Pov Narrator.
As soon as he finished speaking, Isagi disappeared in a blur of speed. Reze barely had time to react before her opponent appeared beside her, having closed the distance between them in an instant.
"Black Flash we." He said casually.
Isagi threw a punch straight at Reze's chest. Thanks to the improvement in his cursed energy control, the physical reinforcement accompanying his movements was now much more efficient. Combined with his natural speed, it allowed him to blitz the Bomb Devil hybrid, surpassing her reaction speed and leaving her with insufficient time to move out of the way of the blow.
The cursed energy distorted space, and at the precise instant Isagi's fist connected with its target, it triggered a Black Flash. The characteristic black lightning bolts erupted in every direction, briefly illuminating the surroundings as a violent shockwave shook the area.
The force concentrated in Isagi's fist destroyed the left side of Reze's body, sending flesh and blood flying through the air. Her body was launched backward like a bullet, violently moving away from the point of impact as the black lightning bolts faded around her.
Everything had happened in a fraction of a second.
"So this is what happens when I attack with the intention to kill with my punches?" Isagi said, looking at his own fist as he finished processing the power of the impact.
Until then, he had been accustomed to controlling the force of his attacks to avoid causing more damage than necessary. However, by holding back much less with a Black Flash, he had just experienced firsthand the difference that could exist between a normal punch and one thrown with the intention of finishing off his opponent.
"Isagi likes it." Isagi took the situation quite well, as if he hadn't just casually and effortlessly destroyed someone's body with a single punch.
Isagi began walking calmly toward the place where he had sent Reze flying, whistling as he went. He didn't seem to be in any hurry, as he was quite certain that the hybrid was still alive.
"Osaragi, look after my underlings. I'll go take care of that twenty-five-inch arm." Isagi said before walking away, casually raising a hand in farewell.
He left Osaragi behind with Nue, which had already landed a while ago. Neither of them had seen any need to intervene in the fight, since Isagi had taken care of both devils on his own.
"Alright. That gives me time to eat." Osaragi opened one of the bags of chips she had brought with her and began eating calmly.
Meanwhile, Isagi walked through the devastated streets without a care in the world. It didn't take him long to find Reze, who had ended up several blocks away after receiving that brutal impact.
The hybrid was partially buried beneath the remains of some buildings, her body wrecked by the blow she had received. However, her regeneration was already well underway. Thanks to the blood she still had left. Isagi stopped at a distance and watched the scene with an amused expression.
"Excuse me, did that hurt? Who was it you were going to make regret showing up?" Isagi mocked, recalling the words Reze had spoken before the fight began. "That's what you get for being a woman who doesn't know when to shut up."
A mocking smile appeared on his face. There was something he loved about fighting people who had too much confidence in their own abilities: watching that confidence disappear as soon as they encountered someone who could overwhelmingly surpass them.
Of course, Isagi wasn't exactly an example of humility either. He had considerable confidence in his abilities, and when he could, he humiliated his opponents as well. The difference was that he didn't need to open his mouth to brag.
Reze, for her part, struggled to emerge from the rubble. She staggered a little, still dazed by the brutal blow she had received. Her attitude had completely changed.
"(He's too fast. Just one of his punches did more damage to me than the entire Second and Fourth Divisions combined)." She thought with some concern as she observed Isagi from a distance.
She had already been warned that Isagi was strong, but until that moment, she hadn't truly understood just how dangerous he could be. And there was something else that worried her. Isagi hadn't even used the sword he was carrying. If he had been able to eliminate the Typhoon Devil with a single attack from that weapon, Reze didn't even want to imagine what kind of damage he could inflict on her if he decided to use it against her.
"Looks like you're right. You're not like Denji." Reze said cautiously, staring at Isagi. "That's why I'll take you completely seriously."
After saying that, Reze wasted no more time. She used her power as the Bomb Devil hybrid to propel herself forward. The ground beneath her feet exploded with a violent detonation, and her body shot forward at an impressive speed. In barely a second, she had closed the distance between them.
Reze appeared in front of Isagi and launched an explosive kick directly at him, causing another detonation to erupt around her leg. Isagi remained completely calm. He simply raised one hand, as if he were waiting for Reze to finish her move.
BOOM!
Reze's kick slammed into the back of Isagi's hand. The impact was so forceful that, for a moment, the hybrid had the strange sensation of having kicked a concrete wall instead of a person.
Even so, the explosive force of her attack didn't disappear. The detonation struck Isagi head-on, engulfing him in an explosion that shook the surroundings and raised a thick cloud of black smoke.
A hand suddenly emerged from the smoke and grabbed Reze's bomb-shaped head. Before the hybrid could react, Isagi hurled her to the side with considerable violence, sending her body flying through the air.
However, Reze didn't take long to react. She extended a hand and planted it against the ground to stop her fall, using the momentum to change direction and launch herself upward. She flipped in the air and landed on her feet.
The cloud of smoke began to dissipate little by little, revealing Isagi's figure. His body had withstood the explosion without suffering any damage, although his clothes had fared quite differently: they were torn in several places, completely ruined by the detonation.
Isagi lowered his gaze toward his clothes and remained motionless for a few seconds.
"My aesthetics!" His expression darkened as he looked at the damage to his outfit. "There are two things I can never forgive. One: someone calling an avocado a palta. And two: ruining my aesthetics... These clothes were brand-new."
Isagi extended his hand and took out Magatsumi again, pronouncing its name to awaken it. A small black centipede began crawling along the blade, sliding over the metal. At the same time, a black butterfly appeared beside Isagi and began fluttering around him with slow, elegant movements.
Reze instinctively stepped back. A chill unlike anything she had ever experienced before ran through her entire body. It wasn't simply the fear she might feel in the presence of an enemy more powerful than herself; it was a much deeper sensation. The black butterfly eventually landed on the tip of Isagi's sword.
At that precise moment, Reze felt something horrifying. It was as if she were missing her head. As if someone had cleanly cut it off, but, for some inexplicable reason, she still had it resting on her shoulders. It made her feel as though she were on the verge of suffering something terrible.
The air around her also seemed to have changed. It felt too thin, too sharp.
"Chō"
"Stop!"
Isagi, who was about to split Reze in half and rename her Re/ze with his Chō attack, stopped upon hearing that shout. Isagi turned his head to the side to discover who the fuck had decided to interrupt him at that very moment.
It was Denji, in his hybrid form, riding Beam in his Shark Devil form as if he were some kind of horse or mount.
"(Give him some sneakers, and he'll turn into that blue shark I saw once)." Isagi thought, observing Beam for a few seconds. "What do you want? I'm trying to kill someone."
"Spiky Hair!" Denji made Beam stop when he recognized Isagi.
For a moment, he stared at him, surprised to find him alive after everything that had happened. However, that surprise disappeared with astonishing speed.
"Stop! I was fighting her!"
"So what? Do you want me to clap or something?" Isagi's response was so blunt.
"Listen, Spiky Hair. Reze is gorgeous, and it'd be a shame to kill her or hand her over to Public Safety." Denji said. The young man got off Beam and planted his feet on the ground, trying to regain control of the situation.
"I don't give a shit if she's gorgeous or the Miss Universe of Russia." Isagi furrowed his brow even further without taking his eyes off Denji. "What does that have to do with anything else?" To Isagi, Denji's reasoning made absolutely no sense. It's not that he wanted to kill Reze... Yet.
"Fuck, Isagi! That's why you suck!" Denji shouted, pointing at him indignantly. "You've already got Miss Makima! I want a girlfriend too! I've figured something out! I need to focus on just one woman!" Denji declared, clenching his fists with determination. "And I choose Reze!" The conviction with which he spoke those words had been admirable.
"What?" Isagi asked, incredulous at what he had just heard.
"I don't know how the fuck you're still alive, but just one day after you supposedly died in an accident, I met Reze." Denji said, clenching his fists resolutely as he looked at Isagi. "She taught me several things, how to read a little, she taught me what going to school would be like, and she taught me how to swim! I know she tried to kill me, but if I can have food again the next day, I can start over."
Denji spoke with a sincerity that was difficult to ignore. Isagi didn't respond immediately. He simply observed him attentively. After a few seconds, he slightly raised his hand and gestured for him to continue speaking.
Besides, he couldn't deny that he was somewhat curious about the situation. After all, the same guy who had previously seemed willing to compete with him over any pretty woman was now openly acknowledging that Isagi already had an advantage he couldn't overcome.
And, of course, Isagi was enjoying that a little.
"You already have Miss Makima, and she already has you. I understand that maybe I can't compete with you because you've already won, so let me have this!"
"Are you asking me to let her go...?" Isagi murmured. His expression turned thoughtful.
They had never really gotten along. Between their arguments, the teasing, and the constant stupid things Denji was capable of saying, he had accepted that Isagi had the advantage when it came to Makima, and instead of continuing to insist on something he could no longer obtain, he had found someone else he wanted to focus on.
"I just want to tell you that I'd never let her go if I were on the clock... But..." The black butterfly fluttering beside the tip of Magatsumi slowly disappeared, as if it had vanished into thin air.
At the same time, that oppressive and terrifying sensation that had enveloped the surroundings began to dissipate. The air stopped feeling so sharp, and the pressure that had made Reze tremble gradually disappeared. Isagi lowered his sword, making it clear that, at least for the moment, he no longer intended to use that attack.
"Luckily for you, I'm not on mandatory work hours." Isagi finished as he put Magatsumi away.
His tone returned to its usual carefree manner. He had just decided that continuing the fight was no longer worth it. After all, Isagi had no obligation to finish off Reze right then and there.
"Do whatever you want, but if I hear even the slightest explosion, I'll come back, get all seinen on your ass, and fold Reze like an accordion." Isagi said, turning around to leave the two of them alone.
The truth was, he didn't particularly care how things turned out. He had already intervened more than enough for one day, and the last thing he wanted was to get caught in the middle of Denji's romantic dramas.
If Denji ended up with a broken neck because he trusted Reze too much, that would be his own damn fault. Isagi had no intention of taking responsibility for the consequences. So he began walking back the way he had come, calmly moving away from the area.
If he heard any more explosions or discovered that the two of them had decided to turn another part of the city into a battlefield, he would return to set things straight.
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Some time later...
Location: Makima's Apartment.
Isagi sighed as he stood in front of a door. He stared at it for a few seconds, his hands at his sides and a slightly tense expression on his face. For some reason, he felt a little nervous.
Before arriving, he had sent Osaragi back to her own home, to Isagi's own house with the help of the white wolf, which remembered the entire route perfectly. He had preferred to do it that way to make sure Osaragi arrived without any problems.
As for coming here, where he was now, he couldn't just show up with Osaragi as if nothing had happened, especially after being missing for so long.
"(Come on, Isagi. You were only gone for like two weeks. It's not that big a deal)." He told himself mentally, trying to convince himself that there was no reason to be so nervous.
He gave his thighs a few pats, as if that gesture could help him calm down. Finally, he gathered enough courage and raised his hand to knock on the door several times.
Knock, knock, knock!
While waiting, he wondered if Makima was home. He wasn't absolutely certain, but considering the time, she most likely was. At least, he hoped so.
A few seconds later, he heard movement on the other side of the door. Footsteps approached, and almost immediately, he heard the excited panting of the dogs Makima kept as pets.
The door began to open. And then Makima appeared. She was wearing simple clothes, quite different from the more formal outfits she usually wore to work.
"Would you believe me if I told you that someone tried to kill me during the flight?" Isagi said with a slight, tense smile, trying to downplay the matter, although it was obvious that even he couldn't take it entirely lightly...
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End of chapter.