"You… who exactly are you…"
Torika knelt on one knee, his injured ankle trembling as he struggled to speak. His voice came out uneven, his composure shattered under the pressure in front of him.
Fami didn't even bother to look at him directly. Her indifferent gaze swept past him.
"Doll sister hiding behind the door, don't do anything unnecessary," she said quietly. "I can't guarantee what I'll do if you interfere."
Tap. Tap.
"Cough… cough…"
From the shadows, Zeina stepped out slowly. Her eyes carried caution, and a trace of fear.
"Your power is impressive," she said. "Could you be…"
"Shh."
Fami raised her hand slightly, rubbing her fingers together.
A strange, grating sound filled the air.
Zeina's thoughts were instantly disrupted.
"I am the Hunger Devil, Fami."
Her voice carried weight, like something etched directly into their minds.
Zeina's body stiffened. Then her expression cleared completely, as if doubt had never existed.
She lowered her head.
"It's an honor to meet you, Hunger Devil Fami."
"Whose orders?" Fami asked.
"Darkness," Zeina replied without hesitation.
Fami gave a faint nod.
Interesting.
Still, reaching this stage hadn't been easy for Zeina. Interrupting her outright would be rude.
Fami walked over to Cael's body and crouched beside him. She brushed his hair aside gently.
Then she bit her tongue.
Leaning down, she pressed her lips against his.
Blood passed from her mouth into his.
A minute later, she pulled back.
A faint trace of blood remained on his lips as she left a soft kiss on his forehead.
She leaned close to his ear.
"Cael," she whispered, "you've taken in my blood. You'll wake up in two minutes."
Her voice dropped slightly.
"Carry my will and face the king of terror in Hell."
She straightened.
"Zeina."
"Yes?"
Snap.
Fami flicked her fingers, releasing a faint, unnatural sound.
"Forget I was ever here."
In the next instant, her body dissolved into white mist and vanished.
—
Zeina and Torika blinked.
Their awareness returned as if nothing had happened.
"Torika, is your foot injured?" Zeina asked, concern in her tone.
Torika nodded.
"That short girl beside Cael caught me off guard. She was more troublesome than expected, but she still wasn't a problem."
He exhaled.
"Master, I completed the mission. I used the fourth needle and killed him with the curse."
Neither of them remembered Fami.
Their minds filled the gaps with false logic.
"Good," Zeina said with a smile. "You did well, Torika. You're already an excellent Devil Hunter."
"Save the praise for later, Master."
Torika limped toward Cael's body, pulling out a syringe and a scalpel.
"To avoid any accidents while extracting his heart…"
He injected a powerful anesthetic into Cael, enough to knock out a hundred elephants.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"Once I take his heart to the Stasi, you can finally retire peacefully."
Zeina crouched beside him.
"There's no need to touch the body, Torika."
Torika froze.
"…What do you mean?"
Zeina coughed lightly, then smiled in a soft, almost affectionate way.
"You've always been obedient, haven't you? Always following my instructions."
Her tone turned gentler.
"I may have been strict with you sometimes, but you understand, right? Everything I did was for your sake."
Torika stared at her, confused.
This wasn't like her.
"Master… why are you saying this?"
Zeina reached out and ruffled his hair.
"Because we're family."
Memories flooded his mind.
At ten years old, he began living with her. Back then, he couldn't sleep at night.
She gave him soft dolls made from prey fur. She stayed by his side, telling stories until he fell asleep.
As he grew older, she taught him everything. Hunting, tracking, setting traps.
Everything he knew came from her.
"Hey, Torika…"
Zeina leaned in close, their faces only inches apart.
Her fingers pressed lightly against his chest.
"Don't you want to know how to create the perfect doll?"
Torika swallowed.
At this distance, he could smell her scent. His face heated, his heart racing.
"Master… I… I want to know…"
Zeina smiled.
"The secret is emotions."
"Emotions?"
Her finger traced slow circles over his chest.
"When turning humans into dolls, you have to give them emotions only humans possess."
She listed them softly.
"Pity. Admiration. Love."
Her smile deepened.
"And guilt. That removes the fragrance and replaces it with rot."
"Master, I still don't understan—"
His body jerked violently.
"Ugh…!!"
Torika's face twisted as his body convulsed.
Zeina watched him without emotion.
"That's how a perfect doll is made."
Give Cael's heart to the Stasi?
Ridiculous.
Between the Stasi and the Darkness Devil, the answer was obvious.
"Goodbye, Torika."
She stood and walked to the edge of the terrace.
Without hesitation, she jumped.
Below, the doll-controlled humans caught her safely.
She turned her gaze toward the lobby.
"Old man, your turn."
Slash.
Santa Claus raised his arm, which transformed into a blade like the dolls.
Clang.
He drove it straight into his own chest.
Blood splashed across the floor.
"Good… very good…"
His voice trembled with excitement.
"I offer my heart… and my three beloved children…"
He looked upward.
"In exchange… Hell Devil… take every living being in the entire Ginza Mitsukoshi building into Hell…"
A low hum spread through the air.
—
Far away.
In Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate.
By the Moselle River, in the quiet town of Cochem.
Inside a small wooden house with a bright roof, four children sat around a table, eating pasta.
Without warning, massive fingers appeared from nowhere.
In an instant, three of them lost their heads.
—
The contract was complete.
Back at the mall.
Boom.
A gigantic hand descended from the sky above Ginza Mitsukoshi.
Everything inside the building vanished.
Every living being was dragged into Hell.
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