Under the cover of night, the spectral steed ran swiftly across the streets under Luo Yu's command.
Ahead of them, Yukino Yukinoshita continued leaping from rooftop to rooftop, clearly searching for something.
Seated in Luo Yu's arms, Ranni watched the distant figure moving across the rooftops.
"I can confirm that she is human. When I saw her before, she had no power at all. Yet now she can transform like this and move with such speed. King… are you certain this change won't cause any side effects?"
Luo Yu shook his head while continuing to observe carefully.
"I'm not certain. Based on our past experience, there will definitely be side effects. And the way she's running around like this will eventually attract attention if it continues. We need to resolve this quickly."
He leaned forward slightly and said,
"Torrent, pick up the pace. I'll give you extra food later."
Torrent snorted, shook his head, and immediately accelerated.
At that moment, Yukino Yukinoshita landed on the roof of a residential building. The black cat ears atop her head twitched.
Her vertical pupils locked toward the west.
Her expression turned fierce, and she leapt down from the rooftop, sprinting forward even faster.
Seeing this, Luo Yu said calmly,
"Looks like she's found her target. Follow her, Torrent."
Soon, Yukino Yukinoshita came to a stop at the entrance of a narrow alley.
Standing there was a man wearing a black hoodie. In his hand he held a metal clamp covered in sharp spikes, slowly approaching a stray cat.
When the man sensed movement behind him, he turned around.
What he saw was Yukino Yukinoshita—cat ears on her head, a black tail swaying behind her, and sharp claws extending from her fingers.
He froze for two seconds before his eyes widened in terror.
"M-Monster!"
At the same moment he shouted, Yukino Yukinoshita bared her teeth and prepared to charge forward.
But in the next instant, a hand pressed firmly against her head.
Luo Yu had arrived just in time.
With one hand, he easily restrained the transformed Yukino Yukinoshita while turning his gaze toward the man.
After noticing the tool in the man's hand and the frightened stray cat nearby, Luo Yu immediately understood.
"I see. So you're the one abusing cats. No wonder she came out searching in the middle of the night."
The man looked at Luo Yu's armor and instantly realized he was not someone to provoke.
Just as he was about to turn and flee, he suddenly noticed that another woman had appeared behind him at some point.
She was holding the cat in her arms.
Her gaze was cold—so cold that it was as though she were not looking at a living person at all.
"King," Ranni said calmly, "how should we deal with someone like this?"
Luo Yu gave her a reassuring look before turning to Yukino Yukinoshita, who was still struggling desperately under the restraint of his magic.
"Don't worry," he said gently. "I won't let that man go. But there's no need for you to dirty your hands. You're still just an ordinary girl."
With a casual wave of his left hand, a wave of freezing air spread across the ground.
The frost raced forward and instantly encased the man in ice, freezing him solid in a single moment.
Once the man had been frozen, Ranni raised the Carian Regal Scepter and pointed it forward.
The icy mist lingering on the ground instantly transformed into blazing flames.
Surrounded by fire, the block of ice melted rapidly.
In less than ten seconds, both the ice and the man trapped within it vanished completely without a trace.
After dealing with the matter, Luo Yu gently touched Yukino Yukinoshita's cat ears and spoke thoughtfully while looking at her stunned expression.
"You must be the cats I saw earlier today, right? Your spirits resonated with Yukino Yukinoshita and gave her this power?"
He sighed softly.
"I understand your intentions, but doing something like this isn't very good for her."
"Meow…"
With a soft cry, the cat-like pupils in Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes gradually returned to normal human eyes.
Her eyelids slowly closed as she fell into unconsciousness.
Catching her before she collapsed, Luo Yu held her in his arms.
However, her cat ears and tail had not yet disappeared.
He looked at Ranni with some confusion.
"What should we do now?"
Meanwhile, Ranni gently stroked the small cat she was holding and asked,
"King, do you know where she lives?"
Luo Yu shook his head.
"In that case," Ranni said calmly, "we'll have to bring her back with us for now. I'm rather curious about her current condition as well."
Given the circumstances, there was little choice but to take Yukino Yukinoshita home.
Luo Yu summoned Torrent and mounted the spectral steed while carrying the unconscious girl.
Ranni sat behind him, still holding the small cat.
Looking at the kitten in Ranni's arms, Luo Yu asked,
"Are you planning to keep that little one?"
Ranni glanced down at the black-and-white kitten, which clearly still looked very young.
"There are no creatures like this in the Lands Between. I've watched several videos about cats recently, and I quite like them. Is that alright?"
Luo Yu shrugged casually.
"Sure. One more mouth to feed won't make a difference. Let's go, Torrent. We're heading home."
Torrent glanced back at the extra passenger on his back and shot Luo Yu a displeased look before moving forward.
Carrying three people was nothing for a massive spectral steed like Torrent.
Still, he used to carry only Luo Yu.
Now the number kept increasing.
Who knew what kind of weight he might have to carry in the future?
Hopefully nothing too extreme.
A few minutes later, Luo Yu arrived home riding Torrent.
However, despite the ride back, the girl in his arms had still not woken up.
Laying Yukino Yukinoshita carefully on the sofa, Luo Yu examined her condition.
"She's actually doing better than before. But her stamina and mental energy are heavily depleted. It seems she hasn't adapted to this enhanced body yet and has overexerted herself."
Ranni walked over and placed a hand gently on Yukino Yukinoshita's forehead.
After checking her condition, she nodded.
"Her mind is recovering. She should wake up in a few minutes."
She then looked at Luo Yu.
"King, once she wakes up, how do you intend to explain everything?"
Luo Yu pointed toward the cat ears and tail that still hadn't disappeared.
"How else? I'll just tell her the truth."
He then looked toward the small kitten following Ranni's feet.
With a wave of his magic, the kitten was lifted into the air and floated in front of him.
"Meow! Meow! Meooow!"
The kitten had clearly never experienced something like this before. It flailed its limbs frantically while floating helplessly in the air.
Luo Yu chuckled.
"Stop yelling. You're filthy and still expect to stay in my house. Since I have time now, I'll give you a bath first and check your condition."
A sphere of warm water formed from magic and surrounded the kitten's body below the head, slowly spinning like a miniature washing machine.
After struggling for a moment, the kitten realized resistance was pointless.
It stopped moving entirely, staring blankly as if it had accepted its fate.
Two minutes later, Luo Yu finished the cleaning.
He took a small towel and carefully wiped the kitten's head dry, even cleaning its ears.
Although it was a stray kitten, its ears were not very dirty, and its body appeared healthy without any injuries.
Once he finished, Luo Yu placed the kitten into Ranni's arms.
At that exact moment, Yukino Yukinoshita—lying on the sofa—finally began to wake up.