Aldo and Joey had managed to climb up an old lighthouse overlooking the bay. "The smoke's not helping us. Ready a shot," Joey stated the obvious to Aldo, who sat fixated on the scope of his rifle. The younger brother had been breathing oddly, barely listening to his older brother, who was, of course, not doing what was assigned to him.
"How hard is it to be quiet and point stuff out with binoculars?" Joey asked, annoyed. "Oi." He used his hand to chop Aldo on the shoulder. "Flying kid heading north, 26 degrees north by northeast."
Aldo shifted his position, turning the barrel in a smooth, practiced motion. He readied his scope, slowly easing it in and focusing on a flying target. "What kinda shit is this?" Joey asked Aldo.
"Maybe it's a fiend or a devil. Whatever it is, aim for the wings. For all we know, it's here for the chainsaw man as well. Shoot it down clean. Maybe we can sell it if we capture it, buy a yacht and a new place to live." Aldo put his index finger on the trigger and exhaled slowly.
Aldo felt the recoil as he fired the shot. The butt of the stock slammed against his shoulder, making him wince. "Hit," Joey said, lowering his binoculars. Aldo breathed in, feeling the weight of what they had just done.
"He looked like just a kid," Joey grumbled in response.
"Devils don't age. For all we know, that's some 100-year-old perv in a kid's body," Aldo replied.
"Whatever you tell yourself to justify your search history," he added with a chuckle, teasing his older brother.
"I don't-" Joey panicked, stammering, but Aldo just laughed at his brother's antics.
Aki managed to narrowly dodge a shot fired by one of the gunmen. He quickly grabbed a barstool and swung it around like a bat, cracking the skull of one of the goons. The red cushion part fell off, leaving just a metal stick. Aki swung it down on the man he had hit, taking him out.
Breathing heavily, he looked back at Makima, taking in the image of her lifeless body lying still in the booth, the reality of the situation sinking in.
Aki saw a massive green, fleshy appendage pierce through the back wall in the kitchen. He sprinted through the diner, narrowly avoiding falling tiles and debris as the colossal limb continued to sweep through the area. Panic and confusion filled the air as Aki tried to make sense of the chaos.
"What the hell is happening?!" Aki thought as he rushed past a group of stunned gunmen. He relied on his precognitive ability to anticipate danger, swiftly dodging a shotgun blast by ducking beneath it. With precision, he kicked the legs out from beneath the gunman and continued, carrying Makima's lifeless body in his arms, determined to get her to safety.
Aki rushed towards the inn, spotting the distant flames and smoke. As he approached, he saw sparks and commotion in the distance. A glint of grey hair caught his attention, but it quickly disappeared. Kishibe appeared in the air, engaged in a fierce battle with a brown-haired man wearing a quiver. The situation was rapidly escalating.
Aki knew he needed to act quickly. He found shelter in an alley, falling to one knee. His trembling fingers fumbled to dig his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Himeno's number, desperately hoping for her to pickup.
"You are not allowed to use the sword, do you hear me?!" Himeno clutched her phone tightly.
"I have to go," Aki told her.
"Aki, don't you dare hang up this phone," she held it to her face, nearly breaking the screen when the line suddenly dropped, leaving her with a dial tone.
"Oi, Cyclops, when can we go out and fight!" a horned woman yelled.
"Power, we aren't supposed to leave the area. We need to defend the people," Himeno turned back to scold Power, who held a crimson knife made of blood out towards a kid, dangling it in front of his face. Himeno walked over to Power, grabbing the blood knife and crushing it using a ghostly hand.
"I wanna go out and kill something!" Power whined.
Himeno grabbed her by the collar and dragged her to another room away from the group of people waiting in the lobby of the inn.
"Listen, we are under siege. Makima is dead."
"Good riddance, I always hated that lady," Power said with zero hesitation.
"Power, this isn't the time to joke around. We are in danger!" Himeno admonished.
"So? Just send the Chainsaw Kid to do it; he always has all the fun! I never get to go out! He destroyed a city, and I have been stuck in your and Top Knot's apartment all week!"
"Hey, guys!" the Violence Fiend entered, sipping a pina colada.
"Where have you been?" Himeno asked, wondering how, during a siege, he managed to find an open bar.
"I followed Kobeni to a tiki place."
"Wait, Kobeni snuck out?" Himeno asked, surprised.
"Yeah, with Chainsaw, Angel, and Bomb Bitch."
"Bomb Bitch!" Power yelled, laughing at the nickname.
"She called me Bird Brain; I call her Bomb Bitch,"
Himeno screamed. "This isn't the time for nicknames! Makima's dead, and half of Japan's Devil Hunter units have been wiped out. We have no idea where the Fiends are, and Aki is going to use the sword!"
The bird-masked fiend simply sipped more from his drink, nonchalantly opening a window and tossing the empty coconut outside.
"Ow!" Someone screamed. Himeno, Power, and Violence rushed to the window and saw a woman with snakes for hair, clutching her head and crying. Himeno's eyes widened when she noticed a one-eyed, grey-haired woman with three swords on her back looking up from the distressed girl. The Violence Fiend stepped back, his voice filled with awe, "Is that..."
"Quanxi," Himeno answered in a hushed tone.