Vroom!
Cael's mangled body reformed, blood pooling around him as he stood upright. His eyes opened, now no longer human but glowing crimson, the unmistakable pupils of a devil.
Using Pochita's blood, Cael activated the power of the Chainsaw Devil. His human head vanished, replaced by a mechanical chainsaw head, meter-long chainsaw blades sprouting from his forehead and hands. Steel spikes filled his mouth. Like Katana Man, he had become a terrifying, monstrous figure.
The system panel refreshed.
[Host: Cael (Devil Form)]
[Race: Hybrid Devilman]
[Age: 19]
[Constitution: 11,400]
[Agility: 1,200]
[Luck: 0]
[Charisma: 110]
[Special: Dark-Dark Fruit, Chainsaw Devil Abilities]
[Allocatable Attribute Points: 0 (Devil form has low cost-performance; cannot be allocated)]
Ssss—
A puff of scorching white steam hissed from Cael's mouth.
Humans really do have limits. His charisma had multiplied tenfold compared to his human form. Constitution and agility had skyrocketed a hundredfold. Luck had dropped to zero—but against this kind of absolute power, luck was irrelevant.
"Nani?!"
Katana Man spun around, panic flashing in his eyes. Seeing Cael in chainsaw form, a mirror of his own devilish design, he was thrown off balance.
"Damn it! How… how can you do that too?! Wait… that form… you're the Chainsaw?!"
Cael muttered under his mechanical rasp, "So that's how it works…"
Knowledge flooded his mind. He understood why Katana Man hadn't died after the headshot. Devilmen had a devil heart inside acting as an engine. With enough blood, the heart could resurrect the host countless times through specific triggers. And because Cael's heart had absorbed a huge amount of Pochita's blood, it was now essentially a devil heart.
"Unexpected bonus," he noted, smirking.
Katana Man crouched low, preparing to charge. "Then I'll just slaughter you!"
He planned to exploit Cael's incomplete adaptation to this form, disable him quickly, and deliver him to the Gun Devil. But the situation had already changed.
Cael's smile twisted into contempt. He could read Katana Man's movements perfectly.
"You think the same trick will work twice?"
Vroom!
The chainsaws whirred at top speed. Black smoke rose from Cael's body, twisting the high-speed blades into pitch-black whirling nightmares. His ridiculous constitution still worried him that raw damage might not be enough—but skills could make up for it.
Whoosh!
Cael charged. He moved so fast he left a black afterimage.
Combo Skill!
Dark Vortex Slash!
Clang!
Sparks exploded as the chainsaws met Katana Man's body. Crash!
Katana Man's lower body was crushed and melted. Dark vortices attached to each chainsaw tooth shredded and compressed him simultaneously. He was knocked out of his devil form, eyes rolling back as he fainted.
[Ding! Host has killed the Katana Devil, gaining 50 attribute points.]
Denji scrambled out, staring at Cael's monstrous form. "Are… are you still Mr. Cael?"
Cael raised his chainsaw head, voice rasping, "Denji… it's me."
Relief flooded Denji. He stomped on Katana Man's body in childish satisfaction. "Phew… is it over now?"
Cael considered, "Not yet. I need to run a test. Stay back."
"Oh, okay." Denji obediently moved aside.
Cael reverted his left hand to human form, forming a ping-pong-ball-sized black vortex in his palm. Inside swirled nothing but Katana Man's flesh and blood.
Using a chainsaw blade, he pried open Katana Man's mouth and released a small portion of the vortex, forcing him to ingest it.
"To start it… it's the left hand."
Shing!
Cael sliced off Katana Man's left hand, exposing the blade at his wrist. Clang! The sound rang out. Katana Man's body immediately regenerated, head and body reshaping, blade sprouting from his skull. His consciousness returned, and the first thing he saw—Chainsaw Man.
"Yo, good afternoon, Katana Man," Cael greeted with a friendly wave.
"Bastard! I'm going to kill you—!" Katana Man tried to scream.
Shing!
Cael sliced off his devil head again.
[Ding! Host has killed the Katana Devil again, gaining 38 attribute points.]
Cael grinned. He could farm it! Weakening the villain reduced points gained—but it still worked.
"Denji, help me reattach his hand and head," Cael ordered.
Denji rolled up his sleeves eagerly. "Mr. Cael… are we torturing him?!"
"We have fine wine for friends, shotguns for wolves. Today, this guy will taste the fear he inflicted on others."
Denji quickly assisted.
Shing! Splat!
[Ding! Host has killed the Katana Devil for the third time, gaining 30 attribute points.]
Bleed him, activate again!
[Ding! Host has killed the Katana Devil for the fourth time, gaining 21 attribute points.]
Again.
Katana Man's blade grew thinner and shorter with each death.
[Ding! Host has killed the Katana Devil for the fifth time, gaining 15 attribute points.]
Cael licked his lips. Both he and Denji were in the zone.
"Denji, tired?"
"Not at all! I could do this a hundred more times!"
"Good. Let's keep going."
Cael intended to squeeze every last attribute point from Katana Man before finishing him for good.
But just as Denji prepared the fifth assembly—Bang!
Hayakawa Aki and Himeno burst through the door.
They froze. A hideous Chainsaw Devil, a pool of blood, a man torn apart repeatedly, and a boy huddled in fear. They had to act fast.
"Ghost, pin him down!" Himeno commanded.
"Hmm?"
Cael's body froze, gripped by something invisible.
Aki inhaled, closing her left eye. Her left thumb lightly pinched her middle and ring fingers.
"Kon."