Chapter 44: Teased by the Wrath Devil
The team's combined efforts had only managed to damage the Earthworm Devil's inconsequential body; they couldn't even dent the exoskeleton shielding its head. In stark contrast, Vice Captain Otonashi had finished the devil in a single strike. That massive crimson sword wave, in particular, left their pupils trembling in shock.
"This... the Earthworm Devil should be dead for good now, right?"
"That must have been Vice Captain Otonashi's devil power. It was breathtaking... and it felt like even we were being influenced by it. Just what kind of devil is that?!"
"Let's not guess blindly. The Vice Captain's devil is surely a vital secret that shouldn't be exposed lightly."
Still reeling from the shock, they stared blankly at the Earthworm Devil's remains. Meanwhile, Chiya had already retracted the Blade of Wrath into the palm of his right hand. Summoning the blade caused a continuous, albeit faint, negative drain on him even if he didn't swing it.
He retrieved the fragment of the Gun Devil's flesh from the Earthworm Devil's corpse and tucked it safely into his pocket.
"You are the most unique human I have ever encountered, bar none. If anyone else used my power the way you just did, they would have completely lost their sanity," the Wrath Devil's voice rang out in surprise.
"To tell you the truth, I wouldn't have much of a problem even if I swung it a few more times," Chiya said flatly.
With his current "Vitality" attribute, his limit was roughly ten consecutive swings of the Blade of Wrath. Beyond that, his Mangekyō Sharingan would temporarily hit its capacity for absorbing rage, and only then would his sanity begin to erode.
"Is that so..." The Wrath Devil fell into a momentary silence. Though it sounded unbelievable, she felt an inexplicable sense that this human youth was telling the truth.
Chiya turned to his team. "Let's do one more sweep for any remaining devils. We need to be absolutely certain before we leave."
"Right!"
"Yes, sir!"
After this battle, their respect and admiration for Vice Captain Otonashi had reached a new peak. Not only were his martial arts peerless, but his devil power was utterly terrifying.
Chiya searched through all the apartments on the second floor and found two or three Earthworm Devil clones that appeared to have dropped dead on the spot. Since these clones were manifested from the main body's devil power, once the source died, the power vanished completely.
What a waste... Chiya lamented inwardly. Those were "living" attribute points!
But he truly had no choice. He couldn't have kept dodging the main body just to hunt down every last clone—he could have pulled it off alone, but it would have put his teammates in grave danger. No matter how much he wanted attribute points, he wouldn't completely disregard the lives of his team.
Besides, transferring five people into his Kamui dimension to protect them was unnecessary; not only would it be a massive drain on him, but the secret of the Kamui dimension would be exposed.
They moved up to the third floor. There, they found several more clones that had died instantly. It was now certain that no threats remained.
However, in the very last apartment on the third floor, Chiya found a middle-aged man who was still alive and a little girl, barely clinging to life, who was missing an arm.
As he entered, he witnessed the man let out a furious roar. The man took a kitchen knife and hacked off his own right foot, which was pinned under a collapsed wall. Ignoring the geyser of blood from his severed ankle, he scrambled desperately to scoop up the little girl and threw himself to the side.
BOOM!
At that exact moment, another section of the wall collapsed, crashing down onto the spot where the little girl had just been lying.
Seeing this, Otonashi Chiya immediately kicked aside the rubble blocking the doorway. "We are devil hunters from Tokyo Public Safety. You're safe now."
Ishii Rinka rushed over to stop the bleeding for both the man and the girl, applying her devil power to stabilize them. The middle-aged man clutched the little girl tightly, weeping uncontrollably, his eyes bloodshot from crying; she was clearly his daughter. She had lost an arm to the Earthworm Devil, and her life still hung in the balance.
A look of sorrow crossed Rinka's face as she comforted the man. "Sir, your daughter is still breathing. There's a high probability she can be saved."
She wasn't lying. The existence of devil powers had revolutionized the medical field; her own healing ability surpassed many traditional methods, and the specialized devil powers used at Tokyo Hospital were even more extraordinary. Usually, Public Safety hunters received priority treatment, making it difficult for ordinary people to get a turn. Fortunately, Rinka's ability alone was enough to save both the father and daughter.
Chiya walked over and, using only one hand, lifted the collapsed wall to retrieve the man's severed foot. In this world, devil powers made reattaching limbs much more successful, essentially elevating replantation surgery to a new level—provided the severed limb was recovered.
Shortly after, Chiya found the little girl's severed arm inside the corpse of a clone that had died on the spot; it was still quite intact. Apparently, the Earthworm Devil clone hadn't chewed the arm after biting it off and hadn't had time to digest it.
He handed the arm and foot to Ishii Rinka. "I'll leave it to you to get them to the hospital. I can cover the costs for the replantation surgeries."
"How could we let the Vice Captain bear the cost alone? we want to help too!"
"Me too!"
The others were eager to assist the father and daughter. They were particularly moved by the father's actions—how he had decisively hacked off his own foot to save his child. Two replantation surgeries would likely cost around a million yen; to a Public Safety hunter, a million yen wasn't a staggering sum. If the pair had insurance, it would be even cheaper. Divided among the team, the cost was negligible.
"Fine," Chiya nodded. "Ishii Rinka, take them and go first. The rest of us will stay behind to brief the police."
"Understood!" Rinka immediately helped the pair leave.
At that moment, Chiya sent a mental message to the Wrath Devil: You saw that just now, didn't you? It was rage that allowed that father to push past his limits. If it weren't for the anger born from his desperate need to save his child, his daughter wouldn't have survived.
"..." The Wrath Devil did not reply.
Despite the silence, Chiya continued in a serious tone, If that father knew of your existence, I think he would thank you. At the very least, I want to thank you right now.
"I don't know if he'd thank me, but I do know you have a silver tongue. If you were talking to a human girl, you'd probably have her wrapped around your finger by now," the Wrath Devil finally spoke, her tone carrying a hint of mockery.
However, she didn't seem to mind; in fact, she found it quite amusing.
"..."
It was Chiya's turn to be speechless. He was trying to be profound, and she was basically accusing him of being a smooth-talker!