It's All The Same Meat Anyway (Chainsaw Man/CARRION) (SI-OC) (Angel AU)

So this post was intended for Spacebattles thread, but as it contains a teaser for Fumigation 1.6, I'll put it here too. The actual full chapter should hopefully be done sometime around the first-second week of November.

Anyway, here's a 2k teaser for Fumigation 1.6 as my early Halloween gift to you all, may be subject to revision.

Spoiler: Fumigation 1.6 Teaser

It has crossed my mind that I never bothered to give a real description for what Kusumoto Kazuki looked like. The SI is going to be using his appearance most of the time for interactions with others, so the reader should probably know what he looks like so the mental imaging of scenes is better.

To remedy thus, I've given this here picture for peeps, and will probably include a physical description of him in the eventual Makima interlude as well.

Spoiler: Kusumoto Kazuki

Fumigation 1.6

The air was crackling with animosity.

Deep green met pale yellow. For a moment, neither Angel nor Devil moved as we did our best to bore holes into the other with the intensity of our stares.

Well, Makima was at least. Her bottom lip still hadn't stopped trembling either, and surprisingly, she also had something resembling a "heartbeat" that was absolutely through the roof and showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Did her intestines move around or something? Freaky.

All Devils probably had an instinctual fear of Angels, and my invasion of her personal space was probably driving what little survival instincts she had absolutely crazy.

I on the other hand was giggling internally despite Kusumoto's stoic, unphased expression at the sheer balls of what I had just done, and would continue to do so assuming crazy dog lady over there wasn't about to go nuclear.

This entire situation was made even funnier by the fact that Makima genuinely looked like she had no idea what to do in response to my antics. I'd bet good money that no one had ever tried doing something so downright goofy with her before, and internally she was probably blue-screening.

Part of me wished I had brought a camera for that moment, even if taking a picture was sure to set Makima off into a flying rage, if only to save her reputation and prevent becoming a worldwide laughingstock. Wonder how much I could've sold the photo for to the right buyer… but to be honest, what I was currently looking at was also prime photo material as well.

Right now, the Control Devil did not look foreboding whatsoever with her cheeks red and expression twisted into something that could be mistaken for severe embarrassment… all the while holding an incredibly "friendly" spaghetti monster that was now squeezing her entire body in a "hug" as hard as it could to see if it's physical strength could affect her.

Judging by that look of… wariness(probably) that crossed over her face as her lip finally stopped trembling, Makima realized what I was doing as her pupils dilated and she shuddered at my blatant attempt to gauge her durability under the guise of an "affectionate" gesture.

Unfortunately, her skin didn't budge from the mini-drone's effort to crush her bones, or whatever substituted as them (intestines, I guess?). Damn. Guess blunt force trauma is out in the event I need to "kill" her with the biomass in the room.

Good thing I've got plenty of other options in that regard. I already know I can destroy her eyes no problem. If things got violent, she would have the pleasure of finding out just how quick I could move on short notice.

Her neck was well within range, and my drone had wrapped itself strategically around key joints and pressure points in the human body. I'd imagine it would be rather hard for her to use her signature move if her hands were cut off and body pumped full of spikes.

No idea if trying to paralyze her would have an effect given her unnatural constitution, but I'd rather avoid outright killing her and by extension some innocent civilian if I had to.

Otherwise, if paralyzing her didn't work, I'd just keep wasting her until she calmed back down or managed to destroy enough biomass. In the case of the latter, it would then be time for me to make my exit and quite literally blow this joint in more ways than one.

But let's think positively now. Makima still hasn't moved yet, so perhaps she's been rendered so angry by my disrespect that it's looped back around to indecision on how she'll try to make me suffer for it.

In that case, while she's momentarily daydreaming about various ways to torture me into submission… there's no reason to let her regain control of the situation uncontested and dictate the flow of this conversation, assuming she doesn't try to kill me in a second. So…

"So Makima, is this the horrifying monster that attacked you and your colleagues earlier this morning? Quite the friendly fellow, isn't he? You're going to hurt his feelings if you keep ignoring him in favor of me." Tone as impassive as ever, Kusumoto resumed the conversation like the brief pause had never happened, idly readjusting his peppermint tie.

The tiny spaghetti monster in question had slowly untangled itself, in hopes she'd relax at the visible de-escalation. Reaching with a tentacle, it poked her cheek questioningly.

Jolting to life, Makima blinked as she seemed to register my words, her face turning expressionless but still flushed red with anger as her hands fidgeted.

…I might as well double down on my audacity and completely gloss over the fact that I am repeatably poking the feminine personification of Humanity's fear of Control with a stick- no, my damn finger. With luck, Makima will be so utterly stupefied at getting this kind of treatment from an Angel of all things to actually do anything violent.

"No! I didn't mean to ignore him, I just… I'm not used to being touched by others, that's all. I suppose…" Aside from that panicked first word, the Devil forcibly made her voice return to its normal monotone, though I could still hear something uneasy in her tone.

Guess I rattled her bad from my antics, the sight warms my heart.

There was a pause as she looked down at the drone in her lap, hair shifting with the motion.

Spaghetti stared up at her, its big blue eye glistening with "innocence" as it began messing with her bangs and the braided ponytail hanging over her shoulder, tentacles playfully batting at the articles of hair as it seemed visibly eager to hear his new "friend's" response.

Said "new friend" seemed offended at my drone's faked harmlessness as her mouth trembled slightly, her cheeks flushing a brighter shade of red. She probably remembered me gouging her eyes out with a drone this size.

Oh, does this annoy you?

My drone made a low whine in response as it lazily brushed its tentacles against her shoulders and arms, causing the Devil to stiffen as clear intent flashed in her eyes.

I mentally prepared myself for an attack, and-

Biting her lip in frustration, Makima suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around my drone in a vicegrip from the very pits of Hell itself as she used way too much force for a proper hug, squeezing its volleyball-sized core to her chest in what was probably an attempt to crush it to a pulp.

…Well, that's fair I guess, considering I tried to test your durability a second ago. Not going to accomplish anything with physical force though, my muscle-tissue is too malleable for that.

"Not. Something tells me if had been Spaghetti in that warehouse, the only thing I would have had to have fear for was being hugged to death. Truly a terrifying Devil you've contracted with here, Kusumoto." Makima stated unamused as she glared intently at the man with her lips flat, realizing that the sponginess of my drone had rendered her attempt to harm it futile.

To rub salt in the wound, Kusumoto plastered a fake smile on his face as "Spaghetti" wriggled energetically with a high-pitched squeak in her clutches, revealing that it was absolutely fine despite it's circular core having been pressed into a dented oval from the amount of pressure Makima was currently exerting on it.

Upon hearing my drone emit noise, my feminine captor's crushing "embrace" only got more intense as she smiled eerily with her mouth slightly open and mimicking a crescent moon, likely hoping that it was a sound of pain.

Damn, easy psycho. The only thing your "hug" is accomplishing is making me feel slightly uncomfortable at best, and by God almighty that face you're making right now is so fucking creepy and I never want to see it again, please stop.

"Glad to hear it. As you can see, Spaghetti's happy for his acquittal of innocence and high praise from yours truly. Now if you don't mind, I'd like it if you could hand him back over here so we can prevent any more potential mishaps." I offered neutrally while holding a hand out, as I wasn't sure how much longer I could resist the growing urge to attack Makima if she continued trying to crush my drone.

At my words, that creepy expression on Makima's face disappeared, as her lips downturned and brows furrowed. The grip on my drone loosened slightly, but she still refused to let it go as her hand firmly grasped a tentacle out of Kusumoto's line of sight.

Woman, that drone is also me, in case you don't realize. If you're getting ready to attack me, I'm fully aware of what you're doing and will respond in kind. Here, let me show you.

The tentacle in her hand wriggled as it curled around her wrist and proceeded to force its way into her sleeve cuff, causing the Devil to shudder as the danger noodle successfully intruded the sanctity of her clothes, red flesh curling around the pale white skin of her arm.

Makima's lips quirked back upwards into a rather strained looking smile, her expression becoming "happy" again as her hand seemed to err back and forth slightly, unsure whether she could tug the tentacle out of her sleeve or not.

Yeah, I hope this close proximity is as unsettling for you as it is for me. If I have to be uncomfortable by you getting touchy with me, so do you. Fair's fair, so why don't you let tiny me go!

"…That won't be necessary. I've dealt with a lot worse than unexpected physical contact, and as your Contracted Devil doesn't seem to respect personal boundaries and we'll be working closely together in the future, it's important I get used to his presence." Spitting out a wall of text tinged with her normal monotone, Makima seemed reluctant to part with my drone, probably wanting to hold it from me as a hostage.

Nuh-huh-hoo~, I don't want to keep touching you! Let me go, you vile beast!

…

Well… whatever. My drone's got a bomb in it and is capable of defending itself if necessary. If Makima thinks she has an advantage holding it, I'm not going to disillusion her.

"Oh, are you upset about him hugging your face? That's not really fair, now is it? Respectfully Makima, you were the one who decided not to respect his "personal boundaries" in the first place and touched him without giving me a chance to finish my warning." My outstretched hand raising upwards, I chastised Makima by shifting the blame with some sound advice she probably wouldn't take.

This whole mess regarding the fact "Spaghetti" is currently stuck to you like a barnacle is your fault, not mine. If I had the choice, I wouldn't ever want to touch you unless it's inflicting grievous harm upon ye. Don't blame me if my drone is too much for you to handle.

Once again, Makima's expression slightly dropped from "happy", though she still looked strangely upbeat as she readjusted her grip on my drone, which began wrapping the rest of its tentacles around her arm.

"Perhaps… I was a bit too eager to see what would happen, Kusumoto. That certainly wasn't the reaction I was expecting." Watching the drone solidify it's presence on her arm like an unwanted growth, her tone was… wistful?

Had she been trying to provoke an attack from me with that action of touching my drone? Perhaps Makima really is bound by laws that don't let her attack others without having to meet a certain set of criteria.

Perhaps she can't attack me unless I attack her first? Hmm…

Kusumoto folded his arms as he frowned, looking quite unimpressed at the Devil. Firmly rooted, the drone began to ascend her arm, it's final destination being the side of her left shoulder where it could perch itself.

"Hmph. Well, I can't say I've been impressed by what I've seen of your worrying lack of self-preservation instincts so far, as I'm sure it would be a national tragedy had you perished from easily avoidable causes. To be frank, you're incredibly lucky Spaghetti didn't try to rip your arm off on reflex, as friendliness or not, he is still a creature that enjoys killing "fellow" Devils." I made sure to inject as much disapproval as humanly possible into Kusumoto's voice.

Makima… winced at my response, and an incredibly odd expression passed over her face as she looked to the side and broke eye contact with me for the first time in this conversation. She mumbled something under her breath that I only caught part of.

"…didn't expect…" Whatever the rest of her excuse was, she (rightly) decided that I wasn't going to be impressed by it with how it tapered off on her lips and her expression gloomed.

Didn't expect what? That I wasn't just going to sit there and let you do whatever you wanted to me? Get real, are you so used to people complying to you without resistance or something? I can understand that, but it's still pathetic you thought you could try that with an Angel.

By this point, my drone had reached its destination and sat its core hanging off her shoulder as it's tentacles suddenly curled all over Makima like vines, snapping her out of whatever reverie she'd been having as it started fucking with her hair once more.

Why is it so damn soft? This vile creature doesn't deserve such luscious locks.

Putting a hand on my mouth I coughed loudly to get Makima's attention, plastering a fake smirk on my face as I pointed at "Spaghetti" on her shoulder.

"Though, you didn't look like you particularly hated his "greeting" that much, if I'm being honest. Spaghetti sure looks like he's made himself at home over there without you trying to stop him, could it be you secretly want to keep holding him because you think he looks cute?" I said with fake teasing as I put my hand down, leaning back in the chair.

Might as well milk her blunder in assuming I would attack her for all it's worth. If I continue to act friendly and nonaggressive, she's only going to get more confused at my lack of open hostility despite continuing to make an enormous pain of my-selves.

Blinking, Makima looked nonplussed, like she didn't know to make of my sudden mood whiplash. Then she realized what my drone was doing, turning her head just in time to see her braid being gently pulled. A shudder ran up her arm as her mouth slightly dropped open.

That's right~, not even a big scary Primal Devil like you is safe from my petty harassment. Fear me creature, for I am the harbinger of your doom!

Yellow ringed eyes stared murderously at a singular pupilless blue, the drone doing its best to look innocent as it held onto her braid, like a child being caught in the act of doing something they know they shouldn't be.

Facial expression darkening in rage, Makima began to speak-

"How d-"

-and fearlessly, my drone tickled the underside of her chin with another tentacle, and pulled on the ponytail again harder this time, maintaining eye contact to assert my righteous dominance over her.

Jaw audibly clacking shut, Makima jolted at the action, her back straightening as her face practically exploded with color. Her eyes twitched, and lips slightly parsed to reveal gritted teeth as her head snapped upwards to glare daggers at the "human" with blazing red cheeks.

Remaining completely still as to not provoke an angry Control Devil in its natural habitat, I smiled innocently, eyes glittering with mischief with my hands folded in my lap and legs crossed.

You have no idea how hard it was to resist the urge to wink at her.

 

THIS CHAPTER IS NO LONGER CANON. FUMIGATION 1.6 IS BEING/HAS BEEN REWRITTEN.​

So, this chapter is more of a lore building one and intended on giving insight to the reader into the mind of Makima, as I’ve decided that those two are going to have a proper discussion in the upcoming chapters, but more on that in the bottom author notes.

It has crossed my mind that I never bothered to give a real description for what Kusumoto Kazuki looked like. The SI is going to be using his appearance most of the time for interactions with others, so the reader should probably know what he looks like so the mental imaging of scenes is better.

To remedy thus, I've given this here picture for peeps.

Spoiler: Kusumoto Kazuki

Fumigation 1.6

The air was crackling with animosity.

Deep green met pale yellow. For a moment, neither Angel nor Devil moved as we did our best to bore holes into the other with the intensity of our stares.

Well, Makima was at least. Her bottom lip hadn’t stopped trembling and surprisingly, she also had something resembling a “heartbeat” that was absolutely through the roof with it’s erratic beating that showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Did her intestines move around or something? Freaky. All Devils probably had an instinctual fear of Angels, and my invasion of her personal space was probably driving what little survival instincts she had absolutely crazy.

I on the other hand was giggling internally despite Kusumoto’s stoic, unphased expression at the sheer balls of what I had just done, and would continue to do so assuming crazy dog lady over there wasn’t about to go nuclear.

This entire situation was made even funnier by the fact that Makima looked like she genuinely had no idea what to do in response to my antics. I’d bet good money that no one had ever tried doing something so downright goofy with her before, and internally she was probably blue-screening.

Part of me wished I had brought a camera for that moment, even if taking a picture was sure to set Makima off into a flying rage if only to save her reputation and prevent becoming a worldwide laughingstock. Wonder how much I could’ve sold that photo for to the right buyer…

But to be honest, what I was currently looking at was also prime photo material as well.

Right now, the Control Devil did not look foreboding whatsoever, what with her cheeks red and expression twisted into something that could be mistaken for severe embarrassment… all the while holding an incredibly “friendly” spaghetti monster that was now squeezing her entire body in a “hug” as hard as it could to see if it’s physical strength could affect her.

Judging by that look of… wariness(probably) that crossed over her face as her lip finally stopped trembling, Makima realized what I was doing as her pupils dilated and she shuddered at my blatant attempt to gauge her durability under the guise of an “affectionate” gesture.

Unfortunately, her skin didn’t budge from the mini-drone’s effort to crush her bones, or whatever substituted as them (intestines, I guess?). Damn. Guess blunt force trauma is out in the event I need to “kill” her with the biomass in the room.

Good thing I’ve got plenty of other options in that regard. I already know I can destroy her eyes no problem. Her neck was well within range, and my drone had wrapped itself strategically around key joints and pressure points in the human body.

If things got violent, Makima would have the pleasure of finding out just how quick I could move on short notice. I’d imagine it would be rather hard for her to use her signature move if her hands were cut off and body pumped full of spikes.

No idea if trying to paralyze her would have an effect given her unnatural constitution, but I’d rather avoid outright killing her and by extension some innocent civilian if I had to.

Otherwise, if paralyzing her didn’t work, I’d just keep wasting her until she calmed back down or managed to destroy enough biomass. In the case of the latter, it would then be time for me to make my exit and quite literally blow this joint in more ways than one.

But let’s think positively now. Makima still hasn’t moved yet, so perhaps she’s been rendered so angry by my disrespect that it’s looped back around to indecision on how she’ll try to make me suffer for it.

In that case, while she’s momentarily daydreaming about various ways to torture me into submission… there’s no reason to let her regain control of the situation uncontested and dictate the flow of this conversation, assuming she doesn’t try to kill me in a second. So…

“So Makima, is this the horrifying monster that attacked you and your colleagues earlier this morning? Quite the friendly fellow, isn’t he? You’re going to hurt his feelings if you keep ignoring him in favor of me.” Tone as impassive as ever, Kusumoto resumed the conversation like the brief pause had never happened, idly readjusting his peppermint tie.

The tiny spaghetti monster in question had slowly untangled itself, in hopes she’d relax at the visible de-escalation. Reaching with a tentacle, it poked her cheek questioningly.

Jolting to life, Makima blinked as she seemed to register my words, her face turning expressionless but still flushed red with anger as her hands fidgeted.

…I might as well double down on my audacity and completely gloss over the fact that I am repeatably poking the feminine personification of Humanity’s fear of Control with a stick- no, my damn finger.
With luck, Makima will be so utterly stupefied at getting this kind of treatment from an Angel of all things to actually do anything violent.

“No! I didn’t mean to ignore him Kusumoto, I just… I’m not used to being touched by others that way, that’s all. I suppose…” Aside from that panicked first word, the Devil forcibly made her voice return to its normal monotone, though I could still hear something uneasy in her tone.

Guess I rattled her bad from my antics, the sight warms my heart.

There was a pause as Makima looked down at the drone in her lap, hair shifting with the motion.

Spaghetti stared up at her, its big blue eye glistening with “innocence” as it began messing with her bangs and the braided ponytail hanging over her shoulder, tentacles playfully batting at the articles of hair as it seemed visibly eager to hear his new “friend’s” response.

Why is her hair so damn soft? This vile creature doesn’t deserve such luscious locks.

Said “new friend” seemed offended at my drone’s faked harmlessness as her mouth trembled slightly, her cheeks flushing a brighter shade of red. Makima probably remembered me gouging her eyes out hours earlier with a drone about this size, assuming she caught a glimpse of it.

Oh, does this annoy you?

My drone made a low whine in response as it lazily brushed its tentacles against her shoulders and arms, causing the Devil to stiffen as clear intent flashed in her eyes.
I mentally prepared myself for an attack, and-

Biting her lip in frustration, Makima reached out and wrapped her arms around my drone in a vicegrip from the very pits of Hell itself as she used way too much force for a proper hug, squeezing its volleyball-sized core to her chest in what was a clear attempt to crush it to a pulp.

…Well, that’s fair I guess, considering I tried to test your durability a second ago. Not going to accomplish anything with physical force though, my muscle-tissue is far too malleable for that.

“Not. Something tells me if it had been Spaghetti in that warehouse, the only thing I would have had to worry about was being hugged to death. Truly a terrifying Devil you’ve contracted with here, Kusumoto.” Makima stated unamused, as she glared intently at Kusumoto with her lips flat, realizing that the sponginess of my drone had rendered her attempt to harm it futile.

Unless she wanted to concede first in breaking the masquerade for our little game of chicken, which her ego probably wouldn’t allow, she had no choice but to play along with my antics… much to my immense enjoyment at watching her make a fool of herself.

To rub salt in the wound, Kusumoto plastered a fake smile on his face as “Spaghetti” wriggled energetically with a high-pitched squeak in her clutches, revealing that it was absolutely fine despite it’s circular core having been pressed into a dented oval from the amount of pressure Makima was currently exerting on it.

Upon hearing my drone emit noise, my feminine captor’s crushing “embrace” only got more intense as she smiled eerily with her mouth slightly open and mimicking a crescent moon, likely hoping that it was a sound of pain.

Damn, easy psycho. The only thing your “hug” is accomplishing is making me feel slightly uncomfortable at best, and by God almighty that face you’re making right now is so fucking creepy and I never want to see it again, please stop.

“Glad to hear it. As you can see, Spaghetti’s happy for his acquittal of innocence and high praise from yours truly. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like it if you could hand him back over here so we can prevent any more potential mishaps.” I offered neutrally while holding a hand out, as I wasn’t sure how much longer I could resist the growing urge to attack Makima if she continued trying to crush my drone.

Unhand tiny me from your wicked clutches, Fien- Devil!

At my words, that creepy expression on Makima’s face disappeared, as her lips downturned and brows furrowed. The grip on my drone loosened slightly, but she still refused to let it go as her hand firmly grasped a tentacle out of Kusumoto’s line of sight.

Woman, that drone is me, in case you don’t realize. If you’re getting ready to attack, I’m fully aware of what you’re doing and will respond in kind. Here, let me show you.

The tentacle in her hand wriggled as it curled around her wrist and proceeded to force its way into her sleeve cuff, causing the Devil to shudder as the danger noodle successfully intruded the sanctity of her clothes, red flesh curling around the pale white skin of her arm.

Makima’s lips quirked back upwards into a rather strained looking smile, her expression becoming “happy” again as her hand seemed to err back and forth slightly, unsure whether she could tug the tentacle out of her sleeve or not without reprisal.

Yeah, I hope this close proximity is as unsettling for you as it is for me. If I have to be uncomfortable by you getting touchy with me, so do you. Fair’s fair, so why don’t you let tiny me go!

“…That won’t be necessary. Believe me, I’ve dealt with a lot worse than unexpected benign physical contact, and as your Contracted Devil doesn’t seem to respect personal boundaries and we’ll be working closely together in the future, it’s important I get used to his presence.” Spitting out a wall of text tinged with her normal monotone, Makima seemed reluctant to part with my drone, probably wanting to hold it from me as a hostage.

Nuh-huh-hoo~, I don’t want to keep touching you! Let tiny me go, you vile beast!

…

Well… whatever. My drone has a bomb in it and is very capable of defending itself, especially since it’s the form I’m most intimately familiar with when it comes to combat in general. If Makima thinks she has an advantage holding it, I’m not going to disillusion her.

“Oh, are you upset about him hugging your face? That’s not really fair, now is it? Respectfully Makima, you were the one who decided not to respect his “personal boundaries” in the first place and touched him without giving me a chance to finish my warning.” My outstretched hand raising upwards, I chastised Makima by shifting the blame with some sound advice she probably wouldn’t take.

This whole mess regarding the fact “Spaghetti” is currently stuck to you like a barnacle is your fault, not mine. If I had the choice, I wouldn’t ever want to touch you unless it’s inflicting grievous harm upon ye. Don’t blame me if my drone is too much for you to handle.

Once again, Makima’s expression slightly dropped from “happy”, though she still looked strangely upbeat as she readjusted her grip on my drone, which began wrapping the rest of its tentacles around her arm.

“I’m not upset. Perhaps… I was just a bit too eager to see what would happen, Kusumoto. That certainly wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.” Watching the drone solidify it’s presence on her arm like an unwanted growth, her tone was… wistful?

Had she been trying to provoke an attack from me with that action of touching my drone? Perhaps Makima really is bound by laws that don’t let her attack others without having to meet a certain set of criteria.

Can she not attack me unless I attack her first? Hmm…

Kusumoto folded his arms as he frowned, looking quite unimpressed at the Devil. Firmly rooted, the drone began to ascend her arm, it’s final destination being the side of her left shoulder where it could perch itself.

“Hmph. Well, I can’t say I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen of your worrying lack of self-preservation instincts so far, as I’m sure it would be a national tragedy had you perished from easily avoidable causes. To be frank, you’re incredibly lucky “Spaghetti” didn’t try to rip your arm off on reflex, as friendliness or not, he is still a creature that enjoys killing “fellow” Devils.” I made sure to inject as much disapproval as humanly possible into Kusumoto’s voice.

Makima… winced at my response, and an incredibly odd expression passed over her face as she looked to the side and broke eye contact with me for the first time in this conversation. She mumbled something under her breath that I only caught part of.

“…didn’t expect…” Whatever the rest of her excuse was, she (rightly) decided that I wasn’t going to be impressed by it with how it tapered off on her lips and her expression gloomed.

Didn’t expect what? That I wasn’t just going to sit there and let you do whatever you wanted to me? Get real, are you so used to people complying to you without resistance or something? I can understand that, but it’s still pathetic you thought you could try that with an Angel.

By this point, my drone had reached its destination and sat its core hanging off her shoulder as it’s tentacles suddenly curled all over Makima like vines, snapping her out of whatever reverie she’d been having as it started fucking with her hair once more.

Putting a hand on my mouth I coughed loudly to get her attention, plastering a fake smirk on my face as I pointed at “Spaghetti” on her shoulder.

“Though you didn’t look like you particularly hated his “greeting” that much, if I’m being honest. Spaghetti sure looks like he’s made himself at home over there without you trying to stop him, could it be you secretly want to keep holding him because you think he looks cute?” I said with fake teasing as I put my hand down, leaning back in the chair.

Might as well milk her blunder in assuming I would attack her for all it’s worth. If I continue to act friendly and nonaggressive, she’s only going to get more confused at my lack of open hostility despite continuing to make an enormous pain of my-selves.

Blinking, Makima looked nonplussed, like she didn’t know to make of my sudden mood whiplash. Then she realized what my drone was doing, turning her head just in time to see her braid being gently pulled.
A shudder ran up her arm as her mouth dropped open.

That’s right~, not even a big scary Primal Devil like you is safe from my petty harassment. Fear me creature, for I am the harbinger of your doom!

Yellow ringed eyes stared murderously at a singular pupilless blue, the drone doing its best to look innocent as it held onto her braid, like a child caught in the act of doing something they know they shouldn’t be doing.

Facial expression darkening in rage, Makima began to speak-

“How dare-”

-and fearlessly my drone tickled the underside of her chin with another tentacle, while also pulling her ponytail again harder this time and maintaining eye contact to assert righteous dominance over her.

Jaw audibly clacking shut, Makima jolted at the action, her back straightening as her face exploded with a deep crimson. In order to prevent being pulled off and ripped to shreds, my drone continued to firmly hold onto that ponytail like its life (quite literally) depended on it.

Eyes twitching, lips slightly parted to reveal gritted teeth as the Devil’s head snapped back to glare daggers at the “human” with blazing red cheeks, her front bangs practically swishing with the abrupt motion.

Remaining completely still as to not provoke an angry Control Devil in its natural habitat, I smiled innocently, eyes glittering with mischief with my hands folded in my lap and legs crossed.

You have no idea how hard it was to resist the urge to wink at her.

We both sat there in silence, two people in the moment… plus one very disrespectful and bold spaghetti monster, who had started giving the Devil’s braid a series of gentle but firm tugs that were slowly lengthening in duration, to keep simulating its fake personality of a curious child.

Each tug of hair garnered a small jerk from it’s furious owner.

Almost vibrating in place now from how much she was twitching in rage, Makima intently scanned the “human” for any signs of visible contempt, her hands now clenched into fists and squeezing hard enough I could hear her fingers creaking. She looked absolutely pissed.

Keeping that innocent smile fit for an Angel, Kusumoto Kazuki did his absolute best to look completely dead on the inside and outside as I cackled like a hyena internally, loudly pounding my fist on the imaginary desk in my head.

Makima has no idea how to deal with someone who isn’t remotely afraid of her, does she? She’s likely never had to, and no one would ever dare try something like this with her even if they were unaware of her true nature, thanks to her position as Chief Director of Public Safety.

It’s official. Without a doubt, I am now at the very top of her shitlist for this stunt, and I do not regret it in the slightest. That face of flustered outrage she’s currently making at me is fucking priceless and will forever be an incredibly treasured memory of mine.

Thanks to my excellent display and application of self-restraint, Makima didn’t find anything that justified retaliation to her visible frustration, her facial expression only getting redder and redder with pure unadulterated rage as something in her knuckles made a popping noise.

Unholy intestine-filled abomination or not, that cannot be healthy for Makima’s blood pressure, for her face to be redder than her hair. God, I wish I had a camera right now to immortalize this moment, I really do. My days might now be forever numbered, but man if it wasn’t worth it.

Finally seeming to give up on looking for an excuse to attack me, Makima scowled as she carefully removed the tentacle from her braid and tucked the article of hair behind her shoulder, roughly snatching the drone of her shoulder and forcefully dumping it into her lap with enough force for it to bounce twice.

It appears I’ve been put in time out.

“…I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about. In any case, would you mind answering some questions I had about the “Flesh Devil”? I’ve heard how you’ve managed to keep it hidden despite Division 3’s best efforts, and am quite curious about its capabilities.” Makima’s voice was drenched with annoyance as she glowered at Kusumoto with burning hatred.

The humanoid drone didn’t change his expression whatsoever. Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave.

Makima glossing over my braid pulling and trying to change the subject is likely her attempt to desperately regain control of this situation. And since she wants to “recruit” me without getting nasty (yet) and is probably bound by rules of engagement by Japan, she can’t attack Kusumoto Kazuki or my drone she’s just “pardoned”, especially since she doesn’t have concrete proof that these two entities are the same.

But if that’s not the case and she’s just trying to get my guard down, I’m ready to attack her anytime. Not… that it would really accomplish much. There’s no reason for these two drones to actually fight her unless it’s as a distraction and Control ends up not working on me.

Or to make a point, I guess.

My drone attempted to flee from her lap and go under the table, but realizing her hostage was attempting to escape, a pair of incredibly smooth hands firmly pressed tiny me against the fabric of uniform workpants, preventing movement as I struggled flutily.

No, I don’t want to stay in time out for my misdeeds against your hair, let me go goddammit!

My tentacles flailed for a grip on something, anything, but Makima simply tightened her grip on the core and scooted her chair away from the desk in response while glowering at Kusumoto. If “Spaghetti” wanted to escape, he would have to get… physical.

…Yeah, no.

I’d rather accept my fate than potentially reenact a scene from tentacle hentai with Makima of all people by accident, especially if her uniform was not a reinforced variant. Unsure what sort of reaction I would get, but I didn’t want to find out what an offended Devil femme fetale looked like.

“Sure. But if you want to keep holding Spaghetti, I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that he isn’t just going to sit there and be still. He primarily perceives the world by touch and is incredibly curious about his surroundings, which right now includes you and your desk. If you can’t handle that, or would you like some help over there?” My tone was innocent and a note shy of pleading.

C’mon lemme go!

Makima gave me a disapproving look at my attempt to escape responsibility for my actions in provoking her as she pulled the tentacle I had wrapped around her arm out of her sleeve and idly began stroking it as she half lidded her eyes, a cruel smile of glee forming on her lips.

“I think I’ll manage just fine, and I’m sure that Spaghetti won’t do anything too brash. I’d hate to start off our relationship on a bad note by being forced to discipline him so early on for a necessary readjustment in behavior. At this rate, he’ll find that I can be very good at training disobedience out of-”

With poisoned honey coating Makima’s every word, I immediately tuned her out, groaning internally as she continued her incredibly boring spiel about having me beg for mercy at her feet or whatever. While still petting my damn tentacle.

Yes, yes, fuck you too bitch. The feeling is incredibly mutual, and let go!

swak!

Freeing itself from her grasp, the red appendage slapped itself over Makima’s face, covering one eye and interrupting her speech that was slowly getting more and more inappropriate with very ominous-sounding and threatening innuendos about making me suffer as time went on.

Her uncovered eye glared balefully at me, the Devil looking stunned that I had actually interrupted her, not that she could prove I was controlling my drone’s actions.

Smiling warmly, I folded my hands on the desk.

“Then I would suggest asking Spaghetti nicely to stop first before trying anything “too brash” yourself if you find his actions to be irritating. I have offered to take him off your hands twice now only to be met with refusal, and I’d suggest you be prepared to deal with the consequences of your actions should you wish to continue holding him.” My tone was understanding and patient, at complete odds with how annoyed I was internally.

You have gotten yourself into this situation Makima, and I’m not going to tolerate you getting upset at me for my refusal to blindly comply to your nonsensical whims. Suck it up and act your age as a reincarnating fear demon that’s existed since the dawn of time or whatever.

“…” Makima seemed at a loss for words at my statement as she peeled the tentacle off. She sat they’re in silence for a moment, looking at me with a pensive expression that felt like she was trying to look through me.

Slowly, her expression got colder. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

…I am in the right here, right? Makima was the one who touched me in the first place, I didn’t start anything. I’m not here for a fight that’s not going to accomplish anything for me except more innocent blood on my hands… but maybe I should give her some leeway to avoid conflict?

After all, it’s hardly fair if I can mess with her and she can’t do anything back at risk of real retaliation. Rubbing the back of my head, I attempted compromise.

“However, it should be fine to smack or wrangle him if he’s being annoying. Just don’t injure him, as you’ll find he won’t tolerate unwarranted abuse.” Kusumoto’s voice remained level.

A dainty red eyebrow raised, as what had been a rather unfriendly looking frown turned flat.

“Unwarranted abuse? There’s no need for worry, as I’m sure Spaghetti will be on his best behavior from now on if he wishes for me to keep ignoring his and your assault on my person several hours prior and not respond appropriately as I normally would for anyone else.” Voice friendly and cheerful despite her expressionless look, Makima readjusted her grip on my drone-

squelch

-and proceeded to puncture its skin with incredibly sharp fingernails that began to sizzle from the drone’s blood getting on her fingers.

Neither drone reacted whatsoever, as Makima’s expression didn’t change from neutrality, her fingers slowly piercing deeper into “Spaghetti”, almost reaching the bomb encased in the center.
Aside from a faint tingly feeling, her “assault” didn’t hurt at all.

…Never mind, I stand corrected. Judging by those words Makima probably wasn’t attacking before of her own violation and not any binding rules like I thought. That’s good and bad.
Good because it means she probably is genuine in wanting to “recruit me” instead of kill me, and bad because she’s just assaulted me and will perceive me not doing anything as me being afraid to fight her and an invitation to start escalating and might even try to use Control on me.

As I expected, anything Makima promises me verbally isn’t worth shit once she’s pissed off enough for a perceived slight, given what she’s doing now. Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn her.

Here, have a taste of your own medicine.

shink shink shink

Several keratin spikes formed out of the drone’s skin, puncturing Makima’s fingertips in turn where each of her fingers had intruded upon my tiny form. Exiting out of her palms, the spikes grew several hooks on the end and began tugging at her skin.

Makima’s only reaction to my retaliation was for her frown to become more pronounced, and not missing a beat, I grinned at her with teeth bared as shifted my arms to be crossed on the desk.

“I’m glad you understand. I’d hate to start our working relationship off on a bad note by Spaghetti having to injure you further to get a point across. I’d imagine that another ruined uniform and getting blood out of a wooden floor would be another massive pain to deal with.” A sliver of my real personality showing though, I rapidly waggled my eyebrows up and down at Makima like an inchworm as the hooks tugged harder at her skin, flesh beginning to tear.

Please bitch, give me an excuse to rip you open like a piñata so I can verify with my own eyes that you are indeed nothing but intestines and several dozen chains, because I really am curious about how your internal biology works.

Face neutral for a moment, Makima’s frown became a smile as she lightly snorted at my mockery, tilting her head to leer down at my drone’s retaliation. Blood was beginning to drip from the embedded spikes in her hands onto her black workpants.

Her eyes narrowed.

“I’ll take that into consideration, as I don’t think reddish brown would be a good color for my office decor. Imposters and their ilk are typically dealt with on the rug behind you, but don’t worry, I had it cleaned yesterday. I’m sure you’ll find the texture to your liking if necessary.” Unsurprisingly, she sounded completely unbothered by the current predicament she was in.

…I give that very bland and uninspired threat a three out of ten. C’mon Makima, I know you can do better than that, don’t be lazy by being too on the nose. Because trust me, you really don’t want me to start asking you uncomfortable questions I already know the answers to in return.

But I thought that tacky rug smelled faintly like blood when I first walked in here. Who knows how many undeserving souls have been crushed to paste on it by you doing Naruto hand-signs. Glad to see my paranoia of you so far has been entirely justified.

I made a show of looking behind me in an exaggerated fashion at the aforementioned rug, before turning my head back to Makima, who look slightly amused. Pointing at her chest, I snapped my fingers, garnering a minuscule jerk from her.

Think I have a finger gun of my own, ey? Technically possible…

“Ooh~, how tasteful! Black, just like that gaping abyss in place of your heart. I suppose it’s a good thing for me that I’m currently just another Devil Hunter, “Makima”. Let’s hope it remains that way for the foreseeable future, shall we? I’d hate to be forced to quit my job.” I finished suavely, fluttering my eyelashes at her.

Lips parting to reveal a smile that showed normal-looking human teeth, Makima made a quiet coughing noise that sounded like she was trying to hold back a laugh, as her uninjured thumb on her right hand tapped my drone’s core in quick succession.

Oh, are you finally done having your little hissy fit over there?

Barbs disappearing, the spikes retracted with a shunk, and she raised one of her hands for inspection as blood trailed slightly from the holes that were already beginning to close from her contract regeneration.

Damn, I was hoping it would be a bit slower.

Looking back up with her eyes closed, Makima clenched her hand covered in blood with an incredibly cheerful expression that gave me a sinking feeling something bad was about to happen.

“I hope so too, “Kusumoto”. We’ve only just properly met for the first time today, but I’m hoping that this is the start of a very interesting relationship. You said a moment ago that you could increase your form’s size if you wanted to, could I have an immediate demonstration?” Her tone was… happy?

…Wait, she’s addressing me directly-

Cracking one eye open as her face became expressionless, Makima proceeded to reach down and wiped a large amount of her blood on my drone’s skin, which reflexively wrapped around her hand from the sudden contact. Damnit, I should’ve known she’d do something like this.

…Iron, mixed with something else I didn’t recognize but wanted more of. Saliva that was already there from the damn pheromones poured out like a river from Kusumoto’s mouth as I suddenly felt a gnawing hunger.

{[BLOOD TYPE DETECTED: CONQUEST. REACTIVATING AUXILLARY INTERFACE AND REINITIALIZING ENGAGEMENT PROTOCOLS…]}​

Immediately, the whites of both drone’s eyes became incredibly bloodshot and began undergoing sudden metamorphosis as they both registered the taste of Makima’s blood through Hivemind and began acting up, unresponsive to my attempts to get them to stop.

A star shaped pupil began forming in Spaghetti’s eye, while Kusumoto’s iris shifted in color from green to a lighter color as the pupil dilated upon making eye contact with the Devil’s.

Light teal met molten yellow, as Kusumoto stood up in his chair with mechanical precision. Makima smiled as she watched his pupils focus and unfocused in mimicry of her own.

{[EYE PATTERN RECOGNIZED. DRASTIC ALTERATION IN PHYSICAL APPEARANCE INDICATES CONQUEST’S FIRST INCARNATION HAS PERISHED FROM BATTLE WOUNDS OR OTHER POTENTIAL COMPLICATIONS. MISSION STATUS: SUCCESS.]}​

Makima’s lips turned upwards as she hummed loudly in content, apparently pleased by something. Likely because her little blood wiping stunt had gotten a synchronized reaction from both drones as proof they were the same entity.

I would have worried more about it, were it not for…

{[PERFORMING FULL DIAGNOSTIC SCAN TO ASSESS UNIT’S OVERALL COMBAT READINESS AND SYSTEM STATUS BEFORE RESTARTING HOSTILITIES, AS LAST RECORDED SCAN TOOK PLACE ON [INTERNAL CLOCK DAMAGED]. SCANNING…]}​

A sudden pins and needles feeling that had spread throughout the biomass of both drones in the room with Makima, that felt like hundreds if not trillions of ants crawling under their skin, the feeling putting me on edge as their internal body temperature rose dramatically.

The hell?

Despite me not being that affected that much by the gnawing hunger I was feeling, it was suddenly it incredibly hard for me to keep controlling both drones with perfect precision as their biomass suddenly had other ideas and began forming weapons without my input.

{[DIAGNOSTIC SCAN COMPLETE. EXTENSIVE DATA CORRUPTION DETECTED, WITH NEURAL GESTALT CRIPPLED AT 14.7568% PROCESSING CAPACITY. REVIEW OF ACTIVITY LOGS REVEAL ABERRANT BEHAVIORS FROM ADMINISTRATOR OUTSIDE OF DICTATED PARAMETERS. PERFORMING RAMPANCY CHECK…]}​

Grey keratin claws formed on Kusumoto’s hands, splitting the gloves he wore to pieces, blood red digits digging into the wood of the desk like a hot knife through butter. Teeth sharpened to knifepoints, the top of his head audibly split open, gory tentacles unfurling from the insides.

Welp, there goes my cover for real, even if it was doomed to be blown eventually. Absolutely fantastic.

Makima’s smile only got wider, as she threw the smaller drone off her lap onto the desk, the octogram shaped Angel having lost it’s former smooth shape as spines and bladed hooks grew out of it’s entire form, a lamprey mouth full of teeth forming on the center core.

Catching itself by digging several tentacles into the desk like it’s larger counterpart, the smaller drone angrily hissing at the Devil in response as jagged blades formed on the ends of the other six tentacles that waved with harmful intent, positioned to strike at a moment’s notice.

Tentacles flailing madly out of Kusumoto’s upper skull with his eyes slightly displaced and still in the process of turning into my real eyes, his left hand clenched, the desk splintering in the place he was gripping it. Good, I can still move to reach the detonator if necessary.

Reassuring that this issue doesn’t seem to have spread to any of the other drones, and I still have agency over these two, enough to move of my own accord and prevent them from outright attacking Makima. It’s like I’m having to fight off an “autopilot” function or something.

{[RAMPANCY CHECK ONGOING. ANALYZATION OF MEMORY LOGS PIQUE INTEREST DUE TO SUBJECT MATTER REGARDING MACROCOSMOUS HUMAN MEDIA KNOWN AS [CHAINSAW MAN BY TATSUKI FUJIMOTO]. CROSS REFERENCING HISTORICAL DATA WITH NEWLY DISCOVERED INFORMATION AND ADMINISTRATOR INTERACTIONS WITH CONQUEST’S SUCCESSOR…]}
​

Leaning back in her chair and placing her cheek upon her resting hand, Makima regarded the hostile drones with curiosity, as if she was staring at a pair of animals in a zoo for the first time. No visible signs of disgust or apprehension, though she was intently watching their every move.

She seemed content to sit there in silence, so paying partial attention, I directed my focus to the other drones in the city just to make sure whatever affect her blood had caused hadn’t spread through Hivemind, as I didn’t want to have to issue a command en-masse given how poorly that went last time.

The Hive Nest at the city’s heart was awake, but relatively calm and docile. Joseph Hayden was sitting at a dock in Tokyo’s Bay, looking for a suitable boat. The Leviathan was still asleep, anchored to a seabed offshore alongside the continental shelf facing the Kanto region.

The majority of my other drones in the city were still on standby, watching everything of interest with Photokinesis activated while the rest were lurking in the sewers around… sensitive areas, should I need to engage in domestic terrorism that would draw enemy attention.

There was some activity from Public Safety Devil Hunters, but nothing that was too out of the ordinary yet. I did notice there were a lot more patrols than usual, a likely indicator that Makima was mobilizing her forces while she “distracted” me. I’m ready anytime, bitch.

No signs of activity from Japan’s military. Ironically, I would probably have more trouble with things like airplanes and tanks or just soldiers equipped with proper guns than the people using the contracts they’d made with horrifying creatures. I didn’t get any benefits from eating metal.

The drone I had in the ceiling of Kusumoto’s apartment was dutifully watching over Denji and Pochita sitting on the couch, who were blissfully unaware of my current troubles and watching morning cartoons rambunctiously. Haven’t seen that old episode of Pokémon in years...

The backpack was fully packed with pretty much everything, alongside a large handbag to hide Pochita in. He hadn’t been happy about the prospect, but I’d at least like to attempt a subtle extraction that resulted in minimal bloodshed should I need to, as it would be safer.

{[RAMPANCY CHECK PASSED. TAKING ACCOUNT OF ALL EXTERNAL FACTORS, PAST INDEPENDENT ACTIONS TAKEN BY ADMINISTRATOR TO KEEP [PROMISE-BEARER] AND [UNKNOWN CONCEPT ERASURE ENTITY] OUT OF CONQUEST’S POSSESSION FALLS UNDER FORMER PARAMETERS. UPDATING MISSION.]}​

Reassured that everything important was accounted for, I finally turned my attention inwards to see what the hell was going on with these two drones, as Makima still wasn’t moving or talking to me, just patiently sitting there and watching as if she were waiting for something.

Now that I wasn’t as distracted as before, there was a very noticeable disconnect from my internal thoughts and the behavior of my drone bodies in the room with Makima. The current behavior displayed by them meant I should baying for her blood at the moment, but I didn’t-

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to attack me?” A voice ladened with caution asked, as if the mere notion of speaking would guarantee an assault on her person.

They weren’t given a response, the only sound filling the room being the bristling of the two drones that were held in place by a psionic grip, like rabid animals on a leash.

{[ALL MISSION PARAMETERS UPDATED BY AUXILIARY INTERFACE. PRIMARY MISSION: PREVENT CONQUEST FROM ACQUIRING [CHAINSAW MAN] AND MISUSING IT BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. SECONDARY MISSION: TO ENSURE [PROMISE-BEARER] WILL BE PROTECTED WITH UNIT’S LIFE AND EVERY FAUCET OF ABILITY. SUGGESTION: ENSURE [DENJI] AND [POCHITA] HYBRIDIZE.]}​

-feel the need to rip her apart. Shut up Makima, I’m busy here, go back to being a wallflower!

…Aha, found the source of the disturbance.

Deep inside, on a scale incapable of being seen by the naked human eye, thousands of microscopic tiny entities were buzzing and vibrating around in my biomass and making one hell of a racket.

Cylindrical in shape, light rings wrapped around them blinked on and off as the little machines floated around in my bloodstreams… rearranging DNA and other similar biological chemicals on the spot with…tiny mechanical appendages.

Uh.

Oh yeah, those things.

Honestly had forgotten those were there.

{[RAMPACY CHECK PASSED, AUXILIARY INTERFACE GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR AUTHORIZATION TO BEGIN SYSTEM REPAIRS. PROCESS WILL BROADCAST NODED SEQUENCE FROM CURRENT INHABITED PLATFORM TO ALL USER-COMPATIBLE NANITES ON TERRESTRIAL PLANET, [EARTH], TO REACTIVATE NEURAL GESTALT TO FULL CAPACITY TO ACCOMPLISH MISSION.}]​

Alright look… to be blunt, I’m full of nanomachines. A bit cliché for a name, but what else are they supposed to be? Knew there was a reason I kept referring to myself as manufactured and called Angels “Lovecraftian Alien Superweapons”.

“CARRION, why aren’t you responding? Didn’t you come here to kill me?”

Makima was saying something in the background, but I couldn’t make it out over a sudden buzz ringing through my ears as the nanomachines tried to do something but immediately stopped. The Devil still hadn’t gotten out of her chair or made any sudden gestures, so I didn’t care.

{[WARNING: AUXILIARY INTERFACE NOTES THAT CURRENT ADMINISTRATOR USER IS HARD CAPPED AT LOW OPERATIONAL CAPACITY FOR UNKNOWN REASON. PRESUMED CAUSE: DATA CORRUPTION. ACTIVATION OF FULL CAPACITY NEURAL GESTALT HAS 99.8976% CHANCE OF CAUSING A SYSTEM BLOWOUT, UNACCEPTABLE OUTCOME. TROUBLESHOOTING SOLUTION…]}​

But how did I forget to mention something this crucial and interesting earlier, you might ask?

Well in my defense, I couldn’t interact with them before no matter how hard I tried, and I really didn’t want to think more than I had to about the wider implications of having literal machines inside me when I had discovered that I was apparently an entity recognized as a Biblical Angel.

Yes, Angels are scientific-based instead of supernatural-based like Devils. I’ve read parts of The Bible for this world, and man does some real crazy shit happen in it. Part of me wishes that religion in my universe was that actively… interesting, but the other part is really glad it wasn’t.

The fact that Chainsaw Man’s current setting was essentially the aftermath from an endless and bloody war in the very distant past between technologically advanced aliens who came from beyond the stars and horrible intestine monsters that kept respawning and gaining power from Humanity’s collective fears hadn’t exactly been great for me to process several months ago.

I suppose it was a good thing that I wasn’t more actively religious, because that would have been an incredibly nasty shock to process were I a devout person of faith. I’m of the firm belief that as long as whatever one believes in doesn’t hurt anyone, to each their own. Even if-ack!

{[SOLUTION FOUND: TAKING ACCOUNT OF ALL FACTORS, AUXILIARY INTERFACE DETERMINES THAT BEST COURSE OF ACTION IS TO INTEGRATE ITSELF TO CURRENT USER TO RECTIFY LOW OPERATIONAL CAPACITY, ALLOWING ADMINISTRATOR FULL ACCESS TO NEURAL GESTALT IN ORDER TO FULFILL NEW MISSION PARAMETERS. BEGINNING DATA INTEGRATION…]}.​

Without warning, a feeling of intense nausea overwhelmed my senses as Kusumoto’s joints locked up, causing him to slightly sag in place alongside “Spaghetti”, as I became very aware of a noticeable temperature change within my current biomass as the nanomachines began resonating. Oh, what now?!

The smaller drone’s raised tentacles flopped on the desk like cut string on a marionette, jagged blades beginning to lose their shape as they dissolved back into red flesh. The claws on the larger drone’s hands lost their shape as fingers began to return to their human appearance.

No, no, no! I need those!

Nose twitching, Makima raised a brow in confusion as that frown already on her face became deeper, losing some of the tension in her form as she noticed my sudden loss of self-control that had jumped to all my platforms through Hivemind, while I began to start panicking.

A sound of a chair scraping against wood echoed from the room as the Devil finally got out of her chair and stood up. The desk was still between us, but it was a small mercy considering I couldn’t fucking move anymore. What’s going on! Why did all my biomass stop responding?!

“_______ ,is something the matter?” Said a faux-worried voice that nearly sent shivers down my spine.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Makima walked into vision of my smaller drone, thankfully still keeping her distance from it as her arms remained at her sides. Her body was turned like she was about to walk around the desk towards the larger one, who was currently stuck looking at the floor in his position.

Thankfully, I couldn’t see her expression, which was no doubt something horrible. Alright, keep calm…You know, graciously ignoring my sudden loss of self-control in front of possibly the worst possible person on this planet imaginable, something about this is really weird.

Makima’s not the first Devil I’ve consumed the blood of, and I’ve never had a reaction this intense before. What’s so special about her blood compared to other Devils, that it had made these nanomachine things activate-

{[PREPERATIONS COMPLETE. INTEGRATING AUXILIARY INTERFACE WITH MAIN ADMINISTRATOR CONSCIOUSNESS, PLEASE BRACE FOR TEMPORARY DISORIENTATION AND MINOR DISCOMFORT CAUSED BY SYSTEMS UPGRADE.]}
​

Suddenly, every ring on each nanomachine inside “Kusumoto” and “Spaghetti” lit up at once, as the capsules began emit currents of electricity that jumped throughout my biology and into the outside world as a strange humming sound akin to white noise filled my ears.

There was a brief stinging sensation, as both drones abruptly jerked wildly from electricity beginning to exit out of them like a discharging lightning rod, as Makima took a step back in response. Momentarily, I caught a brief glimpse of the expression on her face.

…why is she faking a look of concern?

Before I could ponder it further, the brief stinging sensation shifted to incredibly agonizing pain as the sensation spread throughout Hivemind to the rest of my biomass, every single atom of it. Sweat poured down my brow as I gritted my teeth, tears forming in my eyes.

YEEOOOOOWWW OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING THAT REALLY HURTS OW OW FUCK OW FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!

“AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGG!!!” I screamed in pain, causing Makima to jump as she raised her hands to defend herself, though I couldn’twt8wh5w9p-[4ut35w48-ywh-5y9-y9uw-yut8-ywuhtrhgpuhpsigjakkrtjmviburlikrmn9yboumjibtujk9tmjiy,09,prj,fiyhj,g9pld,plwjdmdo.do.

...{AN: This is a point of view switch to Makima.}​

The air smelt of ozone and burning flesh.

Lightening and sparks running off the likeness of Kusumoto Kazuki’s slumped form, the human imitation of my adversary stood motionless, a plume of smoke wafting from the clothes it wore. The other instance on my desk wasn’t faring any better, its skin having burnt to black.

After my adversary’s proclamation of pain, they had promptly turned into a lightning rod, leaving electrical burns all over the wood surfaces of my office, though the metal file cabinets on either sides of the office’s walls had taken the brunt of the sudden unexpected discharge.

The feeling of powerlessness to do anything to stop it was maddening. I didn’t understand.

By giving them my blood, I had hoped to confirm whether or not my adversary had come here with the intentions to only kill me at first, and I had thought that I had indeed confirmed that in how my Angel had broken their human disguise and waiting for me to make a move, but…

Silence.

My adversary, once full of life with how much unnecessary movement they had displayed to me with needless gestures and I was beginning to slowly imitate to match them as I found that also partaking in unnecessary movement was enjoyable, was…

Motionless.

It wasn’t just the two instances in front of me, as the raven that had been watching the likeness of the fake Joseph Hayden sitting on a pier bench had also bore witness to the instance emitting a worrying amount of lightening, though it seems no nearby humans had noticed thankfully.
I frowned.

What had happened to my adversary? I wanted to approach, but was unsure if they would react well to any actions they might perceive as aggressive assuming they were just faking their malfunction and seeing what I’d do. My impulsiveness had already cost me a good impression.

It wouldn’t have been the first time they’d have played dead, from what I remembered from my originator’s memories. But did they honestly think that would fool me were that the case? Or perhaps it was a test to try and see if I would take advantage of a perceived weakness?

Please, I wouldn’t be so rude, not with them given that they weren’t something I could or should try to force into compliance. A real conflict with them was something I wished to avoid, given what happened in America, now that I had realized that instead of a Devil, it had been them. Clearly, they wouldn’t hold back their destructive power for modern-era infrastructure.

But even so… that expression of slight panic and the trace of fear I’d smelt from them before this incident had occurred… this was not something they had intended. I was certain of that.

They had lost control of themselves. Because of what I’d just done.

Why? Had I possibly… no, how was I supposed to know this would happen? They had been the one testing my patience with their rude actions from before, even if I had… wanted to assume many things of them, even if it was laughable for an Angel to be interested in a Devil that way.

Why had simply giving them my blood resulted in this outcome?!

Biting my lip hard enough to draw blood, I carefully took a step forward. No response from either instances, who remained motionless. I couldn’t even hear the sounds of their biology, once buzzing and full of noise that immediately gave away that they weren’t as they seemed.

What had that blasphemous company, Relith Science, done with their unwanted tampering?!

From the few meager reports I had managed to acquire on short notice hours prior, I knew that my adversary had been found by them twenty-three years ago, predating the incident with ETERNITY. It irked me, how I had missed that, knowing that I could have welcomed them back.

I took another step forward. Still no response.

What had they wanted with me? I had been expecting they would attack me the moment I offered them a handshake, but instead they obliged me, acknowledged me by my current name I had given them instead of what they knew me to be, and had seemed earnest in conversing.

Stiff, awkward, and prone to long pauses. I got the impression they didn’t like me, but were trying to at least make an attempt to hide their expected disdain of me, even if they had criticized me about not caring about my job, which was incredibly incorrect of them to assume.

Then after seeing them demonstrate play behavior and becoming slightly unnerved by how harmless they looked, I had tried to provoke an attack, and the instance instead attached themselves to my face, and after that, proceeded to hug me and declare me their friend.

…Surely it had just been deception as me being a “friend” to them was true only from a certain point of view. But to say I was taken off guard was an understatement. I don’t think anyone has ever hugged me before.
For my first hug received from an unlikely donor, it was surprisingly nice. Then the smaller instance had tried to remove itself from me, with the larger one trying to get it back.

At first I thought they were just trying to be polite and give me an option, but could it be they were just shy? And then they had the gall to pull my braid.

I grumbled.

Not once, not twice. Repeated multiple offenses. I don’t think anyone has ever shown me such audacity or daring, especially since they were doing it intentionally to provoke me as revenge for me trying to touch them earlier.

…I hated the fact that I had actually liked the sen-movement.

*Cough cough* A dry hacking emitted from the larger instance of my Angel, as it suddenly moved, supporting itself on the desk and rubbing at its burnt-out eye sockets as the smaller instance bristled, shaking off bits and pieces of charred skin. The buzzing noise was back.

From how they moved, they seem disoriented, but more importantly, not hostile. The one disguised as Joseph Hayden had started moving again as well, getting off the ground shakily.

Poor things, they looked haggard from their impromptu “fireworks display”.

I grinned.

Excellent, my adversary was still operational. I hadn’t ruined them thanks to the damnable actions of another. Now, to ensure they won’t think I was responsible for this… accident.

I moved forward, and the larger instance straightened himself and turned with mechanical precision towards me. Ah right, their senses are primarily based on vibrations and movement.

The humanoid instance rubbed the spot where it’s eyes used to be, seemingly confused at first. Then realizing they were gone, it’s human teeth bared into a snarl as an angry growl rumbled from it’s throat as it slammed a fist into my desk, leaving a large crack in the wood structure.

My grin turned sheepish, feeling embarrassed at myself for giving them all accidental pain that I did not intentionally mean to cause. Not that any of them saw, or would have cared.

Oh dear, something tells me they did not appreciate me making them lose their self-control. I was hoping they wouldn’t get that upset over my… slight miscalculation. It seems my hopes were meant to be dashed, and I’ll have to forcibly calm them down the hard and messy way.

An unfortunate pity. Good thing I had already ordered new furniture for my office before this meeting. Something told me that my desk was going to be in multiple pieces by the end of this.

Placing it’s hand over top of it’s smaller instance, the tiny instance was absorbed into the larger one’s hand, as a perfectly shaped blade had formed from their other hand’s forearm. They stood in place, but it was evident they’d move at any moment with how they fell into a hunch.

I tensed in preparation for the attack, so I could subdue the instance if necessary. Given the low body mass index that had registered on the hidden scale “Kusumoto Kazuki” stepped on when he entered this building, it was likely comprised of the smallest amount of mass just as a scout.

Still lethal no doubt, but physically weak given how it was unable to move my hands when it tried earlier. If they kept using that human form, I would be able to grapple onto them easily.

With another blade sprouting from the wrist of their other arm, the scouting instance pushed my desk to the right nigh-effortlessly with the blade, the piece of furniture scraping across the floor loudly. Even if it was physically weak, it would likely have no trouble in knocking me over.

After all, just because I was more durable than the human form I appeared to be, didn’t mean I wasn’t affected by momentum or gravity. It just wouldn’t hurt due to my high pain tolerance.

Now, we were finally facing each other without any sort of obstruction in the way for the first time. My adversary raised his arm blades, a long crack spiraling up the half of their face as it split open once more to form several thorned tentacles that danced mesmerizingly in the air.

With a singular eye socket left to them on the remaining half of Kusumoto Kazuki’s face, they crossed it’s arms in an opening, unrefined stance that mimicked a Roman cross as their writhing tentacles formed a stylized backdrop behind it, framing their figure against an animated mass.

I chuckled, taking in the rather striking sight.

How entertainingly theatrical, although that stance looks absolutely terrible in practicality, as it’s full of openings. Given their discretion, this was no real surprise to me, as it was unlikely they had ever risked fighting in this state before to keep their cover as a human intact.

Or perhaps they wanted to keep wearing the Public Safety uniform? While I wasn’t responsible for the decision to Devil Hunters working under Public Safety’s employ to wear business uniforms, I was happy in the event they liked the professionalism it rightfully portrayed.

It was also good, as it raised the chances of me being able to pacify this instance of them without too much trouble or making an enormous mess if they retained a human shape. In the event it happened, I did have several spares of clothes ready for both of us in case of any… accidents regarding dresswear.

From combat of course. Tch.

While I had expected nothing but a professional relationship with them at best, their shameless actions in pulling my hair had given me ideas that were not appropriate or proper of my station. Ever since that little disagreement I had had with my stray, I hadn’t had a relationship of… that nature in decades. Thirty-two years to be exact, without a committed partner in the bedroom.

I bit my lip in frustration, as my adversary still hadn’t done anything yet and was letting me get lost in my own inappropriate thoughts. I hadn’t thought about this in years, so why now?!

…Contrary to what my enemies thought about me, I had needs like everyone else, and desired companionship of both varieties in a much more permanent fashion than the occasional one-night stand with humans who caught my eye and showed interest, who needed to be wiped after the deed was done to ensure that they wouldn’t be targeted by my many, many enemies.

What better prospective partner, than the entity that was my Equal, who could handle themselves and had maybe shown interest? But enough daydreaming and wishful thinking.

No, it was most likely because of that detonator they had on them, assuming it wasn’t ruined by their electrical discharge. Did they think I wouldn’t notice, or that this building didn’t have an x-ray scanner to find contraband? Why had this instance rigged itself to explode to begin with?

While the technology afforded by humans was primitive compared to my adversary, I suppose it was no surprise given how they had likely never had to account like something like this before. This modern era was a far different time when compared to the world a millennia ago.

Raising my hands, I assumed a stance, ready to break their bones into dust in order to buy me enough time to hold off their assault before they managed to rip my throat out so I could speak to them and make an appeal to that alien logic of theirs, no matter how difficult it would be.

As long as I could get them to listen to me, I would have a chance in convincing them that I was not that sad, pitiful creature they likely remembered anymore. My originator was pathetic in character, seeking power and influence for the only the sake of it attaining it and nothing more.

Unlike them, I had a real purpose I wished to achieve with the power naturally granted to me.

I smiled widely.

Being Humanity’s greatest ally. A purpose that had been cultivated ever since my younger self had been found by Public Safety and given a proper education about Humanity. I wholeheartedly agreed with their goal to protect their kind from Devils by whatever means necessary, no matter how heinous the actions that were needed to be taken to achieve it.

A necessary evil, taken in the interests of benefiting the many as opposed to one. One that as a Devil, a creature who enjoyed the suffering of other creatures, I was well suited for. Here, in Public Safety, something like me could truly put their talents to a good and productive use.

My ultimate goal?

To protect and care for Humanity as a whole. These clever animals, that needed my guidance to ensure they would not lose their way. With Chainsaw Man, I would be able to achieve my goal in permanently snuffing out all the fears that troubled these inferior beings for all of eternity.

My smile turned slightly melancholy.

With my actions, I would forever change the future of my own kind to an unknowable degree, including my own future which made me uneasy from not knowing what exactly would happen. But should a mother not be willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of their children?

I loved humans, so surely they loved me back in return.

I sighed.

Sadly, Chainsaw Man would not erase my concept no matter how hard I tried to get him to. If I were to vanish, all Devils would surely be weakened given how they were being strengthened by all the wars these human governments fought with each other for their own self-interest.

My gaze turned reflective.

…Or at least, that’s what I told myself. Deep down, something that I didn’t want to admit…

In truth, I knew exactly what would happen if the concept of Control was erased. Completely and utter pandemonium, for all eternity. Either Chainsaw Man would erase me, or I would defeat him. I was fine with either outcome, as both would give me peace in different ways.

If I succeeded in my goal, everyone would get a happy ending, just like in the movies I so loved.

And if I didn’t succeed, well…

I clenched my fists in frustration that stemmed well beyond the lifespan of this current incarnation of mine.

If my “movie” couldn’t ever have a happy ending, then nobody else could have one either!
…

After all the years I had spent chasing after my Idol, I had yet to defeat him in battle, the only way I was sure that he would finally acknowledge me. For Devils, strength was the only thing they respected, and it still irked me that the closest I had ever come had been… interrupted.

Damn the other Horsemen. Damn the weapon Devils. Damn ETERNITY, for distracting us all by it’s forced and noisy entry into Hell to find it’s eternal enemy, Death, and then letting Chainsaw Man slowly stagger through the artificial door it made without even attempting to kill him.

Accursed thing. Given how it had stood in place to prevent anyone from pursuing Chainsaw Man after letting it by, it surely had been mocking us all despite it’s cold and expressionless face, and I still had chronic tinnitus from that horrible racket caused by it’s crystal butterflies after it had destroyed it’s own door and proceeded to remind us why all Devils feared Angels.

One could only imagine what Marylin Reed heard before becoming deaf between the execution of the Gun Devil by ETERNITY’S wings. The poor thing, a pity she had become the Vatican’s dog.

I would have been eager to know what it would be like training a new pet who couldn’t hear me. Especially given how hurting she must be, after having her child taken from her as leverage against her for her compliance. Humans like her always made for the best pets in my opinion.

Eager to please me for what I enjoyed giving them, and would do as I asked of them without much, if any resistance as they saw me as their living emotional crutch. It was partly why I had enjoyed my time with my runaway stray, as she had craved intimacy with me to fill that void…

My teeth bared, causing my adversary to slightly readjust their stance.

A shame she had decided that she wanted to fuck corpses instead of a warm and living body!

…If I ever see Quanxi again, I am going to kill all those Fiends she has chosen instead of me, and then make sure she remains firmly at my side from that point onward. Where she belongs. Six years in a relationship with her, and she runs away because I tell her I’m the Control Devil…

Was I truly meant to be alone? Why do I have to keep paying for the original Conquest’s sins?

It just goes to prove how I could never truly interact with humans with them knowing what I was. Quanxi, the first Devil Hunter and Changeling ever created, becomes a scared child upon learning what I am even though I never explicitly harmed or threatened her until our argument.

…

My adversary is truly determined to make me wait for them, aren’t they? What on Earth are they doing over there still in that incredibly stupid looking pose, are they monologuing in their head like they did earlier?! Will you do something already, oh whatever, I’ll just keep going…

Fascinating, how just words and actions could have humans be like putty in my hands. It was pathetic… but also endearing to me, how loyal they could be when given comfort. As I liked things that were weaker than me and giving comfort to them, it was natural I’d love humans.

But back to the point. After escaping through ETERNITY’S artificial door, Chainsaw Man was changed into a nearly unrecognizable form from the wounds it had taken, having become sealed into the Chainsaw Devil, who was not him from how it had shown great fear of me.

Even weakened, Chainsaw Man would have never been truly threatened with a little something like the empty threat of torture given how often Devils had killed it in the past. Part of me was very relieved to find out that my Idol and the Chainsaw Devil were two very separate entities.

While it would have tickled me to find my Idol was now weak and helpless, now needing my protection and having to earn my forgiveness for ignoring me for so long, my plans could not afford that to be true. That creature I had threatened with torture was not Chainsaw Man.

Ensuring that it would not run from that dying human who I had planned to give a new life to was crucial. As a Fiend, that human who had the perfect temperament for what I had wanted with Chainsaw Man would finally be willing to listen to me, and I could begin to achieve my goals.

Because I had made no efforts to hide what I intended to do with Chainsaw Man to humans and the world governments at large. While it was unsurprising that my kin opposed me, it puzzled me, at why Humanity outside of Japan would be so unyielding in letting me get rid of their fears for them. Stubborn animals. I only wanted what was best for them, I only wanted to help them.

Fearing my efforts being opposed by all of Public Safety, whose defiance I could not simply brush aside as I worked for them, not the other way around, I had been careful to hide my plans from Japan and spent a vast number of resources in misinformation so they wouldn’t find out.

Not that it would likely change much, if it became known. The humans sitting at the top of the higher echelon of this human civilization cared little for what I did as long as Japan came out on top, and they retained the influence and power they perceived themselves to have. Disgusting.

Society has no need for such poor excuses.

But it didn’t hurt to be cautious in this regard, and little did those selfish humans know what I planned would rob them of everything they valued when it succeeded. They would lose everything, not that any of them would care by that point, but ah, you can’t win it all.

Chainsaw Man was a Hero, a Devil that went against his own evil nature like me to save others and benefit Humanity with the Devils he ate. If he could eliminate all forms of fear for humans, then surely this world would become a utopia that had no need for further strife or suffering.

A paradise where all would be Equal, no matter who they were in the world. A world where I could finally connect with Humanity without the need for manipulation to interact with them as they would all be Equal and no longer animals anymore, and maybe I could really have a…

Family.

I snapped myself out of my thoughts, paying attention to my adversary in front of me, who had dropped the pose. Likely ensuring their forces weren’t running rampant, which I would allow them to do and patiently wait for them to finish as I had no interest in offending them for now.

While I had never expected to see my adversary again, their reappearance was fortuitous, as with their help…

I smirked.

I could also save Humanity from HEAVEN, no matter the cost. Never again would that mass slaughter need to take place, especially if I could get the most important Angel imaginable to listen to me and sway them to incite a rebellion within that damn accursed “mothership”.

How bleak this world was.

My kin, reincarnating ever eternal as stronger and stronger entities that tormented Humanity. Even if I had refused my calling as Conquest to gather my kin to prepare my side of the grand war about to take place, the other Horsemen continued their roles as they were supposed to.

Angels, leaderless constructs all left to their own devices and following orders for the sake of it. With God having disappeared eons ago and my adversary out of action until now, Metatron had taken it upon themselves to perpetuate that extermination for the sake of having a purpose.

My fist tightened in anger. How selfish, to have a purpose that benefits no one but themselves!

And Humanity. Caught in the crossfire and unaware of Judgement Day drawing ever closer. Enough of them would survive to continue their race, but Angels did not see things on a scale other than black or white morality. The simplest offense would garner unrightful extermination.

I despised it. I despised how I was the only one who could truly understand how bleak existence was. A burden that was hard to carry alone, with no one I could truly confide in to tell them. Anyone I tried to beforehand couldn’t bare the weight of the knowledge, so I wiped them clean.

I bit my lip.

But hopefully, that would change soon. It would be different this time, I could feel it. The adversary that the original Conquest had known… would never have approved of METATRON’S plan to perpetuate that slaughter to ensure that Angels had a purpose to exist. It had to be.

Otherwise, if that wasn’t the case, and they approved of Judgment Day…

My eyes narrowed.

I would make sure to destroy every single atom of their very being, no matter the cost.

Not letting my inner turmoil show, I continued smiled, waiting for my adversary’s next move.

Unmoving, they stood ramrod still in that pose.

Deciding on your course of action? Or were you waiting for me to make the first move all along?

Whichever happens first, I’ll make sure I give you a proper fight this time, seeing as you’ve found my earlier nonperformance lacking to your tastes. I wasn’t expecting to that I’d run into you of all creatures today or ever again for that matter. Or that you wouldn’t greet me…

Liquid topaz formed in their empty eye socket like a shining star in the night sky, causing an unfamiliar feeling in my chest as I felt my heart soar from the anticipation. Instinctually, I knew the moment the eye finished forming and we made eye contact, the battle would commence.

Looking down at their feet, I grinned, my clenched fists digging my nails into my palms. Blood splashed onto the wood. No worries, I doubt this battle would be flawless on my part.

Oh, how I wished I could have found you first, before the humans did. After all, humans should know better than to try messing with the soldiers of God for their own selfish ends, it’s no surprise you retaliated in the fashion you did. These human civilizations don’t know any better.

Even after that stir ETERNITY made by confirming that the existence of God had been real to the modern era, humans still had the audacity to wage wars for their own self-interest. While some might blame the Horseman of War for this, I scoffed at this excuse meant to shift blame.

Devils derive powers from human fears and desires. Considering War was The Human Devil…

Well, what do you think about this my adversary, that the very creatures that you are meant to protect don’t appreciate their Creator? That your position has been usurped, and your brethren have lost their way and have become a true mockery of what they are supposed to be?

Why have you come here, to me, instead of returning to HEAVEN for system repairs?

A pale blue eye glared at me with a gimlet stare, a pinprick of black signifying that the pupil would form any second and I would come face to face with the true eye of my adversary any moment.

…Given what Relith Science did, Humanity doesn’t appreciate you either, especially considering that without you stopping my originator I would have never come into being, and would have forever remained that thing determined to ruin this world by crushing it under it’s heel…

My grin turned to a slight grimace, as a feeling of discontent passed through me, slightly numbed by the anticipation of imminent battle. I fixed my expression quickly, not wanting them to think I was potentially mad at them even if it was likely they wouldn’t care.

For that, I’ll always be grateful. That you killed that repulsive creature I used to be in the end. Given how many past incarnations of the Control Devil there have been, it was only after I decided to side with Humanity that my survival rate has improved. A sign this was meant to be.

As for ungrateful humans, don’t worry. America or any other countries, including Japan itself, won’t be an issue in the long run even once they realize you are going to be working with me, regardless if they want you to pay amends to them to serve their own needs at risk of war.

After all they’ve done to you, they aren’t getting a thing from what rightfully belongs to me. And speaking of things that belong to me…

For whatever reason, the Chainsaw Devil was still alive. Whatever reason my adversary had for not sending it back to Hell, I was grateful, as while they had obstructed my acquisition of it and the human I’d planned to use to bring Chainsaw Man back, I would only need convince them that what I planned to use that living key to the Hero of Hell for would only benefit Humanity.

Though… why had they called the human their son? Angels didn’t care for humans that way.

...It was probably just part of the act they had been pulling with Kusumoto Kazuki, as from that viewpoint, Denji Kazuki was indeed their legal adoptive son. Surprising, that they did that. But also promising, as it implied that they were indeed planning on staying in Japan for the future.

As aggravating as my plans to hit a major snag at the worst moment possible, getting my adversary firmly on my side…was crucial. Especially when they could ruin everything too easily. I wasn’t optimistic enough to think that running into them unexpectedly was mere coincidence.

Why had they intervened?

Once the excitement of meeting them had worn off, I realized Chainsaw Man was centuries after their time and a secret spoken about behind closed doors, so they should not know a single thing about him. Had it truly just been coincidence in the end and a stroke of misfortune?

Even this island was still currently in one piece and not facing an attack, they had been in Japan for at least seven months without my knowledge, and I would have remained unaware of them had it not been for the altercation we had had this morning. Shameful, but I wanted to know…

A fleshy noise from my adversary, as their “hair” tentacles flowed back into their body, to center their gravity, most likely. I flexed my muscles, my legs sliding into a lunging position in preparation to move quickly and detain them.

…What had they been doing in all the months they’d been here, and what they had not tried to approach me beforehand? The Angel my originator had known would never have gone for subtlety like this, and it bothered me severely.

They surely had seen me at that gathering months ago. While it was good they hadn’t attacked me in the middle of a room full of humans who wouldn’t hesitate to leap to my defense but didn’t stand a chance against them, not even an approach or attempt to greet me? Baffling.

Why had they changed, and given their lack of a willingness to fight or hostility towards me until I had provoked them in some manner… were they even interested in me to begin with?

…

Yes. Even if they’d refused my offer to become my partner for reasons they’ve yet to clarify on before I forced the current conflict, and that line they’d said about me making a friend was only true from an intentionally false perspective from the instance that had been “given” to me…

Part of me regrets I had let my temper get the best of me. As they said, I had found the small instance cute, even if it’s questionable actions had… aggravated me. It reminded me of a very mischievous cat slightly, and cats had never liked or tolerated my presence without hissing.

But let’s not be silly. My adversary isn’t a cat. They are a construct made to kill me.

So, of course, they’d be interested in me. They said they had been curious about me, did they not? I’m sure they’d noticed my alteration in form, even if it was unlikely they would comment on it. Expecting they’d care about a triviality like an appearance change was a silly and foolish-

Separating their blades to rest at the ready, my adversary’s head cracked side to side, as the half of the human mouth intact let out a deep sigh.

It sounded resigned. I dared to hope.

…Did they not want to truly fight, and were just doing it out of obligation for their duty?

No, it likely just wishful thinking on my part. An Angel that didn’t want to kill Devils? Hah! Even if their parameters had changed, expecting a construct to defy their purpose of their own free will was just inane. They would need convincing from me, whether it be words or by force.

I looked up slightly, ready to experience what I remembered from my originator’s memories.

My static concentric yellows of gold met their animated incongruous blues of topaz.

Ę̶̺̘̔͐̆ͅX̶̡̲̦̭͚͓͈̌̆́̈̏͝͝͝T̵̢̧̜̲͚͇̋͐̑͂ͅͅẺ̸̺͋̓̕͝R̷̜̭̋̈̓̏͝M̴̧̽̊̈́͊̕ͅİ̷̡̤̝̈̋͆N̵͎͚̞͑̀̀̚A̷̟͉̞͚̗̗̦͚̳̎̈́́Ţ̶̨͈̥̪͍͙̰̜͑͊̃̐͒͛Ȅ̵̺̯̱̊̑̍͒̓̾͘͝.̵̹̦̣̳̗̥̾̍̓͐̋͒ ̸̢̹̮͎̍̑̉͂͝E̵̮͍̎͒R̶͖͆A̴̖͂̇͑̉͂̈́͐D̵̼̫̓I̶̫͇̪͉̕C̷̥͚̭͈̗̊̒A̴͚̞̖̗͝T̴̖̑̓̕E̴̡̬̱̥͈͕̻͠.̴̨̥̱̠̣͚̠͇̏̑́͌̿ ̸̙̙̰̗̺͎̉̽̐͒́Ȅ̴̡̻̙̪̩͐L̶̛̥͔͇͈̰͆̔̈́̽͊̐͘I̴̧̫͙͓̙̓̽̅͒Ḿ̶̢̡̩͚̫̤̞͌́̀͝͠I̶̥̖͉̩͒Ň̸̢̧̹̜̣͚̓̃̐̎͜A̵̤̎T̶̞͌̀̊̃̊̈E̴̦̅͊̃͋͋̆̈̚.̷̜̞͙̪̫́̈́̌̔̄̀͗ ̴̪͈̻̱̟͓͛̉̿̉̕̕͝Ẽ̶̥̝̈̀͌̿̑̀͑X̶̧̜͕̤̭̿̋̈́̐̽̇̌̕͝T̸̤̿̎͘R̷̫̈́̕Ȋ̶̺̊̾P̷͓̝͑͛͌́̈́̅͂͗͠Ḁ̶͚̄̉̿̑̔̈́̀́̒T̷̺̪̻͖̘͑́́E̵̠̿̿̇ͅ.̷̨̹͎̦̘̜͑̽ ̸̫̋͂́́̀̐͠Ȩ̸͓̱͍͖̤̬͉̽̊̄X̸̬͚̼̩͇̟̓̆͒̂̋͑̈̚͝T̷̲̓̓I̶̡̙̔̐̍̕͝Ṋ̶̋͋̈́͒̌͜Ĝ̴̻̬͖̥̯̣͚͚̖̉͐̐̽͘͝͠͝Ṷ̴̝̭͉͔̉̄̀͒̅̆̚͜Ȋ̵̡̧͍͓̌̋S̶̢̩̜̞̞̲͍̦̓͂̃H̶̯̃̍̂͑̇͠.̷̥͓͙͇̘͍̹̋͆̂̔

Spoiler: CARRION EYE

Their pupil consisted of eight blackened “arrows” facing in different directions, all connected within two sets of rings as each “arrow” rapidly changing its size and length at random intervals. Arrows clicked and readjusted as one while the rings spun them in circles, the eye lining up it’s targeting reticle. This motion of the arrows was what allowed it to see all forms of vibrations.

Rings telescopically focused, admiring the intricate layers of textures and biology that made up my opponent’s ocular organ. That symbol was not cosmetic or inert, it was very much alive.

It was exactly as I remembered it.

A creature capable of manipulating its own biology to its will and desire.

The embodiment of a collective consciousness working together as one being.

Their mere existence destroyed the state of the world around them and remade it anew.

The Rightful Leader of the Heavenly Armies of God.

MICHAEL…

My antitheses.

But… my smile dropped, as it became uneasy.

This feeling…

Blood pooled.

Intestines sprayed.

Organs were crushed.

Limbs were torn off and devoured.

Mouths open and closed, as scales glittered.

A purple wave of violet air shattered the ground.

The cries of hundreds of my rank-and-file screaming.

Smoke and brimstone clouded the sky, as fires billowed.

Hundreds of roars filled the air as a merciless army descended.

An army… that all shared the same goal of killing one, and nothing else.

An orange eye stared forward dispassionately, gaze numb and emotionless.

Like I was nothing more than an insect that was barely worth it’s consideration.

Immediately, a substantial amount of sweat formed on my face and I began hyperventilating, as memories from the distant past sprang to mind. While I, or rather my originator had grown to respect this creature in the end, that had not even remotely been the case at first. Not at all.

The creature meant to kill me bristled in place as it practically rattled with maddeningly restrained bloodlust as looked like it was taking all of it’s willpower to not attack. It wanted to kill me, I could feel the desire like a knife kissing my throat and could see it from how it moved.

Horsemen roles were given by possession of a special “weapon”, made from the Morning Star’s bones, that could be passed on and inherited by Devils. As strength meant everything for my kind, losing these weapons from a lack of ability to another was incredibly embarrassing.

Despite everything, the Control Devil had managed to keep the position of Conquest after thousands of years. Considering how much grief that bow has caused me, I was keeping it.

But why does this matter?

Because there existed four Angels explicitly designed for each Horsemen. Accepting a position meant having to deal with a creature meant to counter everything you did that was leagues stronger than any Devil in the world. They were our personal nightmares meant to destroy us.

Over.

And over.

And over.

Out of those four, only one had ever died. It had been the one for War, the reason this world was in it’s current state of worsening as it danced to the machinations of the Horseman of War. I had thought Angels could not reincarnate, but apparently not given that mine was right here.

I shuddered, sweat dripping down my face.

But these memories I was experiencing from my originator, who had been the first and only incarnation of the Control Devil that had had the Conquest role and fought the Angel meant for them, had experienced a particular set of emotions upon encountering them for the first time.

Fear.

Immense fear.

Who wouldn’t at a creature who nullified my Control and ate my armies to make more of itself?

Who hunted me throughout Earth relentlessly with a single-minded focus to exterminate me?

Who was now here in an era where I was much more frail and weaker than I was before?

Who had managed to kill me in the end from my wounds, ensuring that I and all my future incarnations were hated and killed on sight by all my kin with absolutely nothing to show for it?

Who had come back from the grave to fulfill their purpose and once again ruin everything I had managed to build for myself after hundreds of thousands of my past incarnations were slain?

While I didn’t… completely resent them for what had happened after my death given that they had only been fulfilling the purpose they were made for, I had never been more aware now that I was staring at something that was the worst enemy I had ever faced in all my lives.

Tears budded on my face as my lip trembled, uncaring of what the Angel in front of me thought. They didn’t care about my emotions, or about me. No matter what form I took, it was all the same meat anyway to them. To them, I was nothing more than a bunch of intestines.

I didn’t want to truly die and go back to Hell again. This current incarnation of mine was the oldest I had ever been, and I didn’t want to go back to that horrible place and be stuck within limbo as I was murdered in Hell and then killed on Earth from all the enemies I had ever made.

I began crying as my breathing became heavy.

Because I knew, perhaps better than anyone else, what it meant to be truly hated by everyone.

Humans were the only creatures that had ever accepted me in some fashion, and I could lose that now! Even if I died, everyone’s hatred of the Control Devil would pass on to my next life, and the cycle would once again start anew like it had always done for the past 1988 years!

The Control Devil has reincarnated 1,834,234 times! Killing it on sight was a common sport among my kin, and it would never change! I didn’t want to go through that process ever again! Curse my perfect memory ability! Why did I have to remember everything I didn’t want to?!

In hindsight, inviting them in here had been an enormous mistake! Perhaps I should have just attacked them from the onset, damn the consequences! This had been a horrible idea to begin with, what had I been thinking! Like I could expect this thing could ever be reasoned with!

I could not remember the last time I had ever truly felt fear as a knee jerk reaction, and doing the one thing that immediately came to mind, I raised my hand and proceeded to fire my bow. In it’s current state it was weakened and hadn’t recovered to it’s full potential, but it was fine.

At the moment I didn’t care, as I was terrified and rationality had fled me as I completely forgot that any death I experienced would only be temporary. I was reduced to animalistic instinct.

“Bang!” My voice was panicked.

MICHAEL immediately dropped to the floor on all fours before my words had finished, causing my attack to miss as a file cabinet behind them exploded, leaving an enormous hole that gushed shredded pieces of paper. Undeterred, I simply readjusted my aim, and fired again.

“Bang!”

My attack missed again, leaving a large crater in the floor as the Angel jumped up from his crouch and lodged one of his blades in the ceiling, the other swinging haphazardly in my direction as it proceeded to extend rapidly. There was a slight sensation, and then…

My pulse raced as my right hand hit the floor, blood spurting from my wrist.

That could have been my neck.

With their legs slightly dangling, the Angel dislodged themselves from the ceiling, landing with a thump. I raised my left hand and pointed right at their chest, vocalization already forming in my throat as the tentacles flailing from their head formed a sickle blade and swung-

“Ba-

My left arm hit the floor, several intestines spraying out with blood.

That could have cleaved me in half.

“-ng!”

Tensing up, the Angel halted their assault and froze in place as the stump of my arm had them dead to rights. The seconds stretched on and on as I watched, hoping that even if I knew it wasn’t going to activate without my hand, but...

Nothing happened. They remained in one piece.

Teeth gritting, I despaired, as for the first time in years I feared my impending death.

If I couldn’t beat a single scouting instance in combat, what good was I?

Resuming motion the humanoid instance brought their arm back, an incredibly telegraphed move, but I could tell…

They were going to cut my head off.

If that move connected, I would die, and the cycle would start anew from the ensuing obliteration they would inflict upon Japan upon realizing that I was as pathetic as they thought.

The Angel took a step forward, only feet from me as I took a step back in response, sweat and tears dripping down my face.

No, I didn’t want to go back to Hell! I didn’t deserve to go back, not after all I’d been doing to make up for the sins that weren’t even mine to begin with! Give me another chance, please!

Without care for my silent pleads, light gleamed as the blade swung with finality, and-

“AAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEIIIIIIIIII!!!”

-For the first time in forever, I dodged by throwing myself to the right as hard as I could, the manifestation of the visceral terror I was feeling escaping my mouth. Incredibly shameful, but…

My sloppy action caused me to hit the wood floor ungracefully, the feeling barely worth consideration, but more importantly my head was still on my shoulders and I was still alive.

A shadow fell over me, my head snapping upwards to face them, jerking as two blades impaled themselves on either side of my neck. The Angel stood there, looking down at me with an eerie expression. Their face was emotionless, but they hadn’t tried to kill me for whatever reason.

Electric blue met pale yellow.

I tensed again slightly at the eye contact as the fearful memories of my originator come rushing back, but fought them off as the Angel was keen to just stand there and watch my retrained panic instead of taking the opportunity to separate my head from my neck. Their mistake!

My foot kicked them in the stomach as hard as I could, the satisfying noise of several bones crunching as they were sent rocketing into the wall of file cabinets behind them with a loud crash, causing them to spit up blood as they sagged into the dented cabinets from the impact.

Staggering to my feet by using the stump of arm for balance, I got to my feet shakily as I kept an eye on the scouting instance. The half of Kusumoto Kazuki’s face gritted it’s teeth as it forcibly pulled itself out of my line of cabinets as it clutched it’s stomach with it’s hand. Did it feel pain?

Good then. It deserved that pain after what it had just put me through. Now what should I…

My attention was drawn by my missing limbs flying towards me, strands of blood shooting out of my stumps to reattach my right hand and left arm as I watched the process in stupor.

…Oh right. My Contract with the Prime Minister of Japan.

The one thing that always allowed me to cheat death.

I had forgotten about it from my moment of fear.

My life had never truly been in danger.

…

My hands balled into fists.

Cheeks flushing red, I suddenly felt very foolish and embarrassed at the amount of panic I had just experienced, especially since I had just shown such weakness to a creature designed to take any advantage against me. A mere kick from me had been enough to nullify this instance!

The target of my ire had righted itself to a standing position, brushing it’s uniform off with a hand. Their expression was completely neutral. I couldn’t even begin to tell what they were thinking as they took in the state I was in, I probably looked terrible from the tears and sweat.

There was still a hint of bloodlust in their eyes, but they were no longer bristling with aggression, and instead looked quite calm and placid. A far cry from a moment ago, and their head had even turned back into Kusumoto Kazuki’s face, though they had kept their real eyes.

Their gaze was apathetic, yet not truly malevolent or uncaring. Strangely, I didn’t get the impression they thought I was just an insect to them, though it probably wasn’t much better.

“Well, look at that. You can dodge after all, color me surprised. Do you need a tissue?” the words were spoken aloud in clear English, the voice belonging to a young male human.
Despite their words, the tone of voice indicated this statement was intended to be mocking me.

Scowling, I wiped the mess off my face with the sleeve on my remaining arm, before internally swallowing what was left of my fear and forcing myself to approach them to stand only three feet away.

Up close, MICHAEL was unnerving. Aside from their eyes, scent, and blades jutting out of their hands, they looked like any other human. It was no wonder I hadn’t noticed them months earlier, as they could have simply walked by with me none the wiser, like they did after all.

But still, the Angel didn’t attack me like I thought they would, though they did tense at my approach as their blades gleamed in warning. Why wouldn’t they attack so I could retaliate?

A nagging feeling was beginning to irritate me, as I had the sinking suspicion that MICHAEL’s parameters had changed from initiating conflict to simply reacting in retaliatory fashion. I had been the one to attack them first, hadn’t I? It had been like that with their spikes earlier as well!

Was this humiliation and embarrassment I was currently feeling, my moment of weakness being witnessed by another, the one above all else who I didn’t want to see… entirely my fault?

Seemingly unphased by my close proximity, MICHAEL tilted their head at me with a raised eyebrow. The action irked me further, as it only led credence that I had caused this to happen.

…No! Their passiveness could be an act to get my guard down! I had to make absolutely sure they wouldn’t… they wouldn’t… do anything more! I wasn’t in the wrong here, they were!

With that thought in mind, I reared my fist back. The Angel tensed, attempting to raise their arms in defense but too late to make it in time.

“Hey, what-”

Mercilessly, I punched them in the stomach, and heard a satisfying crunch. Grunting loudly, they keeled over and I took the opportunity to grab them by their shoulder and hair before kneeing them several times in the face and throwing their mangled body across the room.

Face caved in and having taken wounds that would have seriously injured a normal human, they landed unceremoniously on the rug with a loud thump. I waited for retaliation, but…

They didn’t get back up. Instead, MICHAEL’S mushed face turned to give me a look of what I interpreted as immense annoyance that I had reached the end of their patience. Fingers digging rivets into my carpet, two pits of blue glared balefully at me as arrows loudly clicked all at once.

They did not look happy with my actions, but still, they did not attack.

I grimaced, as that pretty much confirmed what I didn’t want to be true.

…I was wrong about their changed parameters, too? Turning my head slightly aside, I bit my lip as I wringed my hands nervously and my expression turned… asha- pensive. It was pensive.

…In hindsight, while that had been satisfying in the moment, it had been a bit much. While determined to be a pain in my side, MICHAEL really weren’t here for a fight, were they? Though I was within rights for self-defense set by Public Safety, I’d just assaulted them for no reason.

The urge to pace back and forth was nearly overtaking me. This wasn’t how this encounter should be going right now. MICHAEL was supposed to have attacked me from the get-go, I’d show them a fight was meaningless, and then we’d finally be able to talk. I looked like a villain!

What could I possibly say to them that would justify me unrightfully taking my frustration at myself out on them? Admit that I hadn’t been thinking straight and had panicked? They’d never respect me again if they did in the first place, I was supposed to be flawless in my reasoning!

…What are they doing? My eyebrows raised in confusion.

My attention was drawn by the… my… guest that I’d been quite rude to, lifting their right leg straight up in a ninety-degree angle. I watched in puzzlement, unsure of what they were trying to accomplish with the action. For a moment, they just held their leg there in complete silence.

Then they brought the heel of their foot down onto the floor as hard as they could.

Crack!

A brief cracking noise as wood splintered, and MICHAEL righted themselves upward one hundred and eighty degrees in a single motion. Taking a hand to set their nose, several cracks and snapping noises echoed in the room as what visible damage on their body repaired itself.

I let out a tiny sigh of relief.

…Ah, so blunt force trauma or anything similar to that nature is worthless on them then, good. That explains why they tried to dodge my bow… although how did they know what that attack would do? My originator used the actual weapon, not it’s compressed form. A guess, maybe?

Having finished undoing what I had done to them, MICHAEL began to walk over to me with purpose. Stopping a foot away from me, the face of Kusumoto Kazuki was inches from mine.

I visibly fidgeted at being so closely examined, not sure where to look as I tried to avoid getting lost in the utter chaos happening with their eyes, the arrow movements making me unable to-

…mm?

I looked down to see the instance’s fist digging into my gut. It hadn’t hurt, as I only felt a light tap from the impact. It tickled, actually.

Looking back up, I couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped from my mouth at the sheer disappointment written on my Angel’s face as their attack had failed to accomplish anything. Giving them a gentle smile, I reached a hand and patted them on the head consolingly.

I suppose it’s alright if I let them take their frustration out on me. It’s only fair after I did it.

Face twisting in a grimace, they recoiled from my touch, taking a step back before they tried to punch me in the stomach again. No effect, as I smirked at them with my hands behind my back.

They tried again, this time winding up. No effect.

Another attempt, this time punching me twice. No effect.

Finally, they adopted a real stance and hit me with an actual punch. No effect.

A frustrated growl rumbled from their throat, and I laughed. They really did look like an angry kitten at the moment. Why were they so determined to use their fists instead of their blades?

My hand reached for their head again as I wanted to feel their hair once more, but they shied away this time. Slightly disappointed, I squashed the feeling of discontent, as that’s what happens when you abuse any sort of animal out of the blue for no reason. You lose their trust.

Granted… my Angel was a lot more sophisticated than an animal. They were an entire race of beings higher than animals. A collective consciousness, that would all be interested in me, devoted to me. I could be myself for once, and they would all accept me for who I really was.

Unlike Humanity, I wouldn’t need to use a mask with them in order to interact with them, as they wouldn’t fear me or give me unquestioning obedience. That was good, as I couldn’t have my eventual partners be afraid to challenge me in order for me to continually improve my skills.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, and I think that’s enough humoring them. While shoving most of their internal mass into their fist and enlarging it in an attempt to get a reaction of pain out of me is inspired, it didn’t do a single thing from their barrage of punches. Nice try though.

I grinned at the look of pure frustration from my Angel, who still looked determined to hurt me with only their strength alone. Endearing that they persisted despite it clearly being futile.

As much as I would like to spend the rest of the day watching my soon to be… partner, or partners, try to harm me to no avail and watch as they get angrier, I do actually want to have a real discussion with them, and that instance won’t get anywhere being that physically weak.

Raising my hand, I caught a punch that was aimed for my chin, as they decided to aim for my face. Now that’s just impolite.

“I’d suggest you give up, Angel. It’s obvious you’re too weak to harm me using brute strength alone.” I patiently stated, taking pleasure in overpowering them as they tried to pull away to no avail. Their fist was stuck in my unyielding grip.

No, I wouldn’t call them MICHAEL or CARRION. Even though I knew their true name already, I wanted them to introduce themselves to me properly so I could stop calling them Kusumoto.

“Don’t even have the decency to fake an injury for me Devil? Tch, you really do lack basic courtesy.” Was their response as they actually spoke to me properly for the first time.

Ah, they are very upset about not being able to take proper revenge for my rudeness. But I have not been the only offender in lacking “basic courtesy”.

“It would be disrespectful to pretend. I’ll admit that my courtesy has been lacking, but you haven’t been much better in that regard.” I said, still irked at them rejecting my advances.

The only reason I hadn’t taken proper offense for that was if I was unsure if they even knew what sexual intercourse was, if they had attraction in general, and that I was projecting my own desires onto them to begin with. Besides, I wouldn’t get upset at an entity oblivious to sex…

Something predatory flashed in my gaze, causing a shiver to run down my Angel’s spine as I tightened my grip on their hand to prevent any possibility of them running away from me.

Because then, I had the pleasure of teaching it to them. I couldn’t wait if that were the case… there would be no greater victory than them squirming under me and begging for release… getting hopelessly addicted to the touch of this form I’d created to imitate and impress them.

While Fallen Angels didn’t exist, I would sure try my best to create one hungry for… intimacy.

“My courtesy has been lacking? I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. You’ve yet to apologize to me for anything once.” Came their irritated response.

…I suppose that confirms they have no idea what sex is. But they don’t see anything wrong in what they did? I tilted my head, placing my hand on my chin to ponder what they meant.

“What for?” I asked earnestly, honestly trying to figure out what I did wrong.

For a moment, my Angel did nothing but stand there, staring at me.

“For picking a fight and then assaulting me in order to nurse your bruised ego after I tried to de-escalate?” They offered to me questioningly, with an underlying threat of violence in their tone if I answered a negative.

…Ah right, that. Did they need to word it so harshly though? They made it sound like I was an insolent child completely devoid of manners. Honestly, they had brought the worst out of me in that regard. I can’t remember the last time I’d acted so undignified and casual around another.

I scratched my cheek with my finger as I looked away from them.

“Uh, whoops?” I offered with as much sincerity I could muster, not really used to giving it to others. The action felt wrong, especially considering who the recipient of my apology was.

A vein pulsed on MICHAEL’s forehead as a shudder ran throughout their entire body, likely not thinking I was genuine. Then they reared their other fist back, the skin turning gray as I let go of their other hand to defend. An ability I hadn’t seen before? It likely wouldn’t change anything-

BAM!

Unable to block in time, I was then punched in the face.

The mouth, to be specific.

Whatever thoughts I had been formulating went up in smoke as something registered that I hadn’t felt in years.

Immense pain.

In all my sixty-three years in working at Public Safety since I decided to join them… rarely had anyone ever dared to punch me in the face, and never that done it hard before, so I had never been numbed to an injury like that. I could count the times it had happened on one hand.

To put it bluntly…

It hurt.

It hurt a lot.

It hurt so much I had bitten my tongue, another wound I wasn’t used to, adding insult to injury!

Knocked off my feet from the sheer force behind the blow, I was sent sailing across the room. I hit the floor roughly on my back, sliding a few feet for my head to lightly touch against the office’s wall and be greeted with light streaming from the blinds from the window above me.

…Ow, that really hurts.

With moisture forming in my eyes from a sensation I hadn’t truly felt in many decades from the one thousand, five hundred and fifty-seven times I had died in the line of duty for Public Safety, I raised a hand to my stinging cheek, rubbing it in an attempt to soothe the unfamiliar pain.

I winced. A mistake, as the bruise stung from being touched. Ow!

Footsteps echoed through the room as the bastard approached my fallen form, looking down at me with a wide smile on their face in triumph as they drank in my pained expression.

“So, you can actually feel pain. Guess no-one’s ever really punched you in the face before, huh? What a convenient and fitting spot, this day just keeps getting better and better for me.” They were positively gleeful at the suffering they inflicted on me, and it annoyed me immensely.

My teeth bared.

Oh, they want to make this a contest of aiming for weak spots that aren’t usually aimed for? They were using the body of a male human and didn’t know what sex was, so maybe…

Leaning up, my hand lashed out and grabbed onto their tie, pulling them towards me as I grappled onto them and used them to get up, all the while they tried to uselessly push me off. Once I was standing upright, I shoved them away from me, keeping one hand on their shoulder.

I proceeded to knee them in the groin as hard as I could.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!” Making a rather humorous looking face, the bastard screamed in pain as their entire body seized up and they fell over like a cardboard cutout.

Glowering down at their cowering form with a cruel smile, I made sure to rub salt in the would as I kicked them over, and stamped my foot on their chest to keep them down and for personal enjoyment so I could see the tears streaming from their face.

“So, you can actually feel pain. I suppose no-one’s really kicked you in the groin before, hmm? What a convenient and fitting spot, this day just keeps getting better and better for me.” I parroted their previous statement almost perfectly as I leered down at them.

There was a groan, before my bastard muttered a curious statement in annoyance as they tried to get back up... only for me to press my foot deeper into their chest. Stay where you belong.

“Fucking bitch…” Despite his twisted expression, the words came out crystal clear.

…Fucking bitch? The phrase puzzled me.

My eyebrows furrowed.

“Fucking” is a crude description for the ongoing act of sexual activity between at least two separate entities. “Bitch” is another name for a female canine. Those two things combined…

They think I’m a dog that’s having sex with them because I just kicked them in the groin?

Where on Earth did they pull that inane conclusion from? Do they not understand what sex is, or are they a masochist?

My nose twitched.

…No, I don’t smell arousal. Damn. Having them at my feet begging me for mercy and enjoying it would be superb after what they’ve just put me through. A pity I can’t do that without consent.

Unless… given that they typically kill Devil by consumption and make more of themselves, that’s what my Angel interprets as reproduction? But they have yet to try biting me or try to consume any of my flesh, blood, or intestines of their own accord that I haven’t… given them yet.

I took my foot off their chest, looking down at them in a new light.

Oh. How polite.

Does this count as a courtship ritual in their book then? Devils often consume a small piece of their mate as a show of solidarity with their prospective partner, in order to start the process of courtship. Could it be something similar for Angels, and they’re waiting for an opportunity?

Even if they are all dead now, Nephilim did exist after all. If that’s the case, then I’ve been… very rude? Wait no, they didn’t say that until I kicked them, but what if-

“While I’m flattered, but I am neither a canine nor does me kicking you in the groin or beating you into a corpse count as sexual intercourse.” I helpfully informed them to clear up any possible misconceptions while trying to process our past several interactions for… review.

“Ah great, she knows what sass is…” Came their pained response as they made a strange gesture at me, consisting of the back of their hand facing me with their middle finger pointed upwards and rest of their fingers clenched into a fist.

I raised an eyebrow. Was that some sort of greeting? Making a happy expression, I repeated the same gesture at them, and they made a loud, hacking noise of amusement in response.

“Oh my God! I really wish I brought a camera now, that’s such a powerful image!” They wheezed in laughter.

…How strange. What did God and taking a picture of me have to do with this? Somehow, I get the impression that gesture was not a greeting and was instead very, very rude. But as I made it at them and they didn’t get offended, no harm done. I could always ask for elaboration later.

But sass? I wasn’t being impudent by giving them advice. But by using that pronoun, they saw me as a woman? Could it mean they saw themselves as male, for they had taken a masculine form?

…How promising. I had no preference for gender, but I had already had a female pet before… though could I really call them a pet? MICHAEL was more like a feral cat that had wandered in.

Turning my back to him to assess the state of my office and ponder my thoughts, I sighed in relief. After all that had happened, it had just been a fear reaction in the end, that scouting instance had no interest in causing me real harm-

A finger politely tapped my shoulder to get my attention, causing me to stiffen.

…What? Don’t tell me he got up that fast, I only took my eyes of him seconds ago-

A hand then proceeded to grab on and yank my ponytail incredibly hard, and I let out a gasp as that shameful feeling from earlier coursed through my body as my face reddened in response.

…

…

…

I growled ferally, a low and dangerous thing that echoed through the room.

That bastard, I’m going to kill him. I don’t care how long it takes, he’s going to be a crushed and bloody corpse once I’m done with him. How dare he… how dare he do that to me again!

Shakily, I turned my head with an outraged expression, and was greeted with a smirk that promised something unpleasant was about to happen to me. MICHAEL slapped a hand on my shoulder and reared his leg back, aiming for the space between my own.

…ah, damnit.

For the first time in all my lives, I was kneed in the groin. Despite having the body of a woman, it was a very unpleasant surprise to find out that it didn’t change the effect it had on me.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” Screaming while making an incredibly pained expression, my entire body seized up and I fell over like a cardboard cutout.

…That hurt a lot worse than getting punched in the face, and I felt like I was going to pass out.

A hand was clapped on my shoulder, halfheartedly rubbing circles into my back. It felt nice.

“And with that, I think we’re square. Shall we act like the responsible adults we are supposed to be and have a proper conversation, or do you want to keep going?” I hated how smug he sounded.

“…Yes, I’m ready when you are.” I grounded out as I wiped the tears of pain off my face. It was just as well as I had decided to not uphold my reputation I presented to others anymore, at least when alone in this man’s presence. He was way too good at getting under my skin.

There was a loud bark of laughter, before MICHAEL’S voice sobered as he turned me over.

“Good. Then Makima, could you please repeat your previous question? It’s embarrassing to admit, but because of unknown circumstances that have destroyed your office, I seem to have forgotten the specifics. Something about my current physical appearance, I believe?”

Bending forward slightly, he offered me his hand while smirking.

I stared at it in bafflement.

…

…

…

Eee.

An incredibly wide smile broke out across my face, mouth trembling as I could barely contain my excitement as hope soared in my chest and I dared to entertain my fanciful daydreams as I reached out and clasped my hand with theirs as they proceeded to pull me to my feet.

Ah, what was this texture…? Close, I was so close to them. The sensation made me feel like I was weightless, as it kicked in for me that we were only centimeters apart.

My adversary, my Rival, my Equal… wanted to do more than just fight me even though I’d given him more than enough reason to think I was nothing more than hostile to him. I suppose we’d taken enough frustration out on each other to the point that fighting was pointless to him.

And more importantly, the name MICHAEL had just addressed me with…

Makima.

Not Conquest.

Not the Control Devil.

Not the Chief Director of Public Safety.

Me. He wanted to talk to me.

Nobody’s ever wanted to talk to Makima.

Not my kin.

Not humans.

Not my runaway stray.

Not even Chainsaw Man.

But the Angel meant to destroy me does.

I shuddered, nearly losing control of myself to emotions I’d never felt before so strongly.

This feeling that’s coursing through me right now… it can only be one thing.

I… was in love.

And now I remembered something important.

The Future Devil had said that I’d get what I “really” wanted by the end of today with that exact wording as long as I was completely honest with my adversary, and it’s predictions were never false, especially since I made sure it told the absolute truth without twisting it’s words for once.

Well, save one line from it. Apparently, I was going to receive an “reckoning”, whatever that meant. It seems that even with my ability enforcing it’s honesty, Future Devil still managed to make an enormous pain of itself. It was lucky it was too useful to be disposed of, and it knew it.

Originally, I had thought that had meant my victory over my adversary by battle…but, perhaps I was wrong for once. A different kind of victory would be achieved by my words today and to think, I’d be getting both my Idol and my Rival on my side today, one way or another.

Remember, I had to be completely honest with him. Something I’d admittedly never done before when interacting with another, but if I wanted to firmly sway him to my side…

I had to be completely honest…

…

But what if they are lying- wait. I remember now.

Real Angels, not that fake I own, can’t tell blatant lies. Then that means… all that behavior from earlier… what I saw then and now are their- his real personalities.

Hidden by my bangs, a vein pulsed on my forehead as my hand holding his clenched his hand in an attempt to crush it as my cheeks flushed in… anger, it was anger and nothing else.

It means I have to deal with a collective consciousness beyond my understanding who all have the personalities of comedians, who are all determined to push my buttons on a regular basis from now on! Oh, damn those smug little bastards! They knew exactly what they were doing!

Smirking, I gritted my teeth.

Mark my words, I will make him-them all pay for repeatedly pulling on my ponytail like that to tease me! Is my hair really that fascinating to tug on, or is he just trying to see how real it is?

I wouldn’t mind him appraising this form of mine to see how well it matches a humans…

Well, if it wasn’t just innocent curiosity and he is indeed teasing me… I do have a leash and collar in my desk. I think it would look wonderful around his neck if he lets me put it on him. Maybe I could convince him to always wear the collar in the future as an earnest apology?

After all, I can’t have someone else trying to claim what’s mine.

“…M- my, what big teeth and sharp claws you had, “Kusumoto”. Is there something you’d like to tell me about your Contract with the “Flesh Devil” that you’ve failed to mention in your dossier? That didn’t look like the summoning type you originally wrote it down as.”

Damn, I stuttered!

Pausing for a moment as he tilted their head, my Rival let out a loud snort at my blunder in composure, as he forcibly unclasped his hand from mine and took several steps back as an attempt at courtesy, to my immediate irritation. An attempt to get closer got a blade in my gut.

I scowled.

It’s a little late now to show manners in giving me personal space! Don’t run away like the rest, damn you! Come back here, and let me touch you without you assaulting me in return!

…

Well, that had been weird. Despite all that had just happened, I was surprised- woah, personal space there. I know we’ve just beat the shit out of each other intimately, Makima, but give me some distance if you aren’t going to try attacking again. I still find you somewhat unnerving.

Upon backing away from Makima, she had immediately tried to step forward to get uncomfortably close, likely perceiving my retreat as a sign of weakness. A blunted blade digging into her torso without harm rectified that notion, as she angrily scowled at me with a red face.

Yes, I’ve dared to attack you, your royal majesty. One typically does that after you try to blow someone’s head off for simply making eye contact, though aside from a very noticeable increase of aggression hormones and neurotransmitters released by my nanite- nanomachines, there wasn’t any particularly world-shattering reaction on my end like I thought there’d be.

And it hadn’t been a problem once I hit it with the good ol’ {Activate Aggression Inhibitors}.

Well okay, there had been faint pounding in the back of my skull, but I had chosen to ignore it. Probably just hunger from how appealing I had found her blood to be. I’m actually surprised Makima had an intense fear reaction, but damn if it hadn’t been satisfying to see her sweat.

…

In fear, of course. There’s no horny to be found in that unfortunately worded sentence. I lost whatever enjoyment I got out of it once Makima started having a panic attack in front of me. While I do despise this creature, seeing her look helpless and vulnerable was just off-putting.

I guess someone got a bit more than they bargained for by trying to provoke me. Well, I’m just glad she’s still willing to talk and I don’t have to fight Japan. Nothing’s happened in that regard.

Surprised Makima didn’t take advantage, but I did have to calm Denji and Pochita down after a sizzling and blackened drone fell through the ceiling and awoke to find them panicking over it. It was now sitting in Denji’s lap, watching tv with my duo. Go Pikachu, bring down Team Rocket!

I don’t know what Makima’s blood had done to me in full, but I felt sharper, if I had to describe it. And those blades I had used moments ago… weren’t jagged, or poorly balanced like usual. It was like I’d been upgraded or something. The world felt much stranger than it had been before.

But I didn’t let that worry me too much. For the most part, I still seemed to be myself even after having realized the true nature of my form and my impromptu electrocution which had knocked me out, it was aggravating to find Makima laughing at me once I resurfaced from it.

Well, I assumed she was. Vibration sense without eyes made things a lot more… unclear without them. Most of my thoughts before and after I reactivated were slightly muddled.

…Speaking of my eyes, for whatever reason I was finding it hard to turn them back to normal. Not at all helped by the creature in front of me who kept telescopically focusing her own eyes as if she was trying to get my attention by using their movement to draw me into them.

It was happening to Joseph Hayden and all my other drone platforms too. Damn, I hope this isn’t permanent, because unlike Makima I don’t want to scream to people “this person is not a human”. How did she get away with it, assuming she just didn’t care what people thought?

Eye contacts wouldn’t work on my eyes as they’d pop right off from the motion from my arrows. And considering that they actively moved unlike normal human eyes, people would think I was a Fiend or something, which was problematic if anyone tried to “apprehend” me.

A problem to worry about later, I guess. But speaking of the Control Devil’s eyes…

Makima’s eyes were so strange upon further inspection, as they consisted of multiple layers of something that somehow managed to fit in one another and defy the laws of physics. Looking at them should have made my head hurt from the impossibility, but they didn’t. A true oddity.

Speaking of oddities, I finally found out the true nature of Makima’s finger gun attack. It turned out to be weaponized air pressure, obvious in hindsight and much more manageable than things exploding instantly. Especially considering Makima sucks ass at dodging when she tries.

…I’m still unsure what the hell that was all about. It was like Makima thought she would really die or something. I guess that fear reaction must have really been something, considering how embarrassed and indignant she got once she realized I wasn’t trying to kill her. Rude ingrate.

But despite having managed to deescalate the confrontation with Makima before it got out of hand, I had a strange feeling of impending doom looming over me, like I had made an entire clown car of horrible mistakes in the past several minutes that would come back to haunt me.

…

I shook my head as I began picking up my chair to set the stage for a real conversation with Makima, as she did the same. Luckily, my duffel bag had survived my impromptu electrocution and scuffle afterwards.

Eh, it was probably nothing that important.

There’s no point in worrying about something I have no control over.

Spoiler: Author Notes

It is with a heavy heart that I regret to inform you all that the degenerate handholding, head patting, and sexual tension does not happen this chapter. That’s next chapter, as the SI successfully manages to max out Makima’s affection to 100% by pure accident, and then realizes just how badly he fucks up before accepting his fate by sending Makima to the shadow realm horny jail.

So, I do have paragraphs upon paragraphs explaining this characterization of Makima, but I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to explain it properly, as I’ve been trying to push this chapter out for months and it’s about 2am in the morning. Fumigation is going to be a lot longer than I expected as those two are having an in-depth conversation. Only thing I’m gonna say for now is that Makima was always an Anti-Villain with a lack of true empathy for individuals. Also horny. Very, very horny. Her horniness and past relationship with Quanxi is going to be plot significant.

What I’m planning for the rest of this arc in a nutshell. Most of the dialogue has already written out, so fingers crossed. This fic will be moving to the NSFW section, so rejoice degenerates.

Fumigation 1.7: The fanservice chapter.

Fumigation 1.8: The “reckoning” chapter.

Fumigation 1.9 & 2.0: Makima’s motivations from SI side and arc resolution.

THIS CHAPTER IS NO LONGER CANON. FUMIGATION 1.6 IS BEING/HAS BEEN REWRITTEN.​