Carrying Diablo... No... The taxi carrying Tobio slowly pulled out of the airport.

The taxi driver looked at Tobio's introverted young face in the rearview mirror, and unconsciously used a more casual title: "Little brother, where are you going?" ”

Tobio smiled shyly:

"Just drive in the direction of the coast near Mount Vesuvius."

"I'll tell you the exact location when I get there."

"That's right...."

His tone suddenly became urgent: "Please drive faster. ”

"The boss gave me a very important task and I had to get there as soon as possible."

"Understood."

"It's not easy to work part-time, so I'll try to drive as fast as possible."

The driver nodded heartily, and as he spoke, he increased the throttle slightly in cooperation.

Taxis speed up on the city roads that are constantly flowing, and they are noticeably faster.

Tobio, on the other hand, casually looked out the window at the ever-changing bustling street scene, and said to himself a little nervously:

"The boss told me to go to that place and find a bald head... But... What does this bald head look like? ”

"When I get to the place, will the boss contact me again?"

He fidgets at the important task he is tasked with, completely unaware that the boss he treats as a god is "himself".

And at this time...

Tobio, who unconsciously looked out of the car window, unexpectedly saw a strange scene on the side of the street:

"Stones?"

"How can there be a stone next to this street?"

On this bustling street full of life, next to the pedestrians who come and go, there is a spherical stone the size of a pumpkin.

The stone was rough and unpolished in appearance, and if you ignore the big word "fierce" carved on its surface, it looks like waste moved from some barren mountain or wilderness.

It's a bit out of place in the middle of that bustling street market.

Tobio instinctively felt something strange, but the taxi was going fast, and he didn't have time to take a closer look, and the strange stone fell far out of sight.

However, after about half a minute, when the taxi drove down another street...

He was here, and he saw a stone that was exactly the same as before.

"Another stone on the side of the street?"

"Who is so bored to put such useless stones on the road?"

Tobio felt more and more strange, and then...

"Doodle, doodle, doodle~"

"Doodle, doodle, doodle~"

This pink-haired boy, who is very delicate and normal no matter how you look at it, suddenly seems to be mentally ill... While unconsciously performing ventriloquist that mimics the ringtone of a mobile phone, he said to himself:

"Huh?"

"Where's the phone ringing?"

"Doodle, doodle, doodle~"

"Huh?"

The driver's uncle in the driver's seat in front was shocked by this weirdness:

"That's... Little brother, what's wrong with you? ”

"Why, why do you suddenly make such a strange noise?"

Tobio ignored the driver's concerning, fearful greeting.

He hurriedly fumbled in the briefcase he was carrying, but in the end he just picked up a wallet and put it next to his ear as if it were a mobile phone:

"Hello?"

"Yes, is it the boss!"

Tobio spoke to his boss, Diablo, on the phone that didn't even exist.

Obviously they are the same person, but the two personalities of Diablo and Tobio can still talk to each other in this weird way.

"Tobio."

Diablo's voice came straight to his head:

"You should be careful."

"The enemy is likely to be near us."

"What?"

Tobio's voice came from his mouth, and from an outsider's point of view, it looked like he was talking to himself to a purse:

"The enemy is near us?"

"Could it be.... Is it the rock I just saw?! ”

"That's right."

Diablo in his mind instructed very seriously:

"When there is such a stone on the road that is out of step with the environment, everyone can't help but look at it twice, right?"

"But none of the pedestrians who had just come and gone on the sidewalk noticed it, as if the big rock didn't exist."

"Obviously, this is..."

"Stand-in attack!"

Tobio clenched his wallet tightly in his hand, and his face became serious:

"Ordinary people can't see the stand-in at all, so only I noticed the stone!"

"That, that..."

His tone became flustered:

"What should I do?"

"Boss, will you help me?"

"Of course I'll help you, my Tobio."

Diablo comforted his other "self" and used him as a tool;

"However, the identity and location of the enemy are uncertain now, and it is inconvenient for me to show up."

"So, this enemy can only be dealt with by you for the time being."

"Don't be afraid..."

"I'll lend you my 'epitaph' that foresees the future, and you'll be able to solve it yourself."

Tobio's sub-personality is Diablo's last line of defense to hide his true identity.

If there is no guarantee of safety, and if there is no guarantee that all the people who see their true identity will be silenced, Diablo will never show his true face.

So, when this mysterious enemy has not yet appeared, he chooses to let Tobio take the action on his behalf.

"Okay..."

Tobio took the task assigned to him by his boss seriously.

At the same time, on his forehead, which was obscured by pink bangs, a small face slowly emerged that was invisible to ordinary people—a characteristic of the Crimson King's "Epitaph" ability.

"Stones... Will that stone still appear? ”

Tobio watched intently outside the window, watching for the strange stone to reappear.

Then, the stone really appeared.

But it didn't appear on the side of the street this time, but on... This is a moving taxi.

That's right... Tobio didn't even notice how the stone had appeared, and it was silently placed in the back seat of the car just a stone's throw away from him.

"Damn it!"

Looking at the stone, which was only half a meter away from him, he was suddenly shocked and felt a chill down his spine.

"Epitaph!"

Without hesitation, Tobio unleashed the only ability he could use to detect what the enemy might do in the next few seconds.

1st second.

The spherical stone, which was rough and ordinary in appearance, suddenly trembled strangely.

2nd second.

In a firm, slow motion, the stone moved towards Tobio's side, little by little.

3rd second.

Tobio instinctively kicked at the approaching stone.

4th second.

Tobio is dead.

He died silently, like a hundred-year-old man who had died suddenly.

"This?!"

Whether it is Tobio, who is in charge of the body at the moment, or Diablo, who is lurking in his mind, he is shocked by such a terrifying future picture:

"If I touch this stone, I'll die!"

"It has to be.... Gotta get away from it..."

"Don't come near me!!"

Like a timid rabbit at the sight of a predator, Tobio jumped out of the back seat and flipped over to the front passenger seat.

The driver, who was originally concentrating on driving, was pushed hard by Tobio, and almost missed the steering wheel and crashed into the road on the spot:

"Hey!"

"What are you doing all of a sudden jumping in front of you, are you crazy?!"

The driver's uncle yelled at Tobio in fear as he instinctively stepped on the brakes.

And the stone seemed to be unaffected by inertia - it maintained its slow and steady movement even when the taxi braked sharply, constantly closing in on Tobio, who had fled to the front seat.

"Boss, how, what to do...."

"I'm going to die if I touch it, so how can I fight back?"

"Are you going to run away?"

Tobio nervously said to Diablo "on the phone".

"Don't be afraid."

Diablo said in a calm tone:

"At present, this stone is not very strong in terms of destructive power and speed, except for the strange characteristics of 'death when touched'."

"You don't have to run away, just try to destroy it."

"Destroy it?"

"But..."

Tobio looked left and right for the right tool, and said in disbelief:

"I can't touch this stone directly, and I don't have a weapon in my hand..."

"Who said there wasn't?"

Diablo coldly retorted:

"My dear Tobio..."

"Look around you, the uncle who drives-"

"Isn't a human skull harder than most stones?"