The Future Devil extended her slender, delicate hand and touched her fair, snow-white throat.
Although most of the white child had been swallowed in one go, it was still viscous, and a considerable amount clung stubbornly to her throat. She stroked her own neck up and down, making a low, gurgling sound as she struggled to swallow. After several more forceful gulps, she finally managed to send all of it down into her stomach.
—Splat!—
"Contract… completed… You… you all… can leave… Not good… my… my consciousness is…"
Her words broke off before she could finish. The Future Devil collapsed, fainting as her body and mind were consumed by bliss.
Her cheek rested against the ground, her small tongue slipping out unconsciously as heat escaped her lips. Her posture resembled that of a crouching frog. Every so often, her body twitched, accompanied by the surging tide from between her small buns behind, wave after wave spilling forth without end.
Renji removed his jacket, draped it over the darker stain at Hayakawa Aki's lower body, then gently picked her up and carried her toward the door.
The car rolled along the road back to the hospital. Himeno was driving, with Michiko seated beside her in the passenger seat.
Renji and Hayakawa Aki sat in the back. Renji leaned against the window, idly watching the scenery blur past.
Aki, just recently awakened from her coma, clutched Renji's jacket tightly against her thighs, her face faintly flushed. The intoxicating scent that had clouded her mind was now gone. She could finally think clearly.
"Damn it…"
Her hands clenched tighter around the jacket.
She remembered the dazed, vulnerable expression she had worn earlier… remembered swallowing so much of Renji's white liquid.
She gritted her teeth.
It wasn't just swallowing it—what truly shamed her was that look on her face, that loss of control. At that moment, she had been powerless to resist.
The thought made her chest ache. If she couldn't even control herself, how could she ever defeat the Gun Devil? Worse—she might drag Renji down with her.
From the driver's seat, Himeno glanced at the rearview mirror.
"We'll be heading back to Kyoto after touring Tokyo. Since we won't see each other again, I'd like to ask each of you one question."
Renji turned his eyes toward her.
"What question?"
"Renji, why did you join the Public Safety Devil Extermination Special Division?"
"Well, at first I had plenty of reasons. But now, my main goal is to help Aki defeat the Gun Devil."
"Joining the Division means you've already staked your life. And now you're staking it for her?"
Renji nodded.
A faint smile touched Himeno's lips as she studied Aki through the mirror.
"Risking your life for Hayakawa Aki, huh… I actually feel a little envious. So, Aki, your goal is aimed straight at the Gun Devil? Do you really think you can kill him?"
Aki frowned, puzzled at why she brought this up, but Himeno pressed on.
"During that gang raid, if not for Renji, you wouldn't have survived. You can't even handle a gang. And yet you think you can face the Gun Devil—the monster who's killed countless people?"
Michiko, sitting beside her, let out a sigh. She knew Himeno was letting her personal feelings seep into her words again.
"Honestly, we became Public Safety officers because of the Gun Devil too. But I don't plan on killing him, because if you think about it, it's impossible. That's why people like you really annoy me. You're weak, yet you spout grand goals like some manga protagonist. And, like a manga protagonist, you've got comrades throwing their lives away to help you. It gives me goosebumps."
At a red light, Himeno braked. She tugged her sleeve up, exposing her pale arm, and turned back toward the two in the rear.
"See? Goosebumps."
Michiko peered at her arm.
"There aren't any."
The light changed, and Himeno drove on.
Aki turned her gaze toward Renji. He met her eyes, then gave a small nod. Warmth spread through her chest, easing the tension in her shoulders.
"Please don't say such pointless things," she said firmly. "Just watch. One day—no, it's certain. With Renji's help, we will defeat the Gun Devil."
Renji flushed slightly, grinning as he raised a thumb.
"Well said. I'm even blushing."
The car stopped at the hospital. Renji and Aki got out together. She kept his jacket draped neatly over her arm, positioned so that the hanging cloth concealed the damp mark beneath.
After bowing politely to the two instructors, Aki walked alongside Renji toward the entrance.
Behind them, Himeno exhaled slowly and pushed open the door.
"Hey! You two!"
Renji and Aki turned just in time to catch the canned drinks Himeno tossed their way.
"Although you two made me quite unhappy just now, I still support you. Finally, as your senior, I'll tell you one thing: there isn't a single normal person in the Special Division Against Devils. So be careful. Don't end up dying halfway before you even encounter the Gun Devil, hmph."
Himeno didn't wait for them to respond. She pulled the car door open, slipped inside, started the engine, and drove away.
"Renji."
"Hmm?"
"Do you think we'll win against the Gun Devil?"
"We'll win."
One day later, at six in the morning.
Continuous gunshots cracked through the air from a hundred-meter-tall building in Tokyo. Women's screams mingled with the sharp retorts, leaking out into the streets below.
Outside the building, Special Division Against Devils Section Two and Public Safety had sealed off the area completely. Police sirens wailed one after another, weaving into the restless clamor of the crowd pressed against the cordon.
Renji scanned the scene.
Public Safety personnel rushed back and forth—some clutching notebooks as they questioned armed units returning from inside, scribbling down reports and vital information. Others barked orders through walkie-talkies, coordinating squads across the perimeter.
Injured officers were carried out on stretchers, bloodied and groaning, as medical staff swarmed forward to hoist them into waiting ambulances.
Kishibe confirmed the positions of the remaining gangsters on the fourth floor, then calmly raised her walkie-talkie. With a few sharp commands, she dispatched another squad of armed personnel into the building for suppression.
From Section Two, Shizuka approached her with a furrowed brow.
"It's too strange. The leadership in Kyoto made this decision for reasons I can't fathom. It makes no sense."
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