"Huh?"
Reze's legs, caught completely off guard by Hayakawa Aki's katana, were severed in a single stroke. Dazed, she tumbled heavily onto the cold, jagged rubble.
"I will never hand Renji over to someone of unknown origin like you."
Hayakawa Aki gripped Renji's arm firmly, pulling him down from Reze's now-limp back. Then she re-gripped her gleaming katana with both hands, raised the blade, and aimed it at Reze's neck.
"Wait! Wait a moment! Don't cut!"
Renji spoke up, struggling to rise from the ground. To be honest, his body—though not seriously injured from the continuous fighting—was nearly out of magical energy and felt utterly exhausted.
"Renji?!"
"Let me say a few more words to Reze. I still have things to tell her."
"But…?!"
"Please!"
Hayakawa Aki hesitated, unable to understand why Renji would stop her at this critical moment. But seeing his expression and determination, she finally relented and lowered the raised katana.
Renji walked over to Reze, crouched down, and looked at her current state. His heart ached.
"Does it hurt? I'm sorry…"
"Big liar."
[Ding~ Detected Reze's sad emotional state. System rewards 20 points.]
"Reze, don't struggle anymore. You can't take me away—but you can stay. Believe me, I can do this. No matter what Devil comes after you next, or Man's Religion, or characters from other worlds—even if it costs my life—I will absolutely protect you."
"It's going to explode, you big liar."
"What?"
Renji was puzzled—then suddenly realized. He whipped his head toward Reze's two severed calves.
Both calves were completely engulfed in fire, transforming into pure-black intercontinental missiles. They were glowing. They were really about to explode.
—BANG!!!—
The first-floor lobby was instantly consumed by flames. The blaze raged, thick smoke billowed, and the shockwave tore the lobby doors from their hinges, sending them crashing into an old shop across the street. The shop's glass shattered; a massive hole was punched through its wall.
...
"Ow, ow, ow…"
As the smoke and dust slowly cleared among the street ruins, white wings fluttered, batting away the settled debris. The Angel Devil released Renji from her embrace, whimpering as she clutched her head.
A few meters away, a massive slab of wall was pushed aside, revealing Kato Kari in the gap.
Kato Kari released Hayakawa Aki from her protective hold and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close… Oh everyone's alright, right? Sorry I'm late~"
Hayakawa Aki blinked in surprise, but after confirming Renji was also unharmed, she exhaled in relief. She looked at Kato Kari.
"Thank you… This is the first time I've truly felt it's good to partner with a Devil."
At that moment, everyone sensed something and turned toward the office building. Amidst the thick smoke, Reze emerged, her legs completely restored.
Hayakawa Aki gripped her katana tightly, shielding Renji—but Reze stopped a few meters away, raising her hands high.
"Wait, wait. Renji, can you persuade your companions to call a truce? Just for a moment?"
Hayakawa Aki, the Angel Devil, and Kato Kari all turned to Renji, clearly awaiting his decision. Hayakawa Aki spoke first.
"Renji, you might have known her before, but she clearly deceived you. I hope you can set aside personal feelings. Your existence is very important to Public Safety—and also… very important to me. Besides, this is a matter of life and death."
Renji looked at Reze and shook his head helplessly. Reze continued.
"But I'm already anemic and almost out of stamina, while you still have three people plus a big liar. Isn't that too unfair?"
"Hmm… now that I think about it, she does have a point."
Kato Kari nodded thoughtfully. She looked at Renji.
"So, Renji, should we go easy on her?"
Renji smiled wryly.
"Don't ask me that again. I've already answered."
Kato Kari then looked at Hayakawa Aki, who answered without hesitation.
"No."
Kato Kari then glanced at the Angel Devil, who yawned and shook her head.
"I just want this to end quickly so I can go back to sleep."
Kato Kari finally turned back to Reze.
"See? Sorry"
"Is that so… What a shame…"
A gentle breeze stirred behind Reze, gradually strengthening, lifting the dust from the ground high into the air.
"In that case… then I understand. There's no other way. I didn't want to do this—because if I do, I can't guarantee whether any of you will survive."
The wind grew fiercer, sweeping up gravel that tumbled and clashed in the air, producing sharp,crisp sounds.
The gale began to howl, reaching an extreme, almost unimaginable wind speed. The roaring sounded like the anguished cries of ghosts and gods.
A car—from who knew where—was caught by the raging wind as if by an invisible giant hand. Its entire frame was lifted, flying and spinning through the air, metal parts shrieking from the friction of the gale.
"That's—my car! It was parked nearby!"
Hayakawa Aki shouted, shielding herself with her arms.
A building not far behind Reze suddenly emitted an earth-shattering roar. More than half of the structure was instantly crushed by an irresistible, colossal force.
Accompanied by billowing smoke and deafening crashes, the entire building collapsed like fragile building blocks. As the rubble rose, a terrifying monster, dozens of meters tall, slowly emerged from the debris.
The monster's appearance was truly unbearable to behold. It resembled an obscenely obese infant—yet possessed a nauseatingly deformed form.
Its head was missing a large chunk, leaving crimson brain matter exposed. Bizarrely, strands like intestines extended in coils, tightly wrapping around its massive body, meticulously encasing every part except its two chubby calves.
Around these intestinal coils swirled substantive vortices of condensed wind. They rotated rapidly around the monster, layer upon layer, and all the surrounding sand and debris were swept in and devoured completely.
"Lady Reze… the Typhoon Devil is here!!!"
Kato Kari clung desperately to the ground, her body nearly parallel to it as she resisted the immense pressure of the gale in a prone position.
Her eyes, behind the bird-beak mask, were fixed on the distant, slowly approaching Typhoon Devil. Fortunately, its movement was sluggish—buying them a little more time.
"Huh…? So… should we still call a truce? Rest for a bit? By the way… is it still not too late to ask for a truce now?"
Kato Kari ventured.
Patreon Rene_chan for advanced chapters