Chapter 186: Crossing Time to Kill Solomon from 3,000 Years Ago
This was a magnificent city.
Of course, to modern eyes, its magnificence lay in its remarkably well-preserved ancient architecture.
But for this era, it was the nation's most splendid and bustling metropolis—the capital.
"Boom——!"
A sudden, thunderous roar startled everyone in the city.
What could have happened to produce such a deafening sound?
It certainly wasn't thunder, given the clear, sunny skies.
And the noise seemed to be coming from the palace?
"Phew, it looks like things aren't too bad, meow~"
The woman in a kimono patted her chest and sighed in relief.
The cannon blast aimed at the past, chasing through the opened channel, had been mostly contained by a barrier just before it could erupt.
However, the slight ripple that leaked out barely grazed a building, seemingly causing a few casualties, but it's still far better than obliterating an entire country outright.
Of course, the one who stopped this cannon blast was not the kimono-clad woman—Kuroka—but the mysterious man named Renji, who was under investigation.
Hmm? He frowned slightly as he glanced around.
"What's wrong, nya?"
"This is Jerusalem."
Renji responded to her confusion.
He deduced from the surrounding architecture that this was likely the ancient United Kingdom of Israel from three thousand years ago.
The explosion had occurred in the palace, resulting in four casualties.
Two were maidservants—one dead, the other unconscious.
The other two appeared to be a mother and child—one dead, the other unconscious.
The unconscious maidservant was awakened by crying and promptly panicked.
The way the maidservant addressed the mother made Renji's expression tighten slightly.
"Huh? What is it now? Do you know who she is?"
Kuroka asked curiously again, unable to understand the local language of this era.
"Bathsheba."
"Bathsheba? Hmm, that sounds familiar~"
Kuroka felt she had heard the name recently but couldn't quite recall it at the moment.
"Solomon's birth mother."
Renji added this, his mind racing.
He might have figured something out.
"Ah, right, King Solomon's mother, eh?!!"
Kuroka's eyes widened in shock, her head spinning, and cold sweat trickled down her smooth cheeks.
The dead infant couldn't possibly be King Solomon, could it?
If such a pivotal historical figure had died, it would be disastrous—the course of world history would be completely altered.
"Wh-what do we do now?"
She was at a loss. If history changed drastically, would Shirone even exist in the future?
Would her little sister disappear?
In her panic, Kuroka didn't realize she herself might vanish along with her sister.
Or perhaps, her concern for her sister outweighed her own fears, making her momentarily forget that she, too, might cease to exist.
However, he didn't respond to her. Instead, he used magic to put the maidservant and Bathsheba to sleep and began treating the dead infant.
But even if the body was restored, it was useless—dead was dead.
Unless he could resurrect it?
"Eh? Y-you actually brought it back to life?"
Kuroka stared in astonishment as the child showed signs of life.
"No, that's not right!"
This wasn't a normal resurrection. Kuroka observed that the child's soul had almost completely vanished.
This disappearance wasn't the soul ascending to heaven after death. Rather, the soul of a young child is incredibly fragile; after death, it had been shattered by residual energy fluctuations from the attack, evaporating into the air.
So how was it alive now?
Ah, she understood. She couldn't believe he had done such a thing.
He had inserted a new, tiny fragment of a blank soul into the child. But where did that blank soul come from? It was like a human donating blood.
But donating blood barely affects humans—just a prick of pain. Extracting soul energy, however, was unimaginably agonizing.
She had once used a soul-based attack on an enemy, merely a tiny prick, and it had driven them to madness and death.
At the same time, Kuroka suddenly realized her body was being repelled by a powerful force, as if it were being erased from this world. Her body was gradually turning transparent.
Could it be that history had still been affected? Since her future self no longer existed, Kuroka as a person was about to disappear...
"Am I going to disappear, nya?"
She couldn't help but let out a bitter voice.
"By the way, who are you exactly? Since we're both going to disappear, why not tell me who you are, nya?"
The other figure was also gradually turning transparent like her, about to vanish as well.
"Tell me, nya"
Since they were both going to disappear anyway, Kuroka pounced over, rudently wrapping herself around the other person like an octopus.
Hehe, this guy had also consumed a considerable amount of magical power, otherwise she might not have been able to cling to them so easily.
However, this person still didn't respond to her, acting too lazy to bother.
"You're really no fun, but you're getting a good deal. Having a beauty like me accompanying you when disappearing should be an honor~"
As she said this, Kuroka stuck out her tongue and licked her seductive lips.
"Just make do with it. I don't want to die without knowing what this feels like, so accept big sister's affection~"
It was as if her Nekomata instincts had erupted, and she just went for a kiss.
Hmm?
At the same time, her peripheral vision seemed to witness bizarre changes, but Kuroka paid no mind—time was running out.
Right now, she was determined to force herself on him, and the other party couldn't resist at all, having exhausted too much power and could only let her do as she pleased.
Just as she reached her hand toward a dangerous position—
Thump—!
Her head spun with dizziness, and Kuroka immediately saw stars.
No, this wasn't just a feeling—someone had really punched her head hard.
After regaining some clarity, she found herself pinned down again with her hands pressed behind her back, someone pressing down on her from behind—that was—
"Shirone?"
Stunned for a moment, Kuroka finally realized they hadn't disappeared, but had been bounced back to their original time, appearing in the area where the projectile had vanished.
Shirone and Rias were waiting right here!
"Are you okay, Renji-sensei?"
"I'm fine~"
"Really? Why do I feel like you look somewhat disappointed?"
"Just your imagination"
"Hehe!"
Upon hearing this, Rias laughed, her laughter seeming to chill the air around them.