[Third Person POV]
With all the necessary goals met, Hajime split off several clones throughout the facility to capture the remaining prisoners, who would converge later.
Hajime grabbed Kuroka, who was holding Shirone, and phased through the walls toward Monet, who was currently freeing someone who was strapped to a surgery table, though thankfully wasn't cut open. None of them had the experience to fix that immediately.
Returning himself to tangibility, Hajime landed a few feet away.
"Monet, I've got the Nekoshou sisters. Mind opening the suitcase?"
"Sure thing, boss."
To avoid revealing any information, including his Japanese heritage, Monet and Jenny were told to address him as 'boss' during the mission.
Of course, he made sure they didn't reveal their own names either. Jenny took the codename 'Mirajane'. Even if the She-Devil wasn't there, to her, it was funny to cause issues. Monet's was D, in reference to both the Will of D and the Donquixote Pirates.
After explaining to Kuroka what the suitcase was and that his clones and the prisoners were inside, she hesitantly stepped inside, understanding it was the only viable way to sneak her and her sister out of devil territory.
With the commotion caused there today, the strangers who rescued her would be lucky if they weren't immediately executed.
As for Kuroka herself, she knew if she were caught, she'd likely be branded a traitor for the optics and then executed, likely along with her sister.
Honestly, the only reason she agreed to follow those strangers was that she had few options. She could have fought the man who took control of Crawforde, but her senses were screaming at her that he was dangerous.
He wouldn't kill her, that she was sure of, but she wouldn't be able to win. If she didn't fight, though, she'd be called an accomplice, probably the traitor who revealed what was happening. At the same time, even if she fought and lived, there was a good chance she'd be executed to prevent any information leaks.
Of course, compared to helping her sister, any sacrifice she made wasn't important. With no other options, at least none that wouldn't immediately risk her or Shirone's life, following them was the only choice left.
Upon entering the suitcase, she saw that the dozens of prisoners she had seen in the facility were here, with only a few left outside, and were potentially going to join them soon if she was reading that strange man correctly.
Outside the suitcase, Hajime and Monet were moving toward Jenny's location, grabbing some valuable-looking items from a few rooms they passed. They were leaving behind a lot of stuff, but there wasn't much they could do about it; they needed to leave soon.
The longer they stayed, the greater the chances of someone catching them.
Hajime was confident he could deal with most people in devil territory, but there were several he had no desire to deal with.
The Satans were the best examples.
Serafall and Falbium were on par with the original Satans in strength, reaching advanced and intermediate supreme-class, respectively.
Sirzechs and Ajuka were far stronger, reaching the initiate transcendent-class. Worse, Sirzechs' destruction form and Ajuka's Kankara formula could push them to unknown levels, which was why they were in the top 10 strongest.
Besides them, there were some figures like Zekram Bael and Diehauser Belial, who were on the low end of supreme-class, as well as a few figures who could touch supreme-class if they went on out, like Roygun Belphegor and the other top 5 Rating Game players, while the rest of the top 10 were somewhere in the middle of ultimate-class. Of course, take away the King Piece, and most of them would drop down to high-class, but they'd still have a wealth of experience to draw from.
There were no prisoners left, and most of the valuables had been taken or destroyed, so now it was time to turn this place into a crater.
Having caught up with Jenny, who had finished fighting another pair of guards, Hajime created a pair of clones, each one grabbing a different person, and quickly flew them out.
With his clones bringing Monet and Jenny into the distance, Hajime could act without worrying about collateral damage. Even Crawforde had left earlier to finish his plan.
Aside from a few devils still running around the facility looking for the culprits, everyone else was already gone.
To destroy this place, Hajime only had a few options, but chose to use lightning because it was less distinct than string. Birdcage was by far his most destructive technique, but it was also the most memorable.
If anyone saw the technique at any point, it'd go from being a trump card, something to use as a last resort, to a primary technique. Whether or not that was a good thing, that wasn't what he wanted.
Tying his own abilities to such a large crime was like asking for him to get in trouble. Even if he hid some of his powers for centuries, Hajime knew someone would eventually realize what he did here today, so at the very least, he wanted to put off such a discovery for as long as possible.
Surrounding his body with a dragon-slayer lightning coat, similar to the Raikage's famous ability, Hajime shifted his body to that of a crystalsapien, absorbing all the energy and processing it through his body to remove any trace that could be tied back to him.
As the energy inside him built up more and more, Hajime could feel his reserves were draining to extremely low levels.
Stopping at less than 5% of his reserves, Hajime had finished charging his attack.
Sending the lightning back out of his body, it disintegrated the surrounding walls, not slowing down at all. At the same time, Hajime activated his concussive optic blasts, further adding to the destruction.
If the lightning didn't break something down, his concussive beams would tear a hole through it instead.
For 5 minutes, Hajime flew through the facility, unleashing every bit of energy he had, leaving a small reserve for his return to the hotel. By the time he was done, the entire facility was almost annihilated.
The walls were barely holding in some places, turning the facility into something resembling a plane crash.
As for survivors, none. All the guards that survived the raid had been destroyed in his final attack. There were still people in the mansion above, but to Hajime, that was going too far.
The guards down here definitely had to have known they were committing a crime, and were definitely guilty by association, but the servants who kept the manor clean were another story. While some of them might have known, Hajime couldn't find out at the moment.
Even if he could, he wouldn't target them.
By attacking the facility and only facility-related targets, Hajime wouldn't be considered a terrorist, at least not to the same degree as if he attacked the mansion itself. By targeting the facility, in conjunction with Crawforde's future admission and subsequent death, only those who are or were working for criminals would have been injured. In that case, his actions were more like those of someone seeking revenge, a common occurrence in the supernatural world, especially for devils.
Most of the more sinful devils quite literally will not care about the enemies they make if they get what they want.
It's why Serafall, with the support of her fellow Satans, had been trying to promote a more moderate demeanor to the younger generation and reincarnated devils.
That was the main reason Hajime chose to incriminate whoever Crawforde revealed later. Anyone involved in such a project would be forced to choose between several bad options, while at the same time damaging the Devils' Nobility's image.
The news would almost certainly spread to other factions, which would easily cause an uproar, forcing the current government to either side with its own criminals and further damage the Devils' reputation, or side with the public, causing a schism among the nobles opposed to the decision.
Turning intangible once more, Hajime flew out of the facility.
His senses picked up movement throughout the city, which probably meant they had just been informed of what had happened. Speeding up, Hajime quickly arrived at the hotel, at the same time as the clones he sent out earlier for alibis.
Sneaking into his room, the three clones dispelled at the same time, as well as the two who were holding Monet and Jenny.
With the influx of energy, though, he wasn't going to collapse from mana exhaustion; that didn't mean Hajime wasn't tired. Between the over a dozen clones he used today, the destruction of the facility, and all the other little things, Hajime fell face-first on the bed and fell asleep.
Monet and Jenny didn't bother moving Hajime to his room. After what they just did, it was better that they could react instantly if something happened.
Unlike Hajime, the two weren't tired. They used their powers far less, drawing on only about half their energy reserves, which, compared to Hajime's, was still a fraction of what he used during the mission. Both women were only high-class fighters, though Monet was on the verge of reaching ultimate-class, but Hajime was supreme-class, an entire realm above Monet.
Both decided to rest and watch TV after being informed about Crawforde's upcoming broadcast, and wanted to know when it would air.
They waited for two hours with the news playing in the background before anything changed. Monet was reading a book on ice magic she'd been going through for the last two months. Jenny, meanwhile, was going through the clothes she had made Hajime's clones buy earlier today, trying them on and seeing what she liked.
After two hours, the news abruptly switched stations, cutting to Crawforde at what was clearly a hastily made conference.
Monet, seeing Crawforde's face, closed her book, stood up, and walked over to the bed to shake Hajime awake. Even if he was still tired, he could go back to bed once he was done watching, but she figured he'd want to see his work live.
On the screen, the camera was focused on the podium Crawforde stood at; however, the camera's distance allowed it to capture some movement at the bottom of the screen, which was a bunch of devil reporters, and probably a foreign reporter or two, who were clearly surprised that one of the more reclusive devil clan leaders was holding such an impromptu press conference.
They were dedicated to their work, though, rushing over with their supplies, regardless of what they were doing. One devil Monet caught a glimpse of was wearing shorts and had one leg fully shaved, while the other was only partly shaved, something she found mildly amusing. To her, these guys might be as dedicated as the reporters under Morgans if they were willing to go out like that.
Hajime woke up and, though still a little tired, was energized by seeing Crawforde already following his orders.
-----
"Lord Nebiros, Lord Nebiros!"
"Sir Crawforde Nebiros!"
At the press conference, all of the reporters were trying to get the mysterious lord of the Nebiros clan's attention.
Unlike the other lords, who were frequently seen in public, Crawforde Nebiros was one of the few who seldom appeared. If not for his portraits, most people at the conference would be wondering who they were looking at.
Most of the participating reporters believed that, if they could ask him even a single question, they could advance their careers, however slightly; even if it just meant getting chosen for a slightly better story to look into.
Crawforde Nebiros raised his hands, like a preacher demanding faith, silencing the room.
"I know most of you have questions for me, but unfortunately, I am here for more pressing matters.
Earlier today, one of my family's research facilities was attacked by a group of unknown size and power. I barely managed to make it out alive.
The facility was performing illegal research into artificially creating Super Devils. I was not alone in this endeavor..."
For the next 15 minutes, Crawforde went on to describe the multitude of crimes he and his family committed, as well as the numerous other nobles who knew and were involved in some way.
And just like that, the underworld exploded into alarm.
__________
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!