At night, Longinus made their move. Well, it was only Myraliana in particular. The others monitored Myraliana from the guest building. Kaito had given her an earbud, in which he could contact her through a phone.
[Hello, hello, can you hear me?]
Kaito spoke through the earbud.
"Yup, loud and clear."
It was quiet and almost pitch black in Wonderland. Perfect time for someone to sneak into the bungalow.
"!"
There was a loud screech which threw Myraliana off slightly. She almost fell off of the building that she was standing on.
[What was that?]
"I have no clue."
[Ahem...]
On a loudspeaker, Alice announced something to her people.
[This is a safety precaution for all citizens! Stay in your homes! I repeat! Stay in your homes! We are going to eliminate the group called Longinus! The one that dares attack us!]
"Oi, did you hear that?"
Myraliana asked Kaito.
[We did. We'll get out of here before we get caught. You go on ahead. We'll stick to the backup plan that Kazuya made.]
"Right."
·———·
"What brought this about?"
Kazuya muttered to himself.
"Oh well, let's scatter—"
"Sh!"
Elizabeth put her finger to Kazuya's mouth, silencing him.
She could hear something. Not only that, her nose twitched too.
"They're here. Three of them. I recognise their smells. It's the Divine Church."
The girl turned to her right.
"Mei! Your six!"
Mei leapt backwards and the wall behind her broke. A purple-haired boy stabbed through it, missing Mei by a hair.
Kaito equipped his gauntlet and Elizabeth aimed her pistols at Kyrie. She shot but the pistols were eaten by a flame of light. Kaito jumped in front of her and absorbed it. Finally, Kazuya jumped over Kaito and smacked Kyrie in the head with a spin kick.
"Ack!"
He hit him again, sending him back through the hole he made. Renya and Shinobu appeared in the hole.
"We thought you guys were decent but mercenaries are mercenaries. How could you want to destroy a safe haven like this?"
(There's no point in negotiating with them...)
Kazuya thought.
"You don't know what our goal is."
As Kazuya spoke, both Shinobu and Renya widened their eyes, surprised to hear him speak. He removed Alter Ego, to reveal his snow-white hair and monotone eyes.
A look known to them. They have heard of the appearance of this boy before from Yuichi. Alpha.
"Alpha..."
They backed away slightly. In that instant, Kazuya activated Sacred Lightning and sped past the two of them.
The reason he revealed his identity was to create an opening where he could escape since the person he was supposed to target was not among them.
"Crap!"
"Shinobu, don't."
Kyrie said, climbing into the building.
"We can't catch him or handle him. We'll take down his team instead."
Elizabeth glared at them, releasing bloodlust to gauge their level. Every single one of them reacted.
(We can win this.)
She assumed.
"You're lucky that he wants us to leave you alive, otherwise, I would kill all three of you without hesitation."
"Stop spouting bull."
"See for yourself."
·———·
{Kazuya's POV:}
What's Kanata-san thinking? Did she announce us as criminals in the middle of the night? How did she find out about our plans?
Elizabeth said that there were three people there. It was Shinobu, Renya and Kyrie. Both Kanata-san nor Yuichi are here.
Maybe Yuichi told her about my identity... No, Shinobu and Renya were shocked to see me, meaning that they had no idea. For now, I think I'll join up with Myraliana.
It wasn't originally a part of Kaito's plan but I doubt he'll complain. I have a feeling that Yuichi may be at the bungalow—.
‹Hey, watch out! Above you!›
February gave me a desperate warning. Instead of looking up, I jumped back onto the rooftop I had just leapt off.
A flash. A large bolt of lightning hammered the spot I was just in.
Well, there goes my instinct.
I regained my balance as Yuichi landed in front of me. He appeared different. His hair was white and stood on end as he was veiled with an intense aura of lightning. There were strange, hollow marks beside his eyes and on his forearms. He had a sword of lightning in his hand. Two spiky, curved blades protruded from the sword's edge.
His expression was one of intense abhor. This bloodlust was unlike anything I had felt from Yuichi. I guess I underestimated his hate for me.
"Alpha...!"
He's using a more powerful version of Sacred Lightning it seems. Mei said that he had occasional muscle spasms, it must've been from this form. He's likely increasing the voltage concentration within his body to operate his body systems at a higher level. Not only will his physical attributes increase but also his mental. Due to the increase in electricity, his brain will speed up in processing and reaction.
"You... why did you hide it from us?!"
Yuichi asked me.
I continued thinking critically while giving him an honest answer.
"I never knew."
"Bullshit!"
Increasing the operating rate of his body systems is dangerous. He's most likely able to do this due to his higher tolerance to voltage. I could beat him or I could stretch him thin if I buy time.
‹His sword is dangerous. Never attempt to dodge normally. Leap over it or duck underneath it.›
The Zodiac told me.
(Why?)
‹The sword has a strange gimmick. Even if you dodge the blade, one of the other two will clip you since they're curved.›
(And how do you know this?)
‹I was with Lucia, the last time he used this form. It'd be inconvenient for me if my host died, so I'll give you advice time from time.›
"Tell me the real reason!"
(How about you help me in fighting him?)
‹I have to use your mana to materialise and if I do, you won't be able to fight since it'll take up your entire supply.›
"That's an inconvenience."
I replied to both Yuichi and February.
‹Don't worry, even as we speak, your mana pool is slowly getting larger. In about a year or two, I could probably materialise and fight alongside you.›
"I'll make you regret how you played with our feelings! You monster! I'll make you regret killing all of those people! All 122,000 of them!"
"Hm? Will you now?"
Although I was replying to February, I said it out loud, which vexed Yuichi even further.
"DON'T PLAY WITH ME, YOU MURDERER!"
The lightning cloak around him sparked fiercely, expanding into a thick coating.
(He's expending more mana now. He'll last for a shorter time.)
"I'LL KILL YOU AND AVENGE ALL OF THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE KILLED!"