Crack, crack, crack!
A surge of intense cold spread out. In a blink, the salt pillars froze over with ice crystals.
Simultaneously, a massive shadow fell from above. King of Salt Yichir glanced up and saw a colossal block of ice crashing down on top of him.
Boom!!!
The ground trembled. He was pinned beneath that gigantic ice mass. Atop it stood Esdeath in her uniform, arching an eyebrow: "Isn't this 'gift' a bit too weak?"
"He's still alive. At least he's more persistent than a cockroachand enough for you to have some fun with."
At that, Rei Ao dispersed the flames and flew off with Shinoa to the highest building. The instant he left, Esdeath's eyes lit up with excitement. The block of ice under her feet quickly collapsed into a mass of salt. From within that salt, King of Salt Yichir burst out. Esdeath gave a wide grin: "Yes, this is the kind of toy that won't break too soon!"
" "
High atop the tallest school building, Shinoa's hair was whipped around by the wind as she watched the raging battle below. She realized that Hyakuya Yichir's fate was sealedhe would die.
"Looks like my mission's finishing sooner rather than later."
"Right, your task is done. But mine isn't," Rei Ao said, slipping his arms around Shinoa's petite figure and drawing near her ear. "Mind doing this outdoors?"
" "
Of course Shinoa knew what he meant. "No difference to me," she replied calmly, but from how her ears turned bright red and her heartbeat raced, Rei Ao could tell she was far from calm inside. He didn't mind. Soon enough, he'd make her show a very different kind of intense emotion.
"Relax, Shinoa"
Under his guidance, Shinoa placed both hands on the rooftop railing. Before long, her cheeks flushed so deeply they almost dripped with color, and a pained look flickered on her face.
Ignoring the raging fight in the distanceand the onlookers who'd gradually gatheredRei Ao just continued collecting the "payment" he was owed.
~~~
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Chapter 272: Lucoa
"Where am I?"
Having tumbled headlong, Rizu Ogata looked around in confusion. Darkness surrounded her, with only weeds, bushes, and trees visible. She could hear all sorts of insect chirping in her ears, and the smell of soil and greenery filled her nose.
She clearly remembered being at school. She had seen some bizarre glowing crack in the hallway; approaching it for a closer look, the surroundings had abruptly changed.
"A forest?"
The strange shift and the deep, shadowy environment made her heart pound faster. The rustling of leaves in the wind gave her a constant feeling that something could jump out at any moment. Crouching down, she realized she had no idea where to go, or how to get back.
"What in the world is happening?"
Fear gradually flooded her mind.
"Roar!!!"
A terrifying beast's growl pushed her anxiety to its peak.
"Ugh"
She could only huddle by a tree, arms wrapped around her knees, praying, "This has to be a dream"
Rizu desperately hoped she would wake up in school or at home. But that hope was dashedthis was reality.
"Roar!!!"
A loud roar made Rizu tremble. She timidly raised her eyes to see something so horrifying her heart leapt into her throat. Right in front of her were two pairs of lantern-like eyes, staring at her.
Rustle
With a swaying of the undergrowth, the owner of those glowing eyes stepped forward. Under faint moonlight shining through the thick canopy, Rizu saw it clearlya drooling black panther. Even a normal panther would be enough to scare an unarmed adult witless, let alone this monstrous one, its size far beyond her imagination. On all fours, it was already tall enough that she'd have to look up even if she stood.
Rizu had no doubt those claws and fangs could easily pierce her skull.
"!!!"
Her mind went blank. What to do? Maybe, if it were an ordinary leopard, she might still have the courage to flee or resistbut against this oversized apex predator, her legs simply turned to jelly.
"Will anyonehelp me?"
Seeing the panther lazily padding forward, drooling at the prospect of treating her like prey, tears trickled down Rizu's cheeks. She was so frightened, she cried.
"Roar!!!"
It seemed the creature had savored her terror enough and opened its jaws wide, pouncing at her.
"!!!"
Just as her life began flashing before her eyes, she saw the dark night suddenly blaze with the radiance of the sun. A beam of light descended from above.
Boom!
That beam swallowed up the panther's bodyliterally swallowed it. Rizu watched, stunned, as the panther's body visibly dissolved in the light. When the brilliance faded, the panther was gone, leaving only a scorched patch of ground.
The sun-like radiance had come from the sky. Gawking, Rizu lifted her head.
" "
She stared, dumbfounded, her face betraying utter disbelief. What had she just witnessed? A creature, massive as a mountain, shimmered in midair with the brightness of the sun. From a distance, she couldn't even discern its shapewas it snake-like, dragon-like, bird-like? She couldn't tell. But in the blink of an eye, that sun-like entity vanished, its lingering glow gradually overtaken by darkness once more.
"It's an illusion"
Having had her worldview shattered, Rizu was already trying to self-hypnotize. But
"It's not an illusion, y'know~"
A woman's voice yanked her out of that self-hypnosis. Suddenly, there stood in front of her a golden-haired, narrow-eyed woman. Rizu's gaze instantly locked onto the woman's world-class bust.
'So huge!'
Rizu thought her own chest was already burdensome, but this woman's was on another levela truly world-class figure. At that moment, the half-lidded woman opened her eyes, revealing heterochromatic pupils: her right eye green, her left eye a darker color with a yellow iris. Eyeing Rizu for a few seconds, she spoke with fascination:
"Never expected to run into a visitor from the human realm today."
"Huhuman realm?"
She used a term Rizu couldn't begin to understand.
"Yes, well, an ordinary human from the human realm wouldn't know." The woman placed a finger at her lips, giving off a slightly airheaded vibe. "Anyway, I shouldn't skip introductions. Hello, I'm QuetzalcoatlLucoaGuardian of the World, currently in charge of handling issues arising between what we now call the 'Dragon Realm' and the 'Human Realm.'"
" "
Rizu stood in stunned silence.
QuetzalcoatlDragon RealmHuman Realm None of it made sense. She looked upward, feeling the chilly breeze. All she could think was, I want to go home
"Why couldn't we have waited until we got home to do this?"
Sitting in Rei Ao's lap, panting softly, Shinoa wore a gloomy expression. She never imagined her first experience would happen on a rooftopwhile a fierce battle raged and more and more onlookers arrived to watch.
"Obviously because this is more exciting."
Rei Ao fiddled with her hair playfully.
"Bah, you're just a pervert."
Off to the side, Mine spat crossly, clearly jealous and unhappy. Leone, however, wrapped an arm around Mine's neck and laughed boisterously: "I think it's plenty exciting! Mine, should we try it too?"
"YouI"
Mine blushed furiously and glared at her, but she couldn't manage a refusal. After all, she did want to experience itjust too embarrassed to say so.
But Rei Ao, gently lifting Shinoa in his arms, shook his head. "Even though I'd like to reward all your efforts, it's not possible right now."
After slaying vampires, Akame and her group had grown stronger. Najenda reached level 20, Akame 18, Kurome 15, and the restMine, Sheele, Leone, Chelseawere level 13. Rei Ao certainly wanted a bit of fun, but the situation didn't allow for it.
In the chat group, Mai had specially called him:
Sakurajima Mai: "@Rei Ao, something's happened over here."
~~~
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Chapter 273: Romantic Scoundrel...
Rei Ao's house.
Mafuyu Kirisu came over too. She looked anxiously at Furuhashi Fumino, who was in the midst of a phone call.
After a moment, Fumino put down her cellphone, her lips dry. "Teacher I can't get through to Ogata-san's phone. It says she's out of service range."
"How is that possible?!"
Mafuyu's eyes went wide.
Yes, the fact that Ogata Rizu still hadn't arrived was very strange. Even if she went back to school to retrieve something she'd forgotten, it shouldn't have taken this longalready more than an hour had passed. So Fumino had tried calling her but couldn't get through; the prompt said she was out of the service area. Realizing something was seriously wrong, she had hurriedly called Mafuyu. After hearing the situation, Mafuyu also felt something bad was going on.
She tried calling Ogata Rizu's home phone, but they said Ogata hadn't returned. Which meant Ogata Rizu was now missing!
Facing her student's disappearance, Mafuyu Kirisu started to panic. She said in a serious tone, "I'll head to the school to look for her. Furuhashi, be ready to call the police at any moment!"
Just then, Sakurajima Mai interjected, "No need. Rei Ao has already found her."
"Huh?" Both turned to her in puzzlement.
Mai explained, "I just notified Rei Ao, and he went to school and found Ogata Rizu-san. He'll be back soon."
"R-really?" Fumino sounded astonished.
Mai nodded earnestly. "Why would I lie about something like that?"
She was, in fact, lying. The person who found Ogata Rizu wasn't Rei Aohe was still off in Shinoa's world. It was Tohru who traced Ogata's whereabouts. Lies needed covering up, so Mai had quickly summoned Rei Ao in the chat, never mind if he was busy "plucking weeds" with Shinoa at that moment.
Sakurajima Mai: "@Rei Ao, we have a problem here. Ogata Rizu has gone missing!"
Rei Ao: "Missing?"
Sakurajima Mai: "To be precise, she got pulled into another world somehow."
Stella: "Something strange going on again over on your side?"
Tohru: "Let me explain."
Tohru: "That girl got dragged into another world by a spatial distortion at your school. It's the same place where I used to livethe Dragon Realm."
Frieren: "I see. So a girl connected to Rei Ao stumbled into another world."
Mikoto Misaka: "Weird development. But since it's Tohru's world, can't you just bring her back?"
Tohru: "No can do."
Saeko Busujima: "There's some difficulty?"
Tohru: "It looks like someone's been reinforcing the barrier between our two worlds. The stronger the being trying to cross, the heavier the resistance. Andif I return now, I probably won't be able to come back here again."
She was sure her father would grab hold of her. Tohru didn't want to be separated from her new family.
Rei Ao: "Sigh. Got it. Things here are mostly wrapped up. I'll head back right away."
Mine and the others understood the situation, feeling a bit disappointed but not forcing it.
After tidying up Shinoa's clothes, Rei Ao asked softly, "Need me to heal you up a bit?"
" "
Shinoa gave him a side glance and stood up with a somewhat stiff posture.
"I'm not so frail I'd collapse from one time."
But inwardly, she couldn't help thinking Rei Ao was a monsterin every aspect. She'd never heard of anyone soenduring.
Esdeath, having seen the news in the chat as well, had a sparkle in her eyes.
"Seems we'll have to end this game sooner than planned."
She, too, had had enough fun.
"Damn you!!!"
A black wing was already broken off, the King of Salt Hyakuya Yichir battered and furious. The King of Salt, who should have been so high and mighty, had been toyed with from start to finish by a human insecthis rage soared.
He'd hardly managed to touch Esdeath.
"Hmph."
The only thing that displeased Esdeath was that this inhuman lifeform wouldn't submit to her. She withdrew her sword and folded her arms. The moment King of Salt Yichir tried to seize the chance for a counterattack
Mahapadma!
Pause!
Esdeath activated her ultimate skill. Everything in the area froze in place, including the King of Salt Yichir with all his salt spears. In that stillness, Esdeath approached him. Without resistance, the King of Salt was fully encased in ice.
Clang!
Her sword flashed.
Crack!
The body of King of Salt Hyakuya Yichir shattered like broken biscuits.
[Ding! Trade Complete!]
[Ding! You have obtained "Cursed Gear: Shikama Dji!"
Shinoa felt her heart flutter slightly at that announcement.
"Youyou're heading back now, aren't you?"
She wasn't quite sure how to feel about Rei Aoafter all, he was the first man she'd deeply shared an "experience" with.
"Yes, something came up there, so I have to return," he said, gently kissing Shinoa on the lips while she was too stunned to react, then pulling away. "Use this power to protect yourself. Next time we meet, I'll chase you down for sure."
Leaving that behind, he and the others returned. In a blink, only Shinoa was left alone on the rooftop. She stared blankly ahead for a long time, then slowly raised a hand to touch her lips. The moist warmth lingered. She gradually formed a smile different from her usual calm or feigned grin.
"Rei Ao, just as everyone in the chat group said, you're definitely a romantic scoundrel."
[Name]: Shinoa
[Level]: 15
[Abilities]: "Dragon Force," "Blood Magic," "Rei Ao's Blessing," "Inherent Device : Blood Empress Raiment"
[Items]: "Cursed Gear: Shikama Dji," "Curse Talismans," "Cursed Gear Catalyst Talisman"
Though Rei Ao left, time in that world wouldn't stop. Not long after, the Imperial Demon Army arrived at the school.
Meanwhile, in Sanguinemthe vampire city far from human habitationthe Third Progenitor, Vampire Queen Krul Tepes, heard the news. Seated on her throne, the pink-haired woman narrowed her eyes.
"Ferid and Crowley so they'd really teamed up."
"Hmph. Good riddance if they're dead."
~~~
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Chapter 274: World Class... (Bonus Chapter)
Rei Ao returned.
The location was the integrated academy.
In an instant, he sensed Tohru's presence somewhere in the school.
"Tohru."
He arrived in the corridor of the teaching building, and at the far end he saw Tohru.
"Rei Ao!"
The moment Tohru caught sight of him, she rushed forward like a gust of wind and practically slammed right into him.
