After saying this, Takumi teleported to Koneko's side before she noticed it at all.
"Huh?...Eh?"
Just as Koneko reacted, she found that her legs had left the ground, and her center of gravity had shifted!
"I am? ... I was picked up by Senior?"
Koneko's face flushed deep red, her big eyes blinked, and she took a deep breath, seemingly trying to calm down. However, just as she composed herself, the shift in the scene in front of her made her heart beat faster again.
Right now, in Takumi's arms, the posture of the princess carry had reversed; now she was being held like a princess!
"Senior? This is?"
Koneko noticed the difference in the surrounding environment. She and her senior had actually arrived at this open space via teleportation!
"Koneko, after all, I don't know how to repair a house. In order to have a place to live in the future, I can't fight with your sister there~~"
Takumi narrowed his eyes. Since Bikou had come along with Kuroka, they would definitely be able to detect where they were now.
"Um... Senior, you're not an ordinary person? How did you pluck the hair from my sister's tail and ears just now? Could it be... Senior? Do you have the strength of a Maou?"
Koneko's slightly shy face showed a hint of vigilance. This kind of thing was something even the President—a High-class Devil—couldn't do. Did the senior in this school have strength above Rias Gremory?
Her sister hadn't even noticed the senior's actions. Could it be possible... that the senior's strength had surpassed that of her sister and reached the level of a Maou? Has a Maou-level existence always been at Kuoh Academy? And as the kind of top student who always takes first place in exams?!
Koneko thought this world was too magical... Oh, the world was a magical place in itself.
Hearing Koneko's words, Takumi couldn't help but smile bitterly. If he truly had the strength of a Maou, he would pin Kuroka to the ground to spank her, and then confiscate Bikou's Golden Hoop until the old Monkey King himself came to ask for it.
"It's just that my abilities are relatively special. You could say I have awakened a hero's bloodline. My real strength is actually similar to yours."
Takumi didn't lie about this. Without using the Nekomata bloodline, Koneko's strength was that of a Middle-class Devil. And he, in the case of using an incarnation without overdrawing his body but only consuming physical strength, was also at this level.
Using the power of Vamana, he could easily cross time and space; no matter what the ban or seal, nothing could stop him!
In the myth of the fifth incarnation of Vishnu, in order to regain sovereignty of the three worlds—heaven, sky, and earth—from the demon Bali, Vishnu incarnated as a dwarf. The demon Bali thought the little dwarf was nothing special and promised to hand over as much land as he could cover in three steps. Unexpectedly, Vishnu returned to his original form and took two steps to cross between heaven and earth. He stopped there, leaving the underworld to the demon. This serves as a metaphor for the sun crossing the universe in the morning, noon, and evening.
"A... Hero? Is Senior the one who inherited the blood of a hero?" Koneko asked.
"That's it."
Takumi had already planned his future course of action when he acted just now.
"What hero?" Koneko's curiosity was piqued.
"A... hero with special abilities. I'll tell you later when I have a chance," Takumi said with a smile. He knew that telling Koneko was essentially the same as telling Rias.
"All right..."
"Senior... Can you put me down?"
Koneko pursed her lips; this feeling of being held was very strange to her.
"Okay, but I'm afraid you have to hold onto me, Koneko. I won't be able to do things while holding you. So... climb up."
Takumi gently put down the girl in his arms, then turned his back to her. The meaning was very simple... climb up and hold on.
"......."
Koneko didn't speak, just looked into Takumi's eyes quietly.
"Okay." After a few seconds, Koneko climbed onto his back silently. She felt as if all the blood in her body was concentrated in her face; it was so hot it felt like it would burn her hands. She was not an unreasonable girl. If the senior really didn't have that kind of strength, her willful behavior would only push him into the abyss. Her sister might not kill her, but she might kill Takumi.
"By the way, if Koneko's sister is a Nekomata, Koneko is also a Nekomata, right?"
Takumi felt the change after Koneko climbed onto his back. Since Koneko was very weak now, the cat ears and tail she had been hiding finally appeared. And he... touched it immediately.
"Meow?!~~... Senior?" Koneko exhaled slightly. Although her sister's poison wouldn't kill a devil, it would put them in their weakest state. Even Koneko didn't have the energy to hide her true form now.
Perhaps it was Takumi's imagination, but he felt he could smell a faint fragrance like musk.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I just thought you might be holding on unsteadily."
Takumi's excuse was perfect. Because you have no strength, Koneko, I just helped you. Takumi had already tried it just now; he gave Koneko a catgirl costume and touched the costume's tail easily, but there was no notification for task completion. That's why he reached directly for the real tail on Koneko.
Taking action before might have left a negative impression in Koneko's heart. Now, with Kuroka acting as a villain, isn't Takumi a savior? Kuroka... the ultimate tool.
This time, Takumi touched the tail and successfully signed in.
[Ding!]
[Silver-level sign-in success!]
[Sign-in location: Koneko's cat tail.]
[Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward: The Spirit Holy Sword, Est! (Incomplete)]
[The highest-ranked sword spirit, whose full name is "Guardian Spirit Terminus Est," is the legendary holy sword that kills the Demon King. However, it is not the main body, but an independent existence branched from the main body—a clone. Since the main body and most of its power are still in the spirit world, it only has about one-tenth of its original power.]
[Note: As a holy sword, it has the power to remove curses, but in essence, it is the curse that swallows them—the resentment of the spirits annihilated by the holy sword is stored within. When the curse breaks through the storage limit, it will devour the body of the contractor, leading to death. However, the holy sword summoned by the system has no such drawbacks.]
"Oh? Not bad. Even if I don't have much spiritual power now, I can still use it as a powerful holy sword."
If it weren't for the fact that it was unsuitable to use a sword with Koneko on his back, Takumi would definitely take out the holy sword that killed the Demon King to test it.
"She's coming!" Koneko whispered from behind him. Her sister wasn't hiding her presence at all, so she knew Kuroka was arriving!
"Well, it's fine."
Takumi reached back and touched the head of the girl on his back. He knew Koneko's condition wasn't very good right now.
"Ya, ah, ah! Taking someone's younger sister for a ride, did you ask for her sister's approval, meow?"
Kuroka walked slowly with a cat-like grace.
"Sorry! Your sister! I'm taking her!"
Takumi grinned and flashed a sunny smile toward Kuroka.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Kuroka waved her hand slightly, and an endless array of magic circles emerged from behind her! If you want someone else's sister, you have to get the consent of her own sister, meow!
Obviously, Takumi's words reminded Kuroka of the devil who had adopted her and Koneko before, and her anger reached its peak!
"I think you may have misunderstood something," Takumi said lightly.
Behind him, a heroic figure in armor merged into his body.
[The incarnation of Rama!]