Chapter 210: Exclusive Seat
Leaping lightly onto the bed, he glanced at the still-sleeping Koneko before maintaining his cat form and gracefully jumping onto the windowsill, then descending to the ground.
Although his current appearance resembled an ordinary cat, his physical abilities were far superior.
Jumping from the villa's second floor felt like walking on flat ground, his soft, thick paw pads touching the ground without even stirring much dust.
Haruto paced back and forth with elegant feline grace, his orange-yellow vertical pupils gazing toward the dense forest in the distance.
His slender cat body suddenly tensed, limbs slightly bent as he instantly accelerated to maximum speed, transforming into a gray-blue lightning bolt that vanished into the forest.
Not far from this forest lay the clearing where everyone usually trained, occasionally used as a testing ground as well.
Haruto came here to see how much of his strength remained in this form.
Razor-sharp claws flashed with a cold gleam, leaving three deep gashes on the thick, sturdy tree trunk.
Judging by the marks alone, anyone would assume they were made by some ferocious beast.
After testing his offensive power, Haruto experimented with speed and defense. His speed remained comparable to his normal state, though his smaller size and body structure made his movements much quieter.
Both defense and offense had decreased significantly without using magical power, roughly at B-rank - equivalent to a Low-class Devil's level.
After a while, his curiosity about the new ability satisfied, Haruto transformed back.
A deep blue light flashed momentarily. The instant he returned to human form, Haruto immediately used his instant illusion ability, and a handsome youth wearing black casual clothes appeared in the forest.
Having been a cat for a while, he suddenly found the human form somewhat restrictive, especially the clothing, which couldn't compare to the freedom of the feline form.
As for maintaining the cat form permanently...
He dismissed the thought for now. First, because that form's defense was greatly reduced, making him vulnerable to ambushes by powerful enemies. Second, the transformation continuously consumed magical power. Though not much, his current strength wasn't sufficient to maintain it indefinitely.
To permanently sustain the cat form, his magical power recovery rate would need to exceed the transformation's consumption.
The cat transformation ability had many potential applications, but combat certainly wasn't among them.
Having reached this conclusion, Haruto ventured deeper into the forest. A red steel dragon claw materialized on his left hand.
"Boost."
The emerald gem flashed once. Feeling his doubled power, he clenched his fist and spoke again: "Berserk."
A deep blue magical energy erupted instantly, enveloping Haruto in a blazing aura.
The powerful shockwave centered around him swept away all obstacles within a one-meter radius, even causing the ground beneath his feet to instantly cave in significantly.
After adapting to the explosively increased power, Haruto slowly bent his knees, assuming a bow stance.
"Whoosh—Boom! Boom!"
With just simple punches, the resulting gusts uprooted trees thicker than a person. In the direction of his strikes, a trench over one meter deep and five to six meters long appeared on the ground.
A High-Class Devil could easily destroy a small hill. Enhanced by the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet and Berserk Ability, Haruto could now cause similar destruction using only his physical body.
This wasn't even his strongest state. The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet had only boosted him once, his other bloodline energies remained unactivated, and he hadn't used any magical energy or qi.
Haruto scanned his surroundings, observing the forest that looked as if it had been ravaged by a tornado, then gradually dispelled his buffs.
He already understood the specific effects of his Berserk Ability and saw no need to further damage the forest.
Mainly, Haruto feared that if he used magical energy again, this natural training ground belonging to the Gremory family would require a complete renovation.
The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet truly lived up to being one of the thirteen Sacred Gears in the world. Even the Berserk Ability optimized through dual cultivation was merely a low-grade imitation of its most basic function.
The so-called doubling of all attributes only applied to physical qualities—magical power, mental strength, and similar aspects weren't included.
Although the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet only doubled power, this "power" wasn't limited to physical strength but included magical energy as well.
Haruto wasn't too disappointed. After all, the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet was external assistance, and once his strength surpassed that of the Two Heavenly Dragons, it would likely become useless.
The Berserk Ability was different. Even if he became the strongest in this world, it would still steadily double his physical attributes.
Simply put, the stronger Haruto became, the more terrifying the effects of his Berserk Ability would be.
The commotion from testing the Berserk Ability woke all the women in the villa. When they arrived at the scene with confused expressions, they found no one there.
Only an adorable gray-blue cat sat elegantly at the center of the devastation, licking its paws.
"Meow~"
Seeing the women arrive, Haruto leaped up and pounced toward Rias.
Startled, Rias instinctively tried to dodge the strange cat, but as she shifted sideways, a familiar voice sounded in her ear.
"President, it's me."
Although he appeared feline, his true nature was that of a supernatural creature. The meowing was instinctive, but Haruto could actually speak.
His soft cat paws landed on Rias's remarkably elastic chest, causing such intense bouncing that Haruto—who wasn't using his claws—nearly lost his balance and fell.
Fortunately, Rias caught him in time and held him in her arms.
"Haruto? What happened to you? Was that commotion just now your doing?"
Not only Rias, but everyone else was brimming with curiosity, their beautiful eyes scrutinizing the gray-blue cat nestled in Rias's arms.
After nuzzling affectionately against the beloved club president, Haruto leaped onto Koneko's shoulder, only to be lifted up by the white-haired loli, who held him by his front paws.
"Hmm... male."
"Meow!"
Haruto had thought the expressionless cat-eared loli was up to something, but it turned out she was just checking his gender.
As Haruto began to squirm, the white-haired loli smiled faintly and cradled him in her arms, stroking his fur.
Koneko was well-versed in the art of petting cats, knowing all the right spots to make them comfortable. Under her skilled hands, Haruto decided to forgive her earlier actions.
After all, everyone present was part of the inner circle—they'd already seen and even "eaten" the real Dragon.
Enjoying the white-haired loli's gentle strokes, Haruto briefly explained what had happened earlier.
When it came to the origins of his Voice Alteration and Berserk abilities, everyone instinctively turned to Koneko.
Aside from Rias, Haruto hadn't explicitly admitted anything to the others.
But given their long-term, intimate contact, it was nearly impossible to hide the changes in his body and magical aura from them.
Both Akeno and Yuuma, if not geniuses, were at least above average in intelligence.
The familiar sensations emanating from Haruto had long since given them a rough idea of the truth.
Haruto hadn't intended to keep it a secret from them anyway—mainly because it was impossible to hide unless he refrained from using the copied abilities in front of them or simply killed them.
Neither option was realistic.
"I can't transform..." Koneko paused mid-stroke and said flatly, "I do have Berserk, but it's the standard version with side effects."
Haruto had always felt that the "monsters" in this world were more like beastmen than actual monsters.
But given how bizarre and chaotic this world already was, such minor inconsistencies no longer fazed him.
The girls nodded, dropping the subject without further comment, as if by unspoken agreement.
Haruto remained in his cat form, comfortably nestled in Koneko's arms, until they returned to the villa.
When he finally reverted to human form, the white-haired loli's eyes flickered with disappointment, her pure white cat ears drooping listlessly.
But the next moment, as Haruto took his seat for breakfast, her spirits lifted again.
Instead of sitting in her usual spot, Koneko plopped herself squarely into Haruto's lap.
"Koneko?"
"This is my permanent seat from now on."
The white-haired loli didn't even turn her head, her expression blank as if stating an indisputable fact.
"Uh..." Feeling the soft, warm weight on his thighs, Haruto stiffened. "I can accept it... as long as you don't move around too much..."
The white-haired loli subtly shifted forward, putting a little distance between her petite rear and the source of the rising heat.
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she muttered under her breath, "Pervert..."
Under the girls' curious gazes, Haruto somehow managed to finish his unusual breakfast.
He barely tasted the food—all his focus went toward restraining the Dragon stirring within him.
After breakfast, it was time for another day of special training.
Rias led Asia and Yuuto toward the open field. "Koneko and Akeno have both reached S-rank. With five days left, Yuuto, Asia, you two need to step it up."
"Yes, President!"