"You, did you really just... kidnap two girls just like that?" Hakari asked, shocked by everything that had happened before her eyes in just a few minutes.
"I normally wouldn't, but this time it was necessary for a mission. Besides, you know how this world ends, right?" Kaito shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Yeah, but... couldn't you have explained things a little beforehand?"
"They know what they need to know. I'll explain the rest when I come back" Kaito replied.
"So that's the attitude of someone at the top?" Hakari muttered in surprise. "Zero respect for other people's opinions?"
"I think you have the wrong impression of me" Kaito complained after hearing her mutter, but in the end decided to simply ignore it. "Anyway, Hakari, why don't we talk about this so-called Sacred Forest Alliance?"
"Alright" Hakari nodded obediently at once, surprising Kaito.
"That easily? You're not going to refuse?"
"Of course not! You're my boyfriend after all!" Hakari proudly declared with a confident smile.
'System'
[Hakari Hanazono - Affection: 80% - I love him]
'That high? Could it be that she's a lovestruck idiot?'
Kaito had already been quite surprised by the level Mio reached after just one night, but Hakari completely surpassed her.
[I think you should remember quite a few things. You're in a world with erotic rules where eroticism equals love, Hakari is a special race, there is a special bond between sin candidates and the Demon King, and Hakari has special tastes]
'In short, it's a mixture of different factors,' Kaito understood.
"So, what do you want to know?" While Kaito was thinking, Hakari, without any shyness whatsoever, had already moved closer and sat beside him, leaning against him and wrapping herself around his arm like an affectionate girlfriend.
"Let's start with you. What race are you?"
"I'm a succubus! And a very good one. Maria said I'm the succubus with the greatest potential she's ever seen" Hakari proudly declared.
"Yeah, that was to be expected" Kaito sighed before becoming serious. "Just tell me everything you know."
"Let's see, I'm Hakari Hanazono, from a second-tier family in Japan. My father died a long time ago, so I was raised only by my mother. My current level is..."
For the next hour, Hakari dedicated herself to telling him everything she knew.
Although Kaito only wanted to know about the so-called Sacred Forest Alliance, Hakari instead devoted herself to recounting her entire life from birth along with her family's complete history.
It was only after half an hour that she finally began talking about the Sacred Forest Alliance. However, the information wasn't particularly appealing to Kaito.
He already knew about this supposed alliance, he just didn't know it by that name since it's something recent. It's simply all the Lords who fled to the Sacred Forest to escape from him in the beginning and who apparently want revenge.
'Revenge for what? I didn't do anything to them' Kaito genuinely wanted to go complain to them.
He'd do that in the future.
The good thing about the situation was that, honestly, they wouldn't be a problem. And not the kind of problem Kaito could defeat in an instant, but the kind that doesn't even need fighting.
Because this alliance was formed at the beginning of Gaia, its leaders aren't the strongest. Instead, they're the influential families of Japan, those who claimed they deserved leadership back when the power gap between Lords wasn't very large.
However, because of the Union issue, Kaguya and Kaito had already discussed rebuilding the Shinomiya family and then taking control of Japan.
It might sound exaggerated, but according to Makima's information, the government itself is part of the Union. No, the government IS the Union, so expelling them completely is the only way to be safe.
It would also serve as the first step toward creating a kind of territory the Union couldn't attack.
If Kaito could, he'd really prefer not to fight the Union. After all, the Union is literally the government of the entire world. Why would someone challenge something like that alone? Setting aside their power, even if they were weaker than him, they sound like a nuisance. They must be incredibly widespread and hidden.
Not only would getting rid of an organization like that be difficult, but you'd also have to take its place afterward.
But as much as he'd like to avoid unnecessary trouble, since they're already enemies, Kaito isn't going to simply ignore them. He'd rather attack first than spend the rest of his life defending himself.
This was also something that, while Kaito didn't care about it too much, Kaguya seemed particularly interested in. It would also help fulfill the agreement with Makima.
Anyway, the point is that with Kaguya doing that, subjugating the important families of Japan is part of the process, and one of the main parts at that.
Doesn't that mean that by the time Kaito finishes with the Black Forest and goes to the Sacred Forest, most of the upper leadership of this so-called 'Sacred Forest Alliance' will already be on his side?
After all, the changes brought by Gaia still haven't spread enough into the ordinary world.
If the Shinomiya family wanted to expand and subjugate all the other families in Japan, using both political power and actual power and abilities, it wouldn't be very difficult.
'Now that I think about it, isn't this too easy? Maybe it's a trap' Kaito realized.
[No, it's just that you and your subordinates are cheaters]
'Maybe, but I don't want to get overconfident.'
[No, I'm telling you that...]
"...and that's the power of the Perfect Being."
While Kaito was talking with the system and listening to Hakari at the same time, she finally finished her explanation.
Kaito already knew that the highest power level in the Sacred Forest was the Perfect Being, so he wasn't surprised when Hakari told him about it.
Actually, having already heard about the Perfect Being, the surprising thing would have been if it wasn't their strongest weapon.
"That's everything" Hakari smiled.
"I think half of that information doesn't really matter to me."
"What do you mean? As my future husband, you have to know everything about me" Hakari complained with a pout.
'What a fast girl' Kaito thought in surprise once again.
"Alright, let's leave that aside for now. Let's finish the mission. Do you know how to get to the Demon World?" Kaito asked.
"Kuh, leave that aside..." Hakari complained. "Fine, I know how to get there."
"Seriously?" Kaito was surprised.
"Of course. Our mission was to defeat someone, so naturally we investigated.
Mio is literally running away from him, so of course she knows where he lives. It's not like he's hiding anyway."
'Right, I forgot that detail.'
...
Just as Hakari said, reaching the Demon World wasn't difficult. They simply had to ask one of Mio's many acquaintances to open a portal there.
The Demon World was basically a fantasy kingdom, with magic, territories, social classes, races, nobles, and all that, so even if Hakari didn't know where Zolgear was, it would have been enough to ask anyone around.
In the anime there were two reasons why they didn't deal with this guy directly from the beginning.
On one hand, there was his power. As a demon noble, he was quite powerful, something that of course didn't concern Kaito.
But more importantly was the fact that he was a demon noble in the first place. Killing him would drag the protagonists into an incredible amount of unnecessary political drama. It wasn't just a matter of killing him and being done with it. The other nobles, the Demon King, and the entire demon race would be against you if you did that.
But Kaito didn't care about that either. After all, the moment Zolgear dies, Kaito will disappear from this world.
And by the time he returns, whether it's him or Mio, they'll probably be able to kill not only Zolgear but the entire demon race with a single strike, since the power ceiling in this world isn't that high.
"Halt, stop!"
"Who are you?!"
Kaito easily knocked out several guards along the way as he entered the demon noble's mansion.
"Sto...ughhh!"
"Damn...gaaah!"
"Someone...arghhh!"
"They're pretty weak" Hakari commented while walking beside him through the mansion's long hallways.
"They are" Kaito nodded while continuing to strike down the demons trying to attack him.
"You won't kill them?" she asked curiously.
"I try not to kill unless it's necessary or they deserve it."
"And what falls into that category?"
"Depends on the context" Kaito replied, not entirely sure himself.
"That's quite a loose moral compass you've got there" Hakari joked.
"Who are you? How dare you invade the territory of..."
"Oh, we arrived" Hakari interrupted the speaker.
Looking ahead, they saw they had finally reached the throne room. The place where Zolgear sat, surrounded by several scantily dressed succubi and guards with a more imposing appearance than the previous ones.
"Succubus, you dare interrupt me?!" Zolgear said furiously, recognizing her race despite her traits not being visible.
But his anger passed quickly. The next second, he looked Hakari up and down with undisguised desire.
"It seems I can forgive you, but only if...ARGHHHHH!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he began screaming in agony as his face burst into flames.
Finally, after only a few seconds, the fire went out, revealing Zolgear's now burned face, completely red, exposing the flesh beneath the skin along with several rashes.
To Zolgear's relief, it was already beginning to heal.
"Sorry, she's mine" Kaito said casually.
However, in his mind, he was quite surprised.
'A high-level attack and I only managed to burn his face a little? As expected, I'm not the best at magic' Kaito mentally sighed.
"You. I see, some fool who thinks he's powerful and believes he can defeat me, huh?" he muttered arrogantly, ignoring the pain and appearance of his face. "I'll show you what true pow..."
"Too much talking" Kaito interrupted him.
Without Zolgear or any of his guards realizing how, Kaito was already behind him. Not only that, but looking down, Zolgear could see his own chest pierced from behind.
The last thing he saw was his own heart in Kaito's hand emerging from his chest before he fell dead without being able to say another word.
The guards didn't have time to react before it happened, and after it happened they were already frozen by the system due to the completed mission.
Thus, Zolgear, a powerful demon noble with ambitions of using the previous Demon King's daughter to usurp power, died without anyone understanding what had happened.
With everything around them frozen and the bodies disappearing, Hakari quickly understood what was happening.
"Kaito, don't forget about me. Come get me later" she shouted before disappearing.
"Don't worry, I'll come get you" Kaito nodded and disappeared from the place along with her.
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)