In the Palace of Hyde.
King Wilson, dressed in an elegant nightgown, angrily hurled the cup in his hand at the guard captain standing before him, shouting furiously:
"A bunch of worthless fools! A handful of thieves and you couldn't catch a single one all night!"
"Is this how you justify the military budget every year, just to scrape by!?"
The glass shattered against the guard captain's face, splintering into pieces.
Sharp fragments left several cuts, drawing blood.
Sweat beaded on the guard captain's forehead as his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
"Your Majesty... please calm down. The soldiers have surrounded Gordon's castle; not even a fly will escape!"
The guard captain mustered his courage to speak.
"Hmph!" King Wilson snorted coldly, his eyes glaring icily at the captain.
"Remember your words!"
"If you disappoint me again..."
"Collect your reward from Cade!"
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"
The guard captain broke out in cold sweat.
As a close confidant of the king, he fully understood the ominous meaning behind Wilson's use of the word "reward," and he nodded hastily, not daring to show a hint of hesitation.
He turned around and immediately deployed every guard he could command within the palace.
This time, to avoid becoming a slave, he mobilized the entire military force in the royal capital!
He ensured that the assassin who killed Duke Gordon would not escape the area surrounding the Duke's castle!
"Hmph!"
As the guard captain departed, Wilson let out another snort. Although he remained dissatisfied, he didn't dwell on it.
But just as the palace returned to silence, a dark figure suddenly appeared behind him.
The master of this shadow showed no respect for the supreme ruler of the Hyde Kingdom. Instead, a voice colder than Wilson's own spoke:
"Wilson, the secret ship sent by Lord Jerkaz is about to arrive in the Kingdom of Hyde. If this shipment is delayed, neither you nor I will have an easy time..."
"This..."
The voice, laced with thinly veiled threat, caused Wilson's expression to freeze.
He quickly turned around, forcing a smile.
"Lord Tobul, please rest assured, I've deployed all the soldiers in the royal capital. There's no chance for failure!"
He assured, patting his chest.
But the shadowy figure known as Tobul was unimpressed by Wilson's words. Instead, his voice remained icy:
"You better hope so!"
Tobul was originally an agent of CP3, the intelligence branch of the World Government, later trained by Celestial Dragon Saint Jerkaz. On orders from his master, he was sent to the Kingdom of Hyde to serve as a bodyguard for the Wilson royal family.
It was supposed to be an easy and comfortable assignment!
No danger, no need to cater to the whims of the Celestial Dragons or his superiors.
Living the royal life in Hyde Kingdom every day, his existence was nothing short of luxurious.
He was practically the hidden emperor above Wilson!
But at this moment...
His face was grim, and his eyes gleamed with deadly intent as he stared directly at King Wilson.
Tobul knew well that his real mission was not to protect the fool of a king, Wilson, but to safeguard the "artworks" Saint Jerkaz desired, ensuring their safe delivery to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.
But!
When trouble arose with Gordon, Wilson, this idiot, had hidden the truth from him and sent soldiers on his own initiative.
And his reason? Fear that assassins would enter the palace and kill him, the king.
The result? Not only had the assassin not been captured, but he was also still here, neither going nor guarding.
If anything went wrong, this fool Wilson would be punished in the end.
Tobul was already seething with anger. Given the chance, he would gladly wring the neck of this idiot Wilson himself!
...
...
Meanwhile,
The captain of the Hyde Kingdom's Guards led nearly 10,000 elite soldiers to surround Duke Gordon's entire castle.
"Advance slowly! If you see anything suspicious, shoot on sight!"
"The assassin must not be allowed to escape from Hyde!!!"
"Even if a fly crosses your path, kill it! Don't let it through!!!"
The guard captain stood at the forefront, issuing commands.
The thin moonlight filtered through the clouds, casting a faint glow over the castle.
The enemy was stronger than they had anticipated.
Countless soldiers, armed with firearms, cautiously approached the castle step by step.
However...
What they didn't notice was...
Right above their heads, high in the sky where the moonlight was brightest...
A pair of enormous butterflies with shimmering silver wings were quietly flying overhead.
"Butterfree-sensei, are you alright?"
Nami and Carina each clung to one of Butterfree's feet, dangling in mid-air.
"Butterfree~ (This is nothing~)"
Hearing Nami's concern, Butterfree answered with ease.
With its strength, carrying these two girls, who together weighed less than 100 kilograms, was no challenge at all.
Nami sighed in relief at Butterfree's response.
She looked down.
Despite her earlier bravado, seeing the mass of soldiers below made her scalp prickle.
If this really escalated into a direct conflict with the Kingdom of Hyde, the consequences would be dire.
Looking at the unsuspecting soldiers, Nami thought proudly:
"Search! Search all you want! I hope you find all the monstrous deeds they've been hiding!"
She knew that among so many soldiers, most were actually unaware of the truth.
She and Carina had moved all the artwork in the treasure room to prominent places.
Nami wanted to see...
What would happen to this country once those soldiers realized that the people they were protecting were actually demons in human skin...
Under the moonlight, Butterfree flapped its white wings and, using the cover of darkness, quickly left the soldiers' encirclement, heading toward the palace.
...
...
Meanwhile, in a dark alley of the capital of Hyde Kingdom, several figures agilely climbed over obstacles like wild cats, landing silently.
"Jango, how far is it to the palace?"
After landing, Kuro immediately adjusted his clothing, like a gentleman concerned with his appearance...
Only if you ignored the ten sharp blades on his hands.
At Kuro's feet, Purrloin was energized, its golden eyes gleaming as it eagerly anticipated their next move.
Since arriving in this new world, it hadn't yet had a chance to show off its true abilities!
"We're still about 15 kilometers away if we go in a straight line."
Jango, panting, compared their surroundings with the map.
Compared to his captain, his stamina clearly wasn't enough to support such a swift and dashing journey.
To catch his breath, he pretended to observe their surroundings before consulting the intel:
"According to the intel, there should've been a small military outpost not far from here..."
"But even though there are lights ahead, there are no soldiers..."
He looked up, admiration in his eyes:
"Captain, your guess was right!"
"The soldiers have gone to chase the assassin who killed Gordon. We can take advantage of the situation and slip in!!!"
"Hmm..."
A cruel and expectant smile crept onto Kuro's face before he quickly composed himself, returning to his usual calm demeanor as he spoke softly:
"In that case, let's pick up the pace. We need to grab some valuable items from the palace before the soldiers return..."
By this point, his patience was wearing thin.
For this mission, Kuro had spent nearly all the Black Cat Pirates' savings.
Just acquiring the intel had cost a small fortune—30 million Beli—plus various other expenses, including wages, lost time, and even renting the Rotom phone...
If he didn't recover some treasure from the palace, this trip would be a complete disaster!
Soon, despite Jango's weak and pained expression, the three figures melded into the shadows once more, slipping through the alleys of Hyde Kingdom.
At this moment, Tobul, the former CP3 agent in the palace, Nami, the skilled trainer, the cat burglar Carina, and Kuro, the pirate captain of the Black Cat Pirates...
All three were on high alert, bracing themselves as the night grew deeper.
(End of this chapter)