"Notify the vampire ninjas on the Underworld side to behave themselves. Don't let them get handsy and stretch their claws over here. The guardian beside that friend of mine is no ordinary piece of work. The vampire ninjas in the human world have already been slaughtered down to single digits."
To phrase the warning like this meant it was aimed at only one person. In any case, she did not really care what happened to the Underworld's vampire ninjas, as she held no fondness for them to begin with.
The vampire ninjas in the human world were humans who had been transformed by obtaining Eu's blood, while those on the Underworld side were Underworld beings who had likewise become such through Eu's blood. In terms of raw strength, the Underworld ninjas were somewhat stronger than their human-world counterparts.
But in Nene's eyes, they were not stronger by any meaningful margin. Although she no longer involved herself much in affairs, the intelligence that needed to be kept track of had never slipped past her.
When her close friend Eu arrived in the human world, she had received the news immediately. She simply chose not to go and meet Eu.
Because Eu probably did not want to see her either—afraid that her own affairs would drag Nene into trouble. As Eu's friend, Nene understood all too well how kind, and how stubbornly single-minded, she was.
Always choosing to bear everything alone in silence. Even though, Eu, you were never a girl who could endure loneliness in the first place.
She also had a bit of acquaintance with Ariel. Because of her abilities that specifically targeted Magical Garment Girls, that woman had once invited her to participate in some bothersome rebellion against a so-called Queen. She had neither the interest nor the energy, so she declined.
Eu's precise location and current situation were things Ariel had told her. After learning that Eu had once again drawn the attention of a human, Nene had even speculated about when Eu would eventually leave Raize.
After all, Eu had never stayed in one place for too long, nor did she wish for her own circumstances to bring harm to others.
Unexpectedly, this time there was an accident that piqued Nene's interest. Not only had nothing happened to Raize, who had taken Eu in, he was living just fine.
She had seen the battle in the sky earlier, and especially after learning that the enemy had come for her close friend Eu, he had not hesitated for even a second before throwing himself into the fight.
It was precisely because of this that Nene had gained a rough understanding: this human took good care of Eu, and truly cared about her.
"A little guy who's willing to risk his life for her… I wonder if, when Eu-chan looks at him, she'll think of the King of the Night? After all… he was also someone who once offered up his life for her."
Nene hung up the phone and lowered her head to look at the unfinished manuscript on her desk. Her originally sleepy eyes now carried an indescribable complexity and quiet sorrow.
Based on her understanding of Eu, the more Eu cared about Raize, the more likely she would be to leave him because of that very 'care.'
From the distant past until now, Eu had never lacked guardians. Once someone learned the truth about the girl, there would always be sincere individuals willing to fight for her sake.
In this world, there were greedy beings who coveted everything about Eu, and there were also those with firm, radiant hearts who would protect her without asking for anything in return.
"Raize Yotsuki, will you also become just another passerby in Eu-chan's long, lonely life…?"
Slowly, Nene lay down atop her desk, resting her head on the manuscript. She, too, hoped that a miracle might descend upon her close friend.
She hoped it could change Eu's current situation, hoped it could allow her to reclaim her emotions, hoped—
Huuuuu…
As Nene's narcolepsy suddenly flared up, her mind loosened without warning, and she instantly fell into a deep sleep.
---
After experiencing the previous surprise assault, Raize once again found himself dissatisfied with his own power.
That time, when facing a demigod undead, luck had been on his side. He and the enemy had extremely poor compatibility, allowing him to dismantle the opponent's various killing moves by relying on his own special traits.
But he would never place excessive hope in those traits alone. That formidable undead was the perfect example.
Although the opponent far surpassed Tohru in matters of the soul and special laws, if the two were to truly fight, Tohru might not necessarily lose.
It was just that she could not, like Raize, neutralize the enemy's attacks at every turn. After all, that undead had completely abandoned development of the physical body.
Perhaps it surpassed Tohru in certain aspects, but in terms of overall, well-rounded capability, it was utterly incapable of matching her.
The law domain that undead had displayed last time was terrifying. If Raize had not absorbed fragments of the opponent's death-law power to gain corresponding resistance, and if not for his Reject Phenomena ability, he dared to conclude that he would have been driven into a perilous situation.
Therefore, he had no intention of letting up for even a moment when it came to comprehensive development.
For the time being, his life had returned to its original rhythm. Aside from the shadow clones going to school, there were now some detestable devils mixed in.
He had already issued a warning. Raize was a man of principles—although he disliked devils, it had not yet reached the point of acting unreasonably.
Just like last time, for Tohru and Kobayashi's sake, he had spared a certain Magical Garment Girl once. What would happen if she failed to appreciate that mercy a second time was something everyone already understood.
He did not believe that the people behind Rias would dare to keep sending her and the others here indefinitely. This was not Kuoh Town, that devil territory.
Raize's first was a warning. The second time would be direct annihilation.
At present, he placed his priority on the new game, Asura's Wrath. In one week, it could be officially announced and released.
Taking into account the game's launch and the time needed for it to ferment in popularity, and then factoring in the time required to unlock its content, Raize was certain that he was about to usher in an explosive surge in combat power.
"Haah!"
Within the proving grounds of the garrison in the Minecraft world, Raize—barefoot and dressed in loose training attire—was sparring with his own Doppelganger.
His Doppelganger was wrapped in blood-red waves of Satsui no Hado, combined with the black energy formed from shadow aura. Together, they created an ominous black-and-crimson form.
Fists brimming with murderous intent turned into a dense barrage of bullets as they slammed toward Raize's true body, every strike aimed ruthlessly at vital points.
"!"
Raize's true body, having assumed a ready stance to receive the assault, suddenly narrowed his eyes in the face of this storm of killing intent. Streams of energy abruptly rose from his muscle-bound body, so dense they seemed almost luminous. Their color was a pure blue, like the clear, dust-free azure sky of a summer plateau.
The Power of Nothingness!
Vast, ocean-blue waves emanated from Raize's body, the blue, shimmering currents of energy condensing around him to form an outer layer of aura—this was the Power of Nothingness!
He raised his arms and clenched his fists, his body suddenly adopting a stance akin to that of a Vajra Guardian statue. All of his energy gathered beneath the skin, blue currents flowing within his eyes.
A form of energy on the same level as the Satsui no Hado. Unlike the dangerous, bloodthirsty aura of the crimson wave, this pure blue energy carried no such menace.
Instead, it was pristine—extremely refined, utterly free of impurities, exuding a sense of serene emptiness.
Facing the shadow self charging at him like a demonic rakshasa, Raize remained unmoving, firm as a mountain. Ultimate power and the Power of Nothingness worked in tandem, filling his entire brain and body.
The instant the killing-intent-laden fists brushed against his body hair, his own counterattack erupted, striking first despite thinking later.
Clang clang clang clang—!
Fists imbued with the intent to exterminate all life collided with Raize's body, producing thunderous explosions like the clash of steel.
Every trace of killing intent that entered his body was swallowed and nullified by the all-embracing power of Nothingness. And with each swing of Raize's counterattacking fists, he unleashed heavy, fundamental strikes, fluid and seamless like flowing clouds and water.