"Arata-senpai, if this operation is a success too..."
"...the title of 'Strongest Devil Hunter' definitely belongs to you."
"That title has always belonged to my Master. That old guy Kishibe had some moves against us, but against my Master, he wasn't even a match."
"You guys fought Kishibe?"
"Of course. That old man came to Division 4 and sparred with my Master. My Master fought him to a draw without even transforming," Denji boasted without exaggeration.
Ever since following Arata, Denji had discovered plenty of opportunities to constantly test the boundaries of pride.
"Indeed. Arata is the strongest man I've ever met," Himeno chimed in, making sure to add her two cents. She hugged Arata's arm tightly and swayed her body, letting Arata fully experience the sensation of his arm being sandwiched between her assets.
"Master Kishibe is also very strong. In terms of pure physical combat, I'm not his equal, and in terms of combat experience, I'm not as well-rounded as him. I can defeat him relying on devil powers, but if I didn't use them, I'm afraid I wouldn't be his match." Arata didn't let the praise go to his head; instead, he pointed out his own shortcomings.
These words made everyone admire Arata's character even more. Not only was he incredibly powerful, but he was also humble. There was absolutely none of that overbearing, arrogant attitude.
"Bad news!!!"
Just then, a man with a mole on his head frantically rushed into the Golden Arches restaurant. Gasping for breath, he pointed outside and yelled, "A massive number of dolls suddenly appeared on the streets outside! They look like they used to be living people! Many of our colleagues standing guard outside have already been killed!"
"Looks like Santa Claus has made their move," Himeno said, her face turning grave.
"Everyone, be careful. Do not let the dolls touch you. Other than fiends, any human touched by them will instantly be turned into a doll," Aki Hayakawa added, making sure to share the critical intel he knew.
*CRASH!!!*
The sound of shattering glass and collapsing structures suddenly erupted from the first-floor lobby. A massive horde of dolls swarmed from the streets into the plaza. The sudden invasion completely terrified the shoppers who had just been preparing to leave.
"What the hell are those things?!"
"Everyone, run!"
"Ahhh!!"
"Let me go!!"
"Run away!"
"Help me!!"
Instantly, a cacophony of screams and shouts blended together in the lobby.
Arata and the others stood on the third floor, looking down. The massive horde of dolls had flooded the plaza. The first floor fell in an instant. The people on the second floor ran around in a blind panic, only to be overwhelmed by the surging doll army. The humans on the first and second floors were either killed or converted into new dolls. This caused the number of dolls to multiply at a terrifying rate.
"Can I make a move now?" Seeing that the dolls had already reached the third floor, Quanxi stood behind Arata, dual blades in hand.
"Go ahead, Quanxi. You handle the dolls, I'll go find Santa Claus's main body."
"Mm!" Quanxi nodded. In the next second, she vanished into thin air.
"Quanxi!! That woman is Quanxi!" Himeno froze, completely shocked that an enemy had been right beside her. After all, Quanxi was also on the list of assassins hunting Denji, and her strength was so formidable that even Kishibe shook his head at the thought of fighting her.
"Don't worry. The current Quanxi is on our side. She won't lay a hand on Denji."
"Arata, how did you manage that? Did you... sleep her into submission?"
"Do not speak ill of Lady Quanxi!" Pingtsi snapped, clearly displeased with Himeno.
"Who are they?"
"Quanxi's women."
"Quanxi's women? Don't tell me Quanxi likes women? No wonder Master Kishibe's confessions never succeeded." This time, Himeno spoke in a low whisper, afraid Pingtsi would come after her.
*Clang clang clang!!!*
In the blink of an eye, every single doll that had been wildly rampaging below had its head severed from its body. The corpses stretched from the lobby all the way out into the streets. The slaughter didn't stop until all three of Quanxi's swords were too blunt to use.
"This..."
"That's way too fast."
Himeno stared dumbfounded at the mountain of doll corpses below and outside. *With that kind of speed, it's no wonder no woman could refuse her,* Himeno thought. *It makes sense why Quanxi has four female fiends following her around. If it were a normal person, they'd probably need to be swapped out every week.*
In the blink of an eye, Quanxi returned to Arata's side. "The second and third floors are cleared. To finish the rest of the dolls, I need to use that man's sword."
"Aki, lend Quanxi your black katana."
Having witnessed Quanxi's sheer strength, Aki realized it was much better to hand the weapon to her than to fight himself. He wordlessly passed the black katana to her. Gripping her new blade, Quanxi charged back down to the first floor.
Seeing his helper working so hard, Arata wasn't about to be outdone. He vanished from his spot, unleashing his maximum speed to circle the perimeter of Qianda Plaza. Because controlling the dolls required the main body to be nearby, he only needed to search for living humans in the vicinity to find the true Doll Devil.
Soon, Arata spotted an old man. With a single glance, he recognized this person as Santa Claus's advanced perfect doll.
"Old man, are you alright?"
The sudden appearance of Arata startled the old man. He quickly replied, "I'm fine."
"Since you're fine, I'm going to have to make something happen to you."
*DING!!!!*
The old man's eyes widened, freezing completely in place.
The Doll Devil was ultimately just a mental-type devil. Therefore, magic could only be defeated by magic. Arata's overwhelming mental strength rendered the Doll Devil entirely immobile. Arata then dragged the old man back to the entrance of the Golden Arches and handed him over to the Halloween girl.
After a swift combination of moves, the Doll Devil heard the chilling word "Halloween" echo in its ears, and its consciousness was sent straight back to Hell. Arata then absorbed the corpse.
"The Doll Devil has been eliminated. Everyone can go home and find their moms now."
"Arata, we're heading back now? Weren't we supposed to catch all the devil hunters sent from other countries in one fell swoop?" Himeno asked. They had barely moved since the beginning of the operation.
"Santa Claus is dead. The Immortal Brothers from America have been decapitated. The Bomb Devil has been moved by deep affection. Quanxi has joined my team. Once today's battle record is broadcasted, the rest of the small fry will naturally scurry away with their tails between their legs."
"That's way too fast," Himeno said, still somewhat in disbelief. The higher-ups had placed extreme importance on this mission, deploying Public Safety devil hunters from all over to assist. Yet, less than half an hour after Arata made his move, the mission was over. Even the most troublesome enemy, Santa Claus, had been quietly and effortlessly wiped out.
"Arata-senpai truly lives up to his reputation."
"Working alongside Arata-senpai is just too satisfying."
"Stop with the flattery, you guys need to get out of here," Arata urged them to leave.
"You're not coming with us?"
"You guys head back to headquarters and write the incident report first. I still have other things to do."
"Then we'll head back first. If we need anything, I'll notify you."
"See you later, Himeno-senpai."
After all the Public Safety devil hunters had left, Arata deliberately stood at the entrance and scouted the area. Once he confirmed no one was around, he darted right back into Qianda Plaza.
Looking at the completely deserted mall, he excitedly rubbed his hands together. "Now that no one is here, time to enjoy a massive zero-dollar shopping spree!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than all the jewelry in a gold shop vanished into thin air. In the next blink, the rings in a diamond boutique disappeared. Then went the luxury watch stores, designer clothing boutiques, golf club shops, designer bag stores, supermarkets, and more.
Wherever a zero-dollar purchase could be made, Arata was there.
Santa Claus's operation this time had resulted in the deaths of everyone inside Qianda Plaza. The death toll was over a thousand. Add that to the tens of thousands dead in Osaka, plus the fatalities from other accidents. All in all, an uncountable number of people in Japan had died today.
If this kept up, the country would run out of people long before the islands sank. As for the supplies and goods left behind in Japan? Arata simply considered it an act of kindness to collect the "scrap" and keep it safe for them.
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