Cael ignored Beam, who was bouncing around like he had snorted a line of caffeine.
To be fair, if Cael slammed Dark Hole into the ground right now, everything would end fast. Too fast. The zombies would be gone, sure, but so would the building. Smash the load bearing structure and the whole place would collapse. Allies, civilians, anyone unlucky enough to be nearby would get crushed along with the corpses.
Yeah. Not worth the mess.
That option was off the table.
Cael clicked his tongue and scanned the battlefield, calculating how to clear it cleanly and fast.
"Got it."
A heavy black aura rolled off his body like smoke bleeding into water.
"Dark Water."
Boosted by his chainsaw form, the pull radius of the ability exploded outward. Zombies were strong compared to normal people, but not by much. Once the pull kicked in, they did not stand a chance.
The horde was dragged toward Cael, bodies scraping across concrete as they lost all control of their footing.
At the same time, Cael spun in place at terrifying speed.
He became a living grinder.
A humanoid vortex formed around him, chainsaws screaming as they tore into everything that got close.
Dark Water, Chainsaw Tornado.
The sound was deafening. Meat, bone, and rot flew everywhere. Anything that touched the vortex died instantly. In seconds, a massive section of the floor was cleared.
"Wahoo!" Beam bounced excitedly, clapping like a dolphin on crack. "So damn cool! Chainsaw big brother really can do stuff nobody else can!"
He turned to the others. "You hear what Chainsaw Boss said? He's got this handled. Move it and back up Hayakawa Aki!"
With that, Beam dove headfirst into the floor and vanished underground.
Princi followed without a word, her spider legs clicking softly as she disappeared.
"Alright," Galgali said, clapping his hands together. "Angel boy, let's go catch the snake woman."
Angel Devil yawned, wings drooping. "Snakes are gross, and I'm tired. Can I skip it?"
He looked like a dead-eyed office worker who had not slept in a week.
---
On the upper floors of the building, inside a narrow fire escape, the real fight was happening.
With the devils and fiends holding back the zombie swarm, Himeno and Hayakawa Aki boxed Sawatari Akane in from both ends.
Unlike last time, Kobeni was standing beside Himeno.
"Snake woman," Himeno said with a crooked grin. "Nowhere left to run."
She stopped talking and thrust her arm forward.
"Ghost, grab her."
"Tch."
Sawatari Akane clicked her tongue. "You really think you've cornered me? Funny. From where I'm standing, it's the three of you who are trapped."
Even though she could not see the Ghost Devil, Akane relied on pure combat instinct, slipping away just before the invisible hands could catch her.
Himeno cursed under her breath. "Damn it. Same as last time. She moves like a monkey."
The Ghost Devil had no eyes. It sensed fear. But Sawatari Akane was not afraid of Himeno, so the devil had to rely on Himeno's own vision.
That was a problem.
Himeno had lost her right eye permanently as payment for her contract. With only her left eye, her depth perception and tracking were worse than they used to be.
Seeing Himeno failing to land a hit, Aki moved.
Clang.
She drew the lifespan-consuming sword from her back and rushed in.
It was not that Aki could not use the Fox Devil. She just did not want to.
Last time, when she ordered the Fox Devil to bite Akane, the Snake Devil had nearly torn the Fox Devil apart. Since then, the Fox Devil had been giving Aki the cold shoulder.
The Fox Devil was picky. She loved pretty faces, and Aki had one, which was why Aki could normally summon the Fox Devil's head instead of just a claw. But biting something dangerous was like getting stabbed in the throat instead of pricking a finger. The Fox Devil hated that.
So Aki fought up close instead.
Akane dodged her slashes with ease.
"You're still slow," Akane mocked, smirking. "What, scared of my snake? Too scared to call the fox again?"
Suddenly, Akane pulled a handgun from her coat and aimed it straight between Aki's brows.
Bang.
Clang.
Metal rang out as Aki barely deflected the bullet with her blade.
"Not bad," Akane said.
She used the opening to flip backward and slammed her heel into Aki's chest, sending her flying several meters down the stairs.
Akane's eyes flicked to the short sword on Aki's back.
The Curse Devil.
That thing was a nightmare. Three clean stabs and the target was dead, no arguing with fate. Akane was not like Katana Man. If she died, that was it.
So Aki had to go first.
Himeno's Ghost could not catch her, and even if it did, Akane had a backup plan.
As for the shaking girl next to Himeno, Akane barely spared Kobeni a glance.
Cannon fodder.
"Ugh."
Just as Akane raised her gun again, her body froze. Her fingers went numb, and the gun slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor.
She frowned. "Tch. Annoying."
Himeno licked her lips. "Got you, you slippery bitch."
She glanced at Kobeni. "Hey. Don't just stand there. Remember when you and Cael took down that devil? Find that courage again."
"C courage?" Kobeni's breathing went wild. "I I'll try, Himeno."
Aki wiped blood from her mouth and forced herself upright. "Nice one, Himeno. I'll finish her."
Akane struggled against the invisible grip. "What kind of ghost crap is this? I can feel it, but I can't touch it."
Aki lunged in.
"Die."
Akane smiled.
"I was waiting for that."
A deep rumble shook the stairwell.
"What?" Aki's eyes widened.
"Get back!" Himeno shouted. "She's summoning the snake!"
Three fingernails vanished from Akane's left hand.
"Snake. Full body."
Crack.
A massive python burst from the corridor, larger than anything she had summoned before. Its body filled the stairwell completely.
There was nowhere to run.
Aki was too close.
The snake swallowed her whole in one bite.
"Kobeni!"
Himeno shoved Kobeni away, but she was a second too slow.
The snake devoured Himeno next.
Its head stopped just half a meter from Kobeni's face. The stench of rot and blood filled her lungs.
In seconds, she was alone.
"Eh?" Kobeni drew her knife, hands shaking.
Akane crawled out of the snake's mouth, unharmed. She dismissed it and calmly picked up her gun.
She did not even bother looking at Kobeni.
Killing someone that weak felt pointless.
As Akane turned toward the exit, a voice cracked behind her.
"S Stop."
Kobeni's face was soaked in tears. She held the knife in a reverse grip against her chest, her expression twisted and unstable.
Akane looked back. "You want to die that badly?"
"Y you killed people," Kobeni said, her voice breaking. "You did all of this."
"Oh, yeah," Akane replied casually, aiming her gun at Kobeni's forehead. "I did. So what?"
After digestion, the Snake Devil could use the powers of what it consumed. Ghost, Curse, Fox. All of it would be hers soon.
But even a bullet felt like a waste on Kobeni.
Then Kobeni stopped shaking.
"You're the kind of person," she said quietly, eyes sharpening, "who deserves to die."
Akane blinked.
"Prepare to die."
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