"My figurine... this isn't good."
Fami had been so focused on watching the chaos unfold that she overlooked something obvious and very important.
After the Falling Devil disappeared, the figurine she had used to summon it should have fallen somewhere near this location.
Sigh.
Fami tilted her head slightly and let out a quiet sigh.
Not long ago, she had eaten enough desserts for seven people at a dessert shop. Yet less than twelve hours later, she was already hungry again.
"I'll wait until they leave before retrieving it. Hopefully nobody finds it."
She crouched down quietly.
Pushing aside chunks of concrete scattered around the ruins, she squeezed herself into a narrow gap without caring about the dirt covering her clothes.
Her current position was too noticeable. If she hid inside the rubble and pretended to be dead for a while, she could probably avoid being discovered by Cael and the others.
Right now, she was in poor condition and did not have enough energy left to teleport again.
Clatter. Clatter.
Trying not to make noise, Fami slowly pulled pieces of concrete over herself.
Then, under the pale morning sunlight, a long slender shadow fell across her body.
A playful, teasing voice spoke from above.
"Aren't you going to be cold sleeping like that? Want me to give you a blanket? It'll keep you nice and warm."
"Hmm?"
Fami looked up and met a pair of emerald green eyes.
Reze.
Last night, when she arrived at the battlefield where the Falling Devil appeared, she had seen Cael and Asa Mitaka fall into Hell.
Just catching a distant glimpse of the Falling Devil had been enough to make Reze tremble uncontrollably.
The fear felt carved directly into her soul.
Against a creature like that, she knew she had absolutely no chance of winning.
But Cael had not shown any intention of resisting.
Reze guessed that he must have had his own plan. If she attacked recklessly, she might ruin whatever Cael intended to do.
So she held back.
She believed Cael would not die easily.
He was the one who had given her a new life. Even against something as terrifying as the Falling Devil, he surely had some kind of trump card.
And in the end, she had been right.
But during the long wait, Reze had not been idle.
As a trained agent, her instincts were sharp.
While observing the battlefield, she quickly noticed Fami hiding nearby and watching everything unfold.
This seemingly harmless girl clearly had some connection to the Falling Devil.
Reze twirled a knife between her fingers. Her smile looked sweet, but the chill behind it was unmistakable.
"By the way, little sister, you look kind of familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"
Fami sighed softly.
She brushed the dust from her clothes and slowly stood up.
In a strange way, having her carefully prepared plan exposed was almost amusing.
Tilting her head, she looked at Reze calmly.
"So it's you. Did you use the two movie tickets I gave you? Did you watch the movie with him?"
"Tsk..."
Reze frowned.
Thump.
She jumped down from the ruins and began circling around Fami, carefully examining her.
Reze's memory was exceptional.
The moment she saw Fami, she recalled the lottery drawing at the train station.
That meant this girl had been setting things up long before now.
Maybe even Reze's own initial plan involving Cael had been anticipated by her.
Terrifying.
But something felt wrong.
Fami had shown the confidence of someone capable of commanding the Falling Devil.
Yet right now, Reze sensed no threat from her at all.
If she attacked, it felt like she could tear this girl apart within seconds.
Strange. Very strange.
Fami's eyes followed Reze as she kept circling.
Eventually she spoke, sounding tired.
"Could you stop walking around me? My blood sugar is low and you're making me dizzy."
Reze smiled sweetly.
"Sure."
Suddenly she reached out, grabbed Fami by the collar, and threw her into the air.
"Huh?"
Before Fami could react, she was already slung over Reze's shoulder like a sack of rice.
Carrying her easily, Reze began walking toward Cael and Asa.
"Cael! Asa! Look what I found! I caught the mastermind!"
A mastermind who preferred to hide behind the scenes?
Then Reze would drag her out into the open.
Earlier, while Cael had been talking with the Falling Devil, Iseumi quietly slipped away and even forgot his phone in the process.
Kobeni had also said goodbye, claiming it was almost time for her to clock in at work.
Cael was still reviewing everything that had happened when he saw Reze suddenly emerge from a corner, carrying someone.
Asa's eyes widened.
Wasn't the girl on Reze's shoulder Yoru's sister?
"Reze? What did you just say?"
Reze smiled brightly and placed Fami on the ground in front of them like she was presenting evidence.
She clapped her hands and pointed at her.
"I saw it with my own eyes. This girl was controlling that devil.
The world getting turned upside down and Asa getting trapped in Hell were probably her doing too."
Fami glanced briefly at everyone present, then stood there silently like a wooden statue.
Asa felt like her brain was about to explode.
What the hell was going on today?
Reze sounded like she knew a lot more than she should.
But why?
Wasn't she supposed to be an ordinary girl?
And why would Fami want to hurt her?
Wasn't she Yoru's sister?
Among the girls who had complicated relationships with Cael, the situation was strange.
Asa was the one Cael favored the most.
Yet she was also the one with the least information.
Reze was a highly trained Soviet agent. Gathering intelligence was second nature to her.
Meanwhile, Makima was on a completely different level. Through animals like rats and crows, she could monitor events happening across the world.
Because of this, both Makima and Reze already knew the truth about Asa Mitaka.
But Asa knew almost nothing about them.
Looking at Fami's blank expression, Cael remembered Makima's earlier warning.
His gaze turned cold.
"You are the Hunger Devil. Did you summon the Falling Devil to deal with Asa?"
Facing the accusation, Fami nodded calmly.
"I suppose that's accurate."
She extended her hand toward Cael.
"My name is Fami. I'm also the Hunger Devil. You can just call me Fami."
Cael's mouth twitched.
Bold.
She really acted like she belonged here.
Cael also raised his hand toward her.
But his open palm suddenly clenched into a fist.
Bang.
His fist slammed straight into Fami's face.
She flew backward nearly five meters.
Asa and Reze both stared in shock.
Cael shook the blood off his hand and walked forward again.
His anger had not cooled at all.
Devils were truly insane.
After nearly killing Asa, this lunatic still wanted to negotiate?
Negotiate his ass.
Fami slowly pushed herself up from the ground and spat out blood mixed with several broken teeth.
Her face felt like every bone inside it had shattered.
She spoke with difficulty.
"That hurts. I think you knocked out four or five molars... and I haven't even eaten breakfast yet."
In the next instant, Cael grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off the ground.
His voice was filled with anger.
"Hunger Devil, Asa is the only one I've got. And you messed with her like that.
You nearly killed her, and now you want to play friendly with us?"
"Play friendly?"
Fami blinked and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
"Are we having dumplings? My favorite kind are pan fried."
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