Blessed by Night-Chapter 461: Making Preparations

"Hey, I finished this volume! Can I get another one?"

The Saint family’s willing captive, Shoto, waved a manga in the air.

He lay inside a confined area around 700 square feet in size. Inside, he had a bed, a sitting area, a bed, and a bathroom.

A barrier of prismatic light kept him enclosed within the space. There was a button inside that allowed him to switch between having privacy and allowing a clear view into his habitat.

Normally, the bridge was frequented by at least one member of the team during the day, but for the past few hours or so, he had been all alone.

And it wasn’t until that very moment that he considered just how amiss that was.

"...Hello? Anyone there-"

Suddenly, the bridge doors slid open abruptly.

Malachi strode in with a very focused and determined look.

The sound of his Italian leather shoes rapping across the metal floor was like an approaching storm. He was dressed in nice clothes that included a simple black t-shirt and slacks.

It hadn’t been that long since Shoto had laid eyes on Malachi, and yet he was almost completely different from before.

And the serious look in his eyes was terrifying.

"DON’T KILL ME! I’VE BEEN DOING EVERYTHING YOU SAID AND I BARELY EVEN ASK FOR ANYTHING!"

Malachi stopped just a few feet shy of Shoto’s cage.

"...Okay, I asked for some pork katsu for dinner, but I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal! Don’t kill me for it!!" Shoto covered his hands with his face and cowered in the corner.

"Nobody is going to kill you, Shoto."

The scruffy-looking man slowly put his hands down. He stared at Malachi incredulously, immediately noticing his immense improvement in Japanese. "Y-You’re not...?"

"No, nobody is. I’m taking you back home."

Shoto paused and looked around the room at his confined space filled with nice things and comfy furniture.

"Oh... w-well, we don’t have to go right now-"

"Shoto."

"Okay, okay, fine..."

-

Safety zones were the term used to describe residential areas occupied by the Japanese military.

They are heavily fortified, and those who can come and go are strictly monitored by the troops stationed at every entrance and exit.

They are also terribly overcrowded. And with such little space, it is quite common for even older residents to end up on higher floors.

An old woman hobbled up a long flight of stairs to reach her assigned apartment.

It was clear that she was having some difficulty. She was in good shape for her age, but the fact remained that this kind of activity was difficult on her joints.

She took frequent breaks up the stairway to catch her breath and rub her aching knees.

It was at times like this that she really missed her grandson. He would have been a great help with things around the house and made it easier for her to get by.

That said, there was also a very large chance that he would try to use his biological manipulation ability to give her super knees or something...

When she thought about that, she was no longer quite as sad that he wasn’t around. Even if she did miss him.

The old woman prepared to continue her trek up the stairs. She took one step forward before her entire perspective flipped on it’s head.

When her eyes readjusted, she was right outside of her apartment door and staring at two familiar young men.

"Sorry. I tried to make apporting as simple as possible, but I’m still getting the hang of some new tricks and stuff..."

"Hi, Granny! I’m back!"

The old woman blinked slowly before remembering exactly what kind of situation they were in.

"Inside, both of you."

The old woman unlocked her door and beckoned both young men to hurry and follow her.

For some reason, Malachi began to get a slightly apprehensive feeling that he couldn’t describe.

It felt like a small pricking running rampant across his chest. He sensed no one inside the house, so he ignored it all the same.

He felt the full weight of his folly when he passed a foot through the threshold, and his body suddenly became alight in bright blue flame.

It took everything inside of Malachi to swallow back the scream that threatened to rip itself free from his throat.

Malachi immediately stumbled out of the house and took a hard fall. He rolled around on the ground as he released agonized groans.

Shoto immediately panicked. "H-Holy hell..! Fire! It’s a fi-"

The old woman quickly clasped her hand over the mouth of her grandson. "Will you be silent..? This isn’t the kind of incident that you want to draw attention to..!"

Shoto pulled her hand away. "We need to help him! Bring me a blanket or something that-"

"There would be no point. Do you see those wings and tail? Clearly, he is not human, and one of my artifacts must have reacted negatively to him! Leave him be-"

Suddenly, a small black hole appeared beside Malachi.

The opening seemed to greedily absorb some of the blue flame burning away at his flesh.

Shoto saw Malachi unfurl a badly burned hand.

A sinister magenta-colored flame sat in the flicker of his palm. So small and faint that a stray gust of wind could have blown it out.

Gradually, the flame began to flicker more intensely.

It pulled in the blue flames rampaging across Mal’s skin and seemed to ’tame’ them in a manner of speaking.

In the end, when a blue flame and a magenta one were coexisting peacefully within his charred palm, Malachi began to cover himself in a dense red aura.

Shoto and his grandmother were slightly horrified to see his burned tissue and melted skin.

The old woman narrowed her eyes at the sight of Malachi’s power.

Never before had she seen such an ominous, negative energy. It disturbed all of her senses in a way that she could not easily put into words.

Eventually, Malachi sat up, now wearing only the tattered remains of his clothes and his hair a slight gray color that was slowly returning to normal.

When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and seemingly apprehensive.

"Actually... I’d appreciate it if we could just talk out here, if you don’t mind."