"Greetings, Father." The Little Girl with waist-length black hair passed through the corridor, immediately bowing respectfully to Tohno Shinkyu, her manners impeccable. "Akiba, it's getting late. Why aren't you resting in your room? Tomorrow, you will copy the Tohno Family rules a hundred times as punishment." Tohno Shinkyu's eyes were fixed on his daughter.
"Akiba understands her mistake. Good night, Father." Five-year-old Tohno Akiha obediently lowered her head and slowly retreated to the corner, returning to her room with standard ladylike steps.
"Clatter," something climbed over the wall, making a soft landing sound. Tohno Shinkyu, in a kind, fatherly tone, said towards the sound: "Shiki, your late-night snack is ready. Take a bath and have the servants warm it up for you." "So annoying, I know, Dad." Tohno Shiki ran off with a patter of footsteps. "This kid..." After Shiki's footsteps faded, the loving expression on Tohno Shinkyu's face turned into one of disdain.
Tohno Shinkyu, the current head of the Tohno Family, was a mature, steady, and darkly scheming conspirator. He could be said to have had children late in life; his eldest son, Tohno Shiki, was only six, yet he himself looked like a man in his forties.
Returning to his study, Tohno Shinkyu pulled a stack of papers from the scabbard of a knife at his waist and meticulously began writing down the Tohno Family's plans. Tohno Shinkyu unconsciously read aloud: "The plan to assassinate Saiki and annex the Saiki Family's assets has been perfectly executed. The next step is simply to eliminate the overly dangerous Nanaya Clan and Nanaya Kouri. Then, Misaki Town will be the Tohno Family's domain. When Aozaki Touko returns from her next outing for a life-or-death battle with her sister, we must find a way to make them both suffer heavy losses. That way, we can then remove the Aozaki Family..."
"Boom!!!"
Suddenly, a earth-shattering roar! This was immediately followed by intense gunfire outside, like a storm, and then another huge explosion, causing the entire Tohno Mansion to shake violently! After that, screams and roars from the main hall became chaotic, but a childish voice, not yet fully mature, rose above all the noise and spread throughout the Tohno Mansion.
"Tohno Shinkyu, get out here!!!"
Standing in the center of the Tohno Family's luxurious main hall, Rin watched with a wicked smile as the maids and servants panicked. Embedded in the wall nearby were several bodyguards who had tried to draw their guns in resistance. Rin, dressed in black, stood there like a young Demon King, oblivious to the fleeing servants, quietly waiting for the main target to appear.
"Hmm?" After standing in the hall for a moment, Rin frowned, suddenly feeling that something was wrong. Some time had passed, but Tohno Shinkyu had not yet appeared.
Rin immediately realized something was amiss and snapped her fingers.
First-stage detection spell.
An invisible wave of energy swept across the entire Tohno Mansion. Rin's eyebrows rose, as if she had discovered something new. The feedback from her magic perception indicated that an object was moving at an extremely high speed along a secret path towards the outside.
That old scoundrel is trying to escape!
Ha, he's truly decisive. He knows that his defenses are empty right now, and he's powerless to resist having his home raided. Faced with a powerful enemy at his doorstep, he doesn't even bother to show his face, just turns tail and runs. Truly a prime example of 'where there's life, there's hope.'
However, can I let you escape?!
It was clearly too late to chase through the secret passage upstairs. In that case... a burst of energy swept through the entire hall! All the items in the hall were instantly shattered to pieces. The black-clad Demon King Girl, enveloped in ghostly blue flames, charged directly towards the marble wall on the inner side of the hall!
"Boom!"
The hard, solid marble wall was like foam board, completely failing to impede Rin's steps! Rin charged directly into the interior of the Tohno Mansion, crashing through the richly decorated internal corridors. At a corner, she didn't slow down at all, directly smashing through the corridor wall... "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"... She tore through walls and broke through barriers, like a dark armored tyrannosaurus rex running wild! Finally, after smashing through a layer of dark granite hidden behind a wall, Rin cornered the person she was looking for.
Rin looked with a hint of playful mockery at the middle-aged man before her, whose face was clouded with gloom and etched with the vicissitudes of life, full of dark and cunning expressions. However, at this moment, his face was far from pleasant.
"A guest has arrived, Tohno Family Head, where are you rushing off to? Neither greeting guests nor enemies, just turning tail and running harms the Tohno Family's reputation." Rin mocked him with a playful sneer.
Tohno Shinkyu had no intention of playing games with Rin. The moment he saw Rin smash through the wall and appear, he realized that she meant trouble. Seeing the turbulent ghostly blue fluctuations around Rin, he immediately reacted, "Magus?! My Tohno Family has always had no conflict with the Mage's Association or the mysterious world. What exactly is your purpose?"
"Well, nothing much. As the saying goes, traveling a thousand li for wealth. A while ago, my old man and I had a small disagreement, and he kicked me out. You see, I'm just a poor child, helpless and homeless, exposed to the elements. I heard that the Tohno Family Head likes lolis and specifically traveled a thousand li to adopt the Mijyoin Family's orphaned pair. I'm quite confident in my looks, so I came to see if the Tohno Family Head might also adopt me."
Tohno Shinkyu didn't believe a single punctuation mark of Rin's words, but he vaguely gleaned some information.
"You came for the Mijyoin Family orphans?"
Rin stroked her chin, feigning thought: "If we're talking about the very beginning, yes, that was the case. But when I saw how wealthy and extravagant the Tohno Family is, I changed my mind."
Tohno Shinkyu frowned tightly and said, "You want money?"
"Hmm, who doesn't want something as good as money, right, Tohno Family Head Shinkyu, who killed old man Saiki while acting as his assistant?"
Tohno Shinkyu gritted his teeth, glaring at the Little Girl who had appeared from nowhere, as if she were a demon. She knew his deepest secrets like the back of her hand. He said fiercely, "You can take those Mijyoin sisters. How much money do you want?"
Seeing Tohno Shinkyu back down so easily, Rin's eyes grew more disdainful. "Not much, not much, just 100% of your Tohno Family's assets will do. Not a single cent more. Plus, your head, Tohno Family Head Shinkyu. If you're willing to offer them up with both hands, my people and I will just dust ourselves off and leave. How about it?"
Realizing she hadn't finished, Rin added: "Oh, and you don't need to count on the large force you sent to eliminate the Nanaya Family. Nearly two thousand of my subordinates have already followed them there. Additionally, I've informed Nanaya Kouri that you sent people to 'visit,' and I specifically called Aozaki Aoko to help entertain Kouma Kishima."
"How do you know?!" Tohno Shinkyu could no longer remain calm. This crucial secret operation was something only he was privy to. Even Kouma Kishima was only informed after being summoned. Yet, this Little Girl clearly knew everything from the start, which allowed her to make such complete arrangements, directly striking at all the vital points of his plan.
"I can only say that your character, Tohno Family Head, is simply too easy to guess. You're profit-driven and cowardly. How could the Tohno Family, possessing the blood of demons, possibly be content to live peacefully as neighbors with a demon-slaying family? Especially a killer like the Nanaya Family, who have integrated the philosophy of slaying non-humans into their very bones. With your personality, Tohno Shinkyu, you certainly wouldn't sit idly by waiting for Nanaya Kouri to cleave your skull. So what would you do? Is it really that hard to guess?"
Tohno Shinkyu suddenly trembled, his face turning pale then green. After his face twitched for a long time, he said, "If I concede, can you spare my two children?"
Rin raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes."
Tohno Shinkyu knew well that he was truly defeated this time. He drew the katana from his waist, which also appeared to be a famous blade. His hands trembled as he held the sword to the side of his neck. After trembling for a long time, he finally steeled himself and exerted force with both hands!
"Clang!"
Rin watched Tohno Shinkyu with a playful sneer, her right hand, enveloped in Mana Burst, firmly gripping the blade that had swung towards her. At that moment, Tohno Shinkyu's eyes had turned red and his skin slightly flushed as he exerted force, clearly entering a demonic state. The sword strike he unleashed was quite skillful, seemingly the result of years of dedicated kendo practice. Unfortunately, it was meaningless in front of Rin, who had witnessed Tsubame Gaeshi.
"A cowardly scumbag who, upon realizing a powerful enemy is at his doorstep and difficult to resist, immediately chooses to abandon everyone and flee, how could he possibly sacrifice himself for his two children? Unless it's a fight to the very last second, trash like you would never give up your own life. So, I don't believe a single punctuation mark of what you say." Rin smiled with a devilish air, scrutinizing the sweating Tohno Shinkyu with eyes that looked at him like a cockroach.
"Today, I dared to step into this Tohno Family, so I'm not afraid of you, Tohno Shinkyu, playing tricks with me! Have you run out of ideas? Then, let's fight!!!"
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