Chapter 36

Sam had selected three skills that he thought would be essential for him.

[Air Vortex]

Create a vortex with your sword.

Requirements:

Air Slash Level 5

Strength: 20

Agility: 22

Wisdom: 20

[Swords of Judgment]

Drop air blades from the air in the form of fiery swords.

Requirements:

Strength: 20

Agility: 20

Wisdom: 20

Swordsmanship Level 12

[Mirage Swords]

Use your energy to create illusionary swords. A basic sword skill for mirage sword skills.

Requirements:

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Wisdom: 25

While he kicked his legs on the top of the roof, he decided to use the remaining points to adjust his affinities.

[Wisdom up to 25]

[MP: 900/900]

[Agility up to 22]

That left him with 6 AP.

Now it was time for the skills.

[Air Slash up to Level 5]

That took 2 points.

[+ Skill Unlocked: Mirage Swords Level 1

A sword per level

20 MP/ Sword]

Sam opened his hand, and red energy emerged from his body, forming a faint sword. Somehow, he could control it with his mind. It felt challenging, but he knew it would get easier as he leveled up the skill.

Now for the remaining skill.

[+ Skill Unlocked: Air Vortex

150 MP/Use]

[+ Skill: Swords of Judgment

100 MP/Use]

Since he was alone on the rooftop, Sam decided to do a small test. He sheathed his sword and activated the Sword Vortex skill. His sword left its sheath and moved in various directions before returning. A group of air blades flew toward one point and circled around it, creating a vortex. Sam could only imagine what might happen if a devil were caught in the vortex.

On a side note, this skill consumed a lot of his MP, but with his current Wisdom, MP, and MP recovery rate, it would take him less than a minute to recover it.

Now for the other skill, Swords of Judgment. When Sam activated it, he slashed his sword upward. An air blade left his sword, flew into the sky, and curved down. As it descended, it was enveloped in fire, taking the shape of a sword that struck the roof and exploded, creating an X-shaped cut.

Now, he had 6 Affinity Points and 6 Skill Points left. He decided not to use his skill points until he trained and leveled up his skills through hard work. He would save them for when it became more challenging or necessary.

-x-X-x-

A week had passed since Sam's awkward meeting with Makima on the rooftop. Despite the fact that devils were hunting him, it was convenient that he could find them without searching too hard.

Now, Sam was typing on a PC he had recently bought with the money he had earned. The screen was large, and the keyboard was white. The central unit produced a loud sound, unlike the 2023 PCs he had used before, which were much faster.

'At least I got to write this,' Sam thought, looking at the screen.

Power stood behind him, wearing a pink shirt. She rested her head on his shoulder and started reading what he had written. "A story of a good friend of yours... Nobody believes in you. You lost again and again and again. But you're still looking at your dream, reviewing it every day and saying to yourself, 'It's not over until I win.' That's dope."

"Sam, why are you flexing?" Power asked him.

"I love your voice. It gives me chills with my words."

What he was writing might help people feel better temporarily or even motivate some. At the very least, he could make someone feel better, if not change their life for the better.

"Huh? You think this would work? Just give up and come to bed. We'll just live from month to month," Power replied as she walked away and turned on the TV.

"Nobody believes in me..." Sam bit his lower lip and continued typing.

Suddenly, he felt a devil about to knock on his door, but he had already recognized who it was.

"It's open," Sam yelled. It would be the first time he didn't need to knock to enter Makima's room.

"What's open?" Power asked as she came back to the scene.

Makima pushed the door and entered. "We could feel each other's presence, it seems."

Power suddenly started stuttering while looking at Makima. "B-Boss. What are you doing here?"

"Power, go to your room," Sam said, worried that Power's mouth might get them into trouble.

"But I want to..." Power was quite confused. "It's not fair to use your contract on me like this."

Makima smiled as she grabbed a chair next to Sam. "You know, Sam, I was going to let this pass since the two of you seemed to believe it. But such a false belief will put you in trouble. Your contract with Power is invalid, as fiends are unable to form contracts with humans and devils."

Sam and Power's faces turned almost pale. Sam remembered the time when he thought he would die if Power had died. He had believed himself to be a genius for playing Power, but now...

"You're saying... I could do whatever I want," Power realized it too. She then stared at Sam. "So you tricked me into doing the chores."

"I never did. I tricked myself," Sam sighed as he looked at Makima. "At least this will alert me not to make contracts with fiends." He had thought fiends were unable to form contracts with other devils, not with humans.

"Good so," Makima turned to Power. "Now, Power, leave us alone and forget this information."

Power's mind seemed to go blank as she nodded and went to her room.

Sam looked at Makima and said, "Thank you. I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"Never mind. Just learn your lesson," Makima said, looking at his face. Then, shocking him, she grabbed his cheek and pushed it up and down.

As if feeling regret, Sam put his hand on her hand and said, "If you excuse me, I have a contract to fulfill." Sam stood up and walked past her, and then he looked at her hand. He had a glimpse of a box, but he didn't stare long enough to determine what it was.

He went to the kitchen, finding Power eating something. He talked with her a bit and asked her to behave herself. Then he made some tea. Once it was prepared, he used a knife to make a small cut on his hand and squeezed the blood out of it.

Power, driven by her instinct, said, "Pour me a cup."

"Got you." He made two cups, one for her and one for Makima. Power started sipping her drink. "Now, this is blood. Feels like it's full of vigor and life. Mmm."

"Full of life, you don't say," Sam feigned a laugh before going to the living room, where Makima was waiting with a consistent small smile on her face.

Sam gave her the teacup, and she started sipping. "So this is your blood," she said, looking at the cup. "You put a generous amount of it. I love it."

"Your words warmed the heart that pumped that blood." He then sat back at his desk.

"By the way, I got you this. You seem like a guy who could use one of these things." Makima gave him a box.

When Sam opened it, he opened his eyes widely. It was a brand new PS2 with two controllers. He never knew these were still available on the market.

Slowly, Makima made her way into his heart. When he looked at her, her image changed from that of a fearful devil to an angel. He didn't say a word. He just hugged her and said, "I won't forget what you did for me until I die."

Makima wrapped her hands around his back. Sam could feel her heart beating faster, but he assumed it was his own heart since the idea of her having a heartbeat felt absurd.

"I won't have to worry about that. With the way you make deals, you're not going to leave me anytime soon, will you?"

"Don't worry," Sam thought as he placed the PS2 on his PC. He didn't plan to die anytime soon. Life had much to offer. Imagine living until PS10 or PS20 came out.

When he pulled back from the hug, he noticed that Makima's cheeks were red, and her gaze was warmer. It was as if she were a different person from the one he had met initially.

"How about we play a few games?"

"I'll pass," Makima said. "But I'll watch you play."

-x-X-x-

In one of the government-owned buildings, a middle-aged man with a few white hair strands held his phone, listening to a report while looking at his computer screen.

"So Makima has a weakness," he said, finding it hard to believe. The head of Public Safety and Devil Hunters and National Security wiped his brow. "And a human at that."

A few images loaded on his computer, showing Makima sitting with a young man, presumably the one who defeated the Snake Devil. Sam Lee, an excellent and productive devil hunter with a seemingly bright future.

He continued scrolling through more pictures taken through an apartment window. The young man was hugging Makima, and she was smiling—something that was rarely seen from the Control Devil.

Having the Control Devil on their side wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She had a deal where she worked for them in exchange for protecting the citizens of Japan from any harm she suffered. But knowing her weakness...

"Does anyone else know about this?" he asked.

"I'm not certain, but if I could spy on this kid, others could. And we don't know who the insiders are in our offices," replied their spy.

"I see." He ended the call and let out a long sigh. They would need to make a report and decide how to deal with this supposed new 'weakness' of their weapon.

A 'weakness' could have been beneficial, but it might hinder their weapon and make the Control Devil controllable.