Chapter 204: Chapter 204
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"Do you really think I'll believe you with just those two lines of explanation?"
Abel laughed upon hearing this, "I don't care what anyone thinks. Anyone who tries to prevent me from completing the 'mission' will ultimately be eliminated by me, whether they are human or some sort of demon."
"As for what I said earlier, don't misunderstand—it was not an attempt to gain your trust. I only said it because this woman has feelings for you, and I would prefer not to have any trouble with you—that's all."
"Otherwise, I'm afraid I might accidentally kill you, which would make this woman uncooperative with my work."
Aki's face was expressionless, "It seems you're very confident in your abilities."
Abel spoke modestly, "At least, if I wanted to right now, you would have been dead no less than ten times."
As soon as he finished speaking, multiple tears appeared on Aki's clothes as if they had been sliced by some kind of blade.
A brief examination revealed more than ten such cuts.
Aki's pupils constricted instantly, his hand instinctively reaching for the weapon behind him.
But halfway through the motion, his body froze.
A huge sense of impending doom warned him to stop, or he would die!
"Good, it seems we have finally reached a preliminary understanding, then."
Abel put his knife down and picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth.
"Before I leave this country, I do not wish to see this woman in any danger. If you can ensure that, I won't appear."
"But if you fail, I will complete this mission in my way."
"With that said, Himeno, please take the trouble of seeing her home. Oh, and by the way, I've already bought my ticket. Here's a box of cigarettes for you—cheers."
With that, Abel rose and left the restaurant.
"What kind of demonic power is that? Why didn't I see anything?"
Aki collapsed onto the chair, continuously recalling the recent events.
This sense of powerlessness and fear, he had never felt it from another human.
But then again, is that guy really human?
Could he be some demon in disguise?
Or perhaps a devil person?
The so-called 'devil person' is a term for demons that occupy a human corpse.
They possess a human appearance, but their personality is that of a demon, with only a few rare instances maintaining their sanity.
His division, the Special Devil Division 4, dealt with devil persons.
"Himeno-senpai really did date an incredible guy."
Aki forced a smile, slung her onto his back, and prepared to take her home.
Drunk Himeno, however, was still unconsciously calling out his name.
...
The next day, Aki reported yesterday's events to his superior—Makima.
Makima was a cabinet-appointed demon hunter who also oversaw and trained the Special Devil Division 4.
She was the pink-haired woman who had been in eye contact with Abel that day.
Compared to an individual of unknown origin, Aki naturally trusted the official powers more.
"Abel. The person entrusted with Himeno's protection. Very powerful and of unknown origin."
Makima immediately dispatched people to investigate, but the results were surprising.
They couldn't find any information on Abel at all.
It was as if he had popped up out of nowhere.
But obviously, this was impossible.
To be able to bring such a person into Tokyo unnoticed by the officials—such a power was far from simple!"But what could their goal be?"
"Is it really just to protect Himeno?"
Makima flipped through Himeno's records from childhood to adulthood once again, but still couldn't find a connection.
"Then, we have to probe."
...
In the afternoon, the Special Devil Dispatch Unit 4 Class 6 was fully deployed.
The target was a devil who had eaten a slice of the Gun-Gun Devil fruit and was hiding in a certain hotel.
The area had been evacuated, and now they just needed to resolve the situation.
As they entered the hotel, Abel followed them in.
After all, he wasn't sure what kind of danger Himeno might encounter. With the 'main quest' not progressing, if he lost the 'side quest' as well, that would indeed be troublesome.
However, when he reached the 8th floor, he found six pairs of eyes staring at him!
"Hey, what a coincidence."
Abel greeted everyone and felt something odd.
Before he came up, he had sensed with his Observation Haki that there was no presence on the entire 8th floor, which is why he hurried up.
But now everyone was there, exposing him instead.
What exactly was going on?
"Abel?! What are you doing here?"
Himeno was very surprised.
The others were somewhat excited—had the infinite loop been broken?
The woman with the yellow hair and the one with horns on her head that Abel had seen that day immediately ran upstairs and downstairs.
And to Abel's surprise, the one who ran upstairs reappeared behind him, while the one who ran downstairs strangely came down from above.
"No, it seems not that the rules have been broken; instead, a new innocent has entered," said Aki, analyzing the situation calmly.
He probably knew why Abel appeared here: he got involved in the territory of the devil while trying to protect senior Himeno.
The businessman and another frail girl Abel had never seen were suddenly drained of hope and sat down on the ground.
"Can someone explain to me what's happening now? Was that some kind of magic trick?"
"Hah..."
Himeno sighed, yet he still explained the situation.
Simply put, they fell into a trap set by the devil.
The whole 8th floor was the devil's true body, where time doesn't flow. No matter where they went, they would always end up back here, endlessly.
So they couldn't even wait for rescue.
After listening, Abel understood why these people got so excited upon seeing him.
But he thought the idea of 'time not flowing' was a paradox—otherwise, how could he have arrived here?
If 'time really didn't flow,' then the second person stepping into the 8th floor would find the first person long dead.
So he suspected that time here wasn't frozen; rather, it was flowing at an astronomical rate.
Like staying here for a day might only be a second in the outside world.
But even then, that didn't help their current situation.
If they didn't find a way to break out, they would be trapped forever.
Then, things got even worse.
The 'devil' that Himeno had killed began to infinitely multiply, turning into an indescribable mass of heads and flesh, now blocking the other end of the corridor and starting to swarm towards them.
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