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-The Girl of Flame-

A girl born with the ability of flame.

Her power first awakened on the way home from a summer festival she had visited with her family as a child. When a horde of demons suddenly appeared and attacked, her parents were killed. In her terror, she unleashed searing flames that burned away many of the fiends—yet her younger brother was dragged away into the world of demons.

Afterward, she was taken in by her uncle and raised, but the tragedy of that night left a deep scar on her heart. Determined that one day she would bring her brother back, she hid her face behind the cat mask her parents had bought for her at the festival—a mask that matched her brother's—and devoted every night to training her control over fire.

By the time she entered high school, a new terror had emerged. A mysterious killer wearing a hockey mask struck without warning across the country, leaving scenes of carnage in his wake. It was said that a golden-haired imp followed in his shadow.

One day, at a shopping mall she happened to visit, the murderer launched his assault. As innocent people were slaughtered around her, she suddenly found her body moving forward on its own. What surged within her chest was not reason, but a visceral surge of wrath—righteous fury that masked a deeper, half-hidden yearning: a path to the world of demons where her brother must be.

After a desperate battle, she succeeded in burning away one of the killer's arms, but was struck down by an unexpected blow and taken captive.

As the demon-hunting organization clashed with the masked killer, Ai broke free of her restraints. Letting her flames run rampant, she hurled herself into a suicidal blaze. The explosion delivered a mortal wound to the killer—but consumed her own life as well.