"Phew—" Raize's eyes momentarily clouded in daze. He drew a deep breath, exhaling forcefully. His astounding lung capacity expelled air continuously, and an incredible strength surged from within, radiating outward.
Even with a slight twitch of his muscles, a fierce gust of wind emanated from Raize's body. Apart from Sei and Eu, Laffey and Haruna had their hair lifted and eyes squinting in response to the sudden burst.
Raize glanced around at the curious gazes and then looked down at his bare upper body. Clearing his throat lightly, he focused, and golden threads of energy shimmered as a set of clothes materialized across his form.
These clothes, however, still gave the impression of nudity, as they were essentially an extension of his own body.
"How does it feel to be reborn?" Sei smiled and reached to touch Raize's hand, carefully sensing his transformed body. She was genuinely impressed.
Raize's physical abilities were terrifying, surpassing those of special races entirely.
Laffey placed her hand over Raize's, and Eu tapped his cheek lightly—smooth, soft, and fair, yet with latent strength beneath.
Raize's skin felt soft, but in resilience, it rivaled the steel-like flesh of a Shinigami, even exceeding it.
"Every movement could cause tremendous damage," Raize said with excitement in response to Sei's comment. He looked down at his body—marble-like muscles visible at the collar—and moved his shoulders lightly.
Crackling sounds rang from his joints as he felt explosive power surging through every fiber. The urge to unleash his strength was almost irresistible.
His current physique was abnormal, combining his own abilities with the raw strength of "Alex" from his brutal killing form. This was not simple arithmetic.
Moreover, his cells now had the properties of gourmet cells, allowing him to fully absorb the energy of any imagined food in the future.
(Can you control it properly?)
Eu asked, notebook in hand. She could sense that Raize's raw physical power alone could be highly destructive. Combined with his energy, lack of control might lead to serious consequences.
Raize, however, activated twenty percent of his ultimate power, circulating it throughout his body. Instantly, his skin flushed red as every muscle vibrated at super speed.
Now fused with blacklight energy, he had precise control over his cells. Muscle manipulation was effortless, and heat-like smoke rose gently from his body.
"No problem. My enhanced strength is completely under control," Raize said, moving his body.
Sei, examining him, was about to speak but froze, intrigued, as Raize's eyes twitched subtly.
"Do you want to handle it, or should I?" Sei suddenly asked Raize. Everyone except Eu was puzzled, and Raize felt a tug at the edge of his clothing.
He looked at Eu's calm, brilliant blue eyes—she had sensed the unwelcome visitors outside. Patting her head, he signaled Laffey and headed toward the door.
Laffey's lazy expression vanished immediately. She followed Raize without a word, her casual home outfit shifting into her battle attire.
"You all stay here. Laffey and I will handle a little trouble outside."
Sei and Eu remained expressionless as Raize and Laffey left, while Haruna and Asia looked confused.
"Ah… Lord Sei, is something happening that Asia doesn't know about?"
Asia cautiously asked Sei. Although she didn't sense anything unusual, her intuition told her that Raize and Laffey had gone out for something important.
Haruna felt the same way. She cast a searching look at Eu, but Eu only shook her head. This made Haruna think that only she and Asia were being left out. She wanted to follow, but after considering her own situation, she let it go.
"It's nothing serious. Aize went to handle some matters that might disturb our peaceful life."
Sei didn't bother giving Asia any riddles. She just removed a small but important part of the truth and told her directly. Though Asia didn't fully understand, she still prayed for Raize's safety and success.
The others went about their business. As for worrying about Raize? There was a little worry, but thinking about the surge of power Raize had just displayed, the expression on his face looked like he wanted to unleash violence. The one to worry about definitely wasn't Raize.
---
Walking out of their house, Raize and the expressionless Laffey behind him saw a pair of red eyes. The other party had clearly been waiting. The moment Raize opened the door, a black kunai, glinting with a cold sheen, shot straight at Raize's forehead—but in Raize and Laffey's eyes, the motion seemed frozen.
Raize didn't move. He just looked coldly. Just before the kunai touched his forehead, the attacker's entire upper body completely vanished.
Laffey's nearby hovering mechanized turret, brimming with technological sophistication, was releasing heat, firing tens of thousands of degrees of plasma rays with terrifying precision. The upper body of anyone daring to attack her commander was instantly vaporized.
Laffey herself had enhanced speed. Raize merely "saw" the high-temperature beam vaporize the figure in front of him, leaving only a lower body that appeared female. Blackened organs could still be seen, emitting an unpleasant smell.
The vampire ninjas surrounding Raize's house widened their red eyes. The first female vampire ninja didn't even know how she had died; her upper body had simply vanished.
Bang!
Before the vampire ninjas could react, Laffey looked coldly at the remaining lower body. Not wanting any disgusting blood stains at her doorstep, she did something that sharply contrasted with her cute, innocent appearance. With brutal force, she kicked the corpse skyward and then completely vaporized it with a laser beam.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In Laffey's shining crimson eyes, an ominous red glow flickered. Connected to Raize's mental link, she had a godlike perspective and perfect targeting.
Virtual scopes locked onto every vampire ninja who thought they were hiding perfectly. High-temperature laser beams began mercilessly eliminating them with precise "headshots."
Heads of the vampire ninjas hiding among the men and women around disappeared and vaporized rapidly. The powerful and rapid attack from Laffey was finished in just an instant.
"Retreat! Fall back!"
On a distant rooftop, a beautiful red-eyed woman, seeing that ninety percent of her vampire ninja squad was already dead or injured, twisted her face in horror and immediately issued a retreat signal.
Her teammates and some friends had all become headless corpses. Though she wanted to fight desperately, reality gave her no protagonist privileges. There was no choice but to retreat.
But what gave her confidence to retreat safely?
"!!"
The red-eyed vampire ninja froze, staring at the heat-radiating muzzle in front of her. A little white-haired girl with rabbit-ear head accessories and twin tails had suddenly appeared, expressionless and cold.
It was like the vampire ninja's vision skipped frames. In the next moment, a terrifying muzzle appeared before her, along with the little girl radiating an ominous aura.
"How strange. You vampire ninjas actually found my house. Looks like you came prepared."
A calm, magnetic male voice suddenly sounded beside the female vampire ninja. A large hand landed on her shoulder, making her shiver.
She glanced up and saw Raize, expressionless, watching her. When her vision and perception relaxed, her heart sank: she was the only one left from the ninja squad. The others who thought they were hidden had all become headless corpses, regardless of gender, friends, or subordinates.
Slap!
The trembling and angry vampire ninja tried to speak, but the large hand on her shoulder moved to her head, and a force immediately extended into her brain.
"Ugh..."
The probing was crude, as if her brain were a blender. Her eyes rolled back instantly.