"Understood, Miss Makima."
Creak!!
Slam!!
The office door opened and closed.
Himeno stood in the hallway outside, a melancholic expression on her face.
Meanwhile, Arata and the others were already waiting ahead for her news.
"Himeno-senpai, why do you look so pale?"
"It's highly likely that Kobeni's bonus application got rejected," Arata joked.
"No way... I already told my parents about it beforehand. Now they're going to scold me again." Kobeni lowered her head, her face covered in sweat.
"Kobeni, are your parents really that strict with you?" Arai asked.
"They only care about my smart older brother. They just boss me around all the time."
"If her parents actually worried about Beni at all, they absolutely wouldn't let a girl like her become a Public Safety Devil Hunter," Arata added, hitting the nail on the head.
"Dammit. If I ever get the chance, I'm definitely visiting your house and giving them a piece of my mind," Arai said indignantly.
"There's no need, Arai-senpai. That will only make them hate me more." Kobeni was already used to it in her heart. She didn't want to resist; she just treated it as making a sacrifice for her brother.
"Your bonuses are all fine. It's just that... Power is going to die."
"Power is going to die?!" The group was shocked.
"Let's go outside and talk."
Himeno led the group outside and repeated what Makima had told her in the office.
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. Denji especially couldn't believe that the seemingly gentle and amiable Makima could be so ruthless.
"Miss Makima doesn't understand Power, which is why she came to that conclusion." Aki Hayakawa quickly made excuses for Makima's behavior.
"Right! Miss Makima definitely misunderstood and thinks Power is an unmanageable Fiend. She doesn't know that Power can actually be pretty reliable sometimes."
"Power? Reliable?"
"Whatever the case, we can't let Miss Makima kill her!" Denji was the first to protest.
The two of them fought constantly and usually couldn't stand the sight of each other. They seemed like bitter enemies, but at critical moments, Denji would always step up for her.
"We have three days. I believe Power will definitely recover," Himeno said, cheering everyone up.
"Himeno-senpai, is there a fast way to make Power recover?" Denji asked.
"There is. As long as we pull out the root cause, Power will recover."
"Kill the Poppy Devil within three days?" Arai panicked.
He had just heard the group talking about the Poppy Devil's abilities. If the Poppy Devil managed to control Arata, their entire squad would be wiped out.
"Arata, do you have any good ideas?"
"I do have an idea. But was Power really controlled by the Poppy Devil? I actually find it a bit fishy."
"With control abilities that strong, aside from the Poppy Devil, I'm not aware of any other devil capable of it."
"Arata, do you have another theory?" Aki Hayakawa asked.
"The Poppy Devil only appeared decades ago; it's unclear if it even exists anymore. Plus, if it really is the Poppy Devil, why leave apples at the crime scene?"
"The reason I think it's the Poppy Devil's doing is actually because someone saw it recently," Himeno suddenly said, wanting to clear up Arata's confusion.
"Someone saw it?"
"Exactly. Even though the whole country cracked down hard on narcotics back then to weaken the Poppy Devil's strength, leading people to believe the drugs were completely destroyed, the underground trade never actually stopped. It's just that most people don't know about it. Many things that seemingly don't exist actually operate in the shadows. The people whose families were destroyed by those drugs still exist."
After Himeno's detailed explanation, the group locked their target onto the Poppy Devil.
As long as they found the Poppy Devil and killed it, they could save Power's life. In an instant, hope ignited within the group.
"If we're really going to deal with the Poppy Devil, it's best to find a few Devil Hunters with strong mental fortitude. It's also best if the members can keep each other in check. Having too many helpers will just become a liability." Arata didn't forget to lay out a strategy for fighting the Poppy Devil.
"I thought of that too. But if the Poppy Devil really does show up, then we'll be relying on you to deal with it alone." Himeno jokingly patted Arata's arm, seemingly placing all her hopes on him.
"Good lord, so that's your plan."
"It's all for Power. You don't want Miss Makima to kill Power either, right?"
After the discussion concluded, everyone returned to their respective homes.
At this moment, Aki Hayakawa's apartment was exceptionally quiet. Before, with Power in the house, it always felt a bit too noisy. Now that Power was gone, it felt like the house was missing something.
Aki was currently in the kitchen cooking. Arata and Denji sat quietly at the dining table. Denji rested his chin on his hand, looking out the window. Arata continuously inspected an apple in his hand.
"What do you guys want to eat tonight?"
"I don't really feel like eating. I'm going back to my room to rest."
Denji dragged his body back to his room. Usually, he was the loudest one cheering when it was time to eat. But right now, he had no appetite at all.
"I'm not eating either. I need to head out for a bit."
"Where are you going?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be back soon."
With that, he had already walked out the door. As he walked, he called Noriyuki Natsume.
"Calling me out of the blue... are you ready to give me my money?"
"That's right. Where are you? I'll bring it to you."
After getting the location, the two met at an abandoned pier. Noriyuki Natsume was driving a cargo truck.
Upon meeting, Arata first handed the briefcase full of cash to Noriyuki. Noriyuki didn't even check it, simply tossing it onto the passenger seat.
"You aren't going to count it?"
"I trust you. Besides, I brought a devil's corpse in the back of my truck."
Noriyuki opened the back doors. A devil's corpse was submerged inside a large tank.
To prevent the corpse from rotting and emitting a stench, Noriyuki had specifically prepared a tank filled with formalin.
"This is the Dog Devil that Division 2 killed. It has superhuman hearing and sense of smell."
"If you absorb the Dog Devil's corpse, you'll never have to worry about sneak attacks again."
"How much?"
"6 million. It took a lot of effort for me to steal this corpse."
"Deal. But per the usual rules, I'll owe you the money for now."
"No need. I don't want money this time," Noriyuki smiled.
"Don't want money? Then what do you want?"
Noriyuki leaned in close, bringing his mouth right next to Arata's ear, and whispered, "I want the Poppy Devil's corpse."
"What?! Trading the Dog Devil for the Poppy Devil? Seems like I'm taking a huge loss here."
"It's not a loss. Besides the Dog Devil's corpse, I'll give you 10 million and throw in two other devil corpses. Most importantly, I will also tell you the Poppy Devil's location."
"You know where the Poppy Devil is?"
"That's right. I'm the only one who knows where it is."
"What do you want the Poppy Devil's corpse for?"
"No comment. Besides, the Poppy Devil requires immense mental power, and you don't possess that kind of capability. Even if you absorbed the Poppy Devil's ability, you'd only be able to control one or two ordinary people. It's completely useless to you."
Noriyuki had even thought of the reasoning already. A guaranteed, risk-free trade like this was indeed a massive win for Arata.