Chapter 10

[Chains of Heaven (Enhanced): An enhanced version of Gilgamesh's Chains of Heaven. It grows with its master. At minimum, it can bind enemies at the Upper-Class Devil level; at maximum, it can restrain three-digit ranked beings.]

"Stealing someone else's little sister and still daring to say such things? That really pisses me off, nya!?" Kuroka snarled, her sharp teeth flashing, a clear sign of her heightened aggression.

But despite her rage, there was little she could do. As a mage, she was almost perfectly countered by Shoyo. Asking her to fight him in close combat was unrealistic.

Truthfully… if it came down to raw hand-to-hand combat without overdrawing his power, Shoyo wouldn’t stand a chance. Kuroka's physical body alone was comparable to an Upper-Class Devil.

Even the Chains of Heaven would barely manage to restrain her. Yet, Shoyo didn’t activate them, because there was no need to.

As their confrontation reached a tense silence, a high-pitched, cheerful voice rang out from above.

"Mil mil final~~~!"

"Bullying the peerage of my little sister~~~ That is unforgivable, okay!~~ Milky-chan will eliminate you on behalf of Sona-chan, yo~!"

As expected, she had made her entrance. After all, being overly protective of her little sister, and doting on her, were Serafall’s signature traits. Shoyo had sensed her Maou-level presence the moment she entered the area.

"Magical Girl~~ Serafall has arrived!~~ Delivering heavenly punishment to the stray devil cat and the disobedient wild animal~~"

Shoyo looked up. A girl in a pink Magical Girl Milky cosplay outfit descended from the sky, twin black pigtails swaying dramatically. Her red-and-black stockings wrapped tightly around her slender legs. Most concerning of all, a terrifying ice-type magic swirled at the tip of her star-shaped wand.

"...Pink..."

Hiss~

Shoyo inhaled sharply. A tingling, itchy sensation ran down his back, the unmistakable bite of a small feline.

"Koneko, Koneko, I was talking about the eyes, okay~~?" he quickly corrected himself. "The eyes, not the panties!~~"

Although… he could see the panties too.

"Ugh-ye~" Bikuo gulped, looking nervously at the descending Maou-level girl.

If memory served, this was Serafall Leviathan, one of the Four Great Maous of the Underworld. Even among Maou-level beings, she was terrifyingly strong.

“Onee-sama, if possible, don’t overdo it,” came a calm voice from beside Shoyo. It was Sona Sitri, the student council president of Kuoh Academy and heir to the Sitri household.

“If you swing that wand too hard, a small country could vanish. Just use enough to capture them is fine.”

"Since Sona-chan asked, Milky-chan must comply, yo~~ Two unruly beasts, prepare to be vanquished by the sparkling light of magic!"

Serafall was clearly thrilled. Legal combat? With live targets? What a treat.

"Tch! Bikuo… retreat." Kuroka narrowed her eyes. Even in the face of a Maou-class spell, she remained calm.

"Roger that~ Facing a Maou-sama, a temporary withdrawal is clearly the smart move!~ We’ll discuss your sister later, okay?~"

Bikuo had no interest in being caught by a Maou and then lectured by his father. That’d be way too humiliating.

"Not allowed~!~ If Milky-chan lets you two escape, she’ll get scolded by Sona-chan, yo~~"

Excitement sparkled in Serafall’s pink eyes. Magical Girl Milky-chan simply couldn’t allow evil to flee.

"Heh, putting everything else aside, we’ve perfected the art of running away." Bikuo grinned and exchanged glances with Kuroka.

Between the Biblical faction and other major pantheons, they’d stirred enough chaos to become escape specialists.

"Escape plan, go!~"

Countless teleportation circles for escape lit up in Kuroka’s hands.

Shoyo watched but made no move to interfere.

Partly because he was exhausted, his spiritual power almost completely drained. If Serafall hadn’t shown up, he would’ve teleported to the Underworld himself.

But more importantly, he didn’t want Kuroka and Bikuo to get caught.


---

"President, thank you for your help," Shoyo said sincerely.

Serafall continued bouncing happily behind them.

"No need to thank me, Shoyo-kun. Actually, I came looking for you today," Sona said, adjusting her glasses. Her eyes fell instinctively to the small Koneko clinging to Shoyo's back.

[This is far too intimate…] she thought. If Koneko hadn’t been clearly injured, she would’ve separated them immediately.

"But first, tell me, have you awakened the power of a hero?"

Her tone turned serious. She had seen the golden weapons he wielded earlier. Getting hit by one wouldn’t just leave minor wounds. If he had such power… why had he hidden it until now?

"Sort of," Shoyo nodded. "When the power awakened, a flood of memories came with it, knowledge of devils, gods, Buddhas, and more. Perhaps it’s tied to whatever that terrifying thing was that appeared today. After the sky phenomenon vanished, I felt something unlock inside me."

That was the story he had prepared.

He couldn’t say the truth, that he received the power of Vishnu, a deity from outside their world. That would invite too much attention. Claiming it as the awakening of a heroic bloodline was safer.

"I see," Sona nodded. It was plausible. No obvious flaws.

"Koneko-san, I’ll send you to Rias first. Shoyo-kun and I have things to discuss, and you still need treatment."

Sona had originally planned to use Ajuka-sama’s formulas to help Shoyo grow strong, even without innate talent. Now that he had awakened power, those formulas would be like giving wings to a tiger.

After all, it was too late to return the resources she’d received from Maou Ajuka.

"Hmm… I don’t know any healing spells anyway,"

Shoyo said softly, squatting within the teleportation circle Sona created and gently setting Koneko down inside.

"Senpai… see you tomorrow." Koneko murmured faintly. There was something she felt she needed to say.

"Hmm. Take care of your injuries, Koneko," Shoyo replied warmly.

He noticed her tail swaying restlessly, she was uneasy… and a little reluctant to leave.

Tzz!

The Sitri family crest lit up, and Koneko’s small figure disappeared.


---

"By the way, Shoyo-kun, this is for you."

Sona handed him a transparent crystal orb. It radiated a dense, magical aura.

She had just traded for it from one of the Maou. It contained compressed magic knowledge: simplified construction methods for magic circles, thought-based chants, energy reflux techniques, and more. All were Ajuka Beelzebub’s personal breakthroughs.

For most devils, this knowledge was enough to reach Ultimate-Class. For those with genius-level intellect and calculation ability, it could elevate them to Maou-level.

"This is…?" Shoyo examined it. He couldn’t even see what was inside. The outer layer was protected by seals from a Super Devil.

The array shielding the orb was likely more complex than the data within it.

Even using [Krishna]'s authority and his Copying Eye, he could only catch glimpses.

"Ahh~~ Sona-chan! Why did you just give that away?!"

Serafall descended again, puffing her cheeks and rubbing against her younger sister.

"Wait, Onee-sama, you let them escape, didn’t you?"

Sensing a change in Shoyo’s gaze, Sona’s expression darkened. She stretched out her hand and pinched Serafall’s cheek.

"Aa~ They were a little slippery~ But… does Sona-chan like this kind of development? Onee-sama doesn’t dislike it either, yo~ In fact, Onee-sama quite likes this kind of plot~"

She beamed happily as her cheek was still being pinched.


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