The girl's laughter didn't stop.
"Hahahaha!"
Cael pushed aside the bushes, with Kobeni Higashiyama nervously trailing behind him.
On the grass amidst the flowers sat a little girl, about seven or eight, wearing a blue sundress. She was squatting there, playing a pat‑a‑cake game with a devil beside her.
The devil was white and long, shaped almost like a strip of cloth. Across its head was a cute grass wreath the girl had woven. It was thick like a 2‑liter drink bottle and just over a meter long.
Its face was grotesque but strangely simple: just a mouth and one pitch‑black eye. It looked so harmless it reminded Cael of a cartoon he used to watch—if Plankton from SpongeBob SquarePants lost his limbs, shrank, and got blown up dozens of times, he'd still look exactly like this thing.
"A devil! Cael! Look, it's a devil!!!"
Kobeni's scream cracked the air as she drew her dagger with trembling hands, gripping it in reverse.
Cael ignored her freaking out.
He frowned.
Something about this didn't add up.
The girl and the devil looked more like playmates than enemies.
Could this maggot‑like devil really be harmless, like Pochita was?
Then why was her father panicked, and where did his blood come from?
"What exactly is going on here?" Cael asked as he stepped into view.
Since neither he nor Kobeni tried to hide themselves, the girl and the white devil noticed them instantly.
"Ah!"
Both the girl and the devil cried out.
She stretched her arms protectively around the devil and squealed loudly:
"Big brother, big sister, Mr. Muscle is a good devil! Please don't hurt him!"
"Chirp."
The devil quivered behind her, shaking like hell whenever Cael moved.
"Mr. Muscle?" Cael echoed.
The girl tilted her head, glancing at the devil with concern.
"Mr. Muscle is the devil's name. Big brother, big sister, you were sent by my father to catch me, right?"
But Kobeni was already lost in her own panic.
"It's… a devil! Little sister, don't move. Let big sister help you kill it!"
Despite her body trembling badly, she stepped forward with her knife raised.
That was… admirable courage, maybe.
"Big sister! Don't hurt Mr. Muscle!" the girl yelled.
"Chirp chirp!" The devil put on a pitiful, pleading expression, nodding frantically like it was begging for mercy.
Cael sighed.
He grabbed Kobeni by the back of her collar, freezing her in place.
"Kobeni, this girl clearly has something to say. Let's hear her out before we do anything stupid."
Cael didn't automatically hate all devils like some people did. He believed devils shouldn't all be judged the same way. Even devils could be kind, just like Pochita, who didn't hate humans, didn't bite, and loved hugs.
Maybe this "Mr. Muscle" was just like that.
"O‑Okay," Kobeni stammered, calming slightly now that Cael was in charge.
Cael crouched down to the little girl's level.
"Hey kid, your father said a devil grabbed you. Tell me what's actually going on between you and Mr. Muscle."
The girl's mouth twitched strangely as she shouted back:
"My father is lying!"
"Oh?"
"My dad hits me whenever he's mad. Today at the gas station, he hit me again…"
She looked affectionately at the white devil beside her.
"Mr. Muscle showed up just in time and saved me from my dad!"
"So please, big brother, big sister, don't hurt Mr. Muscle!"
"Chirp chirp." The devil flopped into her arms, its mouth forming a pout like it wanted to cry, looking innocent as hell.
Well, damn.
So that was the deal.
The father was a domestic abuser, and this good devil had actually rescued the kid.
Cael exhaled softly and reached out to ruffle the little girl's hair gently.
"Don't be scared. I know even devils can be good, just like Mr. Muscle."
"But you can't stay out here with Mr. Muscle forever."
"How about this: big brother and big sister will take you to the police. They'll deal with your father properly. If he doesn't change, they'll strip him of his rights."
"Cael… you…" Kobeni called out weakly from the side.
But her voice was too soft; Cael didn't catch it.
"R‑Really?" the girl asked, wide‑eyed.
"Of course it's true," Cael said with a warm smile.
"I can even help you beat up your jerk of a dad to let some steam off!"
"Cael?" Kobeni tried again, louder.
"What is it, Kobeni?"
Kobeni's voice was shaky.
"The girl said her father hits her, but… she doesn't have a single bruise or scar on her body…"
"Huh?!" Cael snapped alertly.
That did seem weird.
But before he could think more—
"Ahahahaha!!!"
The girl suddenly burst into wild laughter, grabbed Cael's hand, and shook it with surprising strength.
"Thank you so much, big brother!"
"Hahaha!!!"
"Yahahahahaha!!!"
Her laughter got louder and more intense, tears forming at the corners of her eyes, but she laughed like she'd lost her mind.
Then Cael felt something yank him upward with insane force.
In seconds—
That harmless‑looking Mr. Muscle transformed into a terrifying bright‑red devil!
Its body was now all muscle, grotesque and wild. Its head bulged with four mismatched eyes and a huge mouth full of jagged teeth.
"Hahaha…" the girl kept laughing, her grin more terrifying than crying.
The devil wrapped its massive muscular body around Cael, squeezing him tight.
"Victory is decided! I win!" it declared, thrilled.
"What the hell are you?" Cael growled.
"Ho?"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
The girl's laughter intensified again, clearly controlled by the devil.
"I am the Muscle Devil," the creature boomed, "I control all the muscles I touch!"
Cael thought fast.
Talking needs muscle control—respiratory, throat, mouth. This thing was puppeteering every word the girl had said.
"Heh." Cael drew out a cold laugh.
"Muscle Devil, good for you…" he muttered low.
Kobeni fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I knew it! I screwed up again! Is Mr. Cael gonna die because of me too? I can't do anything…"
The Muscle Devil bristled at Cael's attitude.
"What are you pretending for? With a thought I can blow up every muscle you have!"
Cael didn't answer. He was thinking about how exactly he wanted this thing gone.
Then the Muscle Devil suddenly lit up with an idea.
"Human, before I kill you, I have something fun to show you!"
It lifted the little girl into the air.
"Right in front of you, I'm gonna play with this brat. After that, I'll do the same to that coward on the ground. How about it? You mad? You mad?"
Cael cracked a contemptuous grin.
"Tsk, you pathetic rat, how dare you bark at me…"
"Human, what did you say?"
Cael took a calm breath.
"I said…"
"Black Hole!"
Whoosh!
In an instant, the muscles gripping Cael's right hand evaporated, pulled apart by a Dark Hole!
"Ah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!"
"You damn human, you actually contracted such a terrifying devil?! I'll blow up your muscles till you're useless!"
"Try it if you can," Cael said quietly.
The Muscle Devil unleashed its power.
Except…
It didn't work.
It couldn't control Cael's muscles at all.
"What the hell?! I'm the Muscle Devil! Move for me!"
Sweat popped up all over the Muscle Devil's head.
No control.
No muscle domination.
With Cael, none of its powers worked.
Because as soon as anyone touched Cael's body, his Dark Water ability kicked in and nullified devil powers. That was what happened after his luck hit max.
So a Muscle Devil that couldn't control muscles?
To Cael, it was just rotten meat waiting to be shredded.
He conjured another Dark Hole and shredded the devil's body to break free.
"Aaah—!!!" the Muscle Devil screamed.
Cael severed the connection between the devil and the little girl.
The girl collapsed unconscious on the ground.
"What?!" Kobeni blinked, like she was waking from a dream.
Cael grabbed the Muscle Devil by the neck with one hand and held a spinning Dark Hole in the other.
To take out pathetic little trash devils like this, he didn't even need his chainsaw form.
"You ever think about how you want to die? I got a great idea, Muscle Devil…"
The devil panicked.
"Spare me! I'll even lick your boots!"
Cael gave a cruel smile.
"Your muscles are explosive, huh? Let's make them explode a bit more…"
Pressing the Dark Hole vortex to the devil's blood vessels, he said:
"Release."
Instantly.
The Muscle Devil convulsed violently.
Its eyes rolled back, foam dripping from its mouth.
Cael had swallowed a huge gulp of air into the Dark Hole, and now he pumped all that air into the devil's bloodstream.
The Muscle Devil was gone.
But Cael wasn't satisfied yet.
"Kobeni, the knife!"
"Y‑Yes!" she answered shakily and threw the dagger over.
Shing!
Shing!
Cael caught the blade and hacked at the devil's corpse with furious precision.
Ding! You killed the Muscle Devil and gained 9 attribute points.
Only nine?
This trash couldn't even give good points.
"Come on, Kobeni, you should take a few swings yourself. Build up some courage," Cael said, tossing the knife back.
"O‑Okay!"
Kobeni stared at the pile of minced meat on the ground like she was in a trance.
Where… should I even cut?
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