Chapter 1

Deep in a dilapidated alleyway, far from the abandoned factories, an oil lamp was suddenly lit in an inconspicuous, old shack.

In the flickering lamplight, one could see the simple, worn furnishings of the shack: the slightly moldy ceiling, the faded and peeling wallpaper, and a dark rift in the corner of the room slowly wriggling and contracting.

A fearsome-looking abyssal hound was lying next to this rift, motionless like a dead dog completely drained of energy. At the other end of the black iron chain, Shirley, wearing a long black dress with white trim, carefully adjusted the wick of the oil lamp and went to the window to anxiously check the sky outside.

"...The world-wound has appeared," the girl breathed softly. "Fortunately, I got home before night completely fell, or I'd probably have died like a dog in some stinking ditch."

The abyssal hound, which had been sprawled lifelessly on the floor, immediately raised its head, a hoarse, cracking sound coming from its throat: "Speak your mind, but don't bring dogs into it."

"You can still talk? I thought you'd lost half your life in that abyssal transit," Shirley turned to look at Agou. "Now can you tell me? Why did you suddenly want to run – and using the most dangerous abyssal transit? Didn't you say there were countless demons in the abyssal deep sea waiting to chew your black bones?"

"No matter how many demons there are in the abyssal deep sea, I can always go around them. If I can't beat them, I can always run, but just now... If I hadn't run quickly, I might not have been able to escape," the abyssal hound finally seemed to catch its breath at this point, raising its head slightly to look at Shirley. "You should be glad I reacted quickly, opening the rift the moment that terrifying guy shifted his gaze. Otherwise, as long as his eyes were still on you and me, I wouldn't even have been able to open an escape route!"

Shirley frowned, slowly approaching the abyssal hound. "So what exactly happened? Why are you so scared? That guy named 'Duncan'... Agou, have you met him? Is he some big shot from the Annihilation Church? Or does he have some abyssal demon standing behind him?"

The abyssal hound seemed to suddenly recall some extremely terrifying feeling. Its bones all creaked, and then it lowered its voice and muttered, "Never met him. I don't know him either."

Shirley immediately widened her eyes: "You've never met him, yet you're this scared!?"

"Even if I haven't met him, as an abyssal demon, I can 'see' shadows more terrifying than death!" The abyssal hound suddenly raised its head, its empty, crimson eye sockets "staring" straight at Shirley. "A human body stuffed with a mass of t/"

But even in the most prosperous cities, there are forgotten corners. Deep in the slums, which were even older and more dilapidated than the lower district, the number of gas streetlights was far less than in other areas. These streetlights were barely enough to maintain safety between day and night, and this state of "barely enough" was clearly not reassuring.

So in the slums, oil lamps and grease candles using flame lighting were essential items in every household.

If the streetlights were late, then the firelight in the home could at least temporarily resist the darkness after sunset.

Of course, many poor families used oil lamps and candles for another important reason: they couldn't afford the relatively high cost of electrical modification.

Electric lights are bright, clean, and safe. In safe and worry-free areas, they have long been the lighting choice for every household, but in this shack located in the slums...

What can bring Shirley and Agou a sense of security is still only the flickering flame in that old lamp.

In the dim lamplight, the abyssal hound's voice broke the silence: "...Are you still going out these days?"

"Yes."

"Keep making trouble for those Sun bastards?"

"It's to get information from them."

"Anyway, it's about the same... But now it seems that they don't seem to be very clear about what happened eleven years ago. Look at today's situation, even they are asking the locals for information..."

"That's because the people today all happened to be from Lunsa. Maybe there will be something next time."

"Alright, whatever makes you happy."

"Agou, you need to be more reliable when weaving my disguise next time, and don't expose me halfway through."

"I just hope I don't run into that terrifying guy today again – I suspect our aura was exposed in advance today because there was such a strong 'interference' on the scene..."

"Alright, alright, whatever you say..."