A Plan

Stray Devils. Reincarnated Devils who've broken off from their masters, whether by choice or by force. Their souls have been turned into that of a Devil, but they're body is still in the process of becoming one. The sinful nature of their new souls can't be contained, and it warps the body, turning the Devil into a monster.

That's what that slithering monster is.

After I cleaned the blood from my face, I went back to my room and used my eyes again. This time though, I knew where to look. I aimed my eyes right at that abandoned church, and I immediately began pulling out all the information I needed. I didn't have a nosebleed this time, thankfully.

Which led me to realizing that Devils can apparently turn other creatures into Devils. That's definitely a system that can't be abused in the slightest. Totally safe and fair.

But that's an issue I shelved for later thought.

Right now, I'm sitting by my desk, a pen in hand and my notebook flipped to an empty page. My eyes glow in my dim room as information continuously rushes into my head. And anything important I need to know about that Stray Devil is immediately jotted down.

It takes me a good ten minutes to write everything down. Once I do, I sigh in relief as I finally let my eyes rest. The golden glow fades, and my room dims.

I cautiously dab a finger on my lips. It comes back clean. I let out another sigh of relief.

With my writing done, I place my pen down. My fingers feel a little stiff from all the writing, but it was worth it. Below me are two full pages of notes, written with coordination and detail. It's a skill cultivated from all the note-taking I did back when I was an undergraduate student, although I still find myself baffled that my hands are able to keep up with the stream of information my eyes blast into my brain.

That aside,

That monster is a Stray Devil. Once a human, it was forcibly turned into a Devil when its master reincarnated it after it died. Having been revived, it wanted nothing more than to laze around. And with its primary Sin being Sloth, it became nothing more than a couch potato, despite its great potential.

Fed up, its master decided to use his authority to force the Devil to move. Annoyed, it struck out and killed its own master. It then ran, its body slowly being corrupted by its sinful soul now that its master can no longer tether it to rationality.

Once it lost all lucidity, it was driven forward by nothing else but the unending hunger it felt. And by coincidence, it settled in Kuoh just a month ago.

I frown. It's somewhat tragic, I suppose. That person didn't ask to be reincarnated, and they've lost their rationality a long time ago.

But that monster isn't that person. Not anymore. That thing is no more than a beast. It has to be put down.

Except it doesn't change the fact that I'm planning on killing something, am I?

I grimace. My eyes are more than happy to provide me with more and more information about how that Stray Devil can no longer think, but it doesn't make the pit in my gut disappear. I'm seriously thinking about killing something.

…

I won't stop. I can't. It's alive, but so what? It's a monster that's kidnapping and killing people. The person it was in the past is gone now.

I still feel uncomfortable, but it'll be enough to keep me going. It has to be enough.

As I've seen in the past, its body is impossibly thin, nearly as thin as paper. Composed of nothing more but skin and a thin layer of muscle, the Stray Devil is extremely flexible, capable of slipping through any opening it wants to move through. It's also really quiet, slithering across surfaces without a single sound.

But it's also slow. It doesn't move very fast. It's essentially an assassin snake, just one that's nearly 3 meters long, as wide as a human torso, but nearly as thin as paper.

It attacks by first biting its victim with its fangs. It then secrets a paralytic poison and coils around its victim to stop it from moving. Once its prey has fallen unconscious, the Stray Devil then swallows it whole. It'll then carry it all the way to the abandoned church, where it'll start chewing out chunks of the victim's body.

I'm confident I can avoid getting hit. Its main advantage is the fact that it's practically invisible in the dark. Except my eyes grant me near-omniscient eyesight. I can see just as well in the dark as I can in light. Of course, if I can somehow lead the Stray Devil out of the basement, that'll be even better.

I already have a vague plan on how to deal with it, but there's no telling just what'll happen once I do confront that Stray Devil.

I take a breath.

I stand up. Aside from some stiffness in my limbs, I'm pretty much healed. My body has successfully weathered the implosion of Primal Energy I experienced, and I've come out stronger.

I walk over my window and pull the blinds away. I snap the clasp open, and I easily pull the fairly heavy window open. There's over five meters between me and the ground.

I turn back to the door. I could go out the normal way, but I don't think my mother would let me go out. She'd probably drag me back in by force if I tried.

Coincidentally, no one's watching the gardens right now.

…

I quickly grab my backpack and drop everything that's inside onto my bed. I then sling it onto my back.

I take a breath, and with faux confidence I leap right out of the window. The wind rushes through my hair, and I grit my teeth as I turn and soften my landing with a roll. I stop my movement by digging my hand into the dirt. I quickly turn around and use my eyes to see if anyone's noticed my fall. Thankfully, no one did.

I immediately make my way to the streets and begin running. The faster I go, the less time that Stray Devil has to kill another person. I don't care how I looked then, I just need to be fast.

What I didn't realize then was that my newly enhanced body was running at speeds comparable to professional athletes decades older than me.

I don't immediately head to the abandoned church though. Instead, I take a quick detour to a plot that's never been used. Some tubes and hollow support beams lie all around. I look around, and any pipes I find are immediately stuffed into my backpack. They don't quite fit, but they at least won't fall when I run.

They'll be important for my plan.

Sadly, I can't find any rope anywhere. Shame, but it's not the end of the world. My plan can still be done without it. It'll just be a little harder.

I take off into a run once more. I'm headed straight for the abandoned church, this time. The road starts slanting up as I reach a hill. And there, standing in the distance is the abandoned church. The whole place is decrepit, its walls cracked and covered in flora and dust. The once small gardens lining its entrance have grown into a massive fern.

I narrow my eyes. Even from out here, I can feel the Stray Devil that's hiding inside. It's an oppressive feeling, a weight that pushes down against my shoulders.

But then, out of instinct, I activate my eyes. Not to search for information, nor to look through the physical walls. No. I do it to 'announce' myself, to push the magic within the Eyes of God out into the real world.

I don't know why I'm doing this, but something inside me raged the moment the Stray Devil's energy tried to squash me. It almost feels like there's a predator in me, and it's pissed that something so insignificant dared to attack me without showing itself.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I hear a loud hiss, and I turn to see the Stray Devil slithering through the barely opened doors of the church. Its impossibly thin body slips right through the small gap, and its bright red eyes glare at me with undisguised hunger.

I should feel afraid. After all, there's a monster before me, and it wants to eat me.

Yet,

Why am I smiling?

I don't know. I really don't, but-

My blood is rushing. My heart is beating like crazy. Adrenaline is rushing through my brain, and my eyes are feeding me with contingencies after contingencies.

My hand reaches to one of the pipes in my backpack, and my eyes narrow.

"Well," I say as I pull out the pipe. "Thanks for coming out of the basement." I brandish the pipe out against the Stray Devil. "Saves me the effort."

The Stray Devil hisses angrily. It opens its jaws, and it lunges at me.

Heat coils beneath my chest, and with a single breath I leap forward.