The Cursed Apple

Thud, thud, thud.

Aki Hayakawa quickened his pace and slashed at the Mosquito Devil.

Denji was no fool, either.

He gripped the Mosquito Devil's sharp proboscis with both hands where it had pierced his body.

Unable to pull free quickly, the Mosquito Devil could only struggle in place, trying to withdraw its mouth.

Just as Aki Hayakawa's sword was about to strike-

Whoosh!!

A long spike suddenly shot out of the Mosquito Devil's back.

The unexpected spike pierced straight through Aki Hayakawa's shoulder a moment later.

It sent him skidding several meters along with it.

"Aki!!" Himeno cried out in alarm, then commanded the Ghost Devil, "Do it!!"

An invisible hand restrained the Mosquito Devil once more.

Its grip rivaled the Seven-Day Lock of Unbreakable Love.

"This time, leave it to yours truly."

With the Mosquito Devil pinned down by two people, Power ran toward it excitedly, shouting with the Blood Axe in hand.

In the blink of an eye, she was behind the Mosquito Devil.

She brought her axe down hard on its back.

Blood instantly splattered all over Power's face.

"Die already!!"

Power swung her axe down again as she shouted.

The blood spraying from the Mosquito Devil stained her body red.

Some of it splashed into her mouth.

The fresh blood and its taste excited Power even more.

She swung the axe harder and harder.

Even after the Mosquito Devil had been chopped into pulp.

Power still did not stop.

At that moment, she looked exactly like a devil driven into a frenzy.

"Power, stop!!" Himeno shouted, but it did no good.

Aki Hayakawa lay on the ground, watching Power's frenzied rampage.

He had always known fiends were unreliable.

Seeing Power lose control only reinforced his belief.

The only obedient fiend was a dead one.

The sun slowly climbed higher.

The shadow of a tall building fell over the spot where Power stood.

It made the already tense atmosphere even gloomier.

"Hah, hah..."

Power finally stopped, panting heavily.

Pinned to the wall by the swordlike proboscis, Denji wore a terrified expression.

His hand stayed firmly wrapped around the pull cord on his chest.

If Power tried to attack him.

Denji would pull the cord without hesitation and transform into Chainsaw Man.

"Whew, that felt great. It's been ages since I had this much fun, ever since I came to the city."

"If I didn't get to kill something soon, I was going to die of boredom."

Power slowly raised her head.

But her expression was not what anyone had expected.

Instead, she was beaming.

Even with half her face covered in blood, she did not look frightening at all.

Denji froze. "You're okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. You're the one who isn't, right?" Power said with a hint of mockery. Then she put away her axe and turned to face everyone behind her. "Hey, I've chopped the devil into mush. Can we go back and eat now?"

"Power, you scared me to death. I thought..." Himeno pressed a hand to her chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Haha, sorry for scaring everyone. I'm the Blood Devil, after all. Blood gets me excited."

Power rubbed the back of her head and stuck her tongue out at everyone.

Her playful manner made them all let down their guard.

"Good thing you didn't lose control, or I'd have had to drain some of your blood," Meng Fan said with a smile, retracting his blade claws.

"Hey, stop chatting. Can someone call me an ambulance?"

"Sorry, Aki. We forgot about you." Himeno immediately crouched beside Aki Hayakawa to check his condition and called an ambulance.

"Want me to pull this out for you?"

Power pointed at the long spike lodged in Denji.

"Won't it hurt?"

Whoosh!!

Before Denji could react, Power yanked the spike out and tossed it onto the ground.

"Aah!!"

Blood immediately gushed out.

Denji's screams made his displeasure at Power's recklessness abundantly clear.

"Denji, transform into a devil and drink some of the blood on the ground. You'll heal right up." As he spoke, Meng Fan had already reached Denji's side.

He was not looking at Denji.

Instead, his gaze remained fixed on the pulped corpse on the ground.

"The head's still mostly intact. It should still be usable."

He casually pulled the Mosquito Devil's head out of the bloody mush.

"Master, what are you planning this time?"

"Nothing. Just focus on healing. Your master is going inside to see whether there are any other devils."

With that, he dragged the Mosquito Devil's head into the shop.

He even remembered to lock the breakfast shop's door.

"What's he up to?" Curious about Meng Fan's behavior, Himeno hurried over to ask after getting Aki Hayakawa settled.

"No idea. Maybe he's a necrophiliac. Every time he kills a devil, he gets interested in the corpse."

"Interested in corpses? That sounds a lot like Natsume Fan Zhi."

"He seems to know that Natsume guy, too."

While the two were talking.

The breakfast shop's door opened again.

Meng Fan walked out holding an apple.

"Look what I found."

"An apple?" Himeno said. "Don't tell me you're hungry, too."

"Let me have a bite."

Power lunged forward, reaching for the apple.

Meng Fan held it high, keeping it out of her reach.

"Himeno, weren't there two similar cases yesterday? The bodies in the victims' shops had been eaten until only their heads remained, with ropes tied around both ankles, hanging upside down from the ceiling."

"That's right." Himeno recalled yesterday's cases. They had even issued a wanted notice, all agreeing that the noodle shop owner was the killer.

"Besides the bodies, the killer also left a bright red apple at each crime scene."

"Give me that apple!"

"Can you just get out of my way?"

Meng Fan shoved Power aside. With her constantly trying to snatch the apple, she would derail the line of reasoning he had just worked out.

"Let me see." Himeno stepped forward and took the apple.

Aside from its dazzling red color, there was nothing special about it.

She had no idea how it tasted, though.

Yet she kept feeling an irresistible urge to take a bite.

"Why does the killer leave an apple every time?"

"I know." With his body healed, Denji eagerly joined their discussion.

But before he could speak, Meng Fan had already guessed what he was thinking.

"You know? Let's hear it." Himeno handed the apple to Denji.

"They leave an apple every time they kill someone. Obviously, it's the Apple Devil."

"Pfft!!!"

They had expected Denji to offer some explanation about the devil liking apples, but his conclusion was even more absurd.

"Food devils aren't that strong. The Apple Devil isn't even as powerful as the Cucumber Devil."

"Then I have no idea."

Denji scratched his head and reached out to return the apple to Himeno.

But just then, a figure flashed past.

The apple vanished from Denji's hand.

"There's nothing I can't get my hands on." Power held the apple, looking smug.

"Don't eat it. That apple might be poisoned, or even cursed," Meng Fan hurriedly warned her.

"Stop trying to fool me. How could an apple be poisonous? You obviously want to sneak off and eat it yourself."

Ignoring everything else, Power took a huge bite.

Meng Fan was already too late to stop her.

Besides, his suspicion that the apple was dangerous was not unfounded.

He had felt something was wrong the moment he first saw it.

Not just because it was red.

More importantly, every apple gave off something that made people unable to resist the desire to eat it.

Like a trap waiting for someone to take the bait.

"How do you feel?" Himeno asked.

"This... apple."

Power's eyes were vacant, her lips trembling as she struggled to speak.