Chapter 31

Sam was standing in a forest, holding a large bag in his hand. It contained the item he had promised the blonde girl.

From afar, Power was hiding, waiting for his signal to join the fight. Once the fight between Sam and the Snake Devil started, Power would come to the scene and get rid of Akane.

'Let's hope she is honorable enough to keep her word,' Sam thought.

The bushes moved, and Sam turned his head. He saw a short blonde girl.

He smiled. "Akane, you arrived early."

"Don't talk to me like you know me," she said, reaching into her pocket and grabbing a golden necklace with jewelry.

Sam frowned. "A necklace?"

"You couldn't afford it even if you worked your whole life," Akane replied. "As a former devil hunter, I made quite a fortune from selling devil organs. What about the Chainsaw Man heart?"

"I've got it," Sam smiled. "It's in the bag."

"You don't sound like you're lying."

"Why would I break my word?" Sam shook his bag. "I work in an occupation where people die young, and I've already burned through 70 years of my life span. I prefer to die young while eating all that I can."

"I see," Akane said. "So, we exchange in three."

"Yes."

"One, two, three."

Both of them threw what was in their hands. Sam held the necklace and started examining it. He began scratching it, and the gold started turning black.

Akane opened the bag and pulled out a heart, shaped like a heart emoji, with a chainsaw attached to it.

"Son of a bitch."

"Daughter of a bitch," they said simultaneously as they stared at each other.

Sam, unable to contain his frustration, yelled, "You grabbed a fake necklace!"

"Don't judge me. You're the one who broke his promise," she said with a frown.

"Broke my promise? Bitch, I promised you the chainsaw heart. Look at your hand. It's a heart with a chainsaw attached to it. On the other hand, this necklace is worth 1000 Yen at best!"

Sam put his hand on his forehead.

Today was a bad day.

He couldn't believe that he was scammed.

"Well, that's your fault. Anyway, scum, why don't you just die?" she said as she pointed her hand at him.

"Just summon the Snake Devil. I have a serious matter to attend to," Sam said, clenching his left hand, which had the clawed glove. "And make sure to summon the whole body."

"Don't worry. I know that the one who defeated the Katana man can't be intimidated by just a tail," she said, "Swallow him whole."

Sam's devil sense alerted him to the direction from which the devil was coming. An oversized snake, multi-building-sized, with red eyes, appeared from nowhere, its head heading toward him. Sam had already activated his footwork and vanished. With his current wisdom, his MP recovery rate was higher than the consumption of his footwork.

Hundreds of trees were knocked down by the Snake Devil's body.

"Human, we meet yet again," said the feminine voice of the Snake Devil.

Sam appeared, sitting on top of its head. "Yeah. Last time, I believe, you failed to eat me."

"No. My idiotic contractor let you get away," said the snake.

"You hear this, Akane? Even the snake thinks you're an idiot."

Sam patted the head of the snake with his glove, whispering as he scratched with his claws. "Die."

The snake, currently, was being disrespected by the human who was patting its head.

"You're overestimating your luck," the snake said, shaking its head, which sent Sam flying into the forest.

Sam flipped, his foot landing on a tree, breaking it down.

The Snake devil turned and followed, chasing Sam, who created a circle with his finger and index.

"Kon," he said. And from nowhere, a giant fox head appeared. It was giant, but still nowhere near the Snake Devil's size. Still, its size was relatively good for a good bite on the snake devil.

The snake hissed at it and lifted its head, turning to the Fox Devil.

"I can't swallow this thing whole, but it's the meat of the Snake Devil," said the Fox Devil.

When a devil swallowed the meat of a stronger devil, it would get stronger.

"Go away, Kon. He'll swallow you if you stay here," Sam said, running toward the distracted Snake Devil while unsheathing his sword. He then released an air-blade at its eye, blinding it.

At the same time, the Fox Devil vanished into smoke, and the Snake Devil turned toward Sam again.

Using Flash Step, Sam changed his location and hid behind a tree. He then took a peek and focused with his thumb and index.

"Kon."

Again, the Fox Devil appeared to give the Snake Devil another bite.

The Fox devil gladly accepted the flesh of the stronger devil and vanished into smoke again.

The Snake Devil howled, and Sam was already near its gigantic body, running his claw through it. "Die."

The snake's tail flipped and raised into the air. With supersonic speed, it wiped the ground, creating a strong shockwave that took almost everything with it.

A huge hole appeared in Sam's original spot.

Sam, on the other hand, appeared in the air.

All of his skin turned red.

If he hadn't used the power boost from Makima, he would have been caught by the impact and died.

"He's in the air!" Akane yelled.

The Snake Devil smiled. "You can't dodge in the air." Then it opened its mouth, ready to receive Sam as a meal.

Sam created a circle with his finger toward the snake.

"The fox won't save you," the snake moved its body left and right.

"Die," Sam chuckled. He had already put the third wound on the snake and summoned a very strong devil.

Sam sensed an invisible devil coming here.

Gigantic claws appeared on the head of the snake.

"You summoned him," the snake hissed.

The claws moved from the head to the tail in a blinding swiftness, creating deep wounds and causing a trail of blood.

"This won't kill it, but it would wound it down," said lips that appeared from the darkness.

"It's okay. I was planning to deliver the final blow," Sam flipped his sword as the giant snake fell to the ground. Slowly, it was trying to stand up.

"Hoho. Would you kill it with your penny sword?" replied the Curse Devil.

"I'll find its heart, easy," Sam said. He had a limited time before the snake regained its power.

But before the Snake Devil could regain its power, it would be good to use the Fox Devil.

"Kon." "Kon." "Kon."

The Fox Devil appeared again to bite the snake's meat. This time, it looked redder and felt stronger than before. It had gotten bigger each time it appeared, and each bite caused the Snake more damage.

"Well, I have to admit, Sam, you've offered me the whole devil on a silver platter. You're my favorite human," said the Fox Devil, appearing to be many times bigger than before.

Akane opened her eyes widely, not believing it. "Stop!"

In front of her neck, a red sickle blade appeared.

"Now. Now!" Power said. "It's me who is going to save the day!"

"I won't let the other devils get my rightful experience," Sam looked at the Snake Devil, walked to the middle of its body. Using the Moonlight cut, he sliced through its body. He got inside, ignoring the liquids that fell on him, in his search for the Devil's heart.

He found it, and when he did, he sliced through it.