"Fear is like fire. If trolled, it will help you; if untrolled, it will rise up aroy you."

  — Makunouchi Ippo, Hajime no Ippo

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  "Hey, Shizuka, we're devils now! How we be afraid of something like this?" Rika, ever the fearless special forces soldier, boldly approached the house.

  She pushed the door open with a hard shove.

  The irls followed, showing no signs of fear. Even Alice wore an expression of curious anticipation.

  Saeko's grip tightened on her katana, her excitement evident. It was no longer a wooden practice sword she held, but a proper bde Roy had retrieved from his family's vault. While not a legendary on or Sacred Gear, it was still a High-quality Katana.

  They filed into the house, their vision ued by the darkness.

  However, a quick s of the interior revealed no sign of the Stray Devil.

  "Where is it? Where's the Stray Devil?" Rika called out, her voice eg in the silence.

  "It's ing," Roy said quietly.

  Before the girls could react, a chilling voice echoed from the back of the hall.

  "Such a pu odor, yet tinged with a sweet aroma. Is it sweet or bitter?" The voice drew closer, as if sav the st of a meal.

  A figure emerged from behind a stone pilr at the end of the hall.

  As the girls got a clear look at the figure, their faces flushed crimson.

  It was a naked woman, quite beautiful facially.

  "You shameless hussy!" Saya shouted, pointing at the woman indignantly.

  "Saya, don't fet, she's a Stray Devil," Roy reminded her gently.

  Saya paused, taking a closer look.

  She noticed that only the woman's upper body was visible, and it ositioned several meters above the ground, at the height of the pilr. So where was the rest of her...?

  Before Saya could figure it out, the Stray Devil let out a chilling cackle.

  "Ahahahaha!"

  Then, her entire body came into view.

  Her lower body was a grotesque, monstrous form, several meters tall. The upper body they had seen earlier was merely her head and torso.

  "Th-this..."

  The girls stared in shock. They hadn't expected the seemingly normal woman to be such a monstrous creature.

  "Didn't I tell you? Having lost their inal nature, their minds and bodies bee corrupted," Roy said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

  His words she girls out of their stupor.

  Rika, uerred, stepped forward, brandishing her katana. "So this is a Stray Devil. I'll be the oo take you down!"

  Rika excelled in bat with firearms, but Roy had o provide. Moreover, firearms might be effective against low-level devils, but they were useless against higher-ranked oherefore, he had equipped her with a katana instead.

  While Rika had received military training in close-quarters bat with knives, she wasn't profit with a katana. However, as the self-procimed sed stro fighter among Roy's servants, she refused to back down.

  (Saeko was, of course, the stro.)

  "Little girl. Prove your boasts with your blood! Hahahaha!" The Stray Devil cackled, rubbing her hands together.

  Two magic circles appeared before her, and two beams of white light shot out.

  Rika froze, caught off guard by the sudden attack.

  "Look out!" Saeko yelled.

  In the instant, Roy appeared behind Rika, scooping her into his arms and dodging to the side.

  The white beams struck the ground where they had been standing, corroding the earth and creating twe craters.

  "Be careful, Rika," Roy whispered in her ear.

  Rika snapped back to reality. Roy had saved her.

  She had wao demonstrate her leadership, as the oldest and most experienced among them. (Yuriko, after her physical restru, appeared younger.)

  Instead, she had been instantly outmatched and had to be rescued.

  Shame and self-reproach washed over her.

  Roy, sensing her feelings, said gently, "Don't bme yourself, Rika. I know you wao prove yourself, but this is your first enter with a Stray Devil. It's natural to be unsure how to react."

  His words brought Rika some fort.

  "I'm su idiot. My 'little' master sees things more clearly than I do. Thanks, Roy-sama!" Rika's spirits lifted.

  However, Roy couldn't quite agree with her choice of words.

  "Am I really that 'little'?" he asked, a pyful smirk on his face.

  "Uh..." Rika stammered, caught off guard.

  She then realized what he meant, her face flushing. Leaning closer to his ear, she whispered, "Certainly not 'that' little."

  Roy's smirk widened, pleased by her response.

  Saya, however, had reached her limit.

  "Hey, this isn't the time for this! you two focus?" she shouted, her face burning red.

  Roy decided to drop the teasing.

  "Saeko."

  "Yes."

  A single gnce was all it took. Saeko uood his i perfectly. They were in plete sync.

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