Chapter 4: The Predator's Parley

  Aoi, getting weaker from the previous attack, wrapped Claire with her tentacles before the golden-haired enemy.

  Her parasitic instincts screamed to flee, but the fear of losing her new friend—who she saw as a parallel to herself—forced her to stay.

  She stood her ground against the smirking golden-haired boy who walked toward them, the glowing sphere still visible in his palm, pointed at them.

  Suddenly, he launched it.

  In fear, Aoi's eyes shut close as she braced for impact.

  But instead of feeling any pain, she heard a large explosion.

  As her eyes opened, she saw Mitsuo standing before them.

  His eyes looked serious; his usual smirk and mocking attitude were gone.

  On his arrival, Aoi gasped,

  "What are you doing!?"

  But before she could finish, the golden boy began laughing.

  He launched another void at them.

  Mitsuo didn't flinch.

  He started walking straight into it.

  BOOM.

  Another explosion occurred.

  Amused by this, the opponent kept launching more and more voids.

  Mitsuo didn't seem too hurt, his aura blocking the impacts as he continued walking toward the enemy.

  The sight looked so dangerous that anyone else would have escaped, but the golden boy looked excited.

  He was enjoying the show as he, too, began walking toward Mitsuo until they were almost face-to-face.

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  The boy's hand touched Mitsuo.

  The golden-haired boy smiled.

  "Long time no see, brother!" he said in excitement.

  Mitsuo, whose face was now cast in a dark shade, replied in a low voice,

  "I am not your brother."

  Ignoring his words, the golden boy lifted his hand and targeted the wounded girls behind Mitsuo, as if trying to kill them right there.

  Mitsuo's eyes looked dangerous as he warned him,

  "Careful, Jack! If you hurt them, not one of your demon reinforcements will go back alive!"

  Jack looked shocked, as if he had seen a stone talk.

  Then, he suddenly broke out in loud laughter.

  "What!? Was that a threat?" he asked while holding his belly.

  "You're going to kill me?"

  Mitsuo's gaze didn't waver, but he didn't rise to the bait of a direct fight.

  Instead, he hissed back,

  "I'm serious, Jack. Lay a finger on them, and I won't stop until every single one of your reinforcements is erased. I might not be able to catch you... but they won't be so lucky. You'll go back to the Demon King alone."

  Jack's laughter died instantly.

  He looked at the surrounding forest, then back at Mitsuo.

  The realization that Mitsuo wasn't being arrogant, but was playing a game of collateral damage, made the air turn cold.

  "I'm serious," Mitsuo hissed again.

  Suddenly the air shifted.

  Jack's expression turned into that of a predator, his aura enough to crush anything around him.

  "You think I'll let them go after they massacred the whole goblin village!?"

  Mitsuo didn't look scared.

  He hissed back with the same intensity of aura,

  "I already warned you!"

  As the auras collided, everyone else felt a chill run down their spine.

  Jack then looked at him with a calm expression.

  "I see... so the cat has grown fangs," he whispered.

  But again the air shifted.

  His gaze became more predatory, looking past Mitsuo to the wounded girls.

  "What are your names?" he demanded.

  Aoi, who was barely conscious, weakly replied,

  "I'm Aoi... and she is... Claire."

  Suddenly the mood shifted as Jack began laughing.

  "Ah, so you're my brother's new pets. I'll remember you two."

  Mitsuo simply stood there like an immovable wall, not interrupting their conversation.

  Jack then turned back to Mitsuo.

  "Well, since this goblin village was low priority to the Demon King, I won't mind this. BUT," his voice shifted to a darker tone,

  "this is the only time you can walk free after a rampage by your toys."

  As soon as he finished, a sudden glow appeared.

  Both the girls, along with Mitsuo, were transported back to the military base.

  The teleportation wasn't a pleasant experience like Mitsuo's usual ones.

  Aoi weakly called out,

  "Hey, Mitsuo... Claire... she is getting weaker. We need help."

  Mitsuo was seen staring at the floor as if he saw something horrible, standing still for a long while.

  Finally, he walked up to Claire.

  He fed a drop of his blood to the wounded ghoul, whose regeneration seemed to improve instantly just from that.

  This was the last scene Aoi saw before fainting.

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  To be continued...

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