The Leech Devil probably never understood—
Why this particular devil charged in like a berserker, slashing and tearing from the start.
Did they have some deep personal grudge?
But Pochita didn't respond—only kept cutting.
It could've spoken using devil language, but there was no point.
Every word would be a waste.
Moments later—
Under the Leech Devil's stunned, utterly confused expression—
Its head was sliced clean off by Pochita's black chainsaw, over a meter long.
Vrrrrrrrm—!
With a thunderous roar, the chainsaw tore through flesh.
The Leech Devil's head burst with blood as it fell from above, landing with a sickening splat that painted the ground.
Its massive body crashed down, smashing through the wall of a nearby house and revealing a bedroom inside.
Pochita stood in the middle of the blood-soaked street.
Only now did its low voice murmur quietly:
"Pochita's current life is something I never dreamed of. A warm home, delicious food, people who care about me…"
"All I have to do is guard the door."
"That kind of life… I won't let you ruin it."
With that, the chainsaws on Pochita's body slowly retracted, and its form shrank down—
Eventually returning to its small, original form.
"Pochita, good job. Come back," Hayashi's voice echoed in its mind.
"Woof~!"
Pochita immediately turned and bolted toward Hayashi.
As if nothing had happened at all.
As if it was no big deal.
Elsewhere—
Having seen Pochita decapitate the Leech Devil, Hayashi called him back.
Aki, Himeno, Power, and the people from Anteiku all watched.
They'd seen firsthand how Pochita carved that devil apart.
"Unbelievable…" Aki murmured.
In Himeno's mind, she was already calculating. If they had to fight that thing—how would they even win? How many casualties?
Power, on the other hand, stood idly beside Hayashi—waiting for food.
The Anteiku staff felt much the same.
But their attitude was gentler.
After all, if even Yoshimura spoke so highly of Hayashi, and said so many good things—
Then it was clear the two would share a strong friendship going forward.
"Woof~!"
Just then, Pochita returned.
It had leapt across the entire block, locked in on its target mid-air, landed, and sprinted toward Hayashi.
Aki and Himeno flinched.
Then their expressions turned tense, bodies tightening instinctively.
They were from an anti-devil unit, after all.
Seeing a devil triggered automatic caution.
Especially after Pochita had just proven how powerful it was.
Anteiku, however, didn't react much at all.
Even Touka Kirishima seemed more amused by Pochita.
"Pochita~!" Tohru stepped forward, arms open, ready to catch him.
Even though Pochita was covered in blood and filth, that didn't matter to her.
He came closer and closer.
Just as Tohru was about to hug him—
Pochita dipped under her arms and sprang forward, leaping straight into Hayashi's embrace.
"You little—" Hayashi stretched his hands out and caught him.
"Woof~!" Pochita barked happily, showing off that he'd completed his mission and taken down a big bad devil.
He'd chainsawed the Leech Devil clean apart. That thing wasn't coming back again.
"Well done," Hayashi praised.
He lifted Pochita in both hands and spun him around, checking his sides.
"You're a mess. Come on, let's go wash you off."
He turned to the others and asked,
"Anyone want to come by the shop for a meal? You can relax in the courtyard if you want. I'm just gonna clean Pochita up first."
With that, he left with Tohru and Pochita in tow.
Tohru walked beside Hayashi, pointing at Pochita and complaining about how she fed him, made him a cozy little bed, and he still ignored her.
Pochita barked twice in reply, making it clear—Hayashi was the most important person.
Tohru pouted and muttered that she wouldn't help clean him up later.
After they were gone—
The Anteiku staff glanced around, then all looked to Manager Yoshimura.
Yoshimura smiled.
"The city's a mess today. I doubt we'll have any customers. Let's take the day off—everyone can go. Touka, ask Yomo to come too."
Everyone cheered at the news.
Touka immediately left to go find Renji Yomo.
Over with Division 4—
Aki thought for a moment, then took out his phone.
"Let's report to Makima-sama first. We'll wait for her before doing anything else."
Himeno nodded. "Makes sense."
Power, watching Hayashi walk off, was already getting anxious.
"Can I go wait at the shop first? I can't hold back anymore!"
Everyone turned and glared at her.
You wanna abandon your squad?
Power instantly shut her mouth.
As for Anteiku, they were waiting on their boss too, so no one made a move yet.
Aki walked to the side of the road and dialed Makima.
"Makima-sama, yes, a devil appeared. It was the Leech Devil—it's been eliminated. No, no casualties. It wasn't us. It was another devil."
"Yes, it seems to be owned by Manager Hayashi. That's right, full control. Power noticed it. Seems like the relationship is very close, the devil's willing. You want to come? Understood."
When the call ended—
Aki turned back to the group.
"Makima-sama's coming. We can head over to the shop and wait."
Power cheered.
"Awesome, hahaha!"
Himeno grew curious too.
"You guys say the food here is the best in the world, right? I haven't tried it yet. Guess I'll find out."
Even Kobeni, who'd been hiding the whole time, let out a quiet sigh of relief.
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