Wild laughter echoed through the room. Kuroka Toujou looked at the man before her with a grave expression. Sunlight streamed through the private room's window, filtering past his fingernails and falling across his face, giving off an inexplicable pressure.
"Haha... This is just too funny."
Cid wiped the tears from the corner of his eye with his index finger, then looked up at Kuroka Toujou with keen interest.
"You... really think the Red Dragon Emperor is connected to Shadow?"
His voice was low, carrying a strange charm. Though he wore a gentle smile, the coldness in his eyes still sent a shiver through Kuroka Toujou.
"...I can't be certain, but based on the mystic rule that dragons attract mysteries, so many powerful figures appearing on the island right after the Red Dragon Emperor issued a challenge to the White Dragon Emperor should make it almost certain."
Unlike her earlier act, Kuroka Toujou truly hesitated this time. She carefully considered her knowledge of mysticism before stating the basis for her conclusion.
"Hehehe... Let me give you a hint..."
Cid kept letting out barely suppressed laughter as the hand stroking Delta's back moved to Delta's head, petting her like a cat.
"The name of the woman who attacked both the Church warriors and the Devils... is Delta."
His gentle voice brought Kuroka Toujou the greatest shock. Her gaze snapped toward Delta's silly face as Delta made uncomfortable "gugu" sounds from having her head stroked like a cat.
If Delta was the woman who attacked the Church warriors and the Devils, then Cid, the one Delta kept calling Boss, was...
"Splash..."
The sound of droplets colliding reached Kuroka Toujou's ears. At some point, the floor of the entire room had been covered in pitch-black slime liquid, and an immense pressure filled the room.
"Could it be... you're..."
Her voice trembled as Kuroka Toujou stared in disbelief at the black-haired man before her. She had guessed that the Boss Delta spoke of would be strong, but for his true identity to be Shadow... She still could not believe her luck was this good, allowing her to encounter two legendary world's strongest figures in such a short time.
"Shh..."
He placed a finger in front of his lips in a gesture for silence, and blue-violet magical power appeared at his fingertip, forming a circle.
"Delta has been in your care these past few days. Take this as your reward."
His low voice sounded, and blue-violet light shot from his fingertip, rising upward.
It exploded near the ceiling, turning into countless particles of light that merged into everyone present.
Well, except Delta.
Seeing Delta open her mouth wide and stick out her tongue to catch the falling particles of light, completely ruining the mood in the room, Cid suddenly wondered whether replacing Delta with Zeta would have been better.
"Ah... This familiar sight reminds me of when I first met Shadow-sama and learned the truth of the world."
"You have never abandoned your devout followers. We were the ones whose steps were too slow, unable to keep up even with the pace you deliberately slowed for us. Truly... I am so sorry."
The instant the blue magical power exploded, Victoria dropped to one knee. Her body trembled as she watched the blue light merge into herself, a line of clear tears falling from her eyes. Her voice held unimaginable pain and grief.
"...So... does this mean I've officially joined Cid-sama's command and become your subordinate? This really is a little sudden."
Feeling the new sphere inside her body, similar to the Infinite Dragon God's "Snake," Kuroka Toujou shook her head with a bitter smile. She was not stupid. After analyzing what the pink-gold-haired woman kneeling beside her had said, she had already guessed what this thing represented.
"...It is only a reward. Don't think too much of it."
"My, my. Cid-sama, your personality really does resemble that Infinite Dragon God's. But when it comes to the loyalty of your subordinates... there is quite a difference."
Kuroka Toujou spoke with a sigh as she watched Delta's eyes turn cold, a look that only appeared when Delta entered hunting mode. At the same time, the madness suddenly radiating from Victoria brought her a fatal sense of danger. Kuroka had no doubt that if she chose to refuse, the moment Cid left would be the moment she died.
What the hell. She was not surprised that Delta could make her feel threatened. After all, once Delta developed killing intent, almost no one could escape. Delta's hunting ability was maxed out.
But why could the pink-gold-haired woman kneeling beside her also make her feel in danger? She was clearly a small fry who could be dealt with in just a few moves!
"In that case, there is only one answer."
Imitating Victoria, Kuroka Toujou half-knelt toward Cid and Delta, placing one hand over her chest.
"I pledge my loyalty to you."
As she knelt and said those words, the two killing intents wrapped around her receded. Kuroka Toujou let out a breath of relief. Being targeted by a wild wolf with maxed-out hunting ability did not leave her thinking she had much chance of survival.
Beautiful work, Victoria-chan.
Cid gave Victoria an approving look. Delta's foolish behavior had ruined the atmosphere earlier, and he had thought the act was about to fail. But thanks to Victoria's praise, the mood in the room had been restored at once.
"Heh. You only need to take good care of Delta. I have no interest in anything else about you."
Cid chuckled softly, putting on an air of complete indifference toward Kuroka Toujou's loyalty.
"If that is Shadow-sama's first order to his subordinate, then I think I can carry it out very easily. After all, that was already my job in the team."
Kuroka Toujou looked confident, and she was not lying. Because cats and dogs were naturally incompatible, she was the one Delta bullied in the team. That much was clear from the fact that everyone else was treated as a subordinate, while she alone was treated as a servant.
She had even considered running away back then. Fortunately, Delta was an idiot, so she could not come up with any real ways to bully people. Pinning Kuroka beneath her only happened when Delta was in a bad mood and needed to vent, and the harassment was limited to matters related to serving Delta.
In a sense, as the one who took care of Delta in daily life, she and Delta were actually the closest pair in the team.
Chapter 197: Shadow's Great Plan. Kuroka Toujou Joins
"Mm... Shadow-sama, since we were the ones who attacked the Church warriors and the Devils last night, does that mean the matter of the Red Dragon Emperor has nothing to do with what happened last night?"
Kuroka Toujou used "we" very naturally to refer to Delta and Cid. Since she had already decided to swear loyalty to Cid, she naturally began thinking from his perspective.
Kuroka Toujou did not really mind this half-forced submission. For one thing, she had originally planned to follow Delta and find the Boss behind her to have children with him. For another, being the Nekomata of one of the world's strongest was nothing to be ashamed of. Plenty of people would want that position and never find a way in.
Although all five of the world's strongest were universally hated and had drawn the full hostility of every major faction, the fact that they could offend everyone and still live just fine showed how much weight the title of world's strongest carried.
As for why she did not go to the Infinite Dragon God?
Forget it. That was a thankless path. The Infinite Dragon God did not care about her subordinates at all. People all over the world who had absorbed the Infinite Dragon God's "Snake" had been killed, but had anyone ever seen the Infinite Dragon God act on their behalf?
She could go ask the Infinite Dragon God for a "Snake" right now, but the price would be becoming a target for every major faction. The cost and reward were completely out of balance.
Compared to the Infinite Dragon God, Shadow, standing right in front of her, was practically kind and approachable. Delta had been this outrageous and still had not been killed.
"Whether the red dragon is surrounded by ugly black spots, even I cannot say. The pure, beautiful moonlight has long since covered the pitch-black darkness."
Cid narrowed his eyes and shook his head, an inscrutable smile on his face.
"B-but, my lord, didn't you say this curse incident was planned by you? Why can't even you investigate it?"
Kuroka Toujou blinked, wondering if she was not trusted. Right now, almost the entire outside world believed Shadow was the mastermind behind the black spot incident, but now the supposed mastermind was saying he did not know.
"The great net of fate was woven from the very beginning. The gifts bestowed were already marked with their price in the shadows. There is no need to dwell on it. Time will give the answer."
Cid's eyes lit up, and he gave Kuroka Toujou an approving look. She could actually keep up with his cryptic train of thought. She really was a master at reading too much into things.
"..."
What is this man talking about? Why don't I understand?
Kuroka Toujou blinked blankly. She instinctively wanted to ask what he meant, but when she saw Victoria beside her looking as if she understood, she could not say anything.
What was with this atmosphere where she was the only one who could not keep up?
"...I see. I never imagined that not only is Cid-sama's strength unmatched under heaven, even your wisdom is unrivaled in the world. As expected of the legendary Shadow-sama."
After a brief silence, Kuroka Toujou acted as if she had understood and looked at Cid with admiration.
Since she did not know what it meant, she would just pretend she understood and flatter him. In any case, all she needed to know was that Shadow was amazing.
Cid narrowed his eyes and put on a profound expression, while quietly glancing at Kuroka Toujou. He was not entirely sure whether Kuroka Toujou had really imagined something from that. Why did he smell the scent of a kindred spirit on her?
"Since all of this is part of Cid-sama's plan, should I tell my former teammates about it?"
Afraid that her pretending to understand would be exposed, Kuroka Toujou hurriedly changed the topic.
"Former teammates... You really are..."
Cid did not notice Kuroka Toujou's intent. Instead, he was a little shocked by how quickly she had changed sides.
"There's an old saying back east: a wise person knows when to read the room. And I, Kuroka Toujou, am nothing if not loyal once I've chosen a side."
"Although I got along with them well enough, now that I have pledged loyalty to you, my lord, I will naturally think from your perspective."
Besides, they really would not care whether I left the team or not.
When Kuroka Toujou thought of those teammates of hers, the corner of her mouth could not help twitching. Other than the Witch who had chased after her brother out of worry and had a relatively normal personality, the rest all had the twisted thought processes of lunatics.
To introduce Delta and Kuroka Toujou's teammates:
Vali, possessor of the White Dragon Emperor Longinus, praised as the strongest White Dragon Emperor, and the adopted son of the Fallen Angel Governor-General Azazel.
Bikou, a Youkai from the East, practically the strongest among the younger generation of Youkai, and a descendant of Sun Wukong the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Arthur, wielder of Caliburn and Excalibur Ruler, a descendant of the legendary King Arthur and heir to the royal family.
As for why people with both backgrounds and talent had run off to become terrorists... it was because they wanted to challenge the strong people of the world.
To be honest, Kuroka Toujou thought they were all insane. If she had that kind of background, she would have to be out of her mind to run off and become a terrorist.
"Ha..."
Kuroka Toujou's performance amused Cid, and he laughed outright.
"Interesting, very interesting. Tell me what you think. It seems you don't want to tell Delta's... subordinates this information?"
Cid stopped laughing and stared straight at Kuroka Toujou with deep eyes, exposing her true thoughts in one sentence. Only at the end, when describing Kuroka Toujou's teammates, did he sound somewhat hesitant.
"My thoughts truly cannot be hidden from my lord. Although Delta said earlier that we were her subordinates, in truth, our squad's relationship is more like an adventuring party cooperating with one another."
"Although we get along well, there is no particular reason we have to stay together. If I tell them your identity, my lord, I worry they may get carried away and ruin your great plan..."
Kuroka Toujou analyzed everything from her teammates' possible reactions to the identities behind them, one by one, and Cid nodded in agreement.
"Ding-dong..."
The sound of a message from the phone on the table interrupted Kuroka Toujou's report. Cid raised an eyebrow, picked it up, then chuckled and waved the screen at Kuroka Toujou.
"It's been interesting listening to you, but unfortunately, I have to go now. In that case, I'll leave everything to you. Handle it as you see fit."
With that, Cid tapped Delta on the head.
"Delta, do you want to come with me, or go out and play for a while? I'll take you home tonight."
"Delta wants to go with Bo..."
Before Delta could finish, Cid pressed both hands against her cheeks to stop her from continuing.
"Let me make this clear first. If you choose to come with me, you'll have to stay in one place and keep quiet all afternoon."
"Uh... D-Delta..."
Once she realized she would not be able to move around freely, Delta immediately got stuck. A lively Doggie did not want to stay quiet.
"Fine. When you've had enough fun, follow my scent and find me. You can do that, right?"
"Mm. Delta can do it."
Cid smiled and gave Delta's head one last rub before standing and walking toward the door. At the last moment, he stopped and looked at Kuroka Toujou.
"Oh, remember to keep my true identity secret. I haven't had enough fun yet."
"Ah, Shadow-sama..."
Victoria knelt on the floor to see Cid off, gazing at his retreating back in obsession. A soft murmur escaped her lips, and an inexplicable blush spread across her face.