Chapter 128: The Reason for Liking
Otonashi Chiya had already seen through the intentions of the powerful figures backing the representative. If he, Shingetsu, and the Hybrids stayed to live here, it would invisibly bolster Japan's strength. Living in a place for a long time inevitably leads to various attachments—friends, family—and once Japan faced a devil that was difficult to handle, any normal person would naturally take action to protect those attachments.
In short, for a specialized profession like a Devil Hunter, whichever country they reside in essentially claims a portion of their power.
Although Chiya wasn't particularly keen on fulfilling the wishes of those cunning high-level officials, he hadn't yet decided where to go next. For the time being, he still needed to bring Denji and Kobeni back to live here. Unless the officials were mentally ill, they likely wouldn't dare provoke him again. This much was clear from the attitude of the representative sent to speak with him.
Furthermore, with the Hybrids available to protect Denji and Kobeni, there would be powerhouses stationed to deal with any emergencies.
"I won't be leaving for the time being. As for later, it's hard to say," Chiya replied expressionlessly.
"Understood, understood!" The man nodded repeatedly. "Then there's almost nothing else. Afterward, we will publicly announce the wrongdoings committed by the former Cabinet members. You should understand our meaning, Mr. Otonashi."
The meaning behind those words wasn't hard to grasp: the authorities were taking the initiative to justify Chiya's actions to the world. To put it bluntly, everything was the fault of the former Cabinet members, and Chiya's actions were entirely justified. While that was indeed the truth, the fact that the government was proactively admitting it and publicizing it changed the nature of the situation entirely.
"Understood." Seeing the man sweating non-stop, Chiya couldn't help but say, "You don't need to be so afraid. I'm not some mass murderer. As long as you don't provoke me too far, I won't kill the innocent indiscriminately."
"Yes, sir!"
However, Chiya's words had the opposite effect; the man became so stiff he didn't even dare wipe the sweat off his face anymore. Chiya was left speechless. I'm not a devil, is there really a need to be this terrified?
"Of course, even if I leave later, I'll still return from time to time. After all, I still have friends here. But I suggest you set aside your little schemes. Just don't provoke me—that's all."
Chiya had emphasized "don't provoke me" more than once now, hoping the representative and the big shots behind him would take it to heart. He did, after all, still have friends in the Tokyo Public Safety Bureau, like Hayakawa Aki and Himeno.
"Yes, sir!" The man nodded vigorously once more.
With that, the man departed, and Chiya prepared to retrieve Denji and the others. For now, it was better for Denji, Kobeni, and Pochita to live in Tokyo; the environment was far better than the Soviet slums.
"Master, just what was that ability earlier? To be able to traverse between the human world and Hell at will?"
Now that the Cabinet incident was fully concluded, Reze couldn't help but ask. She wasn't the only one; the other Hybrids were incredibly curious as well. Chiya's power completely transcended their understanding.
Shingetsu didn't feel the shock as deeply since she knew little about Hell, but the conversation piqued her curiosity too. She had always wondered how Chiya possessed so many abnormal abilities.
"That is my devil power, but it is also an unspeakable secret. Suffice it to say, Hell is a place I can enter and leave whenever I please."
Chiya said.
Even though this "explanation" was effectively no explanation at all, Reze and the others didn't press him further. After all, Chiya had already stated it was an unspeakable secret. The secret of the Dual Kamui was a "Iron Rule" Chiya refused to break: it could never be revealed.
The spatial vortex opened by the Dual Kamui connected specifically to a separate dimension. The Kamui Dimension was, by nature, an alternate space completely isolated from both the human world and Hell. Regardless of whether he was on Earth or in Hell, he could transfer into the Kamui space and then exit to either realm at will. Previously, he hadn't been to Hell, so he couldn't "blindly" teleport there; now that he had set foot on its soil, he could precisely warp back whenever he wished.
"One thing is for certain now: Makima wasn't with the Cabinet. That means there's a high probability she's still in Hell..." Chiya thought to himself.
He hadn't forgotten his previous intent to proactively head to Hell to find Makima. In terms of strength, his current Vitality attribute was strong enough to handle almost anything except a Primal Fear. Primal Fears were the absolute ceiling of the devil world, especially in Hell, which was their home turf.
The Darkness Devil, for instance, was truly invincible within its own domain of shadow. One could think of it as having "invincibility frames" in the darkness—you simply couldn't kill it. Therefore, if he encountered a Primal Fear, he just had to avoid a head-on struggle to the death; with the Dual Kamui, his self-preservation was at least guaranteed.
However, Chiya felt it wasn't time to head back to Hell just yet. He would wait until he finished his current business.
Chiya teleported alone to Denji's side.
"Things have been settled. We can go back now."
"That fast?" Denji was genuinely surprised. Chiya-gege had said it would take no more than three days, so she had prepared herself for a three-day wait. She hadn't expected everything to be wrapped up in less than one.
"Mhm. But..."
At that moment, Chiya noticed faint traces of blood on the floor near the entrance that hadn't been completely scrubbed away. "Did something happen while I was gone? Were you attacked?"
"Ah, yes! Some drunks tried to break in, but Kobeni-sister knocked them all down. She was amazing!" Denji praised.
Hearing this, Chiya was slightly surprised. It seemed current Kobeni already possessed the strength she had in the original story; he hadn't been sure of that until now.
Despite Denji's praise, Higashiyama Kobeni looked as though she had done something wrong. She kept her head lowered, not daring to meet Chiya's eyes. Chiya had told her to contact him immediately if anything happened, yet she had acted rashly on her own. If those intruders hadn't been mere thugs but powerful enemies she couldn't defeat, she would have endangered Denji and Pochita.
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have been so impulsive..." Kobeni took the initiative to apologize.
"What is there to be sorry for? Didn't you protect Denji and Pochita? How could I possibly blame you for that?" Chiya said softly. "However, next time, I still hope you'll tell me the moment anything happens."
"Mhm!" Kobeni smiled happily.
As expected, Otonashi-kun was still as gentle as ever. This was one of the primary reasons she liked him so much.
AN-
I've uploaded a new fanfic on my account.Its called Percy Jackson:The Names of Leo Valdez.Would be really grateful if you can give it a shot.
Only 3 chapters but I'll upload more today. 🥲
Enjoyyyyyy!