What now?
As Delta rubbed her face against his expressionless one, the thought surfaced in Cid's mind.
Should I stop time and erase everyone's memories?
No, that was way too much trouble. Far too many people had seen it!
If only a few people had seen it, Cid would not have minded spending a little time clearing their memories. But dozens of people? Spare him. It was like trying to step on an ant without killing it. Controlling that kind of force was incredibly difficult.
"Cid, what's wrong?"
Delta's puzzled voice snapped Cid out of his thoughts. Looking at her dumb expression, tongue lolling out and tail wagging nonstop behind her, anger welled up inside him.
To be honest, he had been happy when he first ran into Delta. After all, the bond they had formed growing up together was real. But he had forgotten one important thing. Delta was the only problem child among the Seven Shadows!
Later, he would tell Gamma or Beta to take Delta away. His grand ambition as an Eminence in Shadow could not be ruined by stupid Delta.
"Let go of Cid!"
After a quick exchange of glances confirmed that the woman pouncing on Cid was the same one who had attacked them that night, Rias and Sona Sitri immediately sprang to their feet. They pushed off the ground to put distance between themselves and Delta, gathering Magical Power at their fingertips and aiming it at her as they shouted.
"President, what's going on?"
Koneko Toujou, who had noticed the commotion, walked over to Rias and asked. When she got a clear look at Delta, a strange light flickered in her eyes, and she instinctively looked around for her sister.
The private negotiations between Heaven and the Underworld naturally could not be held in public. Aside from the personnel specifically responsible for the talks, only those trusted by Dulio and Serafall were allowed inside. Otherwise, it would be ridiculous if their own side broke into infighting halfway through the negotiations.
Apart from the few who were allowed in, most of the personnel brought by both sides had gathered outside the conference hall to guard the negotiation site.
At that moment, everyone present had already had their attention drawn by the noise Delta made when she entered. But since Delta had shown no aggression, had such a harmless-looking appearance, and seemed to know someone on the Devil side, they had not attacked immediately. Seeing Rias and Sona Sitri react like this, however, they instinctively raised their weapons.
"Hey, Devil, what are you making such a fuss about? Isn't this Therianthrope your friend?"
Xenovia broke the tense atmosphere. She had not recognized Delta as the Therianthrope who had attacked them, and everything she knew about Delta came from Cid saying she was a Therianthrope he had met by chance. So she immediately called out Rias for overreacting.
"Hah, friend?"
Even knowing they were in an extremely dangerous situation and that Delta could kill them all at any moment, Rias still let out a startled sound, part of her attention shifting to Xenovia.
"President Rias, she's the Therianthrope I told you about the day before yesterday. The one who knows Cid-senpai."
A quiet voice reached her ear. Rias looked at Koneko Toujou, who was speaking softly beside her, then looked back at Delta, whose tail was wagging in front of her, and blinked in confusion.
She remembered now. The night before last, when Koneko Toujou had come to tell her that she had run into her sister, Kuroka Toujou, she had indeed mentioned that there was a Therianthrope beside Kuroka Toujou who seemed to know Cid. But the problem was, was the one Koneko Toujou had described really the same person standing before her now?
At the time, Koneko Toujou had said she looked like a typical brainless idiot of a Therianthrope, that her strength did not seem particularly impressive, and that she appeared to be a little follower Kuroka Toujou had tricked into tagging along.
Because she trusted Koneko Toujou's judgment, Rias had not paid much attention to the fact that Delta knew Cid. She had treated it as a minor issue and planned to ask Cid about Delta herself the next day. Instead, she had focused more on Kuroka Toujou, the S-class fugitive wanted by the Underworld, and had gone to tell Serafall about it that very night.
If Rias had known that the Therianthrope Koneko Toujou mentioned was Delta, the same Delta who had attacked them before, she never would have been bold enough to let Delta come into contact with Cid. What pet of Kuroka Toujou? This was a ticking time bomb capable of killing every last one of them!
Thinking of that, Rias's expression twisted despite herself. But things had already reached this point, so she could only force a smile and speak stiffly.
"She's... the one who attacked us the day before yesterday."
Her voice was very quiet, but in the silent hall, it was no different from dropping a depth charge. In an instant, the Church warriors, who had already found Delta strangely familiar and had even begun to suspect her identity, received their confirmation.
After a brief silence, everyone in the hall repeated what Rias and Sona Sitri had just done. They all backed away from Delta and pointed their weapons at her.
With Delta and Cid at the center, an empty space of over ten meters formed around them.
"Grr... cough..."
With so many weapons pointed at her, even the carefree Delta sensed their intent to attack. She instantly entered combat mode, a beast-like sound rumbling in her throat as she began to rise, ready to strike first and kill them all. But she only got halfway up before sitting back down.
"Ci... Eeeek!"
Delta had been about to ask Cid what was wrong and why he was holding her hand to stop her from killing Rias and the others, but the moment she met Cid's eyes, she let out a shriek.
Be quiet. Let me think through how to bluff my way past this. If you dare interrupt me, I'll hunt you down.
Even someone as stupid as Delta could understand the meaning behind that hollow, icy stare. She was so frightened that she obediently sat still and did not start yelling about killing Rias and the others like she normally would.
Now then, let me figure out how to convince Rias and the others that Delta and I aren't close while preserving my mob character identity. Come on, Cid. Show them your unbeatable scriptwriting skills.
Cid lay on the ground, while Delta lay on top of him, too frightened to move. Rias and the others did not dare act rashly because of the gap in strength and because Cid was in Delta's hands. For the moment, the situation seemed to have reached a stalemate.
But the stalemate would not last long. Someone on Rias's side had already started to catch on. In ten seconds at most, the leaders from both sides would come out. Once her life was threatened, unless Cid directly ordered her not to move, Delta would start fighting back no matter what.
I can't think of anything... I'm tired. Let it all burn. I'll just kill everyone later!
Cid lay sprawled on the ground. Please forgive him. He truly could not think of what to do. In the current situation, unless some absolute monster fell from the sky and threw the whole place into chaos, even his ability to make things up on the spot would be useless.
"Divide!"
Hm... Holy crap, an absolute monster really showed up!
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
Just as Cid was starting to give up entirely, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out. Everyone felt the powerful surge of Magical Power that had appeared out of nowhere, but before they could react, continuous explosions erupted throughout the venue.
The explosions continued for over ten seconds, flattening the building as thick black smoke filled the area.
A powerful gale blew the black smoke away, revealing three protective barriers below, formed from Slime Suit, Holy Power, and ice respectively.
Sensing that the explosions had stopped, Serafall and Dulio, who still had not figured out what had happened, released their protective barriers. After glancing at the Slime Suit barrier beside them, created by who knew whom, they turned toward the group that had attacked them.
Vali, his entire body covered in white metal armor with a pair of light wings on his back. Bikou, wearing ancient battle armor and holding a long staff. Arthur, dressed in a proper suit with bandages wrapped around his body. Kuroka Toujou, wearing a black long-sleeved kimono with one hand covering her face. And Le Fay, riding on a great wolf, her oversized magical robe trailing behind her as countless Magic Circles filled the sky, the anger on her face ruining her usually cute and lively look.
"Terrorists who attacked Loki in Northern Europe, members of the Khaos Brigade. Why are you attacking us?"
A cold aura radiated from Serafall as she kept her guard up and searched for an opening to strike, suppressing her urge to attack while questioning Vali with an icy expression.
"Looks like what I did has already gotten out!"
Vali remarked casually, casting a disgusted glance at Serafall and Dulio. Then his gaze shifted to Cid and Delta beneath the Slime Suit barrier, which had already begun to break apart. He raised an eyebrow, apparently quite surprised.
"Delta Boss? Cid? What are you two doing here?"
Could you not talk like we're close? We don't know each other!
Feeling the gazes that had just been drawn to Vali snap right back to him after Vali's words, cold sweat slid down Cid's back.
You know them too?
No one said it out loud, but the expressions on Serafall, Dulio, Rias, and the others made the meaning obvious.
Rias looked the strangest of all, because some of those gazes had also landed on her.
Rias, what exactly is going on with Cid?
I don't know either.
Rias answered Sona Sitri's searching look with a blank, confused stare, trying to sort out what had happened.
Koneko Toujou said Cid knew one of her sister's little followers. That little follower was the Shadow Pet who had attacked both the Devils and the Church. Then a bunch of terrorists attacked them, and the terrorists' leader also knew Cid... Thanks, her CPU was fried.
"I'm on the Devils' side. Also, our relationship isn't really..."
"Hi, Vali! Cid is Delta's... g-good friend."
Cid instantly grabbed Delta's tail, stopping her mouth before she could start getting carried away again. Feeling cold sweat run down his back, he once again strengthened his resolve to send Delta away. How long had it been? Delta had already nearly exposed his identity several times.
"Huh? Delta Boss, you actually understand the concept of having friends...? Forget it. Cid, stay away from the Devils. I've got a score to settle with them!"
As he shouted, Vali punched through the ice attacking him. The jewel on his chest lit up, and his halving ability covered Serafall as she shot out from the cold air, letting him meet her head-on with the borrowed momentum.
The moment Serafall confirmed that Vali had come looking for trouble with the Devils, she had taken the initiative and attacked first, trying to eliminate him and reduce the pressure on them. Unfortunately, she realized she could not beat him in a direct clash, so she could only retreat for now and avoid close combat.
"How about we work together?"
After landing, Serafall looked grimly at Vali and the others, then asked Dulio for help.
There were too many powerful people on Vali's side. She could handle one or two, but if that many attacked together, she could not win no matter how strong she was.
"Of course."
Dulio nodded and stepped forward, his wings spreading behind him.
"Don't interfere. This is between us and the Devils."
"Are you joking?"
Dulio replied dryly. They might not get along with the Devils, but there was no way they could stand by while a group of terrorists attacked during negotiations.
Vali's helmet covered his face, and his targets expanded to include both of them. Since Dulio would not listen, he would fight both sides at once.
"Wait, Mr. Joker. We don't need to fight. In a way, our goals are actually the same."
"?"
Unfortunately, Kuroka Toujou had no intention of simply following Vali's wishes and handing an enemy a favor for free. At the very least, she had to consider how Arthur and Le Fay felt.
"You want to find the culprit who attacked your Church and spread the curse, right? In that case, we can work together, can't we?"
"!!!"
Seeing that she had drawn everyone's attention, and that even the Church warriors had stopped attacking, Kuroka Toujou stopped the Senjutsu tricks she had been using to toy with them and spoke with a smiling face.
"What if I told you the culprit was a Devil? Would you still help them?"
"Hey, don't make baseless accusations!"
"Whether I'm telling the truth or not, won't you know once I finish?"
Kuroka Toujou smiled as she shot back at Serafall, then turned her gaze toward Rias and Sona Sitri, her eyes suddenly sharpening.
"Last night, Yuuto Kiba, the Peerage Member of the House of Gremory's eldest daughter Rias, and Genshirou Saji, the Peerage Member of the House of Sidi's eldest daughter Sona Sitri, joined forces to attack our team members Arthur and Le Fay. Genshirou Saji even used the filthy tactic of taking Le Fay hostage to steal one of our Excaliburs."
Stealing... an Excalibur...
That description felt far too familiar, and the atmosphere in the room instantly turned strange. The Church warriors and the Devils silently, almost tacitly, began putting distance between themselves.
Serafall turned in shock to look at Rias and Sona Sitri. Seeing that both of them also looked completely confused, she forced herself to stand her ground again. She had no choice. If Vali and the others really persuaded Dulio, then they would all die here.
"I admit that does sound suspicious, but it isn't enough to prove they're the culprits. After all, you're terrorists, aren't you? What's wrong with us attacking you?"
Dulio said nothing and remained silent.
"Mm-hm, true. But here's the problem... when Rias's Peerage Member, Yuuto Kiba, attacked us, he was using five Excaliburs."
The corner of Kuroka Toujou's mouth curved upward. There were seven Excaliburs. One was in Irina Shidou's hands, one was in Arthur's hands, and the four from the Church had been stolen. As for where Yuuto Kiba's five came from, did it even need to be said?
"Captain Dulio, in the alibis provided by the Devils, the record for Yuuto Kiba is missing. Genshirou Saji's statement is also only hearsay, with no direct evidence. Both of them had time to attack Xenovia."
Irina Shidou held a booklet in her hands and spoke softly to Dulio. But to everyone present, this so-called soft voice was...
Conclusive proof!!!