Chapter 32
After a full day of patrol, it felt less like work and more like a date—except he was the third wheel.
That's what Hayakawa Aki thought to himself.
All day long he watched the "two people" beside him grow closer and warmer. He felt completely drained.
After all, devils don't speak human language. Unless there was a direct violation, he wouldn't bother trying to reason with the noisy Blood Fiend.
And Denji really wasn't doing anything proactive—he was just passively "soothing" the Blood Fiend the whole time.
As for Aki… he was spiritually dead inside.
Near the end of the shift, Aki went to the convenience store for another pack.
This was already the fourth one today…
He basically became the "Smoking Devil."
Seeing this, Power looked quite pleased. Every time that "ponytail guy" went off to smoke, she got exclusive alone time with Denji.
From Denji's perspective, though—it was a bit of a headache.
If Aki kept smoking at this rate, it was hard to say whether "dying in the line of duty" or "lung cancer" would come first.
Aki might look normal on the surface, but deep down he was quite an unusual lunatic.
To the people of this world, the Gun Devil incident had already been classified as a "natural disaster" level event.
It's hard to imagine anyone seeking revenge against wind after a typhoon, against the earth after an earthquake, or against the ocean after a tsunami…
Even though the Gun Devil was more tangible than those, it was still beyond human power.
If someone insisted on holding that kind of grudge, most would just burn their reason away with revenge, dragging themselves pointlessly into death.
Aki was similar—but different.
He had already contracted a highly compatible and relatively safe "Fox Devil" at great cost, yet he still contracted the life-span-draining "Curse Devil."
Once he realized this was the limit of power he could obtain, he relentlessly pursued the Gun Devil's location.
Finally, with full resolve to die, he burned himself completely—even if he could only inflict the tiniest scratch on the Gun Devil…
In a way, he had already "died" once.
People can of course make "revenge" a central pillar of their heart.
But if revenge is the only thing—if there's nothing else—this single obsession can't support the weight of a living soul.
The flame of revenge only ever illuminates the abyss. It will eventually burn away your reason and lead you down the path of self-destruction—completing, in madness and death, the cruelest revenge against both the world and yourself.
That is precisely why Makima kept Hayakawa Aki as a capable subordinate.
She didn't want him to self-immolate meaninglessly in the flames of revenge—nor did she want him to form other emotional attachments to the world and have people he couldn't bear to lose.
So she implanted false emotions into Aki.
Baseless, storyless, soulless, coreless—fake love.
It was too awkward.
He needed to find a way to fix it.
Near quitting time, the three returned to Public Safety headquarters.
Makima's office.
Denji pushed the door open without hesitation.
Seeing this, Aki—whose psychological threshold had risen considerably—sighed tiredly and tried to stop him.
Too late.
Denji slammed both hands on Makima's desk and said directly to her, seated in her chair:
"Undo the 'brainwashing' on Hayakawa Aki."
"What…?"
Before Aki's confusion could finish—
"…That's an order, Aki."
The moment Makima spoke, a blank-faced Aki appeared outside the door.
Throughout the process, Makima's calm-to-the-point-of-death stare never wavered.
Perhaps because he had grown stronger—and had Denji as backup—Power was noticeably less terrified this time than last.
Instead, she seemed to be egging him on from behind—though not boldly enough to stand openly. She just hid and secretly blew encouraging puffs of air.
"Don't be scared, Denji—this great one has your back! If we can't win, we run. If we can win… can this great one get a little revenge too? (whisper)～"
Both Makima and Denji temporarily ignored the off-the-rails dummy Power.
"I'm genuinely curious. Can you really cultivate such deep bonds with people after only one day together?"
"Whether one-sided."
He pointed toward Aki outside the door.
"Or mutual."
He glanced at Power behind him.
Power immediately shrank her head completely behind Denji, arms wrapped tightly around his waist, pressing even closer.
Finally Makima locked eyes with Denji again—unblinking.
Just when Denji thought she would summarize and guess some truth, Makima asked:
"Then what about me? Does Denji hate me?"
What the hell? Is this really something the Control Devil should say?
Denji looked straight into his own heart.
Did he really hate Makima?
No—he still loved that Makima who gave him so many "first heart-flutters."
But that didn't stop him from hating her—from hating the Control Devil who would hurt, torture, and kill everything he cared about just to achieve her goals.
It was precisely this contradictory mix of love and hate that would one day let him devour her with full affection…
This twisted emotion was terrifying. Even now, he couldn't fully let it go.
He was fine as long as he didn't remember—but once he did, the resentment inevitably ignited into burning rage.
"I said—undo the 'brainwashing'!"
The words came out heavy, suppressing destructive fury.
The room fell silent for a moment.
"Fine."
Makima slowly raised her hand—grasping something invisible in the air.
She clenched hard.
Denji thought he heard the sound of chains shattering.
That was it—undone?
"It's done. Now you owe me one more thing."
"Oh."
Denji—mood gradually calming—replied indifferently.
"Remember our previous 'contract'?"
"Yeah."
"I can arrange a suitable opportunity later to deal with the aftereffects of directly undoing the 'brainwashing.'"
"Hm?"
"But the condition is—you have to go on a date with me tomorrow night."
"Uh—"
"This great one refuses! Denji is this great one's攻略 target—Gal Games aren't played like this! This great one won't allow you to get close to Denji!"
So this running gag isn't going away, huh… Denji rubbed his forehead in exasperation. Games really ruin people.
Makima saw that Denji didn't immediately refuse—and didn't defend Power on this point.
She keenly sensed an opening. A faint, forbidden excitement flickered in her golden-ringed pupils.
She slowly stood, leaning forward slightly—carrying an inexplicable aura.
Power instinctively took two steps back—then immediately stopped herself.
When it came to Denji—she absolutely would not retreat!
Forcing down the deepest instinctual fear, Power assumed an attack-and-defense stance. Blood accelerated through her body, ready to erupt.
But Makima's seemingly empty golden-ringed eyes never once truly focused on her.
The leaning body pressed lower—
Closer.
Even closer.
Suddenly she grabbed Denji's tie and yanked him toward her!
"Chuu~"
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