Chapter 39
The lifeline of love pulled him out from the vortex of hatred.
This sensation could not deceive him—in the instant the rope snapped to save him, he finally truly felt the weight he had ignored, and understood the true meaning of love.
But it was precisely at that moment—the love he had relied on to keep going—vanished forever along with the broken rope…
The invisible arms restraining Hayakawa Aki gradually weakened.
Yet Aki felt no relief at the loosening bonds.
All he could feel now was utter powerlessness—and once again, the piercing, sorrowful despair that reached its absolute peak…
After slowly descending from the air, he stumbled toward Himeno's fallen body like a wounded dog.
That was the face he knew best—the last person closest to him. He opened his eyes wide, trying to clearly memorize her features.
But his vision kept blurring with tears no matter how much he wiped.
Beside Himeno, head lowered, he cautiously reached out with trembling hands.
"Is… is that you, Aki?"
The ethereal, drifting voice seemed as if it could be scattered by the wind at any moment.
The shaking hands finally steadied under sheer willpower the moment they touched the entity named Himeno.
Carefully lifting her, he knelt close—barely managing to arrange her in a more comfortable position in his arms.
He heard Himeno's earlier question.
But he didn't want her to hear his crying—so he deliberately paused between sobs, speaking in a rapid burst:
"It's me. I'm here, Himeno-senpai…"
"Ahh… I originally wanted to see your face one last time, but it seems my eyes got 'eaten' first~"
Himeno's voice carried the same broken, tragic beauty as her current appearance…
She rested her hand on Aki's body—barely able to lift it—and followed memory to fumble up to his cheek.
Feeling the wet tears slide from the corner of his eye, flow between her fingers, and pool in her palm.
She smiled.
"That's good… even when I'm dying… I can still… feel Aki crying for me~"
Aki froze for a second. Feeling that extremely gentle touch, tears poured like rain in an instant.
"Sor—sorry—"
A slender, pale finger suddenly pressed against his lips.
"You can't say that to me… 'Sorry' is for endings… If even Aki forgets me, then it would feel like I died for nothing~"
After finishing the sentence, Himeno laughed at herself.
"Pfft~ Just kidding…"
A single clear tear slid from the corner of her eye.
Indeed—she could never bring herself to say "forget me" with dignity. What she said earlier was the truth… but… wouldn't that make Aki too pitiful?
Her consciousness grew fainter. Time left was far too short—she was running out.
"Go forward calmly with your revenge, Aki. No matter the outcome… you must… live well for my sake."
The last few words grew increasingly forceful.
But once the final syllable fell—everything stopped, like a piece of music reaching its final rest.
Tears ceased. Voice silenced. Hand fell limply.
No need to describe Hayakawa Aki's emotions at this moment.
The sky was pitch black. The rain poured heavily. He wept loudly in silence…
Just then, two figures appeared abruptly under a shared black umbrella, stepping into the curtain of rain.
They approached, raised another umbrella, and shielded Aki from the downpour.
"Getting soaked like this will make you catch a cold, you know."
"…"
Aki weakly lifted his head. Right now—aside from still breathing—he was no different from a corpse. Speaking was beyond him.
"If you won't think of yourself, at least think of the injured person in your arms."
"She's dead."
Aki spoke those three words—uncertain whether he was answering or simply muttering to himself.
Denji crouched close in front of Aki and reached out to check her breathing.
"She's clearly still alive. She's still breathing."
His gaze sharpened instantly. Vision cleared. He shifted his palm closer—felt the warmth—and suddenly the person in Aki's arms came vividly into focus.
He snapped back to reality, lowered his head in disbelief, and pressed against her heartbeat.
The rhythm was steady. Weak-sounding, yes—but still unmistakably full of life.
He had held her too carefully earlier—afraid to squeeze too tight—so he hadn't even noticed the abnormal coldness of her body.
Temperature. Right—temperature. The ground was freezing!
Realizing this, Aki surged to his feet. His body swayed violently—nearly collapsing again.
Fortunately Denji caught him.
"Thank you…"
Aki's voice regained some humanity. After finishing the grateful thanks, he glanced at Denji and added the name at the end.
"Denji."
Hm. Looks like he's not broken—he still remembers my name.
Denji gave a small nod of confirmation.
"…Leave the rest to me. Take the injured and get medical treatment right away."
Aki nodded, then immediately ran toward where they had parked—carrying Himeno.
Watching that hurried figure disappear as quickly as it had come, Denji let out a helpless sigh and glanced at Power—whose eyes were brimming with tears.
Wait—what's with the brimming tears?
He looked again—yep, crying again.
"I just finished handling things—what's wrong now…"
"N-nothing… it's just the rain is too heavy. How could this great one possibly cry because of human love and romance?"
Denji opened his mouth to sigh instinctively—then thought better of it.
After all—richer emotions, deeper sensitivity to feelings—those were good things for Power!
Even though she was never lacking in emotion to begin with, experiencing more of this kind of positive feeling was definitely better.
Aside from the pair under the umbrella, two massive figures gradually emerged from the darkness.
It was Fox Devil and Ghost Devil.
Ghost Devil approached Denji first, then gently unfolded its palm—revealing the "person" cradled inside.
It was Himeno—but in spirit form.
"Alright, I've seen enough. Hurry and put her back—leaving her out too long isn't good for the body."
Ghost Devil nodded and prepared to carry Himeno's soul away.
Denji suddenly called out to stop it.
"That eye under her eyepatch—can it still be restored?"
Ghost Devil shook its head and pointed at its own stomach.
(Cannot. Already completely digested.)
It extended several more arms, gesturing in sign language.
(That flesh was the necessary long-term contract price.)
No helping it then. For now, leave it like this. Plenty of chances and methods to fix it later.
Denji waved his hand. Ghost Devil finally departed.
Meanwhile, seeing the adult's female companion crying, Fox Devil cheekily approached:
"Lady Power, what's there to cry about? Have you forgotten? This was all just a little play orchestrated by Lord Denji using us~"
"Who's crying?
You dare slander this great one?!
This great one thinks you're courting death!!!"
Roaring, Power raised both hands—summoning the Blood Hammer and charging straight at Fox Devil!
How could Fox Devil have expected Power to be so two-faced?
Just moments ago in Denji's arms, she was soft, emotional—like an arrogant yet cute and kind human girl.
Now she was full-on murderous, bloodthirsty demon mode!
How does she flip faces so fast?
Not even giving the "devil" time to react—terrifying, wuwuwu~
Fox Devil knew it was no match for the Blood Fiend. If it wanted to survive now, it could only beg Lord Denji for mercy.
Problem was—foxes have naturally high-pitched, seductive, super-coy voices…
And Fox Devil was especially gifted in the art of coquetry—just hearing it made that clear!
So—Power's killing intent grew even stronger!
Damn it—I was just gonna beat you up a bit, but now you dare act cute in front of Denji?
This great one thinks you really do want to die!!!
Denji ignored their little scuffle.
He looked at the pile of trash-devil corpse fragments Ghost Devil had neatly stacked, then gave a hand signal.
"Go ahead, Pochita."
"Devour" effect activated. Gained ability:
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