CHAPTER TWELVE - BLOODY BULLET TRAIN TO LOVE ARC - TROLLEY PROBLEM

"Been a while, hasn't it?"

Upon recognizing the voice, Riru's heart sinks.

While she'd already correctly assumed the identity of the Prince aboard the train, her suspicions being confirmed outright was an entirely different kind of feeling.

A creeping dread crawls up her entire body.

"Mammon..?" she mutters.

The devil grabs her hair, lifting her head off the floor.

"You've certainly changed since I've last seen you," he chuckles. "Though I suppose it's only natural you'd try to hide it."

He solemnly sighs.

"A human could never love a devil. That's just the way it is."

"Why..."

"Hm?"

Riru faces him with a desperate expression.

"Why are you guys after me? What did I do wrong?"

In the time she'd spent lying on the floor, she'd managed to draw a demonic sigil with the blood leaking from her leg.

The sigil ignites, and a long curved scythe erupts from within a burst of flame.

She grabs the handle and swings the blade above her head within a fraction of a second.

His reflexes faster than the blade, Mammon jumps backwards, seemingly avoiding the swing entirely.

...

He lifts his hand, and blood drips from his two severed fingers.

He smiles playfully.

"Still using the weapons I gifted you? You could make a grown devil cry. How long ago was that pact, again?"

"First it was Belphegor, now you..? It just... it doesn't make any sense! You're supposed to be on my side, right?! I'm supposed to save you guys! Save everyone!"

Riru's voice sounds fragile, on the verge of cracking apart.

"Spit it out! What the hell is any of this even for?!"

Mammon clicks his tongue.

"Don't lump me in with those sad fools. You don't know, do you?"

Riru looks confused.

"The princes don't give a damn about the prophecy. They'd sooner doom all of Hell to destruction if it meant just one more day with their pointless vices."

"...What?"

"We've waged war with humanity for ten years," he laughs. "We've waged war with ourselves for thousands! And now the pampered stooges at the top suddenly think we can put it all behind us? Get all lovey-dovey with a human? Thinking about it like that, I don't think I could blame anyone for throwing the towel."

Mammon solemnly lowers his gaze.

"Maybe they're right. Maybe we should just live in the moment, or maybe we'd all be better off dead. Belphegor certainly thought so. Never would shut up about our "intrinsic evil" and all... can't do anything but pity him, I suppose."

Riru didn't understand. Her reason for being on Earth, her reason for leaving everyone behind... all of it was for the sake of devilkind. And there were some devils that didn't want to be saved?

She's the one who was supposed to be forced into all of this. Not anybody else.

Mammon looks up at her with a grin.

"Don't feel too sorry, though. Because me? I've got faith in you, girl! Maybe you're the one! Maybe you can really do it! You look like a human, and well... that's a start, ain't it?"

"Then why you..? What are you doing here?!"

"Hey, don't act like it's my fault. I was dragged into this just like everyone else. All because a couple exterminators couldn't keep from sticking their arms in places they shouldn't be."

A fury builds within Riru's chest.

Mammon has an innocent look.

"And, well... I thought I'd take the opportunity. Have some fun, get some new weapons, and finally lay my eyes on the new Gluttony. Hahaha! Who'd have thought it'd turn out to be you?!"

He heartily laughs to himself.

"Small world, ain't it?"

In a flash, Riru's scythe suddenly appears up against his neck.

She feels his hands touch her torso.

KACHING!

Riru finishes her swing, hitting nothing but the air.

...

Through use of his ability, her and Mammon had swapped places.

She violently spins around, and her scythe swoops in a circular motion.

Mammon grabs the blade with his bare hands.

KACHING!

In place of the blade, a small pigeon flies away.

...

"I dunno what's going on with Gluttony, or why you think it's me."

Riru spits a clump of blood on the floor, crudely drawing a sigil with her foot.

"But all these people..."

She stomps, and a fire blasts from under her foot. A massive minigun arises from the sigil.

"Why'd they have to die?!"

She heaves the weight of the weapon with both hands, steadying her feet and unleashing a rain of bullets towards the devil.

He grabs onto a nearby seat.

KACHING!

The seat becomes a shield made of heavy steel, and the bullets are deflected.

Lowering the shield, Mammon can't hide the intrigue on his face.

"You really have changed, haven't you..?"

KACHING!

The shield becomes a golden trident, and he dashes towards the girl.

She lifts the minigun above her head, deflecting the blow as the sound of metal shrieks.

"Hahaha! You're really one to talk, Lilith!"

He sends forth a powerful flurry of thrusts, eventually smashing a hole through the thick metal exterior of the gun.

Riru drops the gun, doing a backflip to avoid being pierced by the final attack.

"Or maybe I'm mistaken? Maybe you really did care this whole time?" he sarcastically chides.

KACHING!

The trident becomes a whip, and he cracks it down hard against Riru's skin.

"Agh!"

She shields herself with her arms, wincing as the thin strand of fiber cuts through a layer of her flesh.

"I'm sure you can't even remember all the devils you killed! You're real great at this acting gig of yours, let me tell you, but don't go forgetting who you really are!"

Her horn bursts through her skull, and before the whip can slap against her once more, she cuts it in half with a sharp blade.

She wields her horn blade in both hands as blood spills from the side of her head.

"What's wrong? Haven't had enough?" teases Mammon.

"I don't wanna fight you. There's people I need to find."

She takes a step back, preparing her blade.

"But... I can't just ignore this. I need to do something. To stop you."

She lowers her gaze.

"I just... I don't think I could forgive myself if I didn't."

"Well, isn't that something?"

KACHING!

The torn whip becomes a curved scimitar.

"I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed, Gluttony. I thought you'd have me a bit more impressed."

"I told you, I dunno what that means!"

She rushes towards him, blade in hand.

He lazily twirls around his scimitar, awaiting her strike.

"Though, one thing's for sure..."

He deflects her attack, swinging his sword upwards and sending her horn flying out of her hand.

She looks up, aiming to catch it once more, until-

"You're greedy. I like that."

The scimitar's blade pierces straight through her stomach.

She can barely spit out a word as blood bubbles in the back of her throat.

"A.... Auu...."

"Oh, please. You'll live."

His sword slides out from deep inside her flesh, and her body crumples onto the floor.

He turns his back, walking away from the gruesome scene.

Arriving with the sound of gunshots, three bullet wounds suddenly appear on his back.

“You’re not going any further.”

...

Mammon can't help but look back at the sound of the familiar voice.

Gabriel stands in place, smoke trailing off the barrel of a pistol he seemingly acquired on one of the previous cars. He has a sharp look in his eyes.

Looking further past his opponent, his grip suddenly quivers.

“R-Riru..?”

“Ugh… I’m fine…”

Relief immediately washes over his face.

Hidden from view, Riru draws a sigil on her own abdomen, and flesh contorts to repair her wound.

“Know each other, do you? What, is this the boy you’re after?” Mammon eyes Riru, grinning menacingly.

“NO THAT’S ME ACTUALLY.”

The door to the next car slides open, and Des confidently stomps through.

Mammon can't hide the annoyance in his tone.

"Real persistent, aren't you?"

Gabriel raises his guard.

“Back off. I'm not gonna let you touch her."

"HAHAHA YOUR SO JEALOUS."

“Jeal- What the hell are you talking about?!”

Gabriel sighs, reloading his gun.

“I can’t deal with this right now. Just back me up, got it?”

"ITS OK YOU DONT NEED TO BE EMBARRASSED."

Des lifts his fists, revealing sheets of metal now wrapped around his knuckles. Spikes of hardened blood erupt from his skin underneath and pierce through the metal, now resembling brass knuckles.

The two slowly approach Mammon from both sides.

"Be careful of his Curse. He can exchange anything he touches."

"I KNEW THAT ALREADY."

DING!

“Next stop is: Hamamatsu. Hamamatsu.”

At the sound of the electronic chime, they lunge towards their target.

Gabriel fires a few rounds towards Mammon’s face, who blocks with a shield of steel.

While he’s distracted, Des darts from side to side, getting close enough to the devil to clobber his fist straight into his ribcage.

Mammon swipes his hand towards Des, and Gabriel fires off another pair of bullets.

Before he can react, Mammon’s torso is pierced from behind by two thin daggers.

The bullets burrow deep into his flesh.

Having finally regained enough strength to fight, Riru had at some point extracted her two canine teeth, and stabs them deep into the devil’s thick hide.

"Riru?! You gotta get out of here!" Gabriel shouts.

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me!"

Spotting an open opportunity, Des grabs onto one of Mammon’s arms from behind, carefully keeping a safe distance from his hands.

“NOW!” He shouts.

Finished reloading, Gabriel fires straight into Mammon’s exposed elbow. Each bullet rips further into the muscle surrounding the joint.

Using all his strength, Des pulls against the arm, ripping it from the main body.

Mammon jumps away, now with only three arms remaining.

...

Something doesn't seem right.

Gabriel can't ignore this thought.

Des previously cut off one of Mammon's arms during his grand entrance while rescuing Gabriel. At some point, another was severed and forcefully attached to Tomiyoshi, used to puppeteer his corpse from afar.

There should only be one arm remaining. So how-

The train comes to a halt, and so too does his train of thought.

Truthfully, Gabriel hadn't been keeping track of time. Relying on Bernadette to once again protect from any passengers coming aboard, he got comfortable and allowed himself to fight without any restraint.

The doors slide open.

"Thank you for riding the Shinkansen again today. This is the Kodama express bound for Osaka. This train stops at Shin-Osaka station."

It's fine.

Soon enough, Bernadette's dolls would stretch across the entryway and-

A women steps aboard.

"Huh?"

She looks Mammon up and down, unable to immediately comprehend the unsightly horror she'd just laid her eyes upon.

He lifts the woman up, holding her against the severed stump on his right shoulder.

She opens her mouth, about to scream.

"A-"

KACHING!

In a blast of blood, the woman is replaced with an identical replica of Mammon's arm, now reconnected to his body. He swings it around a few times as if to test it out, stretching his fingers and bending his joints.

"Good as new," he smiles.

Gabriel stands in place, unable to move his body. The screams of passengers and explosions of blood fade into the background of his mind, the noise melding together into an intense buzz that drowns his senses. Somehow, his worst nightmare just became reality.

What happened to Bernadette?

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The dim glow of the electronic lights hanging above the underground passageway sway and flicker at the mighty roar of a devil.

Sandalphon is still sat slumped against a wall with his head permanently drooped down, the cracked indentation of a massive impact looming behind him.

Nearby, just barely illuminated by the flicker of the lights, Bernadette's body has been torn apart, cleanly bisected across the middle. Her long silver hair caught in wild tangles obscures her face, and between her two halves, a vivid red mass of viscera spills out.

Creeping tendrils of frost slither across the lightbulbs.

Uriel breathes heavily, clouds of frigid breath escaping between his jaws.

The devil's final roar is slowly drowned out into nothingness.

Crystals of ice crawl up the body of the dinosaur-like devil, enveloping its head. With that, the entire mass of the creature's body has been swallowed up by a giant glacier.

Normally pitch black, Uriel's irises glow with a powerful teal light, and the intricate patterns of snowflake are visible across his eyes.

Jolting his head forward as if breaking from a trance, his eyes return to normal.

A shiver runs up his spine.

"Look at you, and this mess you caused..."

He looks down to Bernadette's corpse.

"Things aren't gonna get much better from here, are they?" he asks, knowing fully well she's unable to respond.

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Meanwhile, in another area, the harsh thumping of a gun emptying its ammunition rings across the subterranean tunnel.

Officer Otsuka's squad, consisting of a small group of rookie exterminators, watch in amazement as a giant creature of ooze effortlessly faces off against the knife-shooting devil they previously struggled against.

The beast roars, crushing the devil under its heavy arm.

Osakabe cheers, his spirits reinvigorated after seeing the strength of an Ascended exterminator in action.

More devils surround the beast and wait for their chance to strike.

As if frozen in time, it stands still.

...

Otsuka has an annoyed look.

"What's the holdup, Bernadette?!" he spits. "Come on, let 'em have-"

With the sound of splattering ooze, the man is crushed by the immense weight of the beast.

The surface of its body bubbles, nearly losing its shape entirely before just barely pulling itself back together.

It lets loose a powerful cry.

"What happened?! It's going berserk!" cries an exterminator.

"This isn't funny, Bernadette!"

"You think she forgot to deactivate it?!"

A wave of bullets ripples across the body of the beast, but like small pebbles tossed into a still lake, each one is quietly submerged.

Blasts of ooze shoot out from creature, impaling the exterminators.

Osakabe watches in terror.

What could he even do?

In the face of a threat this powerful, there was nothing he was capable of. Even if he tried, he couldn't do anything to save them.

He couldn't let his story end. Not before it even started.

...

Making his decision, he runs away from the source of the carnage, tears forming in his eyes.

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An intense vibration courses throughout Gabriel's entire body, awakening him from his stupor.

He turns his head towards the long case strapped to his back.

It violently shakes.

KACHING!

Des throws a fist towards Mammon before being blinded by a spray of blood.

His blow is deflected by a spiked halberd, created from a passenger who stood in its place mere moments ago.

Somehow, the initial wave of passengers who boarded the train had already been cleared out, each reduced to nothing but a blast of their own blood and yet another weapon to add to Mammon's seemingly infinite collection.

DING!

"Next stop is: Toyohashi. Toyohashi."

Hordes of twisted and deformed devils, having completely lost their mental functions due to Mammon's endless experimentation, crawl their way through the doorways and onto the train.

Riru violently pries herself from the grasp of an attacking devil. Using the brief moment of freedom, she stabs a dagger straight through its skull.

The remaining people on the platform flee with their lives and erupt into a harsh cacophony of screams.

The doors to the car slide shut.

Now's your chance.

The thought feels like a sharp needle stabbing into Gabriel's brain.

The train begins moving once more.

No. Not yet.

"What's wrong? Can't move?"

Without him even noticing, Mammon had appeared right beside him.

Riru screams.

"Watch out!"

Gabriel ducks, narrowly avoiding the thrust of a halberd from impaling his skull.

Mammon swings two arms in an attempt to catch Gabriel between them.

Using the momentum of his crouch, he shoots up into a jump.

Mammon touches the floor.

KACHING!

The very ground below Gabriel is exchanged with a pool of bubbling magma.

He grabs onto a handrail hanging from the roof of the car, swinging forward and delivering a powerful kick to Mammon's face.

The magma burns through the bottom of the car and leaves a gaping hole in its wake.

Gabriel swings the opposite direction, firing a few more bullets into Mammon's torso.

Preventing them from approaching the fight and dividing Gabriel's attention, Riru and Des fend off attacks from the other devils.

Gabriel jumps down from the handrail and tumbles into a roll, picking a spear up off the ground and throwing it with one fluid motion.

It pierces through Mammon's elbow with perfect accuracy, ripping his arm in two.

Noticing, a devil abruptly flees from its fight with Des.

"HEY STOP IM SUPPOSED TO KILL YOU."

It jumps towards Mammon, who grabs its body midair and holds it against his severed arm.

KACHING!

Restored from the devil's bold sacrifice, his fourth arm is once again attached.

"I'm surprised, boy. I thought you'd finally given up."

He smiles while stretching his arm.

"Listen, if you want, I'll let you go. Choose to live as Touma, and I'll let you get off this train. You'll get to live another day, have a normal life. Isn't that all you want?"

Another bullet is fired into Mammon's face.

"Stop fucking with me."

Gabriel's throat tightens, burning with a swelling anger.

"You think I have the right to just decide that?! After the choice I made?!"

He picks up a sword.

"No, you're gonna pay for your sins. Even if it costs me my life."

He dashes forward, holding his sword overhead.

Halting his assault, the entire train car rumbles. Even Mammon appears confused by the sudden disruption as the bellow of a loud beast is heard in the distance.

"What was that?!" Riru shouts.

"DONT WORRY I CAN PROBABLY HANDLE-"

A colossal black arm crashes through the ceiling, crushing Des under its weight.

"Des!"

His body is submerged, suspended within the ooze comprising the creature's body.

Riru rushes to help, frantically clawing away at the thick layers of slime.

Gabriel watches in shock.

"You're not too convincing, you know."

Before he can even comprehend what's happening, his body slams hard into the side of the train. Blood spills from the halberd impaling his abdomen.

"You talk all high and mighty about your duty, about sacrifice..."

In another arm, Mammon wields a sickle, holding it up to Gabriel's throat.

"But tell me, how does it feel to have a blade put up to your throat? When death is really this close, when all you've gotta do is just get a little closer to end it all..."

The blade presses down ever so slightly, drawing blood.

Riru looks over, terrified. The other devils surround her, leaving no room for escape.

"...Well, could you still do it? Could you stop breathing just because you wanted to? What if it was for the sake of others? For the sake of your country?"

He violently flings Gabriel's body onto the floor.

"You want to live, boy. You want to live because you're alive. Nothing wrong with that. Everything you keep rambling on about... it's all fake. You wanna get back those days you could never have, that precious time that always seems like it could last forever."

His hooved foot pummels Gabriel in the side.

"Tell me, how much does it cost? How much could you sacrifice? I bet you'd sacrifice a life, hell, I bet you'd sacrifice this whole damn train. You'd do that, and still say you care about something like justice?! You might be even greedier than me!"

He looks towards the case on Gabriel's back.

"After all... you still haven't shown me everything you've got."

The beast of ooze crashes its head through the top of the car, causing the entire train to tip to the side.

Thrown off by the sudden shift in gravity, Ruru tumbles over and crashes against a window on the wall.

"Why..? What's the point? Of the killing, of the experiments, of everything?", blood spills from Gabriel's lips.

Mammon seems to genuinely ponder the question.

"Well... maybe because I feel like it?"

"...What?"

"I collect because I feel like it. I kill because I feel like it. I want to experience everything in the world, and I won't stop until I see how it all ends. One day, even death won't be able to stop me."

He holds his sickle high above his head, sneering.

"Isn't that the only way to live?"'

"Stop!"

The sickle collides with a familiar blade-like horn, interrupting his swing.

...

Bloodied and battered, Riru stands before Gabriel, having somehow escaped from the impossible situation she found herself in.

Behind the three of them, the beastly doll fights off against the remaining devils.

It was not driven by malice, but rather a pure instinct to attack everything in sight.

"Thanks, slimy!" Riru coughs, just barely able to stay upright.

Gabriel's heart skips a beat.

Who was this girl?

She went to school. She went out to karaoke with her friends. Sure, she acted more than a little out of the ordinary sometimes, but she was a regular high school girl nonetheless.

Not an exterminator. Not a devil.

And yet, she had the strength of heart to stand up to even the most powerful foe. This normal girl, who lived the uneventful life Gabriel could only dream of, still had the strength to stand up and fight, despite everything standing in her way.

I could do with being a little more like that myself.

When he told her that, he really meant it.

...

But deep down, he could feel it.

Something about her wasn't right.

Still, there was no proof. If he could just keep ignoring it, that ominous feeling growing in his chest-

"I'm sorry, Gabriel."

His eyes widen.

...

She turns to him, her skin as scarlet as blood.

"I'm sorry. For lying to you."

She swings her hornblade upwards, knocking Mammon's weapon away and severing one of his arms in the process.

...

"...Thanks, Riru."

The voice comes from behind Mammon.

Despite his injuries making it nearly impossible, Gabriel stands, fueled by his newfound willpower.

Simultaneously, the two rush forward with their blades at incredible speed.

Mammon reaches towards them both, just an inch away from making contact, until-

Blood splatters onto Riru's face.

Gabriel catches his breath.

...

From two opposite sides, Mammon's heart is impaled.

...

"We... we di-"

"You got my heart, did you?"

A look of glee crawls across Mammon's face.

"Agh!"

He grabs Riru's neck.

What?

Gabriel is overwhelmed by an anxious dread. The case on his back shakes once more.

"I love a good fight, I really do, but leaving myself that vulnerable..?"

He stares down Gabriel with confidence as Riru struggles to free herself.

"At some point along the way, I exchanged my heart. It's right here, somewhere on the train. If you wanna try and find it, be my guest. It just depends..."

He tightly squeezes the two hands grasping Riru's throat.

"Are you really okay with letting this devil die?"

Let it all out.

Another intrusive thought consumes Gabriel's mind.

He couldn't wait any longer. He knew the decision he had to make.

In fact, it didn't feel like a decision at all. He was controlled by an overwhelming emotion stirring inside his chest.

It couldn't be described as anything but instinct.

...

He takes a deep breath, and begins reciting a prayer.

"I believe in one God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth, of all things visible and invisible..."

As if having a mind of its own, the case breaks free, ripping away from the strap across Gabriel's shoulder.

"God from God, light from light, true God from true God. Begotten, not made, consubstantial with the father..."

It hovers in midair, refusing to cease its endless rattling. Beams of light burst through the metal exterior, escaping from the radiating core that seems to be held within.

Just before he can pierce Riru's skin, a beam of light shoots through Mammon's arm, disintegrating it entirely.

He drops Riru's now unconscious body.

"I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen."

Endless spears of radiance rain onto the surrounding devils and rip through the beast of black ooze. Des spills out from its insides.

The entire case shines with a blinding glow, pillars of light intensely stabbing through each open crevice.

Gabriel closes his eyes.

Let the future die.

...

"...Come on out, Messiah."