Bang, bang!
Suddenly, a rapid knock sounded at the door. Both Kirby Raizes turned their heads toward it. The Doppelganger instantly transformed into a shadow and merged back into Raize's body.
Raize hadn't reverted yet when Haruna, wearing slippers, pushed the door open and walked in, complaining as she did:
"Hey Raize, hurry up and get out of bed to cook! The necromancer and I are starving, hurry up—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Upon entering the room, she saw a round pink creature wearing a black coat and holding a blade.
The curved ahoge on the girl's head immediately stood straight up in alarm. She reached behind her back and pulled out the pink chainsaw Mystletainn. Thanks to eating well at Raize's place, her body had recovered a bit of magic power.
Although the creature in front of her was very cute, as a magical garment girl who fought Megalos, Haruna wouldn't let her guard down just because something looked adorable.
"What are you!?"
Haruna pointed the pink chainsaw at the short pink creature, her face full of vigilance. Aside from herself, Eu, and the unidentified wandering soul Sei, she knew there shouldn't be anyone else in the house.
This was Raize's room. If Raize wasn't here, how could a pink creature suddenly appear? The house was protected by a fairly high-level barrier—there was no way someone could just sneak in.
"Haruna, it's me, Raize!"
Seeing Haruna's wary expression, Raize put away Yamato. The coat and silver hair vanished as he reverted to his base form. He spoke to her with mild annoyance.
Seriously, you barged in before I even had a chance to respond.
"Raize!?"
Hearing the familiar voice and seeing that annoyed look, Haruna blinked her big eyes and carefully examined his current form. Her instincts told her this really was Raize.
But why had he turned into that earlier?
"Why did you turn into that? Aren't you human?"
Seeing the curiosity on her face, Raize transformed back into his normal appearance right before her astonished eyes. After flexing his hands and sensing the power within him, he explained, "I'm a bona fide human. That was just one of my transformation forms."
With that, he walked past the stunned and curious Haruna and went downstairs to make breakfast.
Haruna put away Mystletainn and scratched the back of her head in confusion. To be honest, she actually liked Raize's earlier form—it gave her an urge to hug it like a plush toy and squeeze it.
After all, Kirby Raize's appearance hit straight at the hearts of girls who loved cute things.
---
After going downstairs and reaching the living room, Raize heard the sound of the TV. Eu, who had woken up early, was sitting quietly on the sofa, holding a teacup and sipping slightly bitter tea.
Even though she was indoors, Eu was dressed in an exquisitely refined, aristocratic outfit, layered with Western-style armor. Even her hands were clad in gauntlets.
It was a strange outfit, yet it suited her perfectly.
Nearby, Sei was sprawled lazily on the sofa in her pajamas, playing on a PSP.
When Eu saw Raize come downstairs, she merely shifted her gaze slightly toward him and gave a gentle nod.
That was her way of greeting him. Though she appeared rather aloof, Raize understood her situation.
After glancing at Sei gaming lazily, Raize shook his head and headed into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Haruna soon followed downstairs, wearing Raize's sister's clothes and a pair of shorts.
She then sat cross-legged on the sofa in a very unladylike posture, elbows resting on the cushions, staring straight at Raize's back as he cooked. Her gaze, like she was observing some rare creature, made him uncomfortable.
Still, he didn't react and continued cooking under her unabashed stare. Once the lavish breakfast was ready, Haruna immediately got up and went to the dining table, finally dropping that scrutinizing gaze.
As for the food-loving Eu and Sei, they also joined them at the table.
"Don't touch the food with your hands, it's hot!"
When Haruna couldn't resist reaching for the golden, fried fish slices, Raize blocked her hand with chopsticks and handed them to her.
Japanese meals were usually served individually—one bowl of rice, a main dish, side dishes, and miso soup. But back home, aside from his mother, everyone had been used to eating together.
Raize had a big appetite, which only increased as his strength grew. The three non-human girls in front of him could also all be considered foodies with sizable appetites.
So the meals he prepared were always plentiful, more than enough for everyone.
"I've already recovered a bit of magic power. I'm not afraid of the heat!"
Haruna stubbornly said this, but still obediently took the chopsticks from Raize. She eagerly picked up a piece of golden fish and ate it. The crispy, savory texture exploded on her tongue, making her squint in enjoyment.
Raize didn't mind her stubbornness. He served Eu a bowl of rice and placed the prepared fruit salad in front of her—a mix of rare fruits that Eu enjoyed greatly.
"Ah, looks like you gained quite a lot overnight."
Sei enjoyed her breakfast, glancing at Raize as he stuffed a big bite of strawberry rice into his mouth and spoke somewhat unclearly.
"Quite a bit indeed. I obtained some very useful powers." Used to her sharp perception, Raize casually manifested Yamato and placed it in front of her for inspection, raising an eyebrow. "What do you think of this weapon?"
Haruna glanced curiously at the sheathed blade in Raize's hand while eating, but didn't react much.
Eu, however, paused slightly when she saw Yamato, then continued eating.
"Oh? This blade is practically a top-tier spatial crystal!" Sei swallowed her strawberry rice in one gulp. With her collector's instincts ignited, she immediately saw through Yamato's essence.
The power and potential of this weapon could rival the longinus she created herself—possibly even ranking within the top ten.
Sei herself was highly accomplished in spatial powers. Her longinus, Dimension Lost and Innovate Clear, were both capable of creating independent spaces.
As the creator of Longinus-class sacred gears, how could Sei not be familiar with that kind of power?
In her eyes, Yamato was like a flawless piece of diamond that required no polishing at all. The Yamato itself was not forged by any being.
It was a weapon born in the rift between the World of Light (the human realm) and the World of Darkness (hell) when the two were separated in the Devil May Cry universe. In that world, it was also known as the "key" capable of opening the gates between the two realms.
Its form was not fixed as a katana. If the wielder wished to attack, it could naturally transform into a blade, a sword, or even a spear without issue.
In Devil May Cry 5, during Vergil's demon form, the Yamato in his hand became a crystallized entity that could act as a shield, generating spatial barriers capable of blocking any attack.
In Sei's view, this Yamato required no modification whatsoever. Described in the terms of certain Eastern novels, it was something that belonged to the category of an innate spiritual treasure.
"Here, this is the bento I prepared for you. Accept it gratefully!"
At the entryway, after breakfast, Haruna handed over a large bento box to Raize. Curious, he accepted it and opened it.
Oh—completely filled with golden tamagoyaki. Judging by the smell, Haruna had used the ten-yolk eggs from the refrigerator to make them.
Raize glanced at Haruna, whose eyes were darting away, then at the amount of egg rolls in the box. Looks like she'd spent quite a while preparing this.
"Thanks. And sorry for the trouble, Haruna."
Faced with Raize's friendly words, Haruna felt a little awkward. She snorted in a tsundere manner, turned around, and went back inside.
Knowing her personality well, Raize didn't say anything else. Smiling, he put the bento into his storage space and headed out.
He hadn't gone far when Raize suddenly stopped, sharply raising his head to look into the distance.
ROAR—!
"You trash, all of you, disappear!!!"
A deafening dragon roar echoed through the air, followed by an extremely familiar voice filled with chilling killing intent and brutality.
That was Tohru's voice.
Ordinary people couldn't hear it, as Tohru had already cast a cognitive interference spell.
In Raize's vision, beneath the dark clouds dozens of kilometers away, a cyan-green giant dragon nearly fifty meters long hovered in the sky with its wings spread wide.
The ferocious dragon head lifted, jaws full of fangs opening wide as vast magic power rapidly gathered within. Then, a pillar of dragon breath shot forth—connecting the world—completely imperceptible to ordinary humans.
Boom!!
Arriving at high speed, Raize saw countless black-robed vampire ninjas and fallen angels with black wings get caught by the dragon breath. Even grazing it slightly caused them to be reduced to residue, dispersing in the air.
The clouds above were torn apart, the dark mass covering hundreds of kilometers rapidly dissipating to reveal the clear sky behind it.
Numerous robed mages were smashed into pools of blood on the ground. Devils with scythe-like black wings died miserably here.
Raize casually jumped onto a devil corpse that was relatively intact and used magic to read its memories.
That was when he learned these people were members of Khaos Brigade.
"…human… over there…"
A weak, hoarse voice emerged from a corner of the corpse pile.
A red-haired devil girl, her lower body gone, wings torn apart, skin darkened and face covered in blood, looked at Raize and spoke:
"I… order you… take me… away… from here… did you hear…"
Whoosh!
A thin beam of holy light pierced straight through her body.
Her head was instantly evaporated.
Already half-dead and still ordering others—might as well die.
Raize scanned the area to see if anyone else was still alive. These ones were probably ignored by Tohru due to their low strength. Convenient for finishing them off.
As he expanded his perception, he found several still barely alive.
Tohru's enemies were his enemies. Raize showed no mercy, efficiently ending their lives.
Soon, only two female vampire ninjas with attractive appearances remained.
They lay in a pool of blood.
One had lost both arms, long black hair, a voluptuous figure, and the signature red eyes of vampire ninjas. Her torn black cloak, bloodstained white shirt, miniskirt, black stockings, and long boots were in tatters.
The other also had a striking figure, black hair tied into a ponytail, green eyes now dull and unfocused, unable to maintain the red-eyed state. Her right arm was gone, her left leg broken, blood—the source of her life—continuously flowing out.
"…please… sir… cough…"
Her name was Sarasvati, commander of the conservative faction of vampire ninjas.
Barely conscious, her face deathly pale from blood loss, she tried to speak upon seeing Raize, but instead coughed up a large mouthful of blood that splattered onto the ground.
Raize felt nothing as he looked at her miserable state.
He crouched down before her, gazing coldly, placing a finger on her forehead and began reading her memories.
"…you!"
Sarasvati felt power rampaging through her mind without harming her. She immediately recognized it as memory-reading magic and glared fiercely at the unfamiliar man despite her weakness.
After finishing and digesting her memories, Raize spoke calmly, causing her pupils to shrink:
"So your vampire ninja group went around searching for Eu and ended up hitting a steel plate. Provoking Tohru—this is what you deserve."
He glanced at Seraphim, who was nearly out of life beside them.
Thinking of how Seraphim treated Eu quite well in the original story—choosing Eu's side when ordered to kill her during her power rampage—Raize felt little hostility toward her.
Though Seraphim wanted Eu's power, her approach had been restrained. After Eu rejected her, she chose to become her servant, waiting for her to change her mind while protecting her from assassination attempts by the reformists and other assassins.
That kind of approach was gentle enough.
Raize flipped over Seraphim's body. In doing so, he noticed severe injuries to her abdomen.
Residual magic lingered in the wound. Though it hadn't pierced through, it had damaged her internal organs. Her pale, delicate skin was torn open, flesh exposed.