Volume 2 Chapter 48: The Playground of the Black Cat

“Uooooooohhhhhhhhhhh!!”

With Hunter activated, I sprinted at full speed, carrying Rett-kun on my back. He let out a fierce battle cry while unleashing a relentless barrage of Flame Bullets.

Rett-kun wasn’t especially athletic, and since magic required intense concentration, close combat wasn’t his strong suit. While he could fight if necessary, it was unlikely he’d stand a chance against someone of Kreis-san’s caliber.

Living alongside absurdly powerful individuals capable of overwhelming even beastfolk with ridiculous speed and magic might skew your perspective, but demons usually fought by keeping their distance from enemies.

Thus, Rett-kun’s role was to act as a stationary turret on my back. He handled the firepower, while I provided the legs. Since conjuring arrows consumed mana, I refrained from summoning them. All offense was left entirely to Rett-kun.

It was a flawless division of labor—at least in theory.

“Hahaha!”

“Hahaha!”

“Hahaha!”

“Hahaha!”

Kreis-san’s clones pursued us, laughing cheerfully as they slashed through Rett-kun’s Flame Bullets with their gleaming swords, not even breaking their stride.

Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if they caught us.

“They’re coming! They’re not stopping! Noil, Kreis is super close!”

“I know! I know already! Just keep shooting, Rett-kun! Shoot anything!”

“Damn it, this is terrifying! Mina-nee! Help meee!”

Rett-kun’s desperate cries went unanswered. Mina was currently locked in combat with Kreis-san’s real body, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she unleashed fierce attacks. Kreis-san, however, avoided every strike with ease, his brilliant white teeth flashing in a confident smile.

Although all the clones were focused on us, Mina clearly had the harder fight. She didn’t have the luxury to answer Rett-kun’s pleas.

With Rett-kun half-crazed, firing Flame Bullets nonstop, and me sprinting frantically through the vast training grounds, we tried everything—even running along the walls like Mina had done earlier.

But Kreis-san and his clones used their numbers to slowly and methodically close in, until finally, they had us completely surrounded.

“Here we go!”

“Nooooooo! Stay back!”

“Stopppp!”

Our desperate screams were in vain. Kreis-san’s clones struck dramatic poses, then began spinning at incredible speed. Slowly but surely, they closed the distance toward us.

Their spinning figures were cloaked by shimmering capes, completely concealing their sword trajectories. Mina had mentioned this, but the Shisou Style was an absolute nightmare to deal with.

“Noil! That side’s bad!” Rett-kun shouted in panic as I instinctively leapt upward to escape.

The moment I jumped, I realized my mistake.

Where I’d landed, one of Kreis-san’s clones was already waiting, his radiant smile gleaming like the morning sun.

“Too bad! Gotcha now!”

The clone twisted in midair, using his cape to ensnare us. He followed this with an overly enthusiastic hug, then spun again to hurl us into a nearby wall.

Rett-kun was ripped from my back, and we both crashed into the wall with a bone-rattling impact.

The shock and pain coursing through me were enough to force Hunter to deactivate.

“Guahhh…ugh…”

I fell to the ground, managing to rise to my feet despite the pain. But Hunter was out of commission. Once a Magis Gear is destroyed, it takes time to reactivate. In other words, running was no longer an option.

With Kreis-san’s clones closing in, I realized our defeat was inevitable.

So—

“Rett-kun.”

“Ugh…what now, Noil…?”

Rett-kun struggled to his feet, clutching his head.

“I need to get to Mina’s side.”

To reach Mina, we’d have to break through the line of Kreis-san’s clones. Without Hunter, it was impossible for me.

Yet, Rett-kun smirked at my absurd request.

“Fine. Leave it to me.”

He raised his hands forward and shouted:

“Engulf them! Flame Prison!”

A cage of flames surrounded Kreis-san’s clones, and blood began to drip from Rett-kun’s nose.

“It’s…a rush job! Won’t hold long!”

Ignoring my aching body, I sprinted through the flames, heading toward Mina, who was still battling Kreis-san.

“Mina!!”

“Hahh…hahh…what?!”

Breathing heavily, she continued her relentless assault without turning to face me.

“Beast Step!”

“…!”

That was all she needed to understand my intent.

As expected of my best friend.

Mina leapt backward to create distance, then dropped to all fours, adopting an ultra-low stance.

Kreis-san raised his shimmering sword, clearly wary.

“Interesting! Bring it on!”

“Guardian!”

I quickly activated Guardian, summoning a circle of shields to surround Kreis-san.

As his sharp gaze followed the movement of the shields, Mina’s figure blurred and vanished from sight.

The next instant, a powerful shock reverberated through my body. Mina had used the shields as footholds to alter her trajectory.

Beast Step combined with Guardian.

This was the technique we’d jokingly talked about while hanging out in Mina’s room—a technique we named Black Cat’s Playground.

Now, Mina was darting around the shield barrier at a speed too fast for the eye to follow. I couldn’t track her movements visually, but the impacts resonating through the shields gave me enough feedback to push them slightly, helping her accelerate further.

Focusing every ounce of my attention, I made sure my timing stayed precise and my adjustments didn’t disrupt her momentum.

Mana drained rapidly, and Guardian—strained from absorbing the force of Mina’s Beast Step—wouldn’t last much longer. This was a reckless, all-or-nothing strategy. If this didn’t work, we were done for.

Kreis-san narrowly dodged Mina’s erratic attacks, but his expression was no longer calm and confident. His face had hardened, and the earlier air of invincibility was gone.

“Urgh… Damn it, I’m at my limit!”

Rett-kun grimaced in pain, collapsing to his knees. At the same moment, the fiery prison surrounding Kreis-san’s clones vanished, and they all rushed straight toward me.

With every shield now allocated to supporting Mina, I was completely defenseless.

All I could do was believe in her and shout:

“Go, Minaaaaaaa!”

“…How beautiful.”

Time seemed to slow as Kreis-san’s quiet words reached my ears.

And then, Mina’s attack connected.

Her flying kick struck Kreis-san square in the stomach, sending him hurtling into the training ground’s wall with a thunderous crash.

The clones that had been bearing down on me instantly disappeared, and Kreis-san collapsed to the ground, motionless.

“Hah… Hah…”

Mina’s ragged breathing echoed through the now-silent training ground. She wiped the sweat pouring down her face with her arm, struggling to catch her breath.

The strain had clearly been immense—she’d already deactivated Black Claw.

“Uh… he’s not dead, right?”

I hesitantly asked Mina, my eyes nervously fixed on Kreis-san, who lay face-down and completely still.

In the heat of battle, I hadn’t considered it, but now that I looked at his lifeless form, panic began to set in. This… felt like overkill. If I’d taken a hit like that, I’d have died. Probably three times over.

Had we… become murderers?

“Hah… no way… that guy’s too tough… to die… from just that…”

Gasping for breath, Mina reassured me, though she didn’t seem entirely certain herself.

“Still… he probably won’t… be moving… for a while…”

She placed her hands on her hips, exhaled deeply, and finally seemed to have recovered her composure.

Walking over to me, she raised one hand.

“Nice support.”

She smiled as she spoke.

“Oh, uh, thanks. I did my best.”

Mina continued to stand there with her hand raised, staring at me silently. What? Did I do something wrong?

Her cheerful expression was gradually darkening, her brows furrowing into a scowl.

Maybe I should apologize?

“What are you doing?”

“Apologizing?”

“Why?! It’s a high-five! Come on!”

Grabbing my hand before I could bow, Mina pressed my palm against hers, forcing a high-five.

Oh, that’s what she wanted? My bad. Sorry for being clueless. My life hasn’t exactly been filled with these moments. I’m kind of a dark-element guy, okay?

“Honestly…”

Mina folded her arms, sighing in exasperation.

“Whooooo! We did it!”

Rett-kun, who had snuck up beside us, let out a triumphant yell and leapt onto my back.

As I scrambled to steady him, he began shaking my shoulders enthusiastically.

“That was amazing! Did you see that? So cool!”

H-Hey, calm down, Rett-kun! You’re bleeding from your nose—now it’s on my shirt! Oh no, it’s on my face, too!

“Rett, you were awesome too.”

“Yesss!”

Seeing our antics, Mina chuckled softly while Rett-kun grinned from ear to ear.

“Now then.”

Mina’s tone turned serious as she started walking toward Kreis-san. Carrying Rett-kun on my back, I followed close behind.

When we reached Kreis-san’s side, Mina stood over him, arms crossed, staring down at his unconscious form.

“Still awake, aren’t you?”

“Yup, bingo.”

At Mina’s remark, Kreis suddenly sprang upright, flashing those unnaturally white teeth in a wide grin. Honestly, it was unnerving.

“Enhancement magic, huh? You managed to guard against it.”

“Just barely.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Rett-kun and I muttered in perfect sync. If we’d spoken a second earlier, it would’ve been a proper unison. Kreis-san glanced at the two of us and chuckled wryly.

“Don’t worry. I can’t move. You’ve won, completely.”

“Yeah, right. Like you were even trying your hardest.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

This time, Rett-kun and I really did speak in unison.

If this wasn’t Kreis-san at full power, then he was probably strong enough to take on the Manager himself. Should I ask Kreis-san to deal with the Manager for me? Though… he’d probably lose.

“But that last move of yours… even if I was serious, I doubt I could’ve handled it. A beautiful… technique. Did you two practice it?”

“Of course not.”

“You should. It would become… even more beautiful. I’d like to see that.”

“…Maybe if I feel like it. Anyway, now that I’ve confirmed you’re still alive, we’re leaving.”

The conversation was continuing without me, but there was no way I’d ever feel like practicing Black Cat’s Playground. This whole ordeal made me want to steer clear of Spirit Wind for a while.

Though, of course, I’d still hang out with Rett-kun. He didn’t sneak off to go fishing without me, so he was forever my best bud. As for my Master… she’d remain my fishing companion for life.

“…Please… don’t be too hard… on Sophie-chan…”

With those faint words, Kreis-san closed his eyes. It seemed even he had reached his limit.

“Depends on her reasons. Let’s go, Noil, Rett.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Right.”

We followed Mina like obedient lackeys, giving our replies in unison.

“There’s no need for that.”

A flat, emotionless voice echoed across the training grounds.

When we turned around, standing at the entrance was a petite, doll-like maid—Sophie, the one responsible for this entire incident.

And next to her—

“Noil!”

Despite having a knife pressed against her neck, Noel was smiling brightly.

It had been a while since I’d seen her, but I was pretty sure Noel wasn’t the kind of person who would smile as if flowers were blooming around her while being held hostage.

What am I supposed to do here? Do I save her? What’s Noel’s role in all this now? Someone, please explain.

“…Is she someone you know?”

“Ah, yes.”

Mina asked in a confused whisper, and I nodded. Then Rett-kun mumbled from my back:

“Why are all the women you know so weird…?”

Um… well… uh…

No, Noel is normal! She’s a rational person! Or at least, I thought she was. Looking at her now, though, I was starting to question my memory.

As I struggled to come up with a response, Mina shook her head vigorously and turned to face Sophie.

“Anyway! Sophie! What the hell are you doing?! Let her go!”

“I’m afraid I cannot. However, if my Master would agree to love the Mistress, I will release her immediately.”

“Wha—! Are you insane?!”

Sophie’s voice was calm, devoid of emotion, but her demand was unmistakably a threat. She wanted Noel’s release in exchange for me agreeing to be with Elle.

This was absurd. Absolutely ridiculous.

I had no idea what Sophie was thinking. It didn’t feel like she was joking, either. Though her face remained expressionless, her eyes betrayed a hint of determination—and desperation.

What could have driven her to this point? Whatever the reason, this was unacceptable.

I gently lowered Rett-kun to the ground and stepped forward to face Sophie directly. Then, I opened my mouth—

“Huh?”

A stupid sound escaped my lips.

“What?”

“Hah?”

Mina and Rett-kun gawked as well.

Noel had grabbed the knife pressed against her neck with her bare hand, pried Sophie’s arm away, twisted it, and slammed her to the ground in a fluid motion.

In the blink of an eye, Noel snatched the knife, now stained with her blood, and placed it against Sophie’s neck.

It all happened so fast that everyone, including Sophie herself, was dumbfounded.

“Thanks for guiding me, Sophie. Unlike Milis or Fiona, I’m not good at figuring out where people are. But I know Noil best. So please, stop calling him ‘Master.’ Noil doesn’t like it.”

Noel smiled sweetly.

“Okay?”

The training grounds fell silent.

And then Rett-kun shouted, almost hysterically:

“Secure her!”

“Ah, y-yes!”

Snapping out of it, Mina rushed over with Rett-kun, pinning Sophie down in Noel’s place.

Meanwhile, I remained frozen in shock.

Noel slowly walked toward me, head bowed. Blood dripped from her right hand, leaving crimson stains on the ground.

Before I could wonder if she was okay or if she felt pain, another question surfaced:

Was this really Noel?

What happened after I left White Road? Someone, please, tell me.

Actually… this has the Manager’s fingerprints all over it, doesn’t it?

I don’t know this person. Where did the cheerful, innocent Noel go?

“Noil.”

“Y-yes?”

When she stood before me, the voice calling my name was undeniably hers. Her face was just as adorable as I remembered.

But she was terrifying.

Honestly, I wanted to run, but my legs refused to move.

“I missed you!”

With a radiant smile, she leapt into my chest.

It seemed like a joyful reunion, but it was terrifying.

Her hands, wrapped around my back, fidgeted in a way that was also terrifying.

After holding me for a while, Noel gently cupped my cheek.

It was terrifying.

“Did you miss me?”

“Uh… yes.”

Noel’s blood-smeared hand left a crimson mark on my cheek.

And yes, it was utterly terrifying.