Gunshots suddenly rang out from behind.
Arai and Kobeni hurriedly turned around.
Instead, they saw a familiar figure standing with their back to them, and the old woman who had just asked for directions lying on the ground.
"What's going on?!"
"Arai, you were almost killed by the one-gun granny just now. If it weren't for me, you definitely would have logged off."
The man slowly turned around.
Arai and Kobeni's expressions went from terror to absolute elation.
"Arata-senpai!"
"Master!!!"
"Didn't expect me to still be alive, did you?"
"Waaaahhh..."
The next second, Kobeni, her eyes red from crying, rushed into Arata's embrace.
"Senpai, it's so great that you're not dead! When we saw your corpse earlier, we thought you wouldn't resurrect!" Arai shouted excitedly.
"I already told you guys I wouldn't die, yet you actually held a funeral for me."
"Master... where have you been these past three days?" Kobeni asked tearfully, buried against Arata's chest.
"I was in a dream training a dog. Once the dog was trained well enough, I didn't need to keep staring at it constantly."
"Training a dog?" The two were puzzled.
"Yes. Training a dog sounds simple, but it's actually hardcore work. Not only do you have to prepare things like leather whips, candles, and ice cubes, but you also have to string the dog up so she doesn't run away."
"Uh... that does sound like hardcore work." Arai didn't understand a single word of it, but he had no choice but to nod along with Arata.
"Arata-senpai, you should go see Denji first! He's been in a really bad mood these past few days. If he knew you were still alive, he would definitely feel much better," Arai urged.
"Miss Makima has been lying in a hospital bed unconscious this whole time, and she constantly makes strange noises. Even the Captain of Division 3 couldn't do anything about it," Kobeni added.
"No need to go see her. Miss Makima is already awake."
The moment Arata finished speaking...
Makima, lying in the hospital, instantly opened her eyes.
She sat straight up.
This sudden reaction scared Himeno so much she jolted, dropping the freshly peeled apple right onto the floor. She thought Makima's corpse had suddenly animated.
"Miss Makima?" Himeno asked tentatively.
Aki Hayakawa heard the voice and looked up toward Makima's bed.
He was equally startled.
But the two of them stood rooted in place, not daring to step forward. Because judging from her expression, Makima seemed a bit strange right now.
Makima glanced at the two of them without saying a word, then got out of bed and put on her shoes.
"Miss Makima, are you alright?"
Creak!
Makima pushed the ward door open and walked straight out.
"Miss Makima, where are you going?"
"Aki, what's wrong with Miss Makima? She hasn't said a single word. She's not a zombie, is she?" Himeno, unable to grasp the situation, hurriedly asked Aki.
Aki looked even more clueless.
"I don't know what's going on either, but we should follow her."
With Aki's suggestion, the two quickly stepped out of the ward and looked in the direction Makima had left.
Makima was walking in a straight line, and in the blink of an eye, she was already heading up the stairs.
Terrified of losing her, the two quickly gave chase.
They followed her up flight after flight of stairs.
"Where is Miss Makima going?"
"It looks like she's heading to the rooftop."
Before they knew it, they had followed her to the highest point of the hospital.
Because Makima was walking faster than them, by the time they pushed open the door to the roof, they saw Makima already standing on the very edge.
She stared off into the distance, completely unmoving.
Her expression carried a hint of melancholy.
"Miss Makima!!!" Aki suddenly yelled.
He had never seen Makima act so strangely before.
Waking up only to stand on the edge of a roof looking at the scenery?
Hearing the voice, Makima turned her head and gave them a glance.
Behind her, Aki's pace grew faster and faster.
But he didn't reach her in time.
Makima took a leap and jumped straight off the roof.
This scene left the two of them utterly horrified.
When they looked down...
Makima had already smashed heavily onto the ground.
Beside her was a patient who had been so terrified they fainted on the spot.
"Sleepwalking time is over."
At this moment, Arata snapped his fingers and smiled.
"Who's sleepwalking?" Kobeni asked from the side.
"It's nothing. I'm going to go help Denji now. You guys can tag along, but don't participate in the fight."
Just as Arata finished speaking, a building not far away was suddenly severed in half by something unknown.
Building after building began to collapse incessantly.
At this moment, Denji had transformed into Chainsaw Man and was locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle with the Katana Devil.
The chainsaws and the katana clashed, sending fierce sparks flying.
In the head-to-head clashes, Denji held a firm upper hand utilizing his three chainsaws.
He beat the Katana Devil back step by step.
But lacking a definitive finishing move...
Denji was ultimately cleanly sliced in half at the waist by the Katana Devil's Iai slash.
"Come out. Load his body into the van."
After the battle ended, the Katana Man yelled toward two men hiding in a corner.
One of the men shouted into a walkie-talkie.
A van slowly drove over.
The two men dragged Denji's upper half, rushing to load it into the vehicle.
"Put that corpse down."
At that moment, a voice rang out.
The Katana Man and the others simultaneously turned to look at the newcomer.
"Arata from Special Division 4?"
Seeing Arata standing not far away, the Katana Man was somewhat surprised.
He had received verified intel.
Makima had become a vegetable and hadn't woken up for three days.
Arata from Division 4 was dead.
It was precisely because of these two conditions that the Katana Man and his group had decided to launch their offensive to secure Denji's heart and attack the various Special Divisions.
Now, Arata was standing before him alive and well, proving the intel sent by their inside man was completely wrong.
"I'll say it again. Put down that half-corpse."
"What should we do?" the man dragging Denji's upper half asked in a panic.
"What are you afraid of? I'll handle this guy."
The Katana Man immediately crouched down, preparing his Iai slash.
Swish!!
In an instant, the Katana Man vanished from his spot.
When he reappeared, he was far in the distance.
Every storefront in his path had been cleanly sliced in half.
However, Arata's corpse was nowhere among the wreckage.
"He dodged it?!" The Katana Man looked back at the results of his attack with slight astonishment.
Such a high-speed slash was actually dodged?
No wonder the inside man said that aside from Makima, Arata was the most troublesome enemy in Division 4.
"He's above you!"
The Katana Man's companion suddenly yelled.
But it was too late.
Arata unleashed the Bat Devil's ultimate move.
An attack descending from the sky smashed directly into the Katana Man.
It forcibly blasted a crater 30 meters in diameter and half a meter deep into the ground.
The Katana Man himself was instantly obliterated by the sonic wave, flattened against the earth.
Although he was still conscious, his body was completely incapable of standing up.
Just as he thought he was done for...
A massive snake suddenly shot into the air and swallowed Arata whole in a single gulp.
Seeing this, the Katana Man revealed a satisfied smile.
"Akane, come help me. I need blood."
The 'Akane' the Katana Man referred to was the mastermind behind this operation: Akane Sawatari, a civilian Devil Hunter contracted with the Snake Devil.
"You got taken out that fast?" Akane walked over to the Katana Man and asked, casually dripping blood into his mouth.
"I was careless. I didn't expect him to dodge my Iai slash."
After drinking the blood, the Katana Man's body instantly recovered.
"We need to leave immediately. I heard from the inside man at the hospital that Makima has woken up. Not only that, but she scared one of our assassins, who was supposed to ambush her, completely unconscious."
"Makima woke up?!" Hearing this, the Katana Man grew nervous.
"I'm the one who woke her up."
At this moment, that familiar voice rang out again.
Arata was currently standing on a rooftop, looking down at them.
"He's not dead?!" Akane found it equally unbelievable. A person swallowed by the giant snake had actually survived?
"Just what kind of monster is this guy?"
"I don't know. You hold him off, I'll take Denji's corpse and go," Akane said.
"Ah? Why isn't it you holding him off?"
"No need to discuss it. None of you are leaving."
The moment his words fell, Arata leapt from the rooftop.
By the time he landed, he had already taken on Freddy's form.
Swish!!
The next second, his figure flashed behind the two of them.
Before they could even react, Arata's bladed claws had already pierced straight through both their abdomens.
Akane spat out a mouthful of blood and died on the spot.
The Katana Man didn't die, but he was severely wounded.
Immediately following, Arata pulled his bladed claw out of Akane's body and thrust it straight through the Katana Man's chest from behind.
He forcibly ripped the Katana Man's heart out.
Blood sprayed out like sauce, dyeing Arata's arm completely red.
Hiding in the distance and witnessing this scene, Kobeni's legs instantly gave out, and she slumped to the ground.
"Arai-senpai, how about we quit Special Division 4..."
"Don't be afraid, Kobeni. Arata-senpai will protect us. From now on, we just need to follow him."
"You almost died just now! Are you still willing to stay here?!"
"Himeno-senpai told me that if I perform well, she'll help me contract a new devil. Once I contract a new devil, my strength will definitely increase significantly."
While the two of them discussed in the distance...
Arata dragged the two corpses and found a secluded place with no one around.