Chapter 42: A One-Man Army, Breaking Through
Early the next morning, Tokyo Public Safety.
"Special Division 1, move out!"
Otonashi Chiya had already assembled his team. Two sedans departed from the headquarters toward the mission site. Many Public Safety hunters had already purchased their own cars and homes; these two vehicles were the private cars of two team members.
Chiya, naturally inside one of the cars, addressed the four others with him: "Once we arrive, you all stay outside on guard to prevent the devil from escaping."
He had already reviewed the specific details of the mission. Last night, a powerful devil appeared in an apartment building in the suburbs. "Powerful," in this context, meant it had consumed a fragment of the Gun Devil's flesh. Private sector devil hunters were the first to respond, but unfortunately, one was killed and several others suffered varying degrees of injury.
Tokyo Public Safety had anticipated that the private sector wouldn't be able to handle this devil. As soon as it appeared last night, they had notified Special Division 1 to be ready. Early this morning, the official subjugation order was issued, with Vice Captain Otonashi Chiya leading the team. This was a test specifically designed for him by the higher-ups.
"Yes, sir!" the four replied in unison.
[Unassigned Attribute Points: 44]
Chiya checked his system panel and noticed he had accumulated a significant amount of points. To ensure this mission was settled swiftly, he began allocating them immediately.
[Ding! Allocation complete: Vitality +24, Strength +10, Speed +10!]
[Strength: 30]
[Speed: 30]
[Vitality: 124]
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the site.
The location was a long, rectangular three-story apartment building. The area had already been cordoned off by police to keep uninformed civilians away. As soon as Chiya stepped out of the car, he showed his credentials to the officers on duty.
"We are devil hunters from Tokyo Public Safety, Special Division 1. We are here under orders to subjugate the devil."
The two police officers bowed—the standard salute for Japanese police. One reported the situation: "All survivors from the building have been escorted to safety. The devil is likely inside right now, feasting on the corpses of the victims."
"Understood," Chiya nodded. He turned to the nine members behind him. "As I said before: four of you guard the perimeter. If the devil tries to break out, intercept it immediately. The rest of you, follow me inside."
With that, he strode toward the building, his left hand gripping a standard katana while his right remained ready to summon the Blade of Wrath at a moment's notice.
"Yes, sir!" the nine shouted.
Four members moved to their posts at the four corners of the building, while the other five followed Chiya inside.
"So, it's Special Division 1 this time. They even sent a Vice Captain; that devil should be as good as dead," one of the officers remarked.
"But that Vice Captain looks so young, like a high schooler. I can't believe someone that age is already a Vice Captain..." the other whispered.
It was common knowledge that Special Division 1's overall combat strength was superior to the other divisions.
Though the building only had three floors, each floor had ten units, totaling thirty small apartments. Chiya and his team needed to search them one by one.
"Stay together," Chiya reminded the five men with him. "We search room by room. Slowly."
While splitting into three pairs to search all three floors simultaneously would be more efficient, Chiya wouldn't be able to ensure everyone's safety that way. If they encountered the devil separately, casualties would be almost inevitable.
The five team members obeyed the Vice Captain's orders without question.
As soon as they pushed open the door to the very first unit, they came face-to-face with the devil. It was an Earthworm Devil, about five or six meters long, its entire body covered in a dense thicket of human fingers. Its massive maw was lined with large, sharp barbs, and its eyes were so small they were practically invisible.
Chiya's reaction was the fastest. In the span of a single breath, he crossed the room and swung his katana, slicing vertically through the Earthworm Devil's head. Knowing the biological traits of an earthworm, he aimed to destroy the brain for a guaranteed kill; simply lopping off the head without destroying the brain might allow the segment to survive. He gambled that the devil inherited this trait.
[Ding! Host has successfully hunted an "Earthworm Devil Clone." Attribute Points gained: 5!]
Chiya's expression shifted slightly. No wonder it was so easy to kill—it was only a clone. It likely didn't have the Gun Devil flesh inside it.
The other five stood frozen, their weapons barely even drawn.
"Huh? Is it over already?"
"As expected of the Vice Captain! One strike and that bastard devil is dead!"
"Wait, something's not right. A devil with Gun Devil flesh shouldn't be this easy to kill, right?"
Chiya didn't give the corpse a second glance and turned to walk out of the room.
"This isn't the main body; it's just a clone. We continue searching the other rooms," Chiya said in a low voice. He had a premonition that this building was going to be crawling with Earthworm Devil clones.
"A clone? For an Earthworm Devil, that makes sense."
"Does that mean there are a lot of them...?"
The team's expressions turned grim. If the number of clones exceeded a certain point, they would be outnumbered, making the situation extremely thorny.
"They're coming!"
The moment Chiya stepped into the hallway, he looked over to see several Earthworm Devils slithering rapidly toward them. Judging by their length, they were all clones. The five team members paled and immediately took up combat stances. They were starting to panic—their worst fears were coming true!
Yet Chiya charged forward alone. He dodged the snapping jaws of the clones with high-difficulty maneuvers and counterattacked instantly. One Earthworm Devil lunged directly at his face; he leaned his torso back effortlessly to avoid it. Even as his head nearly touched the floor in a deep arch, he swung his blade, crushing the devil's brain.
[Ding! Host has successfully hunted an "Earthworm Devil Clone." Attribute Points gained: 5!]
[Ding! Host has successfully hunted an "Earthworm Devil Clone." Attribute Points gained: 5!]
[...]
As Chiya pushed forward, he managed to defend and counterattack simultaneously, annihilating the clones with overwhelming force. He remained completely unscathed.
The five men behind him were stunned, their mouths hanging open in disbelief. Though they knew the Vice Captain was strong, seeing him carve through devils like vegetables using nothing but martial arts and a standard katana provided a massive visual shock.
For a moment, they forgot what they were supposed to be doing and could only watch like fools. The Vice Captain was a literal one-man army!