Suddenly, a new voice cut in.
"So… this Kang Woo is the one changing you, huh, Makima?" Barem Bridge—the Flamethrower Hybrid—stepped into view, his tone deceptively casual. There was a hidden edge in his words, though. He didn't like this change in her. He preferred the cold, ruthless Makima—the one who controlled everything and everyone with an iron fist. But he kept his true feelings well-hidden behind a calm, detached expression.
Aki, standing nearby, felt irritation spike in his chest. His voice was tight as he snapped: "It's Makima-san."
Before the tension could flare higher, Kishibe lifted his hand. "Hold on, Aki. We've got a Primal Devil about to storm Japan. Keep your emotions in check—at least until this is over."
Himeno, always the provocateur, turned her sharp eyes on Barem. She flicked her cigarette toward him, the glowing ember landing against the fabric of his coat. "Oops. i got slipped,. So… you wanna settle this here and now?"
Barem Bridge's eyes glimmered with challenge. A slow, almost pleasant smile spread across his face as he shifted slightly, ready to fight.
But before either of them could move, Makima's voice cut through the rising tension, cool and commanding. "Please. No fighting. We're a team—Public Safety Devil Hunters—."
For a moment, silence hung thick between them. Then, slowly, Barem looked away with an annoyed scoff. Himeno did the same, folding her arms and huffing out a smoky breath
Makima's expression hardened back into her usual stoic mask. "Has any of my division entered the forest yet?"
Aki shook his head. "None, actually. However… Kobeni's absent today. She didn't say why. She just… left."
Power snorted. "Hah! Weak humans are cowards."
Denji immediately smacked Power on the back of the head. "Like you, you liar! You sold me out to the Bat Devil!"
Power whirled on him, eyes blazing. "Denji, aren't you at the bottom of the food chain? I'm at the top! You should be praising me—I saved you!"
Makima ignored their bickering entirely. She turned to address the group, her voice crisp and resolute. "I'm going in first. None of you are to follow me. If the Aging Devil truly is inside… none of you are capable of battling it. Only I am."
Without waiting for a response, Makima strode forward, her black trenchcoat sweeping around her legs as she disappeared into the looming shadows of Aokigahara Forest.
Deeper in the forest, the world grew darker, the trees pressed close, branches tangled like skeletal fingers. The air felt thick, damp with silence. An eerie chill whispered through the undergrowth, carrying the faint rustle of unseen creatures.
Makima walked steadily, her boots crunching on leaves and twigs. She showed no fear at all.
Suddenly, a flicker of movement cut across her sharp senses. Her instincts flared like a blade drawn in the dark.
In one smooth motion, she raised her right hand, fingers shaping into a playful pistol.
"Bang," she murmured.
A blast of invisible force—pure telekinesis—shot from her fingertip.
It struck something hidden behind the trees. There was a sharp crack of splintering wood, then a snarl of rage as a shape stumbled into view.
It revealed itself fully. A creature stepped forward on clawed feet. It was headless—its neck ending in a ragged, fleshy stump where a head should have been. Its body was twisted and ancient, skin like cracked bark, draped in ragged cloth. An aura of deep, malevolent age radiated from its frame. The Baba Yaga Devil.
Makima narrowed her eyes.The Baba Yaga Devil… she thought. the rumor about an Aging Devil was false. Even I'd rather avoid fighting a Primal Devil if I can help it.
But there was no avoiding it now. With a shriek that split the silence, the Baba Yaga Devil lunged forward, claws flashing like rusted scythes.
Makima raised her finger again, calm and precise. "Bang."
An invisible bullet of telekinetic force slammed into Baba Yaga's gnarled chest, blowing splinters of ragged flesh and cloth. But the devil staggered back only for a second—then surged forward with unnatural speed.
Makima's eyes widened as the claw came down, bisecting her right hand clean off.
Blood sprayed in a fine red arc—but almost instantly, Makima's severed hand floated back, reattaching with a wet click as though rewound in time. Somewhere far away in the city, a random Japanese citizen dropped screaming to the ground, the damage redirected into their flesh instead.
Makima exhaled and lifted her hand again. "Bang."
Baba Yaga twisted aside, blurring so fast she seemed to vanish. Claws raked across Makima's torso, cutting deep furrows through her black coat and skin. Her body crumpled—killed outright.
For a heartbeat, her lifeless form hung in the air. Then her eyes snapped open again, and she drew a deep breath as though returning from underwater. She stood once more, utterly unbothered.
The forest floor shuddered with the force of their clash.
Makima hurled telekinetic shots in rapid succession—BANG. BANG. BANG. Each one hit with explosive force, slamming the Baba Yaga Devil backward and punching craters into the ground. But the devil's wounds closed swiftly, skin knitting together as fast as Makima could tear it open.
Baba Yaga came on again, claws sweeping in deadly arcs. She moved like a flicker of shadow, too fast to follow. Makima's chest burst open under a raking strike—her heart punctured.
She dropped to her knees and slumped forward. Then, a second later, she rose again , the wound gone as though it had never existed. The fight raged on, a brutal war of attrition.
Makima fell a fourth time, clawed clean in half at the waist. But she resurrected once again, bloodied yet calm, brushing flecks of crimson from her face.
Baba Yaga hissed, furious. Her ragged body trembled as she gathered her power.
Suddenly, she whirled and shot past Makima in a blur of speed, claws slicing empty air as she repositioned behind her.
The forest around them seemed to stir awake. Trees creaked and groaned as if alive, branches twisting and elongating unnaturally. Roots writhed like serpents, splitting the ground.
From the depths of the forest, Baba Yaga's house lumbered into view—its monstrous, spindly legs creaking with each step. The eerie hut shuddered and rattled, channeling a strange, ancient energy into the clearing.
With a guttural cry, the ground split open.
Low-class devils began to pour out—horned, scaled, oozing forms snarling as they surged forward, eyes glowing with malice. Twisted imps, serpentine fiends, and crawling horrors erupted from the forest and the shadowy interior of the house, swarming toward Makima like a tide.
At the center of it all, Baba Yaga perched high atop her hut, glaring down at Makima from her headless stump.
Makima stood alone in the chaos, eyes narrowing. She said nothing, but her lips tightened slightly. This just got… complicated.
She lifted her hand, about to launch another telekinetic shot—
When suddenly, a voice thundered into her mind. "Makima, I thank you for your service. However, for the future of Japan, we must sever our partnership."
It was Prime Minister Kentaro.
Makima's eyes widened, the color draining from her face.
For a single frozen heartbeat, she couldn't breathe.
The implications crashed into her all at once: her contract with the Japanese government—gone. The damage transferal pact that made her effectively immortal—broken. If she were mortally wounded now… she would die.
The forest blurred before her eyes as another memory stabbed through her chest like a blade. Kang Woo's voice from days ago echoed in her skull: Do you have any backup plan if your source gets severed?
Makima felt a sudden, raw vulnerability she hadn't known in years. Her hand trembled at her side.
She whispered under her breath, a quiet confession meant for no one:
"No… I don't, Kang Woo. I'm a slave… to corporations and under the delusion that I can control everything."
Before she could act further, the horde of low-class devils surged forward, jaws gnashing and claws slashing toward her.
Makima's eyes flared red, and in a swirl of motion, her body dissolved into a writhing mass of rats. They scattered in every direction as the devils lunged, slashing through empty space.
Moments later—one kilometer away—Makima reconstituted herself from the chittering swarm of vermin. She stumbled into the shadow of a moss-covered tree, breath ragged.
She looked around warily, sweat beading on her forehead, and murmured to herself:
"Those… were the last of my rats. I don't have enough energy left to travel myself out."
She pressed a trembling hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat thunder there like a caged animal. For the first time in a long, long while… Makima truly felt afraid.
But the danger wasn't over. In the distance, a low rumble echoed through the forest. The underbrush shivered as a swarm of low-class devils began combing through the trees, closing in like a tightening noose.
Among them slithered the Binocular Devil, its grotesque eye-lenses extending outward on fleshy stalks, sweeping the forest floor for any sign of movement.
Makima's breath hitched. She knew that if it spotted her… this would be the end of the line. She clenched her fists, bracing herself for a last stand—
But then, without warning, a sudden heat flared around her left ring finger. She glanced down.
The Ring of Narya—gifted to her by Kang Woo—was glowing with a brilliant inner fire, crimson and gold. energy surged up her arm, flooding her body with an unfamiliar warmth.
In the next instant… Makima vanished from view.
The devils continued searching, unaware that she was now unseen.
Makima blinked, adjusting to the new perception. Around her, the forest appeared warped and hazy, as if seen through rippling glass. She could glimpse faint outlines of the physical world, but now she stood in a space halfway between reality and something deeper. A thin, trembling shadow of herself shimmered in the faint beams of sunlight.
And then—voices began to whisper all around her, overlapping like a chorus of curses.
"Find the Control Devil… and kill her."
Another voice—a gravelly hiss from a lesser devil—answered eagerly:
"The Aging Devil will reward us if we take Makima's head."
Finally, a rasping voice, unmistakably cold and cruel, sliced through the others:
"The Prime Minister will reward me if I kill Makima."
It was the voice of the Baba Yaga Devil herself.
Makima's eyes widened, realization striking her like ice. This was all a setup… she thought grimly. The Aging Devil is here… conspiring with the Prime Minister.
She glanced at the Ring of Narya, which continued to burn steadily on her finger, obeying her unspoken command to keep her hidden. Thank you… Kang Woo.
Without wasting another second, Makima began slipping through the trees, moving like a ghost. Her goal: escape the forest. But the way out was still a long, perilous journey from where she stood.