Chapter 38
"Eeee—! Awooooowuuu~~~"
"(AHHHHHHH!!!!)"
Truly wretched, blood-curdling screams.
The moment they realized the parts bitten and swallowed by the Hellhound had been completely severed from the world layer itself—
They finally remembered the deepest memory in their souls: Hell's "Chainsaw" legend.
Devils killed and eaten by the Chainsaw Devil do not revive. They truly vanish from existence, are gradually forgotten, and fall into complete, irreversible death…
"I-I agree! Sir, do whatever you want! Fox and dog are close relatives—your humble servant is definitely more obedient than any dog (?).… Obedient and sensible!"
"…" (frantic nodding in agreement)
With the help of the Great Memory Recovery Technique, both "Fox Devil" and "Ghost Devil" finally expressed enthusiastic cooperation. Truly a cause for celebration, truly a cause for celebration~
"Sigh… if you'd done this earlier, wouldn't everything have been fine? Making the scene so bloody and messy—it's not even nice to look at!"
"You're absolutely right, sir—it was this humble one's poor eyesight~"
"…"
Denji simply gave the "Ghost Devil" one extra glance.
The Ghost Devil thought Denji was blaming it for not speaking, so it immediately pointed at its sewn-shut mouth and gestured: not unwilling—just unable.
Even it didn't know how it had managed those two earlier sentences transmitted by pure will.
Denji smiled—very satisfied with their current cooperative attitude.
He waved his hand.
The Hellhound spat out the bitten-off parts again.
"Fox Devil" and "Ghost Devil" watched their own flesh and blood splatter on the ground—yet neither moved immediately.
Instead they first looked at Denji with their eyes—waiting to read his intention.
"Hurry up and reattach them. Leave them out too long and you'll waste a lot of blood."
Only after hearing Denji say it directly did they rush to pick up their severed parts and press them back against the wounds.
Blood threads cooperated in the stitching—the injuries were quickly repaired.
Denji issued a series of precise instructions. After both Fox Devil and Ghost Devil signaled "OK, understood"—
He released them.
At the same time, on the other side—
During the period when the trash-tier devil was toying around, Himeno and Aki had already reported the current situation to headquarters.
Target strength far exceeds file records. Mission anomaly. Urgent reinforcements required.
The operator relayed the intel upward and connected to the higher-ups, who only left one sentence:
"Additional support already dispatched. Hold the target as long as possible."
That simple. Then nothing.
"What the hell is the intelligence department doing?"
Himeno couldn't hold back—cursing inwardly.
She glanced back at Aki, who stood back-to-back with her, supporting each other. Her gaze grew even more resolute.
Even if I have to sacrifice myself—I will make sure Aki lives!
Behind her, Aki's thoughts aligned perfectly with hers.
At this moment, Aki's revenge priority against the Gun Devil began to slide downward.
Now only one thing occupied his mind: exhaust every possible means to keep Himeno alive!
Both of them simultaneously communicated with their contracted devils—ready to stake everything on the contract scale to force the devils to act with full power.
The now-properly "trained" Fox Devil simply gave silent consent. The only message conveyed: summon me when you need action; contract price can be discussed afterward.
Ghost Devil was different. Himeno knew her contractor better—knew exactly what price it preferred and to what extent it would go.
So Himeno opened with:
"I offer you everything I have… In exchange, everything of yours is at my command…"
After speaking, assuming Ghost Devil would agree, she immediately activated the contract and drew on the devil's power.
Yet the power didn't change. Only a phantom shadow drew an "X" in the center of her palm.
Ghost refused?
How could it?
Himeno couldn't comprehend where things went wrong.
But what confused her even more: the Ghost was rapidly writing something on her palm. Her palm wasn't sensitive enough to feel writing in normal circumstances—yet somehow she instantly gained the ability to command every single one of Ghost's arms.
Though she didn't know the price of the deal, she had already received the result first.
No time to think. Himeno turned to look at Aki.
Seeing him with head lowered, seemingly deep in negotiation with his devil, she immediately guessed what he was doing.
Suddenly she slapped him across the face!
Under Aki's stunned gaze—
She grinned. It looked like a smile—but tears streamed uncontrollably. The taste of those tears was bitterly salty, so bitter her upturned lips wilted…
In some ways, her heart right now was truly, deeply conflicted…
She turned to face Aki—originally intending a final confession kiss before death.
But seeing Aki also communicating with his devil, raising the contract price—
The first emotion that rose in her heart was actually joy.
After all—this was the stubborn rock Hayakawa Aki, whose only life goal was revenge against the Gun Devil!
He was actually willing to… for her… That meant she still had charm, and all these years of "accompanying" him hadn't been completely useless~
But what was the point?
She was about to die. Feeling that fleeting so-called happiness right before the end—what meaning did it have?
Only added sadness…
And she didn't want Aki's last impression of her to be this pathetic state.
Himeno lowered her head. With one wave of her hand, she first summoned several arms—restraining Aki while lifting him into the air and carrying him away from the battlefield.
Then she turned back, focusing every ounce of energy and attention on the trash devil.
Waiting for just the right moment… the rising mud bubbles, its swimming habits, the pattern of diving and surfacing.
Next time—right here!
Exactly as she predicted, the trash devil leaped high from the left—lunging straight toward her.
Hand aimed at the airborne trash devil, five fingers curled slightly in a grasping motion:
"Got you.
Go—Ghost."
Abandoning the intangible, ethereal advantage—it fully transformed into a solid, lethal "killing move" state.
Countless pale, terrifying arms burst out from empty space.
"Grab"—nails pierced flesh.
"Tear"—forcefully ripped the body apart.
"Pierce"—innumerable hands brutally shoved through the middle, each clutching a fragment of torn meat and gore!
Finally…
It's over.
At some point after it ended, Himeno even took a moment to carefully arrange her "final appearance."
She turned back—found Aki's direction—and on her ghostly-pale face, a smile bloomed like a flower.
Then slowly she turned to face Aki fully. Raised her hand.
"Sayonara Aki-kun"
--------------------------
Support us on Patreon and gain access to 100 chapters in advance!
patreon.com/inkshield
Special Offer: Badass Tier – 20% OFF
Use code: STAR20