Snap!!
The Coriander Devil lashed out with a vine whip. Denji caught it, but due to the sheer disparity in strength, he was flung into the air, spinning around the Coriander Devil like a tetherball. Denji felt his stomach churning—if this kept up, the curry Reze made was going to make an encore appearance.
Snap!!
Suddenly, the vine whip snapped in the middle. Denji's body was sent flying, his back slamming hard against a load-bearing pillar.
"Denji!" Aki Hayakawa shouted.
"Ow!!! That hurts like hell!" Denji clutched his waist, struggling to rise.
"You are no match for me. Be good and become food for the Demon King," the Coriander Devil laughed maniacally.
"I think you look more like a side dish," Denji grunted, wiping blood from his mouth. He looked down at his arms and, upon closer inspection, spotted the chain links hidden beneath his chainsaw blades. He jerked his arms violently to release the saw-chains, but they didn't budge. He felt like Spider-Man trying to shoot webs for the first time, twisting into various poses, but nothing happened.
"Denji, what are you doing?" Aki asked, watching Denji's bizarre gyrations. He genuinely feared Denji had suffered brain damage from the impact.
"Give me food!!"
The Coriander Devil went berserk again. Two vines shot toward Aki's feet, hoisting her up and feeding her toward its maw.
Clang!!
The sound of clashing iron chains suddenly rang out. Two saw-chains finally shot out from Denji's arms.
Shing!!!
The chains plunged deep into the Coriander Devil's body.
"Agh!!" The devil shrieked, the vines strangling Aki instantly going limp.
"So that's how it works."
Denji finally understood. He switched the chainsaw mechanism from 'release' to 'retract.' The chains yanked his body toward the devil at breakneck speed. In mid-air, he joined his arm-saws together.
One-Word Slash!!!
Shhhhing!!!
The Coriander Devil was sliced clean in half. As Denji landed, he felt a rush of adrenaline. With a flick of his wrist, the chains retracted back into his arms.
"Denji, finish it off!" Aki reminded him.
Because the Coriander Devil's wounds were already sprouting new leaves. But before Denji could move, Arata was already beside the devil, grabbing its heart.
"I've got your lifeline now."
Arata tightened his grip. The devil let out a gut-wrenching, bone-shattering scream. It was completely helpless.
"Where did you two go?" Aki asked, dragging her injured body toward them.
"We went to fight a Coffee Devil, so we were late."
"Coffee can have a devil?" Aki looked confused.
"It does. I had a cup today, and it tasted awful," Denji recalled, still shuddering at the memory.
Aki sensed there was more to the story but didn't press it.
"Aki, did you solve it?"
"Himeno-senpai, the Coriander Devil was slashed by Denji."
"That's great. This devil was ridiculous—it started as a small, insignificant thing, but after eating a bunch of apples, it grew in size instantly."
Himeno recounted their encounter. It was clear the Coriander Devil knew something about the apples.
"Speak up. What exactly is going on with those apples?" Arata asked, squeezing the devil's heart.
"I... I can't talk. Just kill me."
"Are you sure?" Arata increased the pressure. The Coriander Devil's eyes streamed with tears, but it wouldn't utter a single syllable.
"Should we take him back for interrogation?" Aki suggested.
"If he won't talk here, he certainly won't talk back at HQ."
"TELL ME NOW!!" Denji stomped on the devil's head.
"Kill me if you have the guts!"
"Fine then. I won't kill you—you're going to kill me."
"What?" The devil was stunned, as were the others.
"Arata, what are you talking about?"
"To know the truth, I need to have a little talk with them in the dream realm. In the meantime, protect its heart. During my interrogation, other devils might try to interfere."
With that, Arata slashed his own neck with a leaf from the Coriander Devil and entered the dream realm with it.
The dream landscape was orange-hued, with square-shaped clouds. The ground was covered in withered grass. Above the grass stood a chair equipped with handcuffs and leg shackles. The ramen shop owner—who had contracted the Coriander Devil—was strapped into it.
"Where... where is this?"
"Welcome to my interrogation room."
"Interrogation room?"
"Exactly."
The scene shifted instantly to a dim, black-and-white prison cell. The ramen shop owner sat in the gloom. The silence was bone-chilling.
"Speak. No one here will hear your secrets."
Arata appeared behind the owner, making him jump.
"N-no, I can't. He caught me once before... he won't let me talk."
"Who is 'he'?"
"The... Devil."
"What kind of devil?"
Arata's voice was soft. The owner's eyelids grew heavy, his consciousness blurring. He began to mumble in a low, monotone voice.
"I never saw his true face."
"How did you meet?"
"He was a customer in my shop. He stood before me and asked what my wish was. My business had been failing because of the new restaurant across the street, so I jokingly said I wanted their business to fail. He said if I became his apostle, he would grant my wish."
"I thought he was joking, so I agreed. He gave me an apple and left. That night, the Coriander Devil came to contract with me. I signed it without thinking, and the price was to become that man's apostle."
"I only wanted to sabotage the new restaurant's ramen broth, but I never expected a massacre to occur."
"Why did you run away?"
"Because I heard that man calling to me... so I knocked out my two subordinates and fled."
"And the apples?"
"The apples are pieces of that devil's flesh. Eating them increases your appetite. Eating them continuously makes you want to gorge yourself crazily without ever feeling full."
"Why did the Coriander Devil get stronger?"
"After gorging, the food stored in the stomach becomes power, reinforcing the devil."
"What was your purpose in coming back?"
"That man summoned me to meet him at the church."
"Which church?"
"The gr—"
Agh....
The man shrieked. His body began to swell rapidly. In the next second, he exploded. Only his head remained intact. The corpse left behind was identical to the victims they had encountered before.
Realizing something was wrong, Arata immediately jumped out of the dream realm. Back in reality, he saw that the devil's heart had dissolved into a pool of blood.
"I don't know what happened, his heart just self-destructed," Himeno said.
"It doesn't matter. At least I learned a lot."
"Take a look at this. We found it inside his heart," Aki said, opening his palm.
A single seed sat in his hand.
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