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On a mountain in the outskirts of Kyoto, ripples spread suddenly beneath a tree, like circles on water.
Moments later, a black cat burst out from the distortion, a gemstone clenched in its teeth, its fur soaked in blood.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
The cat hissed through clenched teeth, shivering as it sucked in cold breaths. It plopped down by the tree, spat the gem onto the ground, and let out a relieved sigh.
"Finally out of the Underworld. Those devils shouldn't be able to chase me all the way here."
As she spoke, she glanced down at the wounds on her paws, then at the gemstone on the ground. Her eyes reddened, and she exploded into curses.
"What the hell was that 'Mother of Devils' thinking?! This is the first time in my life I've seen someone stockpile a vault full of cosmetics. Is she insane?!"
Thinking back to the dumbfounded look she'd had upon seeing shelves of makeup in the treasury, Kuroka only grew more annoyed.
"Forget artificial Super Devil research data—you could at least stash something valuable! But no, it's all cosmetics. Damn those cosmetics! If I hadn't spotted this gem, I'd have been completely screwed this time!"
Kuroka stomped her paws in anger, leaving several small dents in the soft earth as she grumbled.
"Seriously, what a pain."
She opened her mouth again and spat out several exquisitely crafted glass bottles.
They were the latest skincare lotions she'd "picked up" from the Mother of Devils' treasury.
Looking at the bottles on the ground, Kuroka suddenly felt a bit sheepish. She let out an awkward chuckle.
"Well… I mean, since I was already there, taking a little something isn't too much, right? No thief leaves empty-handed."
After muttering that to herself, she used a spatial spell to stash the products away, then turned her attention back to the gemstone on the ground.
"But seriously… what is this thing?"
"Judging by how tense those guards were, this gem must've been the most valuable item in that vault, right?"
A trace of hesitation crossed her face.
It had taken her tremendous effort to infiltrate that treasury. Her goal had been to find information on artificial Super Devils—to identify just how many enemies had been involved in those experiments.
But in the end, all she found was a mountain of cosmetics. The only unusual item was the gem in front of her.
Compared to items you could just buy with money, this gem was definitely the most valuable thing in the vault—but how valuable, she couldn't say.
"Well, I was already discovered the moment I broke in. At that point, grabbing anything at all was pure luck."
She muttered to herself, then frowned suspiciously. "But what's going on with Sirzechs's information? He told me there'd be data on artificial Super Devils and a list of participants in the Mother of Devils' treasury. Was that even true?"
"Or… does that castle have multiple vaults?"
After thinking it over for a while, Kuroka suspected that Sirzechs might have kept something from her—but probably nothing that would harm her.
For one simple reason. If the current Satan Lucifer really wanted to do something to her, there'd be no need for such roundabout tricks.
Her little sister was still staying with his younger sister. With that kind of leverage, there was no reason for him to go through all this trouble.
Besides, if he truly wanted to act, she wouldn't be able to stop him anyway.
That man was Satan Sirzechs Lucifer.
"So… what exactly is this gem? Or maybe the research data is stored inside it?"
Kuroka eyed the gemstone suspiciously, pressing her cat face so close that it nearly touched the smooth surface.
But aside from seeing her own reflection staring back at her, there was nothing.
"…What does this thing even do?"
The moment the words left her mouth, a faint white glow flickered across the gem.
Kuroka's pupils shrank.
Her figure blurred and faded, her true body reappearing ten meters away in an instant. She stared at the gem with extreme caution, ready to bolt at any moment.
If her instincts hadn't told her there was no danger, she would've already fled.
Even so, she remained on high alert. Her spatial magic was fully primed, ready to activate at the slightest sign of trouble.
Then—
With a low hum, the gem burst open.
A white envelope, sealed with wax, drifted out.
"…Huh?"
Kuroka froze.
She'd imagined all kinds of things—a terrifying entity sealed inside, a hidden trap set by the Mother of Devils, maybe even a bomb.
But a letter?
A letter sealed inside a gem?
What kind of logic was that?
The envelope probably wasn't even worth as much as the stone it came out of.
"Damn it, nya… Did I forget to check my luck before heading out today? Why am I running into something this weird?"
Still grumbling, she prepared to form a magical arm to grab the letter from a distance.
But the moment the arm took shape, its fingertips began to vanish piece by piece. The hand shattered into countless fragments, like it had been fed through a paper shredder. Worse still, the arm itself took on a dull, gray metallic sheen.
"What—?!"
Kuroka retreated rapidly.
Only then did she realize that everything within dozens of meters—the forest itself—had turned into that same gray metal. Faintly, she could even hear the grinding of gears.
Before the sound could fully register, the surrounding trees suddenly broke apart into countless fragments, dissolving into nothingness midair.
"This is what my instincts call 'no danger'?!"
Kuroka stared blankly at the scene, her worldview on the verge of collapse.
"Curiosity really does kill the cat!"
Crying inside, she turned and ran without hesitation.
But the moment she took a step—
Something warm lifted her from beneath her belly.
Her feet left the ground.
"…???"
Kuroka froze, completely dumbfounded.
At the same time, a man's voice sounded from behind her. "And here I thought it picked someone interesting… a cat? What new trick is Algol playing at?"
The voice was rich and magnetic, so close it made her fur stand on end.
Instinctively, Kuroka tried to activate her escape spell—but the moment it formed, her connection to it vanished completely.
What?!
Where did my spell go?!
I just cast a huge spatial transfer spell! I burned through that much magic—where did it go?!
As she stood there in stunned confusion, the man chuckled.
"Interesting little thing. You can even use spatial magic."
As his voice fell, the ground in her vision seemed to drift farther and farther away.
Then she was turned around—
And found herself face-to-face with a handsome man.
He held her up by the scruff—well, under her forelegs—lifting her so she dangled in the air. His gaze flicked downward, his tone tinged with surprise.
"Oh? It's a female cat."
Kuroka's mind went completely blank.
.
.
.