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Chapter 187: The Gathering of Partners and the Final Target
Just as Shizuka finished her sentence, the other contracted partners also finished off their respective enemies and gathered around.
Minami Rika: The dark-skinned older sister snorted lightly and teased, "Mhm, I haven't seen you for a little bit, and you're already so impatient to get handsy with my little bad boy, Shizuka?" She dragged several tied-up Lower Rank demons with her.
Busujima Saeko: Saeko returned with a satisfied smile and the immense power her Reizan had absorbed after executing Kokushibo. She hadn't held back.
Takagi Yuriko: She brought back Rui, with three struggling, ferocious-looking demons desperately holding him down under her Undead Overture ability.
Takagi Saya: Saya looked grim. Because her opponent, Gyokko, was too disgusting and perverted, she had accidentally killed him instead of capturing him.
Miyamoto Rei: Looking even more miserable, Rei rested her Jumonji Yari on her shoulder with the brain-dead body of Lower Rank 1, Enmu, skewered on the end. Enmu's illusions had enraged her so much that she accidentally impaled him in the real world through the dreamscape.
Kocho Kanae & Kocho Shinobu: The last to arrive were the sisters, completing the gathering of contracted partners present at the Butterfly Mansion.
Among all the contracted partners present, Shinobu unquestionably had the smallest figure. Despite her young age, she possessed a flat chest with a supposedly promising future. Setting aside the fact that the defining trait of the women from the Highschool of the Dead world was their massive assets, she couldn't even compare to her adoptive younger sister, Tsuyuri Kanao, in this regard.
At this moment, the tiny Shinobu stood among a crowd of busty giants. She couldn't help but feel an absurd sense of déjà vu—like a husky that had accidentally wandered into a pack of wolves. She stood out like a sore thumb. Especially when she noticed that the women around her were all intentionally or unintentionally glancing at her, an inexplicable wave of awkwardness welled up in Shinobu's heart.
Among these contracted partners, the only ones she recognized were Marikawa Shizuka, who frequently stayed at the Butterfly Mansion with Tamayo, and Busujima Saeko, who occasionally taught breathing techniques to Nezuko and Mitsuri Kanroji alongside her sister Kanae.
"Sister?" Finally, Shinobu couldn't take it anymore and gently nudged Kanae, who was still teasing the imprisoned Muzan inside the glass tank like a pet.
"What is it, Shinobu?" Feeling her sister's nudge, Kanae immediately turned her head, looking at her with a soft, questioning gaze. Only then did she notice that the gazes of the surrounding girls were all focused on her younger sister.
Kanae smiled and greeted the sisters around her, "Good evening, everyone~ This is my younger sister, Shinobu. Kocho Shinobu." She then grabbed Shinobu's arm and pulled her in front, saying softly, "Shinobu, let me introduce you..."
"Introduce?" Shinobu was taken aback. Wait. So, her sister was implying that she knew all these women present? When did her sister's social circle become this wide?
Takagi Yuriko walked up to the Kocho sisters, evaluating Shinobu beside Kanae. She covered her mouth and chuckled, "So this is the little sister, Shinobu, you always talk about, Kanae? She really is as cute as you said."
"Of course," Kanae hugged Shinobu from behind, pressing her soft bosom against Shinobu's back, and said proudly. "My Shinobu is the cutest in the world. I accept no rebuttals."
However, right now, Shinobu was not in a very good mood. Bearing the gazes of the surrounding women, Shinobu felt like dying.
"Hello, little sister Shinobu. I'm Takagi Yuriko. It's very nice to meet you." Sensing Shinobu's awkwardness, Yuriko immediately reached out her hand.
Shinobu lightly shook Yuriko's hand with an awkward yet polite smile. "Hello, Ms. Takagi."
"No need to be a stranger. We're all good sisters here. If you don't mind, just call me Big Sister Yuriko," Yuriko patted Shinobu's hand warmly.
"Big... Big Sister Yuriko..." Faced with Yuriko's enthusiasm, Shinobu found it hard to refuse. She turned back to glance at her sister Kanae, seemingly worried she might mind. Kanae merely smiled at her.
Yuriko passionately held Shinobu's hand and first introduced all the women around them. After the introductions, she casually mentioned to Shinobu, "By the way, little sister Shinobu, we have an activity planned for later. Do you want to join us?"
Shinobu asked in confusion, "An activity?"
"Yes," Yuriko nodded. A meaningful smile curved on her lips as she curled a finger, secretly signaling Shinobu to lean closer.
Shinobu tilted her head, leaning her ear closer to Yuriko's mouth.
A sound like a boiling kettle whistling echoed in Shinobu's mind. Instantly, a deep crimson blush spread across Shinobu's face. What Yuriko told her was the plan she and the other contracted partners had agreed upon: to join forces and squeeze Suyan dry once the fighting was over. And now, she was inviting Shinobu to join them.
She gaped, looking up at Suyan in the distance as an indescribable, scorching heat washed over her entire body.
"Why is Shinobu's face suddenly so red? Though, a Shinobu like this is also very cute," Kanae pinched her cheek. She then turned to Yuriko and asked, "So what did you say to Shinobu? Can I hear it too, and maybe join in?"
Yuriko drawled unhurriedly, "Of course..."
But before Yuriko could finish, Shinobu shouted, stopping her, "Absolutely not!!"
"Eh? Why?" Kanae looked at her sister Shinobu, thoroughly confused. "But your big sister is really curious."
"Anyway, when I say no, it means no." Blushing furiously, Shinobu crossed her arms in a large 'X' over her chest. She knew exactly what kind of person her sister was. Just her and her sister were already her absolute limit. Any more... She truly couldn't imagine the scene.
Her request denied, Kanae immediately put on a tearful face and cried, "Shinobu is bullying her older sister again, I'm so hurt~"
"Is that so?" As the initiator of the squeeze-dry plan, Yuriko said, half-joking, half-serious, "That's truly a shame."
Hearing this, Shinobu immediately glared at her. She fully realized that Takagi Yuriko and her sister, Kocho Kanae, had exactly the same terrible personality. Shinobu tightened her grip on Kanae's arm once again, resolving to keep a very close eye on her tonight. Her main goal: I'm not going, but I'm not letting you go either.
However, after this exchange, Shinobu was no longer as stiff around the other contracted partners.
Quite some time passed, until Suyan took all the trophies the contracted partners had brought back and conjured individual glass cylindrical tanks to imprison them.
"Alright." Suyan clapped his hands, admiring his masterpiece lined up in a row. He addressed the women, "Keep an eye on these guys for me. I'll be right back."
Kanae poked Suyan's back and asked curiously, "Where are you going, Suyan? Aren't you going to deal with Muzan first?"
"We'll talk about that later. There's still an Upper Rank 4 I need to take care of." Suyan waved his hand, as a crimson arc of lightning crackled around his body.
With a flash of lightning, Suyan vanished, arriving in a heavily damaged room. On the floor, a wooden fusuma door was bizarrely positioned on the ground, forcibly kept open by a massive clump of Nen. This was Suyan's handiwork to suppress Nakime's Blood Demon Art and prevent her from opening a second portal to the Infinity Castle.
Now, only Nakime remained. Her ability to manipulate the Infinity Castle was incredibly broken—practically on par with a knock-off version of Greed Island. Suyan glanced at the portal on the ground and jumped down without a second thought.
Twang!
A sharp biwa note echoed. Immediately after, the entire Infinity Castle began to shift rapidly. Grinding gears and slamming doors signaled that Nakime was actively trying to stop his approach. Suyan could clearly sense her aura rapidly distancing itself from him.
However, it was all in vain.
The next second, crimson ripples flared outward. Lightning flashed, detonating in the air with a series of deafening crackles. Wherever the lightning passed, all obstacles Nakime controlled were blown to pieces.
Soon, Suyan laid eyes on Nakime, sitting on her knees in the deepest depths of the Infinity Castle, holding a biwa. On the surface, she gave off a quiet, demure vibe. However, the moment Suyan drew near, her bangs parted, revealing a terrifyingly large, single eye covering her face.
Twang!
Nakime tried to strum her biwa to struggle. Suyan didn't waste time dawdling with her; he simply teleported directly in front of her. With one strike, he slapped away the biwa. His right hand clamped tightly over her head, applying slight pressure as he threatened, "Die, or hand over your Blood Demon Art! Make your choice!!"
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