𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄? (𝗵. 𝗮𝗸𝗶) ✓

19

After some time, the rookies quieted down and their cohort regrouped. Their mood was still restless, though; after all the excitement, it was almost guaranteed that the skulking, hotel-dwelling Devil had been awoken and was keeping close tabs on them.

Their formation had rearranged into something more even and strategic, although it was mainly accidental. There were two rows of three, each with one senior, one human rookie and one Devil. The black sheep out of the seven was Hanasaki, who lagged a few feet behind Aki. She had sunken back into a typical absent-minded condition, and was probably the least on-edge member of the unit. Mostly because she was almost completely unaware of what was going on.

"But anyway, I don't see any Devils here," Denji said, swinging his axe back and forth, like a child with a toy weapon. "Can we really trust that flesh piece you got?"

A sulk had quickly come over him once he realised that his reward for killing the Devil wasn't going to be delivered anytime soon.

His bored act didn't have to last soon, though. At once, the entire company came to a halt as Himeno uttered all of three words:

"Aki. It's coming."

Some distance away from those at the head of the congregation, the door of a hotel room abruptly creaked open. Despite the variety of attitudes among the group, all of them seemed to hold a collective breath as they anticipated the first sign of a foreign entity within the building.

The sound it made as it approached was strange; like footsteps, but spaced further apart, lighter, and as if its soles were totally flat against the floor. Everyone braced for whatever freakish monster would crawl round the corner

'Freakish' happened to be the perfect word to describe it. The Devil only reached halfway up the shins of anyone in the group, probably due to the fact that it only had three body parts: a head, a hand and a foot, the latter of which being attached on either side of the first like oversized, limblike ears. It was unmistakably a human head, albeit one whose skin had sagged and tightened in unnatural places around its skull. The thing's blackish, patchy hair hung lank from the back of its scalp, and its eyes looked like they were rotting their way into their sockets.

The Devil waddled in a lopsided fashion till it planted both its 'feet' on the ground, sitting facing the Hunters.

Initially, all were too stunned to react. But the creature had no problem on its end. Out of all seven members, Kobeni was the most rattled — she had already built up a fearful tremor that shook her whole frame. And this made her a perfect target.

It let out a throaty, shuddering noise, something that might have been a gruesome laugh. Then, rheumy eyes darting to its prey, it lunged.

It attacked sideways on, like a crab, which may have been comical in some other, less grisly predicament. Kobeni yelped in horror, but instead of retreating, froze where she was, like her feet were suddenly rooted into the hallway carpet.

The other people in her team were thankfully a little more nimble.

"Caught you," Himeno said firmly, her right arm outstretched and her splayed fingers suddenly clenching into a fist.

Although the gesture seemed unusual at first, the effect was soon seen on the Devil itself. Just before she had closed her hand, it had been mid-leap; and with a sickening crunch, and an invisible pressure on its sallow cheeks, it stayed that way. Appearing to defy the laws of gravity, the now very baffled head was stuck above the ground, surrounded on all sides by empty space.

Despite the extra time bestowed on her, Kobeni remained motionless, muttering some unintelligible gabble as she waited for a blow that would never come.