Chapter 242: Starting to Get Scared
For the individual named Aki Hayakawa, his death is already destined.
Therefore, he does not fear his own death, nor does he resist death by embracing himself.
But he is afraid... Denji and Power will die in front of him.
The last time Santa Claus attacked, Aki Hayakawa saw the Darkness Devil use its powerful ability to kill everyone in seconds.
Although Power and Denji did not die like Beam and the Violence Fiend, seeing them lying on the ground with broken arms reminded him of Himeno, whom he had seen die with his own eyes... and he was helpless at that moment...
That feeling scared him.
So, what else should he do? Will he kill Denji and Power as he killed Senior Himeno?
So Aki Hayakawa no longer wants revenge... He just wants to protect Denji and Power.
Just as Himeno wanted to protect him back then.
Even manga fans like Yuka were surprised by these words, not to mention Kishibe in the manga.
"What a surprise! I thought you would be the most anticipated person in public safety," said Kishibe.
He seemed to believe that Aki Hayakawa was thinking of retiring due to the heavy losses of Section 4.
So he said, "We will provide you with replacements for the personnel lost in the battle against Santa Claus."
"I know."
"Not only Section 4 will participate in the battle."
Kishibe replied immediately, "All the elite forces of the Public Safety Bureau will be gathered, and this time they should be able to compete with the Gun Devil."
However, Aki Hayakawa remained silent.
Kishibe still didn't understand why Aki Hayakawa didn't want Section 4 to participate in the crusade against the Gun Devil this time.
So he continued to say that if Section 4 did not participate in this event, Aki Hayakawa might not know where the Gun Devil was in his lifetime.
That is, he could never get revenge again.
"I can accept it."
But Aki Hayakawa was still very calm, as if he had already prepared himself.
Kishibe finally realized that Aki Hayakawa's mood had completely changed, and it seemed he had completely left his hatred behind.
So he had to say, "I will inform the higher-ups that Section 4 will no longer participate in this operation. Anyway, they are an experimental unit, and the higher-ups shouldn't have had such high expectations for you."
"It's just that... Aki, why did your mood change?"
Remembering the scene in hell where Denji and Power fell into a pool of blood, Aki Hayakawa looked out the window and said, "I'm starting to get scared."
Yuka felt a little sad. Aki Hayakawa, who once did everything for revenge, has now left his hatred behind.
It's not because he no longer hates the Gun Devil, but because he wants to protect his new family.
But... Even if Aki Hayakawa doesn't choose revenge, he only has less than two years to live.
And now, according to the plot of Ren, the author of the manga Chainsaw Man, Aki Hayakawa's upcoming ending will undoubtedly be tragic.
The devil's prophecy about Aki Hayakawa is still fresh in everyone's mind:
"Aki Hayakawa will die in the most miserable way in the future."
With just this sentence, everyone knows that Aki Hayakawa's end will be very wretched.
"Wow, my Aki!"
Yuka couldn't help but feel sad thinking about it, and then she observed Aki Hayakawa's gentle appearance.
However, the next part of the manga, where Denji and Power tease Aki Hayakawa, made her burst into tears and laugh again.
But thinking about the warm and funny atmosphere of Aki Hayakawa, Denji, and Power, which would later turn into a swifter knife, Yuka wanted to cry again between laughs.
"Amamiya-sensei's knife is really cruel."
She turned the last page sadly.
But at that moment, Yuka saw the advertisement on the back cover.
"The new manga magazine, Manga Horror Night, will be officially launched nationwide this Sunday! Amamiya-sensei, author of Chainsaw Man, will present his new horror work Vortex! Don't miss it!".
It was the magazine, and there was also a picture of a girl with several whirlpools in her long red hair.
Three of the whirlpools were the faces of a normal boy with glasses, one was a strange blue-haired girl with a whirlpool pattern on her forehead but no pupils, and the other was... a ghost face moaning upside down? Observing this painting style, it resembles Ren's usual exquisite style.
Then Yuka became curious, "Has Sensei Ren started a new work? Is it a horror manga? Awesome!".
She was a little happy, mainly because her hobbies have always been different from those of ordinary girls.
For example, she likes to read Edgerunners and Chainsaw Man, which shows that she prefers manga with an evil and strange style.
Yuka is also a horror fan. In school, she liked to read novels in the horror story club and watch horror movies.
The main thing is that she's not afraid, but she gets scared to death watching horror movies.
But even though Yuka is scared to death, she likes the feeling of a racing heart.
Just like some people like to ride roller coasters, besides showing courage, they love the adrenaline rush!
It's really... exciting!
The same goes for those who enjoy horror movies. They don't think they're scary.
But the more scared they are, the more they like to watch them.
Just like this feeling of a racing heart and a cold sweat!
And Ren's new work is a horror manga, although this may be the first time he's drawn a horror manga.
But Yuka has an inexplicable confidence in Ren.
After all, his manga style is full of blood, absurdity, and unforeseen events.
And he has a boundless imagination.
It's exciting to see a mangaka like him draw horror manga.
"Is it coming out this Sunday? Tomorrow!".
Yuka looked at the weekly magazine's release date and immediately decided to go to the newsstand to buy a copy to read at night.
The next day.
After spending half a day with friends, Yuka bought the newly published weekly magazine from the Akatsuki Cultural Company, Manga Horror Night, at the bookstore on her way back.
But, since she had to go to work the next day, she didn't read it at night this time, but opened it right after buying it.
This allowed her to wait until night, enough time to calm her fear and sleep peacefully.
Ren's new work is impressive and graces the cover of the first issue of Manga Horror Night.
After all, his reputation is no longer the same.
The first manga in the magazine is Vortex, Ren's new work.
Yuka opened the first page and saw the title of the work and Ren's name, on a background image with a darker tone and a dense vortex shape.
It was very disturbing from the beginning.
Then came the feature film, the first episode: "Vortex Mania (Part 1)".
The first manga, at the beginning, showed an image of the female protagonist on the cover, standing on a high mountain, looking down at the small town below.
"This is the Black Vortex Town where I grew up."
"Next, I will tell you some wonderful stories that happened in the Black Vortex Town...".
In the manga image, even the weeds on the side of the road had a strange vortex shape.
For some reason, Yuka felt a chill at first.
It was as if she were immersed in the atmosphere full of vortex-shaped weeds from the manga.
The beginning was the self-introduction of the female protagonist Kirie. The high school she attended was called Black Vortex Middle School, and her family was in the ceramics business.
On her way to school, the female protagonist suddenly came across a strange whirlpool on the ground.
At the same time, she ran into her childhood love, Shuichi's father, who was in the alley, staring at a common snail with a spiral shell on the corner of the wall.
Even when the female protagonist called him, Shuichi's father ignored her, which made her think she had mistaken him for someone else.
At school, Kirie ran into Shuichi and told him about the person she had just met who looked like his father.
But Shuichi said with a serious face, "You're not mistaken, that's my dad. He's been weird lately."
"Ah... How weird?" Kirie asked with curiosity.
"Well... something happened," said Shuichi with a heavy heart.
The two arrived at the town's public entertainment center and sat down.
"Shuichi, you haven't been in a good mood lately."
Seeing Shuichi's worried look, Kirie couldn't help but say.
"What's wrong?"
"Are you worried?" asked Kirie, looking at Shuichi.
However, Shuichi looked at her and suddenly said, "Kirie, do you want to escape from Heiwo with me?".
"Escape?".
Kirie thought Shuichi was joking and said with a smile, "What do you mean? Run away?".
"I'm not joking with you!" said Shuichi very seriously in an instant. "I'm seriously talking to you about leaving here!".
Afterward, he continued to explain why he wanted to escape from Heiwo: "Lately I hate this town. I'm sure something will happen if I stay here."
"I'm not in this town during the day, so when I come back, the feeling is particularly strong."
Shuichi looked at the town's station and said, "Every time I get off at this station, I get dizzy... This town is trying to dazzle me!".
"I don't feel anything," said Kirie with some strangeness.
At that moment, the radio in the car lounge announced the time.
"Ah... It's already five o'clock," said Kirie.
However, Shuichi covered his ears with both hands and said, "I hate this voice, I hate it so much! It keeps echoing in my ears!".
Observing the plot of the manga, for some reason, Yuka seemed to empathize with the male protagonist Shuichi and seemed to have heard the strange voice.
And it seemed that the strange broadcasted voice really echoed in her ears as Shuichi said! Seeing this, Yuka felt her breath catch.
Why...? There are obviously no scary scenes.
It's just the creation of this terrifying atmosphere, and this... exquisite and strange manga image, it feels... so real.
But the more terrifying it is, the more excited Yuka feels, so she continues to read.
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