His mind wandered from the memory of Yoru's kiss to Death's underwear, and he was briefly considering doing something about it when a voice came from beneath the bed, asking if he needed a hand with that.
Fumiko had somehow got under there. He went to scream out in surprise, but she got him to quieten down and asked that he just lie there and listen to her.
She thought it was obvious that Death was only using him, and asked what he thought would happen if he defeated the War Devil. Would it not just trigger the prophecy in which the Death Devil wiped out mankind anyway?
Denji tried to defend his new ally, pointing out that Death had carried him to safety, but Fumiko scoffed. She claimed that Death had killed her and her colleagues multiple times, something that really confused Denji, since she was still somehow standing here perfectly fine.
So she explained. At fourteen, Fumiko had made a worldwide contract with the STD Devil. The terms were horrific, as of course they were. Any human who had slept with her became a duplicate of her in mind and body.
Because of her contract, there was a Fumiko duplicate in almost every country on Earth. They acted as a global network, routinely exchanging information. She lamented that many of her selves were currently dying in the chaos that was going on.
Fumiko warned him that even without the devils' direct interference, the world was already tearing itself apart. That being said, if Denji were to eat the Death Devil, humanity would technically live forever. And since Yoru clearly loved him, which was why she had not actually turned him into a weapon yet, he might have a shot at a happy eternal life with her.
If that time ever came, she asked Denji to tell Yoru to extend the same mercy to her.
Starting to finally understand these female creatures who had been circling him for so long, Denji could tell that she was lying through her teeth about her motives.
Before she left, she handed him a parting gift: a nude photo of herself throwing up a peace sign. Staring at the photo as he lay back in bed, Denji said that she really was a good girl.
As he lay there, he had a moment of rare clarity. He realised that whenever women threw themselves at him, it almost always meant he was being tricked. He wondered whether Death and Fumiko were just another version of the two options the Fire Devil had warned him about.
His thoughts were cut short when a random pebble hit the outside of his window. Looking out, he saw Yoshida standing in the rain, waving up at him.
With everyone else resting, Denji headed out to the school entrance to meet him. He asked Yoshida why he was just standing out there in the rain.
Yoshida replied that he had just wanted to see the school. He admitted to Denji that his enrolment at Fourth East High had never really been a coincidence. Public Safety had hired him specifically to be Denji's shadow. Though he had been reluctant at first, he told Denji that being his bodyguard had turned out to be a pretty chill role.
Kind of expecting this, Denji just asked Yoshida whether he was here for a favour like everyone else.
To his surprise, Yoshida pulled up his bag, which contained pizza, and offered a meal for the two of them to share.
Back inside, Denji devoured the food with his usual hunger while Yoshida watched with a strange, quiet interest. When Denji asked whether he was going to eat any, Yoshida declined, admitting that he really liked to watch people eat.
The comment hit Denji hard. Memories of his past flooded back in, and it reminded him of how Aki used to watch him and Power eat, back in the day, when they were a family. Solemnly, he concluded that some guys were just like that.
Yoshida reminisced about their time fighting off delinquents. He admitted that hanging out with Denji had been exhausting, but that the memories were something that always made him laugh.
Sensing a shift in the air, Denji asked what he had really come here for.
Yoshida's expression turned final. He explained that he had come to say goodbye, and that they would not be meeting again. He put out his hand, signalling for a handshake, while thanking him for the time they had spent together.
Unconcerned, Denji leaned in for it, thanking him in turn for all of the free food.
Then Yoshida apologised. He revealed that his true role was to be a switch.
Before Denji could process the words, the school building detonated in a deafening roar of fire and debris.
Coming to inside the inferno, rain lashing down, Denji slowly hauled himself out of the eviscerated remains of the school. He collapsed back to the floor. A jagged shard of lumber was impaled through his chest, severely limiting his movement.
He scanned the wreckage, and his heart sank as he spotted Yoshida's body skewered by a mess of concrete and rebar.
Rolling in with a flamethrower in hand, Barem made his reappearance. With a gleeful, sadistic smile, he ignited the flamethrower and turned Yoshida's corpse into no more than a lump of coal. He quipped that both he and Yoshida had drawn the short straw.
Before he could continue monologuing, Denji tore his own rip cord, starting his transformation into his berserker form.
Overwhelmed by a cocktail of rage and quiet anguish at the sight of his friend being desecrated, Denji let go.
The hero of hell took charge, his intestine scarf lashing out like a whip and snagging Barem. Without a second of hesitation, he reeled him in and began eating the flamethrower hybrid alive. Raging, unable to do anything, Barem was annoyed that he had not at least been killed before being devoured.
With the hybrid fully consumed, Death and Famine emerged to stand beside the black Chainsaw Man. Famine murmured how grateful she was that his rage was not directed at them, and Death pointed out that Pochita was currently ignoring them because he recognised just how massive the actual threat was.
Suddenly, a single ominous door hung closed in the grey sky.