[3rd POV]
Makima wore a mask of stoicism as Jin stood before her in her office.
But behind the mask, she was anything but stoic. She looked at the pink-haired boy, who barely looked presentable since he had come directly to report to her after he was done with his mission.
Not that he had anything to report that she didn't already know. She even saw the battle herself by sharing the senses of those she controlled. That was the least of her abilities as the true Control Devil.
She knew how the town was destroyed, she knew how he had no choice but to raze everything to the ground to kill the Cannibal Devil.
But at the same time, she knew the glee with which he destroyed everything, she knew the sheer satisfaction he derived from cannibalising on the Cannibal Devil, and she knew he was not truly burdened by guilt over what he did.
But those things were of little importance in contrast to the main issue at hand.
The Pig Devil killed the Cannibal Devil.
Putting it down on paper like that, it seemed even more ridiculous. Clearly, the Pig Devil should be one of the weakest devils in the world. A pig was only slighlty above the different vegetables of the human meal in terms of fear.
Truly, who would be afraid of a pig? What human would fear what they consumed on a daily basis?
It was, for lack of better words, an impossibility for the Pig Devil to be a powerful entity.
Makima would admit she considered the possibility. The Pig Devil had existed for thousands of years without his name ever being feared. But Jin was special, at least that's how Makima saw it. She did not know in what way he was special or what made him special, but he simply was.
So she did, consider the possibility of him killing the Cannibal Devil. But what was entirely out of her expectation was the ease with which he killed the Cannibal Devil and the tremendous strength he showed in battle.
It was, she wouldn't say concerning, but it was definitely worth pondering deeply about.
The initial plan was to put a huge obstacle in front of him and then help him when he needed someone so that she could paint herself in a good light.
Maybe he would fail to kill the Cannibal Devil, and many lives would be lost as a consequence. His guilt and sense of inadequacy would make him an easy prey to her manipulation.
Now that she thought about it, what a stupid plan that was. Not only did he simply eat through every obstacle but she doubted he would be weighed down by guilt had he failed.
"Jin," she called his name.
He flinched, but the face he made was not of fear or nervousness but silent resolve. It was interesting how much a person could reveal just from their expression alone.
Yes, she saw his face. She remembered his face. Makima couldn't quite recall the last time she saw a person's face. She recognised everyone by their scent, devils and humans alike, because there was simply no face worth remembering for her.
Also, devils could shapeshift or take over a human's body. And humans grew old and sometimes became disfigured, which changed their faces completely. Humans were really the only ones so dependent on appearance to recognise each other, and hence they were easier to trick too.
It was much easier and better to remember everyone by their scent and not by their faces.
But she had to make that compromise for Jin because, unlike anything she'd ever known, his scent was ever-changing. Every time he consumed a devil, his scent had a subtle change. And when he consumed a powerful devil, his scent often had a dramatic change. So she had to look at his face and remember him.
Even now, his scent had changed from when she met him in the morning. No, a new scent added to him would be a better way to describe it.
"I'm not mad at you, Jin," she said.
She couldn't care less for the minuscule human lives that were lost or the empty town that was destroyed. Those were not her problem. But he didn't know that, so his shoulders relaxed when she said she was not mad.
He didn't feel guilty, but he cared about consequences.
"So we're cool then," he said, almost asked to make sure.
"Not entirely, no," she said while reclining on her chair and emphasising her boobs by folding her arms. She knew he liked them, and she wanted him to love them.
His eyes immediately went there. But strangely enough, it was not a lustful gaze. She felt lustful gazes on her every day, so she could tell even the subtle difference.
The way he looked at her would be more similar to a man looking at a beautiful scenery. A simple admiration of nature's beauty. She liked that, but she'd prefer the lustful gaze she was familiar with.
"Personally, I don't blame you for what happened. We did not know the devil had buried itself throughout the whole town," she said, "So I'd say you did a good job."
A splendid job.
After all, he completed what she thought would be an impossible task for him.
She knew how strong the Cannibal Devil was. She even knew the exact time when it began spreading its influence on the town.
The Cannibal Devil specifically had a power spike from 1983 to 1986, when the book published by the murderer and cannibal Issei Sagawa became popular. He was a cannibal who ate his female victim, and he wrote a book about his crime.
That was when the fear of cannibalism was the strongest among the public, especially in Japan. And it was during this time that the devil began to settle in the Chiba prefecture and spread its influence through cults.
But all those decades of work amounted to nothing when Jin arrived.
He was truly a remarkable piggy.
"But that is just my personal opinion. The people above me are not so impressed," she said.
"You won't get paid for this mission."
"What!!!" Jin exploded and slammed his hands on her table, "That's fucked up! I did my job."
She smiled at his antics, glad at least she understood part of him. Human greed, he already had more than enough money he could spend, but was still so upset when he didn't get more.
"Calm down, Jin, that's just a small punishment. It barely affects you, it's just a punishment by name for the Public Safety Security to save face. They couldn't just take no action after you destroyed a town," she said.
"But you will still get your promotion just like I promised," she said. "And you can easily earn back the money you lost through your new status. A captain of a Division earns substantially more in monthly salary and from killing devils."
"Really?" he asked with his expressive eyes blinking.
"Yes," she confirmed.
He pulled back from his outburst. "I guess it's okay then."
"It's more than okay," Makima said and got out of her seat to stand in front of him.
"From here on out, you are officially appointed as the new leader of the Tokyo Special Division 4," she said.
Then she added with a hint of her command and activating her devil powers, "Cheer in celebration."
"...."
"...."
"That's it?" he asked, dumfounded, and his head tilted.
Makima pulled a step back from him and hid her feelings with more smiles. Her commands still didn't work on him, and it was really bugging her.
She was the Control Devil, and her ability allowed her to control everyone and everything she deemed inferior to her. Not that her abilities didn't come with their own limitations. For example, she couldn't easily get complete control over people whose hearts and loyalty already belonged to someone else.
Humans in love were harder to control due to these reasons. This was why she sowed love in younger people, especially males like Aki. By making them love her, the chances that they would fall in love with someone else and loosen her control over them are reduced dramatically.
And even in cases where their hearts lie with someone else, she should still be able to influence people enough to make them do small things like making her tea or yell out in celebration.
But in Jin's case, she did not have any shred of influence on him.
How? That's what she wanted to find out before she made a drastic move.
She considered him to be inferior to her, and he admitted that he knew she was superior, even though that may be limited to work.
So did his heart already belong to someone else? Unlikely. He was captured and used as livestock for years and lost his memories. He had no chance at all to find someone like that.
The only logical explanation would be that, just as she considered him inferior to her, he equally considered her to be inferior to him.
But that shouldn't be possible. She viewed Jin as any other human, although he may be a hybrid. Humans were like dogs to her. From her perspective, they were barely even real beings. Just a bunch of NPCs in the grand scheme of things.
It was impossible for him to view her as such.
But that's exactly why he was so interesting to her.
She'd eventually find out what was stopping her from controlling him, and then she'd make him hers.
...
"What? Is there anything wrong?" she asked.
"Not really," he rubbed the back of his head, "I just expected the promotion to be more? I don't know."
She laughed, "We still need to do the paperwork. If you feel underwhelmed, maybe you can help me with that."
"Nope. Underwhelming is good," he said with a thumbs up.
"I figured," she said, pausing for a brief second before she walked up to him and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Her hands pushed against his chest, searching for a speeding heartbeat while also feeling what would be eventually hers.
He was looking at her with a small blush when she pulled away.
"Consider that your payment," she said.
"...."
"I'd prefer all the money in your wallet," he said seriously.
"Ouch," she said with a smile, but really, ouch. That usually worked on others. Maybe it's because she never used it in recent years.
"You can go now, maybe celebrate with your friends," she said.
"Not a bad idea, I think I'll do that," he said, "I'll leave then."
He turned around and left her office.
Without inviting her.
She burst out in a genuine laugh after he was gone. She was laughing at herself.
It's strange, really. You'd expect a tortured soul like him, especially in his teenage years, to be love-deprived and quickly develop a crush.
For sure, he was going to be a fun challenge after years of ease.
Jin Nakahara.
..
////////////////////
[1st POV]
"As the leader of the 4th division, I order you to address me as boss from now on,"
"In your dreams," he replied.
I was celebrating my new promotion with all my friends around me.
There was Aki, Aki, Aki, and Aki.
My friends.
Which was sad to be honest. Maybe I should start making new friends.
Or not. Having no friends was a much safer option in a world where everyone dies. I was already taking a big risk befriending him,
"Why the fuck not? I am your boss," I said. To be completely honest, that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to be promoted in the first place.
"Because," Aki replied with a shrug and taking a drag of his cigarette. We were on his balcony with beers on the small table and some meat dishes for the side.
"Just acknowledge the turth and the reality," I said, "What? You can address Makima as your superior and not me?"
"You want me to address you like I do Miss Makima?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes!"
"Okay then, Miss Jin,"
"Noooo!!" I shook my head, "You know that's not what I mean."
"Whatever you say, Miss Jin," he said in a respectful tone.
This guy.
I'm telling you this guy is a special breed.
"Forget it," I said and flopped down on the metal chair opposite him. I threw a piece of meat in my mouth and contemplated how to get back while chewing.
Something did come to mind.
"You know, Makima kissed me today,"
"Pffffttt," he spat out his beer instantly.
I'd love that reaction, had the beer not been sprayed towards me.
"...What?" he asked while wiping his lips.
"Makima kissed me," I said, and pointed at my cheek, "Right here,"
His body relaxed when he realised it was not at the lips. But he was still tense and I could tell he wanted to know what led to that situation.
"I don't believe you," he said.
"What's there not to believe? She kissed me right here. Right here on the cheek," I said and leaned forward to show him my cheek.
"Smell it,"
"I am not smelling your cheek,"
"Why? Don't you want proof? Her scent still lingered here," I said.
"Not everyone has a devil nose, Jin," he sighed.
"So you believe me?"
"No,"
"Great, now I can't tease you," I said and leaned back, "I'll make sure to have proof next time. Then you will realise how hopeless your love is and that she has been using you all along,"
He shrugged his shoulder, not caring what I said in the slightest.
How do I tell him? How do i tell him that Makima is a devil that's only using him. Whatever she did to make him fall for her, she was doing it to me. It was proof that she's just a manipulative bitch with a pretty face, nothing else.
He was the only person I cared about in this world. And I won't be able to protect him if he keeps falling for her lies.
Silence fell between us, but it was not awkward.
It's rare to find someone you can share silence with.
"Aki," I called after a while.
"Hm?"
"Why did you become a Devil Hunter?" I asked. I knew the reason already, but I wanted to know if he considered me close enough to share with.
Perhaps I had been quick to consider him a friend because I didn't have anyone in the world. He might not feel the same.
He contemplated for a long time.
Long enough for me to be disappointed and think that he didn't trust me enough.
But then....
"The Gun Devil incident. Have you heard about it?"
"Yes," I said. "A global tragedy that happened in 1990. The fear of guns was at its peak around that time, as there had been no proper gun regulations. The Gun Devil attacked worldwide, killing more than a million people before it was stopped."
Aki gave a nod, "My village was one of the places the Gun Devil attacked. And I lost my family that day,"
I watched his face grow cold and distant. He didn't look like a human when he recalled the event.
"So you joined the Public Safety Commission to get revenge on the Gun Devil," I said.
"That's one way to see it, but not exactly," he said and paused thoughtfully.
"Turth is, I died with my family," he admitted, "For a long time I thought of myself as just a dead body yet moving for the sole purpose of revenge. I didn't really care for myself anymore because in my view, I died a long time ago."
"But these days, I feel alive thanks to you," he said.
"Thanks to me?"
"Thanks to you," he confirmed with a smirk, "Abused since childhood, sold off to a Yakuza by his own mother, stripped of his humanity and then used like livestock for years,"
Now that he put it that way, it was pretty fucked up the life I've lived in this world.
"Then I asked you how you were able to continue living like normal even though such a tragedy happened to you. Did you remember the answer you gave me?" he asked.
I was dumbfounded because I had no idea what my answer was. The conversation was so insignificant from my perspective, I couldn't even remember it.
"You said, I died and lived again," he said.
I chuckled. I didn't know when I said it, but I probably did so as a way to simplify my reincarnation. I didn't put any thought into my answer.
But it seemed Aki had used it to reflect on himself.
"So I thought to myself, if I truly died seven years ago with my family, maybe I can live again too, like you. Not as someone I once was, a brother, a son, but as the new person. Aki and a friend," he looked at me.
"Do you think I can do that?"
"Fuck yeah, you can," I said immediately.
He smiled.
"I think I'll do that," he said, "After the Gun Devil is dead, I think I'll live again."
..
..
[IMAGE]
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POWERSTONR GOALS!!!
We hit 800 stones this week which is the first week of the book. Let's try and double that this week.
300 stones for an extra chapter!!!
Thanks for the support.
And if you want advanced chapter, you can join my patreon : Emmanuel_Capricoyet I intend to put 10 advanced chapter at least although currently, it's not there yet.
...
Author : This chapter turned out worse than intended. I thought most people who read this book will have already seen Chainsawman but many of you don't. So I had to info dump some things while also trying to make everything emotional and meaningful.
Hope you were able to read it like I intended.
....