After Alex sent the girls home and headed to Hanako, they immediately shared all the news with Gloria, especially about Rebecca's behavior. She had somehow managed to steal a powerful bomb from Alex's desk and caused a small explosion. Upon hearing this, Gloria looked at Rebecca in a way that made her immediately shrink into the chair, avoiding her gaze. After all, Gloria was always considered the most responsible one in their group. She continued to look at Rebecca expectantly, waiting for an explanation.
«Is there anything you'd like to explain, Rebecca?» Gloria asked in a calm but firm tone.
Rebecca flinched at her words and tried to hide her embarrassment. Normally, she could act confident, but under this gaze, she felt like a child caught misbehaving.
«I didn't know the bomb would go off that strongly,» Rebecca mumbled, looking away.
Raising an eyebrow, Gloria clearly didn't believe a word. This wasn't the first time Rebecca had swiped something from Alex's desk, and he usually managed to stop her before she could use any dangerous items.
«And wasn't that enough for you? Like last time, when you almost demolished the building with that massive gun Alex made?» Gloria continued with the same calmness.
Rebecca guiltily turned away. She couldn't help herself; her nature constantly drew her toward destructive devices and powerful weapons. Gloria simply sighed heavily, deciding to hold back further reprimands—Alex had promised to talk to Rebecca personally. But Gloria already knew how that would go: Alex would scold her a bit, then forgive her, as always. She also noticed that Alex and GIR were still not home.
«Where did Alex and GIR go?» Gloria asked, glancing around.
«He said they'd be a little late—they had some things to take care of,» replied Kiwi, already dressed in her home clothes.
Gloria nodded and returned to watching TV until a news report about an explosion at one of the warehouses appeared on the screen. The scene was impressive—the explosion had been powerful, and once again, she shot a stern look at Rebecca, who was, however, watching the news with shining eyes, like a child seeing something incredibly exciting. Sensing Gloria's gaze, Rebecca immediately shrank back into the chair. But as soon as Gloria looked away, Rebecca resumed watching with the same wide smile.
Just then, Lucy returned from the kitchen carrying three cups of coffee. She placed one in front of Gloria and one in front of Kiwi, who nodded in gratitude. Lucy also noticed Rebecca's reaction to the news and smiled, shaking her head—she, like Gloria, knew well that Alex wouldn't really punish Rebecca harshly for her antics.
The girls decided to relax and wait for Alex to return to find out what he'd been up to after clearing out the warehouse. Suddenly, shuffling footsteps sounded from upstairs, and all eyes turned toward Valerie, who was coming down in shorts and a cropped T-shirt, lazily dragging her feet like an elderly person.
Gloria rolled her eyes yet again at the sight of such attire, reminding herself that she was tired of explaining to Valerie that she shouldn't dress like that, especially since there was a man living in the house. But Valerie would always respond that Alex was like an older brother to her, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Ignoring Valerie, the girls returned to watching TV as she slowly made her way to the kitchen for a late-night snack. Her sleep schedule was like Schrödinger's paradox—it was as if it existed, and yet, somehow, it didn't.
When Valerie disappeared into the kitchen, the girls continued watching the news, where there was talk about the increasing number of cyberpsychos, which grew every day. At first, they thought cyberpsychosis was only caused by cyber implants, but later they learned that it was actually due to the Mechanized Man, who had spread these technologies to expand his influence and control over the world.
His true goal was to enslave humanity, or rather, to watch people destroy each other in the struggle for resources and territory. Alex had already explained why the Mechanized Man was doing this, inciting wars between people.
They were also curious about what Alex planned to do next and how he intended to fight the Mechanized Man. All they knew was that he wanted to trap him in another dimension to prevent him from returning to the digital world. The only dimension that came to Lucy's mind was the mirror dimension, where Alex had taken them when they first learned his true identity.
But this was just speculation. Since his return from the moon, Alex had been constantly locked up in his workshop, creating something, only coming out to grab a bite or complete a job. But ever since GIR mastered the ability to arrange «accidents,» even this wasn't strictly necessary for him.
Lucy smirked, recalling video clips where GIR proudly displayed his «accidents» to the others. Rebecca and Pilar were especially fond of these clips—they were GIR's biggest fans. However, when someone tried to stop him from carrying on, GIR was visibly upset and spent the entire day moping, staring gloomily at the ceiling from his spot on his cushion.
Pushing these thoughts aside, Lucy returned to watching the news, which showed the same updates every day. Soon, a TV series started that everyone in the house watched—except for Rebecca and Alex, who preferred horror movies. Hearing the series' intro, Valerie, who was eating breakfast in the kitchen, rushed into the living room with a bowl of cereal.
Seeing yet another «silly» show, Rebecca sprawled in her chair and pulled out her tablet to search for weapon parts on the black market. The others ignored her grumbling that they should put on something more interesting and bloody than this «soap opera.»
After the series ended, emergency news flashed on the screen again, showing footage of an incident at the Arasaka Tower, with scenes recorded by witnesses capturing the chaos in Hanako Arasaka's penthouse. Footage showed shattered windows and sounds of fighting coming from the penthouse until a powerful explosion obliterated an entire floor. The girls immediately realized it had to be Alex—no one else in the city was capable of that.
At that moment, they heard the sound of the door opening and all turned to see Alex with a new look. He wore a red coat and a mask hiding his face, and his hair was now a blood-red shade. Hanako Arasaka, recently declared missing, sat on his back, while GIR clung to his chest, dressed in a Halloween costume that looked like a skeleton.
«Yo, I brought a guest,» Alex said, raising his hand in greeting.
Gloria looked at Hanako with a hint of sympathy, while Lucy and Kiwi stared in surprise, wondering why Alex had brought her here. Rebecca and Valerie, on the other hand, watched the scene with obvious amusement. Hanako glanced around at the girls, and Alex, noticing this, decided to introduce them.
«Ahem, as you all know, this is Hanako Arasaka,» Alex said, attempting to lighten the mood.
The girls nodded in greeting, and Hanako returned the nod, still clinging to Alex as if she had no intention of getting down.
«Hanako, this is my family. The one with red hair is Gloria, the one with white hair and a rainbow fringe is Lucy, the one lounging in the chair with green hair is Rebecca, the blonde with the bob is Kiwi, and finally, this lazy potato here is Valerie, my younger sister,» Alex introduced, gesturing to each of them in turn.
Hanako carefully looked at each girl, trying to remember their names. Alex noticed they had some questions and decided to give them a chance to start the conversation.
«Alright, does anyone have questions before I begin?» he asked, glancing at the girls.
«Yes, why is your hair that color?» Valerie asked, raising her hand and pointing to his hair.
Alex ran a hand through his hair, remembering he'd forgotten to return it to its usual appearance. He reasoned that it could be forgiven—he'd been preoccupied with other things at the time.
«It's just camouflage,» he replied, returning his hair to its original color and length, ensuring it wouldn't get in the way during a fight.
Hanako was more surprised than anyone when Alex's hair suddenly changed back to black, as dark as the night. Satisfied with his usual look, Alex nodded, though he wasn't against experimenting with a different shade in the future. Black suited him more, but he was considering occasional changes for variety.
«Any other questions?» he asked, looking around at the girls.
«Yes. How long is this woman planning to hang onto your back?» Kiwi asked coldly, staring into his eyes hidden by the mask.
Alex realized that Hanako was still holding onto him and that he'd grown used to someone hanging onto his back—mostly Rebecca. Giving himself a light tap on the forehead, he turned to Hanako.
«Oh, right.»
He patted her hand, signaling her to let go. Hanako stepped onto the floor, her heels clicking loudly as she landed. Since the girls had no further questions, Alex intended to change his clothes, but then he felt Hanako tugging on his sleeve, drawing his attention. Surprised, he turned to her, expecting her to say something later, after he'd changed.
Seeing his attention, Hanako asked the questions that were troubling her:
«Why are you still wearing a mask? How did your hair change color? And who are you, really?»
Realizing he still had the mask on, Alex removed it under Hanako's watchful gaze, revealing his face. To say she was surprised was an understatement; Hanako was stunned to see a young man who looked no older than eighteen. But what struck her most were his rainbow-colored eyes, which added an air of mystery to him.
«So young,» she murmured.
Alex smirked, choosing not to explain further. Age was a relative concept to him—he didn't even know how old his soul truly was, considering the time he'd spent in a different place before he met the god who reincarnated him and later accepted him as a son. His original age before reincarnation was 25, and given all that had happened, he'd decided to start saying he was 18; it was just simpler that way.
«Yes, yes, young. And the hair—well, you can just call it magic,» he said with a shrug.
His casual answer made the girls laugh, especially Rebecca and Valerie, while Gloria, Lucy, and Kiwi just smiled, shaking their heads, knowing he always answered this way. Whenever he talked about himself, it was either cryptic or full of long, convoluted explanations that could last for hours.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Hanako gave Alex a long, searching look, trying to understand how someone so young could possess such power.
«So, who are you, really? Why are you so strong?» she asked, looking directly into his eyes.
Alex raised an eyebrow and answered with a question, «Are you sure you want to know?»
Hanako hesitated, sensing that the answer might be anything but ordinary. Behind Alex, Rebecca and Valerie were whispering to each other, placing bets on her reaction if she found out the truth. Rebecca guessed that Hanako might try to attack him, Valerie thought she'd scream and try to run, while Kiwi and Lucy predicted she'd faint. Gloria refrained from betting, recalling how she herself had passed out when she learned Alex's true identity.
Finally, Hanako nodded, ignoring the girls' whispering.
«Well, I'm a demon,» Alex said with a cheerful smile.
Hanako looked at Alex as if he were an idiot and didn't believe a word he said.
«If you're a demon, then I'm a magical girl,» she replied with open sarcasm.
Her response made Rebecca laugh, while the other girls only looked at Hanako with understanding, knowing that there were even bigger revelations ahead.
«No, seriously, I really am a demon,» Alex said, looking at her in surprise.
«And I'm, apparently, a magical girl,» Hanako replied, still with sarcasm.
Alex was more impressed by how quickly Hanako regained her composure than by her disbelief. An ordinary person, faced with events like these, would likely be in shock, trying to process the reality-shattering experiences around them. Especially since Hanako had witnessed the dark side of Alex's work and the horrors he had to deal with. Lucy, Gloria, and Rebecca had learned about it by accident and hadn't seen the full extent of it as Hanako had, and Kiwi had only heard about it without witnessing it firsthand. This resilience was why Alex was impressed by her.
«Alright, how would you like me to prove I'm a demon?» he asked with a weary tone, hearing the girls' laughter behind him as they clearly enjoyed the situation.
Alex glanced back at them, noticing how amused they were by what was happening. Hanako scrutinized him from head to toe, trying to recall everything she knew about demons. Remembering the legends of oni demons from her homeland, she noted one common detail—demons always had horns. Her gaze lingered on his forehead, but there were no signs of horns.
«If you're a demon, then where are your horns, tail, hooves, or whatever demons usually have?» she asked with sarcasm.
Alex's face twisted as if he had just tasted a lemon. He was already fed up with this stereotype about demons having horns and tails. Rebecca couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach and wiping away tears. The other girls, watching Hanako with amused interest, couldn't help but smile as well.
«Enough about the horns and tail! I don't have any,» Alex grumbled, frowning.
«Then how will you prove you're a demon?» Hanako asked with a smile, raising an eyebrow.
Alex considered, briefly entertaining the idea of using magic to grow a pair of horns, as he sometimes did before. But deciding against it, he chose another way to surprise her.
«Alright, watch this,» he said, and his body began to glow.
Hanako watched in amazement as Alex started to shrink until he took on the form of a twelve-year-old boy. Her mouth fell open, but she couldn't say a word. Her gaze darted from him to the other girls until, eventually, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Alex managed to catch her before she hit her head on the floor. Sighing, he glanced at the girls, who were laughing uncontrollably, except for Gloria, who looked at Hanako with regret, remembering how she herself had ended up in a similar situation.
Alex ignored their laughter and called for Chastifol, on which GIR was already lying. Feeling himself being pushed off the pillow, GIR complained and started grumbling, claiming the pillow belonged to him. Alex just smirked and placed Hanako on the pillow so she could recover.
«What?» he asked, looking at the girls with his childlike voice, tilting his head to the side.
«Nothing,» they replied in unison, shaking their heads.
Alex shrugged and turned his attention back to Hanako, who was peacefully lying on the pillow. Nearby, GIR sat glumly, eyeing the «intruder» on his territory with dissatisfaction. Suddenly, a lightbulb flashed above his head—a real one, which no longer surprised anyone in the house. GIR settled down next to Hanako, getting comfortable as if she wasn't an issue.
Shaking his head, Alex walked over to the couch, waiting for Hanako to regain consciousness. He noticed that all the spots were occupied by the girls, and after thinking for a moment about where to sit, he decided to join Kiwi, who was sitting in a chair. He jumped onto her lap and settled down, resting his head on her chest, which greatly surprised her.
«Why don't you return to your usual form?» Kiwi asked, looking at him.
Alex lifted his head and looked at Kiwi, pondering her question. After all, he had transformed into a child just to prove to Hanako that he was no ordinary human. But the situation had turned out poorly, and Hanako had fainted.
«Yeah, I haven't used this form in a while, so I just want to stay in it for a bit,» he replied, gesturing with his hands. «The last time I used it was to show the girls some magic and other things.»
Kiwi nodded, intrigued by why else Alex would adopt the form of a child. Hearing her question, he smirked and began to tell her how, in this form, he had trained the girls of his family and walked around the city. He even shared how several times he was mistaken for his own son—child of Alex and one of his acquaintances, Ais.
When Rebecca heard this, she laughed again and curiously started asking for more details. Alex continued, explaining that once, he was nearly kidnapped for blackmail... but they were after him. His trusty staff came to the rescue, with which he had «taught» many idiots.
«What else can your magic do, aside from all the dangerous spells you've mentioned?» Kiwi asked with interest.
Alex paused, touching his chin. His magic truly could create unimaginable things, even planets and galaxies, but he still needed to «grow» to make that possible. His body and soul adapted too quickly to the destructive power, so he had to impose restrictions on himself.
Deciding to entertain Kiwi a bit, Alex, using the magic Lili used to escape Soma's family, transformed—cat ears appeared on his head, and a cat tail materialized behind him.
«Well, now I'm a kitty, nya!» Alex said, striking a cute cat-like pose.
Seeing him in this form, the girls' eyes widened in surprise. Lucy quickly covered her nose to hide a thin stream of blood, while Valerie and Rebecca gazed at him with shining eyes, looking at him in adoration. Gloria's maternal instinct kicked in, and she barely restrained herself from pulling him into a hug. Kiwi, sitting closest to him, wasn't indifferent either. She reached out and gently touched Alex's cat ears.
«Are they real?» she asked, lightly stroking the ears.
Alex flinched sensitively and, twitching his ears, tried to pull away from her touch. The sensations from the contact with his ears and tail made him feel strange.
«Yes, they're real! And stop touching them—it's a weird feeling,» he said, moving away from her hands.
But the girls' looks indicated they wanted to touch him more. Alex immediately became alert, remembering that when he used this combination of appearance in the Danmachi world, the local girls had started a full-on competition to be his mother. He shuddered, hoping the same wouldn't happen here. Just then, a weak groan was heard—Hanako was beginning to come to.
She opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Memories flooded her: her bodyguard, who turned into a monster, her rescue, the savior's confession that he was a demon… and then his transformation into a child right before her eyes. Shaking her head, she looked around and noticed the child with cat ears and a tail sitting on Kiwi's lap, waving at her.
«Hey, I see you're awake,» Alex said with a smile.
A short-circuit happened in her mind, and she almost fainted again. Trying to make sense of the situation, Hanako slowly slid off the floating green pillow she had just noticed. Hearing the soft click of her heels on the floor, she took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. She walked up to Alex and, standing in front of him, looked at him carefully.
Finally collecting her thoughts, Hanako asked the first question that came to her mind:
«Are you a demon-nekomata?» she asked suspiciously, towering over him.
Alex waited for Hanako's answer, but her words made him laugh—she thought he was a demon-nekomata. Hanako blushed, seeing how much he enjoyed her guess.
«Well, that's definitely something new. No, I'm not a nekomata. If you noticed, I only have one tail,» Alex pointed to his tail with a smile. «These ears and tail are made with magic.»
Hanako, taking a closer look, saw that the tail was indeed only one. But when she first noticed his cat ears and tail, her first thought was that he was a nekomata. The girls became curious about what nekomata were and why Hanako had called Alex that.
«What are nekom... whatever?» Rebecca asked, stumbling slightly over the word.
Hanako, hearing the question, averted her gaze from Alex and explained:
«It's 'nekomata,' not 'neko something.' A nekomata is a spirit of a cat from Japanese folklore and legends. They were once ordinary cats, and then became spirits. Nekomata can be either protectors of the home or vengeful demons if they've suffered at the hands of humans. They usually have two tails, but as they grow older, they develop more tails and become stronger.»
«So, it's just a cat with multiple tails,» Rebecca summarized, not delving into the details.
«Well, in a sense,» Hanako replied with a smile.
She then turned back to Alex with a more serious expression on her face, clearly waiting for an answer to the main question.
«If you're not a nekomata, then who or what are you really?» she asked, staring at him intently.
Alex's smile grew wider, as if he was anticipating how shocked Hanako would be. He braced himself in case she fainted again.
«Let me introduce myself properly,» he said, placing his feet on Kiwi's lap to be at eye level with Hanako. He removed his cat ears, adding seriousness to the moment. «My name is Alexander Voldigoad. I am the Demon King from another world and the first demon created by God. Pleased to meet you, Miss Hanako Arasaka,» he said with a slight bow.
Upon hearing his words, Hanako couldn't hold back a shudder, realizing who Alex truly was. All of this stirred a storm of emotions and thoughts inside her.
«W-Wait, by which God do you mean? Do you mean that God, with a capital 'G'?» she stammered, trying to collect herself.
«Exactly. My father is the God who created everything,» Alex replied calmly, settling back on Kiwi's lap and laying his head on her chest.
Hanako stared at him with her mouth agape, not knowing what to say. Turning to look at the other girls' reactions, she noticed that they had accepted the information calmly, and only a few of them were quietly laughing at her reaction, which irritated her.
Soon, she realized that they were already aware of Alex's true identity. What surprised her the most was that he, the son of God himself, acted so casually and hadn't used magic to fight her bodyguard Oda, even though he was physically much stronger than an ordinary human.
Now she was beginning to understand where his power came from, but many questions still remained. Most of all, she was concerned about what had happened to Oda and whose terrifying voice had called itself a god.
To be continued...