The witch's power grows stronger at night.
If it's a full moon, the magical energy becomes even more potent than usual.
Koizumi Akako lives in a secluded Western-style villa, and the basement of that villa is her sanctuary for witchcraft.
—In a space that resembled a stone cavern more than a room, lit only by the flickering glow of torches and ritual candles, Koizumi Akako stepped inside and stood before a massive cauldron billowing with red smoke.
"Bring me the dragon's whiskers, the mermaid's tears, and the kappa's eyes."
As soon as she spoke, a small man emerged from the shadows and replied, "Yes."
He returned moments later with the requested ingredients arranged neatly on a tray. One by one, Koizumi Akako dropped them into the crimson liquid.
The red smoke thickened.
"I offer this handwriting as the vessel of the one whose name is sought."
She placed the signed slip of paper into the bubbling potion, then raised her serpent-shaped staff and stirred the mixture slowly.
While stirring, she chanted:
"Demon of Hades, leader of the dark beasts, grant me strength, grant me your knowledge."
"Dark Lord of the Abyss, the one who betrayed heaven—"
Suddenly, the red liquid frothed violently. A gust of wind erupted in the still, torchlit basement, and from the cauldron erupted a ghostly blue flame in the shape of a figure.
"Who dares summon me…"
"Answer my command, Lucifer," said Koizumi Akako, calm and stern. "Reveal the true name of the person who wrote this handwriting."
"Ili… Ili Günter von…"
The flame-formed being murmured the name slowly. Then it turned to Koizumi Akako, voice deep and thunderous:
"Who are you to command me!?"
"Stop babbling," she snapped, unflinching. "Tell me the secret of Hayashi Yoshiki."
The figure leaned in.
The flickering blue flames surged as Lucifer came within inches of her face.
Just as it opened its mouth to speak—its body exploded.
A loud bang! echoed through the chamber, and the blue flames burst like dazzling fireworks.
Behind Koizumi Akako, her faithful servant cried out in shock. "Impossible! That shouldn't be possible!"
According to the sacred laws passed down by the Red Magic bloodline, a summoned demon could not dissipate during a ritual unless the summoner severed the magical link themselves.
Even Koizumi Akako looked stunned.
After a moment of silence, she clicked her tongue.
"Tch. How irritating. How am I supposed to uncover his secret now?"
"If you use the Death Note to control the time of someone's death, it must occur within 23 days of real human time from the moment their name is written."
"If the specified time exceeds that window, the entry is invalid, and the target will instead die immediately of heart failure."
In other words, if Hayashi Yoshiki writes a name in the Death Note on January 1st and specifies a cause of death for January 24th, it works. But if he writes January 25th, the rule is broken—and the victim dies of a heart attack 40 seconds later.
There's no need to test that rule.
But ever since Hayashi Yoshiki noticed the distorted flow of time in this world, he began experimenting.
"Let's say today is January 1st, and tomorrow becomes February 24th. If I try to schedule a death for that date, the Death Note won't accept it—it treats the entry as invalid and triggers a default heart attack."
"In other words, the Death Note isn't governed by this world's warped calendar. It adheres strictly to real human time—within 23 days."
He glanced down at a specific name written on one of the notebook's early pages. His eyes glowed.
"Died at 19:41 on March 3rd of a cerebral infarction brought on by excessive drinking."
He wrote that entry on February 14th—Valentine's Day.
Since then, the date has been unstable, shifting from March to February to April and back again. Yet, March 3rd never came.
Today marked the 25th day since that name had been written.
Otoharada Kuro was still alive.
From that, one thing was clear: the Death Note is not affected by the surreal flow of time in this world—but it can still be tricked by it.
If March 3rd never arrived… Otoharada Kuro might never die.
And yet, since a date and cause of death had already been registered, he was also protected—untouchable until the designated moment.
"Unfortunately… tomorrow is March 3rd."
Hayashi Yoshiki had verified this from others.
Because keeping track of time is crucial to a Death Note user, he had made it a habit to confirm the coming days with those around him.
Still, the shifting days hadn't truly hindered him.
If today was January 1st and tomorrow became February overnight, he'd simply write:
"Performed an act at 13:53 on January 1st. Died at 14:02 the following day."
This trick allowed him to bend the rules while still staying within the time window.
So while the time discrepancies made the notebook slightly more complicated to use…
They also made it far more versatile.
And Hayashi Yoshiki was always thinking of new ways to use it.