Makoto looked at Kotonoha and said softly, "Kotonoha, show them your ability."
Kotonoha nodded lightly, took a shallow breath, and under the gaze of thousands, placed her right hand on the back of her left hand. The next second, with a 'click', she directly pulled her left hand off.
That's right, she tore it off. The palm and wrist completely separated, but like dismantling a machine, not a single drop of blood fell.
From the severed wrist, a blade emerged.
Reze understood. "Oh oh, the Katana Devil."
'Katana Devil?'
Ran and Sonoko beside her were slightly startled, remembering that at the banquet in the other world yesterday, someone had mentioned that Yu's ability was the Gun Devil.
Before anyone could ponder further, with a loud 'shwoosh', a huge katana burst out from Kotonoha's forehead and both arms, breaking through her skin. Blood splattered.
Many faint-hearted girls fainted on the spot from fright.
"Onee... Onee-chan?"
Kokoro turned pale with fear, looking in disbelief at this existence whose half-face and both arms were covered by giant blades.
Nayuta smiled knowingly, snapped her fingers, and released her control over Kato Otome and the others.
Their eyes instantly cleared. Looking at the crowd gathered around, they were bewildered.
"Wh, what happened?"
Before the four could get up from the ground, a piercing chill shot from behind to the top of their heads.
They whipped their heads around and met the gaze of Kotonoha in her Katana Devil form.
Calling it a gaze wasn't quite accurate. At this moment, Kotonoha's entire face had been Devilized. She had sharp fangs, and the skin from her forehead to the bridge of her nose was completely covered by a giant katana. Her eyes were nowhere to be seen.
"Ka, Katsura Kotonoha?"
Despite Kotonoha's drastically changed appearance, the group of four who frequently bullied her still recognized her by her striking figure.
The Katana Devil Kotonoha didn't answer. She simply raised her right hand… or rather, the large blade that had burst out from beneath the skin of her right hand.
"No, don't..."
Shwoosh!
Kato Otome raised her hand to plead, but before she could finish, the large blade had already fallen.
The blade sliced straight down from the center of her forehead, cutting cleanly through from her crotch, splitting her body in two.
The precisely bisected corpse crashed to the ground. Blood sprayed in all directions, splattering onto many onlookers, but most landed on Obuchi Minami, Koizumi Natsumi, and Mori Kumi.
"Gyaaaaah!"
The three were terrified out of their wits. A few seconds later, forgetting about the presence of Makoto, Megumi, and the other ability users, they scrambled to their feet and fled towards the school gate.
As everyone watched in stunned silence, Makoto spoke again: "I remember, Kotonoha, you practiced kendo, right? You should be able to apply that to this."
Hearing this, Kotonoha stepped forward with her left foot into a horse stance, assuming the starting posture for drawing a blade.
The next instant, her figure vanished from its spot.
When everyone looked ahead, three heads were flying in the air. It wasn't until the heads hit the ground with dull thuds that the figure of Kotonoha reappeared.
Iai slash!
Clap, clap, clap...
Makoto couldn't help but applaud.
Reze smiled and also clapped.
Although she had decided to be an ordinary high school girl, at least most of the time, seeing others like her in this world was still a happy thing.
Yu, Beam, and the others also started clapping.
"Applaud."
Yu suddenly spoke.
"Huh?"
Miyuki and the others hadn't yet snapped out of their shock.
Yu shouted sternly, "Applaud!"
"A round of applause!"
The crowd suddenly snapped back, forcefully clapping while suppressing the nausea churning in their stomachs.
The Katana Devil-woman walked back beside Makoto, suddenly stumbled, and collapsed.
Makoto reached out to catch her. The moment he touched her, the large blades on Kotonoha's body retracted, and her skin returned to its normal state.
"Mm... first time using it, still not used to it, huh?"
Makoto looked at the unconscious Kotonoha, murmuring to himself.
He hoisted the unconscious Kotonoha onto his back and said to the women around him, "I'll take her back first. I'll meet up with you all later."
"Makoto-kun, you're so biased."
Megumi, uncharacteristically, puffed out her cheeks with a hint of jealousy. "You have abilities like this, but you've never used them on us."
Megumi wasn't coveting Kotonoha's ability, but rather cared that Makoto had given this opportunity to her.
After all, they had already established their relationship with Makoto, yet they had never received such treatment.
Makoto flicked Megumi's forehead lightly. "You guys don't use swords anyway."
Kotonoha had practiced kendo since childhood, and the scene in the original work where she sliced open Sekai's stomach was a classic iconic moment.
After thinking it over, Makoto felt the Katana Devil's heart was most suitable for Kotonoha.
After hearing Makoto's explanation, Megumi and the others felt it made sense, but they still couldn't help feeling jealous. It seemed there might be a 'fierce battle' waiting for him tonight.
Just as Makoto was about to leave with Kotonoha on his back, along with Nayuta and Kokoro, Alice suddenly ran out, hooked her arm around his neck, and gave him a firm kiss on the lips.
Makoto looked at the girl winking at him, puzzled. "What's up? Why suddenly?"
"Because I love you~"
Alice twisted her curvaceous figure, acting coquettishly.
With that, she shot a provocative glance at her grandfather and cousin.
The Totsuki Academy's students around were on the verge of tears.
'That bastard Makoto, after corrupting all the beauties at Shuchi'in Academy, was now going after their Totsuki students too?'
Most shocked of all were Senzaemon and Erina.
Senzaemon never expected his granddaughter to move so fast, wondering when did she hook up with him?
Erina stood frozen, her mind replaying the scene of her cousin embracing and kissing Makoto. Her face was a mix of disbelief and anger, but she didn't know how to express this complex emotion.
"I win~"
Alice smiled, declaring victory in this silent contest.
'Even if everyone had favored you since childhood, this time, I'm the winner.'
"Yo, you..."
Erina pointed a trembling finger at Alice, unable to form a coherent sentence.
She truly didn't know on what grounds she could accuse Alice.
Stealing my man?
But the problem was, were she and Makoto truly lovers?
She, she had bitten, so that counted, right?
But Makoto had never explicitly acknowledged it, and judging by their actions just now, Alice had clearly already done things more intimate than she had.
With red-rimmed eyes, Erina turned and ran towards the luxurious villa within Totsuki Academy reserved for the Nakiri Family.
"Erina-sama! Please wait!"
Her secretary, Arato Hisako, exclaimed and quickly chased after her.
"Didn't you say it was more fun to keep it a secret from her?"
Makoto asked, a bit confused.
Alice flashed a sly, fox-like smile. "I changed my mind. Is that not allowed?"
Makoto smiled helplessly.
Well, women were indeed fickle.
The students who had been about to leave stopped again.
'Wh, what was happening now?'
'A sisterly love rivalry?'
'Today's drama just kept coming.'
Just then, a playful-looking purple-haired girl he had never seen before suddenly popped up in front of Makoto, pushing Alice aside, and stood on tiptoe to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, after she masters her power, the three of us should do it in our Devil forms, okay?"
Reze glanced at the unconscious Kotonoha and said with a smile.
Makoto: "???"
'Hold on, why were you so fixated on doing it in Devil forms?'
The crowd was dumbfounded for the third time.
'There's another one?'
Even though they didn't understand what 'Devil forms' meant, the word 'do it' conjured up too many images.
'Damn, what kind of tiger-wolf words were these!?'
'Run, run quickly!'
Everyone scrambled to flee.
If they listened any longer, they were afraid they might get silenced.