I, Matou Sakura, Third of the Flame-Chasers!

Simply put, Kiryu Aika doesn't have many friends.

However, Kiryu Aika doesn't care about that.

Friends?

That's not something important to her; she only likes what she likes.

And that is anything related to lewd things.

Despite this, Kiryu Aika is a complete virgin.

Sounds strange, right?

She likes lewd things, yet she's never indulged in them even a little.

She's never even tried to comfort herself.

The bad girl in others' eyes is actually a girl so pure it's almost laughable.

But this is Kiryu Aika.

Walking down the street at night, the streetlights have turned on, casting bright illumination.

Walking home after her part-time job, Kiryu Aika let one hand hang down, massaging her sore shoulder, complaining to herself about the hardships of work.

Fortunately, she was off work now. If it had been another half hour, she would have quit on the spot.

This wasn't the first time she'd had such thoughts, but that hateful obasan of a manager always granted her freedom to leave before she reached her breaking point.

She felt completely under that obasan's thumb.

She stopped, shook her shoulders, and kicked her slightly sore legs.

She had sweated today and stood for so long; her socks must smell.

Just thinking about it made her want to take off her socks and sniff them right in front of her nose.

Her face flushed slightly, and a trace of shame surfaced in her heart.

She still didn't do it.

How could she possibly do that!

She ran, using the motion to cover her shyness. The girl didn't notice that behind her, in the flickering light, two figures, one large and one small, stood watching Kiryu Aika's retreating form.

"My master, is that your interest?"

Sweet, elegant, intelligent... you could find all the qualities you liked in that voice.

She had a tall figure for a woman, with medium-length, orange-pink hair. Her face wasn't exceptionally delicate, but combined with her strange, bright golden spiral eyes and peculiar aura, it created a bizarre beauty.

Perhaps this is what harmony is.

It was a charm that was difficult to describe in simple words.

She wore a standard professional outfit but no jacket. Her white shirt perfectly accentuated her figure.

She was Makima, but not Makima.

The Control Devil, the so-called bad woman.

She could have many titles: Devil, Control Devil, Makima, bad woman, and bad woman Makima.

Different titles highlighted different aspects of herself.

But for Sakura, that was her power, the devil she had a contract with, the Control Devil she controlled.

It was funny, wasn't it?

The devil that should control everything was now controlled by an anomaly.

Funny, interesting, and then frightening.

What could control the Control Devil, the one who should control everything?

Was it human? To the naked eye, she looked like a cute toddler, so harmless, as if a little force would tear that adorable face to shreds.

At least, that's how it looked.

"She's an interesting child."

Sakura smiled gently. She opened her arms to the devil she controlled, exercising her authority as the controller.

The controlled devil didn't mind. She smiled and extended her hand, embracing her master with a familiar gesture. "Such a cute master."

Her strange spiral eyes reflected Sakura's small figure. She really wanted to turn this master who controlled her into food. It would be exquisite food, and she would elegantly eat her, bite by bite, until she became a part of her.

But a living master is a good master...

The slightly raised corners of her mouth formed a strange smile.

She stepped out with her long legs and slowly walked towards the streetlights that had also begun to flicker.

"Finally here."

Looking at the apartment that had already appeared before her, Kiryu Aika let out a sigh of relief.

For some reason, she felt like the walk home today was unusually long, as if it had been stretched out.

But it was probably just her imagination. The road was right there, how could it possibly be stretched out?

Shaking off the fantasy in her mind, Kiryu Aika first took the apartment key from her chest.

No one lived in this apartment, and she was already at the staircase, so she didn't have to worry about anything.

The warm key felt in her hand. If her school uniform and work clothes had pockets, she wouldn't have to keep the key in such a place.

It wasn't a good feeling when it bumped against her while walking.

You ask about her school bag?

That kind of thing was fine left at school. How many people even take their school bags home these days?

Usually, a small bag was enough, but unfortunately, she overslept this morning. Fearing she'd be late, she rushed to school and forgot her bag.

But thankfully, she didn't forget her keys. Otherwise, she'd have to ask a familiar face to change the lock for her again. If she had to change the lock again this month, her part-time job wages wouldn't be enough to buy the manga she wanted!

She absolutely wouldn't give up on her manga!

Arriving at her apartment door, Kiryu Aika lowered her head and was stunned by the faint light seeping from under the door.

Had she left the light on when she went out this morning?

Impossible, she hadn't turned on the light at all this morning!

Did she go to the wrong place?

She took a step back and looked at the door number. It was 414, no mistake.

She knew this number wasn't ideal, but the room was cheap. Plus, she'd lived here for a year and nothing strange had ever happened.

Could it be happening now?

Kiryu Aika had a bad feeling. She wanted to leave, but where would she go if she did?

Her phone was dead, and her body couldn't charge her phone.

Biting her lip, Kiryu Aika, after some hesitation, decided to open the door and see. Maybe she had turned on the light this morning and just forgotten about it.

She inserted the key into the lock and turned it.

Just as she was about to open the door, the sound of footsteps from behind the door made her hastily pull out the key, ready to run!

Suddenly, a voice from behind made her stop abruptly.

It was as if it had a kind of magic. She didn't know why, but she stopped in her tracks, frozen in place.

"Sister Aika?"

Sister Aika?

}[+

Was that calling me?

Sixty-eight, The Living and the Dead

"This is a fine ability."

Looking at the work before her, the girl who was like a loyal dog, Sakura's smile was so radiant.

The Control Devil, its ability was control, just as its name suggested.

However, it was different from the usual understanding of control.

Anything subjectively deemed inferior to oneself was a being under its control, whether human or devil.

It was like some kind of setting, but it had been slightly elevated now.

Looking at Kiryu Aika, who had already been bound by invisible chains by her, Sakura hugged her neck.

Her petite body was like a large pendant in front of the kneeling Kiryu Aika.

Sakura leaned close to her ear, whispering gentle words.

"Please die for me, okay?"

The lightless eyes of Kiryu Aika regained their glow.

Her black and white eyes underwent a subtle transformation.

Makima's lips curled slightly as she playfully watched the plaything before her, created by her master using her ability.

Another self.

She was still Makima, the so-called Control Devil.

But now, the seed of control had been planted in this human.

It sounded profound, but it was merely another form of control.

Bound by the chains of control, with death as the bottom line.

The girl who had been chained remained a loyal dog, but the commands for control were now issued in a different way.

Her neck twisted, rotating a full 360 degrees in a way no human could achieve.

The once beautiful girl looked utterly horrifying now.

But she had carried out the order from the controller, the so-called death.

Her fair skin showed an ugly blue hue, and as time passed, a shade of purple began to spread within the blue.

"And because it's you, Sakura, I'll make good use of her."

Makima narrowed her eyes, smiling as she looked at the unique masterpiece before her.

A beautiful death, without complaint, with a twisted smile and a heart that gradually stopped beating amidst excitement.

It was a shame this world didn't have the hell that birthed her and Them; otherwise, she could see this interesting human again there.

Measuring people's perceived value by the standards of art, this masterpiece before them already possessed value for certain individuals.

"This is just an experiment."

A cute, childlike voice spoke slowly from Sakura's lips, carrying a supposed innocence.

It didn't matter; the meaning of words is determined by people, or by life; a single character, a single word can hold different meanings.

"Are you going to revive her?"

Makima knew her master's thoughts.

This world didn't have hell for her and Them, but creating a hell wouldn't be difficult for Sakura.

This world, this rather interesting world, was an excellent foundation.

A brand-new hell would be recreated before her, based on this world.