Trees on the Mind (
Summary[]
Running through the forest, Asa tells herself not to panic. It dawns on her that this situation is similar to her run in with the Eternity Devil, and as of such, she just needs to imagine this realm as belonging to her. Before she can continue, Yoru mimics shooting herself in the head to demonstrate to her host that they can't use their powers. She further showcases this by failing to transform a set of twigs into a sword. Asa asks her what the plan is, though Yoru simply punches a tree in frustration. Before Yoru can explain that she's no match against the Aging Devil, she realizes that the tree she's leaning on has a person embedded into it. Freaking out, Asa rushes back to the spot where Denji lays, tripping over him in the process.
The Aging Devil victim, now somewhat more lucid than before, welcomes Asa back, albeit still believing she’s someone else. He explains that the tree people are fellow victims who have stayed in the realm for 1000 years, with their inevitable fate being to decompose and return to the soil. After this process is complete, only then will the victim leave the realm. Angered by this revelation, Yoru hits Denji in the face and yells at him to wake up, blaming him for their current situation and for always getting her involved with strange devils. Bleeding from the nose, he profusely apologises, stating how everyone he meets ends up miserable from association. As penance for being a "horny, empty-headed idiot", Denji says he'll allow himself to turn into a tree while reflecting on what he's done wrong. Yoru threatens to hit him if he doesn’t stop crying, but this only makes him apologise even more. Struggling to hold back tears herself, she readies to punch him again, only to give him another kiss.
Characters[]
- Asa Mitaka
- Yoru
- Denji
- Unnamed Aging Devil Victim
- Eternity Devil (Mentioned)
- Gun Devil (Mentioned)
- Aging Devil (Mentioned)
Trivia[]
- The person that the Aging Devil victim confuses Asa for in this chapter has a different name to the one in the previous chapter (Sanae as opposed to Ritsuko).