He came here for revenge?
A flood of thoughts flashed through Gotoh's mind.
The only thing she was sure of was that this man was dangerous.
The man tossed aside the photo, then reached into his clothes and pulled out something black.
When everyone saw it, their eyes widened.
The shop owner and the customers gasped in terror, preparing to run. Ryo froze where she stood.
It was a handgun.
"The Gun Devil wants your life," the man said coldly.
Bang!
The trigger was pulled.
The bullet shot straight toward Gotoh's head.
But the moment she sensed how dangerous he was, Gotoh had already made her move.
She grabbed her backpack from behind her and lifted it in front of her face like a shield.
Thunk!
The bullet tore through the backpack's outer layer and struck metal with a sharp clang.
Gotoh had calculated the angle perfectly. The bullet hit the chainsaw blade on top of Pochita's head.
Brrrmm!
The chainsaw extended and roared to life, shredding a hole in the top of the backpack before leaping to the floor.
The moment it landed, it charged toward the man.
Gotoh's heart skipped a beat. "Pochita, stop!" she shouted.
The man reached into his pocket again, pulling out four or five small iron spheres.
He flung them out with a flick of his wrist and laughed. "A gift from the War Devil. Make sure you accept it."
Everything happened too fast.
The shop owner and customers had already fled, but Ryo was trapped in the back with nowhere to run.
Facing the man, she had watched Gotoh get shot and was frozen in shock, unable to move.
"Ryo, get down!"
Wham!
Gotoh shoved Ryo with all her strength, then dove and rolled toward the corner without thinking.
It was such a clumsy roll that any trained fighter would have laughed themselves silly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The small iron balls hit the ground one by one, each triggering a violent explosion.
Gotoh's ears were filled with deafening blasts. The ringing in her head was relentless, and she could feel dust coating her face.
She forced her eyes open and saw only wreckage.
Tables and chairs lay in splinters. The floor was pitted with charred craters.
Pochita had clearly been thrown by the blasts. He lay on the floor not far away, a shard of shrapnel embedded in his belly, blood pouring from the wound.
He was badly hurt.
Gotoh fought through the pain in her own body and scanned the room.
"Ryo… where are you?"
She looked for what felt like forever before her eyes landed on a heap of broken tables and chairs.
Ryo… could she be trapped under there?
From the direction of the blast, it was the only possibility.
"You still have time to worry about someone else?" The man stepped forward with a cold expression, aiming the gun at Gotoh's head. "Now, die."
Was this really how she would die?
Gotoh's left hand twitched as if she were about to do something.
But then she saw it: from the pile of wreckage nearby, a hand reached out, trembling.
Even covered in dust and cuts, she could tell it was Ryo's.
That hand slowly formed a gesture thumb, middle finger, and ring finger pressed together and aimed at the man.
"Kin…"
A low, muffled sound came from within the debris, too faint to make out clearly.
Chomp!
A massive head burst from the ground, swallowing the man whole in a single bite.
Gotoh now saw it clearly: it was the head of a giant fox.
Was this… summoned by Ryo?
Right, Pochita had said before that Ryo had made contact with a devil.
This must be the Fox Devil. She remembered that Aki from Division 4 also had a contract with her.
But now wasn't the time for questions.
Gotoh rushed to the wreckage and began pulling it apart.
In no time, she uncovered Ryo.
"Cough… cough…" Ryo hacked weakly.
"Ryo, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Gotoh asked anxiously.
"My thigh… it hurts like hell…" Ryo gritted her teeth.
Gotoh saw a deep gash on Ryo's thigh, blood pouring freely.
Guilt flooded her chest.
This time Ryo really had been caught in the crossfire. The man had clearly been after her from the start.
And in the end, it was Ryo who saved her.
But then, the Fox Devil's expression suddenly changed.
"Hey, Ryo!" the Fox Devil's voice was tense. "What the hell did you just make me swallow? That guy's neither human nor devil!"
"Huh?" Ryo looked baffled.
Slash!
A deep cut appeared down the Fox Devil's head.
In the next instant, the entire head split in two, and the man emerged once again.
He wore the same clothes, but now a wide, curved katana jutted from his head, with matching blades extending from both arms. His mouth opened into a monstrous grin.
Gotoh had never seen anything so grotesque, and her face went pale.
"Die!" the man shouted, raising one blade high and bringing it down toward her.
If this continued, he would cut her straight through.
Gotoh's mind faltered for a moment, but she quickly regained her focus.
She cupped her hands around her mouth and blew with all her strength.
Whoooosh!
A gust of wind blasted upward, carrying the katana man into the air.
As he reached his peak and began to fall, Gotoh seized the moment. She grabbed Pochita and said, "Pochita, I know you're hurting… but please, just one more time. Spin for me!"
"Woof!" Pochita barked with resolve.
Brrrmm!
Gotoh yanked the pull cord with all her strength, the chainsaw roaring to life once more.
She held it high above her head.
The katana man plummeted, landing belly-first on the whirring teeth.
Rip! Tear! Rip!
The sound was so brutal that Ryo had to look away.
After nearly four minutes of relentless sawing, Gotoh flung the corpse aside.
Her body was drenched in blood again.
She was starting to get used to it; this had become an unavoidable part of killing devils.
"Haa…" Gotoh panted, stepping back before collapsing beside Ryo. "It should be over now…"
"Pochi-chan…" Ryo's gaze was complicated.
She had thought summoning the Fox Devil was already unbelievable.
But clearly, Pochi-chan's secrets were even greater.
Gotoh sighed. "I'll explain everything later."
"For now, we need to get you out of here. You're seriously"
She didn't finish.
From the distance came a woman's unfamiliar voice.
"How disgraceful… to be killed so easily."
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Oh, you like the story? Wow, who knew. Go ahead, drop a review and throw some power stones and don't forget to add library maybe I'll be motivated to keep going.