The transmission surprised everyone. The message was projected on every radio station and television channel, also the messenger's hologram could be seen in big parts of the sky.
Initially, Makima and the rest of Japan's government thought it was a national alert, but it didn't take long for them to confirm the information that the message had been broadcast around the world. The projection showed a man with a short beard and long hair, wearing a robe similar to that of a monk. The colors could not be determined because everything was illuminated by a powerful green light. The man addressed the world, saying:
"Greetings inhabitants of the planet you call Earth. We are the Galactic Republic, and we come to you to establish contact and form an alliance. The Republic is a coalition almost as large as the universe and also in constant expansion. With mutual collaboration, we can help your planet advance technologically, in addition to providing you with protection from our Jedi Knights. In a couple of weeks, our ship will enter your orbit. Please have a diplomatic committee ready. I repeat, we come in peace."
—
The first actions many did consisted of making sure that it was not a joke, the global scale of the message quickly ruled out that idea. Something like this could not be carried out even with the cooperation of all the superpowers and nations in the world. Next the truth of the message would be determined if the presence of the supposed spaceship could be confirmed.
Multiple countries including the United States, Soviet Union, China, and Japan, carried out studies and measurements, and in two days it was confirmed that from the indicated direction, a strange flying object was approaching and calculating its speed it would actually reach Earth in the agreed time.
It's been almost a week since the message was broadcast, and different nations have tried to maintain control as best they can. Some have descended into chaos and anarchy. Even though the message was peaceful, the simple idea that there is life out there in the universe has shocked millions of people. The confusion and anger have led to chaos, and chaos... to fear.
"Well, Minister of defense, thank you for your report," said the Prime Minister of Japan.
The most influential people in the country, ministers, politicians, and wealthy individuals sat in the room around a huge round table.
"Since you mentioned the topic of fear" the Prime Minister continued, "I would like to give the floor to Miss Makima to present her report our current defense against Devils."
Makima stood up and explained, "The current centers of fear, as you might expect, are around concepts of space, aliens, UFOs, or the universe. Incarnations of the UFO Devil are especially troublesome to combat due to aerial warfare, and the more people fear them, the stronger and more recurrent they become."
Makima continued. "On the other hand, the Gun Devil has begun to weaken because people are arming themselves as a safety measure. A couple of days ago, there was a demonstration of the Gun Devil, and only 98% of those involved died. It has begun to miss due to reduced fear."
At that moment, a man in the room cleared his throat loudly and, doing his best, managed to call the attention of everyone, having their eyes on him with an arrogant voice he exclaimed:
"Mr. Prime Minister, this meeting is about the spaceship over our heads, not about the activity of other Devils. I don't want to disrespect Miss Makima, but what exactly is her role here?"
There was silence. The man speaking was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, an old man who spent eleven months a year abroad, and because of that, he was one of the few who didn't know the extent of Makima's influence and how many important people were already tied to her and her pacts. The Prime Minister wanted to say something, but Makima herself spoke up.
Taking slow steps, she approached the man's seat, her yellow eyes fixed on him, a small smile that was meant to express tranquility, but at the same time, it sent a chill down his spine, eyes preparing one for a danger that seemed imminent.
"Ichibe Kai."
The man's name, pronounced in the soft voice of that strange woman, made him feel heavier in his chair. The man, trying to maintain his composure, replied, "Yes?"
Tipping her head slightly, Makima asked, "Have you ever wondered what aliens fear?"
The man couldn't help but express a look of confusion.
"No, I don't think so." he replied, unimpressed.
Makima tilted her head to the other side and placed her index finger against her cheek, while looking at the ceiling, miming thought.
"I've thought about it a lot. Humanity and its fears give power to concepts, concepts that materialize as Devils, but that has always been linked to the understanding of our world. We couldn't fear guns before they were invented, we couldn't fear katanas before their creation."
The man looked at the woman, enthralled by her words.
"What new concepts will these beings from space bring? Do they also fear and generate their own Devils? We fear what we don't understand, like the universe we now question. But if they understand the universe, does that mean they don't fear it? Or does knowing something make you fear it more? Just like a sailor fears the sea."
The minister had been left speechless, both by confusion and by the woman's aura. It was the Prime Minister's voice that broke the silence.
"Mr. Ichibe, the fact that Japan remains standing and relatively calm is largely thanks to Miss Makima and her contingency plans. You yourself had to flee Berlin when the social unrest erupted days after the message."
The Foreign Minister grumbled a little and sank back into his seat.
"Well," the Prime Minister continued, addressing everyone, "we can conclude then that if a coalition is formed to speak with these space beings, it could only be carried out by Japan, the United States, Russia, or China, which are the powers that remain sufficiently stable."
The Minister of Defense asked, "Is this really a good time to form alliances of this magnitude?"
The prime minister responded in a defeatist tone, "Given the current situation in the world, the other powers must have the same objective as us: to make first contact on our own and have the advantage. That only means one thing."
"War," Makima completed.
"Not immediate, but certain. All the powers, including us, are waiting for the confirmation and the signal that will give us the advantage in this. The first one to take a step further than the rest will surely attack, and the rest will defend themselves. The trigger will be a piece of information, a spark, small, but it will unleash a war."
Everyone in the room bowed their heads. While Japan had remained stable compared to most of the rest of the world, the entire situation with the spaceship approaching and the world powers becoming more tense by the second was only a matter of time before a major conflict.
"Let's hope there's enough civilization left in the world for when the visitors arrive."
Makima was back in her seat, her elbows on the table and her chin resting on her hands.
"We have nothing to worry about. We know exactly where the most valuable and dangerous international agents of each country are. I'm also sure they know where ours are."
As she said that last bit, she settled back firmly in her chair, staring at the foreign affairs minister.
"However, this will be all or nothing. When there's a reason to want to rise above the others, it won't be a day before we know which nation will win. We must be prepared and constantly vigilant against humans, Devils, and now aliens."
Makima's phone began to ring. She answered, nodded twice, and hung up.
"I have to retreat; another manifestation of the Alien Devil is attacking."
—
During the car ride, Makima looked up at the sky while thinking about the possibilities of outer space. What worried and dismayed her most was the fact that she truly knew nothing about life outside the world, Earth. Were they connected to Devils? Do they have their own hell?
She felt it again— that alien feeling. Not fear. Something worse. Ignorance.
Upon arriving, a scene of destruction unfolded. Aki and Himeno were smoking a cigarette, both soaked in demon blood.
"Have you two dealt with the threat yet? Is it weaker?" Makima asked when she saw them.
"No" Aki replied before taking another drag on his cigarette.
"We had some help," Himeno explained, pointing into the distance.
In the background, in front of the corpse of the Alien Devil, Kishibe was taking a sip from his canteen, almost as if he were praying in front of the dead body. He turned around and approached Makima without any hurry.
He stopped in front of her and took another sip, "You know they're going to kill us all, right?"
Makima looked at him with a serene gaze and a small smile. They both knew the type of professional relationship they had.
"Who? The aliens? But they said they came in peace?" Makima replied, pretending not to understand, her face unchanged.
Kishibe's bitter expression didn't change either.
"The international coalition of Devil Hunters, but I'm sure you already know that, which is why you're gathering all of Japan's demon hunters in this city."
Makima replied calmly. "An alliance between countries that have been at war with each other, in a period as unstable as this, has no way of prospering."
"They can do it if they have a common enemy," Kishibe inferred.
"The aliens?" Makima asked again, her eyes fixed on the man.
Kishibe knew there was a limit to how provocative he could be, but he simply remained silent. Aki and Himeno had lit another cigarette, listening to the conversation, pretending not to. Makima then took the opportunity to continue speaking.
"That alliance is not going to succeed, recently there were a series of attacks on different important figures of all the powers"
Kishibe raised an eyebrow as he continued listening to Makima.
"The United States Minister of Defense was shot in the head by a young anarchist, the Russian ambassador was kidnapped leaving the United Nations, the Chinese Minister of Culture died in a fire at his house and the Japanese Foreign affairs Minister had a traffic accident when leaving a government cabinet meeting, all these cases occurred within a period of 10 minutes. Do you really think an alliance is going to last? They are killing each other."
At that moment, Kishibe, Aki, and Himeno's phones rang. They all answered and heard the same thing: the information Makima had just given them was true. Kishibe took another sip.
"It's not just the deaths of powerful people; each of the victims was the most recognized figure in their country to serve as ambassadors."
Kishibe thought for a moment, and for a second, his expression was fearful.
"Either all the powers had the same plan of action, or someone else is trying to erase the competition from the shadows."
"Which option do you think is more likely?" Makima asked, feigning naivety in a way so natural it bordered on the inhuman.
When Kishibe went to take another sip, he realized that the canteen was already empty.
"Bah, I'm just brute force. Thinking is your job, right, boss?"
He quickly turned around and started to leave. "I can't leave the city until the state of emergency is over. If you need me, I'll be at a bar."
The expert devil hunter left the place, feeling a great sense of helplessness and uncertainty about the current circumstances in the world.
Makima then turned to Aki and Himeno.
"Thanks to your work, we can stop worrying about the Alien Devil for a few days. I wish the UFO demon were that easy to reach. Let's rest for today." Then she returned to her car.
-
The days passed as tensions increased. Every day there were attacks on important members of the government from every major power. The Japanese Prime Minister had been intercepted by an international terrorist group formed from the remnants of hundreds of African guerrilla groups, and he escaped with only a single bullet wound, thanks to the protection service of the Devil Hunters.
Makima had appointed a special team to protect important figures of power, while the other powers dwindled their forces. Japan remained under a new-age siege. Politicians had the protection of Makima and her agents, and for her part, she gained the favor of everyone.
The woman knew she would be safe until the situation reached a point of no return, a crossroads. She didn't rule out the idea of the great powers uniting and completely bombing Japan, but that would depend on how much information each country's spies had, and she knew from her own experience that other countries didn't know or understand the full extent of their capabilities.
-
When the day arrived, all the indicators and gauges of the world's scientists went crazy. The size of that ship was immeasurable. With quick and somewhat fanciful estimates, since they were calculations that were beyond even their understanding, the scientists determined that an entire small country could fit inside that ship. For a moment, the main fear was that it would enter orbit, which would cause great damage. However, after a few hours of remaining still, the ship ejected two small ships that headed toward Earth.
The world was waiting to see what would happen. It would be the first contact between the so-called Galactic Republic and the inhabitants of Earth. The two ships entered the atmosphere. Informants from each power watched the broadcast, hoping to see the landing of those alien machines. However, before that could happen, they were attacked. The UFO devil rammed one of the ships with force.
"That will bring problems," thought Makima, watching the transmission.
The UFO devil is characterized by always staying in high orbits, even higher than airplanes. It only descends to eat, and this has prevented devil hunters from eliminating it. No one had ever invaded its territory until now. Its body is mainly a classic flying saucer, from which its arms, legs, and tail protrude. Its mouth is located at the bottom of its saucer-like body. It has no eyes, but it generates a radar-like sound that helps it locate itself. Despite being a powerful demon in this era, it does not speak and produces unintelligible sounds. Protruding from its limbs are ailerons that it uses to ram, helping it to fly faster, and it can generate light projectiles that it fires in hordes.
The first blow to the scout ship was overwhelming, causing it to lose its balance for a few moments. The devil stood face to face with the second ship, and the demon launched several of its blasts. The cameras couldn't clearly see what was happening, so Makima and the other interested parties waited for the results and consequences.
The blasts launched by the devil were repelled with a flash of light, and from a hatch emerged a human, the same one who had sent the message days before, his simple brown clothes adorned with a cape that fluttered in the wind at altitude. The man remained stable even in the hull of the spacecraft and from his belt he took a handle from which a green lightsaber emerged.
The UFO devil began to move in circles around the ship, gaining more and more speed with each moment. The man remained in position, following the creature with his eyes. Then, when the speed had increased so much that his vision could not keep up, he closed his eyes, concentrating and meditating. Then, looking to the right, he raised his left arm, the one that did not carry the weapon, pointing it at where he had sensed the devil would be. But nothing happened. The second of surprise was enough for the devil to take advantage and launch another flurry of attacks.
From a distance the combat looked like a tornado of lights and projectiles, the man used his laser with great skill repelling the shots with accurate blows or making a shield by quickly turning the weapon, the amount of projectiles kept the warrior busy who could only defend himself while waiting for an opening, it was then that the devil took him by surprise and charged again falling from above in a dive, perhaps by reflex the man tried again to stop it raising his hand, but the devil without reducing his speed brought the ship to the ground.
As the smoke dispersed, for the first time the cameras recorded a clear shot of the action. The UFO devil was standing in front of the wrecked ship. Two men emerged from it: one older, the one who had been fighting the devil, and another younger, late teen, who activated a blue laser. Both were battered by the impact but kept watch for the creature.
The UFO devil was preparing to attack when a pair of impacts knocked it down. Shots from the second ship, the one it had knocked off balance, hit it. The ship positioned next to the broken ship, and two more individuals dressed in the same attire as the first two emerged. The first person to appear was another human-like person. Makima considered that perhaps these aliens were simply humans from different planets. The man who jumped off the ship with a great leap was old, but athletic. He had long white hair and a beard, giving him the image of a wise magician. He positioned himself between the other two warriors, taking command.
The next person to get off the ship completely shattered Makima's theory. The next "Soldier," as she classified them because they wore the same uniform and carried the same lightsabers, was completely out of this world. His head was enormous, hairless, his skin beige, and two enormous, pitch-black eyes could be seen on his face. His body was more humanoid, but his alien head was very striking. His build was small, as if he were a recent teenager, but being a different species, it was difficult to determine. He positioned himself behind the other three soldiers, also carrying a lightsaber. The UFO devil threw a piece of trunk that he tore from the ground towards the formation of men, the man with the white beard made a gesture with his free hand and at that moment the trunk split into dozens of pointed pieces that remained floating in the air, the scene surprised everyone who was watching
"The ghost devil!" thought the high commands of the world powers, but Makima who understood the nature of the contracts knew that this was something different, something she had never seen before.
With another gesture of his hand, he sent all the wooden stakes flying toward the devil. Although it tried its best to dodge them, the devil was hit by several, leaving wounds on its body from which a kind of green blood flowed. The man made another gesture with his hand, but it had no effect.
"Master C'Baoth, it seems that the force does not affect the enemy."
The older man then raised his lightsaber. "Then we will be strategic, everyone, we will use Ataru."
The three soldiers also raised their lightsabers and charged at the creature. The speed and skills of these soldiers were impressive. The three younger ones aggressively attacked the devil, jumping and using acrobatics to close the distance. Every time the devil tried to fly away, feeling overwhelmed, C'Baoth intercepted him, throwing rocks or pieces of the destroyed ship at him with his skills, preventing him from escaping. The devil, although cornered, continued to defend fiercely. Little by little, itwas being overcome, but it wouldn't fall easily. At one point, he managed to land a massive blow against the small alien, who was thrown back by the impact but then got up to continue fighting, something that surprised Makima, since almost no devil hunter could have withstood that attack.
The three soldiers kept attacking constantly, several shining cuts marking the creature's body, even its tail had been cut off. C'Baoth watched with great care, stopping him at precise moments. The devil weakened with each passing second, with each cut and blow it received until itfinally left an opening. It was only two seconds, but more than enough for C'Baoth to propel himself forward like a fired arrow and with a single slash of his saber, cut the devil in two.
At the end of the battle, the 4 warriors put away their weapons, boarded the ship that was still working and retreated back into space, back to the mother ship outside the planet, the ship was barely leaving orbit when once again they launched a message to the world, in the same way as the previous time projections were seen all over the world and the signals transmitted the message which was fast and concise. The oldest of the warriors, whom Makima classified as their general or leader, spoke to the world:
"Due to the events that occurred during our visit, we have decided to change our approach to you. Tomorrow, a ship will land on Earth. You must decide on a representative to board our main ship. If the ship is attacked again, we will take it as an intentional and repeated attack, which will cause us to change our approach."
-
After the message ended, the Prime Minister of Japan quickly became agitated.
"Just one?! How are we supposed to organize ourselves to select a representative for tomorrow? Besides, those men had great skills. With just four soldiers, they defeated a devil who had been giving us trouble for a long time."
The man continued talking and arguing until he noticed Makima looking outside through the large window of the meeting room.
"Makima! What are we supposed to do now?"
The woman turned her face only, her bright eyes standing out more than usual in the backlight she was facing. She gave a slight, satisfied smile. Her tone was calm and light.
"It's coming." She said
The Prime Minister felt a chill, his hands turned cold, and a drop of sweat ran down his forehead.
"What's coming?"
Makima's face darkened, her expression unchanged as she continued to stare at the Prime Minister. The sky outside was darkening, and the earth was trembling slightly, increasing in intensity with each second.
"War"
That was the last thing the Prime Minister heard before he fell unconscious.
What happened next, the report would later present it as: "Within a 20-kilometer radius around the building where the prime minister was meeting with a close cabinet, a massive demonstration of various devils occurred due to the fear produced by the alien visit. First, the sky darkened as if night had fallen, a dense fog covered the area, and thousands of arms descended from the dark sky. These struck the ground with force, one after another, causing tremors in the ground and destroying everything in their path. The building where the prime minister was located was completely destroyed, and civilian casualties were enormous. The costliest for the country was the loss of almost 80% of its anti-devil forces. The massive attack in the area where the hunters were concentrated eliminated almost all of them, with only a few survivors."
The initial impact was so destructive that even Makima lost consciousness for a few seconds, when she came back to herself, she quickly stood up, surrounding her she could see destroyed ruins of what was once a commercial district, she took off her jacket that had been ripped and when she joined her hands and made a movement all the dust and mist around her dispersed allowing her to see the attacker a few meters in front of her. What rose up was a pile of demon parts. Makima could quickly notice parts of the doll devil, ghost, zombie, crab, and dozens of others.
The monster had a huge face, an old sinister grandmother's face, and long, black hair that covered what appeared to be its body, a body similar to that of a rhinoceros or hippopotamus. From the strands of hair emerged its limbs. It was there that most of the contract were shown: arms, pincers, claws, mantis legs, all moving differently, creating a hypnotic and terrifying spectacle. Makima looked at the enormous creature and, maintaining her expression, asked:
"Santa Claus?"
The creature said nothing, the mist behind them approaching again.
"How many people did you have to sacrifice to get so many contracts? Are you even there? Or has your conscience already been claimed?"
The creature's head turned like an owl's.
"I'm in control. Never before have so many people been sacrificed. I lost count during the process. I was just ecstatic about the death and the power I was receiving."
Makima turned her head slightly to the side. "And all that to just knock me out for two seconds?"
The atmosphere became oppressive. Santa Claus hid in the fog.
"You haven't seen anything I can do yet."
-
Kishibe walked alongside a scared Kobeni, who was crying because it seemed ridiculous to her that on her first day of work as a Devil Hunter, she had to watch all her colleagues die. They both ran into Aki and Himeno, both injured. Aki had a broken arm, and Himeno was bleeding from a wound on her shoulder.
"What is happening?" Aki asked Kishibe.
"I don't know, kid, but whatever comes of this will deffinitely change the world."
After answering, Kishibe took out his canteen and went to take a drink when a powerful gust of wind swept away all the fog, all the dust, and even the darkened area of the sky vanished along with the shockwave. The source was Makima herself, whose hair was disheveled and her shirt was bloody. In front of her was Santa Claus, the beast it had become, but with a hole in the center of its body, as if it had been pierced by something big, its body vanished into black smoke as itdied.
Then the sound of running footsteps was heard. Kishibe quickly turned to Makima and, upon seeing her, an expression of enormous surprise appeared on his face. Surrounding Makima were Quanxi, four of her, one at each cardinal point, each tightly holding a katana.
"Interesting," Makima said, seeing the situation she was in.
"I thought Russia had gone crazy, but Quanxi of China and… let me guess, the immortal brothers of the United States, in the end the international coalition did manage to unite in a plan."
The four Quanxi stood firm. Makima continued,
"A large-scale attack to weaken and then a direct assassination attempt, it's not a bad plan, but regardless of whether yousacrificed millions of persons, don't be mistaken, the blood on my shirt isn't mine."
Makima noticed how two of the Quanxi trembled a little.
"Quanxi, how is Cosmos? With the power she must have gained…"
The four of them rushed towards Makima with great speed, less than a second and Makima's body fell to the ground while her head rolled away, one of the Quanxi, the one to her north finally responded:
"Cosmos is in quarantine, because her power is out of control, I do this for her" then she put her katana in its case and heard:
"How bad she won't hear from you again"
Quanxi turned as quickly as she could and for a moment she saw Makima standing in front of her, her face covered in blood, only her bright eyes stood out, her hand simulated a weapon pointed at Quanxi.
"Bang"
Quanxi's body fell to the ground split in two, at the moment of her death the disguise of the immortal brothers fell apart, the expression of terror on their faces as they saw Makima, more than a person, like a beast with yellow eyes, the three turned to run for their lives and each one found the same thing, Makima pointing her hand in front of each of them, this time there were three.
"Bang"
—
The highly classified report presented the results this way:
"The international coalition of assassins spent 5 million lives in sacrifices and caused the deaths of 200,000 innocent civilians, and they failed to achieve their objectives. Makima used only four sacrifices, one for each decapitation during the battle, and did not eliminate any civilians; her five casualties were active-duty agents."
There was no longer any discussion about Japan's vast superiority; the superpowers had no choice but to defer the decision of who would represent the Earth to the Japanese prime minister, one of the few survivors of the massive terrorist attack. In gratitude for her services and for having saved his life during the attack, Makima won the right tobe the Earth's representative.
With the UFO devil dead there was no devil that could surprise them, the landing of the ship was safe, Makima moved to the meeting place accompanied by Kishibe and Kobeni, from the ship emerged the man she had considered their general.
C'baoth introduced himself and she did the same, the old man informed her that her two bodyguards could not attend.
"Don't worry, they will wait here for my return," She replied calmly, while the door of the ship closed to take off a winning Makima to this new universe.