Returning Like Lightning

Tokyo, home to Public Safety Devil Hunters, had numerous Devil containment facilities.

Some were well known, like the Tokyo Devil Containment Center. Others, hidden and unknown.

One such facility, reserved for particularly dangerous Devils, was located a hundred meters underground. Even the elevator ride was an ordeal.

And standing in that elevator, was an outsider named Kuroki. A freelance Devil Hunter, an audacious dreamer who would invade a Public Safety prison based on rumors.

Public Safety had a wish-granting machine that could grant any wish… Kuroki couldn't remember where he'd heard it, but he believed it.

Bribery, diversions, poison… He'd done it all with surprising efficiency, all as if guided by a divine hand.

He was now on the elevator to the wish-granting machine.

As the elevator descended, his surroundings grew derelict, the austere metal gradually replaced by debris. Flickering lights illuminated the area.

If Kuroki hadn't known he was in a Public Safety prison, he'd think he was in a run-down slum.

Is "it" here?

The silence was deafening, broken only by the lights. Kuroki could hear his heartbeat.

So much effort to get here…

He walked into the darkness, his mind filled with rumors.

Devils always demanded a price. Flesh, lifespan, something precious. This rule was immutable.

Until Public Safety began using Devil powers without paying a price, or rather, found a way to bypass the cost.

Everyone wanted to know Public Safety's secret, but the gulf between freelancers and government hunters was too wide. Rumors said Public Safety possessed a wish-granting machine.

Most dismissed it. Such a thing was impossible.

Why would they just use it to bypass the price of Devil contracts? There were far better things to wish for.

Those rumors were just that: urban legends.

But Kuroki knew the machine was real. Every piece of information he'd collected told him it was at the bottom of the most secure Public Safety facility, reserved for exceptional hunters.

He'd spent his entire fortune—billions—on bribes, connections, and mercenaries to gain ten minutes in the dungeon.

He was dying from injuries sustained in his earlier Devil Hunting days. All he wanted was a wish to heal himself—or so he told his contacts.

Such idiots. Why would I waste my wish on that?!

He'd get more than just that… With a wish, he could gain power, even immortality…

"Haha… hahaha…!"

"What are you laughing at? Can you tell me?" A gentle voice startled Kuroki. Here, it was as shocking as a noose around a man's throat.

He saw he'd reached a cell door.

Crimson blood seeped from the crack, submerging his feet, the metallic scent intensified his excitement.

"No need to be nervous. I won't hurt you."

The gentle voice had no malice. "You're here for a wish, right? You know the rules, start whenever you're ready."

A human…?

No, a Devil.

So, Public Safety, fighting devils with devils?

News like this would spark outrage, but who cared?

Kuroki grinned. "I want to be young again!"

"...Hahaha…!" The voice paused, then erupted in laughter. "I see, I see…!"

"You're not with Public Safety..."

Kuroki felt his body grow taut, like a sponge thrown in water. His shrunken muscles surged with power, his withered skin glowing with youth. His stooped posture straightened.

In seconds, he'd transformed from a frail old man to a hulking brute.

"I, I'm—!!" Feeling the return of his strength, Kuroki's smile widened.

His other wishes would soon be granted…