Chapter 32

"Still, Rin, you didn't need to come, did you?"

Kuro, in the form of a golden lion, soared through the sky and spoke to Rin, who clung to his back.

"No way! I'm going to take down the people who bullied my master too!"

Rin replied and clung even tighter.

"Hmm, can't help it, I suppose..."

Feeling Rin's resolve from her actions, Kuro reluctantly agreed to let her come along.

"But don't do anything reckless."

"Un!"

Rin responded energetically to Kuro's words. Then, Shiro, their guide, called out to them.

"Kaa! Kaa kaa!"

"Hmm, is that it?"

"Big! Blue!"

They had spotted their target's base and were informing the two of it.

"Alright then. Before we land, let's reconfirm our objective."

"Kaa."

"Un! We'll take down the bullies!"

"Hmm. While I want to take down those who bullied my master, as Shiro said, rescuing the hostages is the priority."

"Boo."

Rin pouted a little when corrected by Kuro.

"Well, I'll handle the rescue. Rin and Shiro, you two take care of anyone who tries to interfere. Shiro, I'm counting on you."

"Kaa."

Shiro nodded and chirped, as if to say, "Leave it to me."

"Then, let's go and teach those who took peace from our master a lesson."

"Kaa!"

"Un!"

With renewed determination and a unified heart, the three familiars landed in front of the high-rise building.

◇

"They... they've come."

Chie, who was peering out from a room on the 8th floor, felt a wave of tension spread through the entire building.

"Still, what an enormous amount of life force..."

Chie's 'Perception' ability varied in accuracy based on distance and concentration. If the target was within a few hundred meters, she could detect the life force emitted when abilities or techniques were used. From her own experience, she could also gauge the strength of the opponent.

"All three are at the A-rank ability user level... This is incredible. But it's not beyond our handling. I'll give the order for a preemptive strike...!"

Just as she was about to order a preemptive strike to the combatants on the 1st floor, Chie sensed an unusual tremor. To confirm the anomaly, she used her 'Perception' to look at the exterior of the building and witnessed a terrifying sight.

"The building is... shifting!?"

It was no wonder she was shocked. The entire 7th floor, just below her, was cut diagonally, and the building was about to collapse.

"Sefek!"

"I understand! 'Restraint'!!"

Sefek, who was waiting in the same room, activated his 'Restraint' ability with all his might, targeting the building. His 'Restraint' ability could stop the movement of any object within his line of sight. Normally, it would only slow down the movement of objects, but his A-rank 'Restraint' was powerful enough to stop the building from collapsing.

"It's shifted quite a bit, but I managed to stop it. Still, what was that...?"

"That was an attack from one of the enemies. It's probably the highest-level version of the cutting technique mentioned in the report."

"!!?"

Sefek felt a cold sweat run down his back at Chie's words. If that cutting attack had sliced through the floor they were on, the battle might have ended right there.

"Sefek, keep your composure. The battle has just begun."

"Yes, I understand. I'm sorry."

While Sefek tried to regain his composure, Chie glared at the white-haired little girl who had caused this shocking situation.

"This is going to be an incredible battle..."

For them, a hellish battle was about to begin.

◇

"Rin..."

"Kaa..."

Kuro and Shiro's faces turned pale as they watched the building shift.

They had planned to land in front of the building, have Shiro locate the hostages with sound waves, and then have Kuro enter the building. However, Rin had cut the building with the words, "I'll cut it, Kuro, just go in from there."

"Kaa, kaa kaa."

"Is that so, no one was killed. That's really good."

"Be careful, the one who cut it!"

Rin responded with a slightly offended look to Shiro and Kuro's comments.

"But next time, get our permission before you cut anything."

"Boo."

"Kaa kaa."

"Shiro is right. If you act too recklessly, Master might get angry."

"Boo... I understand. I'll ask Kuro and Shiro before I cut anything."

"Good."

"Kaa."

Relieved by Rin's reluctant agreement, the two of them sighed in relief.

"By the way, it seems the building's collapse has been stopped."

"Kaa kaa, kaa kaa."

"I see, it must be the ability of someone on the 8th floor. Even as an enemy, we should be grateful."

"Kaa."

"Boo."

Kuro and Shiro explained why they had praised the enemy, but Rin's mood didn't improve.

"Rin, if it had collapsed, people might have died."

"Kaa kaa, kaa kaa."

"Boo!"

The two of them explained, but Rin's mood remained sour.

"...Rin, you did well."

"...Kaa."

"Un!"

Prioritizing her mood, the two of them silently vowed to teach Rin about morals later.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Shocked by the scene, Kuro had forgotten the first action he should have taken.

"‘Pseudo-Interference Barrier’"

With Kuro's words, a massive barrier enveloped the building and its surroundings. This barrier, like the one Shiro had set up at the temple he attacked, prevented any disturbances inside from being detected from the outside.

"Kaa?"

"Is this what you just set up? It's similar to a barrier, but it's not a real one."

As Kuro said, it wasn't a real barrier. It was something created by Kuro's abilities as a yokai.

"I'll explain properly next time. It doesn't last long, so time is precious now. So, I'll leave the 1st floor to you."

"Kaa."

"Leave it to me."

"Good. I'm off then."

With the two of them seeing him off, Kuro took to the sky, heading for the 7th floor where the hostages were.

It wasn't by chance; Rin had carefully confirmed that no one would be cut before she sliced the building. I'll explain the method she used in the afterword of a later chapter.