"You can control other people's dreams?" Aki Hayakawa suddenly asked out of curiosity.
"That's right. Got any ideas? Don't tell me you want to get lovey-dovey with Miss Makima in a dream?"
"I'm not that vulgar."
"Forget it then. That would only make me feel more guilty."
Aki leaned back, resting against the seat cushion as he continued to smoke. It was hard to tell if he just thought Arata was unreliable, or if he was simply too afraid to face certain things again.
"Well, aside from curing insomnia, controlling dreams doesn't sound all that impressive. Miss Makima said you were way stronger than us."
"Don't rush, Senior Pheasant. I'm not finished yet."
The car followed the vehicle ahead, turning onto a tree-lined path. The interior of the car instantly cooled down.
"It's Senior Himeno. You finally use an honorific and you still get my name wrong."
Senior Himeno clenched her fist and lightly punched Arata's shoulder.
Arata smiled and continued, "I can't just pull humans into dreams. I can pull devils into dreams too. It just requires a condition."
"A condition? What kind of condition?"
"Since Senior Himeno is so curious, why don't I head over to your place tonight and we can take our time talking about it?"
"Stop changing the subject. Hurry up and tell me."
"The condition is that the devil has to kill me. Once it kills me, the devil will immediately be forced into a state of sleep, and I can continue fighting it inside the dream. You have to understand, I might not be that strong in reality, but inside a dream, I'm basically Gojo Satoru reincarnated."
"Who is Gojo Satoru?"
"And if it kills you, how do you revive?"
"We've arrived at our stop, Senior Himeno. If you want to keep asking questions, get some wine ready tonight and we'll take our time chatting."
The car slowly pulled up to the Tokyo Public Safety Devil Hunter Headquarters.
As they got out, Himeno looked like she was left hanging. Arata had clearly sparked her intense curiosity. She actively walked around and grabbed Arata's arm. "Then come to my place tonight. We can finish our conversation."
"I was just joking around, and you actually took it seriously."
"I don't care. If you don't come over tonight, I'm going to tell Miss Makima exactly what you just said."
"You're ruthless!!"
"Master!!" Denji suddenly walked over from the opposite direction.
"Hello there, you horny apprentice. How was your chat with Miss Makima in the car?"
Denji hurriedly pulled Arata aside and whispered, "Makima is amazing. Not only is she gentle and super considerate, but most importantly, they're huge."
"Huge m—"
"Me??" Denji looked confused. He seemed about to say he hadn't heard Makima mention it.
"Regardless, you've taken the first step. As long as you perform well, you'll naturally get the same treatment as official Public Safety Devil Hunters."
Just as Himeno was seriously and responsibly explaining the rules, the office door was pushed open.
Aki walked in, his voice ice-cold. "A Fly Devil has appeared in a deli. We need to move out immediately."
"Then you guys can go on ahead."
"Goodbye, Senior Himeno."
"Goodbye, Senior Pheasant."
Arata and Denji each dropped a parting word and left the office.
Leaving Himeno standing alone in the doorway, roaring, "It's not Pheasant! And don't forget to come to my house tonight!"
"Master, you move way too fast. You just met her and she's already inviting you to her place."
"The greater the power, the greater the popularity. Senior Himeno isn't just impressed by my strength, she also knows I used to be a hero. As long as you have power and do a lot of good deeds, I believe you'll definitely surpass your master. Maybe Makima will even take the initiative to invite you over to her place tonight to watch her dog do backflips."
"Makima would invite me over!!" Denji's face lit up with uncontainable excitement.
"By the way, Aki."
"What is it?"
"Miss Makima doesn't have a boyfriend, right?"
"I brought you here to hunt devils, not to hit on Makima. If you dare try anything funny with Miss Makima, I'll make sure you die an ugly death."
"Tch, seems to me like you've got a secret crush on Miss Makima too."
"Where's the police car that's supposed to pick us up?" Arata stood at the entrance and looked around, but didn't see any police vehicle waiting for them.
"A Dung Beetle Devil suddenly appeared on the South District streets. All the police cars rushed over there for backup."
"So you're saying we're taking my car?"
"Relax, we'll reimburse you for the gas and mileage."
"So I'm just here to be the damn driver."
Saying that, Arata got into the car first. Aki sat in the back, and Denji took the passenger seat.
Over ten minutes later, the car was stopped by a roadblock. A few police officers approached them.
"There's a devil up ahead, the road is closed. Please take a detour."
As they spoke, Aki opened the car door and stepped out.
Seeing it was Aki, the two police officers immediately greeted him with smiles.
"Ah, Mr. Hayakawa. You're here."
"Take me to the devil."
"Thank you for coming. I'll take you there right now."
"Hey, wait up, there's still the two of us."
"And these two are?"
"Rookies," Aki said without an ounce of emotion.
"Oh, rookies. We thought you were just carpooling with some civilians."
The police quickly led the group to the entrance of a large deli. The deli's front doors were tightly shut, with a few police officers standing guard outside.
"We've locked the Fly Devil inside, and there are hostages in there too."
"Understood," Aki replied.
Seeing their savior arrive, the officers guarding the door instantly relaxed.
"Quick, open the door for Mr. Hayakawa."
"Yes, sir."
A police officer rushed up to the deli entrance and pulled the doors open.
A foul stench of rotting meat instantly washed over them. Right after, a massive swarm of flies carrying a skinless corpse flew straight out from the darkness inside.