Pov Narrator.
The elevator slowly went up, floor by floor. The small panel above the door changed numbers with every level they left behind, while the constant hum of the motor was practically the only sound filling the confined space.
Surprisingly, the trio remained silent. When the elevator passed the ninth floor, both Denji and Isagi heard a strange sound.
Crunch...
Crunch...
Someone was chewing. Both slowly turned their heads at the same time to find out where the noise was coming from.
Power.
The devil was holding a zombie arm she had torn off during the previous fight with complete nonchalance, nibbling on it as if she were eating a bag of chips while waiting for her turn.
"Ugh... that's fucking disgusting." Denji said as he took a step to the side to get away from her, making an obvious face of disgust as he watched her keep tearing chunks off the rotten arm.
"The pot calling the kettle black." Isagi commented, pointing at him with one finger, although even he felt a slight chill seeing Power enjoy such a questionable meal. "You eat anything that goes into your mouth."
"What? Meat is meat, brat! Doesn't matter if it's cow, beef, pork, or human." Power replied with complete conviction, beginning to repeatedly poke Denji's arm to emphasize her point.
The elevator came to a stop. The doors slowly began to open with a soft metallic creak. On the other side awaited a long hallway completely overrun by zombies. Dozens of them were scattered throughout the area, wandering around aimlessly.
They hadn't noticed the elevator yet. Denji barely peeked his head out before looking back at his companions. He immediately lowered his voice.
"They haven't seen us yet... let's get out of here." he muttered as he took a step back, trying to close the doors before drawing the entire horde's attention.
"My name is Power!" she shouted with all the excitement in the world as she raised a fist into the air. "You two, you rogues, cover my back!"
Before either of them could stop her, she created two sharp daggers made of hardened blood and charged straight into the massive horde of zombies. The first ones didn't even have time to react.
The crimson blades began slicing heads from side to side while Power laughed hysterically amid the chaos, enjoying every second of the battle as if it were nothing more than a game.
Isagi and Denji simply stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, almost at the same time, they shrugged. Neither of them made the slightest attempt to follow Power. The elevator doors slowly began to close, leaving the Blood Devil completely alone in front of the entire zombie horde.
"Alright... I'll handle Sideburns, so don't interfere." Denji said as he slipped a hand through the opening of his shirt to grab the cord of his chainsaw. His eyes reflected a determination they hadn't held before. "I'll put everything the old man taught me to the test."
He had been waiting for that moment ever since he started training with Kishibe. He wanted to prove that all that suffering had been worth something.
"Sure." Isagi replied with a nod. "I'll activate spectator mode for the whole fight. After all... I already beat the shit out of him once. Doing it again wouldn't be fun anymore."
He crossed his arms with complete calm. That fight no longer interested him in the slightest. He preferred to sit back and watch Denji get his revenge.
The elevator stopped once again. The doors slowly opened.
There they were.
Katana-Man stood in the middle of the hallway, accompanied by two armed yakuza who immediately raised their pistols and aimed directly at the elevator.
The moment Katana-Man saw Isagi, his expression changed completely. The muscles in his jaw instantly tensed, and a vein bulged across his forehead. He still remembered perfectly the humiliation he had suffered during their last encounter.
"Relax." Isagi said, raising both hands with complete calm. "I'm not doing anything this time. This guy's the one who's gonna fight." He stepped aside while pointing his thumb toward Denji.
"That's right, Sideburns. I came for revenge for putting a bullet in my head. You're just as shitty as that old man who turned into a zombie and tried to kill me."
Every word made Katana-Man's expression harden even more. His hands slowly clenched into fists. It was obvious the comment had hit exactly where it bothered him the most.
"The little girl's mad." Isagi grinned with amusement as he took a few steps back to give them room. "This is gonna be good."
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"Nope, it wasn't that entertaining. Those two got blasted out of the building during their fight, and I couldn't be bothered to follow them." Isagi muttered as he calmly walked out of the building. The raid had ended, and at last the sounds of battle were beginning to fade away.
The warm orange hues of the sunset bathed the city's buildings, painting the windows and streets with a gentle light. The atmosphere, which only a few hours earlier had been filled with gunfire, explosions, and screams, now felt surprisingly peaceful.
Isagi narrowed his eyes for a moment as he let the breeze brush against his face. Time really had flown by that day. Denji was probably, at that very moment, delivering his legendary kicks to Katana-Man's balls... Or maybe not. Who knew. With Himeno alive, he no longer had the same reason he did in the original story to do it.
Although, knowing Denji, there was a pretty high chance he'd end up doing it anyway just because.
Because he thought it was funny. If that was the case, that poor bastard would be carrying a brand-new trauma for the rest of his life.
A few meters away, Akane Sawatari walked in handcuffs while several Devil Hunters and police officers escorted her with extreme caution. She was completely surrounded, with absolutely no chance of escaping.
It seemed that Aki and Himeno had really taken care of her. And, from what could be seen, they had defeated her without too much trouble.
Isagi absentmindedly scratched the back of his head. It really had been a busy day. But for such an important operation... it hadn't been particularly difficult.
"(So it's already over? The first season ended, if I remember correctly)." he thought as he gazed at the sunset with his hands tucked into his pants pockets.
A light, pleasant breeze gently stirred his hair and clothes, making the moment feel strangely peaceful after everything that had happened. For a few seconds, he remained completely still.
Simply watching the sky.
"(Hahahaha, ah.)" A genuine smile slowly appeared on his face. "(I managed to survive and make it this far. Not bad, not bad.)"
[Ding!]
---
[Congratulations, Isagi Fushiguro. You have survived the first season of the Chainsaw Man story.]
[The Katana-Man arc has ended.]
[You will be granted a special-grade reward for making it this far... even if it was by force.]
[Reward obtained: Special Grade Weapon - Magatsumi (Shinuchi).]
---
"Huh? Magatsumi?" Isagi's eyebrows rose slightly. It wasn't exactly surprise, but confusion.
The name didn't ring any bells whatsoever, but the simple fact that the system classified it as a special-grade weapon was enough to make him give it his full attention. He frowned slightly as he repeated the name in his head.
"Damn, I think I should've watched more anime instead of just the popular ones. I don't even know what anime this weapon is from." he muttered with a small look of frustration as he scratched the back of his neck.
He let out a quiet sigh. By that point, he should have already gotten used to the system pulling rewards from series he had never seen. But that was what the system descriptions were for. He would calmly read through all the information later to find out what kind of special ability that weapon possessed.
And if it turned out to be a katana, even better. Maybe, at long last, he would have a worthy replacement for Wind Breathing, or even a weapon capable of surpassing everything he had used so far.
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The orange light of the sunset barely managed to filter through the blinds of a spacious office. The atmosphere was silent.
Heavy.
Several people dressed in elegant dark suits were gathered around a large circular table. No one spoke. They all wore serious expressions as they stared at the same file lying on the table. At the top of the report...
There was only a single photograph.
The image showed Makima calmly resting her head on Isagi's shoulder while holding a glass filled with a red liquid. The closeness between the two was far too obvious to ignore. One of the men finally broke the silence.
"This could become a problem." he said without taking his eyes off the file as he slowly intertwined his fingers on the table. "So... Makima really did grow attached to one of Public Safety's dogs."
"Are you sure this is real?" another man asked as he pointed a finger at the photograph. His tone was much calmer than the others', though no less serious because of it. "How do we know she isn't controlling him? Maybe it's only temporary, one of Makima's little whims."
No one answered immediately. The possibility was valid. After all, they were talking about the Control Devil. That woman had manipulated people for years without most of them ever realizing it.
Gathered inside that room were some of the most important figures in the country. High-ranking Public Safety officials. Government representatives. Officials who worked directly under the orders of Japan's Prime Minister.
"Hehehe... looks like the Control Devil found her favorite, don't you think?" another of those present commented. He was the youngest person in the room.
Unlike the others, he remained relaxed in his seat, wearing a mocking smile, as if he actually found the situation entertaining.
"What did you expect? Sooner or later this was bound to happen. The ones who have the least are the ones who value what they obtain the most. And it seems Makima has finally found something interesting for herself." His words made several of them frown.
"Are you making fun of the situation?" One of the men slammed his palm against the table, causing the sound to echo throughout the office. "This is a problem."
The young man merely shrugged, never losing that carefree smile. He didn't seem intimidated in the slightest.
As if he had already expected that reaction.
They all knew he was right. They knew Makima's true nature perfectly well. They knew she was the Control Devil. And they also knew that practically anyone she considered inferior could become nothing more than a puppet under her command.
That was Japan's greatest weapon. The reason why even powers such as the United States and Russia acted with extreme caution whenever she was involved.
Precisely because of that, the idea that Japan's greatest asset had developed some kind of attachment to a single person was unsettling.
Because an emotional bond could also become a weakness.
The world's great powers possessed enormous percentages of the Gun Devil. The United States. Russia. Each retained a considerable portion of that monster as a tool of power and international pressure.
Japan, on the other hand, was different. It didn't even possess ten percent of the Gun Devil. However, it possessed something that many considered even more terrifying.
The Control Devil.
Bound, at least partially, through the contract established with Japan's Prime Minister.
That had been more than enough. She was a genuine weapon of mass deterrence. No country wanted to start a direct conflict with Japan while Makima remained on its side.
Not because defeating her was impossible.
But because no one was willing to pay the price that confronting her would entail.
Even so, the tensions never truly disappeared. They merely remained hidden. The fear that the high-ranking officials of other nations felt toward Makima ran deep.
That was precisely why the fearsome Control Devil appearing to have developed some kind of affection for a single person could become a problem on an international scale. If that information were ever leaked, other countries might interpret it as an opportunity.
A crack in Japan's greatest weapon.
"If this gets out of the country... that young man will become the target of numerous international spies. Even Russia might send one of its devil experiments." another man commented. He was older than most of those present and spoke with the calmness of someone accustomed to anticipating the worst-case scenarios. "Even so, it's still too early to draw conclusions. Let's allow this to continue for now. If the situation doesn't change, we may have to interfere."
Silence once again took over the room. Those present exchanged glances.
No one needed to ask what exactly that word meant.
"Interfere."
They all understood its true meaning perfectly well.
If Isagi Fushiguro ended up becoming a possible weakness for Makima...
Then...
They would get rid of him.
---
End of the chapter.