Tempting fate

Before Aki Hayakawa could even register what had happened, the Steel Plate Devil was already dead.

Only when he heard the heavy thud of the Steel Plate Devil's head hitting the ground did he realize it. The Steel Plate Devil was dead already...?

A moment later, the Steel Plate Devil's body collapsed limply to the ground as well, its limbs twitching slightly.

Aki Hayakawa glanced at Asaba Kotone in astonishment. Was this his true strength?

He had originally thought Asaba Kotone relied on the devil called Pochita, using it as a weapon to hunt devils, with teleportation as an additional ability.

He hadn't expected to have underestimated him even then. Asaba Kotone could actually kill the Steel Plate Devil instantly from a distance, with virtually no warning.

Although he could also attack from a distance using the Fox Devil's power, he needed to form hand seals with his right hand. He couldn't do it without any physical movement like Asaba Kotone.

That was what made it so terrifying. There was no way to see it coming.

In reality, the offensive capabilities of Asaba Kotone's left-eye Kamui were nowhere near as simple as Aki Hayakawa imagined.

Aki Hayakawa would never have guessed that his left-eye Kamui could bypass all physical defenses. It worked by distorting space, tearing off whatever his eye focused on and transferring it into the Kamui Dimension. Unless someone was fast enough to react and escape before the targeted body part was torn off, there was no counter to this attack.

Moreover, with Kamui in both eyes, Asaba Kotone could open a spatial portal with either eye faster than he could with only one. That meant his left-eye Kamui could transfer objects from a distance far faster than Kakashi's single-eye version. Dodging in time at that speed was easier said than done.

"Partnering with you really was the right choice."

Aki Hayakawa couldn't have been more convinced of Asaba Kotone's strength.

Afterward, Asaba Kotone and Aki Hayakawa left, leaving the police to handle the scene. The police would also help transport the Steel Plate Devil's corpse to the guild.

For that reason, Asaba Kotone didn't bother putting the Steel Plate Devil's corpse into the Kamui Dimension himself.

The larger the object he transferred, the greater the drain on his ocular power and physical reserves. Moving something into the Kamui Dimension and then back out again took a considerable toll.

Although his current "constitution" allowed him to use Kamui without too many restrictions, he still couldn't abuse it. With the police helping transport the corpse, there was no need to waste his ocular power and physical reserves.

The two returned to the guild by car. Before long, a police vehicle also delivered the Steel Plate Devil's corpse to the guild hall.

Asaba Kotone and Aki Hayakawa each added another achievement to their records.

"Congratulations, Hayakawa. Tokyo Public Safety has started taking notice of you. Complete another assignment, and you'll probably get your wish and be recruited."

The female attendant who was fairly well acquainted with Aki Hayakawa congratulated him.

Chiba Public Safety had actually taken an interest in Aki Hayakawa long ago, but he wasn't willing to join them. It had to be Tokyo Public Safety.

Other people couldn't understand it. Although Tokyo Public Safety did offer somewhat better benefits than Chiba Public Safety, getting in was also harder.

Aki Hayakawa already had an outstanding record, yet Tokyo Public Safety had only just noticed him.

As for why Hirokazu Arai and Kobeni Higashiyama had managed to join Tokyo Public Safety later, they had probably already been partners as private Devil Hunters. Then Kobeni Higashiyama had encountered an extremely powerful devil, perhaps one that had eaten a piece of the Gun Devil's flesh, and suddenly unleashed her strength to kill it instantly. That would have drawn Tokyo Public Safety's attention, leading them to recruit both of them.

Come to think of it, Kobeni Higashiyama should have graduated from high school at seventeen or eighteen, then joined Public Safety half a year before the original story began. That left a fairly long gap of around two years. Even if she only unleashed her strength occasionally, it would have been enough to draw Tokyo Public Safety's attention.

"You'll probably be recruited by Tokyo Public Safety along with Hayakawa, Asaba. Keep up the good work over the next few days. You're only one assignment away."

The attendant turned to Asaba Kotone as she spoke.

"...I will."

Asaba Kotone felt the urge to complain. The last assignment? Don't go tempting fate like that...

Not that he was afraid of tempting fate.

As for the fact that he didn't want to join Tokyo Public Safety just yet, he kept that to himself.

If Tokyo Public Safety approached him with an offer, his reputation would soar whether he accepted or refused. That was exactly what he wanted.

Afterward, Asaba Kotone asked the police to deliver the Steel Plate Devil's corpse to the Black Market, and he hitched a ride with them.

Once at the Black Market, he sold the Steel Plate Devil's corpse for over a million yen.

The Steel Plate Devil had been very powerful. Unfortunately, it had run into Asaba Kotone's practically uncounterable Kamui and been killed instantly.

Had Aki Hayakawa been the one fighting it, the Fox Devil would have injured itself attacking the Steel Plate Devil, since the enormous steel plate on its head was constantly spinning at high speed. The Fox Devil might well have fled the moment it got hurt. That had happened plenty of times in the original story.

If the Fox Devil's power failed, Aki Hayakawa certainly wouldn't have used the Curse Devil's power lightly. Without Asaba Kotone there, they would probably have ended up needing reinforcements from Chiba Public Safety's Devil Hunters.

Back at the guild, Asaba Kotone gave Aki Hayakawa half the money from selling the Steel Plate Devil's corpse.

Splitting the earnings equally was only right for partners, and he wasn't the stingy type.

Aki Hayakawa accepted it without saying much.

Just like yesterday, the two waited in the guild hall for announcements of devil sightings, while Asaba Kotone used the spare time to study his course materials.

Excluding their lunch break, it had taken him only a morning and an afternoon, along with what he had already studied yesterday, to finish all the materials.

The material hadn't covered a particularly broad range of knowledge to begin with. Coupled with his learning ability, which far surpassed an ordinary person's, finishing it this quickly was actually quite normal.

By contrast, Aki Hayakawa had done nothing else during that time. He simply sat there waiting, occasionally drinking tea or eating something, all provided free by the guild.

"I'm heading out for a bit. I'll be back soon. Call me if anything comes up while I'm gone."

"Okay."

Asaba Kotone planned to buy a collection of past exam papers at the Library and try working through them. Honestly, his learning ability felt a little unreal to him, so he wanted to test how well he had actually learned the material.

After letting Aki Hayakawa know, he headed straight to the Library.

At the Library's entrance, he happened to run into Kobeni Higashiyama.

"Huh...? A... Asaba?"

Kobeni Higashiyama hadn't expected to see Asaba again so soon, much less here at the Library.

Asaba Kotone was somewhat surprised as well. "What a coincidence, running into you again."

Only then did he remember that he had lost track of time while studying. It was around five now, exactly when Kobeni Higashiyama got out of school.

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