Jackpot!

"Denji, don't chase them."

In the restaurant, now reduced to rubble, Aki stared at the retreating Katana Man and his accomplices, stopping Denji's pursuit. "These guys are dangerous. They have guns. We don't know how many more are waiting in ambush. It's too risky."

"Tch..." Glaring at the vanishing enemies, Denji, though frustrated, knew Aki was right and held back.

Katana Man and the woman who'd summoned the giant snake devil were both formidable. Add in the gunmen who'd appeared later, and even Denji and the others had a tough fight. Fortunately, no one was injured in the initial attack, so they managed to push back, albeit with minor injuries.

"This was planned. They were targeting us specifically. That Katana guy even has a similar regeneration ability to Denji." After ensuring the area was secure, Aki sheathed his weapon. "We need to contact Makima and confirm their identities and motives."

"If Shoko hadn't reacted so quickly, we could have suffered heavy casualties in that first attack."

Recalling how Shoko had pushed him out of the way without hesitation, Aki felt a pang of complex emotions.

He'd always been wary of Shoko, primarily because of the knife she'd pulled on him years ago. His only friend turning on him had been a devastating blow, one he still replayed in his mind.

What made it worse was Shoko's callous dismissal of Denji back then – just backup, nothing to care about.

Logically, he knew he should be wary of all devils. But emotionally, he couldn't shake the feeling that Shoko might have been acting for his own good, trying to keep him out of trouble. Her dismissive words about Denji might have been a ploy to hide her true intentions.

Now, seeing her risk her life for them, it seemed Shoko wasn't as cold and heartless as he'd thought. Maybe that attack was an act, designed to protect him and Denji.

So, he'd been wrong all this time, misjudging her, treating her with unwarranted suspicion…

No, no, Aki, don't be so quick to trust her! A devil hunter's training screamed at him.

Shoko is still a devil. All that kindness could be an act. Devils can survive multiple gunshots. Maybe this is a ploy, a calculated sacrifice…

Denji, having reverted from his Chainsaw Man form, was stretching his aching limbs. His arms and legs had been hacked to pieces during the fight with Katana Man, and it hurt.

Just as he was about to brag to Shoko about his heroic deeds, he noticed something behind Aki. "...Aki, your neck?"

"My neck?"

Aki instinctively touched the back of his neck, feeling a sharp sting where his skin should have been. He saw blood on his hand.

The adrenaline from the fight was fading, and the pain in his neck intensified. It was a familiar pain, one he hadn't felt in a long time… like…

…like when the Fox Devil devoured his skin.

What was going on? His contract with Shoko was still active, wasn't it? Had it been broken? But he'd used the Fox Devil's power twice during the fight, and only one wound had appeared. If Shoko had severed the contract, why—

Staring at the blood on his hand, Aki felt something snap in his mind. A flood of fragmented thoughts rushed in.

"What are you standing around for? Your neck is bleeding badly! Power, come help Aki—"

Ignoring Denji's concern, Aki, his expression unreadable, sprinted towards where Shoko had been taking cover.

The worst-case scenario flashed through his mind. He desperately tried to convince himself there was another explanation.

But reality, as always, chose the most heartbreaking path. Before he reached her, he heard Power's tearful voice.

"Aki, Shoko's dead!"

"—"

He instinctively slowed down, but the scene ahead didn't afford him any reprieve.

A contract suddenly vanishing mid-battle meant only one thing – one of the parties was dead.

Aki refused to consider this possibility, but the evidence was right before him.

The usually vibrant girl lay still, eyes closed as if asleep. Her pale skin was now tinged with an unsettling pallor.

The bloodstain on her white shirt, over her heart, bloomed like a grotesque rose.

Shoko hadn't participated in the fight. There was only one explanation for her death – she'd been shot protecting them.

…And he'd just been suspecting her of playing a martyr.

How foolish. Playing the martyr by sacrificing her own life. She was never good at that sort of thing, haha!

"Haha..."

Aki chuckled dryly, forcing himself to stay calm. "We need to… contact a hospital..."

"What the hell are you saying?!" Unlike Aki, who was desperately maintaining composure, Power's words ignited Denji's fury.

Cursing him was one thing, Denji didn't care. But making light of Shoko's death, even if it was Power, was unacceptable—

But as Denji stormed over, ready to confront Power, his anger evaporated. He saw Power's panicked, distraught face, and in her arms, Shoko, lifeless.

Shoko… was dead…?

Impossible. How could this happen? She'd kissed him just last night. She was a devil! How could she die from such a small wound…?

Dead.

Dead right in front of him.

Protecting him.

Again.

He failed to protect her again. He got her killed.

…Why again?

Had he forgotten something?

He felt a sudden disorientation, a flashback to a younger self, standing in his tiny house, reaching for the door.

"Denji, don't open it."

Just as his hand grasped the doorknob, Pochita's voice, like a bucket of ice water, snapped him back to reality.

Back to the cruel reality of death.

Fwip—