"Then the Great Me won't hold back!"
Power rolled up her sleeves, gripping a large, red steel broadsword with both hands.
Denji didn't waste time either, ripping his starter cord and transforming into Chainsaw Man.
"Master, here we come!"
Just like when they had faced Kishibe, they both went all out. But Arata sat calmly in his chair, not showing a hint of panic. Even as the distance between them rapidly closed, he made no move to strike.
It wasn't until the revving chainsaw was merely inches from his face that Arata's pupils instantly dilated. He chanted, "Third-Level Dream Realm: Tsukuyomi!!"
DING!!!!
A sharp, high-pitched ringing pierced the air. The Third-Level Dream Realm descended upon Denji and Power. Both of them froze instantly, standing completely motionless as if time had stopped.
"Hey, can you hear me?" Arata stood up and waved a hand in front of Denji's eyes.
"Power?" Arata reached out and pinched Power's cheek. "It really works."
Whether he tried to wake them verbally or physically mess with them, both remained entirely static. Having witnessed the absolute control of the Third-Level Dream Realm, Arata walked around them and nodded in satisfaction. He then snapped his fingers, dispelling the technique.
The so-called Third-Level Dream Realm was the ability to forcefully drag a person's or a devil's consciousness into the third layer of dreams.
The First-Level Dream Realm was essentially a form of forced hypnosis. It could instantly put humans to sleep, but the sleep wasn't permanent. They would wake up naturally once the time elapsed or if they were disturbed by external stimuli.
The place where Makima had been disciplined was the Second-Level Dream Realm. It functioned more like a specialized dimension that bound the target's mind. The victim's physical body would fall asleep while their consciousness was pulled into this second layer. Here, the victim couldn't use their real-world abilities, and Arata held absolute dominion, able to create anything at will. The only drawback was that the Second-Level required Arata's active presence to sustain. If he left, it would gradually downgrade to the First-Level, and the target's mind would return to their body.
As for the newly unlocked Third-Level Dream Realm, once activated, it forced the enemy into an even deeper layer of dreams. Trapped in this third space, the victim would experience powerful, hyper-realistic hallucinations, making them believe they were still in the real world without ever realizing they were dreaming. Unless they possessed immense mental fortitude or exceptional spatial abilities, they would be trapped in the Third-Level forever—until their physical body rotted away and their life reached its natural end.
"Master, what just happened?" Denji asked, his mind in a daze. He clearly hadn't adapted to the sudden shift.
In the dream, Arata had made Denji see Aki Hayakawa transforming into the Gun Fiend and knocking on their door. Just as they were about to fight, Arata had snapped him back to reality.
Next to him, Power had squatted on the ground. She had hallucinated herself carrying a cake, only to be blasted apart by Makima's finger-gun, leaving nothing but her legs and head.
"Don't be afraid. That was just an illusion your Master cast. Nothing you saw will actually happen in the real world."
"But it felt so real!" Denji exclaimed.
"That's because my Third-Level Dream Realm blurs the line between reality and dreams. Even if you die in the dream, you'll think it actually happened in reality."
"That's... way too overpowered." Denji stared blankly, having never imagined such a bizarre ability.
"So what the Great Me saw was fake! Scared me to death!" Power clutched her breast pads and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Alright, let's head back."
Arata summoned the Mirror Gate. The three of them stepped through the glass and arrived back at Reze's cafe.
Reze was currently leaning over a table, writing something down.
"Waiter! Bring the Great Me ten steaks to calm my nerves!" Power bellowed, immediately taking a seat.
"Arata-senpai, Denji-kun, you're back?"
"Yes, we took a trip to Osaka. I brought you a little souvenir while I was at it." Arata tossed a small trinket from his pocket over to Reze.
Reze caught it and opened her hand to reveal a cute yellow mouse figurine. "Thank you, Arata-senpai! What do you want to eat? I'll go make it for you."
"I just gutted someone, so I don't really have an appetite right now. I'm going to head to Asuka Saito's place to take a shower. If you guys are hungry, just order something yourselves."
With that, Arata stepped through the Mirror Gate and into Asuka Saito's home.
Coincidentally, Asuka was in the middle of taking a shower. She suddenly noticed bloody water pooling near her feet. When she turned around, she jumped in fright at the blood-soaked man standing behind her.
Once the hot water washed the gore away from Arata's face, Asuka finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Arata-senpai... when did you get here?"
"Just now. Don't mind me, I'll leave as soon as I'm done washing up."
"You're already here, and you think you can just leave?" Without another word, Asuka pounced on him, promoting Arata from a bather into a makeshift back-scrubber.
By the time Arata returned to the cafe, smelling fresh and clean, Reze hurriedly approached him. "Arata-senpai."
"What's wrong?"
"Someone is looking for you."
"Don't tell me the Division 5 guys followed us here?"
"I don't know her. It's a woman with an eyepatch and a very cold expression."
"Cold woman with an eyepatch?"
As Arata was trying to recall who that could be, a silver-white-haired woman with a braided ponytail and an eyepatch over her right eye strode into the cafe. She was tall, wearing a tight tank top and jeans, with three Bagua dao (Chinese broadswords) strapped to her back. Right behind her trailed four female fiends.
The five of them seemed incredibly close, but "best friends" wouldn't be the right word to describe it. The four fiends looked at the eyepatch-wearing woman with eyes full of utter, absolute adoration.
"Well, well, if it isn't Sister Quanxi!" A bright smile bloomed on Arata's face the moment he saw her.
The "Sister Quanxi" he referred to was a legendary devil hunter from China. She used to be partners with Kishibe, the man known as the strongest devil hunter. She had endured Kishibe's relentless romantic pursuit for nine long years, only to finally tell him she preferred women. That revelation had forced Kishibe to bid a bitter farewell to his unrequited love and play the clown.
"We meet again," Quanxi said flatly, exuding a true boss-lady aura, her gaze deliberately drifting toward Denji.
Denji knew that look. Without a doubt, this was yet another devil hunter coming for his heart. He immediately stood up, readying himself for a fight.
"Hello, Halloween." Arata, however, remained entirely unfazed and waved to a pink-haired woman in the group. The right half of her skull was missing, exposing her brain, with a bundle of brain tissue tied into a neat bow. Her right eye hung completely out of its socket, complete with a heart-shaped pupil.
She was the Cosmos Fiend, the one Arata had previously gone to China to find. Her ability was to force total comprehension of all the knowledge in the universe into another person's mind.
"Hal...loween." Cosmo seemed terrified of Arata, instantly hiding behind Quanxi's back.
"You're the one who kidnapped Cosmo before, aren't you!!" demanded a woman with dark gray hair tied into an eel-like ponytail—complete with eyes, a mouth, and the ability to make expressions. Her name was Pingtsi. (The classic quote, "The corpses are talking," originated from her.)
"That wasn't kidnapping. Quanxi and I had an agreement back then: the loser had to grant the winner one request."
"I came this time to bet with you again," Quanxi said, cutting straight to the chase.
"You want Denji's heart, don't you?"
"Exactly. If I win, you give me Denji's heart."
"Honestly, there's no need for that. As long as I'm around, Makima's plan won't succeed."
"You can beat Makima?" Pingtsi asked in surprise.
"I could before. Now? It's child's play."
"Hmph. You just want to protect him, don't you?" Quanxi reached behind her back, her fingers gripping the hilt of a blade.
"Since you don't believe me, I'll be merciful and accept your request. After all, it wasn't easy for you to travel all this way."
"Same as before. Best two out of three. The loser grants the winner any request," Quanxi stated.
"First round: Hand-to-hand combat."
"Second round: Weapon combat."
"Third round: Devil powers."
Quanxi raised her right hand, holding up three fingers one by one.
"No problem. But I'm going to up the difficulty. If you can win even a single round, I'll consider you the overall winner," Arata declared confidently.
"Is that so? You seem very confident."
"Of course. But if you lose, the five of you have to hang out and play with me for an entire day."
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