The bright sun was streaming into my room, burning my eyes with its blinding light.
I wanted to ignore it, but I couldn't see the benefit of it, because no matter how much I hid, I was already awake and my sleep had been interrupted.
I barely got out of bed and felt a strange pain all over my body, especially in my upper parts.
- Uggh... My head is banged up....
Holding my head, I finally woke up from my dream.
- Was it a dream at all...?
Nah. It was too realistic to be a dream. And there was only one way to test it... To test it in practice!
Well, not right now. It's morning, so we'll have to start gradually.
- Anyway... Shower, then breakfast.
I got up from my soft bed and looked around. My room was quite spacious... Since Aki and I were the first residents here, we decided to be the first to get the fancy rooms, and thanks to me, we lived in a palace, so naturally I was the first one to choose a room.
Drunk but friendly, that's how we agreed. Not that I accidentally hit him... Oh, well. Friendship starts with a good beating.....
My room had a giant KING SIZE bed, which left me with a lot of extra space. And I was happy about that. Oh, and girls could be brought in here, hehehe... Ahem.....
Besides the bed, of course there were other little things here. A desk, a closet, a couple of windows with blinds, a beautiful chandelier, and a mini-fridge... Whoever lived here before, thank you very much for leaving me his legacy.
I wonder if we'll be paying taxes too? Of course, the electricity, water and gas costs will also be enormous, but for demon hunters, it's just pennies.
So you don't have to worry about that... At least for now!....
The pride of my room was the balcony overlooking the backyard. It wasn't anything like that, but having a balcony is nice.
After stretching and doing a couple of exercises, I looked at my phone. The time was 8:30.
- I have to get to work soon. Time to move out... Waaah... - yawning, I staggered to the bathroom, of which we have two.
Aki was obviously the first to wake up, because I could smell food cooking from the first floor. Had my nose become more sensitive now? Here's the first proof that I've gotten the power of a Dark Demon.
Sight, touch... All my senses have gotten better.
Since my roommate's already cooking in the kitchen, the bathroom's free.
- Great. - I headed down the hall to the bathroom.
I was in my underwear, but I wasn't embarrassed. Why? I'm a man, and I'm allowed to wear underwear. And demons shouldn't feel shame, if I was one.
When I got into the bathroom, I wanted to get into the shower, but I stopped when I passed the sink and mirror.
- What the...
Looking in the mirror, I hung back a little. Just yesterday, I was a skinny gimp. Bones and skin! But now... My whole body was transformed.
Shoulders a little wider, abs showing their clear outline, and a powerful chest. Biceps, triceps... They were clearly bigger than they had been before.
Squeezing my muscles and touching them, I was pleased and amazed by it. It was like something familiar I had experienced in the past.
And I realized something else.
- My height... I'm taller now?
Originally, my height was shorter. About 173 centimeters, but now it's probably a total of 182 centimeters. Damn... I've really gotten taller!
- Wait... Which means....
Looking down and pulling up my boxers, I saw my buddy who had grown up with me.
- From 13 to 16... And if you wake up, all 18? - I was talking to my youngest. - More or less, whatever... But now you don't have to be self-conscious about your Asian features!
"Thank you, Demon of Darkness. I will repay you!" - With a stingy male tear, I decided not to deal with my sudden growth for long.
It was all part of the contract, so I could safely say that I did get the power... Even if only a small part of it?
While under the shower, I thought back to our contract with the Darkness Demon.
The only thing that disappointed me was the small amount of power....
"Unfortunately, Chainsaw Demon... I can only give you 5% of your strength. Your body is fragile and not used to demonic abilities." - I remembered our conversation.
Yeah...
So all I got was this pumped up body and a couple of abilities. But thanks to the contract, I learned about Pochita and his blood-filled past.
Yeah... The real Denji and Pochita had sad past. From birth, they fought to survive.
"Chainsaw Demon... Hell's hero..."
Pochita was indeed strong, but he was cornered and nearly killed. It was only because of his escape that the Chainsaw Demon made it to the real world and was able to survive by contracting with Denji.
"Who hurt Pochita like that?" - you might ask.
The answer is pretty simple... The original demons, as well as the demons of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Famine, Control, War, and Death.
They fought him an infinite number of times. Pochita was reborn each time, but still not overpowered... But he was able to destroy the strongest demons once and for all.
When demons die, they are reborn in the real world. This whole cycle means that demons will never die and will live forever.
But the Chainsaw Demon had one peculiarity that the Demon of Darkness told me about:
"Chainsaw would devour the flesh of demons who fell at his hands, after which none would be reborn. Not only did it stop the demons' cycle of rebirth, it erased their very existence."
Damn... And that's really interesting....
In Denji's memories, there was no nuclear bomb, Nazism, or war... But I know about them because I was transported here from another world. I've barely tried to remember them, but it's better to forget them. I wouldn't want to fight them.
Anyway, I learned another secret.
"Makima hears everything..." - I frowned, turning off the water and stepping out of the shower.
The Darkness Demon had told me that Makima was actually a Control Demon. Damn... I wondered why she always gave me the creeps. I guess Pochita felt threatened by her for a long time.
And now I'm a little uneasy. Did she hear me thinking out loud about how I got to the other world?
- Fuck.
But... For the sake of this, I decided to use my first Dark Demon ability. With a snap of my fingers, I concentrated. It was difficult to activate this skill, but eventually it was as if a shroud of darkness enveloped me. Like, a barrier of darkness, but invisible.
My actions, steps, aura, and even speech would not be heard without my consent.
Of course, I can also selectively hide my abilities, for example, only aura and speech.
Of course, people around me will still be able to hear me, but if someone is eavesdropping or bugging me, fuck them. For example, Makima... She's a Control Demon and can control all creatures she deems weaker than herself. Which meant even birds, insects, and rats could become my watchers....
If she didn't control me, does that mean she thinks I'm stronger than her? No... Not like that... She probably thinks Pochita is stronger.
Yeah... Fuck them. They've been on my mind since this morning.
But for the most part, I was able to deal with the demon powers. All I had to do was get stronger and get the Dark Demon's power. Gross... I need to sacrifice to him in the form of medium or higher rank demons. Not perverts, not possessed... But pure-blooded demons. That's what my development varies with.
The stronger the demon I give him, the more power he'll give me. Too bad my body can't handle the enormous power of the darkness.
- Anyway... Time to eat and get to work.
After getting out of the shower and changing my clothes, I went down to the first floor and immediately went to the kitchen. Aki was sitting there, already dressed in his suit and calmly reading a newspaper, drinking coffee.
There was breakfast on the table. He had already finished his and only my part was left. The specialty of this breakfast was toast...
Yes. Denji and Pochita's favorite dish... The guy himself dreamed of eating toast with jam... And many other kinds of sweets.
I told him a lot about myself yesterday. About Pochita, about our friendship and our contract... And about the past, hiding my father's murder. And I told him that my dream was simple. To have some toast with different toppings and a few little things.
I guess he thought I'd make them in the morning.
There were eight pieces of toast with different toppings on the table. And they were all neatly arranged on plates. Strawberry, blackberry, orange, peach and even quince jam... More with honey and butter. They were all sprinkled with cinnamon....
I could feel the moisture on my tears.....
- Thank you, Aki. - I said as I approached the table.
He jerked and almost spilled the coffee.
- What?.... When did you come down?! - The guy was startled.
- Hmm? Just now. - I answered the kid and started enjoying my breakfast.
- Strange... I didn't even hear footsteps from you... Don't do that again. - he sighed.
Oh... Right. I've got Stealth on. Shit... Once again concentrating on my whole body and the power of darkness, I was able to deactivate my new ability.
- And... I think... You've gotten stronger and bigger? - Aki was looking at me. - You have the power of a demon.
- Have you noticed it too? - I smirked, showing my muscles. - I woke up, and I was already as tall as you, and pumped up... I guess the demonic powers had something to do with it. - I shrugged.
- Yeah... You can see the body of a demon. A human wouldn't have achieved such a thing in just one day. - He continued to read his paper, sipping his coffee.
- I think I should hide my aura. It might scare the demons around me and they'll have to hide, making it harder for us to catch them. - I looked at my hand.
Concentrated again, and that was it... I suppressed the aura.
- Is it better now? - I asked.
- I don't know. I'm not a demon. - Aki replied, rolling his eyes. - Anyway, we have to go. A call came in from headquarters. We need to finish off the possessed man.
- Okay. - After eating the rest of the toast, I washed it down with milk.
....
We've been dealing with one demon for three hours. That's rough.
It was some civilian who became a possessed spewer. We had to wait for authorization to remove it because the police were running the place.
I thought about provoking the possessed man to attack, but fate blessed us and we were allowed inside his house.
He was sitting in one of the rooms eating a parrot.
The room itself looked like a pervert's paradise... Posters, magazines, CDs. They were all 18+ rated... Fe...
The one looked at Aki and wanted to attack, but changed his mind after looking at me... Ouch, he shuddered.
I used my strength to hit him, and in one fell swoop, I chopped off his head with the axe I was given at the headquarters.
- Waaaah... Well, that'll do it... - I yawned and wanted to leave, but Aki looked at me strangely. - What? Is my face bleeding?
- No. I just thought you'd turn into a demon. - he said.
- Hey, Aki. Imagine a chainsaw coming out of your hands and head, tearing flesh and shredding bones, how would you feel? - I asked him. - I too can feel pain, of course, with time it dulls because I have regeneration, but for the sake of such a small demon I do not want to stain this room with his blood. - I answered him with specific reasons.
- What a pity. I wanted to see you in 'action'. - He turned around and walked towards the exit.
- In your dreams. Find me a stronger demon, then okay. - I shrugged my shoulders and followed him.
We were on our way to the headquarters. Aki was my driver, because I didn't have a license right now. I wanted to get something light, like... A motorbike!
But I'd have to earn some money for that...
But I think by next year, I'll be able to save up and start investing in famous brands.
And with a new dream, my colleague Aki and I arrived at the headquarters and went straight to the boss's office.
She stood with a dead fish stare as always and gave us a good look. I tried my best to hide my Darkness Demon aura so that she wouldn't suspect anything.
She's my enemy too... Here, I'll either kill her someday or subdue her. But there's a possibility that if I do, I might be hunted down and become an enemy of public safety.
Huh... Difficult....
Anyway, she came up to me and started circling around me.
- Makii-chan... Is something wrong? - I asked.
- And you've grown up...' the redhead answered me. - And muscles have appeared? - Touching my biceps, she tilted her head curiously.
I could feel Aki's jealous gaze on me. I'm sorry... But she seems to be interested in me, little brother.
- I woke up this morning, like this. The demon body must have just manifested. - I answered her.
Makima let go of my hands and went back to her seat. She gave me a couple of glances and nodded.
- Well, that's good, right? Now you can do the tasks easier than before. - Smiling, she sat back down in her seat and pulled out some papers again, just like yesterday.
- Anyway, Denji. From today, you'll have another partner.
- Huh? Another partner? I'm just getting used to him. - I pointed at Aki.
Seriously. We fought yesterday, but we became friends tonight. Even our conversations are like, "What are we eating tonight?"
- I'm the captain of the squad, not your partner. I already have a partner and she's waiting outside. - suddenly Aki became a bossy bastard.
Ah... I see now. The Control Demon had a hand in this? I don't think Aki told me a specific reason for loving her.
Well... It's a game that can be played by two.
- Traitor... - I mumbled.
- In the interest of civilians, we team up our agents with partners for small missions and patrols. - Makima explained to me.
I could clearly hear footsteps coming toward us. Judging by the heartbeat, which wasn't there, it was a girl... But I smelled a... Demon in her?
- Be careful. She's a fiend. - Makima warned me.
Suddenly, the door to the office opened and out she came...
- Yo! On your knees, man! - She pointed at me with her hands in the air. - My name is Power! - introduced herself to me.
Well... Hemorrhoids, to be exact. Looks like I'll have to teach her some manners soon... hehe.
To be continued…
===============>