If there was something Atsuku was thankful for, it was the fact the wound he got in Twilight Zone only affected his soul, and it was fixed in the process of advancing.
Knowledge of how to use his second ability, Wind Control, was also etched on his brain for the second time. And because he had experienced this before, he noticed something slightly different.
'It's using less Arcane and stronger than before.'
Currently, he was sitting in the backseat of a black sedan driven by a bald guy with sunglasses, one of Misaki's subordinates in Kyoto.
His sister forced him to return and stabilized his Arcane again as she stayed back to clean up the remaining mess, namely giving the police some explanation so they wouldn't bother their family for the next few days or at least until the second Trial was finished.
While he wanted to ask for an explanation of what happened when he was advancing to the Second Stage, what Misaki did was, in fact, helping him. It wasn't wrong that he needed to stabilize his Arcane again as fast as possible if he didn't want to turn into Demon.
'Let's just do that. I should be done stabilizing my Arcane when we reach the mansion.' He thought as he closed his eyes and began to move his Arcane to calm it down, especially the new circle filled with runes hovering around the Core.
***
After Atsuku left the area, Misaki commanded the subordinates to clear the area as she sat on the bike, calling someone.
The situation in the world was in chaos, but the police were working hard to calm the people down. Japan wasn't an exception, but there would always be someone who was ready to get everything noted down and answer calls from a 'special' individual on their blacklist.
That someone was the person Misaki called.
Funny enough, in a year, when she took over the 'Heir' position as Atsuku ran away from the house, she managed to enter the police's blacklist due to how she 'cleaned' the Fujiwara Family.
Misaki was never proud of that, but it couldn't be helped. She thought that if the family were clean, Atsuku would return to the house, and she could be lazy again, sleeping under a warm blanket all day.
The appearance of the countdown was not something she had planned.
'My workload increased thanks to it. But at least my brother has returned.' She thought, waiting for her call to be answered. 'And I get to enjoy something new.'
What happened in the past wouldn't change. As someone who was only adopted by the Fujiwara Family, she certainly had a strange and weak position. Many enemies, hyenas, were eyeing the meat called Fujiwara Atsuku.
The hidden hyenas probably hadn't shown up yet, waiting for the perfect moment. And to deal with them, Misaki had a little plan.
Maybe not telling her brother was bad, but she believed he would not mind this.
'Hmm, I know him best. And this is the best way to avoid the vision Kuma saw in his dream yesterday.'
After a while, she became impatient as the call hadn't been answered yet—a bad habit of hers. It was about her nap time, and she'd like to finish this quickly.
The other party would certainly try to keep the line secure first and get someone to note down everything she said as evidence, so it took time for him to answer her. And she hated that part of the police.
A few seconds later, the call connected, and a rough voice belonging to a middle-aged man rang from the speaker.
(What do you want, Fujiwara Heir?)
"Oh, just a few things, Inspector." Her voice was calm and calculated, without a shred of emotion. She wouldn't show her real self to anyone but her brother.
And just like usual, she didn't beat around the bush and continued, "What do you say about cooperation between the police and my family?"
***
In Shibuya, Fujiwara Mansion, the atmosphere was rowdy. Yamada, Rio, and Gaia were in the same room, bickering.
"Hey, Rio! Stop dressing Gaia up and begin to start your training! Do you not want to reach the Second Stage soon?!"
"Shut it, shitty brother! Lady Kiyo said I need to dress her up in a Kimono! I even wore one to match her!"
"I don't believe it's necessary, Rio. My clothes are made from Arcane, which is the basic and most comfortable form for me."
"Then just wear it on top of your clothes! Do it for me, please?"
"It looks stuffy and hard to move. In this situation, where I can't predict when the second Trial will start unless it's nearing, I can't afford to wear clothes that will restrict my movement." Gaia answered firmly, taking no for Rio's plea.
"Just stop it, Rio! Let's begin our training!" Yamada sighed at his sister's behavior, holding his head, which throbbed in pain.
"Eeh, but I am already in a Kimono! It's hard to move!" The short-haired girl whined, pouting at her brother. "Are you telling me to change again?"
"Yeah. I will call Atsuku if you don't want to train. Do you want that?"
"You…!!" Rio growled in anger. She didn't want Atsuku to think she lazed around, not training the ability she gained from assimilating with Asmodeus.
According to the rush of knowledge entering her brain, the ability she got was called Ailment. It could inflict a bad effect, such as making her opponent sluggish, slowing them down, or having a headache. Right now, it was rather limited, but the effect would grow with her Stage.
"That's right, Rio." Gaia, who had been silent since earlier, spoke. "Your first Ability is limited. Unless you want to be a burden to Atsuku, you should advance to the Second Stage soon and get your second Ability."
Yamada smirked and exclaimed, "You heard her."
"Arrgh, fine! I will change and refine my Core! You're happy with that?!"
"Yeah, go and change your clothes now." He waved his hand to his sister. "Do it fast."
"Shut up, shitty brother!" Rio yelled, running out of the room. Her footsteps rang in the hallway before disappearing.
Only two people were left in the room, Yamada and Gaia. The former sighed in relief as his blockheaded sister finally listened to him. He smiled and looked at the silver-haired girl, who began tidying the Kimono Rio forced to her earlier.
"Thanks, Gaia."
"No, it's not a problem." The girl replied coldly without any emotion. She sounded like a robot rather than a human. "I just told her a fact. Her first Ability is useful against Humans but will be useless against Non-Human enemies. If she can't advance to the Second Stage fast, she will only be a burden."
Yamada narrowed his eyes slightly, unable to hear what the girl in front of him had just said.
'Burden.' He repeated in his mind.
At this moment, he realized that Gaia was indeed not a Human. He had heard it from Atsuku before but always thought she was a normal girl, not different from the others. But… those words just now threw away all his first impression of her.
No one had ever called his sister a burden in front of him.
'She's dangerous.' He assessed. 'Atsuku is right. We shouldn't trust her with our back. At most, I can only trust the information she gave us. I need to make sure she doesn't do something funny when that guy isn't here.'
Just as he thought, loud footsteps rang in the hallway before stopping in front of their room. The sliding door was forcefully opened from outside, creating a loud thud as it hit the wall.
Rio appeared behind the door wearing a long-sleeved cropped top and tight pants.
"I have changed, shitty brother!"
Yamada chuckled, "I can see that, moron. Let's go to the dojo. We can train there with no one bothering us."
He approached his sister and was about to leave. But he stopped at the entrance, looked over his shoulder, and said.
"Can you observe our training and give us some advices, Gaia?"
She nodded and stood up, "Gladly."
The ponytailed boy smiled widely, "Great. I am counting on you."