"Haruo Natsuno" is the title of this chapter, and it is the first of many that follow it. It opens with a soliloquy by the protagonist, who is bored and wants to find something to occupy himself with. He asks the protagonist if there are two of them, and the protagonist replies that there are, but that the first is a weak demon and the second is a strong one. The protagonist then tries to eat the first one, but the second one is stronger and slimy than the first. He tries to squeeze the first, but it is too strong and slimy for him, and he is afraid that he will be eaten by the second. When the protagonist tries to grab the second, he is bitten by the snake. The snake bites him, but he is unable to eat it, so the protagonist spits out the snake's guts, which he believes to be the guts of the other snake. He is pleased to see that the snake is still breathing, and when he tries to shake it off, the snake trembles. When he is finally able to shake the snake off, he exclaims that he is going to become stronger. He thanks the protagonist for saving him from the snakebite, and thanks him for helping him. He says that he was the one who watched him suffer, instead of helping, and that the protagonist's imagination is what saved him from suffering