Power snapped her eyes shut, as if not looking would somehow lessen the impact of my fist against her cheek. That said, I wasn't some bully. I scarcely enjoyed scaring people, unless they were shitstains like Freed or the Bat Devil from before. To top that off, her blow to the back of my head had barely even registered.
But, if there were no consequences, then that would create a troublesome precedent.
I glanced at Alice.
She waved to the bag slung over my shoulder.
Hm, if I remembered correctly, she'd made me buy some... yeah, that could work.
Pulling the zip open, I rummaged through the contents until my hand found a distinctly bar-shaped object. A negligible everyday item every household tended to have... except Power's apparently. For her, that same item was possibly the ultimate punishment.
Sure, there had to be someone out there who was into walking septic tanks, but I was not that someone.
So, instead of punching her like a bully, I brought my fist close to her face, hard enough to ruffle up her long, unkempt hair. She scrunched up her face. The expected blow never came. Slowly, Power opened one of her eyes to investigate. Faced with the bane of her reeking existence, she let out a startled yelp and stumbled back all the way across the road.
"No! No! Get that away from Power!"
"Take a bath."
I waved the bar of soap around with a sigh. "Seriously, take a bath."
"Nooooooo!"
"I don't want to hit you, but I will if you don't take a bath-"
I made the mistake of tossing it to her. Suddenly, blood sprayed from her fist and took the shape of a massive sledgehammer. The blood rapidly hardened as she swung, flinging the soap into distant skies.
Deadpanning, I retrieved another bar from my bag.
"Choose, a beating, or a nice warm bath."
Seeing her as an adult, or even a girl, was becoming an increasingly difficult task with every word she spoke. She really gave off the vibe of one of those stupid kids running around the neighbourhood without adult supervision.
Power stuck out her tongue, "I'll take the beating!"
"I will genuinely drown you."
"W-Wait, what if I bathe with just water?!"
"No-"
The ground began to tremble and shake. Underneath my feet, I sensed some creature whirring about at an immense speed. Along the sewage line, I guessed. Not a moment later, a disgusting being broke through the asphalt.
It was... tall.
Nearly as, maybe taller as that humanoid Bat, but hunched over and four-legged, not at all human-like. The head was attached to an extremely long neck, and there was only a mouth lined with massive teeth instead of an actual face. Long, black hair fell on either side of the mouth.
It reeked worse than Power.
Then, there was the blotted and folded skin, the tentacle-y arms. A hentai ass monster, it was. There were six udders hanging from the underbelly.
"What a disgusting creature you are, indeed. Master-sir, I wouldn't approach that."
True enough.
I took several steps back. Power ran to my side, clutching Meowy in her hands. I positioned myself to protect Denji if the need arose.
The situation had changed drastically. After all, this was no longer a matter of whether or not I was stronger when I didn't even want to approach the damn thing. There was trash water spilling from all the random orifices on its body.
The Devil moved its head about, as if it were scanning the surroundings. The udders swung with it.
"You killed him! You killed my boyfriend!"
It was a... she.
And, she... was screeching. Crying, maybe.
One of the tentacles whirred up and crashed down on me. I jumped aside, and watched the arm shatter through the concrete. Power stared at me with a tilted head, confused.
"Why won't you kill her?"
"The same reason I won't even touch you."
I leaned back just in time to avoid a tentacle from whipping me in the torso. Another tentacle slammed down, right beside Denji, tossing his body across the asphalt. I realised then, I would have to suck it up and fight anyway.
"Please God..." I prayed earnestly.
My prayers were answered instantly.
"Arrghhh! Come on!" Denji sat up with his face twisting in pure, unfiltered anger that even gave me pause, "What's the big idea?! You woke me up, dammit!"
The Devil grew confused.
I grew confused.
"A BIT MORE AND I'D HAVE BEEN ALL UP IN MAKIMA'S TITS!"
Oh, he'd been dreaming.
"YOU SHITTY DEVIL! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO TRAMPLE ON PEOPLE'S HOPES, HUH?!"
"Huh?"
Denji jumped to his feet and reached for his chest. There was cord coming right out of his heart. He yanked it, crying and blustering over what he'd lost. Whirring chainsaws tore open his hands, and a proper one clamped shut around his head. His neck became wire, and his face became... a literal chainsaw.
A long tongue rolled out from a massive jaw underneath.
I clapped happily at the incredible transformation.
"He might be as perverse as you, master-sir, no, worse, perhaps."
I bopped Alice's hat.
"Definitely worse."
The Chainsaw Man lunged at the unknown Devil, and dug his whirring blades into her neck, brutally carving through flesh that sprayed everywhere as she cried out. One of her arms wrapped around his stomach and smashed him against the ground but he carved it up mid-flight.
"Talk about a shit trade. Power, what are you just standing around for?"
"R-Right!"
-
Denji sat amidst the bloody remains of two Devils. He heaved with a hand on his chest, sucking sharply and exhaling in pain right after. I was thankful he had taken on the second one, sparing my clothes... but I was still going to scrub down like crazy as soon as I went back home.
I stepped up to the blonde teenager.
"Soap?"
"Thanks for the help, man." He said sarcastically, pushing my hand away.
"Prickly. I killed the first one, and you can have the money."
Killing Devils came with a massive payday from the government, enough that the high mortality rate of the profession wasn't enough to keep the hunters away. That was what Alice had told me. I could only assume that the payout was bigger if the Devil in question was a big deal.
"Really?" His eyes lit up, and he began clinging to my leg, "Thank youuuu! Wait no, are you one of those rich assholes that goes around doing stuff for fun?"
...
"I won't deny that."
"Ugh. I hate your type."
"You were just clinging to my leg. And, I'm giving you the money for nothing."
He dropped all his animosity again.
"If you think this is fun, you should totally join the Public Safety Commission-" He stopped short, "Wait no, you'll try to steal my work. On second thought, thanks for the help. Hope I don't run into you again."
I smiled politely, thinking of what to say.
Suddenly, he shivered.
"A-Alright, I'll take you to Makima."
I turned to Power.
"Power. Bath."
"No!"
"I'll give you food?"
"...Okay."
-
I just be writing shiii