Devil May Cry Naval District – Cafeteria
Naka: "Off to work!"
Kongou: "Sortie time! Follow me, everyone!"
Suzuya: "Another cat's gone missing!"
Ooi: "Again!?"
Haguro: "Fishermen need an escort!"
Ryuujou: "I'm going! Junyou, you too!"
Junyou: "Do I have to?"
Ryuujou: "Need more hands!"
Fumizuki: "Soba shop grandma needs a lightbulb changed!"
Miyuki: "That's our job?"
Kagerou: "Can't her staff do it?"
Murakumo: "Just go!"
On Kure's naval review day, Devil May Cry Naval District was swamped. Beyond Kanmusu duties like expeditions and sorties, their side gig as a handyman service kept them buried in requests, big and small.
Lady: "What's this?"
Trish: "…"
They were stunned by the Kanmusu tackling every odd job. Then Ooyodo brought a strange request.
Ooyodo: "Tenryuu, Tatsuta, a missing child case. Can you handle it?"
Tenryuu: "Kids?"
Recent child disappearances involved elementary schoolers. The request came from one of their schools.
Tenryuu: "Just lost kids. I'll wrap it up quick."
Tatsuta: "Let's go~"
They left to meet the client.
Trish: "…"
Town
Tenryuu: "Not finding them at all…"
At the school, they learned kids vanished after playing post-class. Police searches yielded nothing. One clue: a popular kamishibai (paper theater) man visiting random parks.
Tatsuta: "Check a park?"
Tenryuu: "Yeah."
They headed to a nearby park for leads.
Park
Tenryuu: "Hot, no clues, getting annoyed…"
Tatsuta: "Heat's relentless~"
After checking multiple parks with no kamishibai, they sat on a bench, waiting. Boredom and heat tempted them to quit.
Clang! Clang!
Man: "Kamishibai time!"
A man with a bell and a bike-mounted theater appeared. Kids flocked. Tenryuu and Tatsuta nodded, approaching. The story was a standard folktale. Not wanting to disrupt, they watched quietly. After, the man handed out ice cream, kids swarming him.
Tenryuu: "Buy some ice cream?"
Tatsuta: "Sounds nice~"
Hot from watching, they joined the kids. The man opened an ice cream box.
Clang! Clang!
Man: "Kamishibai time!"
He left. A woman watched from the shadows.
Devil May Cry Naval District – Cafeteria
Soryuu: "Where's Tenryuu and Tatsuta?"
Tone: "Not back?"
Dinner time arrived, but they were missing.
Satsuki: "What were they doing?"
Ooyodo: "Searching for missing kids."
Kitakami: "Still looking?"
Kumano: "Our cat hunt was quick."
Ooi: "Kids aren't cats. Disappearing's not normal."
Iku: "They'll return when hungry."
The others ate, unconcerned.
Abandoned Warehouse
Tenryuu: "Damn it!"
Tenryuu, Tatsuta, and park kids were tied up inside. Opening the ice cream box had somehow sucked them in. They woke, bound, with other missing kids in the same state.
Tenryuu: "If I had my sword…!"
Tatsuta: "Don't strain, Tenryuu-chan."
Tenryuu: "Argh!"
She struggled futilely against the ropes. The man returned.
Man: "Big haul today!"
He opened the box, revealing more unconscious kids.
Tenryuu: "Hey! What're you doing with these kids?"
She shouted defiantly. Expecting a typical kidnapper, his reply shocked her.
Man: "Eat them, obviously."
Tenryuu: "…What?"
Man: "I said, eat them."
Tatsuta: "You're a demon?"
Man: "You're those demon-hunting folks, huh?"
His casual admission confirmed he was a demon—a dire situation.
Tenryuu: "Scared yet? Untie us!"
Man: "You're not ripe. Humans taste best in fear and despair."
He pointed to a pile of human bones—past victims. Kids, realizing their fate, cried. The demon reveled.
Man: "Love those despairing faces!"
Tenryuu: "Bastard…!"
Tatsuta: "Stop!"
The demon lifted a kid, opening his mouth unnaturally wide to swallow them. A scythe-like weapon sliced off his arms. The kid fell safely. The scythe returned like a boomerang to a mysterious woman, transforming into a greatsword.
Tenryuu: "No way!?"
The woman threw the scythe again, cutting only their ropes. Freed, Tatsuta led the kids away. Tenryuu deployed her rigging, aiming at the demon.
Tenryuu: "For the kids!"
Her shot hit directly. They approached the woman.
Tenryuu: "Thanks for the save."
Tatsuta: "Who are you~?"
Woman: "Heh, a secret. I just hunt demons for fun."
Her ominous sword wasn't normal. She seemed friendly, but questions lingered. Sludge oozed from the demon's spot, forming a new demonic shape.
Tenryuu: "Another gross one…"
Tatsuta: "Same job~"
Woman: "I'll help."
Tenryuu: "Who are you, seriously?"
Woman: "Later. Let's go!"
Tenryuu, Tatsuta, and the woman attacked with sword, spear, and transforming greatsword. The sludge demon regenerated, resisting their strikes.
Demon: "That won't work!"
It swung a sludge arm; they dodged.
Tenryuu: "Take this!"
Demon: "Bullets don't work on sludge. Bon appétit!"
Their shots were absorbed.
Tatsuta: "It ate the shells?"
Tenryuu: "No way…"
Out of options, they faltered. The woman's hands sparked with electricity.
Woman: "How about this?"
Tenryuu and Tatsuta backed off, sensing danger. Lightning shot from her hands.
Demon: "Abyabyabyabya!?"
The demon screeched, electrocuted. The lightning intensified, causing it to explode. Tenryuu and Tatsuta were blown back, sludge scattering and evaporating.
They arranged to collect the reward later, contacting police to handle the kids at night. At a distance from the warehouse, they questioned the woman.
Tenryuu: "Thanks, but who are you?"
Woman: "Does it matter?"
Tatsuta: "Shooting lightning's not normal. Demon~?"
She only smiled, leaping onto a rooftop.
Tenryuu: "Wait!"
Woman: "One warning: underestimate demons, and you'll die."
She vanished into the night.
Tenryuu: "Definitely not normal."
Tatsuta: "Ask the Admiral later~?"
Tenryuu: "Good idea. Back to base."
Devil May Cry Naval District
Outside the base's wall, the woman scaled it effortlessly, changing her appearance in a flash.
Trish: "Haven't cut loose in a while. Fun."
The "mysterious beauty" was Trish in disguise, tailing Tenryuu and Tatsuta to ensure they could handle demon incidents, wary of their safety despite orders to stay low.
Cafeteria
Tenryuu and Tatsuta returned.
Ooyodo: "Finally back."
Houshou: "We were worried."
Tenryuu: "Got caught by a demon."
"Demon!?" others gasped.
They recounted the ordeal.
Mamiya: "Eat dinner, then talk."
Tenryuu: "Starving~"
Lady: "Where were you, Trish?"
Trish: "Strolling. Can I get dinner?"
Mamiya: "Sure!"
Lady: "(Lightning…? Could it be…)"
Only Tenryuu, Tatsuta, and Trish hadn't eaten. As they dined, Lady glared, suspecting Trish was the "beauty" who had fun alone.
Office
Next afternoon, Dante's group returned. Tenryuu and Tatsuta briefed him, Trish watching amusedly.
Tenryuu: "Her weapon switched from sword to scythe to spear."
Tatsuta: "Shot lightning too~"
Dante understood instantly. The weapon was Sparda, his father's keepsake given to Trish. Only one person he knew shot lightning. He glanced at Trish, who winked. He sighed.
Tenryuu: "What do you think?"
Dante: "Uh…"
Tenryuu: "Demon?"
Dante: "Probably…"
His vague reply raised suspicions. Trish stifled laughter.
Tenryuu: "You know something?"
Dante: "Nope."
Tenryuu: "Hey, where you going!?"
Tatsuta: "No escape~"
Dante fled the office, pursued by Tenryuu and Tatsuta. Their antics reminded Trish of Patty's visits to the Devil May Cry office, sparking nostalgia. Dante spent the day dodging their relentless questions.
Tenryuu: "Spill it!"
Dante: "Give me a break…"
Looking forward to the next episode!