"Hahahaha!"
"The Great Me is dying of laughter!!"
Looking at Denji's dazed expression as he gripped the mop, Power lay on the couch, laughing uproariously. The way she flailed her arms and legs made her look like a cockroach stuck on its back, completely unable to flip over.
"Hey, don't laugh on the couch," the cameraman said, dissatisfied.
"What do you mean? What right do you have to tell the Great Me where I can laugh?" Power stopped laughing and deliberately put on a vicious, man-eating expression.
Terrified, the cameraman hastily backed up and turned to look at Arata.
"Power, roll into the bathroom if you want to laugh. That couch is a prop for the next scene. If you mess it up, we'll have to set it up all over again," Arata stated.
"Then the Great Me won't laugh. How weird, getting scolded just for laughing on a couch." Power grabbed Meowy and hurried away from the spot of trouble.
Arata walked over to Denji and comforted him. "Don't be sad, Denji. Master will arrange another role for you."
"Really? But that star playing the female lead is pretty cute," Denji said, once again recalling Asuka Saito's appearance.
"Stars rely on either their looks or their acting. Without a specific skill, it's hard to get the audience to like them."
"Then I'm definitely the type to make a living off my looks," Denji said, stroking his chin with unwarranted confidence.
"I think you're more like the type to make a living off being shameless."
"Master, I'm still your apprentice, after all! You have to give me a good role next time. Preferably one with some interaction with the female lead."
"No problem, leave it to your master. After all, this is a massive IP movie, and it's going to have even more installments than the 007 franchise."
"What's the movie called?"
At the mention of the title, a smile spread across Arata's face as he slowly replied, "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
"A Nightmare on Elm Street? That sounds like a horror movie."
"What horror movie?" Just then, a familiar voice rang out from outside the door.
Himeno and Aki Hayakawa, whom they hadn't seen in a month, entered the apartment together.
They were carrying various bags, big and small, filled with souvenirs and local specialties they had brought back from Nara Prefecture for Division 4.
But when the two saw the heavy camera props and strangers inside the room, they couldn't help but stand rooted to the spot.
Aki Hayakawa frowned and hurriedly went back into the hallway to check the doorplate. After confirming it was indeed his own apartment, he came back inside.
"We didn't go to the wrong place. This really is my apartment." Aki had only gone out for a training trip, and he returned to find his home had essentially been hijacked.
"Arata, what is going on here?" Himeno asked on Aki's behalf. "Why has Aki-kun's home turned into a public venue?"
Besides Arata, everyone else had been participating in training. The strangers in the house could only be guests invited by Arata.
"Didn't I mention to you guys before that I wanted to shoot a movie? I decided to hurry up and film it while you were out and I have the money to fund it."
"Is it that Young Mother one? Arata, didn't you say you'd let me be the female lead? You started shooting before I even got back?"
Knowing they hadn't walked into the wrong apartment, Himeno and Aki changed into their slippers and walked further inside as they spoke.
Meanwhile, the others in the living room were busy with their own tasks, paying absolutely no mind to the people talking at the door.
After setting their numerous bags aside for the moment, Himeno rolled her aching shoulders.
"Let the Great Me see what's inside!"
"Don't mess with them. We'll take them out and distribute them later." Aki blocked the bags, halting Power's curiosity.
"I don't have plans for Young Mother at the moment," Arata explained. "Besides, I haven't decided on the male lead yet."
"No need to decide. I'll be the female lead, and Aki-kun can be the male lead!"
"Uh... we'll talk about that when the time comes." Arata hastily shut down the topic. If Himeno knew the plot of that particular genre, she would absolutely be thrilled with his casting choices.
"Then what are you filming right now?"
"A Nightmare on Elm Street."
"That sounds like a horror movie?"
"It is indeed a horror movie."
"Horror movies are banned contraband. You can't shoot that!" Himeno reminded him.
After all, devils existed in this world.
As long as people continuously created fear, new devils would be born from it.
Previously, Germany had produced a vampire-themed movie titled Nosferatu.
Once the horror film premiered, it sparked massive popularity. After all, it was hailed as the world's first true horror movie at the time. Naturally, many people were interested in it.
But no one could have anticipated the consequences it would bring.
It wasn't until the Vampire Devil—born from the movie's prototype—came into existence that people realized the severe danger of horror films.
Overnight, the Vampire Devil drained an entire town of its blood.
Fortunately, the devil retained the weaknesses depicted in the movie and was ultimately slain during the day by a combined effort of Germany's top Devil Hunters at the time.
Since then, horror movies could no longer be brought to the big screen. The production of horror films was unanimously banned across the entire nation.
"I looked into it. Horror movies follow the same logic as adult action movies. You can't shoot them openly, but you can do it underground. If you search online, you can still find them."
"Guns and poppies are contraband too, so why are they still around?" Denji chimed in logically.
"Then what type of horror movie are you shooting? Just please tell me it isn't vampires," Himeno sighed.
"The protagonist of this horror movie is the Nightmare Devil I contracted. It's essentially a new method to help me increase my strength."
"Not bad, Arata! To think you actually came up with the idea of shooting a horror movie to boost your own devil's strength." Himeno's admiration for him was growing more and more.
"Since you put it that way, I'll turn a blind eye. But you absolutely cannot appear on camera! If people recognize a Division 4 Devil Hunter acting in a horror movie, it'll put Makima in a very difficult position."
"Don't worry. I won't be on camera. Only Freddy will."
Now knowing what Arata was up to, Himeno and Aki didn't say anything more. They could only let him be.
After all, making a movie was Arata's dream. Stopping him would be equivalent to crushing that dream.
It wasn't just out of goodwill; they also didn't really dare to stop him.
Arata's strength was obvious to everyone. He was the pillar of Division 4. Without him, the division wouldn't be sailing nearly as smoothly as it was now.
"Denji, how was your training?"
Shifting the topic, Himeno looked at Denji and immediately asked about the results of his month-long hell.
"Teacher Kishibe really does have some skills. I'm much stronger now than I was before."
"The Great Me has gotten stronger too! Aki, wanna fight?!" Power couldn't wait to show off her new combat skills.
"I only fight enemies. I won't raise my hand against my own colleagues," Aki said calmly.
He and Himeno hadn't been idle in Nara Prefecture either.
They had undergone advanced studies alongside the members of Division 3.
Furthermore, Aki had even contracted a new devil.
"It's best you don't fight Aki-kun. Because he has contracted another devil," Himeno warned with a smirk.
"What devil?" Denji and Power widened their eyes, awaiting the answer.
"The Future Devil."
"What was the price?" Arata asked.
He already knew about Aki's new devil, but he wanted to find out if his own appearance in this world had altered the tragic ending the Future Devil had originally foreseen.
"There was no price!" Aki said indifferently.
"He said that only by contracting with me could he live longer in the human world."
"And he also said he wanted to witness the greatest event in history."
"What event?"
"It's an ending that even the Future Devil cannot fully divine. Only by contracting with me can he learn about it bit by bit, and he promised to tell me in advance the moment he gets any information."
Upon not hearing the Future Devil tell Aki, "You will die in the most gruesome way," Arata finally felt at ease.
But at the same time, he was well aware of the butterfly effect.
Although things were currently developing in a good direction, unpredictable variables were also quietly at play.
And the "greatest event in history" Aki had just mentioned... was highly likely to be that very variable.
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