Chapter 262: A Piercing Light

A while later,

Following several unsuccessful attempts and a lengthy investigation, the group could now be seen huddled together in a single room, with all sitting in silence.

"Let's look at our situation." Aki suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

"Likely due to the devil's ability, whether we go up or down the stairs, we end up on the eighth floor again; Moreover, we can't use the elevator for some reason; We also can't get out through the windows in the rooms; Going through the ceiling also leads to the eighth floor." Spoke Aki.

"It's probably because Power killed the devil just now; It died with its ability to lock everyone in activated." Denji suddenly interjected.

"You said to kill it!" Swiftly retorted Power.

"Did not."

"When a devil dies, its abilities are deactivated, so it can't be that."

"Aki, how is the flesh piece of the gun devil reaction?" Himeno inquired.

"Well, it stopped reacting entirely."

"So it used that small devil to lure us into a trap, I've never seen a devil act in such a roundabout way."

"But, if we stay trapped in here long enough, other devil hunters will come to our aid

"And we'll need to pray they don't get trapped just like us."

"…"

"Aki, thinking about something?"

"The clock, it's been stuck at 8:18 the whole time; The clocks in all rooms are also stuck at the same time; It's possible that a devil's ability has stopped time on this floor."

"If that's the case, then no help is likely to come."

"Awesome! We can sleep all we want!" Suddenly said Denji acting completely oblivious to the situation."

"How stupid are you?! We might be stuck in here forever!"

"We might, or we might not, wake me up when you find out!"

These were the last words Denji uttered before he laid his head on the pillow and fell asleep completely ignoring his surroundings.

Witnessing this, the group couldn't help but look at him in shock for a moment, unsure of how to react.

"He's out"

.

.

.

Indeed, this was a testament to how insane many of this world's inhabitants were; Their thought processes were simply beyond the comprehension of normal human beings.

It's just that despite such craziness, there were still a few normal people around to at least study the situation and get a better hold of it.

One of these sane individuals was Himeno, who finally decided to wake Denji up after a couple of hours had passed to update him.

"Denji! Wake up already!"

"What? Did we escape already?" Replied Denji who was still groggy from his long nap.

"Unfortunately, not yet, however, we did find out that we are running out of food and electricity, and we found some food that the guests left when they fled the hotel."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Saying this, Himeno's voice slowed down appearing a bit helpless as she continued.

"But really, we're all close to our wit's ends; Aki keeps looking for the devi; Arai was helping Aki at the beginning but now he's succumbed to fear and is holed up in one of the rooms; Kobeni went a little crazy and tried to drink water from a toilet so I knocked her out; As for the fiend girl…"

"Huh? How is power doing?"

It's just that before Himeno could answer, Power who was a huge representative of the slightly insane group suddenly popped up and began talking in complete and utter excitement.

"I was bored so I came up with a Nobel prize! If I create a new Nobel prize, humans are going to prostrate themselves before me; Then, I'll use that situation to become the new prime minister; After all, I wish to see human suffering; so I'll start by raising sales tax rate to 100%"

Hearing this, it only took Denji one more glance before declaring.

"She seems normal to me…"

"Yeah."

"…"

However, just as they were chatting, Aki suddenly returned with some bad news.

"I have bad news, we killed a devil right?"

"The one I killed!" Quickly replied Power.

"It's growing bigger."

"What?"

Hearing the sudden news, the remaining group of four who were still functional quickly rushed out of the room to check on the situation.

It's just that the moment they did so, the devil that looked like a chaotic pile of flesh composed of an infinite number of human remains just happened to break down a couple of doors and rush through the hallway.

"I'm sure I killed it." Muttered Power.

"I've never seen such a shape, what devil is this?" Questioned Himeno.

However, not caring about such inquiries and questions, the devil suddenly opened its many mouths and spoke simultaneously through them.

"Humans! Hear me; Humans; Foolish humans, I wish to negotiate a contract."

"It talks…"

"A contract?"

"Let me eat the human you call Denji, I don't mind if he's dead, let me eat him; If you do so, I shall let all the devil hunters exit unharmed." Stated the devil before shouting loudly. "Make the contract!"

The moment these words were spoken, and while it didn't change the thoughts of the remaining four, it still affected the two who were having a mental breakdown because of the situation.

So, without waiting for anyone to react, Kobeni suddenly opened her room door and rushed through it towards Denji trying to slash him down with her kitchen knife.

It's just that before she could reach him, Aki quickly moved sending a high kick in her way, swiftly knocking the knife off her hand.

This was then followed by a powerful elbow to her stomach by Himeno, effectively incapacitating her.

"Aggghhh!!!"

Witnessing this, the devil burst into raucous laughter which sounded like it originated from the depths of hell, thoroughly amused by the unfolding scene.

"HAHAHAH!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

Such a reaction immediately irked the devil hunters who swiftly attacked it using a variety of methods.

It's just that to their dismay, their attacks were completely useless as they only resulted in the devil growing bigger and mocking them.

"It's no use! This is not my actual body. My heart isn't here. This is the inside of my belly. My weak point isn't on this floor!"

Taunting them, the devil then quickly began tempting them to make a contract with him.

"The only way to get out alive is to make the contract."

"Hmph, it's not like you'll let them out after you kill me." Responded Denji.

However, his answer was quickly rebuked by Himeno who explained.

"You're wrong, it's saying [Contract], and when a devil uses this word, that holds great power, If one side upholds their end, the other side is also forced too."

"What happens if they don't?"

"They die."

Hearing this, Arai who had been hiding in one of the rooms suddenly walked out and said.

"Himeno, we should kill him, and after that's done and we are out, we can consider our option, otherwise, we'll simply starve to death here."

Such a sentiment was also quickly echoed by Power who said happily, still thinking about her Nobel prize.

"I also vote for his death, if I don't get out, I won't be able to make the Nobel prize."

It's just that at this moment, and right when the trend seemed to be set, Aki suddenly spoke effectively putting an end to it.

"The devil wants to kill Denji, That means Denji's death would be to the devil's advantage, so we can't agree to it."

"I'm with Aki then!" Himeno quickly added.

With this, their disagreement effectively placed the vote with 3 voting for Denji's death and 2 against it.

However, thankfully for the blond boy, these votes meant nothing as the decision-making powers were in the hands of Aki and Himeno.

So, following this, the situation quickly developed into a stalemate, with the devil occupying a significant portion of the hallway and the remaining devil hunters sitting or lying opposite it, contemplating a solution.

"Aki, do you have a plan for how to get out?"

"If we run out of options, I'll use the sword."

"That's not an option!"

"If using the sword solves it, then why don't you do it?"

"Even if we run out of options, we are not using the sword." Replied Himeno.

"If we get to that point, then I'm sorry, but you'll have to die!" She added.

"What?"

However, at that very moment, just when Denji was looking confused and hope appeared slim, a golden shooting star suddenly streaked across the horizon.

Unstoppable, it pierced through the sky with dazzling brilliance, seemingly dividing it in half as it hurtled uncontrollably toward their position.

This; Is maybe their solution.