The instant the voice rang out, the hammer formed from the Slime Suit withdrew. Cid stood expressionlessly to the side, watching as the tail-wagging Therianthrope charged at him with astonishing momentum. Delta slammed into him, and the force sent him tumbling to the ground, rolling several times.
In that moment, Cid remembered his past life, when he had charged at a jeep, gotten run over, and ended up in the hospital. Although the damage Delta caused him now was practically zero, the act of hitting the ground and rolling around in such a sorry state still brought back memories of those wonderful days.
"Grrr… grrr…"
To keep Delta from unleashing a powerful burst of Magical Power and drawing attention, Cid used "petting" the moment they fell, calming the restless Delta down.
"Gr, Bo…"
"You can't call me that in front of outsiders, and you can't expose my true strength."
As Delta's owner, Cid could already predict what she was about to say. That title absolutely could not leave Delta's mouth. The little cat was still right there.
"Awooo… Cid, Delta wants a feast."
"…What feast?"
Cid blinked and asked back without thinking.
"Yesterday, Bo… Cid promised Delta that if Delta stood still, Cid would treat Delta to a super feast."
He remembered now. Something like that had happened.
Nodding as if realization had just struck him, Cid recalled that yesterday, in order to get Delta to help him pose, he had indeed promised to treat her to food.
"Uh… Delta, look. Didn't I already buy you lunch at noon? That was the feast I meant."
"Delta doesn't want that feast. Delta wants a big bone with meat on it. That's what Cid promised Delta."
Grabbing Cid by the shoulders, Delta heard that Cid intended to brush her off with a plate of char siu and immediately started shaking him up and down with force.
"Delta, I know you're upset, but you need to understand. Back then, I only said I'd treat you to a feast. You added the big bone with meat yourself. I never agreed to that.
Besides, your Boss has been a little tight on money lately, so Delta, you've got to be more understanding. One plate of char siu is already about enough."
While Delta shook him up and down, Cid wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and tried to talk his way out of it in a way Delta could understand.
"Boss is trying to trick Delta again?"
As she said that, Delta even tilted her head in a vacant, innocent way. Her pure eyes were filled with anger, and her mouth puffed into an aggrieved pout.
"…"
Cid fell silent. Under Delta's gaze, he actually felt the conscience he had already fed to the dogs begin to ache faintly.
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll treat you to a big bone with meat on it."
Sighing inwardly, Cid promised to take Delta out for a feast tomorrow. She was his own silly dog, after all. He would just keep raising her like this.
"Yay! Kuroka, Cid is going to treat Delta tomorrow…"
After getting a definite answer, Delta excitedly threw both arms into the air and cheered. She was about to turn around and call out to her little follower, only to suddenly freeze.
"Cid, what are they doing?"
Looking at the black-cat older sister and the white-cat little girl staring at each other in front of her, Delta asked in confusion.
"Shh… Don't move, Delta. My instincts tell me this is going to be a great show."
Cid grabbed Delta by the tail and pulled her over to his side, watching the confrontation between Kuroka Toujou and Koneko Toujou with keen interest. As someone who loved watching trouble unfold and only ever complained that the spectacle was too small, this kind of scene was exactly what he liked best.
Incidentally, although the commotion Cid and Delta had just caused had been quite loud, Koneko Toujou had not heard a thing. That included the "Boss" Delta had shouted when she charged at him.
Since Cid was standing behind Koneko Toujou, there was no doubt he had heard the sound before she did. All he had to do was react the instant he heard it, using Magical Power to remove the air from the six to seven centimeters around the surface of Koneko's body. With the medium for sound transmission gone, the sound naturally could not reach Koneko Toujou's ears. At most, she would feel a pulling sensation around her body.
Kuroka silently watched the chaos going on behind Koneko Toujou without a single sound reaching her. Then, when everything finally settled, she saw Cid looking at her with an expression that clearly said he was here for the show. The corner of Kuroka Toujou's mouth twitched. Why did she feel like this new boss of hers was enjoying her predicament?
"Are… are you here to see me? Kuroka… Nee-san."
After staring at Kuroka Toujou for a moment, Koneko Toujou spoke with a hint of unease.
Because she had been completely absorbed in her own thoughts before, and because Delta tackling Cid had just happened to fall into a blind spot in her view, Koneko Toujou had not noticed at all that Kuroka Toujou had not been looking at her.
"Long time no see, Shirone."
The corner of Kuroka's mouth twitched, but she still forced herself to greet her younger sister.
To be honest, meeting her younger sister at this particular moment also gave Kuroka Toujou a headache. She had thought about taking her sister away, but she understood her current situation very well. She was being hunted by Cao Cao's faction, and as someone in the Khaos Brigade, she had drawn the hostility of all the major powers.
When she had followed Delta and spotted Koneko Toujou just now, she had even wondered whether she should hide. In the end, however, she had braced herself and stayed where she was. She had seen the scene of Cid's giant hammer looming behind Koneko Toujou.
"…It really has been a long time. So why are you here?"
The tremor in Koneko Toujou's voice showed how nervous she was, but the anger within it also made clear how furious she was with Kuroka Toujou.
This really is some juicy drama!
Cid clamped a hand over Delta's mouth just as she opened it to say something, and the excitement on his face grew even stronger.
"Oh my, Shirone, don't think so badly of your Nee-san. Your beautiful Nee-san simply wanted to come see her adorable little sister.
Speaking of which… you're already this age, and you still haven't mastered the power of Senjutsu? Looks like your master hasn't treated you all that well, Shirone. Don't worry. Once Nee-san takes you away, I'll teach you how to use this power you were born with.
See how good I am to you, Shirone? Are you so moved that you want to leave with Nee-san right away?"
And honestly, I feel like you should be thanking me. If I hadn't arrived in time just now, Shirone, my new boss would have knocked you out and made you into a sex slave.
A thin mist spread from her hands, covering the entire alley. With a constant smile on her face, Kuroka Toujou smoothly picked up from Koneko Toujou's words. Her manner was so natural, without the slightest trace of guilt, that no one could tell she had been grumbling about Cid in her head just a moment earlier.
"I won't!"
Koneko Toujou's emotions flared. As she looked at Kuroka Toujou, her eyes were filled with anger.
"You're the one who left me behind back then. I finally found a new family, so what right do you have to take me away? I'm not leaving, and I don't need that dark power either."
"Oh my, oh my. I can't just pretend I didn't hear you call Senjutsu a dark power. It looks like the Devils have said quite a lot of bad things about me. I suppose educating you after I take you away is going to be troublesome, Shirone.
But before that, I'll have to convince you to come with me willingly. Shirone, why don't you guess what kind of method I came up with?"
Her fists clenched.
Kuroka narrowed her eyes.
If before she had only meant to prepare Koneko Toujou for the idea that she would eventually take her away, now Kuroka Toujou had truly decided to drag Koneko Toujou off no matter what.
If Koneko stayed with the Devils any longer, there really would be no undoing this. "Senjutsu is a dark power." Did she dare say that over in the East?
A bunch of Devils slandering orthodox Senjutsu as a dark power. Who would believe that if it got out? Kuroka had originally intended to let Koneko stay with the Devils a while longer, but now it seemed that remaining in the Underworld would only hold Koneko Toujou back.
Black Magical Power surged from Kuroka Toujou's body and formed an aura around her. White Qi, Senjutsu, gathered in Kuroka Toujou's hands. The two energies intertwined, creating a massive force.
She paid no mind to Cid and Delta behind her. It was obvious that Cid wanted to watch the show, and Kuroka Toujou knew that expression all too well. After all, she wore the same look whenever she found something amusing. In other words, a cat toying with a mouse.
A powerful surge of Qi poured out of Kuroka Toujou and enveloped Koneko Toujou. That powerful Qi stirred the Senjutsu ability inside Koneko Toujou, causing an immense amount of Qi to well up from within her body.
But because Koneko refused to use Senjutsu, the two currents of Qi clashed and tangled inside her, making her feel as if she had been submerged underwater, unable to breathe. She tried to use Magical Power to disperse the Qi, but the channels for using Magical Power had already been completely occupied by Qi.
Since she could tell her new boss only wanted to enjoy the spectacle and had no intention of stepping in, Kuroka Toujou naturally had no reason to hold back. It worked out perfectly, since she was irritated too. Just who did Shirone think she had defected for back then?
"Let me think. I remember your current master is Rias, from the Gremory family of the Underworld, right?"
Kuroka Toujou slowly walked toward Koneko Toujou, her increasingly terrifying pressure bearing down on her. The black-and-white aura around her neck turned into a giant hand and lifted Koneko Toujou high into the air.
"Kuroka Nee-san, what… are you trying to do?"
Struggling in midair, Koneko Toujou's eyes widened as she stared at Kuroka Toujou and forced out the question.
"If you refuse to come with me, Koneko, then I'll kill every last one of those so-called family members of yours. First your friends, then your master, Rias. Believe me, I'm perfectly capable of doing it."
Kuroka Toujou slowly came to a stop in front of Koneko Toujou. Even with Koneko suspended in the air, Kuroka was still tall enough to look her straight in the eye. The illusion hidden within those cat-like vertical pupils filled Koneko with fear from the bottom of her heart.
"Boom!"
A white swirl of Qi formed around Koneko's hand. With a heavy punch, she shattered the Magical Power binding her. Even after breaking free, the momentum of her fist did not fade, and she swung it straight at Kuroka Toujou in front of her.
The attack caught Kuroka Toujou off guard. Even though she blocked it in time, Koneko Toujou's immense strength as a "Rook" still sent her flying several meters back.
"What's this…"
Even after being knocked away, Kuroka Toujou did not look angry. She lowered the arms she had used to block and instead smiled excitedly at Koneko Toujou.
"And here I thought you'd rather let your family die than use Senjutsu, Shirone. So? This Qi, the power rooted in life itself, feels pretty easy to use, doesn't it?"
There was relief in her voice. Seeing her younger sister use the Qi she had sent into her to strengthen her body with Senjutsu almost perfectly made Kuroka Toujou even happier than Koneko herself.
No, Koneko Toujou was not happy about using this new power at all. In fact, the moment she heard Kuroka Toujou's words, her face stiffened for a second. A moment later, she took up a fighting stance, watching Kuroka Toujou warily while turning her head slightly.
"Cid-senpai, run. I…"
Her words suddenly got stuck halfway through. Looking at the person and dog messing around beside her, Koneko knew this was not the time, yet the sight was so out of place that her brain briefly stopped working.
"Ahaha, Koneko, let me introduce you. This is a friend I met a few days ago. She just suddenly showed up."
Realizing he had been caught watching the show, Cid quickly laughed awkwardly and explained. At the same time, he tightened his grip on Delta's tail, signaling Delta to keep her mouth shut.
"…Never mind. Cid-senpai, I'll use Senjutsu to break through the mist in a moment. Run as soon as I do. I'll hold off Kuroka Nee-san and that person."
Although she was confused, this was still a fight. Just focusing entirely on guarding against Kuroka Toujou was already putting enormous pressure on Koneko Toujou, so she quickly pushed her doubts aside and decided to use Senjutsu to break through the Senjutsu barrier, allowing Cid to escape.
"Um… Koneko, I think we could actually sit down and talk this out. Why does it have to come to fighting and killing? Isn't she your sister?"
Where is that confidence coming from, Koneko-chan?
Although Cid did not use Senjutsu, he understood the "Core" of life, so when it came to Senjutsu, he could at least pass as a keyboard Senjutsu expert.
Judging from the current situation, even a conservative estimate put Kuroka Toujou's chances at capturing Koneko Toujou alive within five moves. As for sending him out, unless Kuroka Toujou deliberately held back, there was no point even thinking about it. The difference in the amount of Qi was already overwhelming.
"No, Cid, you don't understand. Kuroka Nee-san really will kill you and President Rias. You have to escape now and tell President Rias about this. Don't worry, Kuroka Nee-san won't kill me."
Koneko kept her eyes fixed on Kuroka Toujou as she secretly gathered strength and spoke to Cid.
She did not know why Kuroka Nee-san was not attacking, but she did not mind dragging things out like this until she was confident she could open a hole.
"Kuroka is going to kill Cid? That's rebellion! Delta will take Kuroka and guh…"
With her head empty, Delta only understood that Kuroka Toujou was going to kill Cid. She immediately tried to leap out and take Kuroka Toujou down, only to go limp when Cid scratched her belly at a speed Koneko Toujou could not see.
"Shirone, Nee-san suddenly thinks this very handsome young man makes a lot of sense. Fine, fine. I won't fight you."
Kuroka Toujou withdrew her attack stance and smiled sweetly, using the sleeve of her kimono to cover half her face as she spoke.
Kuroka Toujou had panicked just now. Koneko Toujou had nearly gotten her killed. Was this a joke? The two sisters were the weakest people present. At most, she could run away from Delta, and that was not even mentioning the fact that Shadow was her new boss.
"Since we're not fighting anymore, let's have a proper talk."
With a snap of her fingers, the scenery around them changed into a magnificent hall. Kuroka Toujou made an inviting gesture and waited until Cid had taken a seat before sitting down herself.