The last chapter of Arc 2 is broken into three parts because I realized it exceeded 6k words. This chapter is part 1, I hope you like it.
Read the Author's note at the end and do the poll please!
Also my heartfelt reply to all the haters.
If you love my writing, then please vote and fill this chapter with comments, it's looking a bit empty here.
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Third Person
"Bang."
The moment he uttered that word, an impossibly strong telekinetic attack, one that could flatten an entire continent, shot from his index finger, aimed at the world beneath him.
In his mind, the next scene was inevitable.
All the buildings instantly vaporized.
Tokyo disappeared first, then Japan, then everything near Japan.
The blast kept spreading: the northeast coast of China, the eastern edge of Russia, and both North and South Korea, they were all swallowed by this one terrifying attack.
Even the balcony beneath his feet tore away instantly as the shockwave devoured the Earth below, turning everything into a scene of an Apocalypse.
Today, nearly three hundred million people lost their lives, and none of them will ever know why.
Nobody survived from the supernatural side either.
Except him.
However, none of that happened.
This was all in his imagination.
"…What?" Rein muttered, clearly stunned that his imagination hadn't become reality.
Confused, he looked at his right hand again, only to find it pointing toward the sky.
The attack that should have destroyed everything had been redirected upwards, not the Earth.
"How…? How can this be?" Rein said out loud, confusion threading through his tone. "I'm sure I wasn't aiming at the sky…then HOW?"
He contemplated for a long second, until he realized it.
He realized he couldn't feel his right arm.
No, he could feel it, but he couldn't move it.
It was as if he had lost control over his own arm, and there was only one person he knew who could do that.
His jaw clenched with frustration.
"Makima…you dare do that to me?" he threatened her in a low yet dangerous voice.
Makima, who had remained silent for a few seconds, finally decided to speak.
"Rein…listen carefully. You're not in control of yourself."
Her voice didn't rise but it had enough weight to make him listen.
"Did you forget the true purpose of our dream?" she continued. "It's not just about ending suffering, we also need the world to survive."
Then she paused for a second, letting her words sink into his mind.
"If there's nothing left… then there's no meaning in creating a perfect world at all, is it?"
"So I took control of your hand and redirected the attack," Makima added softly.
"And…I will keep doing it until you stop."
Makima might not have been able to reclaim full control of her body, but because she was conceptually stronger than Rein, she could still seize partial control while he possessed her.
Rein let out an annoyed sigh, then forced his mind to clear.
He didn't know why he was acting like this, but he had to say, he had never felt such clarity in his life before.
His thoughts now were narrowed into a single thought.
End humanity.
Everything else, every rational counterargument, every hesitation, every restraint, was being shoved to the back of his mind like it didn't matter.
"Grrr…" He growled at her in defiance.
"Like hell I'll stop! Make me, if you can ." Rein replied, arrogant to the core; with his voice practically overflowing with overconfidence.
Makima's devil wings manifested behind his back.
Then he launched off the balcony at blazing speed.
He kept flying until he was high enough to see Japan, and the surrounding nations clearly.
The cold breeze whipped his long red hair and battered his skin at that altitude, but it didn't affect him at all.
Then, Rein's golden eyes swept over the eastern edge of Asia, then locked briefly onto the Korean Peninsula, before sliding to the northeastern portion of China. Though he chose these places randomly, he made sure to select densely populated places as his first targets, saving Japan for later.
Then he lifted both hands, with index fingers extended and pointing at two different locations at the same time.
Rein's smile widened as he readied his next attack. This time, he didn't expand the range to something continental like before. He chose efficiency over range.
"It's funny, isn't it?" he said softly. "To be a witness to your own dream coming true… while you're losing control over yourself."
He taunted her with a sharp edge in his tone.
"You can't control two hands at the same time, right? You should try better Makima, so try stopping this~" he said with a playful tone.
Makima didn't answer.
For the first time since their merger, the silence inside her was real. Watching him slip like this… she realized that she might have pushed him a little too far.
Because this time, he wasn't hesitating anymore, and she knew he wouldn't stop at just one failed shot.
And then she asked herself why.
Why was he acting like this?
She knew he wouldn't normally oppose her…not like this. He wouldn't act so out of character, so reckless, and so…detached.
Makima understood the trigger instantly: the merger. Whatever Rein had become in the Aging World, whatever twisted hunger had awakened in him… synchronizing with her only made it worse because she was stronger than him. Synergy didn't just amplify her power, it must have also dominated his mind with his devil impulses too.
Even if she wanted to separate from him., she couldn't.
Rein was the only one who could undo the merge.
And technically? What he was doing right now, using her body to cause destruction against her will, was betrayal. It met the condition for her to use the Poison and impose death on him.
She could activate it and stop him permanently, or, at least, permanently for this version of him. Devils like them reincarnated. The next version of him would return again but with a new face, and a new personality.
Someone who might not even love her or tolerate her and that thought almost frightened her.
She didn't want that.
Not after finally getting what she had always longed for.
Worse, if she used the poison now, while they were merged, there was no guarantee it wouldn't drag her down too. And if it did, not even her damage-transfer contract would save her.
But if nothing else worked… she could still use the poison as a last resort. And if it meant dying with him, then it was an acceptable outcome. To her, that was the highest form of devotion their twisted love could ever reach.
In their next lives, she would find him again. She always will. And then become lovers again, and continue with their goal, as if the world had reset around them.
But coming back to her current reality, Makima realized something she hadn't felt in a very long time:
She felt so powerless watching someone else abuse her own power.
She had never felt like this before, and she hated it.
Meanwhile, Rein was ready to unleash his attack. Just one word, and the two locations his fingers were pointing at would bite the dust.
So he didn't waste time and said it again:
"Bang."
But contrary to his expectations, the two locations remained unscathed.
Instead, a smaller island off the coast of Japan got decimated.
Rein stared down at his hands, only to realize they weren't pointing at his chosen locations anymore.
They were aimed at a random island near Japan.
And that's when it finally hit him.
He hadn't just lost control of one arm this time, he had lost control of both.
Having lost control of his hands, he bit his lip in frustration, hard enough that blood began to drip down his chin.
Makima seized the opportunity instantly and decided to finally use her greatest tactic.
"Rein… if you don't stop now… Reze will die too."
Her voice stayed soft and gentle…but every word landed harder than it should.
"And you'll be the only one responsible for her death."
She paused for a moment.
"Tell me, do you want that?"
Reze…?
Rein stopped whatever he was doing, because just that name was enough, enough to make his mind go blank.
A part of him tried to shove the thoughts away, tried to drown them out…
…but it failed miserably.
The petite Bomb girl, the name he hasn't heard in ten years.
His last memory of her was, of the Kyoto station, where he kissed her and gave her that dagger and the crystal.
And then a thought hit him like a punch in his gut.
How was she doing?
Was she even alive?
Ten years. Ten years in the Aging World, while the real world kept moving forward without him.
Reze could be anywhere by now… or she might even be gone or worse, taken away by Yoru.
That idea alone made his heart almost stop. He didn't know if this was fear, guilt, or something worse.
…He hoped she was alive.
Right then, he closed his eyes and let all the suppressed memories surge back, like a dam breaking loose.
He recalled everything:
The Crom Cruach incident.
Hokkaido Trip.
The two weeks they spend training together.
And his last meeting with her in Kyoto.
He recalled everything and for the first time in a long time, something in his chest stirred and his heart finally warmed again.
Rein, having gotten a semblance of control over his devil impulses, warped the space around him and appeared back in Makima's penthouse. He now stood near the balcony, with his hand placed on the glass balustrade.
"I… apologize…I almost lost myself there." Rein said quietly.
He exhaled, and for the first time since the merger, his voice sounded 'human' again.
"Thank you, Makima." He added.
Then his voice sharpened again.
"Before I separate…tell me about Reze." Rein continued with a low voice."You have eyes everywhere. You must know where she is, right?"
Makima listened, but didn't speak for a moment.
She had confirmed something very important about him just now.
She knew using Reze to stop him had only a fifty percent chance of working because he was too unpredictable now, and she knew she couldn't afford to gamble on it.
But despite being a devil, with no care for human lives, the fact that he stopped his genocidal attack by just hearing Reze's name told her everything.
He still had an emotional attachment to Reze.
Someone she looked at as inferior. Someone who was not worthy of having him.
Only she was.
Seeing him care about another woman besides her made her possessiveness flare up instantly, but she tried to hold back.
Now that Rein was the way she wanted him, there was no need for Reze to be kept alive.
She had only ever let their bond deepen so she could kill her someday, and break Rein completely.
She hadn't seen this new obstacle coming, but she wasn't the one to sulk just because things became difficult.
"Makima?" Rein called out again, wondering why she had gone quiet all of a sudden.
He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to her thoughts.
"You're thinking again huh?" He said lightly and almost playfully. "Your silence is killing all the suspense… hurry up. I'm starting to get bored."
As requested, Makima answered him back.
"Reze is on a break from her Public Safety duties," Makima continued in a soft tone. "The last time I checked, she was in Kuoh City."
Makima said the truth, though she didn't mention the part where she had restrained Reze from leaving Japan.
Rein's eyes widened, not in shock, but in surprise. He felt euphoric just from that information.
Knowing Reze was doing well and that she was alive, erased all his worries.
She was out there…perhaps even missing him every day.
He was eager to meet her, and he was well aware he was more excited than he normally should but he didn't care.
Reze was Reze.
'Kuoh city though…the city where that pervert lives with his merry harem..'
Rein's lips curled, mischievous in a way that didn't match the softness in his eyes.
'While I am at it, I might as well go mess with him a bit.'
The thoughts finally settled in, and once he made up his mind, he didn't linger any longer.
He focused on undoing their merger. He didn't need a chant or some dramatic effort, just the intent was enough.
The sensation came first, then a subtle shift, and finally, the result.
A moment later, Makima regained control over her body.
And Rein was finally back in his original self, standing beside her again, standing there as if he'd always been there the whole time.
His gaze drifted down toward the city he had just tried to nuke. Everything looked peaceful, like it always did.
Rein felt a strange kind of relief. He was glad Makima had stopped him because the aftermath would've been a nightmare to deal with.
Then his eyes slid back to the red-haired devil he'd been merged with just moments ago…and upon seeing her, his brow lifted.
Makima was staring at him.
And she had that same calm and unreadable look… except it wasn't calm anymore. It was that indescribable stare that made him feel like he'd done something wrong he wasn't even aware of.
Rein waved his hand a few times in front of her face to get a reaction out of her.
But…Nothing.
She kept her gaze locked onto him. Under her gaze, he felt like he was some organism that was pinned under a microscope for observation.
Rein swore he had never seen Makima like this before.
"Umm… if you want to look at me like that, I wouldn't mind," Rein said, scratching his cheek with a finger. "But you know…it is kinda creepy."
Makima, who had been still for nearly a minute, finally moved.
The wind had messed up her long red hair, strands slipping across her face, and somehow that alone made her look more terrifying.
Rein took a step back without thinking, not because he was scared, but because he wanted to see where this was going.
He kept backing up, one step then another, until his back hit the wall.
And Makima was suddenly right there in front of him.
Her hands caught his wrists and pressed them against the wall like restraints.
Rein looked into her golden eyes, the concentric red rings staring straight through him, and he could tell it instantly…
…he'd awakened something in her he shouldn't have.
But still, even with that cold expression on her face, he still found her cute.
And the worst part?
He couldn't help but tease her more.
"Makima… are you mad?" Rein asked, stating the obvious with a playful glint in his eyes.
His words almost failed to get any reaction out of her.
Almost.
Makima tilted her head, but this time there was no amusement written on her face.
"Mad? No, Rein. I'm not mad."
She stepped closer and continued with her voice cold.
"I'm irritated."
Rein's eyebrow raised slightly, as if he found something amusing, but Makima didn't let him turn it into a joke.
"Because for a moment…I lost control over my body."
Then she leaned in even closer, close enough that he could feel the weight of her gaze.
"You're going to promise me something," Makima said quietly.
"You will never use that power without my permission."
She paused, but her words lingered longer than they should have.
"And the next time you do…"
She spoke softly, but her smile didn't return, and her voice never rose.
"…I will be the one in control."
Rein didn't reply. He only looked into her beautiful eyes, and this time, he understood.
For someone like her, losing control over her own body wasn't simply "annoying."
It was extremely humiliating.
After all…
She was the Control Devil.
Rein's lips twitched faintly, like he found the irony almost amusing.
'So that's what this is. She hated it the moment she couldn't control herself.' Rein thought.
"Makima…did me taking over your body piss you off that much?" Rein asked with genuine curiosity.
Makima's grip on his wrists loosened, just slightly. Then, instead of letting go, her fingers slid up and intertwined with his against the wall.
"It's not just about me, Rein," Makima replied. "It's also about you."
"About me?" Rein whispered, almost puzzled.
Makima leaned in until their foreheads finally touched.
They were so close now that he could see it, such clarity in her eyes.
"Yes," she said softly. "It seems that every time you merge with a stronger devil, your devil instincts and impulsiveness, takes over."
Her voice was soft and controlled, and each word she spoke was carefully chosen.
"Your ego gets high…and you start acting like the worst version of yourself," Makima continued. "The one you're always trying to suppress."
Rein didn't interrupt her, nor did he blink.
Makima's forehead stayed pressed to his, as if she was forcing him to stay present.
"It will be troublesome if you lose control again," she said. "So for me…"
Her fingers tightened around his as she commanded.
"…you won't use that power without my consent."
She paused for a brief moment.
"Can you do that?"
Rein didn't speak. He actually thought over her words, weighing them like they mattered to him.
A moment later, he chose the perfect answer.
"Yesss… I'll be sure to ask your permission every time, even when I'm about to be killed," Rein said smoothly.
Makima smiled.
Even if there was sarcasm in his tone, she could at least tell he was being genuine, and she liked that, liked the way he answered without resistance. She loved an honest boy like him.
And even if he wasn't being honest…
…it didn't matter.
It wasn't like he could force another merge with her anyway.
But contrary to Makima's expectations, Rein had lied to her without batting an eye.
Permission? Who needed that?
Why would he need her permission to do anything?
He wasn't her dog anymore.
But just to please her, he decided he'd play along for now.
And if the situation ever called for it, he'd switch without hesitation.
.
.
To be continued.
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Author's Note:
If we hit 50 power stones, I will upload the next part early as a bonus.
The next chapter title reveal:
Blood-Kissed Poison 'Breaker'
Poll:
Should Rein X Fami (Death Devil) happen? What do you think of their dynamic? For context, Rein doesn't know she is Death devil because MF stopped reading CSM part 2 midway.
Yes.
No.