Chapter 168: Procuring "Condiments"
"Ahhh—!""Ugh... my eyes?!"
Those Devil Church members whose eyeballs, noses, or ears had been harvested immediately let out shrill, agonizing screams.
The remaining members who had yet to suffer were completely paralyzed with terror. The inverted gravity and the horrific plight of their companions drove them into an escalating spiral of fear—which was precisely the panic the Falling Devil desired from them.
Following that, without a moment's warning, the Falling Devil activated her power.
The ground ahead suddenly cracked and split apart, transforming into massive chunks of rubble that "fell" upward toward the sky. All the Devil Church members who had been standing on the ground found their gravity forcibly inverted, and in the blink of an eye, not a single one was left behind as they "fell" straight into the gate of Hell hanging in the sky.
The moment they plummeted through the gates of Hell, their screams vanished instantly.
"Pardon me, would you be willing to accompany me to procure some 'condiments'?"
At that moment, the Falling Devil politely requested of Otonashi Chiya, "As long as humans do not actively attack me, I will not harm them. However, if I walk down the streets, those devil hunters will surely try to assassinate me on sight. If I were to retaliate even slightly at that point, I wouldn't be able to guarantee that ordinary people would remain unharmed."
"With your presence, however, such occurrences should be preventable."
She naturally remembered the stipulations within the order where Otonashi Chiya had explicitly emphasized not accidentally harming anyone.
This was precisely why she was inviting Otonashi Chiya to accompany her on her condiment-procurement trip.
"Very well, I'll go with you then."
Otonashi Chiya nodded.
He knew the Falling Devil wasn't speaking falsely.
Uninformed devil hunters upon seeing the Falling Devil would instantly attempt to hunt her down, only to be effortlessly one-shot by her, with nearby ordinary civilians caught in the crossfire.
Even if the Falling Devil hadn't brought it up, Otonashi Chiya wouldn't have felt comfortable letting her go out alone to gather these so-called condiments—especially considering how heavy the foot traffic was in places like shopping malls.
"Thank you for your trouble."
The Falling Devil spoke to Otonashi Chiya once more in a respectful tone.
......
Meanwhile.
Quanxi shielded her four fiend companions behind her, her gaze fixed with strict vigilance upon the Falling Devil.
Although this devil undeniably appeared immensely dangerous, Quanxi sensed no murderous intent directed toward them from the Falling Devil, which was why she refrained from making any rash moves.
Pingtsi and the other fiend girls had been thoroughly frightened out of their wits, huddling closely behind Quanxi and shivering uncontrollably.
Right at that instant, Quanxi's pupils abruptly constricted.
She watched as the Falling Devil slowly walked over to Otonashi Chiya, not only failing to attack him, but actually conversing with him in a deeply deferential manner.
Witnessing this scene, a hypothesis inevitably formed in Quanxi's mind: could the Falling Devil possibly be a devil contracted by Otonashi Chiya?
Otherwise, why would a Primal Devil interact with a human in such a friendly—or rather, overwhelmingly respectful—manner?!
"Pingtsi, Dragon, Cosmo, don't be scared anymore. That devil might not be our enemy..."
Quanxi immediately spoke to Pingtsi and the others.
"Eh... really...?"
Pingtsi found it impossible to believe, right up until she saw Otonashi Chiya and the Falling Devil walking over together.
This made her even more incredulous—this human boy was completely unharmed?!
He was even strolling alongside a Primal Devil in absolute safety?!
Even though they certainly didn't look like enemies, Pingtsi, Dragon, and Cosmo still felt a primal, instinctive dread welling up inside them toward the Primal Devil.
The zombie-like girl seemed completely devoid of emotion, her face remaining a blank mask of apathy.
The closer the Falling Devil drew, the more terrified Pingtsi, Dragon, and Cosmo became.
Noticing how utterly petrified these girls were, Otonashi Chiya instantly understood what was going on and spoke up, "She isn't an enemy, you don't need to be this scared."
"This gu—"
Quanxi was about to say "this guy," but fearing she might provoke the Falling Devil, she quickly corrected herself, "Is the Falling Devil really a devil you've contracted?"
"Sorry, I have no comment regarding that."
Otonashi Chiya had no intention of answering the question.
Whether it was his contract with the Famine Devil or summoning the Falling Devil through the Famine Devil's power, these were secrets not meant to be casually shared with outsiders.
"Alright then."
Quanxi didn't press further, knowing well enough that she lacked the strength to do so anyway.
"My sincerest apologies, I had no intention of frightening you; I only manifested to fulfill an order."
At that moment, the Falling Devil even offered a sincere explanation to Pingtsi and the others.
"She's actually apologizing to us..."
Quanxi couldn't help but feel a sense of surreal wonder that a Primal Devil would actually apologize to them.
By now, she was certain that the Falling Devil genuinely held no hostility toward them and seemed exceptionally close to Otonashi Chiya.
Even though Otonashi Chiya refused to speak of it, she figured that this was undoubtedly a contract between him and the Falling Devil.
Hearing the Falling Devil's voice and tone, Pingtsi, Dragon, and Cosmo finally calmed down quite a bit.
While they couldn't entirely avoid feeling some lingering fear, at least they weren't having a complete emotional breakdown like before.
"Forget about them, even I was so intimidated just now that I didn't dare come out and speak."
At this moment, the Wrath Devil residing within Otonashi Chiya's body also chimed in, her tone carrying a distinct hint of grievance toward him.
When Otonashi Chiya had suddenly summoned the Falling Devil just moments ago, she had been given quite a scare herself.
Still, it was a vast improvement compared to the time with the Darkness Devil; back then, the Darkness Devil had been brimming with murderous intent toward both her and Otonashi Chiya, whereas this Falling Devil didn't harbor a single trace of murderous intent against them.
"Who knows why, but you seem to have a knack for crossing paths with Primal Devils..."
The Wrath Devil couldn't help muttering in complaint.
"I wouldn't call it a knack."
Otonashi Chiya offered a slightly awkward smile.
Shortly after, Otonashi Chiya went to brief Shingetsu, Reze, and the others, instructing them to soothe and protect the children safely inside the shelter.
It was better to be safe than sorry, just in case any remaining enemies attempted a sneak attack.
"Leave it to us. That previous group was practically the main force of the Devil Church; now that the core strength has been wiped out, even if there are any stragglers left, they're no match for us anyway."
Reze reasoned with confidence.
Shingetsu, on the other hand, was deeply fixated on the Falling Devil standing right beside Otonashi Chiya.
She couldn't help wondering why all sorts of bizarre women always seemed to orbit around Otonashi Chiya—especially this "woman" who felt exceptionally dangerous...
Furiya, Barem, and the other weapon hybrids remained relatively composed, able to face the Falling Devil head-on because they trusted Lord Otonashi's words: although this devil was terrifyingly dangerous, she was not an enemy.
The rest of the official devil hunters dispatched by the Devil Hunter Association to act as instructors were nowhere near as steady. They kept their distance, not daring to get anywhere near the Falling Devil.
Observing their reactions, the Falling Devil smiled with amiable warmth, saying,
"Oh my~ I have no intention of taking any action, everyone can relax."