𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄? (𝗵. 𝗮𝗸𝗶) ✓

15

"Kon."

After the word was spoken, it seemed that all other sound had been sucked from the world, and even the wind held its breath. Then came a sudden roar of noise as the air itself was split apart, and a colossal being tore out of nothingness. Its jaws snapped together with a deafening crunch of bone. Then, all was quiet.

Even though the beast was easily as large as some of the buildings lining the street, the part of it that had made an appearance was nowhere near its full body; in fact, it was only its head. It resembled a fox, although obviously much larger, and its long, coarse fur was white, patterned crimson, more reminiscent of a kitsune than its non-mythical counterpart. And, instead of just two, it had at least a dozen eyes arranged symmetrically on its noble face, each one a livid red and filled with swirls.

"Looks like it's the Leech Devil. May I swallow?" Its proud, resonant voice rang through the quiet of the street. The dark-haired man it was addressing bowed his head, and replied,

"Do it."

Blood trickled through its massive teeth and down its thin black lip. With a soft hiss, a slow, fine mist enveloped both the road and sidewalk, covering the grotesque body of the Leech Devil, whose body was still frozen upright, blood spurting from its headless neck.

After a few moments the mist began to dissipate, leaving no trace of the corpse behind. What remained was the mangled body of Denji, who not only had half an arm missing, but also a tremendous hole that cut right through his torso, left by the puncturing tongue of the Leech. His other two companions lay on the concrete, Power and Meowy, both unharmed, but the first seemingly paralysed and the latter caged.

After the bleary remnants of the white fog had cleared away almost completely, it also revealed that Aki was not the only one standing there. Behind him stood four others; Hanasaki, and three Public Safety members that Denji did not know. The most self-assured looking was a young woman, appearing to be around the same age as Aki, with dark-bluish hair and a black patch over her right eye. On Aki's other side was a tall man, broad-shouldered with several scars marring his complexion. The third stranger was a small, dainty brunette who looked barely older than a college student. She was posed tentatively in front of the scar-faced man, hands clasped together in worry.

"The Leech Devil's extermination has been confirmed," Aki spoke, his voice unerringly calm even when presented with such a bizarre scenario.

He then turned to the man and the shorter woman. "I want rookies handling search and rescue, as well as evacuation."

They accepted his orders with a 'yes, sir', the man like a lively soldier and the woman with a squeak. Both of them seemed reasonably inexperienced despite their differences in nature, Hanasaki noted as they hurried off. Then, Aki faced the other woman.

"Himeno-senpai, you've got seniority, so keep watch for more Devils."

"On it." She departed to patrol the area, still wearing the bold smile she had arrived on the scene with.

Now that the other duties had been taken care of, the only thing left to do was to retrieve the two responsible. Denji was lying on his back, sprawled on the wet, fleshy tangle of the Bat Devil's guts. It was not only the Leech Devil that had done him damage; he also had a sticky sheen of half-dried blood coating his forehead and streaking his face from the chainsaw blade that had half-sprouted from the front of his skull. One of his eyes had also popped out, hanging from its socket by a nerve, contributing to his maddened, senseless appearance.

As Aki and Hanasaki came closer, they heard him muttering under his breath, although neither of them could discern what he was saying. Aki approached him directly, slinging his intact arm around his shoulder and lifting him up off the ground so he could drag him off.

"You and the Fiend need to be debriefed," he reprimanded him, taking no notice as Denji's babbling rose to a distressed wail.

Hanasaki's gaze followed them as they ambled off into the maze of wreckage and plumes of white mist that still curled off the floor. Then, it flickered to Power, who was still motionless on the mass of intestines.

"What about Meowy?" she asked Hanasaki indignantly. The cat she was referring to pawed at the bars of its cage, mewing in helplessness. Hanasaki faltered, and frowned. The sound was a painful likeness of Lawliet. She walked over to the two, crouching down beside the cage, and held up her hand to the bars. The cat rubbed its head against her lovingly, and began to purr.

Many police cars and ambulances had now arrived on the scene, and the street was bathed in flashing red-and-blue lights. The high-pitched drone of sirens filled the silence between them with their never-ending noise. Hanasaki stared at Meowy for a short while, occupied in thought, then stood up to speak to a nearby police officer.

"Have the cat sent to a veterinarian for a thorough checkup," she told him, and he obeyed with a nod of his head.

Well, one thing was for sure. Denji and Power weren't being left unsupervised anytime soon.

Or...

...sigh.