(1st POV)
My expression darkened, and my chest tightened in a way I couldn't quite name.
Why was I feeling like this?
I remembered Reze's betrayal of Denji—how she'd almost left it all behind to return to him, only for Makima to take away that tiny spark of hope.
Honestly, it was the moment I nearly dropped Chainsaw Man.
…I'm glad I didn't. That story taught me more than I ever wanted to know about what monsters disguised in human skins.
But here, in this world, Reze was part of Public Safety. Not a hybrid weapon under Makima's control—at least, that's how it appeared.
I needed to watch my back.
I couldn't trust her. Not yet.
"Hi… I'm Aleks. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
I did an awkward bow, still not used to these Japanese gestures.
She looked at me with a curious intensity, studying me like some rare specimen.
"Is…something wrong?" I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral.
"Oh—uh, no. Nothing," she said, blinking as if snapping out of a trance. "I was just…lost in thought."
Weird.
CLAP.
Makima clapped her hands, the sharp sound breaking whatever strange current had settled between us.
I turned to face her, the Control Devil, every inch of her radiating her authority.
"Aleks. Reze," she said, her tone soft but absolute. "You should get familiar with each other. Tomorrow, I'll be sending you both on a mission."
She stepped closer until I could see my reflection in her beautiful eyes.
Then, with deliberate tenderness, she cupped my cheeks with her hands.
"Get plenty of rest," she murmured. "Tomorrow will be a difficult day. Your first real mission." And then she smiled.
For a moment, I almost forgot to breathe.
God, she really was beautiful.
Nobody had ever been this nice and considerate to me, especially someone as beautiful as her.
…I'm in love.
Nah. Just kidding. But for real—
I needed to be careful.
"Miss Makima, I have a question…" I began, trying to keep my tone casual.
"Hmm? What is it?" she replied, her eyes fixed on me with her unreadable look.
"You said Reze is my roommate. Does that mean I won't be staying with you…?" I paused, then gave her a wry smile. "I was really looking forward to it, you know."
For just a moment, her expression shifted—so quick I almost thought I imagined it. Then her lips curved into a faint smile, and she tilted her head, studying me like she was trying to see through my intentions.
"That time will come soon, Aleks-kun," she whispered, her voice soft but almost too warm. "I promised you I would satisfy you…and make you happy."
Makima. You think you're keeping me under your control. With that contract, you believe I'm your pet. You're deceiving me with your affection and love.
…I'm deceiving you too—with my loyalty…and love..
So tell me—what does that make us?
Two liars, pretending to care. Waiting to see who will unmask the other first.
You wanted an equal relationship, huh? Fine. I'll give you that.
I'll make you fall so deeply in love with me that when that day comes…
"Aleks-kun?" Reze called out, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"It's getting late. Do you wanna head home together?" she asked, her gaze shifting between me and Makima.
Makima stepped back from me, slowly letting her hands fall from my cheeks. She turned, grabbed her coat, and slid it on. She then grabbed our attention to her.
"Alright then, meet me here at 8 a.m. sharp," she said with a soft smile. "Good night, you two~"
***
To my surprise, Reze suddenly grabbed my hand and started walking toward the exit, pulling me along. Her grip was tight—tight enough to snap my hand if I resisted.
"Umm… is this really necessary?" I asked, awkwardly glancing down at our intertwined hands, our fingers laced together. We weren't exactly close.
She didn't turn back to look at me, just kept walking.
"Miss Makima instructed me to keep a closer eye on you. She doesn't want you slipping away… apparently."
What?
"I've never seen her like this," she continued. "Tell me, Aleks—what did you do to her?"
Huh?
Why are you asking me that? She showed up just when I was about to celebrate after dealing with the fallen angel mess.
"Let's just say I'm a man of many secrets," I replied, brushing off the question completely.
"…How far is our home?" I asked, and yeah, I didn't mean it that way.
"Can't we just teleport there or something?"
I was genuinely curious. Teleportation was pretty common in the DxD universe, at least from what I remembered from the anime.
She tensed slightly at that.
"I can't use magic. I lack demonic power," she said after a pause.
Wait… demonic power?
So she is a devil? A DxD-type devil?
"Oh—sorry," I said quickly. "I didn't mean to make things uncomfortable."
Devils without demonic energy were basically considered handicapped in the Underworld. Most of them were shunned and looked down upon by basically everyone.
Sairaorg Bael is one such example, considering how he was treated by his father, the lord of Bael Household.
Now I wondered… what had Reze gone through to end up here in Public Safety?
"It's fine. Not like you knew I'm a half-devil before," she said quietly.
Half-devil? There were so many things I wanted to ask her now.
But I didn't pry. We just kept walking, her hand still gripping mine. To anyone passing by, it probably looked like we were a couple out on a late-night stroll.
I knew better.
All along the way, she stayed tense, avoiding eye contact with me for reasons I couldn't figure out. I thought about asking, but in the end, I kept my mouth shut.
It took about fifteen minutes to reach her apartment from the Public Safety headquarters. The place was surprisingly fancy—looked like Public Safety took good care of their supernatural hunters.
CLICK
Just as I stepped through the doorway, something clicked inside me—like a lock I hadn't known existed was suddenly undone.
My eyes widened.
The Path of the Human God had finally reset. A quick glance at the clock confirmed it—1 a.m. exactly.
I let out a long breath of relief.
I wasn't helpless anymore. That feeling of vulnerability had been… too much.
Finally. This makes things easier.
Now we wait.
(3rd POV)
Reze and Aleks stepped into her apartment on the seventh floor of the building.
Aleks looked around and was visibly surprised. Everything looked so clean and well organized. The neat shelves, perfectly arranged furniture, everything was perfect.
His inspection was cut short when Reze turned to face him, her expression serious.
"This building has been heavily enchanted with anti-teleportation and motion detection seals," she said evenly. "If you try to leave without authorization, the wards will activate. Both Miss Makima and I will be notified immediately."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I won't run away." Aleks brushed off her warning lightly—not like she could actually stop him if he really wanted to escape.
"I don't have an extra bed or futon. I also don't have a sofa," Reze said, her face perfectly straight even though she was clearly trying hard to keep her composure.
"We will…have to share the bed."
Aleks didn't answer her right away. His mind was too busy processing her words.
Already? Isn't this going a little too fast? What is up with these chicks?
He tried to reason with himself, wondering why women kept throwing themselves at him so easily.
First it was the goddess, then Makima…and now even Reze is acting so…forward. Am I really a harem protagonist?
"Alright th-then… follow me." Reze said, her voice a little flustered.
It was her first time bringing a man into her home. No wonder she looked so flustered.
Hell, she hadn't even been asked if she was okay with some guy—clearly a few years older—being forced to live under the same roof.
Not like she could object to any of Makima's decisions.
Reze started walking toward the bedroom, each step almost hesitant. Aleks followed in silence, watching her carefully.
The moment she entered the room, her body froze.
Aleks didn't give her time to turn around.
In a split second, his left hand slid around her neck, seizing her movement completely. His right hand rose, fingers aimed toward the bedroom wall ahead.
The air around them seemed to grow heavier, an uneasy pressure settling over the room.
SHATTER
An invisible slashing attack cleaved through a portion of the wall, the force restrained but still violent enough to send dust scattering across the floor.
"I am only going to ask this once," Aleks said, his tone cold, laced with a threat. "Are you one of Makima's pets…or do you still have your own will."
Reze's eyes widened. She hadn't expected things to escalate this quickly.
She was a trained assassin—someone who could respond to a threat even in her sleep.
But Aleks's sudden move caught her completely off guard.
Reze reacted on instinct. She lashed out with a swift kick right between his legs.
Pain flared through him, making him flinch and loosen his grip around her throat.
That single moment was all she needed.
Her hand shot up to the pin embedded in her neck, pulling it like a granade pin.
And then she exploded.
Aleks was thrown back, his limbs torn apart in a spray of blood. Chunks of plaster and floor tile showered the room as he crashed into the wall.
But Sukuna's Reversed Cursed Technique kicked in immediately, regenerating everything as though nothing had happened.
He hadn't expected her to go straight for a low blow nut shot—and that was his mistake. With Sukuna's fighting instincts, he'd underestimated her.
When the smoke began to clear, he saw her standing there in a form he recognized all too well—her Bomb Devil transformation, exactly as he'd seen it in Chainsaw Man.
"Fucking piece of shit," Reze retorted, her voice sharp with fury. "You destroyed my house—you deserve punishment!"
She lunged at him, palms opening wide as a crackling heat built around them, ready to unleash explosive force straight into his face.
Aleks got up, brushing dust off himself and stretching his body like she wasn't even a threat.
"Die. Die. Die. Die!" Reze kept jabbing death blows toward him, each strike blasting small explosions through the air. Aleks kept dodging, still wearing that smug grin. It felt like Sukuna himself was possessing him.
"Playtime is over, Reze."
He caught her hands mid-swing and then slammed his forehead into her bomb head, cracks spreading across it and making her stagger, dizzy.
"Answer me now—are you under her control? Do you feel like you have any blank spaces in your memory?" Aleks said while restraining her arms.
"I don't want to escalate this any further. And this isn't exactly the best playground for us to go all out."
Reze took a moment to steady her breathing. This time, she didn't fight back.
"Even if I was," she snapped, "I wouldn't know for sure if Makima was controlling me, dumbass."
"I don't feel any forced loyalty towards her. I only serve her because she lets me live something close to a normal life." She scoffed under her breath. "Well…that's out of the question…now that you're my partner. Tch. Don't think I am letting you off the hook that easily." She finished while looking pissed off.
Aleks let out a slow breath, feeling the tension leave from his shoulders. He could tell she was telling the truth. Sukuna's instincts were unnaturally sharp—and nothing about her words rang false. Not like he was going to let his guard down if she was lying.
"My apologies," he said, finally releasing her. "I can fix everything back up. I mean you no harm."
As he spoke, he reached out, channeling the RCT through his hands. Reze stiffened in surprise when her injuries slowly closed, her bomb form reverting back to being fully human again.
She stared at him, wary, unsure what to make of this sudden gentleness.
"As an apology," Aleks continued, brushing debris off his shirt, "I'll treat you to your favorite place. You said you wanted something like a normal life, right?"
He stepped closer, his presence calm. Reze tensed as he rested a hand on her shoulder—but this time, she didn't pull away.
"As your partner…I'll make sure you don't die on me." His voice dropped to something almost sincere.
"And let's…have each other's backs."
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Author's Note:
Please leave a comment and vote, it helps me stay motivated! Have any questions? Let me know. See ya soon~