As their transport made it's way towards its destination, namely a precinct fortress, whatever it was, Makima made herself comfortable as much as the conditions of the armoured vehicle allowed and turned her head towards her new pup.

The man beside her, Caellum Marcellus, was now under her full control, as well as the rest of the soldiers accompanying them and the man who had summoned her. As such whatever she asked him he would only be too happy to answer, no matter how confidential the information she asked for was meant to be.

Of course she would still need to be careful around him as her mind control was not as perfect as she would like it to be. Some people with remarkable mental fortitude would be able to overcome it, however briefly, as was proven by both Angel and Power.

That said, now that her abilities were enhanced beyond even her wildest dreams, the control she had over those she saw as inferior to her, would undoubtedly be strengthened as well. Still, extra caution would not hurt.

'I have already made a mistake of letting my guard down once and it has cost me everything. I will not be repeating it.'

Just a single memory of Denji defeating her was enough to sour her mood and make her involuntarily clutch her fists.

A single heartbeat later those feelings were gone. She had no time for emotions now. First she needed information.

And so she asked the man all sorts of questions, from the Inquisition, the government it served and to the general history of this world.

If there had been anyone in that vehicle with an unclouded mind they would have found Makima's lack of knowledge on pretty much everything quite alarming.

As the transport continued on its way Makima learned more and more with every passing second. And with every second her mind was becoming increasingly troubled.

The things she had been told were hard to believe, to put it mildly. At times she even made sure the Caellum was still under her control and not feeding her some nonsense as a means to confuse her.

But the man seemed to be telling the truth. Or at least he believed it was the truth.

The idea that Makima was stuck in an alternate universe was something even a Horseman like herself would find hard to wrap her head around.

At first, hearing that she had found herself in the 41st millennium, her first and reasonable assumption was that after her defeat at the hands of Denji she was somehow transported forward in time and was now stuck in the future.

But there were a few things that contradicted this theory.

Firstly the Warp, an alternate dimension of sorts that existed alongside the 'Realspace'. Needless to say there was no such thing in her previous universe. She, of all beings, would know. She knew all about devils, primal fears and even those devils that were completely erased from existence by Chainsaw Man. Such a thing as an alternate dimension formed from the emotions of all living things could not have possibly escaped her attention.

Secondly there were demons. At first Makima thought those were the same devils she was used to, just under a different name. But the demons were something else entirely. They did not embody mankind's one specific fear. Rather they were formed in the Warp by beings known as Chaos Gods.

And that was what intrigued Makima the most. The Gods of Chaos. From what she was told those were incredibly powerful, nigh omnipotent beings that had been created by the emotions and collective desires of every sentient being of the material universe.

Makima wanted to learn more about them. She wanted to know what they were like and, more importantly, how she could use them to her advantage.

If they were indeed gods they would be able to send her back to her original universe. Back to the Chainsaw Man.

Unfortunately Caellum didn't know much, as even knowing about these gods was considered to be incredibly dangerous. So he wasn't much help in that regard. But he did know someone who was more knowledgeable on the subject.

Caellum called himself an acolyte and right now they were on their way to meet his master, an inquisitor. From what Makima had gathered inquisitors were, in a sense, much like devil hunters from her previous world, albeit with far more influence and political power.

Caellum's lord inquisitor, one named Amadeus, was a famed inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus, a sub-division of the Inquisition that specialised in fighting Chaos demons. As far as potential sources of information about the Chaos Gods went, that seemed like a good place to start.

.

.

.

As the APC started to slow down the driver informed them that they had reached their destination.

Makima disembarked, followed by her pups and she was greeted by a severe building with black armoured walls. Its brutal shape towered over the other buildings nearby.

"That is the precinct fortress of the Acervus Prime." Caellum informed her, standing right beside her. "Not only does it serve as the headquarters for the local Adeptus Arbites, that is also my lord inquisitor's temporary base of operations.

I know his title may unnerve you but you have nothing to fear. I'll let him know that you are but a victim here."

Makima plastered a grateful smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes and followed him inside the building.

As they neared the entrance a pair of arbites enforcers made to stop them before Caellum flashed his Inquisition insignia and they were allowed to pass.

After passing several security checks in a similar manner Makima and Caellum found themselves in what appeared to be the main hall that branched out into numerous corridors in all directions. And just like any building Makima had seen so far the scale of it all was mind numbing to the point of absurd. There was no reason for the interior spaces to be so large, although Makima would be lying if she said she didn't appreciate the oppressive beauty of it.

Unsurprisingly, the interior had the same gothic style architecture that Makima had seen at every turn. It could even be mistaken for an interior of some European gothic cathedral straight from the Middle Ages if not for an abundance of armed personnel and hideous looking men and women whose limbs and body parts were crudely replaced by metal and wires.

Fixing her red-ringed eyes on one of such creatures she couldn't help noticing its unnatural movements and unfocused and empty eyes.

Curious, she turned to the acolyte and pointed at the amalgamation of flesh and machine.

"What is that thing?"

"It's a servitor," he said, his dispassionate eyes following the figure as it shuffled awkwardly past the regular looking humans. "A mindless drone for menial tasks. It was a human once. A criminal who tried to escape the imperial justice. Now it's a mindless servitor who was granted one last chance to serve the Imperium."

Makima hummed in thought. While the thing was unsightly, she was somewhat intrigued by the brutal efficiency of the concept. Something about making criminals work for the good of the system to maximise efficiency appealed to her controlling side.

"This way," Caellum interrupted her thoughts. "I'll lead you to lord Amadeus."

The acolyte headed to the nearest corridor. Due to the size of the building the walk would take more time than Makima would have liked.

On their way the devil continued to take in anything they came across: more servitors, each one more repulsive than the last, including some flying ones with the bodies of infants, who appered to be twisted parodies of the cherubs.

The further they went the more she was confused about the state of technology in this place. One the one hand some of it was extremely advanced as if it had come straight from the pages of speculative fiction, like their ability to create machine-human hybrids and laser weaponry. On the other hand wherever she looked she was bound to see some archaic equipment and practices. Instead of lamps and light bulbs the people here used candles, all paperwork was done on parchment with quill and ink. The stark contrast between highly sophisticated technology and antique and horribly inefficient techniques left her utterly confused.

As the pair finally reached a stairwell Makima decided to put off this mystery for the time being. Right now she had to focus on her upcoming meeting with the inquisitor. She had a rough idea of what to expect so she wasn't too concerned about that. That said, as they climbed the stairs she thought of several contingency plans in case the meeting went sour.

Meanwhile lord inquisitor Amadeus sat alone behind the desk filled with dataslates in the dimly lit room that served as his temporary office. The man seemed relatively young for an inquisitor, no more than 40 years old. In truth he was already pushing 200 years, with rejuvenating technologies helping him maintain his body in shape.

He had just finished listening to the reports from the cleanup team at the old chapel. Now he was waiting for his acolyte to return and inform him of what had transpired during the ritual.

The exact moment Caellum and Makima arrived at the precinct fortress inquisitor Amadeus was immediately informed by the arbitrators standing guard at the entrance of the building.

He still wasn't sure what to make of the situation. According to his acolyte's brief report that was made while he was still en route from that abandoned chapel their operation had gone without a hitch, resulting in all cultists dead, their leader captured for interrogation, the summoning ritual interrupted and even a civilian rescued from being sacrificed to the creatures of the Warp. As far as operations against the Chaos cults went that one could be considered exemplary. And, given how much the old inquisitor trusted his most valued acolyte, there was little reason to doubt these claims.

And yet, Amadeus was an experienced inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus, it was his duty to doubt everything. There were several seemingly minor things that didn't sit right with him.

First were the casualties. From the sound of it Caellum's task force encountered no major obstacles, only the untrained cultists. Despite that, according to the reports made by the clean up team, out of 40 highly trained arbitrator veterans only 13 made it out alive. That's too large a number of dead to just chalk up to an accident. Once Caellum arrived he would have his explanation. Right now he could only guess. And his best guess was that that mysterious woman Caellum had saved was somehow connected.

That was the second thing that rang alarm bells in his head. He was told that the woman was supposed to be a sacrifice for the ritual and was saved by the timely intervention on Caellum's part. That was already a cause for concern as you never knew what kind of sorcery was performed on those sacrifices. For all they knew some demon could possess her at any moment. Once a regular human touched or somehow interacted with the Warp their souls were especially easy prey for hungering demons.

That said Amadeus had faith in his acolyte. Caellum had already accumulated enough experience to carry out his own missions and investigations. If anyone was aware of the risks posed by the denizens of the Warp, it was him.

That's why when he told the old inquisitor that he would be bringing this woman directly to him for interrogation instead of doing it himself, Amadeus knew that there was something special about her. It was not often that Caellum, notorious for his self confidence and desire to do everything with his own hands, asked his master for assistance.

A sudden knock on the door interrupted his musings. With a single press of a button the steel door slid open, revealing his visitors.

Immediately Amadeus' eyes were drawn to the red haired woman. Her appearance was peculiar to say the least. Her clothing was not what you would expect to find on anyone in the underhive. Or even on this world. Amadeus was never one to pay much attention to fashion but he knew an exotic and out of place outfit when he saw one.

But the most intriguing part of her outfit was its state. It must have looked pristine and formal before but now it was covered in blood, with neat burned holes in it revealing smooth and undamaged skin beneath.

Yet it was the eyes that unsettled the old inquisitor the most. Not their unusual colour and rings around the iris, as he had seen plenty of various mutations in his long years of service to the Golden Throne. No, it was what hid behind those eyes.

As an inquisitor it was his job to root out the heretics hiding among the populace. A certain set of skills was required for such a job. Not the least among them was the ability to analyze people, know what they think and recognise any lies.

And given his long years of experience as well as his limited psychic powers, reading people like an open book had become a second nature to him.

That was why as soon as Amadeus looked into those eyes he knew that something was off about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly triggered this reaction in him, but he had long ago learned to trust his intuition.

"Lord inquisitor," his apprentice stopped in front of his desk and gestured at the woman beside him. "This is the civilian we've rescued from the cult. I've brought her here so that you could hear her account on what has happened and perhaps shed some light on the cult itself."

"My name is Makima," the woman smiled and extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Amadeus made no move to shake her hand, instead arching an eyebrow at her. She had to be the first civilian he'd met that wasn't intimidated by his position. But then again, he was almost positive that she was no mere underhive dweller.

So, in an effort to find out more information about her before the interrogation he decided to probe her mind with his own. Amadeus's psychic powers were lacking, the only thing he was capable of being the ability to peek into someone's mind.

He wouldn't be able to see all this woman tried to hide but he would get a good idea of what she was thinking about at the moment.

"Please, have a seat," he pointed to the chair before his table.

The woman retracted her hand and complied, soft and self assured smile never leaving her face. As she made herself comfortable Amadeus focused his mind on her and was about to start the questioning.

Right as his psychic powers touched the woman's mind, however, the inquisitor knew something was terribly wrong.

He hadn't seen anything yet but his heart rate spiked and drops of sweat immediately started forming on his face. Soon he felt the cold feeling of dread creeping up on him from the back of his mind.

Amadeus fought the urge to take out his bolt pistol and shoot the woman on the spot, realising it was his fight or flight response talking.

Instead he focused all his will power in an effort to get his feelings under control.

He closed his eyes, calmed himself down and opened them, the still smiling face of the woman greeting him.

"Is something wrong sir? You look quite pale."

The voice sounded concerned yet Amadeus was sure he could hear the mockery hiding under the tone.

Inquisitor was on high alert now. Whatever this woman was, she managed not only to shield her mind from his prying eyes but also influence his own.

This Makima was clearly a threat. Discreetly he reached under the table and pressed a silent alarm button. Soon the Arbites enforcers would be would be storming the room. Until then Amadeus and Caellum would have to keep her attention, springing into action only after the reinforcements arrived.

Without breaking the eye contact with the mysterious woman Amadeus addressed his acolyte.

"Caellum, I wan-"

"Leave us, Caellum, and tell the soldiers your master has called that it was a false alarm."

Astounded, Amadeus watched his most trusted acolyte nod and leave the room, following Makima's orders without a second thought.

"Well," she said after the door closed behind Caellum. "Now we won't be disturbed. I suggest you leave your gun in its holster. I just want to talk."

The inquisitor frowned, his grip on the bolt pistol loosening by itself. He watched the thing in front of him carefully.

"And what, pray tell, do you want to talk to me about?"

"No need to be so hostile, inquisitor. If you listen to what I have to say, you'll find that our goals align. You see, I have heard that your duty is to fight back against demonic servants of the Chaos Gods. And it just so happens that I too have my own reasons to oppose them. If you share what you know about them with me, I assure you, both of us, as well as your Inquisition and Imperium as a whole will benefit greatly from this cooperation."

Amadeus was silent for a few seconds. He knew better than to trust this clearly dangerous creature in front of him. By all accounts, instead of sitting there and listening to her talk he should have levelled his bolt pistol at her and emptied the clip. But some part of him, and he couldn't quite tell which, was intrigued. It's not everyday that you hear offers like this being made.

So, perhaps against his better judgement he made the decision to hear her out.

"Very well, if you tell me more about yourself and what exactly you want to do with the information I'll give you, I'll answer all your questions."

The woman did not reply. A faint and unsettling smile formed on her face and Amadeus couldn't help thinking he had just made a deal with the devil.