"Himeno-senpai, the window..."
Arai stood up excitedly.
His eyes were glassy, but his finger pointed straight out the window.
"Arai, what's wrong with you?"
"He's fine, just a little too excited."
Arata tossed the playing cards in his hand onto the floor, announcing the conclusion of this Gouji tournament.
"Why did you throw the cards? The great me was about to take all three of you on!"
"It's over. We need to get out of here."
"Out? So soon?! The great me hasn't played enough yet!"
"You might not have played enough, but I'm tired." Himeno also tossed her cards down, rolling her stiff shoulders.
"There are birds, I can see outside!!"
Arai quickly lunged at the windowsill, staring outside with uncontrollable excitement.
At this moment, the scenery outside the window surpassed any view Arai had ever seen before.
"Hey!! Can you see me?!"
He yelled loudly at the police officers below.
One of the officers below also noticed Arai constantly waving and laughing loudly by the window.
"Captain, look over there."
The young officer quickly patted the police captain's shoulder.
"Don't bother me. The people from Public Safety Special Division 3 will be here soon. I need to welcome them."
"It's the people from Division 4! They're still alive."
The officer forced the captain to turn around.
He saw Arai continuously waving from the 8th-floor window.
"That's Division 4!!" The captain stood frozen, unable to believe he was seeing the Devil Hunters of Division 4 again.
"That's right, they're still alive."
"They've been missing for four days. How could they suddenly appear? There's definitely something fishy going on."
"Captain, you have to believe in science. There's no such thing as ghosts in this world."
"Even if it's not a ghost, it might be a devil disguising itself as a human to lure us up there."
"The captain has great foresight! So going by that logic, the person waving at us is a devil."
"Probably. Let's not act rashly. We'll wait until the Devil Hunters from Division 3 get here."
Meanwhile, an enthusiastic Arai noticed that the police officers below were collectively ignoring him.
He felt a wave of confusion.
Could it be that the people below couldn't see him?
"Arai, what's wrong? Why are you standing by the window yelling?"
Himeno walked over and gazed into the distance.
Her eyes filled with the dense clusters of staircases and the array of flashy, colorful signboards.
For a moment, she spaced out.
"We... we've escaped the devil's control?"
As she spoke, Himeno abruptly turned to look at Arata.
"Don't look at me. I didn't kill the Eternity Devil, someone outside did."
"Then it must be Denji who killed the devil! The great me knew it all along."
"Earlier you said Denji would definitely be killed by the devil, now you've changed your tune."
"Don't frame the great me, I never said that."
After a brief bout of bickering, the group hurriedly rushed out of the room.
Just in time to see Denji walking toward them in human form, covered head to toe in blood.
"Denji, did you kill the Eternity Devil?" Himeno quickly asked.
"I think so. I was hacking away, and suddenly the Eternity Devil couldn't regenerate anymore."
"Going by that, it really was you who killed the Eternity Devil."
The group unanimously agreed that Denji was the one who killed the Eternity Devil, showering him with a barrage of praise.
"Oh right, where did Kobeni go?"
Himeno turned around to look for Kobeni, calling out her name one by one down the hallway.
Until the door to one of the rooms slowly pushed open.
Kobeni, her face completely covered in blood, appeared.
"Kobeni, are you alright?" Himeno hurriedly grabbed Kobeni's hands and asked.
"I'm fine. I just killed the Eternity Devil."
At this moment, the fear that previously dominated Kobeni's face was completely gone.
Replacing it was a kind of reborn calmness.
"You killed the Eternity Devil? Are you kidding me?" Himeno furrowed her brow, not expecting Kobeni to suddenly drop a line like that.
"The person knocking on the door earlier was the Eternity Devil. It was holding its heart and insisting I kill it."
"Himeno-senpai, what are you guys talking about? We should get out of here, right?"
Denji, carrying the cheers of the group, walked up to the two of them.
"Kobeni just said she was the one who killed the Eternity Devil." Himeno relayed what Kobeni had said truthfully to the others.
The group's reaction was exactly the same as Himeno's when she first heard it.
First shock, then sizing Kobeni up.
"Kobeni is probably just traumatized from the scare, so she's talking nonsense." Arai knew exactly what Kobeni was capable of, and subconsciously assumed she was speaking gibberish.
"If you made up an excuse because you're worried about being kicked off the squad, I suggest you just come clean," Aki Hayakawa said coldly.
A girl as timid as a mouse killing a powerful devil?
It was basically like she was making a joke at their expense.
"A devil that even the great me couldn't kill, and you managed to kill it? Are you insulting the great me?"
"Don't be too hard on Kobeni. She's just so scared she doesn't know what's going on."
Seeing that everyone refused to believe her, Kobeni actually got anxious. "It really was me who killed the Eternity Devil."
"Right, right. If thinking that makes you feel better, there's nothing I can do."
"Tell the great me, how did you kill the Eternity Devil? By relying on those trembling legs of yours?" Power finished her sentence and burst into loud laughter.
"With this!!" Kobeni pulled a bloodstained dagger from her pocket. "I stabbed it in the heart, and it died."
"Alright, stop being unreasonable. Once we get back, submit your resignation report voluntarily."
Saying that, Aki Hayakawa ignored Kobeni.
The others also treated it as a joke and laughed it off.
Only Kobeni was left with her cheeks puffed out like a frog, harboring a stomach full of pent-up frustration.
She finally managed to do something massive, and not only did no one believe her, they mocked her for it.
She would have been better off not saying anything at all.
"Where did Arata run off to again?" While looking for everyone, Himeno realized Arata was missing again.
"Himeno-senpai, I'm over here."
A door suddenly opened, and Arata walked out, wiping his hands.
"Where did you go off to this time?"
"Taking care of some personal business."
"You don't mean...?" Himeno glanced at Arata's pants, then looked at his wet hands.
"Hey, I'm not that kind of guy! Don't let your mind wander." Arata quickly cut off Himeno's dirty thoughts.
"Alright, regardless, since Denji killed the devil this time, it's time for me to fulfill the reward."
Himeno pulled Denji close, pinching his cheek with one hand.
The two stared deeply into each other's eyes.
Denji blushed, very cooperatively closing his eyes and puckering his lips.
Himeno's lips slowly drew closer.
The others nearby felt awkward and quickly turned around.
But suddenly, a hand shot out horizontally.
Forcibly separating the two mouths that were about to meet.
"What are you doing?" Himeno pulled back and wiped her lips.
"Master!!"
"I think you guys got it wrong."
"Got what wrong? Isn't the reward supposed to be a deep kiss with the winner? Do you want something else?"
"A deep kiss is right, but the person you're kissing is wrong."
"Oh, Arata, you're not trying to say you killed the Eternity Devil, are you?" Himeno smiled, mistakenly thinking Arata was jealous.
"It wasn't me. The person who actually killed the Eternity Devil was Kobeni. You should be swapping spit with her."
"What??"
"I told you! It really was me who killed it!" Kobeni shouted forcefully, clenching both fists.
"Master, your elbows are bending outward again."
"I'm just speaking the truth, fair and square. The one who killed the Eternity Devil really was Kobeni. If you don't believe me, you can check the hallway security cameras. Denji was only attacking the Eternity Devil's stomach, while Kobeni attacked its heart and dealt the fatal blow."
"So what comes next shouldn't be a romance, it should be a yuri."