a bored expression. He seemed to be spaced out while fidgeting with the cash register.

Raynare approached the young man and gave him a friendly smile.

“Hello, I’d like to order a small espresso.”

The blue-haired young man tilted his head upward and saw a beautiful face with silky black hair and violet eyes.

One corner of his mouth rose, revealing a half smirk. He curled his lower lip inward and lightly licked the bottom of it. Clearly, the young man didn't bother concealing his lustful expression as his eyes lasciviously swept her body.

“One small espresso for the beautiful young lady.”

He swiftly grabbed a small cup and turned around to operate the coffee machine.

‘The people in this world seem significantly more prurient than in my past life. Perhaps I can use that to my advantage.’

As the young man finished making the espresso, he turned around and spoke with a plummy voice.

“Here’s your espresso, ma’am.”

Raynare placed her exact change on the counter. As she reached for the drink, she heard him continue.

“If you go on a date with me, I’ll make this free of charge.”

‘It’s not worth spending my time on a date to devour him. There are many other easier ways to find isolated people. However—’

Raynare responded with a condescending tone.

“Sorry, I’m not interested. You must be delusional to think that you’re in my league with your low salary job and ugly ass face.”

‘That might be enough to aggravate him.’

She calmly took the espresso and walked away from the register without saying another word. She didn’t want to squander any more time. Otherwise, she could potentially miss a Sacred Gear wielder.

‘I could have wiped his memory instead of conversing with him. But I can tell that he’s very belligerent, an easy weakness to take advantage of.’

As a Fallen Angel, Raynare had a spell that could wipe the short-term memories of ordinary people. The only drawback was that other supernatural beings could pick up traces of her spell and determine that Holy Power was recently used.

Nevertheless, she had other ideas. As Raynare walked out of his view, the blue-haired young man’s smile instantly dropped into a frown and his surroundings exuded a resentful ambience.

He muttered under his breath, “B*tch! I’ll have my way with you whether you like it or not.”

However, he didn’t know that a certain young lady with violet eyes could still hear him.

‘Perfect. I didn’t misjudge your character. I’m expecting my tartare delivery to arrive by tonight. I just hope you won’t let me down.’