Thump thump thump.
Aki Hayakawa quickened his pace and slashed toward the Mosquito Devil.
And Denji wasn't stupid either.
He tightly gripped the Mosquito Devil's sharp beak that was pierced into his body with both hands.
Making it so the Mosquito Devil couldn't quickly escape, forcing it to struggle in place trying to pull its mouth out.
Seeing that Aki Hayakawa's longsword was about to strike.
Swish!!
A long spike suddenly shot out from the Mosquito Devil's back.
The unexpected long spike pierced straight through Aki Hayakawa's shoulder in the next second.
Sending him sliding back several meters along with the spike.
"Aki!!" Himeno shouted in worry, then drove the Ghost Devil, "Do it!!"
An invisible giant hand locked onto the Mosquito Devil again.
With the crushing power of a steel vice.
"Leave this to the great me."
Seeing the Mosquito Devil bound by the two, Power ran and yelled excitedly, carrying her blood axe.
In the blink of an eye, she had reached the Mosquito Devil's back.
The axe in her hands slashed down fiercely onto the Mosquito Devil's back.
Instantly, blood splattered all over Power's face.
"Die for me!!"
Shouting, Power swung the axe down again.
Her body was dyed red by the blood spraying from the Mosquito Devil.
Some of the blood splattered into Power's mouth.
The fresh blood and its taste made Power even more excited.
The strength behind her axe swings grew greater and greater.
Even though the Mosquito Devil had already been chopped into meat paste.
Power still didn't stop.
At this moment, she completely looked like a devil entering frenzy mode.
"Power, stop!!" Himeno shouted, but found it was no use.
Aki Hayakawa lay on the ground, watching the crazed Power.
He had known all along that Fiends were completely unreliable.
Now that Power had lost control, it further cemented Aki Hayakawa's thoughts.
Which was that Fiends are only obedient when they are killed.
The sun gradually rose higher.
The shadow of a tall building fell over where Power was standing.
Making the already discordant atmosphere even more gloomy.
Huff huff~~
Power finally stopped her movements, panting heavily.
Denji, whose body was pinned to the wall by the sword-beak, looked completely panicked.
His hand continuously gripped the pull cord on his chest.
If Power were to make a move on him.
Denji would absolutely pull the cord and transform into Chainsaw Man.
"Phew~ That felt great. I haven't let loose like this since coming to the city."
"If I didn't get to kill something soon, the great me was going to die of boredom."
Power slowly lifted her head.
Her expression wasn't what everyone expected.
Instead, she was smiling brilliantly.
Even though half her face was covered in blood, it didn't feel terrifying at all.
Denji froze. "You're okay?"
"How could the great me not be okay? The one who's not okay should be you, right?" Power said with a hint of mockery, then put away her axe and turned to face the group behind her. "Hey, the devil has already been chopped into meat paste by the great me. Can we go back to eat now?"
"Power, you scared me to death. I thought..." Himeno clutched her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Haha, sorry for scaring everyone. I am the Blood Devil after all, I get more excited when I encounter blood."
Power rubbed the back of her head and stuck her tongue out at the group.
Her playful demeanor made everyone drop their guard.
"Good thing you didn't lose control, otherwise I would've had to drain some of your blood," Arata put away his bladed claws and smiled.
"Hey, stop chatting, can someone call me an ambulance?"
"Sorry Aki, I completely forgot about you." Himeno immediately crouched beside Aki Hayakawa to check his condition, casually pulling out her phone to call an ambulance.
"Want me to pull this out for you?"
Power pointed at the long spike piercing Denji.
"It'll hurt a lot, right?"
Riiiip!!
Before Denji could react, Power yanked it out hard and threw the long spike on the ground.
"Ah!!"
Instantly, blood spurted out.
Scream after scream expressed Denji's dissatisfaction with Power's recklessness.
"Denji, just transform into a devil and drink some blood off the ground, you'll heal right up." While speaking, Arata had already arrived by Denji's side.
His gaze wasn't on Denji.
Instead, he kept staring at the mashed-up corpse on the ground.
"The head is still somewhat intact, it should still be usable."
He casually yanked the Mosquito Devil's head out of the meat paste.
"Master, what are you planning to do now?"
"Nothing. Just focus on resting and healing. Your master is going into the shop to see if there are any other devils."
Saying that, he dragged the Mosquito Devil's head into the shop.
He didn't even forget to lock the breakfast shop's door behind him.
"What is he doing?" Himeno was very curious about Arata's actions, hurrying over to ask after settling Aki Hayakawa.
"I don't know, he probably has necrophilia. Every time we kill a devil, he gets interested in the corpse."
"Interested in corpses? That's quite similar to Noriyuki Natsume."
"He seems to know that Natsume guy too."
Right while the two were talking.
The breakfast shop door opened again.
Arata walked out, holding an apple in his hand.
"Look what I found."
"An apple?" Himeno said. "Don't tell me you're hungry too."
"Quick, let the great me have a bite."
Power lunged, reaching out to snatch the apple.
Arata held the apple high so Power couldn't reach it.
"Himeno-senpai, weren't there two similar cases yesterday? The corpses in the shops were eaten leaving only the heads, tied by the ankles with rope, and hung upside down from the ceiling."
"Yeah, that's right." Himeno remembered yesterday's cases. They had even issued a wanted poster, unanimously agreeing that the ramen shop owner was the killer.
"Besides the corpses, the killer also left behind a bright red apple at the crime scene."
"Hurry up and give the apple to the great me."
"Can you just piss off to the side?"
Arata shoved Power to the side. With her constantly trying to snatch the apple, any logic he had just formulated would be completely messed up by her.
"Let me see." Himeno stepped forward and took the apple.
Aside from being blindingly red, there was nothing else special about the apple.
It just wasn't clear how it tasted.
But there was a kind of urge that made people desperately want to take a bite.
"Why does the killer leave an apple every time?"
"I know." Denji, having recovered his body, actively joined their discussion.
But before he could speak, Arata had already guessed what Denji was thinking.
"You know? Let's hear it." Himeno handed the apple to Denji.
"Leaving an apple every time they kill someone, it's obviously the Apple Devil."
"Pfft!!!"
She thought Denji was going to say something like the devil loves eating apples, but his analysis was even more ridiculous.
"Food-based devils aren't that strong. The Apple Devil probably isn't even as powerful as the Cucumber Devil."
"Then I have no idea."
Denji scratched his head and reached out to hand the apple back to Himeno.
But just then, a figure flashed by.
The apple in Denji's hand instantly disappeared.
"There is nothing the great me cannot get." Power gripped the apple, looking incredibly smug.
"Don't eat it. That apple might be poisonous, or it could be cursed," Arata quickly warned.
"Stop trying to trick the great me. How could an apple be poisonous? You clearly just want to eat it yourself."
Power didn't care at all and took a massive bite.
Arata tried to stop her, but it was already too late.
Besides, Arata feeling the apple was dangerous wasn't without basis.
Because the very first time he saw the apple, he felt something was wrong.
Not just because the apple was red.
More so, it was that every apple emitted a kind of desire that made people unable to resist wanting to eat it.
Like a trap waiting for someone to take the bait.
"How does it feel?" Himeno asked.
"This... apple."
At this moment, Power's eyes were glazed over, her lips trembling, her words stuttering.