The table curved inward like a quiet accusation.
The men seated behind it spoke in low, deliberate tones. Files were stacked neatly. Photographs clipped together. Foreign intelligence reports translated and highlighted.
At the center of the room, standing before them, was Makima.
Hands folded behind her back.
Listening.
"We have confirmation that several foreign assets entered Japan prior to the Hell incident," one of the officials said. "Most were neutralized."
A page turned.
"One individual remains unaccounted for."
A photograph was placed on the table and rotated toward her.
Train station footage.
Grainy.
A young man boarding alone.
"Surveillance places him departing Tokyo nine days ago. Northbound."
Makima didn't blink.
Another official continued, "There have been unverified reports from Hokkaido. Property damage. Witnesses describe a confrontation involving a man matching this general profile."
"location he's still unknown" one of the older men said.
The room quieted.
Makima stepped slightly closer to the table.
" How long did he last against the darkness devil?" one of them asked her directly.
"For a brief period," she replied calmly.
No elaboration.
"How brief?"
"Approximately five seconds."
That earned a few subtle reactions.
Five seconds against the Darkness Devil was not insignificant.
"Do you believe he is a threat to the public?" someone asked.
Makima's expression did not change.
"I believe he could be."
Silence settled.
"What do you recommend?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"For now I believe observation is the best action. We should prep in case of a possible attack or relocation of the target "
The decision was made.
The meeting moved on to other matters.
But outside the building, crows gathered along the railing.
Waiting.
On a road a bus rattled as it cut through the snowy road, tires hissing against wet asphalt. Snow blurred past the windows in long white streaks.
Inside
Power was hanging from the overhead hand straps like they were playground equipment.
"Gahahah look at this.," she declared loudly.
A middle-aged man across the aisle stared at her in disbelief.
"Get down," Aki Hayakawa said without looking up from the report in his hands.
She swung slightly as the bus hit a bump.
Aki pinched the bridge of his nose.
Across from him, Denji was slouched deep in his seat, cheek pressed against the cold window.
"How much longer?" Denji asked.
"Four hours," Aki replied flatly.
Denji slowly turned his head.
"Four hours?"
"Yes."
Denji groaned loudly and slid further down in his seat.
" I didn't even bring snacks."
"You ate them before we left," Aki said.
"That doesn't count."
Power dropped down into the empty seat beside Denji and leaned forward aggressively.
"I, too,want to be fed."
Aki folded his report and slipped it into his coat.
Denji blinked at him.
"Then can we hop off the bus and take a small break?"
Aki's gaze shifted briefly toward the window.
Snow.
Endless white fields.
Northern silence.
he said quietly, "maybe in an hour."
The bus continued north.
In Hokkaido, the air felt thinner.
I had been walking around town for a bit. The crows still followed. Not right above me, but I could feel them. On rooftops. On wires. Watching. I tried narrow streets, side alleys, places they shouldn't easily reach. It didn't matter.
Every time I looked, at least one was there. I told myself crows were smart. They remembered food sources. People tossed crumbs. Maybe that was it. I hadn't done anything to them.
At least I didn't think so.
Walking by a bus stop, I stepped into a convenience store. I was going to buy some bread for the crows as a peace offering. It felt dumb, but better than doing nothing. Warm air brushed my face as I entered. The cash register beeped somewhere in the back. I grabbed the cheapest loaf I could find and paid. Not much money left. I'd figure it out later.
The door chimed behind me.
I looked up and froze for half a second.
Denji stood there, loud as ever. Beside him, man bun and the fiend.
"Small world."
Aki noticed me immediately. His expression tightened. Recognition.
I lifted a hand in a lazy greeting. "Yo." I hesitated. "Aki, right? Been a minute."
His eyes narrowed slightly. He leaned toward Denji and whispered something. Denji looked at me with a blank stare. No recognition. Figures. Last time we crossed paths it had been chaos. Devils. Running. Hell. And he'd only seen me for a second.
I shrugged. "Long day. Crows won't leave me alone. Thought I'd buy them something."
The bread in my hand suddenly felt ridiculous. A peace offering for birds.
Aki's face darkened at the mention of Hell. Bad choice. Too soon.
"Didn't mean anything by it," I added.
He didn't respond.
Denji shifted. The fiend shrunk behind him. The cashier stared like he was reconsidering his life choices.
I gave a small smile. "I'm sure you just want to continue your day. But let's have a little chat."
"I'd love to leave you guys alone," I said. "Really. But I can't. Orders from my bosses."
"Hope you don't mind if I come a little closer." I saw them start to tense up and prepare for my next move.
"ugh"I just want to go back home japan is no fun
No one moved. Denji's hand twitched toward his chest—just enough.
Yeah. That answered my question.
Whoosh.
In less than a blink I was in front of Denji, my hand on his shoulder. He tried to step back, but my grip held.
"I hate it when people don't answer."
I shoved him aside and walked out of the store.
Honestly, I wasn't even in the mood for this.
"Mmh… do you think I'd still get cash if I stole his heart?" I thought.
"Judas."
No response.
"Man, you never answer when I actually ask something."
"Duck."
The word rang through my head.
Without a second thought, my body moved.
A spear sliced through the air where my head had been a second ago.
I turned.
The blood fiend stood there outside the entrance, blood still dripping form her hand.
Right.
Of course, what was i thinking they wont let me kill them.
I grabbed the spear where it had embedded itself into the bus shelter behind me. The metal was still vibrating from the impact. I spun it once in my hand, testing the balance, then hurled it back with full force.
If Aki hadn't kicked her aside at the last second, she would've been dead. Or worse.
The spear tore through the front of the store instead, ripping apart aisles and shelves before embedding itself deep into the back wall.
Glass shattered.
Snacks exploded across the floor.
Silence.
For half a second, I thought that might make them reconsider.
Then the roar came.
Chainsaws.
The sound ripped through the air as Denji transformed, metal teeth screaming to life.
I sighed.
Yeah. The shoulder thing might've been too much.
Snap.
With a flick of my finger, a few drops of my charged blood shot forward toward him.
They splattered against his chest.
I pulsed.
Electricity surged through the droplets.
The shock hit instantly. His body tensed mid-charge, muscles locking just long enough.
I stepped in.
Clean hook to the jaw.
Followed by a sharp kick to his side.
He flew back into the wrecked storefront.
I walking pass armless and I stood on top of Denji.
I didn't really want to fight but like I kinda have to.
Bam.
Armless elbowed me in the back.
I guess he wasn't that useless. It moved me a bit.
I turned to face him, but before I could do anything I got a friendly reminder from Judas that chainsaw was trying to mutilate me.
So I did the classic step back.
Appearing a few meters away, I pulled a rusty hook from my body—about two feet long.
Lowering my stance, I made my move.
I was hoping to deal a bit of damage.
Instead, I was left with one arm missing.
He had perfectly countered me.
"Can you all read me like a book? First it was man bun, and now you."
I heard a small giggle escape his mouth.
I wasn't in the right mind to fight. I was making dumb mistakes. But I couldn't just go home empty-handed. I'd disappoint everyone.
I had to focus.
Channeling my energy, I pushed the Hook Devil's technique further.
Bigger. Stronger. Harder. Wick wick.
Electricity crawled along the rusted metal, turning it into something far more lethal.
I charged at him.
Just before entering his striking range, I flipped over him.
The hook snapped forward.
I caught him.
And slammed him into the ground.
I licked the blood from the hilt.
My arm grew back.
Denji tried to slice my feet off, but I wasn't letting that happen.
I couldn't just beat him to death either. Armless would step in.
Speaking of him… he had changed places again.
I turned to face him.
I saw his charge coming.
I swung, but he slipped under—exactly as I expected. I raised my knee, crushing him mid-slide.
Not letting a repeat happen, I whipped my hook behind me. Dead on—Denji stumbled,impaled by metal.
Electricity surged through the hook, locking his muscles.
I figured that might finally be the end for him.
Of course, it wasn't that simple.
The red horn bitch crashed into me from the side, clawing wildly at my face.
"You whore! Unhand me now!"
I wasn't about to fail because of a stupid fiend.
I pinning her down. I opened my mouth as wide as it would go—
and swallowed her in one bite.
"Power." i could feel the melancholy form his voice i hoped that he have given up
"Just give up, Denji. You can't tell me this is worth it. I'm stronger. I have more abilities. More experience.
You're just a dog… and I think it's time for you to be put down."
Even I could tell he didn't like that.
I didn't care.
I stepped forward and pulled another hook from my body when—
"Ahem— ahem— ACK— HAUGHK—"
My throat spasmed violently.
"KACK— KACKH—"
The corners of my mouth went wet. My stomach twisted.
I knew what was coming.
I opened my mouth.
A torrent of black poured out onto the ground.
It didn't stop.
I dropped to one knee as the endless stream kept spilling out of me. Nearly eight liters of thick, tar-like black flooded the pavement before the flow slowed… and my own blood began to mix with it.
The hook in my hand started to melt.
Which meant the one pinning Denji did too.
He was free.
I forced myself back to my feet as fast as I could.
"Why is the universe against me?" I thought, launching onto the rooftop, legs crackling with frog devil power. Chainsaw chased, but I was just a step ahead.
Denji gave chase behind me.
I was still a little faster.
Whoosh.
Something shot past me.
It looked like he had missed…
Suddenly I was yanked into the air.
A saw chain had wrapped around my body.
I saw him leap toward me, chainsaws roaring.
RRRAWR.
I was opened like a bag of chips.
I think Power came out of me when it happened.
Using the last of my strength, I used Judas' morphing ability and slid the pieces of my body back together into one larger chunk.
Grabbing my missing arm, I took off running.
"Running away again, Hunter." Judas' voice echoed in my head.
"What is it now? Two–zero? She's going to be disappointed…"
I didn't answer him.
After that comment, he wouldn't answer..
The trio didn't chase me.
Another loss.
What was I even doing?
Messing up every time. I had to leave now, or I'd be meeting Judas in Hell soon.
What a pitiful assassin I am.
What am I supposed to say? "Hey, at least I came back."
They want results. If I don't prove my worth, I won't get the support I need to grow stronger.
I promised Judas I'd show him my dreams. My world.
"Hunter," Judas said quietly, "your life is the thing that matters most. You can always try again later."
"Don't give me that crap. I'd just end up back in Hell if I died."
"Remember how long it took us to escape Hell? We had to make a deal with the Hell Devil."
"So what? I'm almost unkillable as long as you're alive. I can't die, and as long as I'm alive, you can't die."
I wasn't in the mood to talk to this asshole.
"You know I can read your thoughts, right?" he said.
"Hey, we agreed to stay on each other's side."
Did he really think I'd listen to him after that?
"You're still mad about that? I figured after all that cursing you'd be over it."
"You should go to sleep."
"So now you're asking for it. Don't start crying when I stop answering you."
The station was quiet once Judas went silent.
I still saw crows here and there. My braid had fallen off during the fight.
Luckily for me, my train was already there.
I stepped on, took a seat, and looked out the window.
Hokkaido was pretty nice.
But I'd rather be back in America.
Buzz.
My phone started ringing.
"Who would even call me…"
I looked at the number and my face dropped.
My boss.
"Hunter," the voice said. "We haven't received a report from you. Must I assume you failed? No need to answer. I already know."
"Your omission is disheartening. But we'll discuss it later. We've taken additional steps. We plan to send the Gun Devil to deal with the problem, since Chainsaw has proven to be a difficult target."
"You are to move to a safe stop immediately."
I scoffed.
"Maybe I would've succeeded if I'd gotten better support. The attack from the Darkness Devil weakened me a lot. If I'd been given more devils, I'm sure my results would've satisfied your requirements."
"Like I said, we'll discuss it later. For now… go into hiding."
The call ended.
Old bastards.
They gave me useless teammates and now I'm the one who has to hide.
Which means I'll have to stay here even longer.
Almost a month—
"Since you saw her?" Judas suddenly said.
This devil would never stop teasing me.
I needed to find somewhere to lay low.