Wasn't it all to protect you people?!
You're both from the Gremory Clam—so why is the gap between you and my husband Sirzechs so enormous?!
Her heart was filled with reproach toward Rias, but Grayfia would not allow the situation to worsen any further. She directly raised her hand and activated a spell.
Buzz!
Rias's beam of Destruction magic was intercepted head-on. When Rias froze and dispersed her magical output, five magic circles formed into a cube, firmly imprisoning her Destruction magic inside, unable to advance even an inch.
"Grayfia…"
Turning her head to look at the ice-cold Grayfia, Rias saw nothing but disappointment in her eyes. Being looked at like this by Grayfia for the first time left Rias dazed and at a loss.
"Quite fast, maid. You stopped her life from entering a Bad End."
Raize slowly turned around. The gaze he used to size them up was like he was looking at corpses, making Rias—now fully aware of the vast difference between friend and foe—break out in a cold sweat.
Suddenly, Raize glanced at the remaining clump of Destruction magic still suspended in midair. He lightly raised his hand and crooked his finger toward it.
Crack!
Terrifying spiritual pressure directly crushed Grayfia's spell. Then, before the stunned eyes of Rias and Akeno—
Raize violently compressed that mass of red Destruction magic with his spiritual pressure until it was the size of an apple, pulled it into his hand, and under Grayfia's twitching gaze, opened his mouth.
"Mmm… Destruction power? Decent properties."
Under the looks of people staring at a monster, Raize directly swallowed it in one bite, smacked his lips, and gave a fair evaluation.
This monstrous act—swallowing Destruction power raw and being completely fine—made Rias even more terrified. The Destruction power she took pride in and wielded with such care could only achieve this much in front of him?
Even Akeno lost her smile, and Riser's mouth twitched as well. Swallowing Destruction power like this—
Who the hell would dare do that?
That was Destruction power. And yet he ate it like candy, like biting into an apple. How could that not horrify them?
Moreover, Destruction power strongly countered Riser's Phoenix regeneration. It was only because Rias was too weak that he could act so arrogantly in front of her.
Even though Riser could rely on his immortality to hard-counter Destruction power, he would never dare do something like Raize did.
"Your servant? From today onward, she isn't anymore."
Under the heavy gazes of Rias and the others, Raize walked over to Kuroka. He gently raised his hand and released power toward the Koneko.
Before Kuroka's astonished eyes and the Koneko's shocked gaze, the demonic part of the Koneko's body began to dissipate. Everything belonging to a reincarnated devil was stripped away.
With the demonic power gone, it seemed there was nothing left to suppress or neutralize her nekomata nature. Her youkai bloodline began to stir and grow active.
The white hair on her head underwent subtle changes and started to tremble. In an instant, a pair of cat ears very similar to Kuroka's appeared—only white.
Koneko also felt something strange behind her. An unfamiliar sensation extended outward, restlessly swaying behind her.
With the only thing she could move—her eyes—Koneko looked over and saw two pure white cat tails gently swishing behind her.
"Mew!? My little Shirone no longer has any demonic components on her—th-this… this is truly wonderful, mew!!!"
As Koneko's biological older sister, Kuroka naturally sensed the changes in her body. Her eyes shone brightly, her face filled with joy.
Not only had the devil portion vanished, but part of the nekomata bloodline had awakened—and Koneko felt no discomfort at all.
Losing the demonic component was good!
Kuroka had never liked devils. From childhood to now, devils had brought her nothing but pain. If not for the slight strength boost her demonic bloodline provided, she would have hated the demonic part of herself even more.
She hadn't expected Raize to possess such an ability—to separate things inside another person without any side effects.
He had just removed Kiba's Sacred Gear, and now he could perfectly excise something rooted in the bloodline itself. It was simply outrageous.
Seeing Raize casually crush the clump of demonic power in his hand, the expressions of Rias and Grayfia turned grim.
Rias could no longer feel the master-servant connection with Koneko. Her heart suffered a heavy blow.
As for Grayfia, it was her apprehension toward Raize's power that weighed on her heart—this ability to separate demonic components from within the body.
In the Underworld, aside from the few remaining pure-blood devils, the race relied on reincarnated devils to recover its numbers.
Yet this human possessed the power to perfectly separate reincarnated devil bloodlines. This directly shook the very foundation of the devils' current existence.
Yuuto and Koneko had both lost their demonic components, becoming pure existences with no ties to devils.
This matter had to be reported back!
"Let's go!"
Grayfia cast one last deep look at Raize, as if engraving him firmly into her memory. Then she clasped her hands together and activated her power.
A magic circle spread beneath their feet, perfectly enveloping the group of devils. The formation bore the Gremory Clancrest. With a flash of light, all of them were swallowed up.
In the next instant, as the light faded, every devil that displeased Raize vanished completely, leaving nothing behind.
"Mmm…"
Tears welled up in Koneko's eyes as she stared at the now-empty space ahead. She wanted to speak but couldn't make a sound, only letting out small, sorrowful whimpers.
Grayfia abandoning her was something she could understand—after all, fighting here wasn't an option.
But understanding didn't erase the feeling of being abandoned. Koneko hated this feeling deeply, especially since she believed that Kuroka had abandoned her back then as well.
With those thoughts, stubbornness and hatred filled the kitten's pale golden eyes as she glared fiercely at her biological older sister.
"Shirone, I—"
Seeing her sister in her arms looking at her with such piercing, painful emotions made Kuroka, a devoted siscon, feel utterly miserable. Even the cat ears on her head drooped along with her spirits.
Nothing hurt a cat more than being looked at with unfamiliar hatred by the person she cherished most.
Raize had once been an older brother himself, so he naturally understood Kuroka's feelings to some extent. Coldly eyeing this foolish cat who would count money even after being sold by devils, he spoke in a low voice:
"Do you need me to erase her memories of those people? Looks like your sister has been thoroughly misled by devils—she'd rather believe them than her own sister."
These words instantly made Koneko in Kuroka's arms widen her eyes. Her cat ears trembled violently as she stared at Raize with fear and terror.
She felt that this man was more like a devil—his methods were cruel to such an extent that he even wanted to erase her memories.
Erase her memories of Rias and Akeno?
No. Absolutely not!
"…Shirone is my little sister. I wouldn't bear to treat her like that. Raize, don't scare my sister."
Kuroka shot Raize an annoyed glance. When he made that ruthless suggestion, she had indeed been tempted and hesitant.
But seeing the fear and terror on her sister's face, she ultimately softened.
"Whether you do it or not is up to you. Your sister may be here in person, but her heart isn't. Be careful—one day she might stab you in the back for the sake of devils."
Raize cast a disdainful glance at the trembling white kitten in Kuroka's arms. He couldn't be bothered with this little white cat.
She wasn't even remotely as obedient as his Scarlet. Her heart had been hooked by the so-called kindness of those devils. Couldn't she use her brain to think about the oddities in Kuroka's situation?
Didn't think as a child, still doesn't think as an adult?
"If you don't mind, to resolve the misunderstanding with your sister, you can let her see your memories."
After saying this, Raize glanced at the surroundings as the cognitive spell gradually lifted. Not wanting to say anything more, he turned and slowly walked away.
Kuroka glanced at Koneko and indeed took those words to heart. If she made up her mind, the misunderstanding between the sisters could truly be resolved.
Still, she needed to thank Raize. After all, he was the one who helped her retrieve her sister.
"Um… thank you…"
Looking at Raize's back, Kuroka hesitated, then finally voiced her gratitude. Since she had used him, she also apologized after thanking him. "And… I'm sorry for using you."
"Don't let it happen again. Don't use this kind of method to summon me in the future. Just come find me directly—it's not like I wouldn't help you."
Raize didn't stop or turn around. He casually waved his hand and continued walking farther and farther away.
He indeed had some complaints about Kuroka using him. She could have just called him. Considering they had once been teammates, it wasn't like he wouldn't help her.
Using such an extreme method—wasn't she afraid of luring Tohru and the others over to casually wipe her out? Stupid cat.
It's not like I wouldn't help you.
Savoring the meaning of those words in her heart, Kuroka felt a subtle emotion rise within her. A seductive smile returned to her face as she watched Raize's retreating back, licking her lips alluringly.
His personality might be a bit cold, but at his core, he was quite good. As for everything else, there was no need to elaborate.
In terms of power, Kuroka could sense that he had undergone another significant change in a very short time, though she couldn't probe the details.
In every respect, he was a near-perfect partner. And upon arriving here, he trusted her without question and took her sister back for her.
Affection +20. Originally defined as a potential partner, now reclassified as someone she wanted to pursue.
"Shirone, even though you have a lot of resentment toward your sister, I've never once wanted to abandon you. Those devils probably never told you the truth about why I defected."
Lowering her head to look at her sister—who finally relaxed a little after Raize left—Kuroka wore a gentle, tender smile. She lightly pinched her sister's cat ear and continued speaking under her sister's pouting glare.
"Even though you're still immature, you've grown up. If you truly hate and despise your sister, then I'll follow Raize's suggestion and let you see my memories."
"If, after that, you still want to leave my side and return to those devils, then I won't stop you anymore."
Such sincere, unfeigned words were enough to move Koneko outwardly and shock her inwardly. She looked at her sister in disbelief.
Was this person—smiling with such indulgence and warmth—really the sister from her memories?
Even willing to show her memories… Could it be that there truly were hidden circumstances behind her sister's defection back then?
The restraints on her body had gradually been lifted after Raize left. But the confused Koneko no longer had any intention of resisting.
If her sister truly meant what she said, then listening to her explanation and seeing the truth in her memories might be worth it.
---
Tokyo, night.
In this neon-lit, bustling city full of people, dark deeds were always taking place somewhere.
The CCG headquarters existed here, and as usual, they were extremely busy. The reason for their busyness was—
"CCG headquarters, contacting Unit 23."
"Report received: illegal intrusion at Ward 20, Aka and Daxia."
Upon receiving the information, the CCG immediately began rapidly dispatching personnel to the scene.
However, for the scene itself, they could only act as after-the-fact police.
"Ah…"
From within the reported Aka and Daxia building, a sound of deep satisfaction and enjoyment faintly echoed.
Inside the transparent aquarium on the upper floors—used to raise ornamental fish—their somewhat dull, wide eyes seemed to reflect something bloody and grotesque.
Bang!
A sudden impact sounded outside the tank, instantly frightening away most of the fish that had been swimming calmly.
Through the glass, one could see a corpse—its face ferocious and covered in blood. The gender was no longer discernible. Its cheek was pressed tightly against the glass, bloodshot eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
Screech…
The corpse, twisted and grotesque as if it had suffered unimaginable pain before death, slowly slid down the glass, leaving behind chilling bloodstains.
"The illegal intruder has been confirmed as a ghoul. Repeat—confirmed as a ghoul!"
"Proceed to the scene immediately for rescue!"
The CCG communication revealed the identity of the perpetrator inside the building—a so-called ghoul.
And a ghoul daring enough to attack such a commercial building was certainly no ordinary one.
"Ahh~~"
"Give me more, more—ahahaha…"
Under the colorful lighting of the building's aquariums, heaps of corpses were piled together—naked, gnawed human remains with horribly twisted expressions.
Atop these piles of dead bodies, the perpetrator—also naked, her graceful body moving in the dim light—rose and fell like a wild beast.
From time to time, sounds of ecstatic sighs echoed, along with chilling chewing noises and swallowing sounds.
Splash…