After the heart devouring last night, there was an additional ability.
That was to add a gatekeeper to Midnight Diner.
Hayashi was aware of Pochita's information.
Now that the Chainsaw Demon's Source Heart had been devoured, Pochita had become useless.
But for Pochita, this might still be a good thing.
Because Pochita's original intention was never to become a demon.
It preferred to live in a warm, happy, and embracing environment, not Hell.
So after Hayashi devoured Pochita's source,
Maybe Pochita would even thank him, for escaping the endless cycle of the Chainsaw Demon.
"Let's see."
Hayashi went to the balcony, used his ability, and released the powerless Pochita.
"Come out, Pochita."
The next moment.
A small, oval-shaped figure flew out.
Its appearance was strange.
It looked like a dog, with a chainsaw tail, a horizontal handle on its head, and a tiny chainsaw for a nose.
Its body was orange, and it looked somewhat cute.
Pochita, the original Chainsaw Demon.
But now, no one would remember it as the original Chainsaw Demon.
They would only think it was a strange-looking, cute dog.
"Pochita."
"Woof woof~"
Hayashi called out to Pochita.
As expected.
Pochita was filled with gratitude for Hayashi.
It lay on the ground, nodded at Hayashi to show its appreciation, and barked a few times.
Hayashi used his ability to listen.
After losing its power, Pochita could now die normally, and wouldn't enter the cycle anymore, avoiding endless suffering.
It really didn't want to keep going through the endless cycle!
"Sigh..." Hayashi crouched down and gently patted Pochita's head. "You've had it rough, Pochita."
"Woof~"
Pochita signaled that it was okay, and that it would soon be over.
Since its life, its dreams, were far out of reach, it might as well die.
Looking at Pochita.
Hayashi thought for a moment and took out a box of cookies.
"Want to try, Pochita?"
Pochita looked at the cookies, took a bite, then widened its eyes, quickly finishing the rest.
Hayashi squatted down, looking at Pochita with a smile.
"If you always have food like this, you won't need to keep reincarnating. All you have to do is guard the door for me, help with things. Would you want to keep living, Pochita?"
Pochita thought for a while and nodded.
"Woah~!"
It was willing. This was its way of thanking Hayashi.
But it told Hayashi that it was about to die, and it couldn't guard the door for much longer.
Hayashi smiled, "You don't need to worry about that. You'll be reborn, Pochita."
With that, Hayashi used his system's abilities to add Pochita to the guard dog team for the Midnight Diner.
The next moment,
Pochita's entire body glowed orange for a brief second.
Everything was different now.
Hayashi stroked Pochita, feeling its remarkable texture.
Pochita squinted its eyes, contentedly leaning against his hand.
At the moment of contact, a stream of information came through.
From now on, Hayashi would control Pochita entirely.
Unlike ordinary employees.
The gatekeeper employees are fully under Hayashi's control.
If Hayashi wanted, the five senses, consciousness, thoughts, and even the "concept of existence" would be at his command.
Similarly, Pochita's strength returned in part.
It gained a portion of Hayashi's power as the new Chainsaw Devil, along with proportional physical strength—perhaps even stronger!
"Interesting, so this is complete control."
No wonder Makima was so powerful in the end.
If not for plot constraints, Makima, once fully controlled, would have been terrifyingly strong. Everyone would have died before she did.
Hayashi couldn't stop liking Pochita more as he watched it.
He raised Pochita in his hands.
Pochita looked at Hayashi and affectionately called out.
"Woof~!"
Upon hearing the sound, Hayashi laughed.
"Hahaha, that's quite a weird bark, but it sounds nice."
Pochita's bark was a "woof," not the traditional bark.
The sound was cuter and more pleasant.
"Do you feel it, Pochita? From now on, you'll be part of my family."
"Woah~!" Pochita was excited.
Hayashi gently placed Pochita down.
Thud
The bedroom door opened nearby.
Tohru rubbed her eyes, dragging her big tail, sleepily walking out.
"Hayashi-san, why do I hear barking?"
Tohru turned her head.
She saw Hayashi looking at her.
Pochita, now at Hayashi's feet, tilted its head at her.
"!?" Tohru's eyes lit up as she ran over, lifting Pochita. "Such a cute dog! Hayashi-san, where did it come from?"
Where did it come from...
Hayashi wasn't sure how to express it.
After a moment's thought, he used a classic line from his parents: "Found it in the trash can."
"?!" Tohru actually believed him.
"The person who threw it away must be a terrible person!" Tohru held Pochita and petted it. "What's its name?"
"Pochita," Hayashi confirmed.
"Pochita, sounds nice."
Pochita could feel Tohru's kindness, and it woofed a few times in response.
As expected, Tohru cheered, "So cute!"
After a moment, Tohru suddenly looked worried.
"Hayashi-san, what will happen to it? Should it stay at the shop?" Tohru asked, her eyes hopeful.
"It was already decided it would stay," Hayashi smiled. "Pochita is smart. It'll guard the shop."
"Yay, that's great!"
Tohru cheered while lifting Pochita.
Pochita hadn't expected happiness to come so quickly.
Why had it wanted to die?
It was because it didn't have this warmth, kindness, or the feeling of being embraced.
The identity of the Chainsaw Devil, the life in hell, the endless reincarnation—those were tortures for Pochita.
So, even with just a little bit of kindness from Hayashi,
Pochita felt it was too beautiful, full of hope for the future.
And Tohru too, she thought Pochita was so cute and was full of kindness toward it.
For a moment, Pochita couldn't help but shed a tear.
"Mm?" Tohru looked at the tears and panicked. "Hayashi-san, why is Pochita crying?"
"It's nothing, just moved," Hayashi looked at Pochita and smiled. "Its past life was very tough."
"Really? Then Pochita is so pitiful."
"Mm, let's go downstairs and feed it something."
"Okay!"
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