Makima, also known as the Control Devil, is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Setting aside the primal devils, the Control Devil is one of the most powerful devils in existence. Not only is her ability incredibly overpowered, but her intelligence is also exceptionally high. It's no exaggeration to say that she surpasses the vast majority of humans.
In the first part of the original manga, everything from start to finish was orchestrated and controlled by Makima, except for the final miscalculation where she failed to recognize Denji and Pochita.
Of course, one of the main reasons Makima was so powerful in the original story was her contract with the Japanese Cabinet, which granted her near-immortality. Without this, Makima herself is quite fragile, and her control ability alone wouldn't be so overwhelmingly powerful.
The so-called control ability allows her to dominate humans, animals, devils, fiends, weapon humans, and all other living beings. Those under her control are absolutely obedient to her, and Makima can also use the abilities of those she controls. However, explaining the specifics is quite complex.
The prerequisite for Makima to control a being is that she must consider that being inferior to herself. But she is too rational.
For example, she couldn't even control Kishibe. Characters like Reze and Quanxi were only dominated after she killed them, as she didn't consider them inferior to herself.
This is why Chiya finds Makima's abilities so abstract.
"I hope Makima hasn't descended yet at this point in time. Otherwise, things would get too complicated…"
Chiya wasn't sure whether Makima had already left Hell and come to Japan at this point in the timeline.
If Makima had already arrived, she had likely already made a contract with the Cabinet, granting her near-immortality. That would be the most troublesome scenario.
If Pochita were discovered by Makima, she would undoubtedly come after him.
If she hadn't arrived yet, things would be much simpler. Without the immortality ability, and most importantly, without her twisted mindset.
Devils that resemble humans in appearance often have a closer affinity with humans. The Control Devil, aside from her eyes, looks almost entirely human. Therefore, Makima was originally quite close to humans.
In the original story, Makima became the deranged villainess she was because her mindset was twisted by the Cabinet.
In contrast, Nayuta, also a Control Devil, was the reincarnation of Makima after her death in Hell. Having lost her memories of being Makima, she became very endearing.
Although her nature was no different from Makima's, without the twisted mindset, she was completely different.
Whether it's Makima or Nayuta, the Control Devil's dream is to "have a family." Like Pochita, it's a simple dream, but achieving it is incredibly difficult.
However, regardless of whether Makima has descended to the human world or not, Chiya still has to "go to work."
He hadn't collected the reward for the commission he completed yesterday, and he needed to continue hunting devils to gain more attribute points.
...
Soon, Chiya arrived at the civilian outpost.
The female staff member knew what he was here for. As soon as he entered, she handed him the prepared reward.
"Can future commission rewards be directly deposited into my card?"
Chiya asked, looking at the cash the staff member handed him.
"Of course. Just give us your card number."
The staff member replied.
Chiya immediately recited his bank card number, and the staff member entered it into the outpost's system, instantly transferring the over 200,000 yen reward into his account.
"All set. From now on, we'll directly transfer the rewards for your completed commissions into your card."
"Thanks."
Chiya nodded, then turned his attention to the large screen.
It listed all the available commissions, along with their targets, requirements, and rewards. However, the specific details of each commission were only accessible after accepting it, to prevent people from sneaking off to hunt devils based on the information.
At the top of the list was a commission with a reward of 3 million yen, but it required at least four devil hunters with experience in hunting devils—meaning no rookies.
This commission was clearly high-difficulty, but that was exactly what Chiya wanted. After all, the stronger the devil, the more attribute points he could gain from hunting it.
At that moment, Hayakawa Aki happened to arrive early in the morning as well.
"Good morning."
Chiya greeted Aki when he saw him.
"Morning."
Aki's tone was still cold, but the fact that he responded showed some change.
Noticing that Chiya was looking at the large screen, Aki asked, "I heard you went hunting devils again yesterday. Don't you need to rest today?"
"No need. The devil I contracted with is quite friendly, and the conditions it set are pretty lenient."
Chiya explained.
Of course, he couldn't tell others that his incredible vision and perception were side-effect-free basic abilities, so he had to explain it this way.
"I see."
Aki nodded slightly, not doubting his explanation.
In reality, there were indeed many such cases. The conditions a devil set depended entirely on its mood. The same devil might demand half a human's lifespan as a contract price from one person, while only asking for a strand of hair from another. In simple terms, it depended on whether the devil liked you or not.
"Hey, you two over there, want to join us for that 3 million yen commission?"
A voice called out from behind them.
"I'm in."
Aki agreed without even turning around.
He had just seen that the target of the 3 million yen commission was a devil possessing a piece of the Gun Devil's flesh. What he cared about wasn't the 3 million yen or the target devil, but the Gun Devil's flesh.
He became an orphan and a devil hunter because of the Gun Devil. His life's greatest goal was revenge—to kill the Gun Devil!
From what he knew, the Gun Devil hadn't been seen for a long time. To find its location, he needed to gather enough pieces of its flesh.
Although only Public Safety devil hunters were allowed to possess Gun Devil flesh, his current goal was to join the Tokyo Public Safety Division. Completing this commission would bring him one step closer to meeting the requirements.
"Then let's do it."
Chiya also agreed.
He wasn't particularly interested in the Gun Devil's flesh. He just wanted to hunt powerful devils to gain attribute points.
The group that had invited them to join was a team of three: a blonde delinquent with a pompadour, a tall, burly middle-aged man with a buzz cut, and a high school girl in a JK uniform.
With the five of them together, they met the commission's requirement for the number of participants.
After the female staff member confirmed that their combat records also met the requirements, they were allowed to accept the commission.