Chapter 118: Subjugating the Hybrids (Bonus Chapter)
Only a handful of nations possessed portions of the Gun Devil's body. Consequently, Hybrids (Weapon-Humans) represented the strongest combat force available below the tier of the Gun Devil itself.
Nations with the Gun Devil would never use its power unless absolutely necessary; it functioned much like a nuclear weapon—primarily as a deterrent. If any country were to use it first, they would undoubtedly be targeted by the entire world. The only exception was in the original story, where the collective will of the world wanted Makima dead; thus, when the United States first deployed the Gun Devil, they weren't "besieged" by every other nation.
Currently, Chiya had Reze by his side and five other Hybrids lying in his Kamui dimension. Subjugating those five wouldn't be difficult. While there were power gaps among Hybrids—ranging from the powerhouse Chainsaw Man (Denji) and the Crossbow Hybrid (Quanxi) to the relatively weak Katana Man—it mostly came down to the individual's martial arts, combat intelligence, and the level of fear the specific weapon commanded from humans and devils alike.
"If you want to follow me, then follow me," Chiya said bluntly. "But from now on, I may call upon you to work for me at any time."
His plan was to turn Reze and the five Hybrids in his space into his own assets. Elite subordinates were, after all, an extension of one's own power.
"Of course! I decided long ago to dedicate my body and soul to you, Master~" Reze replied without hesitation.
"You..." Shingetsu felt a wave of helplessness. She had thought Reze would finally be leaving, but instead... Yet, this was Chiya's decision, and she knew she had no right to object.
"Don't be so petty, Miss Shingetsu~ Are you that afraid I'll steal the man you like~?" Reze teased.
"You!..."
Having her feelings exposed made Shingetsu feel her dignity was at stake, and she flared up momentarily. However, she restrained herself; she didn't have a logical counter-argument and didn't want Chiya to find her annoying.
"Enough, stop bickering. Let's consider our next move," Chiya said seriously. "We can't stay in the Soviet Union much longer. For now, you will both live with me in Japan."
They had just slaughtered a portion of the Soviet military high command. Staying wouldn't necessarily be dangerous—no one could actually threaten them—but it would lead to countless inconveniences in daily life. Moving was the best option. Japan was the most suitable destination for now, though Chiya was already looking for a chance to clean out the Japanese Cabinet, so "living in Japan" was likely temporary.
The world was vast; besides the USSR and Japan, there were plenty of places to go. Even the Kamui dimension could be made habitable if he truly put his mind to it.
"But before that, I'm going to see Minister Levan to collect my salary."
Chiya planned to stay the night and head to Levan's office tomorrow morning to resign and settle his pay. He definitely wanted his money before leaving.
"I'll go with you," Shingetsu added. It wasn't just about her salary; she also needed to find a way to sell her villa, otherwise, it would be a waste.
"Ah, I just started a few days ago, so I don't think I have much of a salary coming," Reze remarked.
"We'll worry about tomorrow's business tomorrow. For now, it's time to deal with these Hybrids," Chiya said flatly.
With that, he manifested the five Hybrids he had "killed" at the military base from the Kamui dimension. Their corpses were in a gruesome state; if they weren't immortal Hybrids, they would have been dead several times over.
These five had already reverted to their human forms. In this state, their corpses only needed to be fed blood to be revived; they didn't need their triggers pulled to restart, which would cause them to transform back into Hybrids immediately. In the original story, after Katana Man was sliced in half by Chainsaw Man, the scene cut to him waking up in human form, only to be subjected to the "Nut Devil" torture.
"Reze, I assume you have specialized binding techniques?" Chiya asked.
As a high-level agent, Reze was naturally a professional in this regard. As expected, she nodded.
"Then tie them up so they can't transform. It'll make it easier for me to talk to them," Chiya said.
While he could easily one-shot these five again, it was better if they stayed quiet. Between Susanoo and Kamui, he had exerted himself heavily tonight; it was impossible not to feel exhausted. The drain on his vitality and ocular power was immense, and prolonged use of Susanoo caused a deep, stinging pain throughout his body. After all, Susanoo worked by materializing his own life force; his body couldn't feel "normal" after being partially hollowed out.
Fortunately, it wasn't unbearable. Thanks to his self-healing capabilities from his Vitality attribute, a few days of rest would see him fully recovered.
"On it," Reze said, getting to work.
She happened to have several spare ropes lying around. Truth be told, she had originally intended to use them on Chiya...
Reze proceeded to tie her five former colleagues to five separate chairs. Using professional methods and specialized ropes, she bound them in positions where they couldn't exert any leverage. Unless their physical strength was freakishly abnormal, they weren't getting out. She was certain none of these five were that strong.
"Done. They'll be perfectly behaved like this," Reze said confidently.
She then used a dagger to make a small cut on her forearm, feeding her blood to each of the five. Shingetsu remained cautious, standing guard beside Chiya and watching them like a hawk, ready for any sudden contingency.
After a while, the five began to regain consciousness.
"Ugh...?"
"Where is this? Why am I...?!"
"This place... what the hell happened?"
The five were completely disoriented upon waking. Their last memories were of that earth-shattering sword strike; once the energy wave swallowed them, they had lost consciousness instantly, likely not even knowing they had "died."
"Ahem—"
Chiya cleared his throat, drawing their attention. He didn't recognize the Axe or Hoe Hybrids, but he remembered the human forms of the other three.
The Flamethrower Hybrid was a man with sharp facial features and a braid, known as Barem Bridge. The Spear Hybrid was a man with a buzz cut and glasses (name unknown). The Whip Hybrid appeared to be a young woman in her early twenties, though she was actually nearly 80 years old—Hybrids' appearances remained frozen at the moment of their transformation.
"Let's talk," Chiya said.