Although the Anomaly Shinichi's actions had been made public, and there was no doubt he deserved the death penalty, the humiliation inflicted upon him by Makoto and his four Devils over the past three months still sent chills down the world's spine.
Just then, a beautiful figure approached from afar, calling out Makoto's name.
Shinichi, his mouth stuffed with filth, felt his pupils sharply contract.
Three months of torture had squeezed him into an empty human shell.
But that voice… the voice he had used countless nights, when devoured by nightmares, to support himself and prevent a complete breakdown—
He used his last ounce of strength to tremulously lift his head.
The one arriving was precisely the pillar of faith that had sustained him for three months.
Ran.
"Ra..."
Shinichi started to call out his childhood friend's name.
But before he could shout it, he saw the sight he should never have seen in this lifetime—
Ran threw herself directly into Makoto's embrace. That face he had longed for day and night was now pressed against another man's chest.
"Alice and the others sent me to call you back for dinner." Ran looked up and said to Makoto, her face full of infatuation.
That look was a gentleness and dependence Shinichi had never seen before.
Not coerced, not feigned.
"Ran...?"
He didn't believe it!
He couldn't believe it!
He hadn't given up after spending thirteen years, like hell, in the Chainsaw Man World.
He hadn't given up when the Teddy Devil humiliated him, when Kudo Yusaku died. During these three months of being dragged through hell by Makoto, whenever those four Devils used methods more perverted, disgusting, and beyond the limits of human imagination to humiliate him… he hadn't given up.
Because he chanted her name over and over in his heart.
Ran.
Ran.
Ran.
But now, the childhood friend he had guarded with his life was nestling in the arms of the enemy who had pushed him into the abyss.
Those eyes that had once shown him countless kindnesses now held only unfamiliarity and disgust when looking at him… not even disgust, just the faint, casual disdain one might have for a dead rat in the road.
Shinichi watched this scene in disbelief.
Although he had anticipated the relationship between these two, the shock he felt upon seeing Ran unhesitatingly act so intimately with Makoto right in front of him far exceeded his imagination.
Three months of torture and humiliation were nothing compared to being seen by the woman he loved in such a disgraced, ugly state.
His body had been pierced with rings, his dignity crushed… but none of that compared to this moment.
Ran's gaze was like looking at a stranger.
No, worse than a stranger.
She didn't even spare him a second glance.
This was the true ultimate humiliation.
"Mm, let's go back." Makoto took Ran's little hand and turned to leave.
The action was so natural, so casual, as if he wasn't holding the person Shinichi treasured most in this life, but an object that rightfully belonged to him.
Shinichi wanted to chase after them.
He wanted to stand up, wanted to rush over, wanted to separate those two, wanted to grab Ran's shoulders and tell her… 'It's me!'
'I'm Kudo Shinichi!'
But his body was at its limit, let alone the fact that he was completely chained up.
The Four Gay Bros's three months of 'hospitality' had turned his body into a breathing pile of rotting flesh.
Just then, Ran finally turned her head and glanced in his direction.
Utterly indifferent.
Not even hatred.
Hatred would at least mean she still cared.
But her—
She had completely forgotten him.
"Ran..."
Shinichi's voice trembled.
He suddenly realized something: during those three months, no matter what the Four Gay Bros did to him, he hadn't shed a single tear.
But now, something hot was welling up in his eyes.
"Ran!!!" He used his very last bit of strength to roar at Makoto's retreating back: "What did you do?! What did you do to her?!"
He could understand Ran hating him because of Kogoro.
But from the moment she arrived until she left, Ran hadn't looked at him once, and the look in her eyes when she did glance his way was utterly devoid of emotion… this made Shinichi certain that Makoto had done something to Ran.
"I'll kill you... I'll definitely kill you..."
His voice grew softer and softer.
But Makoto had completely lost interest in the person known as Shinichi, not even bothering to look back.
With his back to the Four Gay Bros, he casually dropped an order:
"Alright, you can kill him now."
Just like with Yukiko, Nayuta had helped Ran erase all memories related to Shinichi.
So, to the current Ran, Shinichi was just a pure pervert who had nothing to do with her.
"Come back! Come back here, you bastard!"
"Ran! Ran! It's me! It's me, Kudo Shinichi! Your childhood friend!"
"We grew up together! Have you forgotten? Have you forgotten everything?!"
Shinichi struggled, shouting and cursing at their retreating backs.
His fingernails dug into the ground, his ten fingers bloody.
But that figure did not look back.
Not even once!
She just walked quietly beside Makoto, occasionally looking up and smiling at that man, like a docile cat.
That smile used to belong to him.
Now, nothing was left.
Behind him, the Four Gay Bros revealed bloodthirsty grins.
The Teddy Devil licked his lips: "Boss said, kill."
The Dolphin Devil sneered: "Hehehe, finally it can end. These three months have been really fun."
The Gorilla Devil and the Rabbit Devil closed in from left and right.
Shinichi didn't look at them.
He just stared at that fading figure.
The tears fell like an unstoppable faucet, mixing together, like the darkness of a lost autumn.
"Ran..."
"I truly loved you so much. Why did you do this to me? Wuu wuu yah! Mee..."
"Sob... Ran... Ran..."
"Gwa!!!"
"Yah!!!"
Behind him, sharp claws fell.