"Have you already decided which devil you want to make a contract with?"
As they stepped out of the elevator, Fujii Atomi asked Chiya and Aki.
"I'll take a look at the Fox Devil first," Aki replied.
Both the interviewer and Himeno had recommended the Fox Devil to him. He had also heard that many devil hunters in Tokyo's Public Safety Bureau had contracts with it. The Fox Devil was known for being relatively friendly toward humans, highly capable, and practical. Its contract price was also considered light.
Chiya, on the other hand, responded, "I don't have any specific ideas yet."
"Then let's go to the Fox Devil first."
Atomi led them to the room where the Fox Devil's true form resided.
The door looked like an ordinary iron door, but inside was an enormous space. A massive Fox Devil lay before them.
Its shape was similar to an ordinary fox, but its sheer size was overwhelming. Its head alone was larger than most demons. It had four pairs of eyes that resembled the Rinnegan, and its fur was red.
If Chiya remembered correctly, the Fox Devil was female, which explained why it preferred handsome men.
"Oh? More people looking to form a contract?… Oh my, two handsome guys this time."
As the Fox Devil spoke, its voice confirmed it was indeed female.
"This is Hayakawa Aki. He's interested. The other one just came along with us," Atomi explained to the Fox Devil.
"I see."
The Fox Devil got straight to the point and said to Aki, "If you want to form a contract with me, I can lend you my head. As for the price, it will be your skin—though if I'm in a good mood, I might settle for just some of your hair."
Aki considered this for a moment.
Judging by the Fox Devil's enormous size, its power was undoubtedly formidable. The contract price was also as light as the rumors suggested.
This was far better than those demons that demanded an arm or a leg.
After weighing his options, Aki agreed without hesitation. "Alright."
"Then the contract is sealed. From now on, you can use my power," the Fox Devil declared.
At that moment, Himeno elbowed Aki teasingly. "Looks like the Fox Devil really likes your face. Most people can only borrow its hand, and their contract price is much steeper."
Aki knew Himeno was just joking, so he remained silent.
Meanwhile, Chiya still had no intention of forming a contract with the Fox Devil.
He acknowledged its power. In terms of devil abilities, aside from the Weapon Humans and some special devils, the Fox Devil's head could instantly kill many devils.
If he had to estimate, the Fox Devil was even stronger than most devils that had devoured pieces of the Gun Devil.
The Fox Devil, sensing Chiya's lack of interest, did not try to persuade him.
"Atomi, why don't you introduce Chiya to a stronger devil instead? Contract prices aside, it all depends on the devil's mood anyway," Himeno suggested.
After all, if it wasn't an extremely powerful devil, it wouldn't even count as a reinforcement for Chiya.
"Just give me an overview first, and I'll decide whether or not to meet them," Chiya said.
"Well, if we're talking about demons stronger than the Fox Devil, there's the Future Devil. But its power is quite unique—it can see the future, so it relies heavily on the devil hunter's own physical abilities," Atomi explained. "And the contract price is severe. Two people in Public Safety have made contracts with it before—one paid with half their lifespan, while the other gave up their eyes, taste, and sense of smell."
Hearing this, Chiya recalled that when he read the original work, he found it ridiculous. Losing taste and smell was one thing, but how could someone be a devil hunter without their eyes? Unless the Future Devil gave them a third eye?
Of course, the contract could also be meant for "sacrificial pawns"—people who would trade their lives to have the Future Devil reveal crucial events to Public Safety.
Public Safety having such "sacrificial pawns" wasn't surprising. In the latter half of the original manga's first part, Kishibe had some of them form contracts with the Hell Devil to send Makima to hell. Unfortunately, their plan was foiled by Chainsaw Man in his blackened form.
"I won't consider the Future Devil for now. Tell me about another one," Chiya said.
He was well aware that before forming a contract with the Future Devil, it would first look into his future and then decide on a contract price based on its mood.
In the original story, the Future Devil found Aki's "death in a snowball fight" so amusing that it was willing to give him its power for almost no price—just so it could witness Aki's death firsthand.
Aki's ability allowed him to see a few seconds into the future.
Not only did that ability overlap with Chiya's Mangekyō Sharingan, but he also didn't want the Future Devil to see his future. The thought of someone knowing everything about his fate made him deeply uncomfortable.
"In that case… the only other option is the Wrath Devil. If that doesn't work, we can check with other Public Safety divisions," Atomi said, looking slightly awkward.
This was because the Wrath Devil's contract had even worse side effects than the Future Devil's. She figured Chiya probably wouldn't accept it either.
"The Wrath Devil?" Chiya's interest was piqued by the word "Wrath." "If possible, please elaborate."
After all, "Wrath" was one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
It was also called "Anger," and it represented hatred, vengeance, and the desire to harm others. Dante described it as "a perversion of the love for justice into revenge and hatred."
Such a concept suggested formidable power. Seeing Atomi's hesitant expression, he guessed that the contract price would be extreme.
"In Public Safety, there has only been one person who formed a contract with the Wrath Devil. Although their power was greatly enhanced, they lacked the willpower to control their 'Wrath State' and ended up losing control. As for the contract price, it was actually quite mild—the person only had to sacrifice one ear."
Atomi continued, "However, losing an ear can cause some emotional instability. Even the slightest negative emotions would be magnified and twisted into overwhelming hatred while in the 'Wrath State.' That person eventually lost control, slaughtered too many allies, and was sentenced to death."
The Wrath Devil's appearance was actually similar to a human woman. It was one of the few devils in Kyoto Public Safety that had actively sought an alliance with humans. Devils with human-like appearances were often more friendly toward humans, which explained the light contract price. However, the nature of the Wrath Devil's power made it extremely difficult to control.