— — — — — — —
"You think you can come and go as you please?"
Lynn's voice rang out like thunder in Kuroka's mind, shaking her to the core.
Her golden, slitted pupils trembled uncontrollably.
The heat radiating from the hand on her shoulder felt burning.
"When... when did you enter my defense barrier...?!"
A very bad feeling filled Kuroka.
Her senses were sharp, her dynamic vision unmatched, and yet—she hadn't even seen what had just happened.
Shatter!
Her barrier... even a Maou shouldn't have been able to break it so easily!
And that overwhelming aura...
"Don't tell me... this guy is actually a Maou?!"
Her eyes widened with disbelief.
Cold sweat soaked her back.
A chill raced straight up to her skull.
With a stiff neck, Kuroka turned to look at Lynn beside her and forced an awkward, crooked smile.
"M-Mister... I didn't know who I was messing with, nya~"
Instant submission.
She knew damn well she couldn't bluff her way out of this.
But even as she spouted words of apology, her fingers moved slowly...
Lynn glanced down.
Kuroka's face froze.
"He... He noticed!"
Too late to turn back. A dark purple spell symbol ignited at her fingertip, spreading out with a rush of thick, toxic energy.
It was a powerful Mist Poison curse, especially effective against devils and yokai!
Not that she expected it to take down someone of his level...
But even a single second of distraction would be enough!
Just enough to get the hell out of here.
"Purify."
A calm voice echoed beside her ear.
Whooom—
A radiant white light burst forth from Lynn, sweeping over everything.
The poisonous mist recoiled in terror, vanishing instantly like it had never existed.
Kuroka blinked, her body stiffening again.
"I... I'm so screwed..."
"Naughty little stray cat... you're not being very obedient."
His words sounded like divine judgment in her ears.
Without hesitation, she sprang forward, leaving behind a phantom afterimage, trying to bolt for the window with her kitty agility!
But—
Clink clink clink—
Golden chains shot out from Lynn's hands, wrapping around her with a metallic ring.
---
One minute later - Back inside the apartment
Kuroka, now tightly bound, hung her head and followed behind Lynn.
"Forgive me, nya~!"
Lynn lounged on the couch, looking down at her. One hand lazily held the golden chain extending from her pale neck.
A sealing spell.
Something he had learned from Kikyo and Midoriko.
With Lynn's level of power, even an Ultimate-class devil like Kuroka had no way of breaking free. The more she struggled, the tighter the chains bound her.
She had already learned that the hard way.
Kuroka squirmed uncomfortably.
"Ugh... these chains are way too tight..."
Suddenly, with a tug, the chain tightened around her neck.
Her head tilted up instinctively, golden cat-like eyes meeting Lynn's crimson gaze.
She bit her lip, looking away.
"Crap... total disaster..."
Who would've thought that Koneko's man was actually Maou-level?!
If it were anyone under Maou-tier, she would've been confident she could overpower them.
But Maou was Maou for a reason.
She gave Koneko a sideways glance, her expression complex.
"You really know how to pick a man...Shirone"
Koneko blinked. "Huh?"
She didn't quite get the look her sister was giving her, but... she knew Lynn-senpai was amazing!
Koneko looked up at Lynn with her golden eyes full of admiration.
Even her invincible big sister had been taken down so easily.
Was he really a Maou?
Like the president's older brother?
The realization hit her like a brick.
It was even more shocking than reuniting with her sister.
Kuroka: "What the hell???"
She stared at Koneko in disbelief.
"Your big sis is being tied up by your man right now, you know! Shouldn't you be a little more concerned?!"
Maybe it was the look she was giving her, but Koneko finally turned her attention toward Kuroka.
Kuroka instantly began making desperate eye signals: "Come on, help your sister out! Beg your man for mercy!"
Koneko glanced away awkwardly, muttering under her breath.
"It's... sister's fault..."
Kuroka: "Meow meow MEOW?!"
Her heart skipped a beat, her face full of disbelief.
"Koneko, you're really siding with him?!"
"Ouch!"
"That hurts! Way too much!"
"My weak heart can't take it!"
Of course—
Even though Koneko had a rough past partly because of her, Kuroka was still her older sister.
There's no way she wouldn't care.
Koneko hesitated, then reached out and tugged at Lynn's sleeve, her voice soft and worried. "Senpai, please..."
Lynn gently patted her head and said calmly, "Relax. For your sake, I won't kill her."
K-Kill her?!
Both Koneko and Kuroka froze on the spot.
Has it gotten that serious already?
Kuroka felt like collapsing from the stress.
Thank god he's my Shirone's man.
Otherwise, big sis would've been seeing Shirone from the afterlife...
Of course, Lynn was just scaring them.
With Kuroka's power as an Ultimate-class devil, she'd be a solid asset to his Familia.
Lynn narrowed his eyes. "However..."
"You can avoid the death sentence, but not the punishment."
Kuroka didn't hesitate to lower her head. "I await your orders."
Once she realized the overwhelming difference between them, she adapted fast.
She had tried running, after all.
Koneko didn't argue either. In fact, she seemed a little supportive.
If her senpai wasn't strong, who knows what her sister might've done.
She definitely needed a good lesson!
Lynn, seeing this, summoned a devil's piece.
"Then..."
"Become my servant, Kuroka."
Kuroka's eyes widened.
The moment the devil's piece appeared, she got a bad feeling.
No way!
Is she seriously going to become someone's servant again?
Her gaze turned complicated, shadows of old memories flickering behind her eyes.
Senhime, off to the side, clicked her tongue. 'Another pet? At least it's another cat and not someone special like me, right?'
Koneko noticed the devil's piece in Lynn's hand and understood.
Oh... so Lynn's adding sis to his Peerage...
"If sis loses control, her powers become unstable," she warned, a bit worried.
The things Kuroka did in the Underworld were still fresh in her memory. She didn't want her sister to hurt her senpai one day.
"Don't worry. Once she joins my Peerage, that won't be a problem."
"Besides..."
Lynn suddenly smiled. "With your sister's power, you think she can actually threaten me?"
...Okay, that's fair.
Thinking back to how powerful Lynn was, Koneko finally relaxed.
Becoming Senpai's Peerage member, huh...
She placed a hand over her chest, feeling a little down.
Why does it feel like sis beat me to it...?
Kuroka's expression stayed grim for a while, then suddenly, she gave a low chuckle.
Her golden eyes locked onto Lynn.
"You sure you wanna take me in?"
Her slitted pupils shimmered with something unreadable. She grinned.
"Don't you know..."
"I'm an SS-class stray devil, officially listed as highly dangerous by the Underworld."
"If you take me in, you're asking for a world of trouble."
She stared him down, strangely curious.
Curious to see what kind of decision Lynn would make. What kind of expression he'd show.
Even if he might be as strong as a Maou...
Surely he can't just ignore the Underworld's rules, right?
There are four Maou down there.
Was he really ready to go against all of them—for her?
Lynn didn't respond. He just smirked.
RIP!
He suddenly tore open her kimono and, before Kuroka could even react, shoved the devil's piece into her chest!
Her mind blanked.
The answer... was clear.
Her heart began to race uncontrollably.
An emotion she'd never felt before exploded inside her.
He actually did it?!
Even as the devil's piece merged into her body, she couldn't snap out of it.
Huff... huff...
Her breathing grew ragged, her eyes dazed as she stared blankly at Lynn's face.
Was it confidence? Something else?
Whatever it was—
Kuroka couldn't help but think...
"This man...doesn't feel so bad, nya~."
.
.
.