The glow from the TV flickered weakly across the room, casting long shadows. Nirvikar stirred on the couch, wincing as his back cracked with a sharp jolt. He groaned, rubbing his eyes. The room was quiet, save for the soft static hum of the screen. He'd passed out sometime last night, clothes still bloodied, body aching in places he hadn't noticed until now.
The day-old tension in his jaw told him he'd spent hours grinding his teeth in sleep. Or something close to it.
The fight from yesterday played over again in his head—not just the violence, but the silence afterward. The thoughts. What Rika spoke to him being constantly reminded and looped. Like he could be more if he just took her hand, if he stopped stumbling and started walking, becoming seated at the top.
He scraped together a sad breakfast—instant rice, half a packet of soy sauce, and a hardboiled egg he'd forgotten in the fridge. He ate standing up, staring at the floor.
'Well, She wasn't wrong.'
He hated how much that thought stuck.
He had knowledge of the larger life, the real Top players and so he disregarded those at the bottom, not realizing he's at the bottom as well... After all when they... When we could just be erased along this universe or even specifically this timeline with a snap of their fingers, what's the point of gaining influence from these peoples, gaining power, wealth, anything.
"Haaah." He sighed.
---
Rika opened her door mid-yawn, eyes narrowing when she saw him. "Didn't expect to see you this early."
Nirvikar stepped inside without waiting. "Didn't sleep much. Been thinking."
Rika raised a brow, closing the door behind him. "Okaaay. Well, that's dangerous."
He cracked a faint smile. "Yeah. Guess I'm just reckless like that."
She motioned to the couch, but he stayed standing. "Yesterday... Something happened to me and I, after some thinking, understand that you we're right." She watches his face, reading him and thinking about what he's saying.
"Does that mean you're in? wait a minute, those massacre last night, it was you?!" I looked at her a bit surprised and suspicious but I let it slide. "Yeah, that guy Kanzaki gave my location to some random gang and they ambushed me. Had to kill them, I had no choice."
She folded her arms. "Tch, He's got reputation to maintain and yet he did that, that guy's nuts, if he's like that, I gotta reevaluate some people I know off." She uncrosses her arms and put up a hand in MC "And my offer?" her eyes glowing, expecting.
Nirvikar looked her in the eye, steady. "You said players sit at the table. That the ones who don't make moves get moved. You were right. I see that now."
Rika tilted her head, watching him with something like curiosity. "So what does this mean?"
"It means I'm not begging," Nirvikar said. "I'm offering. You help me make connections, get introduced to the right people. Let me build a crew—people I trust, people who move when I do. And in return, I'll work with you. Take out threats, push pieces where you need them. When I start pulling weight? I won't forget who gave me the first nudge."
She lowers her hand and considered him for a long beat, tapping her fingers against the counter. "You've got guts. That's not nothing. But guts don't build empires."
"I've got more than guts," he said, calm. "I've got time. Hunger. And a few devils in my bones."
That made her laugh, a quiet, genuine sound. "Alright. I'll think about it."
"That's all I need."
---
One Week Later
The subway station echoed with a deep, unrelenting resonance. The battle had already emptied the area, and now the only sound was a slow, rhythmic *gong*. It didn't come from speakers or alarms.
It came from the devil.
The Tolling Bell Devil was enormous—its upper half a bell-shaped mass of tarnished bronze and oxidized steel, streaked with soot and blood. It dragged itself forward with long, blunt arms, each movement ringing out a chime that rattled the rails and crushed the air around it.
Nirvikar crouched low on the platform, breathing steady, eyes narrowed. He'd already tested a dozen attacks—slashes, dives, spikes from the Tooth Devil, aerial bursts from Crow Devil, even a concussive blast from Echo Devil—and the damn thing kept moving. Its hide was thick, like hitting a wall that could scream.
Every time it swung, the bell's gong shattered his focus. His shape shift powers faltered under the vibration—he could barely keep forms stable for long.
He ducked as another gong echoed out, this one close enough to make his teeth chatter. He winced. Need to find it's weakness, can't brute force it anymore.
He waited. Watched. Each movement the devil made had a pattern—slow roll, swing, drag, *gong*. He measured the delay between sounds, the way its body tipped as it turned.
Then he leapt—low this time. Not up.
He dashed beneath the massive bell-shaped body, sliding along the gravel as the vibrations nearly blew out his eardrums. Inside the hollow, the sound was worse—deafening, like standing inside a thunderclap.
But the armor was thin here. Worn. Cracked.
He reached up with Mantis Devil arms, blades glowing faint, and started to carve into the inside surface. Sparks flew. He didn't stop. The Bell Devil howled, its limbs flailing wildly, trying to shake him loose.
He slipped—caught himself with Tiger claws, driving them into the metal, hanging by one arm as he twisted and stabbed with the other. Then he bit with a molded Tooth mouth, tearing a chunk free.
Black tar-like blood poured down, soaking him.
The devil lurched and dropped.
Nirvikar rolled free just before it slammed into the rails, its own weight shattering the supports. He landed hard, ribs aching, coughing up blood.
The bell cracked down the center.
He staggered to his feet, Mold flickering in static around him.
With the last of his strength, he surged forward and drove a final blow into its chest—one shaped by Shiver, brittle and vibrating like a tuning fork.
The Tolling Bell Devil screeched—and then went still.
Silence. Blessed silence.
He stood over it, chest heaving.
Then his phone rang.
He wiped his hands, pulled it out. "Yeah?"
"It's Rika," came the voice. "Congrats. Paperwork came through. You're official now."
"Name and all?" he asked, tired.
"Your real one. Just listed as an immigrant. Nirvikar's not exactly Japanese."
He let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah. Didn't think that'd fly."
"You're in now. Fully. Use it."
He looked at the devil's corpse.
"Guess I will."
---
Same ceremony, still can't get used to the feeling it gives. The Tolling bell devil is hard to fight, compared to the beast like attitude of the Tiger devil nor the versatile yet uncreative and weak other devil's I fought. This one is nauseating, everytime it toll's it's bell, My mind is flushed like I can't think at all. Nonetheless this would be a useful one in my arsenal after I learned how to used it.
Sirens blared above, echoing through the crumbling station. Footsteps followed—half panicked, half official.
A young officer in a wrinkled uniform skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs. He stared at the cracked husk of the Bell Devil, eyes wide behind his cracked glasses. "E-Excuse me—uh, Mister Devil Hunter? We can take over from here."
Nirvikar turned, still soaked in black blood, still breathing like he'd sprinted through hell. "You sure?" he said, voice hoarse. "It's still warm."
"I already filed the kill call," Nirvikar muttered. "Rika said the paperwork's done. Name's Nirvikar. You can confirm it with the Tokyo registry."
Another officer joined, older, more experienced—maybe a sergeant. He gave Nirvikar a once-over, then waved a hand. "He's registered. Let him through. But stay for debrief."
The sergeant nodded, pulling out a tablet. "You're provisional under Clause 88. Foreign Hunter clause. Not full PS, but you get the same kill credit. Devil body's government property, though."
Nirvikar raised an eyebrow. "You want a receipt?"
The man actually chuckled. "Yeah, actually. Got a form for that."
A third officer arrived carrying containment seals—small charms wrapped in reinforced glass, pulsing with faint energy. They began circling the body, placing the seals at cardinal points around the remains of the Tolling Bell Devil. Each one hissed softly as it landed, anchoring with a faint glyph glow.
"You sticking around for the extraction?" one of them asked, not unkindly.
"No." Nirvikar winced, rolling his shoulder. "Already got what I need."
The younger cop glanced up. "Wait, you mean you… absorbed it?"
The look he gave was part horror, part awe.
"I Vesseled it," Nirvikar corrected. "Still learning it's use. But yeah, it's part of me now."
"Jesus." The young one backed off slightly. "That… doesn't mess with your head?"
"Every day," Nirvikar muttered.
The sergeant didn't comment. Just passed him a signed kill confirmation slip. "Take this to the registry next time you're in Shinjuku. Gets you your bounty. One week delay on payment."
Nirvikar took it, folding the slip and sliding it into his coat. "Better than nothing."
As he turned to leave, one of the containment specialists called after him, "That bell was sounding all the way from the street. We thought it was a building collapse."
Nirvikar paused at the foot of the stairs, glancing back. He gave a small nod, respectful but cool.
"Appreciate the quick response," he said, voice quieter now. "Cleanup wouldn't have gone smooth without it."
The officers exchanged surprised looks, but the younger one gave a faint, unsure smile.
Then Nirvikar climbed the stairs, slower this time. Blood still dripped behind him, but his footsteps were measured, purposeful—less like a fugitive and more like a man with a name.
---
Outside
The sun was rising, pale and polluted through the Tokyo haze.
Rika waited by a black car parked under the bridge. She leaned against the hood, coffee in one hand, tablet in the other.
"You look like shit," she said.
"Feels worse," Nirvikar replied, wiping his face with a sleeve.
"You're official now. No more hiding. You'll get job offers, tracking notices, maybe even contracts if you play your cards right."
"I don't want assignments," he said. "I want territory."
She quirked a brow. "Starting small, huh?"
"Give me a month," he said. "I'll show you how small I don't think."
Rika sipped her coffee. "Alright, Devil Hunter. Let's see what kind of empire you build."
===========
AN:
Not quite reaching the 2000 words, had to properly think on how to do this... MC's character is now becoming more stoic instead of Aloof, Like frieren's tone shifting after her travels.
Haiya~ Creating is fun but also incredibly taxing, I don't know how to cook... Just had a lot of ideas but the proper path is convuluted just like this. If you have any Ideas do give me some.
Word Count: 1829