"Bang—!"
"Bang—!"
"Bang—!!"
Bullets leaving their chambers sounded like bolts of thunder, one after another.
The shock on Su Tang's face had no time to fade; his pupils had no time to contract; a little blood-red hole bloomed on his forehead.
A round punched through his skull, stopped in his brain, exploded, and shattered into shards of iron.
As if not trusting themselves, Sawatari's two helpers fired as well.
Three people, three guns.
At the same moment, they hit Su Tang's head, heart, and neck.
"Gglll…"
Blood surged into his throat. He seemed to want to speak, but was drowned in the red, only bubbles rising.
As consciousness dimmed, the serpent-eyed figure before him blurred. One last thought flickered through his mind.
—Dum-dum rounds.
…Valmont, you really misjudged them again.
Thud.
His now lifeless body toppled backward into a puddle of blood, splashing two or three small red droplets.
"Mr. Su Ta—!"
Denko was the closest to him. She turned at the first gunshot—but speed couldn't beat a bullet.
"Bang—!"
The three still-smoking pistols lifted again. Muzzles flared.
One bullet entered Denko's head; one into Himeno's left arm; one slammed into Aki's scabbard.
Everything happened in a flash.
Time resumed as if a freeze-frame had been unpaused; the world before their eyes shattered like a mirror.
"Aki—!"
Himeno hit the ground the instant the round struck her arm, and shouted urgently.
Ding-dang.
Ejected casings rang bright as they hit asphalt.
Aki took a heavy impact—though the scabbard stopped the round, the kinetic energy still knocked him off balance and drove him stumbling forward.
Guns…?
With the instincts of many battles, Aki dove the moment he regained a modicum of control, rolling to one side.
Several bullets tore his coat as they sparked off the asphalt.
The fire from friction was hot, bright—Aki's eyes were pricked and he half-squinted.
"Swish—!"
Another round sheared past his scalp.
"You missed," Sawatari said coolly.
"That woman's power is in the way," the dark-coated man rasped, twisting his neck. "If the intel's right, that one-eyed woman contracted the Ghost Devil?"
"She sacrificed her right eye to use the Ghost Devil's right hand."
Sawatari said it, glanced once at Aki—whom the Ghost right hand had just yanked out of the line of fire—then lifted her radio.
"Unit A proceeding as planned. Other units report."
"Unit B successful—en route to Street 23."
"Unit D successful—en route to Street 23."
"Unit E successful—en route to Street 23."
"Unit F—"
Static crackled across a street that now looked like a ruin.
Alongside the static came those unmistakable sounds of bullets leaving chambers.
And… the wailing, crying, shouting, panic—
Footsteps, shouts, and despairing screams tangled together, making it impossible to tell which street was collapsing.
Or whether it was all of them.
Crouched behind a roadside pillar, Aki listened to the chaos—the pounding of feet everywhere—and clenched his fists.
"In Japan, only Public Safety and certain special agencies can possess firearms. Who are they, to field so many guns?"
That was what baffled him most.
He tried to peek out. He only let his topknot show a little—and a bullet immediately snapped past.
The casing bounced once on the ground and lay still.
"These are… dum-dum rounds! Ammunition banned by international law."
Glancing down at the bullet, Aki's brows knit tight.
He looked to Yoshino behind another pillar.
Though she had dodged in time and only her arm was hit, Himeno bled heavily; her face was pale as paper. Power was stanching the flow.
"How's it look, Power!" Aki shouted over the chaos.
"I'm doing everything I can!" Power yelled back. "I'm the Blood Fiend—I can only control my blood! Working someone else's is exhausting!"
Perhaps it truly was—it was hard to hear her through the din. But he caught Himeno's signed message.
"I'm fine, can still fight. What about Denko and Su Tang?" Himeno asked in hand signs.
Aki shook his head without replying.
Himeno understood.
After two seconds' silence, she signed again: "No matter what—retrieve their bodies first. I'll support. You attack."
"Okay."
Aki gave a simple nod and rose.
Their exchange had lasted roughly five seconds. He could hear three sets of footsteps—unhurried amid frantic ones—drawing closer.
Judging distance, he saw Himeno stretch out her right arm, lean out.
Ghost Devil!
An invisible hand caught the black-coated shooter's gun arm in an instant!
An opening!
Aki's eyes flashed. He pressed index finger to thumb, framing the trio, and shouted:
"Kon."
Shadows fell in the air; a giant fox's head answered the call, maw yawning to swallow the three whole.
Rows of fangs, a hot bloody breath.
It should have been terrifying—but Aki didn't see the slightest change in their faces.
Instead, he saw the blonde woman in the middle lift her arm calmly and say:
"—Snake, devour."
Boom—!!
A blast of wind erupted!
A vast bulk threw down layers of shadow, plunging the whole street into darkness—no light could pierce it.
Grayness and gloom took over their vision; everything became hazy—like heavy fog, like wind-tossed grit.
Aki stared up in a daze, his topknot blown by the wind.
Where the fox's head had hung in the air, a colossal serpent's head now loomed.
Cold eyes, inflated mouth—
It had swallowed the Fox Devil's head whole.
A flash of shock passed through Aki's eyes.
Though the Fox Devil's true body was in Kyoto and what humans could summon was only a fragment, to swallow that head so cleanly and easily was not something any devil could do.
In Aki's years with Public Safety, a devil of this level would rank high.
"Aki!"
Himeno's voice came suddenly.
He turned—and his pupils, unchanged even at the Snake Devil, snapped tight.
The man the Ghost's right hand had seized—he had torn free.
He twisted his neck, loosened his joints, and set his right hand on his left wrist.
He was…
Going to do what?
Aki frowned—and saw the man rip off his own left hand!
Yes—rip!
Metallic gleam swallowed Aki's vision in an instant.
He had to squint.
The man lowered his head and then looked up again.
But the human head that should have been there—
Was gone.
In its place: a heavy katana that pierced straight through where his skull should be.
His two arms, too—each extended a katana.
Was this a fiend?
No—wasn't!
Seeing this, the three Public Safety hunters present immediately ruled out "fiend."
They thought of a comrade.
Denko.
Though one sprouted a chainsaw and the other a katana, the power type was clearly the same.
Memories of Denko's tenacity flashed through his mind; Aki's face went grim.
He reached behind him and gripped the katana he always carried.
"Aki! No! Don't use that sword!"
Himeno saw him move and tore her focus from the Katana Man to Aki.
"I tried summoning the Fox Devil again—but it didn't respond," Aki said evenly as he drew the blade. "Himeno-senpai, Denko and Su Tang's lives are unknown. I won't abandon a single comrade."
"Ha—looks fun," the Katana Man licked his teeth, then raised an arm to shield Sawatari. "The Gun Devil wants that young woman's heart. Take her away—don't interfere with my fight."
"It's been a long time… since a proper duel."
Before he finished, wind rose.
Black coat snapping, a streak of steel cleaved down at Aki's head.
"Clang—!!"
Metal struck metal like a great bell.
Aki bent slightly, katana horizontal behind him, blocking the blow, feet pivoting, blade turning—parrying and then ripping up in a countercut.
"One."
Blood slid off the blade—Aki counted silently.
"Don't underestimate him," Sawatari said coolly from behind. "The 'nail' he carries is contracted to the Curse Devil. Touch it three or four times and you'll die."
"Ha—got distracted," the Katana Man laughed carelessly, then felt a breeze.
"Two."
Blood dotted the air—spattering asphalt.
Aki drew a deep breath—one last strike.
Hand tight on the hilt, he sought his moment.
"Still underestimating him?"
Sawatari shook her head—apparently done watching.
The white-haired one beside her stepped forward.
"You sure about using that? It's not cheap," the Katana Man said, surprised.
"It's fine. We've got a sucker footing the bill."
Sawatari didn't care.
Watching the white-haired figure walk forward, the Katana Man batted aside Aki's strike, bored. "Winning with [Sloth] is always so dull."
[Sloth]?!
The name jolted Himeno and Aki.
That white-haired thing… wasn't human. A devil!
More precisely, like the Fox—a devil fragment!
It had only one power, and each fragment could use it once: to make any human it touched sleep forever.
No answer to it.
"Aki, run!"
Himeno forced her power—but the Ghost Devil balked, too frightened to advance.
"That bastard…"
In the instant she looked away, Aki, who had to split his attention, was smashed aside by the Katana Man—and his landing point…
Was right where [Sloth] waited!
No leverage in midair!
Which meant he would touch that thing—would fall into eternal sleep!
And what difference was that from death?
This was…
Memories flashed by—Himeno's eyes hardened.
"Ghost—help me… one last time."
—
Is it… over?
Aki watched the sky where the Snake Devil had vanished, now arched in his sight.
Family, revenge, the Gun Devil, Miss Makima—and… Himeno-senpai…
I'm sorry… a boring man like me…
The ground drew near; death drew close.
Fine… at least I can rest…
Aki slowly closed his eyes.
"Aki, you can't rest yet."
A familiar voice sounded at his ear.
That was…
"Himeno-senpai?!"
Aki felt something catch him. He opened his eyes—Himeno's green irises filled his vision.
Just as he remembered them—crinkling with a smile.
"Aki's dream isn't done. You can't stop here."
"Go fight, with my share too. You must…"
"Live."
The green eyes vanished.
So did [Sloth].
Sleep was permanent—and one-time. Terrifying, yet in practice, awkward—it could be blunted with a life.
The body in front of him went slack. Reflexively, Aki caught her in his arms.
He held the sleeping beauty—he could still feel warmth in her body.
"Boring."
Watching, Sawatari curled her lip, bent down, and hooked Denko's tie.
"I'm going first. Finish him… huh?"
Mid-sentence, she paused.
Something had grabbed her leg.
Looking down—her serpent eyes shrank hard.
What she saw was…
A cyan dragon's claw?!
—
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you so much for reading until the end.
If you'd like to read more, you can Joining to my Patreon.
My Patreon:
patreon.com/Hydran_Tea
Chainsaw Man: The Covenant of Flame Demon [Ss2 154 Chapter ]
Uma Musume: Wait—you want me to pop my Christmas Hat Ultimate? [Ss2 144 Chapter ]
Honkai star rail:Invincible From the Moment I Started Playing as Jing Yuan [ 78 Chapter ]
The Problem Child Starts from Gensokyo [ 73 Chapter ]
FGO: Handcrafted Lostbelt, the Strongest is the Real History [ 47 Chapter ]
Honkai World: Kiana Doesn't Need Redemption [ 39 Chapter ]