Everything is Anime!

About ten minutes after Hikaru left,

several figures appeared in succession near the ghoul's corpse.

They were all wearing raincoats. Now and then, lightning lit up the scene, making their faces momentarily visible—each was a young woman with a distinct look. Judging by their features, none of them seemed very old.

"President, it looks like we got here a bit late."

One of the girls spoke. A few locks of black hair peeked out from beneath her raincoat's hood. She had the gentle features typically seen in someone of East Asian descent. Her eyes were clear and bright, like a ray of early morning light filtering through woodland. Her skin was like a newly bloomed petal—fair with a hint of pink.

"So it appears. And this one died from a slash wound. The cut is smooth and clean; whoever did it must be a skilled swordsman."

Confronted by the cold, dismembered corpse, another girl squatted and carefully inspected it. Wounds that most people would balk at were, to her, as commonplace as wildflowers on the roadside.

"I wonder who was responsible for this?"

"Likely not one of the human Doves. Normal people aren't that strong and tend to operate in groups. After killing a ghoul, they would protect the scene and wait for the cleanup crew. So, our suspect might be an exorcist or a jujutsu sorcerer."

"Rias, didn't we hear that a few Fallen Angels had sneaked in recently? Maybe it's one of the stray exorcists they brought along,"

said the girl named Akeno Himejima. She and the girl called Rias were both students at Kuoh Academy—at least on the surface. In reality, they were devils with concealed identities.

But unlike the bloodthirsty devils of television and film, modern devils are outwardly indistinguishable from humans and maintain a society and magical order far more advanced than what humans possess. Devils, Fallen Angels, Angels, alongside certain human factions and other powers, share dominion over this world.

Kuoh Town is part of the devils' territory, under the rule of the highborn devil Rias Gremory, heiress to the House of Gremory. Assisting her in managing the town are her gathered servants.

"The ghoul was chased here and killed. The culprit is strong, and the fight barely disturbed the surrounding area,"

observed Koneko Toujou with an impassive expression. The petite, white-haired girl inspecting the corpse looked as if she could be a middle-schooler, in stark contrast to the more mature builds of Akeno and Rias.

"I don't sense any holy aura, so whoever did this probably isn't an exorcist,"

remarked Yuuto Kiba, the only male present, scratching his head.

"Since we can't find the one responsible, let's head back. At least we know from what we see here that the killer has no apparent ill intent toward regular humans,"

Rias said, standing up with a troubled look on her face.

In recent years, for reasons unknown, strays—be they devils, ghouls, or exorcists—had been on the rise. And that's not even counting evil spirits, cursed spirits, and other monstrosities born from humanity itself. There had been a steady uptick in attacks every so often, leaving her feeling overwhelmed. If it weren't for some help from human factions, she and her small group of servants would have had a hard time maintaining order in such a large city.

…

Kuoh Academy, Occult Research Club.

This was the base of operations for Rias and her servants.

"Rias, about the ghoul we found dead earlier—I have a guess. We might actually know the one who did it,"

Akeno said after they returned, drying her still-damp hair with a towel post-shower.

At those words, a figure came to Rias's mind.

"You're talking about that transfer student… Hikaru?"

Rias turned her head, letting her crimson hair sway gracefully behind her. Her waist-length hair, a vivid red, made for a striking contrast against her pale skin. Beneath the short skirt of her school uniform extended a smooth, flawless leg—evidence of a healthy fitness routine.

When that name came up, Rias recalled the first time she heard it. For reasons she couldn't quite explain, her feelings had been complicated.

"Remember back in the Kendo Club, when Yuuto Kiba had a match with Hikaru? After five or six moves, Kiba lost."

Akeno said, her tone tinged with admiration.

"We all know how skilled Kiba is with a sword, yet he still lost."

"Without that match, I wouldn't have known such a person existed at this school."

"Back then, Rias, you even had Koneko try to recruit him as your servant. Do you still remember what he said in response?"

Akeno asked.

"Of course I do—'How can a true man ever bow his head to another?'"

When Koneko had delivered that reply to Rias, she'd been utterly stunned. It was the first time anyone had ever refused her so bluntly.