Chainsaw Man, starting contract to cut down the Demon Line

"...Yes. Thank you, Himeno-senpai."

However, at this very moment—

"Hello----!!!"

Suddenly, the sound of electricity came from the other end of the corridor.

"Eyepatch Girl! Qiu! Where are you?! Get over here right now!!!"

"Demon, I've found the demon!"

Chapter Seventy-One: The Eternal Demon

Upon hearing Denji's voice coming from afar, Hayakawa Aki and Himeno reacted immediately.

They threw away their cigarettes and rushed toward the direction from which the sound came.

As the two rushed around the corner, they saw Dianci and Pawa standing at the doorway, facing an open doorway. As for Xiaohong, she had collapsed to the ground in fear.

After seeing what was inside, the two stopped in their tracks.

“What…what is this thing…” Hayakawa Aki gritted her teeth.

The once spacious room was now filled with a huge lump of flesh. Calling it a lump of flesh wasn't quite right, because it was covered with various twisted limbs and human heads, writhing like living things.

"Eek—! No, don't eat me! Eek ee ee—!!"

Dongshan Xiaohong was so frightened she couldn't even stand up, while Pawa, standing at the door, didn't seem too nervous and even had time to give orders to the two who had rushed over:

"Ugh! This lump of minced meat is disgusting! You guys better kill it right now!"

"Pineapple Head, and Hime!" Denji shouted, pointing his axe at the center of the mountain of flesh, "Look at that guy's face in the middle! Isn't that the head I just chopped in half?! That guy isn't dead at all!"

Hime and Hayakawa looked closely and, sure enough, in the center of that pile of flesh was a face whose features were barely discernible—it was the demon who had just been instantly killed by Denji in the corridor.

Just as everyone was shocked, the sound of unhurried footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.

"Tack, tick, tick..."

At some point, after hearing the sound of electricity, Yan Liang also left the room and came over.

Before reaching the room, Yan Liang understood the current situation. He frowned, a hint of surprise rising in his heart.

How did they find the eternal demon so quickly?

His original plan was to let the group wander around for several hours until they were exhausted and agitated, making it easier for him to control them.

Unexpectedly, unlike in the original story, the Eternal Demon revealed its true form so quickly.

However, even though the plan differed from the original one, Yan Liang did not show any unusual expression on his face.

It's just a little earlier than expected, nothing serious. He has other plans...

"Captain! Captain!!!"

Seeing Yan Liang appear, Dongshan Xiaohong, who had fallen to the ground, seemed to have found her pillar of support again. She quickly got up and scurried behind Yan Liang, as if only here could she feel at ease.

"Oh! Captain! You're not asleep!" Dianci saw Yan Liang and excitedly waved the axe in his hand.

"You've come at the right time! The demon has been found, quickly use your..."

But he stopped halfway through his sentence. He had suddenly thought of something.

He had intended to say that this was probably the demon that had trapped the hotel in an infinite loop, and that killing it would allow them to leave, but when he thought of Himeno's previous reward, Denji couldn't help but stop.

No, Yan Liang killed the demon, so what business is it of his?

But just as he was about to speak, Yan Liang didn't think that much about it.

Defeating the demon now is not in his interest. Killing a demon would at most grant him the right to create a new rule. But with a little concealment, he could gain much more.

Yan Liang closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

Then, under everyone's gaze, he opened his eyes and spoke calmly:

"I can't do it."

“…Huh?” Denji was stunned. “This isn’t enough? Captain, are you kidding me?”

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Yan Liang glanced at Dian Ci, then explained without batting an eye:

"I don't know why, but I lost contact with the demon I had a contract with, and I am currently unable to use my abilities."

This was obviously a lie; Yan Liang could clearly feel the connection with the Severing Line Demon.

Even if he could launch the killing blow, now was not the right time. For various reasons, Yan Liang told a little lie.

Fearing that no one would believe him, Yan Liang then asked Hayakawa Akihisa:

"If I'm not mistaken... Hayakawa Aki, you shouldn't be able to summon your fox demon now, right?"

Upon hearing this, Hayakawa Aki didn't waste any words. He immediately raised his right hand, overlapping his thumb, middle finger, and ring finger, making a gesture to summon the fox demon.

"throat!"

One second, two seconds...

The corridor was eerily quiet. The giant fox that would usually appear whenever he formed a hand seal was nowhere to be seen. Hayakawa Aki felt that his connection with the fox had truly been severed.

"...The captain is right." Hayakawa Aki lowered his hand and said in a deep voice:

"My fox demon has also lost contact and cannot be summoned."

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you talking about!" Hearing that the two of them were at a loss, Dianci exploded.

Since neither of them could defeat the demon, they couldn't get Himeno's reward. Denji was somewhat happy about this, but on the other hand, if no one could solve the problem, wouldn't they be trapped here forever?

Should I transform myself into a chainsaw man and see if I can defeat this demon?

"Gluck cluck cluck..."

At that moment, the enormous mountain of flesh inside the room suddenly began to writhe.

A voice, indistinct in gender, came from the face at the center of the mass of flesh:

"Don't waste your energy... demon hunters."

"I am the eternal devil."

"The eighth floor of this hotel has become a part of me. Time and space have both become cyclical here."

“You can’t get out. There’s no food or water here. All that awaits you is to go mad in endless hunger and despair, and eventually starve to death… becoming my nourishment.”

“I know what you’re thinking, but I’m warning you, even if you kill me, it won’t break the cycle.”

Upon hearing this, Denji looked on in disbelief and involuntarily stopped what he was doing. Hayakawa Aki and the others also felt their hearts sink because of the devil's words.

"However..."

Seeing everyone fall silent, the Eternal Demon changed the subject, and all his countless eyes turned and looked at Denji.

"Since you've made me so happy, I can be merciful and give you a deal."

"This is a contract."

"As long as you hand over the chainsaw... no, that blond brat to me, I'll eat him up."

“I will immediately dispel the loop, allowing all of you remaining to leave this place alive.”

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone except Yan Liang—Hime, Hayakawa Aki, Pawa, and Xiao Hong—was stunned.

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Plan is Complete

"Don't listen to its nonsense. How can you believe the words of a demon?"

Ignoring the Eternal Demon's suggestion, Hayakawa Aki coldly gripped the hilt of his sword behind his back, ready to fight at any moment.

"Since we can't get out, let's cut it until it breaks the loop."

However, before Hayakawa Aki could draw his sword, a hand pressed down on his wrist.

"Wait, Akio."

Hayakawa Aki turned around and saw Himeno looking at him.

At this moment, Ji Ye's face no longer had its usual smile, but instead a serious expression.

"Hime-senpai? You..."

"Put the knife away, Aki." Looking at the earnest Hayakawa Aki before her, Himeno calmly analyzed:

"You don't know this, but for demons, the word 'contract' is extremely important."

"If the contract is broken, the demon itself will die."

"Haven't you figured out the situation yet? The captain's abilities are sealed, and you can't summon your fox demon either. Even if you force a fight, injuries are inevitable."

"And, as it says, our physical strength is limited."

"We clearly have better options."

Himeno paused, then looked at Denji standing to the side:

"Since there's a way to prevent everyone from getting hurt, why not choose it? Giving up the electricity is the best solution."

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent, but Ji Ye spoke with great confidence.

For Hayakawa Aki, although Denji didn't leave a good impression on him at their first meeting, being an uncultured brat, his opinion of Denji had changed because of the previous Tumor Demon incident and living with Denji.

Even if he didn't want to admit it, Hayakawa Aki had already unknowingly come to regard Denji as a true junior.

Himeya is different.

In Hime's eyes, Denji was a half-demon, ultimately an anomaly who did not belong to humanity. No matter how harmonious the two of them appeared on the surface, when it came to a true life-or-death situation, she would never risk her life for him.

From beginning to end, the only person she cared about was Hayakawa Aki. As long as there was an option that would allow Hayakawa Aki to live safely, she was unwilling to take even the slightest risk.

Before Hayakawa Aki could refute what Himeno had just said, Pava chimed in with his agreement:

"I think she makes a good point too!"

Then, Pava loudly chimed in, "Since we can be saved just by handing over the electricity, it's practically a sure-fire deal!"

"Anyway, this guy is useless. It's his honor to have sacrificed his life for me."

"ha--?!"

Denji was dumbfounded. He looked at Himeno, then at Pava, and jumped up in anger.

"What kind of international joke are you guys making?!"

Denji angrily brandished his axe, pointing it at Pava and cursing, "You filthy demon! You always steal my food and try to take my food, and now you're the first to betray me?!"

"Don't forget, I saved your life before, do you even have a conscience?"

"Huh? Is that so? I don't remember." Pawa snorted and turned his head to the side.

Although Denji did save him at that time, it was a different matter for Pava.

Furthermore, she later gave me a phone call as payment, so I genuinely felt that we were even.

"You filthy bitch..." Denji glared at Pava, realizing that reasoning with her was futile, he simply gave up. He then pointed at Hime and roared again:

"And you, Hime! You were just saying you'd reward me in the car, and now you're going to feed me to the demons?! Is my life so worthless?!"

"Sorry, Denji-kun, it was all for the sake of the bigger picture." Himeko wasn't affected by Denji's anger; she then turned to Yanliang and asked:

"Captain, you must think the same way I do, right?"

As Ji Ye asked the question, everyone's attention once again focused on Yan Liang.

Faced with a group of people with different thoughts, Yan Liang remained silent on the surface, as if he was in a dilemma, but he had already made up his mind.

If we save Denji now, we can raise his favorability, but we won't be able to put enough pressure on Hayakawa Aki.

However, if you personally agree to hand over the power, it will become very difficult to recall the power in the future.

After a moment, Yan Liang sighed.

“Everyone is my team member. As the team leader, it’s not my style to betray my teammates.”

Yan Liang feigned helplessness and said:

“Since you have differing opinions, let’s do it in the fairest way possible… by voting. As for me, to avoid any appearance of impropriety, I will abstain.”