Chapter 241: Opening of Fear
Sakura and Ren took Pochita to downtown Tokyo and found a restaurant where they had eaten before, and the food was quite good.
After ordering their dishes, they started chatting.
"Speaking of Ren, what exactly is Makima's identity?"
Sakura, incapacitated by curiosity, asked Ren.
"Ah, you mean this."
Ren reflected for a moment and said, "If I tell you, it's a spoiler and could affect your next experience watching Chainsaw Man. Do you really want to hear?".
"Then... forget it."
Sakura, still containing her curiosity, said, "But I'm still very curious about one thing...".
She looked at Ren and asked again, "It seems... you've involved yourself, Pochita, and... Ayumi in Chainsaw Man?".
"What?" asked Ren, somewhat surprised, and blinked.
"Denji is you, Ren, right? Pochita... I don't need to say more," said Sakura confidently. "And Ayumi is Koji, right? Every time I see Koji, I feel like she looks a lot like Ayumi. Ayumi is always very cautious and shy, which is very similar to Koji's performance in the manga, but you, Ren, exaggerated her performance a bit."
Ren blinked and thought about it carefully... So Ayumi looks a lot like Koji Higashiyama in Chainsaw Man.
At least the personality is quite similar.
This is something he didn't expect...
And what about Denji?
Why doesn't he believe it? He and Denji have different personalities, right? And he's not like Denji, who is obviously not a normal person, right?
He is a normal person! As normal as can be! As for Pochita... That's because the chainsaw devil Pochita first appeared in Chainsaw Man, and then Ren rescued and adopted the puppy, so the current Pochita was named Pochita.
"No."
Ren scratched his head and said, "In Chainsaw Man, only Pochita... well, he's a character I drew. The rest of Ayumi and I are just coincidences."
"No! I don't look like Denji at all!"
Seeing Ren swear that he and Denji were not alike, Sakura blinked, obviously with an expression of "Do you think I'll believe you?".
"Really?" Sakura asked again in disbelief, and then asked, "So... were you referring to Makima...?".
"No."
Ren said firmly, "A character like Makima is rare in reality, and she didn't end up being...".
"Forget it."
He realized he had almost let it slip, and quickly retracted what he was about to say.
"Makima ended up..."
Sakura, with great curiosity again, asked, "What happened to Makima in the end?".
"Sakura, if I tell you, it will still influence your next impression," Ren repeated.
At that moment, the food was about to arrive.
"Sakura, eat first. Try this ginger braised pork first!".
He quickly took a piece of ginger braised pork and put it in Sakura's bowl, saying.
"Alright...".
Sakura had no choice but to give up and began to taste the ginger braised pork from the bowl.
After dinner, they went back to play the escape room.
Ren had played with some friends and colleagues in his previous life. It can only be said that the escape room is, at most, for the novelty and interactivity.
However, it was Sakura's first time playing, and she was still a little scared.
The scared Sakura hid in Ren's arms, but he didn't mind.
He didn't realize that Sakura blushed while hiding in his arms...
After playing the escape room, Ren went to the vegetable market with Sakura to buy vegetables and then home to prepare dinner.
After Ayumi's visit, the three of them enjoyed dinner.
Thus the day passed.
...
A week flew by.
This week, Ren drew chapter 71 of the Gun Devil from Chainsaw Man and the first two chapters of the short horror manga he promised Takashi.
With the help of [Swift Star (Diamond)] and the presence of three assistants, some problems arose midway.
However, the drawing work of Chainsaw Man was not affected, and the drawings of the first two chapters of the remaining short horror manga were done by Ren himself.
Therefore, Ren felt no pressure to open two commissions and delivered the manuscripts on time.
In addition to the drawings of Chainsaw Man, naturally, there were the drawings of the first two chapters of the short horror manga.
He handed over the drawings of the first two chapters to Takashi for review, as the purchase price of the next manga will be determined by Takashi based on their quality.
Ren took the drawings and went to the Akatsuki Cultural Company again.
"Amamiya-sensei, is this your new work?"
Takashi looked at the folder in front of him and asked with curiosity.
"Yes."
Ren replied with a smile, "Didn't you say the new magazine would be published soon? There's still a week left, right?".
"Well... Actually, you just need to submit your manuscript before next Wednesday."
Takashi replied, "After all, your Chainsaw Man is still being serialized."
"It's okay, although something happened midway, there's still plenty of time."
Ren scratched his head and said.
"Did something happen?" asked Takashi with curiosity.
"My assistants have psychological problems, so I gave them a vacation to go home first," said Ren helplessly.
In fact, while they were drawing the sketch in front of them, Yuka and the other two inevitably saw the grotesque image he drew with his [Living in a Painting (Master)] skill.
Then, the three of them fell into the trap.
Among them, being a girl, Yuka's psychological defense is naturally weaker against such terrifying things.
That's why she seemed a little depressed.
Ren gave her a break first.
Later, seeing that Hiroki and Akutami Yuta were a little restless and depressed, he feared that something might happen to them, so he gave them another break.
In the end, Ren finished the rest of the painting by himself.
Fortunately, before that, Yuka and the other two had finished the sketch of Chainsaw Man.
So Ren didn't have to be busy with both.
"Really?"
Takashi suddenly realized and said, "Yes, you should also pay attention to psychological problems, and you too, Amamiya-sensei. If there's really a problem, it's good to suspend publication for one or two issues from time to time and go to the hospital for a check-up."
He tried to remind Ren without leaving a trace.
After all, after reading Fire Punch, he had been worried about Ren's mental state! "I'm actually fine."
Ren gave a thumbs up and said, "And I think, as a mangaka, I have plenty of time to rest, so I don't need another break~".
The main reason is that he is a plagiarist and doesn't have to think about the plot of the manga.
Most mangakas don't submit their manuscripts on time, mainly due to plot problems, and they need to spend a lot of time conceiving.
Otherwise, the plot drawn lightly on impulse can cause dissatisfaction among manga fans.
Therefore, many mangakas even send sketches directly because they don't have time to submit their manuscripts.
Of course, there are also those who conceive the plot very carefully, but the result is a disastrous defense, and they still receive reprimands from the manga fans.
"Anyway, you need to take a break from time to time," said Takashi, and then smiled and added, "Alright, thank you for submitting your manuscript, sensei. I'll read it when I get back. I have other things to do now."
Since the new Manga Horror Night magazine won't be published for a while, Takashi is in no hurry to see Ren's new work.
"Alright."
Ren heard him, got up, and left.
Takashi also got up and saw Ren off. After all, Ren is now a renowned mangaka in the manga world.
After seeing Ren off, he returned to his desk and got to work hard.
Until it was time to leave work.
"Finally, I'm off work."
Takashi breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to leave work.
At that moment, he saw the draft that Ren had given him.
"By the way, I still haven't read Amamiya-sensei's manga," said Takashi, remembering.
He left the drawings aside and went out to chat with some colleagues, but upon returning, he forgot about the matter.
"So, why don't I... take it back and read it?".
He was about to grab the folder, but suddenly remembered the pain he felt when reading Fire Punch.
He hesitated for a moment, but soon laughed again and said, "This time it's a horror manga, not like Fire Punch. What am I afraid of? I've seen dozens of horror movies... How can I be afraid of reading manga?".
After saying that, Takashi took the folder and drove home.
After having dinner again with his wife and children, he took a bath and went to the study.
"Takashi..."
Zhang Yanting took a cup of hot milk and brought it to Takashi, saying, "Are you going to keep working?".
"Don't worry, I'll just read it for a while, and it only has two chapters; I won't read it all night like before."
Takashi smiled and comforted her, saying, "Look, it's just a small sketch, I'll read it again when I'm done."
Zhang Yanting felt a little relieved upon hearing this.
But still, she said, "Don't think about work when you get home, can't you read it tomorrow when you go to work?".
"Don't you have time now? I'm not busy, I just have time to read it."
Takashi said with a smile, "Don't worry, this is just a horror manga, don't you know me? I'm one of those people who wasn't even scared when they saw The Ring!".
"You're very bold," Zhang Yanting scolded him with a smile, and then went back to bed to sleep.
Ten minutes later...
Zhang Yanting, lying in bed, felt the quilt move.
"You're back... damn it..." she muttered, turned over, and hugged Takashi.
But at that moment, she discovered that... Takashi's body was trembling uncontrollably.
When she opened her eyes again, Takashi was pale and sweaty.
"Takashi? Takashi? What's wrong with you? Takashi!" asked Zhang Yanting, scared. She got up quickly and asked.
"Yes... Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, that thing is coming out! It's looking at me! It's looking at me!" shouted Takashi, covering his body with a quilt.
...
The weekend has arrived again, as planned.
Yuka happily bought a manga magazine at the bookstore. Another week of reading manga!
Chainsaw Man has started a new "Gun Devil" chapter. After the battle with Santa Claus, some devil hunters died forever.
The only survivors are Denji, Power, Aki Hayakawa, and the Angel Devil.
However, Aki Hayakawa lost an arm, while the Angel Devil lost two.
Their arms cannot regenerate, and since then Aki Hayakawa has become a one-armed hero.
Denji also arranged with Makima for the two of them to go on a trip alone this time.
In the last dream of the previous episode, Denji saw the wall again.
Then it ended.
This time, Yuka went home, opened the magazine, and saw Chapter 72.
However, the plot of Chapter 72 still has some everyday parts.
After entrusting Power's cat to Kishibe, Aki Hayakawa, Denji, and Power went on a trip together.
But this time, Aki Hayakawa came... to pay homage to his family's grave.
And probably to tell his relatives that he now has a new family... that is, Denji and Power.
Seeing Denji and Power playing there, Aki Hayakawa felt somewhat helpless.
But watching them cause trouble, he had no time to be sad.
After returning from the trip, Aki Hayakawa went to see Kishibe.
"Aki, here's your kitten."
Kishibe returned Power's kitten to Aki Hayakawa and said.
"...Thanks," said Aki Hayakawa.
"How was the grave cleaning?"
"It's more exhausting than fighting the devil."
"After all, Denji and Power are not easy to deal with. Do you dare to take them together?"
They began to chat.
However, Aki Hayakawa defended Power and Denji at that moment, saying, "Those two have matured a lot."
"Denji has started to be obedient, and Power has finally stopped throwing vegetables."
At that moment, Aki Hayakawa fell silent.
Unconsciously, he also began to sympathize with them...
Yuka felt that Aki Hayakawa was gradually considering Power and Denji as family members.
"Captain Kishibe."
After a long silence, Aki Hayakawa said, "Soon, the expedition against the gun devil...".
"Can we not participate in Division 4?"
Yuka did not expect Aki Hayakawa to say such a thing.
After all... he is the one who most longs to kill the Gun Devil.
His entire family died because of him. He later joined the Public Safety Bureau because he wanted to find him and get revenge.
Now he only has less than two years to live, and he should no longer be afraid of death.
But he proposed the idea of not participating in the battle to defeat the Gun Devil. This is, naturally, because...
Aki Hayakawa is afraid that Denji and Power will die in front of him.
- - - - - - - -
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