When Lancer walked out of the building leading a green-haired toddler, he paused for a moment. He happened to see Sakura Kyoko sitting cross-legged on the hood of the car with her arms crossed (despite having no chest to speak of).
'Why hasn't this brat left yet? Didn't Olga already untie the ropes for her?'
On the other side, although Sakura Kyoko held her head high with pride, no one noticed that her hands, tucked under her armpits, were trembling slightly.
Despite being tied up, she hadn't lost her magical power, so she could naturally sense Lancer movements inside the building. For instance, she sensed him circling the entire place like a headless fly at first. But even including that time, he had dealt with the "Witch" in less than half an hour.
She knew how complex a Witch's Barrier could be; even with the special sensory abilities of a magical girl's Soul Gem, it wasn't that easy to find the core. As for an ordinary person, they'd likely have to rely on luck or just smash their way through.
Looking at Lancer face, she could tell he wasn't the type of "lucky seal" who lived off his looks.
'Does that mean it took him less than half an hour even while smashing his way through? Terrifying.'
Undoubtedly, Sakura Kyoko had miscalculated Lancer combat strength, but she wasn't entirely wrong—after all, Lancer still had a few trump cards he hadn't revealed.
As Lancer approached, she was torn over what to do. Should she stay tough like she was with Olga Marie, or just give in and admit defeat? No! She, Sakura Kyoko, had her dignity! Running away... well, it wasn't out of the question.
However, when Lancer got closer and she saw his expression of "annoyance," she got angry for no reason. What was that look supposed to mean?
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, she turned her head away and refused to look at him.
While Sakura Kyoko thought she was being tough, Lancer wondered if the girl had been scared stupid by him earlier.
He had given her an opening; why was she still here?
Did he really look like such a "good guy"?
He glanced at the various wounds on his body—which he viewed like medals of honor. He felt that in the eyes of a normal person, these weren't exactly things that were easy to look at.
But in reality, Lancer was overlooking something very important. The "Magical Girls" of this world weren't weak; you could even say they weren't much weaker than the Great Yokai he encountered in the previous world. However, the experiences the two sides had gone through were worlds apart.
Lancer strength could be seen in the scars on his body.
Perforation wounds from a "Ghouls" kagune, bruises from being slammed by a Daimyo Hermitaur, arrow wounds from enemies on a battlefield, slashes from Achilles' spear, burns from being ignited by the Dark Hand, and wounds from various demonic energies so bizarre he didn't even know how to categorize them...
For Lancer, the "System" was just a catalyst. His strength was earned through one life-and-death struggle after another. Although his power growth wasn't too exaggerated (in his own opinion), it was built step-by-step through slow, steady training. During that time, he had seen countless enemies—some despicable, some heroic.
But Sakura Kyoko, as a magical girl, was different. Her battlefield was very "pure."
Witches were the enemies of magical girls; her job was to kill them. It was that simple. There were no complex relationships between the two sides—just the relationship of killer and killed. This meant she had no idea how cruel it could be to be captured by an enemy.
If it were Lancer, unless there was a reason he absolutely had to stay, he wouldn't waste a single opportunity to escape.
"Still too green."
Whether it was a sigh at how she had gained her power or pure helplessness at her choice, Lancer uttered a sentence that annoyed Sakura Kyoko.
"Since I, Sakura Kyoko, lost, I won't run away. That's what a real—"
Before she could finish, she felt an intense masculine aura surge toward her. Then, she saw Lancer serious face.
"A real warrior doesn't waste their life. Or do I seem non-threatening to you? You seem to have forgotten something. Think carefully: what usually happens to a woman captured by a man?"
Lancer heavily suggestive words gave Sakura Kyoko a sudden, bad feeling. Her defensive posture—originally meant to hide her fear—seemed to turn into a move to protect her chest. But before she could speak, she saw Lancer straighten up again, looking down at her.
"Don't worry. I'm not interested in little girls."
Sakura Kyoko saw the look of contempt (or so it seemed to her) in Lancer eyes and got angry, but she forced it down in the end.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Nothing. I thought you'd take the chance to leave. After all, it would have been better for both of us; I could have avoided a lot of trouble. But you made the absolute wrong choice. To be honest, I'm really not in the mood to 'train' you right now. Please leave."
Feeling the strange aura radiating from the "Grief Seed" in his pocket, he indeed had no desire to say more, or even to tease her.
If he was initially full of rage toward Kyubey just because he knew "Witches are transformed from magical girls," then after actually touching a "Grief Seed," he truly realized how heartbreaking the whole thing was.
Even through the "Grief Seed," he could feel the torment the soul inside was suffering.
A so-called "Grief Seed" was a corrupted "Soul Gem." How did it get corrupted?
Simple: negative emotions.
A massive influx of negative emotions flooded in, twisting the soul until it became a "Grief Seed." The "Grief Seed" in his hand hadn't completely lost its light yet, which meant the soul inside likely still had its own consciousness.
Lancer planned to go back and see if he could extract it, so he really had no desire to waste any more time on Sakura Kyoko.
Although his words made Sakura Kyoko breathe a sigh of relief, she felt a chill run down her spine when she faced Lancer cold gaze. Even though she knew Lancer anger wasn't directed at her, she still seemed a bit at a loss.
As she stepped off the hood and watched the car drive away, her expression was extremely complex.
Biting her lip, she didn't even notice she had bitten it hard enough to bleed.
Though she seemed brash, having lost so much already made her more "proud" than most. Facing Lancer "humiliation," she secretly vowed that she would make him pay for this later!