Makima sat upright behind her desk, her hands neatly folded on her lap.
"Logically speaking, Hayakawa Aki's achievements do meet the requirements."
"However, the Gun Devil's power is unprecedentedly strong."
"The subjugation operation could easily fail, and everyone involved may lose their lives."
Her golden eyes remained fixed on the woman in front of her.
"Are you truly willing to abandon everything you have now to participate in this operation?"
Hayakawa Aki paused.
Images flashed through her mind. Power's loud voice, Himeno's cigarette smoke curling in the air, sunlight spilling through the apartment window, and the distant memories of her parents.
She inhaled slowly, then let the breath escape.
Her gaze hardened.
"If that gun bastard keeps roaming this world, nobody will ever feel safe."
"Whether it's to avenge my family or to protect the life I have now..."
"I have reasons why I must fight."
"I see," Makima said softly. "Hayakawa Aki really is a gentle girl."
Tap, tap.
Makima placed a confidential file on the desk and tapped it lightly to align the edges.
She sighed.
"Since you have this level of resolve, it means you are now qualified to know the truth."
"The truth?"
Hayakawa Aki frowned, unable to understand what Makima meant.
Makima opened the file.
"Please understand that what you are about to hear is classified information. Sharing it without permission is strictly forbidden."
"Understood." Hayakawa Aki nodded seriously.
That made sense. Any operation involving the Gun Devil would obviously require the highest level of secrecy.
"Before the subjugation operation begins, we must first understand the Gun Devil's current status."
Makima paused briefly. A faint trace of pity appeared in her eyes as she looked at Hayakawa Aki.
"The current status is this."
"The Gun Devil was defeated long ago, and its body has already been restrained and divided by multiple countries."
For a moment, the room fell silent.
"What?"
Hayakawa Aki froze.
Makima's words struck her like lightning.
Her pupils shrank, disbelief spreading across her face.
Before Aki could recover from the shock, Makima calmly took a sip of coffee.
"It was several months ago when the Soviet Union military first confirmed the Gun Devil's location."
"At that time, the Gun Devil had already been knocked down by an unknown individual and was in an unconscious state."
Makima said she didn't know who did it.
In truth, she knew perfectly well.
She simply had no reason to tell Hayakawa Aki.
When the Gun Devil had been found, it had already been knocked unconscious by a severely wounded Pochita.
In Hell, Pochita had once been a reformist Devil, while the Four Horsemen were conservative Devils. The two factions had clashed violently.
In the end, Pochita narrowly lost.
Its subordinate Devils were slaughtered by the old forces and later reincarnated in the human world.
Some possessed corpses and became Fiends. Others were reborn as Devils.
The strange members of Tokyo Public Safety's Special Division 4 who felt an inexplicable closeness to Cael, the Shark Fiend Beam and the Blood Fiend Power, had once been Pochita's subordinates in Hell.
Even if their memories were gone and they were now under Makima's control, instincts buried in their bodies could not lie.
After escaping to the human world in a heavily injured state, Pochita encountered the Gun Devil by chance.
The Gun Devil was a subordinate of the War Devil.
Pochita fought it.
The result was brutal.
Pochita managed to incapacitate the Gun Devil, but the Gun Devil was an absurdly powerful monster. Before losing consciousness, it pushed Pochita to the brink of death.
When Cael eventually found Pochita, the bullet hole in Pochita's stomach had been caused by the Gun Devil.
Sweat appeared on Hayakawa Aki's forehead.
"H... how is that possible?"
"The Gun Devil was already defeated?"
"It's true," Makima replied calmly.
She folded her hands and continued reading from the report.
"The world's major countries have already divided the Gun Devil's main body."
"The Soviet Union currently holds 28 percent of the Gun Devil."
"The United States holds 20 percent."
"China holds 11 percent."
"Other countries collectively possess 4 percent."
"The remaining 37 percent exists as fragments held by Devils scattered across the world."
Cold sweat ran down Hayakawa Aki's back.
"That's impossible, Makima."
"The attackers who targeted Tokyo Public Safety during the shooting incident. They had guns obtained through a contract with the Gun Devil."
Makima rubbed her forehead as if tired of explaining.
"Those guns were manufactured by humans."
"Human firearm technology is already very advanced. Producing those weapons is not difficult."
"Sawatari Akane simply lied to those gangsters."
Hayakawa Aki swallowed.
"They... made them themselves?"
Her thoughts began to unravel.
"That can't be right. According to international law, every country strictly bans firearm manufacturing."
The law existed for a reason.
If people feared guns less, the Gun Devil would become weaker.
That was why Tokyo Public Safety Devil Hunters rarely carried firearms. Even when necessary, special authorization was required.
Makima's eyes met Hayakawa Aki's.
"They are putting on a show."
"In reality, every country is mass producing and selling firearms."
"To increase sales, they tell buyers that the weapons come from the Gun Devil."
"Especially in countries experiencing civil war. Firearms sell extremely well there."
Hayakawa Aki clenched her teeth.
Her entire worldview was shaking.
Until now, she had lived only for revenge against the Gun Devil.
Politics, global interests, hidden agendas. She had never thought about any of it.
"But the more people guns kill, the stronger people's fear of guns becomes."
"If they keep doing this, the Gun Devil will only grow stronger."
Makima nodded calmly.
"Perhaps that is exactly what everyone wants."
"What?"
"The stronger the Gun Devil becomes, the stronger the countries holding larger portions of its body will become."
Those words shattered something inside Hayakawa Aki.
At that moment, she finally understood.
"Then what is the Gun Devil Expeditionary Force actually trying to do?"
If the Gun Devil had already been defeated, why form a subjugation force at all?
Makima answered without hesitation.
"It is war."
"A war fought to seize the Gun Devil fragments from other countries."
"War?"
Hayakawa Aki lowered her head.
It felt as if the sky above her had collapsed.
The purpose of the expeditionary force was not to defeat the Gun Devil.
It was to start a war over its remains.
The idea was absurd.
Makima calmly refilled her coffee.
"Hayakawa, now that you know the truth, do you still want to participate?"
Hayakawa Aki collapsed to the floor, her thoughts in complete chaos.
"I... if that is the expeditionary force's objective..."
"Makima, please forgive me."
"I cannot participate."
The Gun Devil she had spent her life trying to kill was now being treated as a trophy by the world's governments.
Despair filled her chest.
The power of nations was not something a single Tokyo Public Safety Devil Hunter could challenge.
And if she joined this operation, what difference would there be between her and a war criminal?
"Very well," Makima said.
"I forgive you, Hayakawa."
Aki blinked in surprise. She had not expected Makima to accept her refusal so easily.
In Makima's eyes, the so called experts in the expeditionary force were simply tools that could increase her own power.
Devil Hunters like Hayakawa Aki were fragile.
They could not compare to the Weapon Humans of Special Division 5, who could survive almost anything.
Once Makima had them under control, fragile soldiers were unnecessary.
If she wished, she could build an entire army by herself.
"If there is nothing else, you may return to work."
Makima rested her chin on her hand, calmly dismissing the stunned woman.
"Alright..."
Hayakawa Aki had arrived confused, learned a devastating truth, and now left just as confused.
The room soon became silent again.
Makima glanced casually at the calendar.
"Hmm. Today seems to be a day off."
"My work is mostly finished too."
A faint blush appeared on her face.
"I should go find Cael and collect that date he promised me."
"It's only about gathering some Gun Devil fragments."
"It can wait until after the date."