I've Chosen Shoko

Lost in the depths of Hell, engrossed in a game, Shoko suddenly opened her eyes.

A rarely used ability had just activated.

Future Foresight – a mystical power that granted glimpses of significant upcoming events – had shown her a vision of the immediate future.

Denji and the others would arrive in Hell, encounter the Darkness Devil, and after a costly battle, escape with her.

If she did nothing, that's exactly what would happen.

But Shoko wasn't about to sit idly by. The vision was more of a heads-up, a signal to start planning.

And today's events made her incredibly happy.

Ecstatic, even.

Not because of the impending reunion with Denji, though rejoining the team and resuming her energy harvesting was a plus. Her joy stemmed from another discovery.

After shifting her energy-farming focus from the main cast to the Earth's vast readership, Shoko had encountered a problem – she couldn't gauge the effectiveness of her actions.

Energy harvesting was tied to emotions. When interacting with the main cast, she could instantly tell if her actions resonated, if she'd gained affection, or if she'd successfully tugged at their heartstrings.

But with the Earth's audience as her "flock," she had no way of knowing if her performance was well-received, if they liked her, or even if she'd appeared in the manga at all!

She could be putting on a grand performance, only for the manga to skip her scenes entirely!

The thought was deeply unsettling, enough to make her lose her appetite.

But today, that problem was solved!

The updated system shop now offered the [System Plugin: External Local Information Browser]!

This plugin essentially added internet access to her system. Now, any of her incarnations could directly access Earth's information, specifically content related to her current world, including audience reactions!

She now had access to a forum discussing the manga, the anime, everything! She could see what the readers thought, what they liked, what they hated!

With this, she could tailor her actions, optimize her performance for maximum energy gain!

As they say, good news brings good spirits. Though Shoko wasn't human, she was no less susceptible to joy. Her smile softened.

Denji and the others would arrive soon. Time to see how much screen time she'd gotten!

…

"Hee, hee hee~"

Minutes later, Shoko couldn't contain her villainous laughter.

Her plan was working perfectly!!!

Everything was proceeding as expected. With Power being her usual chaotic self, and Makima shifting her focus from Denji to Shoko, she'd successfully secured the female lead position!

Reze, her main competitor for the title, hadn't even had a chance to develop her plotline before being obliterated by Denji, captured, and forced into a contract with Makima.

So that's why Reze was in the vision. Makima's using her as an errand girl. She'd been puzzled by Reze's presence, since this arc shouldn't involve her.

The manga also confirmed another suspicion: Pochita was blocking Denji's memories. From Denji's perspective, Shoko had simply vanished on his birthday. He'd almost remembered after her death, but Pochita had intervened.

No matter. Pochita can only interfere so many times… hee hee.

Still plotting her next move, Shoko browsed the forum comments.

Opinions on her had evolved significantly. Initially, she was viewed as a villain, thanks to Fujimoto's artistic choices – heavy shadows and sinister smiles. Coupled with her demand for Denji and her ominous pronouncements about his heart being sought after in Hell, the early comments were along these lines:

[Doesn't seem like a good guy. Trying to sacrifice the protagonist right off the bat.]

[Power wants to trade Denji for her cat, but she doesn't seem that bad. Makima's a manipulative boss, but she hasn't actually hurt Denji. This Shoko is the real deal. Wants his heart.]

[Definitely a boss. But these edgy villains always die a pathetic death in the end.]

[Can't wait to see this b*tch get what's coming to her!]

After the flashback revealing her connection to Denji, the tone shifted:

[Shoko could have been my mom!]

[Shocked! The third girl is the MC's mom?!]

And after the Ferris wheel scene:

1. I've chosen Shoko.

2. You know I've always been Team Shoko.

While many considered Shoko the female lead, they also suspected she wasn't a good female lead. Like Aki, they believed Shoko, as a devil, couldn't possibly be genuinely kind to Denji. There had to be an ulterior motive.

The consensus: she was the female lead, but a villainous one.

Shoko was delighted. Exactly what I was aiming for.

Now that her plan was confirmed to be working perfectly, she could proceed with the next phase.

Looking at the suddenly appearing Denji and the others, Shoko smiled.

Assassins from various nations converged on Japan, targeting Denji's heart. Among them, Santa Claus, the Doll Devil, used the lives of the children he raised to summon the Hell Devil, dragging everyone inside the targeted building into Hell.

If killing Chainsaw Man and retrieving his heart proved too difficult, she'd simply deliver him directly to her client, the Darkness Devil, and let it handle the extraction!

And all of this was within Makima's calculations.