"Arata is dead?"
Himeno revealed an expression of disbelief.
"He couldn't even die at Miss Makima's hands, how could he suddenly die?"
"I don't know either, but he's lying on the bed completely motionless. No matter how much I yell at him or push him, he doesn't react."
Denji's expression and tone didn't seem like he was joking at all.
Himeno immediately put out the cigarette in her hand, stuffed the remaining half into her pocket, and said, "Aki-kun, let's go back and take a look. It's highly likely to be one of Arata's pranks."
"Then Himeno-senpai, we'll go collect supplies," Arai said from the side.
"Alright. Once you're done collecting, come find us in the first room. Remember, don't wander off."
"Understood, Himeno-senpai."
The six of them split up.
Himeno and Aki Hayakawa returned to the room where Arata was.
Right now, Arata was exactly as Denji described, lying on the bed with his eyes closed, completely motionless.
"Arata, wake up. Don't joke around with us at a time like this."
Himeno didn't believe Arata would pass away for absolutely no reason.
After all, his abilities had been praised by Miss Makima.
"Hey, are you going to keep pretending?" Himeno leaned close to Arata, slowly brought her mouth to his ear, blew softly, and whispered some secret words again.
After the whispers, Arata still had no reaction.
Now, Himeno completely gave up.
Because there wasn't a man alive who could withstand her whispers.
If there was, he could only be a dead man.
"Looks like your master really is dead." Himeno shook her head helplessly.
"No way!! Master." Denji threw himself onto Arata, shaking him relentlessly.
"Himeno-senpai, do you know how he died?" Aki Hayakawa asked.
It was worth noting that Arata was the rookie Aki Hayakawa approved of the most, bar none.
He would much rather the person lying on the bed be Denji instead of Arata.
"I don't know. My master just said he was going to lie down for a bit, and ended up like this," Denji answered.
"Oh?" Himeno rubbed her chin in thought for a moment, then pressed her ear against Arata's chest to listen for a heartbeat.
At this moment, Arata's physical characteristics were no different from a dead person's.
No heartbeat, completely cold all over.
But even so, Himeno didn't feel that Arata was actually dead.
"Your master might have entered some kind of state. After all, he promised us he would always protect Division 4. He's not the type of person to go back on his word."
"Himeno-senpai, you seem to trust Arata a lot."
"Of course. Aki, you have to trust a woman's intuition. Arata is definitely not dead. But as for what exactly is going on, we'll just have to ask him when he wakes up."
"What do we do now?" Denji asked.
"We guard this room and wait for Arata to wake up. The reason Arata suddenly turned out like this must be because he's finding a way out for us."
Himeno looked at Arata on the bed, believing from the bottom of her heart that he could absolutely create a miracle.
"Himeno-senpai."
Just then, Arai and Kobeni returned carrying bags big and small.
"Where's Power?"
"She said she didn't want to stay with us, so she's staying in her own room alone."
"But is he really dead?" Arai glanced at Arata on the bed, looking a bit worried.
Even though they had just met and didn't have much of an emotional bond yet.
The death of a comrade at a critical juncture like this would only deal a heavy blow to their willpower.
"He's not dead. He just entered a different state. Who knows, maybe he turned invisible and slipped out like my Ghost Devil."
"Really? That's great. Then we just need to wait, and someone will come rescue us." Kobeni's tense nerves instantly relaxed quite a bit.
"That's right, everyone. We just need to quietly wait for Arata to return, and we'll be able to get out."
Himeno shouted with high spirits, wanting to use this to motivate the group.
Afterward, they started checking the bags Arai and Kobeni had brought back.
The only edible things were two cups of instant ramen, four pieces of chewing gum, and a bar of chocolate.
"This stuff isn't nearly enough to eat."
"Don't be discouraged, Kobeni. At least we have something to eat. If we ration this out, we should be able to hold on until Arata gets back."
"What... what if he doesn't come back, what if he's really dead?"
"He won't be. I believe Arata can save us."
"Listening to Himeno-senpai is absolutely the right call. Besides, it just started. We all need to keep our spirits up." Arai also followed Himeno's lead in comforting Kobeni.
"Why don't we go to sleep first to conserve our energy?" Aki Hayakawa suggested.
"I actually am a bit sleepy. I guess I'll just sleep next to my master."
Denji yawned and lay down next to Arata.
The others each found a room to sleep in.
Leaving only Himeno and Aki Hayakawa standing watch in the hallway.
"Himeno-senpai, do you have any more cigarettes?"
"Only two left. We'll take one each. Unless you really can't help it, keep holding onto it."
Aki Hayakawa took the cigarette offered to him and put it in his pocket.
"Himeno, you go rest first. I'll take watch for a while."
"No need. You just healed from your injuries, you need the rest more. I'll take the first shift, you go sleep. I'll wake you up later."
"Alright then." Saying that, Aki Hayakawa walked toward the room next to Denji's.
Leaving Himeno alone in the silent hallway.
....
An unknown amount of time passed.
Denji was shaken awake by Himeno. He asked groggily, "What time is it?"
"There is no time here. The clocks have been stuck at 8:00 and haven't moved."
"Is my master awake?"
Himeno glanced over. "Not awake yet. If anything, his body is getting even colder."
"Then why did you wake me up?"
"We found the devil."
"A devil!!" Denji suddenly wasn't sleepy anymore. He shot up quickly. "Let's hurry up and kill it so we can go back."
"We can't. Aki and I attacked it just now, but it only made it grow bigger and bigger."
"Foolish humans, let us form a contract!!"
Just then, waves of a very bizarre voice echoed from outside the door.
It was loud enough to make the people from every room gather in the hallway.
When they saw the Eternity Devil at the end of the corridor, every single one of them dropped their jaws in shock.
The Eternity Devil was a massive slime cobbled together from various human limbs.
Or rather, an oversized pile of sludge completely covered in human body parts.
Just looking at it was enough to make one feel nauseous.
"What... what kind of monster is this!" Power said.
"It should be the Eternity Devil that Arata mentioned."
"If we kill it, we can go back, right?" Kobeni asked, her body pressed tightly against Himeno.
"Yes, but this guy can't be killed."
"Can't be killed? Let the great me give it a try." Refusing to believe it, Power charged forward, dual-wielding two blood blades.
Swish swish!!!
The two blood blades slashed relentlessly against the Eternity Devil's body.
"It hurts!!"
The Eternity Devil kept screaming, but at the same time, its body continued to expand.
Its size grew from initially being 20 centimeters below the ceiling to pressing entirely against it.
The sprawling limbs slowly began to envelop Power.
"Power, fall back!"
Faced with limbs attacking from all directions, Power hurriedly retreated.
Her body was almost entirely engulfed.
"Why is this guy getting bigger the more I chop him?" Power's face was covered in sweat.
"It's useless. My heart isn't here. What you're seeing is merely my stomach. Aside from forming a contract with me, you cannot leave here alive."
"A contract? What do you want to contract?"
"Kill Denji and hand over his heart, and I will let you go."
"You want Denji's heart!!"
The group didn't expect the Eternity Devil's contract condition to actually be Denji's heart.
Denji looked even more bewildered.
He didn't even know the Eternity Devil.
Yet the other party desperately wanted his heart.