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"Blake, did you get any evidence of that bastard's crimes?"
The blonde loli rushed out of the pet hospital and immediately asked, eyes full of anticipation.
Blake shook his head. "He's careful. There's nothing on his phone that counts as evidence."
"So what now?" Yamada Elf's face fell instantly. "Are we just going to let him walk free?"
"Relax." Blake folded one arm across his chest and pressed a finger to his brow, striking a pose straight out of Detective Conan. "I have a final plan."
Yanami tilted her head. "…The great mastermind of the West?"
Blake stared at her blankly. "Come here."
Oh, 'mastermind,' huh?
Time to show you what a real mastermind looks like.
"No thanks~" Anna Yanami quickly took a step back and stuck out her tongue. "Just tell us already."
"Mr. Blake, don't bully Yanami." Mahiru Shiina's voice was soft and gentle. "Explain your plan first."
"Alright, here goes…"
Blake's expression turned serious.
"Natsume Soseki once said, 'When the brave are angered, they draw their blades against the strong. When the cowardly are angered…' I forgot the second half."
Goko Ruri's eyes lit up. "When the cowardly are angered, they draw their blades against the weaker."
"Exactly." Blake shot her an approving look. "Animal abusers are like rats in the sewer. They pick on the weak to satisfy their twisted urges. People like that are never strong-willed."
"As the saying goes, a thief always has a guilty conscience."
"After abusing those cats, that doctor is definitely afraid of getting caught. The slightest disturbance will make him nervous."
"We exploit that weakness. Break him psychologically."
The girls leaned in, listening closely.
"And then? What happens next?"
Blake paused briefly before laying out the plan.
"First, Elf sneaks into the pet hospital while invisible and cuts the power."
"At the same time, Mahiru stops time and goes in to open all the cages."
"Finally, Ruri hides outside the window and uses cat language to command all the cats to come out and surround the doctor… hissing at him."
Blake concluded calmly, "An animal abuser suddenly facing an unexplainable supernatural event will panic. He'll feel guilty and terrified. There's a high chance he'll call the police himself… and that's when we win."
"…That actually sounds doable." Yamada Elf put her hands on her hips. "Leave the power cut to me."
Goko Ruri's eyes sparkled. "I'll go ahead and communicate with the cats."
Mahiru Shiina pressed her lips together lightly. "I'll open the cages."
"Me, me, me!" Anna Yanami raised her hand in a hurry. "What about me?"
"Relax, I've got a job for you." Blake looked at her. "There's another staff member in the shop. You need to lure them away so the doctor is left alone. We need to create a sense of isolation and despair."
"Leave it to me!" Yanami snapped a salute. "Mission accepted."
"…But wait." She leaned forward slightly, her blue eyes curious. "What are you doing, Blakeu?"
He answered without hesitation, "I'll stay in the back and cheer you all on."
The girls fell silent.
Of course, that was just a joke. Blake still had plenty to do.
He went to a convenience store to buy a small Bluetooth speaker, planning to use it later for eerie background music.
He scouted the pet hospital in advance and located the circuit breaker.
He also showed Yamada Elf exactly how to cut the power.
Time slipped by as they prepared.
Once everything was ready, Blake let out a breath and looked at the girls.
"By the way… are you hungry?"
"…Mm." Yanami covered her stomach and looked at him pitifully. "Starving."
They had rushed over as soon as they got the message earlier that evening, so none of them had eaten dinner.
"Let's go eat." Blake waved them along. "The place doesn't close until ten. We'll need energy."
No one objected.
They followed him to grab food, though none of them had much of an appetite. In the end, each of them just ate a bowl of ramen to fill up.
Soon, it was 9:50 p.m.
The night had deepened.
The shopping street had grown quiet.
Blake exhaled softly and gave the signal.
"…Operation start."
Yanami clenched her fists and quickly slipped out of the dark alley, heading for the pet hospital to find the nurse.
"Excuse me, I just saw someone collapse outside—I don't know what to do…"
The nurse didn't hesitate and hurried out with her.
"Done."
Yanami flashed a peace sign as she led the nurse away.
"Elf, your turn." Blake glanced at the blonde girl beside him.
"Watch and learn." Yamada Elf placed her hands on her hips, activated her invisibility, and strode confidently toward the hospital.
Moments later, every light inside the building went out.
"A blackout?"
Left alone, the "demon doctor" looked confused. Thinking it was just a lighting issue, he turned on his phone's flashlight and headed toward the switch.
"Mahiru." Blake looked at the angel beside him. "You're up."
"Okay."
Mahiru Shiina nodded gently and activated her time stop.
In the next instant, the entire world froze.
Unhurried, she walked into the pet hospital, opened every cage, quietly placed the Bluetooth speaker in a corner, locked the exit from the outside, and then drifted back out.
Time resumed.
Click!
Every cage door sprang open at once. The strange noise startled the doctor.
From the back, Blake oversaw everything and quickly sent a message to Ruri:
"You can start."
Goko Ruri was already waiting outside the window. Taking a deep breath, she gave her command in "cat language."
At once, all the cats jumped out of their cages and approached the doctor together, baring their teeth and hissing.
"Hiss—"
At the same time…
A faint, eerie piece of music began to play, barely audible but chilling enough to twist the atmosphere.
The doctor's face turned pale instantly. Cold sweat poured down his back.
If you've done nothing wrong, you fear no ghosts knocking at your door.
But now, faced with something so bizarre and unnatural, his entire body began to tremble. He rushed toward the door, trying to escape.
It wouldn't budge.
The lights stayed off.
"Hiss—"
In the dim glow of his phone, dozens of cats closed in, hissing in unison. The pressure and dread were overwhelming.
"D-Don't come any closer!"
Confronted with what felt like a supernatural event, the doctor's mental defenses collapsed. Shaking violently, he pulled out his phone and dialed the police.
"I—I want to turn myself in…!"
"....."