"What the hell are you going on about?"

Asuramaru was confused by Shiranui's question. Though, the cursed spirit would be lying if they said they weren't interested in learning the limits of their vessel. Seeing that they obtained Asuramaru's attention, Shiranui smiled as they continued where they left off.

"You see, the Demon Hunter Organization just received an S.O.S from Jinoshima. Apparently a beast was reported to be taking humans from a village and consuming them whole. Since Koritsu Shiki's training didn't produce any results, I took it up on myself to give him a chance to show his true potential. After all, humans tend to evolve exponentially when presented with real danger towards their lives."

Asuramaru closed their eyes as they thought about Shiranui's proposition. They want to know how far they can go with Shiki as a vessel, however, if Shiki dies while they inhabit his body then Asuramaru would die as well.

"Tell me, what do you plan on doing, Shiranui?"

"My own mystic eyes allow me to "dominate" a target, down to their very soul. What i'm doing is quite simple. Shiki relies too much on his allies and Mystic Eyes. Pretty soon he'll rely on you too much as well and be in a stagnant state. That's why, until the mission is over and he reports back to me, Koritsu Shiki is forbidden from using his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception."

"Shiranui, what do you have to gain from all this?"

Asuramaru hated to admit it, but Shiki growing stronger on his own did sound like a good deal. If Shiki alone managed to surpass his limitations, then the moment the boy used them and his Mystic Eyes again will be astronomically more dangerous. However, that would only benefit Shiki and Asuramaru.

"Heh, do I need a reason to indulge myself and seek out enjoyment? Besides, my little killer needs to learn how cruel our world is. Plus, there's also something I need that only you can do."

After saying this, Shiranui whispered into Asuramaru's right ear. For a brief moment, Shiranui could've sworn they saw a smile form on Asuramaru's face. As Asuramaru stared at Shiranui, they couldn't deny that Shiranui has fully gotten their interest. An exhausted sigh escaped from Asuramaru as they rubbed the back of their head. Soon, the cursed spirit finally reached a conclusion.

"Fine then, I'll play along with your game for now. In exchange, when this is over, tell me who you really are. Just from this one encounter, I can already tell. That body may belong to Shiranui Ouma, but the person I'm talking to is just like me."

Just as Asuramaru said this, they suddenly swapped concincousness again as Shiki was slowly shaking his head. Soon he suddenly pinned Shiranui to the ground as he had a look of confusion on his face but felt like tearing out Shiranui's throat right then and there.

"What do you want?"

"Simple, my little killer. On the island of Jinoshima lies a village where a lone tribe lives under the protection of the former head of the Demon Hunter Organization, my father. Apparently a beast has appeared on the island and the inhabitants have been reported to have been devoured by this beast one after another."

"Just like Merkava........"

"Yes, but there are some differences. The village chief will inform you of the details once you reach Jinoshima this weekend. However, I only have one thing to advise you about."

Shiranui's eyes glowed purple once more as they stared into Shiki's green eyes. The boy couldn't describe this feeling so easily, but if he were to try, it felt like he was being constricted. As Shiranui pushed Shiki off of them, they only had one command for them.

"Until you finish the mission and report back to me, you're not allowed to use your Mystic Eyes of Death Perception."

After saying that, Shiranui turned around and began to take their leave. Shiki's body began to shake after Shiranui left. Just what in the world did Shiranui do to them. Just as Shiki was gathering his thoughts, he thought about what Shiranui said. Slowly, the boy was about to remove his Mystic Eyes Killers only for one thing to happen.

Shiki suddenly fell onto his knees as sweat began to run down his face. His eyes held nothing but fear in them as he saw something for a brief moment. He couldn't see the figure that suddenly flashed before him. All he saw were three pairs of eyes staring down at him. Right away, Shiki could tell, this thing wasn't human. However, unlike the other times where his instincts told him to kill a monster, they now told him one thing to do.

Run.

"What the hell did they do to me?"

~Meanwhile~
Olivia was seen launching multiple arrows made of mana from her bow as they were raining down on a forest. As each one made contact with the ground, a small explosion occured as the area was getting destroyed. However, while this happened, she quickly turned around as she kicked Megumi in her chin after sensing someone's mana behind her.

"You definitely got faster, but you need to learn how to suppress your mana more when you're embracing your vampiric side. Your surprise attack loses purpose if the enemy can simply sense your mana to locate you like I did. Though, you seem distracted."

"So you noticed. Well, i'm grateful to be have come here. I'm having a better grasp on how to use my magic and slowly learning more about what I can do after drinking blood but......"

As Megumi said this, Olivia could see the girl was clearly worried about something. In this situation, Olivia could only make two guesses. The first one was how she would fear of becoming more like the man who ruined her life and made her into a monster in the first place. The second option was even more obvious.

"Don't worry about Koritsu. You were with him when he helped defend the Tokyo Branch, remember. I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"You're right, thanks, Olivia-Senpai."

Olivia quickly turned her head around the moment she was called that. While Megumi assumed she might have offended the girl, Olivia was covering her face with her hands to hide how red her face was. This was the first and only time someone called her Senpai and she didn't know how to react.

"I know that I said Koritsu Shiki can handle this. But if Shiranui is the one pulling the strings, then I have a bad feeling about all this."

~On Jinoshima~
"So this is Jinoshima."

One man stood alone on the shore of Jinoshima. As he looked around the area, he saw no people or animals near him. With a small smirk on his face, the man sat down on the ground as he opened his mouth. The moment he did, a small ball could be seen emerging from it as it landed in his hand.

As the ball was unfolding, it revealed to be a grotesque cursed spirit resembling a caterpillar as it coiled around the man's body. While the man began to look out towards the ocean, he simply waited as he had one task given to him.

"Well then, guess i'll wait for you to get here, Koritsu."

Former S-Rank Executioner:Fushiguro Toji