HELL IS DARK WITH NO FLOWERS LIGHT NOVEL SC (2025)

Seiji Tohno sometimes sees the people around him as monsters. It's a curse that has driven him to a life of despair, living out of net cafés with nowhere to call home...but all that changes one twilit evening when he stumbles across a huge European mansion. There, Seiji meets a bewitchingly beautiful boy dressed in a kimono with a white peony motif on the shoulder who introduces himself as Shiroshi Saijou. This mysterious young man seems to know more about Seiji that he does himself, and before he knows it Seiji has agreed to become Shiroshi's assistant in exchange for room and board. Little does he know however, that this 'proxy service,' as Shiroshi puts it, is none other than outsourced death-sending monster-possessed sinners to Hell, that will bring Seiji face-to-face with terrifying new monsters each and every day!

A letter hinting at an impending murder and dismemberment is delivered to Shiroshi's door, and he and Seiji set out to investigate. They find themselves venturing to a remote island dominated by a towering Baroque mansion, where all manner of surprises await them - including a beautiful living doll and a young boy who calls himself Shiroshi's brother!

Detective Shiroshi and his pet assistant Seiji venture to Okuhida to investigate a baffling old case involving people being attacked in the streets. At their ryokan in the mountains, which burn with all the colors of fall, the pair are greeted by a serpent writhing in darkness and the corpse of the landlady, who died suddenly the previous night. Time passes, and another mysterious death occurs alluding to the so-called 'serpent's curse.' Yet Shiroshi seems to know the true culprit behind the murders, as well as their tragic motives...

Shiroshi and Seiji receive a letter of challenge from Ibara and head to a certain sleeper train to defeat him and put an end to the competition over Hell. There are six passengers on the luxurious train, and soon after it leaves the station, a series of murders kicks off. Who is the executioner hidden among them? As he faces off against Ibara, Shiroshi must take the role of detective and solve the mystery before the night is out!