Chapter 81: The Powerhouse from China!
As soon as he finished speaking, the katana in Otonashi Chiya's hand slashed several times toward the Camera Devil.
But it was still a second too late; he hadn't completely cut the devil down. The Camera Devil activated its ability once again, rewinding time and restoring its entire body to a pristine, undamaged state.
At this point, the private-sector Devil Hunters hiding in the back realized they couldn't just stand by and watch anymore.
"Its devil power can't be used continuously! It takes at least ten more seconds before it can use it again, and every use increases the interval!"
Chiya and Shingetsu didn't show much surprise at the sudden voice. Chiya had noticed these private hunters long ago; he simply hadn't bothered with them. Shingetsu, as usual, remained indifferent, showing no emotional fluctuation.
Chiya decided he didn't want to waste any more time. A bloody glow flashed in the palm of his right hand, and the Blade of Wrath instantly manifested. He had grown much more proficient with the Wrath Devil's power; this time, he didn't summon the Scarlet Throne. The standard form of the Blade of Wrath was more than enough to deal with the Camera Devil. The ultimate form—fused with the Scarlet Throne—was overkill and far more taxing on his stamina.
Chiya swung the Blade of Wrath casually. Not only did he cleave the Camera Devil's body in two, but the scarlet energy of the Wrath Devil surged into the devil's remains, ravaging its interior with terrifying force.
Without giving the Camera Devil a moment to breathe, he followed up with a second strike, blasting the devil's body into nothing but ash. Two Gun Devil flesh fragments clattered to the floor—clearly the source of the Camera Devil's unnatural strength.
[Ding! Host has successfully hunted the "Camera Devil." Obtained attribute points: 40!]
Although the Camera Devil had consumed two Gun Devil fragments, the points awarded weren't particularly high. This was because few people naturally fear cameras; the otherwise weak Camera Devil had simply been artificially enhanced by the flesh fragments to possess troublesome abilities. Without overwhelming strength, it truly would have been a nightmare to handle.
"Holy crap! That strong? He just one-shot the Camera Devil in two hits?!"
"I was waiting to see the 'Tsar' perform, but his partner took the whole spotlight."
"No wonder he's the Tsar's partner. With that strength and those East Asian looks, he's definitely from China! I've heard everyone in China knows Kung Fu—it's full of mysterious masters!"
"..."
The shock was immense for these private hunters who had just tasted the Camera Devil's cruelty. Their group of over ten people had been demolished by those two abilities—especially the time rewind, which was practically cheating. They couldn't kill it in one shot, and the moment the cooldown ended, it would reset. Meanwhile, they couldn't stay in its line of sight for long.
Private hunters usually have physical stats only slightly better than a normal person's. The invisible attack every three seconds was already hard to endure, and the ultimate move every ten seconds was a death sentence. Fighting that devil had been a miserable experience, yet this youth from China had finished it with effortless ease.
Meanwhile, Shingetsu's eyes were fixed on the gold-and-red longsword in Chiya's hand. He was wondering if his Absolute Defense could have withstood that strike... After a moment of mental estimation, he concluded it likely would have, though coming out completely unscathed would be difficult.
Chiya retracted the Blade of Wrath into his palm. Suddenly, he sensed something. My ocular power... it seems to have grown slightly stronger?
He had noticed this before, but the reinforcement was so minuscule he hadn't given it much thought. However, as it happened more frequently, he began to pay attention.
He was now fairly certain of one thing: using the Wrath Devil's power could strengthen his ocular power. Because his use of that power was influenced by the emotion of rage, the Mangekyo Sharingan was essentially absorbing that anger to fuel itself.
While this process consumed his life force and ocular power, the consumption was temporary, whereas the enhancement to his ocular power's upper limit was permanent.
To use a "Mana Bar" as an analogy: if his original bar was ($100/100$), using the Wrath Devil's power would change it to ($95/101$). Of course, this was just an example. Even if the enhancement was minuscule each time, the prospect of it stacking up was incredibly exciting.
As for the reason, it was likely because the "Wrath" of the Wrath Devil perfectly resonated with his Mangekyo Kamui. After all, the original owner of these eyes was famously a "child of rage."
"Life force can be boosted through my 'Vitality' attribute, and ocular power can be strengthened via the Wrath Devil. This works out perfectly," Chiya thought happily. Otherwise, if his Vitality attribute grew too high in the future, the strength of his eyes wouldn't be able to keep pace with his physical health.
Shingetsu, unaware of why Chiya was dazing out, reached down and picked up the two Gun Devil fragments. With these, they could return and report the mission as a success.
"Mission complete. Let's go," Shingetsu said to Chiya.
Chiya snapped out of his thoughts and nodded immediately. Before leaving, he didn't forget to address the private-sector Devil Hunters: "We'll leave the cleanup of the scene to you and the police. Goodbye."
With that, he departed alongside Shingetsu.
"Whoa! He actually greeted us! And he speaks Russian!"
"What a polite youth. And with strength like that, Leningrad will be even safer now that we have both the 'Tsar' and this boy from China."
"I wonder if he knows Lord Quanxi from China. I'd love to meet her someday~"
The private hunters were buzzing with excitement. Currently, official and civil relations between the USSR and China were quite good. Since they had already subjectively decided Chiya was Chinese, their opinion of him was quite high. Outside of the Military Department and high-ranking officials, ordinary people didn't have the clearance to know that Chiya had actually come from Tokyo Public Safety.
But then again, calling him Chinese wasn't exactly wrong, either.
Back at the Leningrad Military Department.
Chiya and Shingetsu went straight to Director Lev's office to hand over the two Gun Devil fragments. Even Japan, which didn't possess a piece of the Gun Devil's main body, valued these fragments immensely—so it went without saying how much the USSR, which held the highest percentage of the Gun Devil's body, prioritized them. Collecting more fragments allowed them to continuously bolster the main body's power; if the USSR wanted to remain the world's leading superpower, they had to treat these things with extreme importance.
Now that the fragments were secured, Director Lev's next concern was how Chiya and Shingetsu were getting along.
"Excellent! So, how was the synergy between you two?"
AN-
Nahh,we cookin
Enjoyy the barbecue
Think I'mma turn in for today