Five minutes ago.
Japan, Tokyo.
Sitting atop a mountain of lifeless puppets, Makima's spiral eyes reflected the blue sky above.
But what she saw was not the serene sky—it was the depths of Hell.
Even though she had prepared extensively before the attack, she had still underestimated her opponent and was caught off guard by Santa Claus.
No—Santa Claus was merely a codename. The true identity of this assassin from Germany was the Puppet Devil.
At this moment, through the eyes of the devils under her control in Hell, Makima had already pieced together the entire plan.
"Not only did they make a contract with the Hell Devil, but they even found the Devil of Darkness."
Through the vision of her controlled subordinates, Makima saw the descending Devil of Darkness and her expression grew colder. "So, they plan to force my hand and make me go into Hell to save them."
This assassination attempt was different from the others. The previous attackers had sought to capture Denji for themselves.
Makima had assumed the Puppet Devil had the same goal.
However, the true intention of the Puppet Devil was to deliver Denji to the Devil of Darkness in exchange for its power.
Makima, of course, could not stand by and let the Chainsaw Devil's power fall into the hands of the Devil of Darkness.
If that happened, not only would her plan to control the world fail, but she herself might be erased by the Puppet Devil, who had obtained such overwhelming power.
But if she chose to enter Hell to save Denji, she would be forced to face a Primordial Devil.
A being that was the strongest in Hell.
Logical as she was, Makima knew she had no chance against such an entity.
Although Denji's group had encountered the Yamai sisters—who had been sent to Hell earlier—Makima did not believe they could stand against the Devil of Darkness.
"I have no choice but to try..."
Makima sighed, making up her mind.
To ensure she could intervene the moment Denji was in crisis, she had stationed the Spider Devil, who possessed teleportation abilities, by his side.
With a simple activation of its power, the Spider Devil could summon Makima to Hell at any time.
Just as she was about to contact the Spider Devil, she heard Yamai Yuzuru declare her intent to stay behind and fight.
Even more surprising, Kaguya Yamai agreed without hesitation, sweeping up the others in a gust of wind and fleeing.
This sight left Makima slightly stunned.
She knew the true nature of the Yamai sisters. They would rather die themselves than let the other perish.
And yet, in the face of the overwhelmingly powerful Devil of Darkness, Kaguya agreed to let Yuzuru stay behind alone.
Could it be that they had absolute confidence in their ability to hold back the Devil of Darkness? Could they have a hidden power even she was unaware of?
The possibility intrigued Makima.
And her suspicion was quickly confirmed.
"The power of fire?"
Hearing the discussion among the others, Makima raised an eyebrow and issued a command to the Spider Devil.
"Princi, summon me."
"Yes."
In Hell, the previously silent Spider Devil obeyed the order and activated its teleportation ability.
In the next moment, Makima emerged from the Spider Devil's body.
Many in the group recoiled in shock, instinctively stepping back.
Even the Wind Devil's group tensed, their gazes locked onto Makima.
However, she paid no mind to their reactions. The moment she arrived, her attention was solely focused on the battle between the Devil of Darkness and Itsuka Kotori.
"It truly is the power of fire..."
Feeling the energy in the distance firsthand, Makima's sharp eyes flickered as she turned to Kaguya Yamai.
"If I recall correctly, you and Yuzuru claim to be Wind Spirits. So why is Yuzuru using fire to fight the Devil of Darkness?"
"About that..."
Kaguya's heart skipped a beat, and she deliberately dragged out her response to buy time.
She hadn't expected Makima to arrive so soon—she hadn't even come up with an excuse yet.
But since Makima had already asked, delaying too long would be suspicious, so she was forced to think on her feet and give a half-baked explanation.
"The truth is, the one fighting the Devil of Darkness is not Yuzuru, but the Flame Spirit, Itsuka Kotori." Kaguya coughed twice before continuing, "The Flame Spirit is our sister, born alongside us. When a crisis arises, we can summon her, though the cost is steep."
"Sister...?"
Makima nodded slightly, seemingly accepting this explanation.
To her, the reasoning was surprisingly plausible.
After all, as one of the Four Horsemen, she had three sisters who were also Horsemen.
If the Yamai sisters had a similar existence, did that mean there were other Spirits controlling different elements?
"Besides the Flame Spirit, how many sisters do you have?" Makima asked curiously. "Can you summon them as well?"
"There are... uh... eight more." Kaguya's forehead broke out in a cold sweat. "I do have the ability to summon them, but the cost is immense, and only those who have a strong bond with me will respond."
"I see."
Makima nodded, seemingly convinced by the explanation.
Kaguya had emphasized that summoning the others required a great cost, creating the impression that it was not something that could be done at will.
After all, every time she took on the form of another Spirit, she was using a limited-use transformation item.
After activating the Itsuka Kotori transformation, she only had two remaining—one for Tokisaki Kurumi and another for Beast-Form Yatogami Tohka.
Both were too valuable to waste just to prove a point.
"Since you're here, I assume you've brought a way to get us out of here?"
Wanting to shift the conversation away from herself, Kaguya quickly changed the subject.
"Yes."
Makima nodded in confirmation.
"Then, I'll go retrieve Kotori now."
Judging that the ten-minute mark was almost up, Kaguya channeled her spiritual energy and flew toward the battlefield.
"However, the Devil of Darkness will likely follow. Be ready to leave the moment we return!"
With that, she shot off toward the fight, leaving Makima with her own thoughts.
As she watched Kaguya disappear into the distance, Makima couldn't help but wonder.
Nine sisters, each controlling different elements...
If that was true, just how powerful were the Yamai sisters really?