Chapter 74: What the Waves Say

At Angel Devil's bedside, Aki has already shared his vision of what is coming. Angel Devil asks the point of telling him if the future cannot be altered. Aki replies that the loss of both arms may see the bureau dispose of him, so he and Kishibe have drafted a recommendation letter that would move Angel Devil into Public Safety work. When Angel Devil raises Aki's name as a devil-hater, Aki abruptly mentions that the Gun Devil hunt starts tomorrow and that they might not meet again. Angel Devil, tormented in sleep by the humans whose years he has consumed, pledges to do anything to keep Aki from dying, and proposes they seek Makima's counsel.

Walking together, Angel Devil tells Aki to flee and shed his whole life to escape death, but Aki will not, naming Denji, Power, and Makima as what keeps him there. The mention of Makima surprises Angel Devil, who asks what Aki sees in her; Aki, spotting and waving at Makima on a beach, privately wonders the same thing.

Asked why she stands on the sand, Makima answers that she waits. Aki recounts the vision and pleads that Power and Denji be spared. Guilt over his brother's death pushes him to swear he will bind himself to any devil to stop it. Holding his gaze, Makima offers to be that partner, lending him strength in trade for the whole of himself, then orders him to accept. Looking on, Angel Devil recognizes the beach as where he was first discovered, taken in by a kind community and the woman he loved who loved him too, until Makima came, made him unleash his power, and left him waking with the entire village drained. He whirls in horror as Aki agrees to her contract.

Aki and Kishibe arrange a Public Safety transfer to keep the armless Angel Devil from being put down. Angel Devil urges Aki to run, but Aki stays for Denji, Power, and Makima. A flashback restores Angel Devil's memory of Makima forcing him to drain his entire home village years before. Ignoring that warning, Aki forms a contract with Makima, surrendering himself in exchange for power to protect his friends.

The chapter sits in the Gun Devil arc and Volume 9. Angel Devil's recovered memory exposes Makima's long pattern of using and discarding devils. Aki's pact with her is the decisive move toward the very vision he is trying to prevent.