"Is this… a special effect of Kekkijutsu?"
Riku was puzzled. The kidnapper at the entrance was the first person he'd killed since acquiring Kekkijutsu, and it felt no different from before.
No blood energy feedback, just the usual 5 experience points. No change at all.
But this one, taken down by Ei-rō, gave him a unique sensation—a faint pulse of blood energy.
That energy seeped into Ei-rō, enhancing the Kekkijutsu, then flowed back to him, slightly boosting his physical abilities.
"Grr!"
Ei-rō's low growl snapped Riku back to reality. He saw the wolf baring its teeth beside the hostage, poised but not attacking without his command.
"…"
Riku dashed to the hostage's side, recalling Ei-rō, which melted back into the ground at his feet.
"Passed out?"
Riku scanned the hostage. The guy was alive, just knocked out from sheer terror.
Since he wasn't dead, Riku left him be. His gaze shifted to the kidnapper Ei-rō had killed.
Riku approached, crouching to inspect the body. He stabbed the neck wound a few times, obscuring the bite marks Ei-rō left.
"Nothing special about this."
After a close look, Riku's expression was odd. He couldn't sense anything different between this corpse and the one he'd killed earlier.
The only difference? This one was Ei-rō's kill, while the other was his own handiwork.
"Guess I need to make a trip back to the Demon Slayer world. There's still so much about Kekkijutsu and Oni I need to brush up on."
Riku rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
But as someone who skipped out on "company training" entirely, who was he supposed to ask for a crash course on this stuff?
While Riku pondered, V and Jack Welles finally caught up. They'd been covering him with gunfire from the rear, so they were a bit behind.
"This guy's got some serious luck, still kicking."
V sounded surprised, eyeing the unconscious middle-aged company dog. She and Jack hadn't noticed Ei-rō and assumed Riku had done all the heavy lifting.
"Hey, wake up."
V slapped the man's face hard, trying to rouse him. Leaving him passed out here wasn't ideal.
The guy was filthy, reeking of piss. Even Riku, an Oni, could barely stand the stench, let alone V.
"Call his family to pick him up."
Jack grimaced, just as disgusted. They'd just bought a new car—secondhand, sure, but a secondhand new car was still a new car, right?
"Get in touch with Father, see how to handle this."
Riku chuckled, then turned to start looting the spoils.
They didn't deal in organs, but guns, gear—those could fetch a few eddies.
The weapons and equipment these street rats used were cheap, knockoff junk, but bundled together, they could still sell for a couple hundred eddies. Every bit counted.
Jack nodded, dialing Father, while V joined Riku in scavenging the trash.
"Father, we've got the target out alive. You sending someone, or is the client coming themselves?"
Once the call connected, Jack laid out their demands with confidence. They'd pulled the guy out alive—mission accomplished, no question.
Sure, it'd been a messy ride, and at one point, they thought the guy was a goner, but the outcome was solid.
"Got it. I'll notify the client now."
Father's voice carried a hint of surprise. Honestly, he'd figured they'd be hauling out a corpse, not a living person.
After hanging up, Jack drove the car inside, helping V and Riku load the random junk into the trunk.
No niji-gen kōmon (anime-style storage) for them—they couldn't just carry an arsenal on their person.
"Client's here."
Father sent word after a short wait. The client had arrived at the factory gate.
V went to meet them. It was a middle-aged woman in a plain sedan—the hostage's wife.
She looked nervous, her eyes a mix of gratitude and fear as she glanced at Riku, V, and Jack.
After loading her unconscious husband into the car, she sped off like she couldn't get away fast enough.
"You get used to it."
V shrugged with a smirk. To regular folks, cyberpunks and edgerunners like them were hardly the good guys.
"We don't need her thanks. She pays, we deliver. Simple as that."
Jack snapped his fingers, grinning. The 50,000 eddies had hit their accounts. Job done.
"Gimme 2,000, and you two split the rest."
Riku spoke up. With this job done, he'd paid off his recent loan. Pay it back, and borrowing again's no hassle.
Jack and V didn't argue, casually dividing the rest. None of them were the type to nickel-and-dime.
"So, what's next? Hit up Afterlife for some fun?"
Freshly paid, V raised an eyebrow, suggesting a night out at Afterlife.
"Nah, you two go. I'm heading home."
Riku waved her off, declining. Truth be told, he wasn't big on the "live for today" mindset.
He was too used to grinding. Instead of blowing time at a bar, he'd rather head home and run a few sets of his "Bald Head Training Method."
Plus, he couldn't drink. Going to a bar would just mean sitting there, watching—pure third-wheel vibes.
And with V and Jack, there'd be no sampling any "special services." V was a woman, and Jack was old-school. A night out with them was just drinks and chats, no wild stuff.
Not that Riku was into joytoys anyway. What's the point of spending eddies on a doll? Just scratching an itch, nothing more.
"Alright, we'll drop you off first."
V and Jack exchanged a look, not pressing him to join.
They remembered what Riku had said before. They were getting used to his… unique physical quirks.
The trio laughed and chatted as they drove, dropping Riku off at Megabuilding H10.
Riku stepped out, and V and Jack peeled off toward Afterlife. Those two were still hyped about the bar's vibe, probably for a while yet.