Denji's body was beautiful—so much so that it evoked no impure thoughts.
That was Arthur's very first impression after seeing her.
Though not voluptuous, her figure had smooth, natural curves. Her chest was modest, around a C-cup, and her butt was round and slightly perky. If one ignored the splattered blood and her manic laughter, she radiated a bright youthful charm—a kind of allure that only teenage girls possess.
Hayakawa Aki, on the other hand, was different. Although about the same age as Denji, their life experiences were vastly different. Aki was already maturing into a cool, older-sister type of woman.
When it came to Denji, Arthur's instinctive reaction was: girl, beautiful, youthful. Only after that came the normal thoughts.
[Ding~ Detected Hayakawa Aki's jealous emotion. System reward: 20 points.]
Arthur was still admiring Denji's body when that familiar notification echoed in his mind, startling him.
The chime sounded louder than usual—just like the earlier one:
[Ding~ Detected Hayakawa Aki's doubtful emotion. System reward: 20 points.]
Arthur turned his head toward Aki, finding her quietly watching him. Her gaze was calm, clear, and showed no strange expression—completely normal.
That, oddly enough, made Arthur suspicious. He even began to doubt if he had misheard the system.
Was that really jealousy?
"Hm? What's wrong?" he asked.
"There's a little blood on your face—probably splashed there when you were fighting those zombies earlier."
Aki reached out and gently wiped his face with her finger.
"There. Much better."
She smiled faintly.
But just as the two continued their exchange on the second floor, things took a sudden turn.
From the shadows deep within the factory, a fleshy, intestine-like appendage shot out—striking Denji mid-battle.
Caught off guard in the frenzy of combat, Denji never saw it coming. She was sent flying through the air, crashing hard into the railing in front of Arthur and Aki with a deafening clang, then tumbling to the ground below in a cloud of dust and blood.
Arthur reacted instantly, leaping down. Aki followed close behind.
From the darkness, a large and deformed silhouette began to emerge. It was a grotesque creature—only its upper body remained. Where its neck should have been, there was no head. Instead, a steaming, fleshy brain was exposed and pulsating grotesquely.
On the right side of its chest, a massive human face protruded. Its bulging eyes twitched wildly, features twisted in rage. The head was bald, save for tufts of hair clinging to both sides, with a shiny scalp in the middle.
Below its torso, no skin covered the exposed organs. Thick intestines slithered from its body, coiling along the ground like serpents.
Arthur rushed to Denji's side. She was in terrible shape—her bright bulb-like eyes flickered on and off. Tears streamed silently from them, falling to the ground as if she were crying without sound.
[Ding~ Host has encountered a major story character for the first time: Denji. System reward: 3 points.]
[Ding~ Detected Denji's painful emotion. System reward: 10 points.]
[Ding~ Detected Denji's sadness. System reward: 10 points.]
Seeing her like that broke Arthur's heart. He crouched down, preparing to slice his wrist and let her drink his blood—but hesitated.
After all, he was the only male in this world. If even Aki, upon merely smelling his scent, had reacted uncontrollably… what would happen if Denji actually drank his blood?
Thinking it over, he chose to play it safe.
"Aki, I need you to look after her. She's not a devil, she's a fiend. I know her. She's a good person—and she can still be saved."
Aki nodded, took off her coat, and gently laid it over Denji. In doing so, she also caught her first clear glimpse of the grotesque creature before them.
"The Zombie Devil! So it was here!"
Arthur stood, eyes locked onto the monster, a twitch tugging at his brow.
"Disgusting," he muttered. "In anime, this kind of thing never felt that bad—CGI was always too fake. But seeing it in real life... it's sickening."
Aki drew her katana again, stepping forward to help.
"Aki, don't push yourself. You're still injured. I noticed earlier—you're not fully recovered. I'll handle this alone. I was hired, after all. I need to do my job properly."
Aki frowned, clearly unwilling.
> "Please, Aki," Arthur said with a small smile.
She sighed and reluctantly stepped back.
The Zombie Devil's massive, bulging eyes turned toward Arthur.
"You… you're the one who slaughtered all my zombies on the other side. You're Public Safety Devil Hunters, aren't you? How did you find this place?!"
Arthur didn't answer. He took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the Monohoshizao, and began to approach.
"What's that—some 2-meter-long sword? Can you even hold it properly? What are you, a circus act?!"
With a shriek, the monster swung one of its thick intestines toward Arthur like a whip.
"What a joke. Looks scary, but you're slow as hell. And here I was getting nervous."
The intestine whipped toward him—but Arthur blinked and was already gone.
Slash!
One clean swing, and the intestine was sliced cleanly. The severed chunk landed with a wet plop.
Veins bulged across the devil's face. It roared again, whipping out three intestines like serpentine lashes, aiming to overwhelm him.
But Arthur had already read its rhythm. With a few fluid steps, he dodged again.
Swoosh! Slash!
Each intestine was severed mid-air, collapsing to the ground one after another.
The Zombie Devil froze, clearly shaken. Something was wrong—but it refused to believe it. Snarling, it launched another volley of attacks.
But Arthur was faster now—his sword moved in a flash.
Again, the intestines fell uselessly to the ground.
> "Is that really all you've got?" Arthur taunted.
After several failed attempts, the monster finally realized it was in trouble. Every time it attacked, Arthur responded as if he had already seen it coming—as if this was always the first time.
> "What's going on?! What's happening?! What are you doing?!"
The Zombie Devil panicked. It flailed wildly, sending every intestine it had toward Arthur in a chaotic frenzy. It had completely lost its composure.
By the time it regained some clarity, it was horrified to find Arthur standing directly beneath it.
All that remained was a single intestine supporting its massive body.
Arthur swung.
Slash!
The final strand was severed. The Zombie Devil plummeted to the ground with a thunderous crash, its body shaking the earth.
> "Now watch this circus act show you some real talent!"
Arthur retracted the Monohoshizao, gripped it tightly with both hands, and suddenly lunged forward. The blade pierced through the monster's bulging eyeball with a sickening splat.
SPLOOSH!
Blood and brain matter exploded outward. The creature let out a shrill, tortured scream, writhing helplessly in agony.