"Talk"
'Thought'
____________
"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean t-to get us t-trap here!"
In one of the rooms of the hotel, Kobeni Higashiyama could be seen sitting on one of the beds inside the room, as she was crying a lot and feeling absolutely terrible about the situation she found herself in.
"I-I'm a h-horrible leader, I-I should've done better..."
And as Kobeni continues to sob in self-hate and guilt, blaming herself for making such a mistake, two of her teammates, specifically Denji and Power, were doing everything to cheer her up.
"H-Hey, it's alright, it's not your fault, you didn't know this would happen."
Denji was doing everything he could to let Higashiyama know it was not her fault.
"Tis right, it was Denji's wrongdoing, most likely, definitely his fault."
While Power was doing everything she could to blame someone else, specifically blaming Denji for it.
"Look, I'm sure we'll find a way, I promise."
"Yeeeeeeah, about that."
But as Denji and his Blood Devil were trying to cheer up the Deviltrix host, the sound of the door opening caught everyone's attention, as they all looked and saw both Himeno and Aki Hayakawa entering the room, both not seeming to be pleased in the situation.
"D-Did you find a way out?"
Kobeni looked hopeful that the two Devil Hunters found something yet.
"We've scouted the entire area in hopes of finding an exit, unfortunately with all the same results."
Though as soon as Aki begins to explain what he found, or the lack of finding anything that resembles escape, it does nothing but dash the remaining hope of the Collared Humans.
"Whatever Devil trapped us here, has both sealed us away from our home dimension and put us in some kind of endless loop, no matter if we go up or down the stairs, how many doors or windows we open, or even crawling through the ceiling or vents, we always end up on this floor."
Aki continues to talk about what he experienced in his search, mostly him going through a loop of both exploring and emotional frustration and confusion.
"Luckily, the water still works, plus we found some leftover food from our search, so we can survive for a little while, but-"
"W-We're still trapped here..."
But before Aki could finish giving his report, Kobeni was able to understand and sum up the entire situation.
"I-It's my fault... All m-my fault..."
Unfortunately, that only resulted in Kobeni feeling even worse than before. She began to break down and let out more tears from her guilt and sorrow-filled eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, I-I'm so very s-sorry..."
Most of the group members didn't know how to deal with Kobeni when she was like this, as they didn't know what to say or do to make her feel better and not blame herself while still being trapped in the endless loop of imprisonment.
"Hey! Just because we didn't find a way out yet, doesn't mean there isn't one, we just gotta keep searching!"
Though Himeno still did her best, quickly sitting next to her and gave her the biggest hug she could give, as well as trying to shower her with as much positivity as possible.
"You Two! Go find us an exit and don't come back until you find something that will make Kobeni stop crying!"
As well as Himeno ordering both the Devils to continue the search, which made them hesitate because they didn't want to listen to her, but seeing how Higashiyama was suddenly filled them with both motivation and determination.
"For Kobeni Happiness!"
"For The Queen's Joy!"
And once both Denji and Power were properly given a reason to help, the two didn't hesitate to run out of the room, pushing and shoving each other out of the way so that only one of them could find whatever they were looking for first and take the credit.
"Hm, I guess even idiots have their uses, when properly motivated enough."
Aki couldn't help but shake his head, as he took a quick glance back at his Partner, who was still trying to comfort their leader.
"I'll give you some privacy."
Seeing that this might be something Aki shouldn't be interrupting, he left the room and gave the two ladies their moment of alone time together.
"Come on Kobeni, I thought you grew past your crybaby phase."
Himeno, while giving the Deviltrix host some more hugs, used her sleeve to start wiping away the tears from her cheeks and eyes.
"There, no more teary eyes~"
Himeno, after cleaning the Collared Human face, lifted up her chin and made her look into her own face, which she saw gave her a warm and happy smile.
"Now show me a smile, huh? Huh?~"
Unfortunately for Himeno, Higashiyama did not return the expression, as she continues to look as upset and depressed as ever.
"Why do you feel responsible? You should know that this whole situation isn't your fault, so why convince yourself that it is?"
Himeno sighs as she still holds the Deviltrix host close, was a little frustrated to see her leader still upset, but that didn't stop her from trying to comfort her, as well as trying to understand why she felt such a way.
"... Because everything is my responsibility..."
Which Kobeni started explaining why, definitely catching the attention of her teammate, looking at her as she began to reveal how she truly felt about the situation, that it wasn't just about the endless loop of the hotel but everything else she has been experiencing recently.
"Killing Devils."
Power and Denji could be seen racing down the hall, as if in a race to find an exit first.
"Taking care of my team."
Aki could be seen just standing outside of the room, next to the door, and was in the middle of lighting up a cigarette.
"Using the Deviltrix."
The Deviltrix around Kobeni's neck let out a beep and quick flash of light.
"Serving Miss Makima."
Outside the endless loop of the hotel, Makima could be seen behind her desk, looking through her reports-specifically, reports with both Kobeni and the Chainsaw Man on them.
"Making money for my Mom and Dad, so they can send my more talented brother to college instead of me..."
Back with Kobeni, she was starting to shake, as fresh tears began to fill her eyes again.
"Everything is my responsibility."
Kobeni tries to hold herself and close her eyes tightly, in hopes to stop her crying and shaking.
"And whenever something bad happens, it's my fault that I let it happen in the first place."
Though Kobeni was clearly failing to hold it all in, and just broke down into another sobbing mess.
"I-It's always been my fault..."
As Kobeni continues to be left in a mess, the Eyepatch lady, who was still holding and trying to comfort, couldn't help but watch her leader with worried concerns and absolute confusion.
'Is Power the only one not messed up on this team?'
However, before Himeno could say or do more to either cheer up or understand the Collared Human, they were both interrupted and startled by the door being kicked open by none other than the Fiend herself.
"GREAT NEWS MY QUEEN! I Have Found Us A Way Out!~"
This definitely confused Higashiyama and her Devil Hunter partner when Power said this, though they were able to catch on very quickly when the horned blonde took them somewhere that was less than pleasant to be at.
"I-Is that a Devil?"
Standing before Kobeni and her entire Division group, was a giant blob of flesh, faces and teeth, arms wiggling and grabbing at everything it could touch, a horrible sight to behold for sure.
"Yes, and from the looks of it, it manifested itself from the corpses that Power killed."
Aki was glaring at the Devil, clearly on guard and had his hand near his sword that was on his back, no doubt ready to fight if needed.
"Told You I Was The One To Slay The Devil!~"
Though Power was more concerned about earning credit and being smug about it to the Hybrid.
"That Doesn't Count Since The Devil Is Clearly Still Alive!"
Which Denji growls and glares at the Blood Devil in response, annoyed by her mocking and her getting to kill the Devil first instead of him, even though the Devil is still alive.
"Power, when you said you found a way out, what did you mean exactly?"
But before the Fiend could continue with her teasing, Himeno stopped her and asked her a question about what she said early, though instead of the horned blonde answering her question, it was the Devil itself who finally spoke up.
"I am the Eternity Devil, and I wish to make a contract with you~"
And what the Eternity Devil said was enough to catch everyone's full attention and concern.
"What kind of contract?"
Aki narrows his eyes at the Eternity Devil suspiciously, no trust for the enemy one bit.
"Feed me the heart of your human companion, and I shall let you all go free~"
When the Eternity Devil points out the Blonde and its desire to eat him, much to everyone's shock and surprise, as they weren't expecting such a request from the devious Devil.
"Hah! What a load of shit, what makes you think we would trust your words, right Kobeni?~"
However, Denji just simply laughs at the Eternity Devil and flips it off, as he thought that Higashiyama wouldn't allow such a thing, and even asked her how she couldn't do it.
"Kobeni?"
Though when Denji didn't hear a reply from the Deviltrix host, he looked back at her in confusion, and then went eyes wide in disbelief when he saw her actually in the middle of thinking about it very deeply and with a stressful expression.
"Devil's might be devious monsters that don't deserve mercy, but when it comes to making a contract, it's not lying."
The Human Devil then looked at Himeno, as she also seemed to be considering whether or not to accept the Contract.
"What the Eyepatch lady says is true, once they offer and accept a deal, they will have no choice but to follow through with it, since their life literally depends on it."
Power, unlike the others who were somewhat struggling with the decision, she was clearly and obviously all for it and was more willing to give up the Hybrid to the Eternity Devil, which didn't really surprise him.
"Come on, you all can't be considering this!"
Though Denji couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed to see the other two, specifically the one he had a crush on, actually thinking about giving him up to the Eternity Devil, which made the Collared Human look beyond guilty and felt more horrible.
"Look at the bright side, if you die, the Queen will praise me for saving her~"
Power just sticks her tongue out at the blonde and looks smug about the idea of him dying and how she would have her Queen for herself, which only made him growl in response and even consider lifting up his axe to swing at her.
"It is not for you to decide."
Though Aki, while also considering giving up the Devil Human, seemed more rational and calm about the entire situation, he stopped the two blondes from getting in another fight.
"Kobeni, as our leader, is your call on how we should proceed."
In the end, Aki, as well as everyone else, knew that in the end, it was Higashiyama who had to make a choice, all were waiting and watching her for her final answer, though all that resulted in causing her more stress, as she grabbed her hair and started pulling on it, the pressure of making such a difficult decision, the heavy weight of considering all the pros and cons, as well as how she truly felt about her and the Hybrid, it was clearly too much to handle and even seemed like she was ready to just pass out from the idea of making a choice alone.
"What do you say, is it a deal?~"
Though, despite all the stress and anxiety, the Deviltrix host was able to come to a final decision, she took a very deep breath and let out a defeated sigh, as she knew whatever she chose would still end badly, but she still had the answer, as she walks up to the Eternity Devil, which made everyone watch her as she stood before it, her sad and tired eyes looking into the one filled with so much sadistic evil.
"... No..."
When Kobeni finally revealed her decision to the Eternity Devil, it promptly and suddenly ate her and swallowed her whole without hesitation.
"THEN YOU ALL SHALL DIE INSTEAD!"
The Eternity Devil, now filled with rage and a desire to kill everyone, quickly started to grow and mutate rapidly. As it started crawling and reaching for all the Devil Hunters, it also planned to eat them.
"KOBENI!"
"MY QUEEN!"
Though Denji, despite feeling betrayed moments ago, looks on in horror to see the Collared Human defend him and get eaten because of it, this definitely made him very angry and wanted revenge on the Eternity Devil. Power shares this feeling deeply; she was clearly not pleased to see her Queen taken out in such a disgraceful way.
"RUN!"
But the two blondes were quickly stopped by Himeno, as she grabbed them both with a ghost arm and pulled the two Devils with her, forcing them to run away with the rest of the group, and do everything they could to avoid getting captured and eaten like their leader.
"HAH! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM THE INSIDE OF MY OWN BODY?!~"
As soon as the Eternity Devil said this, the entire hallway started to turn and flip. What was down became sideways, and what was sideways became down, almost making the entire group fall directly into the mouth of the Devil. Luckily, they jumped into a random room before that could happen, allowing all of them to have a moment of rest and catch their breath. However, once a few had recovered, the same few wanted to go back to jumping into the pit of Eternity.
"I'LL KILL THIS FUCK! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"
"I DESIRE IT'S FLESH! I WILL SUCK THE DEVIL'S BLOOD DRY FOR WHAT IT DID TO MY QUEEN!"
Those few were none other than Denji and Power, both were angry and eager to fight and punish the Eternity Devil for what it had done to Kobeni, which forced the Eyepatch lady to stop them again with the same ghost arm from earlier.
"Hm, I guess we have no choice, I'm going to use the swo-"
Aki was beginning to realize the danger and difficulty of their situation, and how much worse it could get if they didn't do anything, which made him tempted to reach out and use the sword that was on his back.
"Don't make me use Ghost Devil on you too!"
Himeno grabs Hayakawa with her normal hand and glared at him, clearly she did not want him to risk his life in this situation with the Eternity Devil either, though as everyone was all either becoming tense, full of hate, and just being uncertain of what needs to be done at this very minute, all this messy chaos has only made the Eternity Devil laugh at their hubris.
"Yes, fight amongst yourselves, maybe once you kill each other, I will finally be able to feed on the Chainsaw Man heart, heheh-HURK!"
However, before the Eternity Devil could enjoy the sight of those losing their edge, laughter suddenly becomes screams of agony, which catches everyone attention and look at the pit of Eternity, and what the group of Devil Hunters saw has definitely shock them, as deep within the horrible mountains of flesh of a body, a pair of large and monstrous jaws came ripping out, resulting in a large hole in the body, and once that hole was made, a body was able to pop out from it, a body that resembles a sea creature, a humanoid angler fish with a alligator jaw, this monster definitely confused the Division at first, but once they all saw the Deviltrix around its neck, they all knew who it was, Kobeni Higashiyama, more specifically, Kobeni who has transformed into another monster that she has dubbed "Namazu".
"STAY AWAY FROM MY TEAM!"
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In the original story, Kobeni was trying to kill Denji to save her own life, which I don't blame her, I'm sure anyone would've done the same, HOWEVER, in this story, not only does she bonded with Denji, but as the team leader of her group, plus her extra confidence thanks to her Deviltrix, she became overprotective for the people she's close with, and will do everything to keep her friends alive and safe.
(BTW, I decided to exchange Upgrade/Kaizen with Ripjaws, which I will dub "Namazu", only because at the moment, I will most likely not use the Galvanic Mechamorphs anytime soon, I wanna save that alien for the future for something special, maybe against the Gun Devil or something.)
/Namazu\
/Hakken\