"If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it."
Hidden beneath an optical barrier, Cid walked openly through the evil base with a calm expression. Patrols passed by one after another, yet none of them noticed the two.
"It's not that I don't want to talk. The question is, would you believe me if I did?"
"...To be honest, my instincts tell me everything you're saying is true, but my reason tells me I can't just take your word for it. I need to investigate the information myself."
Sayaka Kirasaka carefully recalled the intelligence she had received last time and compared it point by point with what Cid had told her. In the end, she found many discrepancies between the two versions and spoke with a hint of frustration.
"Then investigate it yourself. But I'll give you one piece of advice. Any information claiming the Cult of Diablos doesn't exist is false. It's a smokescreen released by the Cult of Diablos."
"You need keen insight, unwavering resolve, and a sense of self that cannot be shaken by others. Only then will you truly encounter those two organizations rooted deep in the darkness of the Underworld."
This way, no one will ever expose my giant lie. After all... the reason the Cult of Diablos doesn't exist is because you didn't try hard enough. Your judgment isn't firm enough, so you were deceived by the Cult of Diablos.
"So I shouldn't believe any evidence proving the Cult of Diablos doesn't exist... is that it? I understand."
Her thoughts returned to the scene from the last time, when she had been attacked by both Shadow Garden and the Cult of Diablos. Sayaka Kirasaka felt there was no way they would be fooled again into denying what they had seen with their own eyes.
"Wait! I'm getting sidetracked. So which faction was responsible for that scene just now?"
Sayaka Kirasaka had been so focused on extracting information from Cid that she had nearly forgotten her main question.
"..."
Cid's gaze drifted away, and he looked slightly guilty. He had been so busy making up the setting that he had not actually decided who to blame for that disgusting scene.
"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Are you angry?"
Forget that for now. He needed to put on a deeply resentful expression and draw Sayaka Kirasaka's attention.
"Huh? As a Human, shouldn't I be angry after seeing something that disgusting?"
"...Hahaha. Right. As a Human, I really should be angry about this. Hahaha..."
Cid did his best to imitate the crazed laughter of various villain characters from anime in his previous life. A single tear hung at the corner of his eye as he fabricated sorrowful memories in his mind and built up the emotion.
Here he goes again!
Sayaka Kirasaka stared blankly at Cid, who had suddenly burst into mad laughter after a single comment from her, as if something had triggered him. His sorrowful pitch-black eyes rippled like a moonlit lake.
To be honest, Cid's sorrowful aura and frenzied expression were incredibly convincing, but since she had already experienced it once before, Sayaka Kirasaka felt she should have a whole pile of retorts ready. Or at least, she should have.
With one hand pressed to her chest, she felt that deep empathy again, a thick wave of sorrow as though it had been transmitted to her from Cid.
Her brain. Her brain was ignoring her will and uncontrollably replaying memories from her childhood, of being abused and betrayed by her parents.
Two clear tears welled in her eyes. Sayaka Kirasaka felt as if she could sense endless sorrow and a mysterious past from the man in front of her. Merely looking at him stirred the maternal instincts buried deep inside her.
"I'm sorry. I think I said something wrong."
She knew she should make a sarcastic remark here, or at the very least, try to get more information out of him. But why did her heart ache so much just from standing there?
"You didn't say anything wrong. I was just thinking about which faction that place belonged to."
Cid's tone returned to normal instantly, and he stopped fabricating sorrowful memories in his mind. He glanced at Sayaka Kirasaka with a hint of admiration. This was the first time he had met someone who could act even better than him, and he was a little surprised.
The ache in her heart vanished instantly!
With one hand pressed to her chest, Sayaka Kirasaka felt her heartbeat return to normal and stared in disbelief. She blinked adorably, even instinctively squeezing her chest twice.
What the hell? Since when was her empathy this strong?
"It was the evil Fallen Angels!"
"Hmm?"
"I've dealt with that mad scientist from Shadow Garden a few times. How should I put it? If it were me... I mean, if it were that evil scientist, she would never create something that crude and haphazard."
Cid still trusted Eta's sense of aesthetics. That thing had not a shred of beauty to it. It was just a body thrown together carelessly. In Eta's words, it was the dregs of a third-rate scientist.
"The source of the technology is a bit suspicious, but it's definitely connected to the Fallen Angels."
"I don't know the specifics of those evil factions either, but considering the Cult of Diablos' tendency for internal strife and their ability to hide in the shadows, I doubt they would be that wasteful."
Everything above was complete nonsense. Cid had no idea exactly how many people were involved, but with so many Fallen Angels in this evil base, there was no doubt they had a hand in it. So he would just dump the blame entirely on the Fallen Angels, then kill everyone in the base so there would be no witnesses. After that, he could claim the Fallen Angels were puppets of Shadow Garden, the Cult of Diablos, or the Khaos Brigade.
"Well then, now that you've witnessed the unfathomable darkness of this world, do you still have the courage to fight these evils?"
Sayaka Kirasaka shook her head to clear away the inexplicable sorrow that had crept into her heart, then exhaled.
"Of course. This is my duty."
"I may not have explained myself clearly. This is no trivial matter. If you choose to expose this, then Sayaka Kirasaka, your parents and friends will most likely..."
"I'm an orphan. The only close friend I have is Yukina."
"...I'm sorry."
Cid was stunned by Sayaka Kirasaka's answer. After a moment of silence, he apologized.
"It's fine. By the way... do you know where the Fourth Primogenitor is?"
Sayaka Kirasaka said it matter-of-factly. Even though she had unexpectedly discovered such an evil base, she had not forgotten her original mission.
"Also, haven't we passed through here before?"
She looked at the wall decorations beside her in confusion. For some reason, this place felt familiar, as if they had already walked through it a few minutes ago.
"You're imagining things."
Cid instantly cast a Magical Power scan and locked onto the strongest presence of the Kojou Akatsuki clan inside the base. Then he changed direction from the route they had been circling through and led Sayaka Kirasaka, who still seemed to have something to say, down the stairs to the next level.
"The person you're looking for should be inside."
A few minutes later, the two stopped in front of a sealed door. Cid spoke, and Sayaka Kirasaka understood the hint, stepping forward to try opening it.
"...This door doesn't seem to open."
Hearing Sayaka Kirasaka's report, Cid nodded and poured Magical Power into the lightsaber in his hand.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Cutting it open."
Cid said it as if it were obvious and raised the lightsaber to strike down. Fortunately, Sayaka Kirasaka stopped him at the last moment.
"Calm down. Making that much noise will definitely alert them."
"Tsk. Troublesome Humans."
"That really is scary."
Cid shrugged indifferently, withdrew his Magical Power, and began searching the floor with Sayaka Kirasaka for the key to open the door.
"Huff, huff... Kokabiel-sama, ah..."
Leaning against Sayaka Kirasaka beneath the illusion barrier, the two openly watched the female Fallen Angel inside the room. Her back was turned to them as she made strange noises, entertaining herself while watching footage on a large screen. On it, a ferocious-looking male Fallen Angel was fighting a Human.
A silver keychain lay on the table within the female Fallen Angel's line of sight, while the small monitor beside it was packed with surveillance feeds from every corner of the building.
"Just what you'd expect from an Angel who fell because of lust. She spent half the day sitting here drowning in her own fantasies."
Cid sighed at the Fallen Angel's absurd behavior, then glanced over at Sayaka Kirasaka, only to find her cheeks flushed bright red. She had both hands clamped over her ears, looking as if her brain's CPU had completely overloaded.
Can't you be a little more reliable?
Rendered speechless by Sayaka Kirasaka's reaction, Cid still snapped his fingers, intending to eliminate the female Fallen Angel in front of him through a method that was both perfectly reasonable, unlikely to alert anyone, and utterly ridiculous.
"One hundred times!"
With those words, the Fallen Angel, whose back was turned to them, instantly rolled her eyes and slumped into her office chair. A stream of fluid shot from her body all the way to the ceiling, and the room was abruptly filled with a thick, hormonal scent.
"Let's go!"
He walked over with light steps, picked up the key, then motioned for Sayaka Kirasaka, who was still frozen in place, to follow.
"Wait, what happened to her?"
You're so annoying. I'm trying to save Kojou right now.
Cid thought this as he turned to look at Sayaka Kirasaka, who was staring at the Fallen Angel in shock.
"She just passed out from the shock. She won't die."
"Huh? So when you said 'one hundred times' just now, you meant…"
"Exactly that."
"...…!!!"
"Tap!"
The instant she heard his answer, Sayaka Kirasaka kicked off the ground and leapt away from Cid. She aimed the massive silver sword in her hands at him, staring at him as if prepared to die, her throat bobbing again and again.
There was no mistaking it. The way that female Fallen Angel reacted after being hit, and the way every hair on Sayaka Kirasaka's body stood on end when Cid used "one hundred times," as if someone had touched her. The man in front of her was definitely some kind of depraved maniac.
"What are you freaking out about now?"
"Shut up, you enemy of all women!"
She gripped her weapon tightly, but the massive sword gave Sayaka Kirasaka no sense of safety at all. The moment she remembered the miserable state of that female Fallen Angel, fear surged endlessly through her heart.
Maybe she had already been affected by Cid's terrifying ability. Otherwise, why had she dreamed of Cid every night ever since she returned to the Lion King Organization? Even that inexplicable sympathy she felt earlier might have been something Cid planted in her.
Sweat soaked her back. The deeper she thought about it, the more terrifying it became. At that moment, Sayaka Kirasaka even felt a faint tingling in every part of her body touched by Cid's gaze.
"You may have misunderstood me a little."
Cid's voice was calm. So calm that Sayaka Kirasaka even began to wonder if she really had let her imagination run wild.
"This ability works on men too."
The moment he said that, Sayaka Kirasaka nearly lost it. That was not the issue.
"Also…"
Cid's eyes turned cold, and that icy gaze instantly stopped Sayaka Kirasaka's thoughts from spiraling any further.
"Why would you think…"
As he spoke, Cid's body vanished.
"I'd need that ability to deal with you?"
By the time Sayaka Kirasaka came back to her senses, the massive silver sword was pressed against her throat. It was the very sword she had just pointed at Cid.
"All right, stop wasting time."
With a dazed Sayaka Kirasaka following behind him, Cid walked up to the main gate. Looking at the steel doors in front of him, he smiled.
Just standing before the door, he could sense the powerful aura inside. There was no doubt about it. Behind this door was an absolute powerhouse who could only be described as terrifying.
"Click."
The key slid into the lock. He turned it with a click, then pulled the gate open.
Kojou, I've come to save you!
"Oppai! Oppai…"
A massive red dragon radiating a terrifying aura charged toward Sayaka Kirasaka. Its crimson, mindless eyes leaked traces of Magical Power, while its mouth kept muttering obscene words.
"Smack!"
…
In the spacious hall, the massive red metal dragon lay peacefully on the floor. The fist mark on its metal helmet, now webbed with fine cracks, made it clear what had just happened.
"The Fourth Primogenitor doesn't seem to be here… but there is a passage leading down to the next level. Should we keep searching below?"
Sayaka Kirasaka cast a lingering, frightened glance at the red dragon lying on the ground, then reported the results of her search through the entire hall to Cid.
Just moments earlier, this dragon had suddenly appeared and attacked her. At the time, she had truly thought she was dead. After all, in Sayaka Kirasaka's senses, the pressure this dragon gave off had already surpassed Grendel, and even exceeded the Beast God.
Though surpassing the Beast God was probably just her imagination. After all, the red dragon had been knocked out by Cid with a single punch right afterward.
Cid scanned the area with a strange look. He was certain that, in this entire base, this was where Kojou's aura was strongest. So why wasn't Kojou here?
"Now this is getting interesting. Let's head down and take a look."
Unable to figure out why and too lazy to keep thinking about it, Cid turned and walked toward the passage Sayaka Kirasaka had found.
"Um…"
Conflict and unease showed on her face. In the end, remembering that Cid had just saved her, Sayaka Kirasaka flushed bright red, shut her eyes, and gritted her teeth.
"Thank you for saving me earlier. I overreacted a little before…"
Is she losing it again?
Ignoring Sayaka Kirasaka as she bowed behind him in thanks, Cid walked straight into the depths of the passage.
After passing through the long passageway, the glow of fluorescent lights appeared before Cid.
He strode forward, and a long corridor came into view. Several doors lined the walls.
He casually pulled one open, and inside was… an emptied-out laboratory?