Bonus chapter unlocked by your Power Stones!
...
In the real Kuoh Town park, not even ten minutes had passed since Takumi and Katerea vanished. But for Mio and the others, every second dragged unbearably.
"Onii-chan… you have to come back, or else… I'll kill you a hundred times." Mio called softly, tears rolling uncontrollably along her lashes.
Maria, on the other hand, kept steady and offered a calm comfort: "Mio-sama, you don't need to worry so much. Takumi-nii will be fine—we can sense it through the [Master–Servant Contract]. If something truly happened to him, then we would…"
She paused there and didn't continue.
As the one who taught Takumi the Master–Servant Contract, she knew its binding power well: if the master dies, the servant follows.
"That jerk of an exorcist will be fine. He's… he's obviously so strong…" Miko Yotsuya murmured, worry in her voice as scenes from the infirmary flashed through her mind.
Hana Yurikawa glanced at her best friend, just about to offer comfort—when a seam split open in the sky.
The next instant, Takumi flew out and landed in the park, safe and sound.
"He's back!!"
Rias Gremory immediately led her household in; one after another, they descended into the park. Sona Sitri had hurried here as well, anxiety all over her face as she looked at her fiancé.
"Takumi, are you all right!?"
Seeing everyone rush up in worry, Takumi scratched his cheek a bit guiltily. Not only was he fine—he'd had… a very thorough past three days, trying all sorts of exciting things.
"Ahem. I'm perfectly fine. Katerea was… a little troublesome, but I handled it."
"You handled Katerea!?" Rias and Sona shouted in unison, disbelief written all over their faces.
They had clearly seen that Katerea was Demon Lord–class. In the Underworld, that placed her among the elite—one of the very few. Just moments ago, they'd assumed Takumi had merely escaped her grasp.
Takumi didn't overexplain. He simply lifted his left hand. The Boosted Gear manifested instantly—then entered Balance Breaker in a blink. Sleek crimson armor covered him head to toe. A voiceless pressure surged out; even without him deliberately releasing aura, everyone struggled to breathe.
Under the crushing weight, a blue light flared faintly over Yukino's skin. Bone-chilling cold spilled from within her, helping her resist Takumi's pressure.
He was only showing it off for a moment; he canceled Balance Breaker at once. As air flowed freely again, Yukino gulped great lungsful, panting hard.
"How… how is this… what is this!?" Feeling the power rising inside her, Yukino was bewildered.
Rias and Sona only spared her a brief, surprised glance. "A descendant of the Yuki-onna. Looks like a half-blood," one of them muttered. The Yuki-onna race was peculiar—female-only, straddling the line between devils and yokai.
But compared to such small matters, the shock Takumi had brought them was very real.
"Balance Breaker on a God-Slaying Gear… Takumi, you've already reached this height?" Rias stepped up in disbelief and squeezed his arm. She'd assumed he was on par with herself—a top Ultimate-class devil. Only now did she realize he'd left her ten streets in the dust.
Seeing Rias press so close to Takumi, both Mio and Sona narrowed their eyes. They stepped forward at the same time, Sona even reaching out to pull Mio back at once.
"Rias, Takumi just finished a battle. He needs proper rest."
"Hm? Is that so? Looks more like you are—"
"I'm concerned about my fiancé. Is there a problem?" Sona shot back, pushing up her glasses.
Rias cut her a long, meaningful side-eye before she could finish. Rias immediately understood—her bestie seemed a little too eager to turn make-believe into the real thing. Which, honestly, made sense; a man like Takumi would turn anyone's head.
Compared to her own fiancé, Rias's mood sank lower and lower. If Takumi were her betrothed, she probably wouldn't be so agitated right now.
As her pink fists clenched, Mio yanked Takumi to her side. "Onii-chan is only your fiancé because of me. You—you… don't need to pretend to be so considerate!"
Like a tigress guarding her food, Mio shoved Takumi behind her and snapped at Sona. Sona adjusted her glasses and, for a moment, didn't know how to respond.
She truly was worried about Takumi—not putting on a show. Strictly speaking, she'd liked him from the very first glance; his excellence and strength only deepened that admiration.
"Aiya, aiya—so this is the man who's charmed my little sister utterly senseless. Handsome guys really do hit different!" A coquettish, playful voice piped up from behind them.
Everyone looked up. A woman in a pink magical-girl outfit came bouncing into view. She had long, glossy black hair tied into cute twin-tails, and her refined, sultry features bore more than a passing resemblance to Sona's.
Her graceful figure radiated lively, youthful energy; the pink costume traced every curve. Beneath the pink skirt, two alabaster legs were sheathed in black stockings—the faint squeeze of fabric was enough to set hearts racing.
Watching Serafall Leviathan hop toward them, Takumi felt that dizzying contrast of a glamorous older woman in a JK sailor uniform. Yet the youthful vitality and mature allure blended perfectly. He sighed inwardly—and met Serafall's eyes.
It was as if a current crackled through the air; Serafall shivered. A soft blush spread over her fair, delicate face—adorable enough to make every girl present tense with caution.
Lightly stroking her cheek, Serafall smiled, eyes crescenting. "Those old fogeys at home went around me to arrange some engagement partner for you, Sona—now I'm very mad. Makes me want to kill them all, you know?"
"Stop it, sis!!!" Sona stamped her foot, fuming.
She knew her sister's temperament all too well—pampering her to no end, and every now and then tossing out lines about starting a war with the Fallen Angels and Heaven.
It gave Sona endless headaches; she rarely contacted her unless necessary. In fact, the engagement with Takumi had been kept from Serafall. If the situation hadn't turned critical just now, Sona would never have summoned her so quickly.
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