"What is this?"
The Bat Devil felt a sharp sting on its back. It reached around and grabbed.
A rat was wriggling in its palm.
Squeak, squeak!!
Even as it struggled, the rat didn't stop gnawing on the Bat Devil's fingers.
"Even the rats are starting to pick on me."
With a hard squeeze, the rat was instantly crushed into meat paste. The Bat Devil casually tossed the carcass into its mouth and chewed. The taste and texture were exactly like the chewy nougat candies humans ate.
Squeak, squeak!!
Right then, the Bat Devil felt the noises behind it sounded wrong. When it turned around, a massive swarm of rats was already leaping toward it. One after another, they latched onto the Bat Devil's body, biting and tearing frantically.
"Where did all these rats come from!!"
The Bat Devil was completely bewildered. It had hidden in that wooden shack for days and hadn't seen a single rat to quench its thirst. Yet now, hundreds of rats were attacking it out of nowhere.
For a moment, it completely panicked. Even though rats were weak and it could crush a handful with one grab, their sheer numbers and suicide-squad-like relentless assaults were overwhelming.
In less than half a minute, the Bat Devil was crawling with rats, its body bitten and covered in wounds.
"Dammit, I can't even beat a bunch of rats anymore."
Seeing the situation turn dire, the Bat Devil quickly spread its wings and took to the sky. Its body spun violently in the air, continuously shaking the rats off. Meanwhile, the rats on the ground relentlessly chased the Bat Devil's flight path.
"Are these rats insane? They aren't even afraid of me."
The Bat Devil hovered in the air to catch its breath. It unleashed the same sonic wave attack it had used against Arata directly at the rats below.
Instantly, a crater over ten meters wide was smashed into the ground. It thought that would be the end of it.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!!!
But right then, a loud droning sound echoed from not too far away. The Bat Devil looked up, only to see a pitch-black cloud of flies swarming straight toward it.
"What the hell is going on today?! Why are so many bizarre things happening!!!"
The Bat Devil took another massive breath and fired a sonic wave at the swarm of flies. Because it was tired, the power of this attack was significantly weaker, but it still managed to scatter the majority of the flies.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!!!
However, the first swarm was nothing but a smokescreen. The swarm of flies trailing behind it was clearly vastly larger in number.
Before the Bat Devil could even react, the pitch-black mass completely enveloped it, forming an airtight seal.
Immediately, endless screams of agony rang out. Unable to stay in the air any longer, the Bat Devil hurriedly crashed back down to earth.
But waiting for it on the ground was a massive horde of rats.
For a moment, there wasn't a single safe place to land in the sky or on the earth. Amidst agonizing groans, the Bat Devil—along with the Leech Devil still inside its body—was eaten completely clean down to bare skeletons.
"It's over."
With the battle concluded, Arata slowly walked toward the two skeletal remains. At that very moment, the flies in the sky and the rats on the ground rapidly retreated and vanished.
"Better collect these two corpses before those guys wake up."
He bit his finger and drew a circle of blood around the two skeletons. The two corpses slowly sank into the ground.
Once the bodies were dealt with, Arata woke up Power and Denji.
The second Denji woke up, he immediately confronted Power. "What the hell did you do to me just now!!"
"The great me was just using you as bait. After all, that's about the limit of your value."
"Dammit, I'm gonna make you taste what it feels like to be sneak-attacked!"
Denji threw a punch at Power. The two of them started brawling right then and there.
Arata stood to the side and didn't stop them. It looked like the two needed to vent some frustration. As long as they didn't use weapons or transform, he'd let them be.
However, judging by the battle, Denji's combat power without transforming into Chainsaw Man was clearly inferior to Power's.
He took several consecutive punches from Power, only managing to land two or three weak strikes in return.
That was, until Denji's fist landed squarely on Power's pectoral muscles. His entire body instantly petrified.
Seizing the opening, Power sent Denji flying with a single punch.
After landing, Denji didn't counterattack. Instead, he just lay on the ground, his eyes glued to his own fist. He seemed to be intensely savoring the feeling he had just experienced.
"How about that? See? Your strength and the great me's strength aren't even on the same spectrum," Power stood next to Denji and mocked him. She actually thought Denji was dazed because her punch was too powerful.
"Alright, that's enough. Power, your cat."
Meow!!!
At the sound of the meow, Power whipped her head around. "Kitty!!"
Power rushed over excitedly and threw her arms around the cage. She gazed at the cat with pure adoration. The cat very affectionately licked Power's face.
"You haven't given the kitty a name yet, have you?"
"Do cats need names?"
"Of course. Devils have names, so naturally, a kitty needs a name of its own too."
"Let's name it Arata then."
"Are you doing that on purpose?" Arata sighed.
"The great me is bad at naming things. Think of one for me."
"Let's call it Yuumi."
"Alright, Yuumi-ba it is. Yuumi-ba."
"It's just Yuumi, drop the 'ba'."
"What exactly is its name? You're confusing the great me."
"Yuumi." Arata sweatdropped. Keeping it as simple as possible was the only way it would work for Power. Saying too much would only confuse her more.
"Denji, time to go." Arata walked over and kicked Denji.
Denji finally snapped out of his trance. After pulling him up, the three of them—plus one cat—got into the car.
Right then, the woman lying in the passenger seat finally woke up. Seeing the three of them, her face filled with terror.
"D-don't... don't eat me."
No one in the car paid any attention to her. To prevent her from jumping out, Arata locked all the doors.
Just like that, the woman in the passenger seat rode all the way back to the city in a state of absolute panic.
"Get out. We have no intention of driving you all the way home."
The door locks popped open. The woman scrambled out of the car and bolted.
"Master, where to next?"
"How about the arcade?"
"Hell yeah, I've never been to one before."
Just as the group was discussing heading to the arcade, Arata's phone suddenly rang. The caller ID was an unknown number. But he didn't even need to pick it up to know who was calling.
"Hello, Himeno-senpai."
"How did you know it was me?"
"Only a few people know my number. I'm guessing Noriyuki Natsume gave it to you."
"That's right, I got it from Natsume. Wait, what exactly is the relationship between you two?"
"Did you call just to ask me about my relationship with Noriyuki Natsume?"
"Of course not. Hurry back to headquarters. Miss Makima wants to see you guys."
"Understood." Arata hung up the phone and turned to the other two. "Arcade is canceled. Miss Makima wants to see us."
"Miss Makima! I haven't seen her in forever! Let's hurry back to headquarters!" Denji couldn't contain his joy. His emotions had clearly been fully captured by Makima already.
The group didn't talk much on the drive back. When the car pulled up to the headquarters entrance, Himeno was already waiting for them outside.
"Ooh, where did Arata get this new ride? Looks like the latest model too," Himeno said, stroking the Mercedes fondly.
"Went out and made some extra cash. Someone gave it to me as a gift."
"You found a side gig that pays this well? Also, Public Safety Devil Hunters aren't allowed to just go out and execute missions on their own. If Miss Makima finds out, she will definitely punish you."
"As long as Himeno-senpai doesn't say anything, no one will know."
"Lend me this car for a few days, and I won't tell Miss Makima."
"No problem." Arata pulled out the keys and tossed them straight to Himeno.
The group then followed Himeno to Makima's office. Makima was currently sitting in her chair, resting her chin on one hand, waiting for them.
"Miss Makima, we're back!" Denji was the first to rush into the office and shout, eager for her attention.
Makima just offered a soft smile and stood up. "Thank you for your hard work, Denji-kun."
"Doing work for Miss Makima is nothing at all!"
"By the way, how is Aki-kun doing?"
"He's still at the hospital recovering. It shouldn't be anything too serious."
"While Aki-kun is away, Arata, I'd like you to lead the squad."
"No problem," Arata nodded.
"However, I have a very important mission to assign to you all."
"A very important mission?"
"Yes, very important. Your mission is to hunt down the Gun Devil."