"Catch."
A ball of flesh flew toward Denji.
"Heh!"
Denji smacked it back with both hands. "We agreed-the loser buys dinner tonight."
"Well, I'm not losing, so dinner's on you tonight."
"Not necessarily. I played catch with Pochita all the time. No way I'm losing."
The ball of flesh went back and forth between them.
The group nearby watched them for more than ten seconds.
They still noticed nothing unusual.
"Those two must be devils," Himeno said first, drawing on her years of experience as a devil hunter.
"Two Zombie Devils?"
"Each devil is unique. There can't be two of the same devil. One of them must be some other devil."
Listening to their analysis, Makima said calmly, "The Zombie Devil is already dead. The ball they're throwing is its head."
"The Zombie Devil is dead?"
Himeno narrowed her eyes at the ball of flesh being tossed into the air.
Sure enough, it had a nose and eyes.
"Then they must be the devil hunters who killed it?"
"Whatever the case, let's go take a look first." Aki Hayakawa looked wary.
Most people who could play catch surrounded by corpses weren't right in the head.
"Catch! Check out this move."
"Whoa, that almost hit the ground."
"Didn't think you actually had some skills."
"Hahaha, you're not bad either, Master."
"Hey, you two!!" Aki Hayakawa took two steps forward and called out, "Did you kill the zombies in this village?"
"Take this spike!"
Meng Fan suddenly jumped up and swung his palm down.
The ball of flesh shot straight down to the ground by Denji's heels.
"You're cheating! How come you're using volleyball moves?"
"Playing catch is like fighting. You have to adapt to things changing in an instant. Fair or not, whoever wins is the winner."
"Hey, you two! Didn't you hear me?!" Aki Hayakawa suddenly raised his voice.
"Oh, so that's how it works. Got it."
"You've still got plenty to learn. Stick with your master, and I guarantee you'll become a great hero."
"Hey!! Are you two deaf?!"
Aki Hayakawa stopped standing around and stormed over.
"Who are you?"
Of course, Meng Fan recognized the man with the topknot standing before him.
He had come to the hot spring establishment to arrest him last time, only for Meng Fan to get away.
"We're Public Safety Devil Hunters. You killed the people in this village, didn't you?"
"We didn't kill any people. We just killed a bunch of zombies that ate nothing but human flesh, and took care of the Zombie Devil while we were at it."
"Who are you?"
"Civilian Devil Hunters." Meng Fan tilted his head, looking past Aki Hayakawa.
He met Makima's eyes from a distance, then smiled. "That woman is Miss Makima, right?"
"Hey, Miss Makima." Meng Fan waved and strode toward her.
"Do you know him, Miss Makima?" Himeno asked beside her.
Upon hearing that Meng Fan had killed the Zombie Devil as a Civilian Devil Hunter,
Himeno had already stopped feeling threatened.
"No," Makima said coldly.
"Hey, why the poker face? Your idol's standing right over there. Aren't you going to say hello?"
"Idol?" Makima turned her gaze back to Meng Fan's unfamiliar face. "I don't have an idol. Who's your boss?"
"We don't have one. We're self-employed. Any chance you could make an exception and let us join the Public Safety Devil Hunters?"
"What are you thinking? Being a Public Safety Devil Hunter isn't a job you can take just because you feel like it," Himeno said.
"I wasn't asking you. I was asking your boss. I'm sure she'll let us join."
Meng Fan gave Makima a meaningful look.
But Makima spent most of her time looking at Denji.
That made Denji, standing nearby, blush instantly.
"What a cute girl. Is she your partner?" Denji asked Aki Hayakawa.
"She's our superior. You'd better watch what you say."
"So she's your boss. She looks pretty young."
As they spoke, Makima walked past Meng Fan and approached Denji herself.
Denji hurriedly tidied his hair.
"What's your name?"
"I... I'm Denji."
"Oh! Denji, you killed the Zombie Devil, didn't you?"
"Yeah, that's right. It was me."
Denji rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, seemingly waiting to be praised.
"So you also killed everyone in the village?"
"I killed them, but they were all zombies."
"Zombies or not, killing an entire village before we arrived is enough for us to treat you as an extremely dangerous devil."
"Huh? It's that serious?" The praise he had expected turned into a shock.
Denji's flushed face went pale.
"No one can say for sure whether you killed innocent villagers. They're corpses now, after all."
Aki Hayakawa rubbed salt in the wound.
Denji was left at a loss.
"Now you have two choices." Makima held up one finger. "First, become my dog."
With that, Makima stared into Denji's eyes and widened her own slightly, as if trying to verify something.
But the result was surprisingly uneventful.
Denji still wore that clueless expression, showing no sign of being controlled. Instead, he asked, "What's the second?"
"Second, we dispose of you as a devil."
"Th-that doesn't really sound like a choice, does it?"
"Hmm?" A chilling menace flashed in Makima's eyes.
"I'll be your dog!!" Denji immediately shouted.
"Good boy." Makima smiled in satisfaction.
"Who's that man?"
"He's my master?"
"He helped you kill people too, didn't he?"
"We didn't kill people. Don't slander us. We were just passing through and playing catch here."
Meng Fan was now standing behind them, with one hand on Makima's shoulder and the other on Aki Hayakawa's.
Aki Hayakawa looked distinctly annoyed.
He drove his elbow backward at Meng Fan's abdomen.
The strike missed.
At the same time, Makima turned and swept a high kick at him.
Meng Fan immediately ducked. "White."
Without a flicker of expression, Makima threw several punches at Meng Fan's face.
The man and woman worked together.
But Meng Fan countered every move.
Watching the three fight, Himeno summoned the Ghost Devil and had it seize Meng Fan by the neck.
Meng Fan extended his blade claws and stabbed the Ghost Devil's hand.
The Ghost Devil recoiled in pain and quickly let go.
"He can actually hit the Ghost Devil." Himeno's face filled with astonishment.
"If I can trade blows with the Control Devil, one little ghost is nothing."
As soon as he finished speaking, Aki Hayakawa drew his long sword and thrust it at Meng Fan.
"Wait!!"
Makima suddenly stopped moving and called Aki Hayakawa off.
"What is it, Miss Makima?"
"I'll deal with him. Stand back."
"So soon!!" Himeno hadn't expected Makima to get serious so suddenly either.
But she quickly took a black blindfold from her pocket and covered her eyes.
"Denji, cover your eyes too. It's for your own good. Don't open them without my permission."
"I don't know what you were talking about just now, but now you have to die."
Makima stared into Meng Fan's eyes, suddenly widening her own.
But Meng Fan smiled as though nothing had happened. "You can't control me, because you were afraid of me back in Hell too."
Makima found that amusing. The next second, she flashed in front of Meng Fan.
Before Meng Fan could react, she sent his head flying.
As his head hit the ground,
Makima was just about to speak.
But a sudden wave of drowsiness swept through her body.
"This..."
Makima recognized this feeling.
But for the moment, she couldn't place it.
Then she sank to her knees before slowly collapsing facedown.
Aki Hayakawa and Himeno had remained where they were, wearing their blindfolds.
They couldn't see.
All they could do was stand there and wait for Makima's orders.
But five minutes passed.
Makima still gave no orders.
Normally, it would only take a few seconds.
Now the wait felt unbearably long.
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