Outside the department store, the flames gradually died down.
After bringing Quanxi under her control, Makima had taken the blood-soaked Denji, Hayakawa Aki, and the others and left this block without a word of farewell.
So in truth, Ryuuen Kakeru, Kouenji, and the rest had no need whatsoever to skulk about avoiding her like she was some thief.
Because anywhere in this country, so long as animals existed, it was all within the Control Devil's field of vision.
She could even peer directly through the eyes of the controlled Horikita Suzune and the others, remotely witnessing everything they did with ease.
However…
Horikita Manabu seemed to hold a special status within this group.
Since he couldn't leave alongside that bunch, then once the dust had settled, she could simply pry the information she wanted out of his mouth afterward.
Makima calculated inwardly.
In fact, with her Control Devil powers, she could perfectly well just ask outright, right in front of Ryuuen Kakeru and the rest.
But the moment that so-called Black Sphere's notification chime had rung out.
Makima had discovered, to her astonishment, that in that brief sliver of time she had utterly lost her grip over every single one of her control targets!
No—not only had she lost control, her very perception had been forcibly blocked out, as if the entire world held her alone.
Honestly, even Makima had genuinely been shaken in that moment.
As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, on par with the Primordial Devils.
Even the Chainsaw Man down in Hell—before it had swallowed her into its belly and thoroughly erased the very concept of "control" that she represented—could absolutely never sever, much less eliminate, her control ability out of thin air.
'Just what… kind of power was that?'
Still, Makima's goal had been crystal clear from start to finish, and she wouldn't lightly alter her plans over this.
By now her plan was already past the halfway mark, and would soon reach its conclusion.
So, as long as this so-called "Black Sphere" or "presiding god" didn't come disturbing her perfect world.
Makima could in fact simply pretend she'd seen nothing at all—well water not intruding upon river water.
As long as it didn't interfere with her plan…
With that thought, Makima borrowed the vantage of a crow perched on a treetop outside Ryuuen Kakeru's window.
Quietly, she watched that youth called Chris.
Watching as he redeemed a long, slender tachi from the void, then, after a brief exchange with Ryuuen Kakeru and the others.
He drew the long blade and, as though slicing open the surface of water, cut apart the barrier between the mortal world and Hell.
As the light within their field of vision twisted violently, the surrounding air turned dim and murky.
Beneath everyone's feet was barren earth; overhead hung countless inverted doors.
And so they knew—they had once again arrived at the Darkness Devil's home turf.
Yet, surveying their surroundings, though it remained cold and gloomy, the air was no longer thick as asphalt the way it had been when they'd first encountered the Darkness Devil, no longer exuding that maddening sense of despair.
"Heh…" Ryuuen Kakeru shook out his arm and grinned:
"Looks like that video really did do the trick… This truly is our path to salvation!"
"Quit waxing sentimental."
Chris let the Enma Blade hang at his side:
"While the Darkness Devil hasn't noticed us yet, let's get done what needs doing. This environment doesn't allow for the slightest distraction."
Ryuuen Kakeru nodded, no nonsense.
At once he spread out along with Ichinose Honami, Sakayanagi Arisu, and the others.
Deftly, they flung an array of tiny reflective objects—long since readied in their pockets—in a wide ring all around.
Then each of them pulled a folded, high-strength reflective board from their backpacks and held it in hand.
After their earlier clash with the Santa Claus who had devoured a sliver of the Darkness Devil's flesh.
They'd more or less gotten a read on the Darkness Devil's traits.
Infinite regeneration in the dark, with every ability enhanced.
In that case, why not just create a brightly lit environment for it?
After all, the [Lion God template] Ryuuen Kakeru currently bore was the genuine article—real alien technology.
Two sips of water per hundred kilometers—pure nuclear-powered energy.
As long as there were enough reflective objects to form a matrix, conjuring a high-brightness environment here was absolutely no trouble at all.
Naturally, the Darkness Devil was aware of this.
As the Darkness Devil, he was privy to everything that happened within the dark.
But he didn't much care, either.
True, because of that inexplicable video in the mortal world, humanity's fear of darkness had been greatly weakened, costing him at least half of his power.
But there were no small number of humans in this world who'd never seen that video and still dreaded the dark.
As long as he remained in a dark environment, he was still invincible!
Since this band of puny humans who'd dared to affect him had come to Hell of their own accord to throw their lives away, the Darkness Devil would of course show himself.
Whether for the portion of power he'd permanently lost, or to avenge the ambush these humans had sprung on him earlier.
And so, this time too, the Darkness Devil had no time to bother with any flashy entrance effects.
He all but surfaced straight out of the empty darkness!
"Squelch! Squelch!"
The instant he appeared.
Invisible slashes had already severed clean at the root the arms of Ichinose, Sakayanagi Arisu, Horikita Suzune, and the others, who were still scattering the luminous medium!
Blood gushed out in an instant.
Fortunately, Horikita Suzune had prepared for this in advance.
What she was relying on at present wasn't the Combat Suit or a two-star ultimate uniform anyway.
The role she'd been assigned this time was nothing more than support!
The very moment her own arm fell away, she gritted through the searing pain and had Crazy Diamond wave its hand over everyone's severed arms.
"Dora!"
A flash of light.
The severed arms of Sakayanagi Arisu, Ichinose Honami, and the rest were restored good as new!
Just as the Darkness Devil tilted his head slightly, preparing to crush these hard-to-kill insects to pulp outright.
"LIGHT IT UP, DAMN YOU!!!"
The armor on Ryuuen Kakeru's chest snapped open, and he thrust both palms flat forward.
A high-intensity ultraviolet beam, dozens of times more dazzling than the noonday sun, shone straight at the Darkness Devil!
Refracted by the reflective fragments all around, the entire battlefield was instantly lit bright as day!
Under the direct blast of intense light, the Darkness Devil's movements showed an obvious lag.
"Shing——!"
With a whoosh of cleaving air, Chris had already hurled the Red-Backed Shrike.
Right after, his whole body flashed to a spot before the devil.
Weakened by the intense light, the Red-Backed Shrike punched clean through the Darkness Devil's chest, nailing him back half a step.
Chris, meanwhile, gripped the Enma Blade tight in his right hand.
"Shaa——!"
In an instant, a deep-blue blade-light interwove.
The Enma Blade inherently possessed the properties of severing space and rending darkness.
Against this so-called devil, it was practically a hard counter.
In a single exchange, the Darkness Devil's four limbs were all severed!
Yet the Darkness Devil paid this no mind at all.
He merely tilted his own head back deliberately, letting himself drop into the shadow at his back, melting straight into the darkness!
Then his massive body, too, rapidly disintegrated under the intense light.
But the crisis was not over.
What came next were countless unseen, invisible slashes from the void on all sides!
"Cling clang clang——!"
Chris swung the Enma Blade, cleaving the space around him, trying to fend off the slashes from his side.
But the attacks seeped through every gap, endless and unceasing.
And because these slashes issued from the absolute darkness the beams had never touched, they suffered no weakening at all.
"Squelch!"
As the support target singled out for priority, Horikita Suzune was the first to be diced into dozens of pieces, dying on the spot and scattering into blue light!
Even Ryuuen Kakeru, whose whole body had been remade into alien metal, was instantly carved with multiple horrific wounds, sparks flying everywhere.
"Ichinose, Sakayanagi!"
Chris slashed a rift in space before the two of them with a single stroke.
Hearing the shout, the pair nodded in tacit understanding.
But in truth, there was no need at all for Chris's reminder—the moment the Darkness Devil began to vanish, they'd already drawn their respective transformation devices and made ready.
As everyone knows, magical girls have invincibility frames during their transformation!
"Contract, sealed!"
Sakayanagi Arisu held her Soul Gem high.
"Ruby! I'm counting on you!"
Ichinose Honami likewise raised her wand.
As items drawn from a magical-girl mystery box that Chris had rigged behind the scenes.
Sakayanagi Arisu was running the template of senpai Tomoe Mami from "Puella Magi Madoka Magica".
The Ruby wand in Ichinose Honami's hand, meanwhile, synced to the little-Illya template from "Magical Girl Illya".
Though, judging purely by figure and personality, the gentle and amply-endowed Ichinose was undoubtedly a better fit for Tomoe Mami;
while the petite, blackhearted Sakayanagi Arisu matched Illya's profile far more closely.
But there was no helping it.
Whose fault was it that the loadout in Sakayanagi Arisu's hands was [Romantic Cannon] + [Sianweistan]?
Sniping and suppressive firepower were a natural fit for the combat-seasoned senpai Tomoe Mami, famed for her infinite-musket style.
And Ichinose's Love-Love Fruit, paired with the infinite mana supply extending from Ruby and the Class Card—wasn't that simply a perfect match?
As the two of them shouted out their respective transformation slogans.
Dazzling radiance burst forth from their bodies!
Aided by the refraction of the various luminous mediums on the ground, in an instant the entire dark space became a wondrous spectacle of multicolored light.
Under this intense, blind-spot-free illumination, the Darkness Devil's figure, hidden within the void, was at last forced to reveal its outline.
Chris and Ryuuen Kakeru immediately locked onto the Darkness Devil's silhouette.
In response, the Darkness Devil pressed his palms together.
An invisible force appeared before the two of them, twisting even space itself!
Chris gave a light tap with the Enma Blade before him.
His whole body shuttled through space, appearing in an instant behind the Darkness Devil!
But Ryuuen Kakeru, wounded a moment ago, was half a beat slow.
Just as that long blade hung with its crisp-ringing bell was about to run him through.
Sakayanagi Arisu—transformation complete and clad in a gorgeous dress—had already gracefully swept her arm.
Golden mana ribbons burst up from the ground, binding the Darkness Devil's legs and torso fast!
At the same time, Ichinose Honami swung the Ruby wand as well, and a pink beam carrying the petrifying property of the [Love-Love Fruit] shot out, striking precisely upon that long blade!
"Die!!"
Ryuuen Kakeru, having narrowly cheated death, roared and unleashed intense light with his whole being, while the armor on his back sprang open.
Countless miniature homing missiles trailing fluorescent flames surged out like a swarm of bees!
And Chris, behind the Darkness Devil, was likewise poised to cleave this devil clean in two at the waist!
Cornered, the Darkness Devil suddenly oozed darkness thick as ink from all over his body.
That darkness, as if it had substance, rapidly churned and spread.
Until it wrapped him completely into one absolute sphere.
Seeing this, Chris flashed his body backward to evade.
And Ryuuen Kakeru's missile barrage landed on the black sphere where the Darkness Devil was.
Before any explosive flash even appeared, they vanished into nothing like clay oxen sinking into the sea.
Ryuuen Kakeru raised an eyebrow:
"This is… he's directly constructed an absolute dark space that seals off external light and physical attacks?"
Ichinose Honami, holding her wand, wore a grave expression:
"To strike the Darkness Devil's true body, we have to shatter this dark space first…"
"Leave it to me."
Chris nodded, drawing power up from his waist.
The Enma Blade slashed down through the air, its deep-blue edge forcibly carving a crack straight into the sphere.
Sakayanagi Arisu's lips curled faintly.
She raised a hand and summoned dozens of ornate flintlock muskets.
Among them even appeared her most cherished Romantic Cannon.
"Bang bang bang——BOOM!"
You could say the greatest boon Tomoe Mami's ability granted Sakayanagi Arisu was that she no longer had to laboriously heft a sniper rifle and aim by hand.
Where her will pointed, firepower arrived!
Dozens of mana bullets, along with a pumpkin beam, blasted in through the crack Chris had opened.
Ichinose Honami likewise raised her hand, the tip of the Ruby wand blazing with light.
Under the supply of infinite mana, paired with the Love-Love Fruit's property, a thick pink pillar of petrifying light poured in too, continuous and unbroken!
However, even until the light faded and the black sphere collapsed.
The electronic tone of the Black Sphere announcing a cleared stage did not sound in anyone's ears.
Chris lowered his blade thoughtfully:
"He can shift through space by way of darkness… so the instant he created this black sphere, he'd already left this place?"
Sakayanagi Arisu dismissed the muskets in the air and nodded in agreement:
"He's only infinitely regenerating in the dark. So he absolutely can't let himself be caught in a lit place and pummeled by our concentrated barrage."
"Seems this devil is even more troublesome than we imagined."
Hearing this, Ryuuen had already cranked his detection function to maximum, ceaselessly scanning for the slightest stirring around them.
Suddenly, he whipped around, his powerful beam aimed straight at Horikita Suzune, who had just revived not far off:
"Watch out! Behind you!"
Horikita Suzune, who had only just woken from the three-second revival window, still carrying a trace of death's lingering dread, felt her heart lurch at his words.
She summoned [Crazy Diamond] and threw a punch as she spun around.
But the Darkness Devil was simply too fast.
Crazy Diamond's fist hadn't even shot out before it was crushed outright by the twisting force!
"Ngh!"
The Stand took damage, and the harm fed back to her in sync.
Horikita Suzune let out a muffled groan at the searing pain, her face deathly pale.
But she did not panic.
Because she'd never expected to block a Primordial Devil's killing blow with Crazy Diamond to begin with!
At the very moment Crazy Diamond threw its punch and her body bent forward.
Horikita Suzune had already seized upon a scattered mirror shard on the ground.
"Restore!"
At the girl's cold cry.
All the shattered mirror fragments scattered across the surrounding grass—the ones everyone had cast out earlier—seemed to answer some summons.
Madly they converged and pieced themselves together toward that one shard!
In but a single breath.
They gathered, right beneath the Darkness Devil's feet, into one immense, complete mirror surface!
That's right!
In fact, this had been Chris and company's true plan all along.
After all, with the display the Santa Claus had put on after devouring that sliver of Darkness flesh, plus the information on the controller as a hint.
Everyone could all but conclude that the Darkness Devil knew everything within the dark.
Anywhere a shadow existed, he could never truly be slain.
So then… what about within an absolutely bright environment—indeed, a "cage of light" that reflected radiance from every angle with no blind spots?
On top of that, the magical-girl Sakayanagi Arisu and Ichinose, and even the cyborg Ryuuen Kakeru, all had means of continuously generating intense light.
And so Chris had put forward this bold plan:
Produce a large, blind-spot-free mirror surface, then use Horikita Suzune as bait.
To this, Horikita Suzune had no objection.
She had plenty of margin for error right now anyway.
What's more, as a support unit with infinite restoration ability, to any intelligent enemy she was unquestionably the target that had to be eliminated first!
And so, in this moment steeled with the resolve to die.
Horikita Suzune endured the searing agony of her severed arm and lifted her head.
Gazing at the giant devil before her—its legs bound by Sakayanagi Arisu's magic ribbons.
And shrouded in the intense light of Ryuuen Kakeru and Ichinose.
The girl wiped the bloodstain from the corner of her mouth.
"Take this."
"A full-mirror reflection… with a twenty-meter radius!"
Within this ultimate, all-pervading light that left nowhere to hide.
The Darkness Devil's face, pieced together from white bone, was at last no longer composed.
"A world without darkness…"
"Can you humans… truly withstand it?"
As he spoke, he loosed that belled longsword and—reprising his old trick—tried to ooze darkness from his body to wrap himself up.
"Who knows."
Chris's voice rose up.
Suddenly he was standing before Horikita Suzune.
"Clang!"
The Enma Blade swept out, cleaving that cursed belled longsword clean in two.
Then the blade turned, once more severing the limbs the Darkness Devil had only just condensed!
In sync, Sakayanagi Arisu summoned hundreds of muskets, madly pouring firepower at the Darkness Devil's true body.
Together with Ryuuen Kakeru's homing beams, they forcibly stripped away the darkness that had just seeped from his body!
Just as Ichinose Honami raised her wand high, having already charged up her strongest petrifying beam square at him.
The Darkness Devil watched all of this.
And let out a long, drawn-out sigh:
"Return to darkness… dissipate into nothing…"
Clearly, he was preparing to play a Primordial Devil's trump card—retreating his consciousness entirely back into the primordial darkness in the deepest depths of Hell.
However.
The well-prepared Chris merely bent low.
Gripping his hand tight on the hilt of the Enma Blade.
Right after, Horikita Suzune rubbed her eyes, feeling as though her vision had blurred.
She hadn't caught Chris's motion at all—she only saw the blade he'd already drawn back.
"Click."
The Enma Blade slid home into its sheath.
"Dimension Slash · Severance!"
The next instant.
Countless terrifying deep-blue blade-lights instantly tore through all space within a twenty-meter radius!
Not only did they sever the boundary between light and darkness.
They cut clean through the very thread of conceptual connection between the Darkness Devil and the source of all darkness!
The Darkness Devil's face—like the skull of a pterosaur—finally showed a look of surprise.
Even so.
Even under the impact of Ichinose Honami's full-power pink beam.
What remained of his body had already begun to petrify and crumble inch by inch.
He still did not lose his composure.
He merely murmured low.
"Sealing darkness with light… severing the source with space…"
"I never imagined… that I would vanish from the world like this…"
"Even shadows… have nowhere left to dwell, is that it…"
As the last of the dust settled.
The customary Black Sphere notification chime rang out:
[Target Eliminated]
[Mission Complete]
____
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