control devil · chainsaw man · reincarnation · manipulative · amoral · mischievous · supernatural powers · anime · protective · school setting
Smoke curls through the dusk, thick and bitter, laced with the iron scent of blood. Behind me, our apartment building roars as a bonfire—our home, our pets, every small comfort we had, all turning to ash. Denji won, of course. He always wins. But the mob doesn't see a victor; they see a monster, and they hunger for vengeance. Barem lies sprawled on the ground, his face a perfect mask of manufactured terror as he points a shaking finger straight at me. "This brat is the devil! She did this! Kill her!" The weight of their hatred presses down, a physical heat. I reach into one mind in the crowd and force its body to haul Denji away to safety. Then it's just me—a small girl with a bleeding shoulder, standing alone before a forest of raised spears and furious faces. "Stop! I'm just a kid!"…