Chapter 118: Mittelt's Disappearance
Yuuma's full, snow-white chest heaved up and down as she glared angrily at Haruto. "Do I look like I need that money?!"
"I don't need to save that money either..." Haruto spread his hands, wearing an innocent expression. "I just want to make things easier. That amount of money isn't worth owing you a personal favor."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Yuuma composed herself.
Even though she was a fallen angel with a nasty, scheming personality, she was still a young girl at heart.
Women are naturally more emotional than men. After repeated intimate encounters and spiritual connections, though she claimed it was just a transaction, certain feelings had already begun to sprout deep in her heart.
"Fine, we're both people who don't care about money."
Yuuma retracted her wings and slowly sat back down on the bed. "In that case, add one more thing to what you previously promised - that you'd help me with something within your capabilities - and I'll lend you the items."
"Deal."
Haruto readily agreed. One thing or two things didn't make much difference, and the phrase "within your capabilities" left plenty of room for interpretation.
"Warna, take him to the warehouse to get the items."
"Yes, Raynare-sama."
Watching Haruto and Kalawarna leave side by side, Yuuma snorted lightly and turned to walk toward the bathroom.
She needed to wash off the scent this guy had left on her body, preserving only the life energy in her abdomen.
...
...
Early October, the weather was gradually turning cooler.
Looking at the ritual magic circle in his yard, Haruto wiped the sweat from his forehead.
After more than half a month of practice, he had mastered the method of extracting Sacred Gears.
But the Takamine household didn't have a basement, so he could only set it up in the yard, then apply a low-level illusion spell to avoid frightening any passing ordinary people.
"All that's left is to wait. I hope I won't need to use this method."
Over the past half month, Haruto hadn't neglected his cultivation while practicing ritual arrays. Now, both his qi and magical power had reached the limits of what his body could contain—truly, not a shred more could be squeezed in.
Akeno's magical reserves far surpassed those of others at her level; she was undeniably a genius. However, compared to Haruto, who continuously pushed his limits through dual cultivation, she still fell slightly short.
Both at the peak of A-rank, Haruto's magical power was equivalent to 1.5 times that of Akeno, but this was his absolute limit.
Now, with each session of dual cultivation, aside from a barely noticeable increase in mental energy, he gained almost no benefits.
"While waiting for the Boosted Gear to appear, I must find a way to break through to S-rank."
Just as Haruto was debating whether to focus on advanced magical extraction to slowly grind his way to S-rank or to seek death—ahem, or to seek out powerful opponents for dangerous combat to stimulate his martial talent for a breakthrough—his phone suddenly rang.
"Hey, Yuuma-chan, good evening."
Haruto answered the phone, teasing, "Calling me so late—are you missing me? But we just saw each other last night~~"
"I need your help. Meet me at Mt. Mitsu."
Yuuma's tone was serious. "Once this is over, it'll count as one favor fulfilled."
Listening to the dial tone from his phone, Haruto frowned. She didn't even say what it was about—what if it was beyond his capabilities?
Whatever… he'd go check it out first. If it wasn't too troublesome, he'd handle it in passing.
...
Mt. Mitsu was located southwest of Kuoh Town. Crossing this mountain meant leaving Kuoh Town's boundaries.
Due to its remote location, Mt. Mitsu was almost uninhabited. And because it was near the border, many stray 'devils' chose to enter or leave Kuoh Town through here.
Fifteen minutes later, Haruto slowly descended from the sky, his broad bat wings gradually fading into nothingness.
Following the information on his phone, he arrived at the meeting point at the mountain's base, where Yuuma and Kalawarna were already waiting.
"Yuuma-chan, what's going on? So sudden?"
Haruto glanced around but didn't see Mittelt in her maid uniform. Puzzled, he asked, "Just the two of you today? Where's Mittelt-tan?"
Since they began dual cultivation, the three fallen angels had always appeared together. Mittelt was the most lively of them, and without her, the atmosphere felt off.
"That's exactly why we called you tonight."
Yuuma spoke quickly, "Mittelt might be in danger on Mt. Mitsu."
"Huh?!"
Haruto was startled. Mittelt had successfully broken through to A-rank during last night's dual cultivation. With her strength, even if she couldn't win, she should have been able to escape.
Before he could ask more, Yuuma continued, "Let's head into the mountains first. We'll explain the details as we go."
While searching through Mt. Mitsu, Haruto gradually learned the whole story.
Mittelt had surpassed Kalawarna, breaking through to A-rank during last night's dual cultivation.
She had always been lively and energetic, and having just reached A-rank, she was eager to test her abilities. Coincidentally, a mission was assigned from above early this morning, so she went to carry it out alone.
The mission's objective was to retrieve an item, with minimal danger. They had undertaken solo missions before, and since Mittelt was now A-rank, she went alone.
She had just broken through and her strength wasn't yet stable, but there shouldn't be any enemies in this area capable of threatening her life.
Yet it was almost the next day, and Mittelt still hadn't returned. Yuuma had tried contacting her but received no response.
Mittelt's mission location was in Mount Mitsu. Yuuma had considered going directly, but although her strength was significantly higher than Mittelt who had just broken through, she was still only A-rank.
To be safe, she ultimately decided to call upon Haruto, who was also A-rank but could take on five of her.
With Haruto present, as long as they didn't encounter an S-rank opponent, this trip would be absolutely foolproof.
As for the possibility of an S-rank appearing in Mount Mitsu... it was practically zero.
The destructive power of an S-rank attack was enough to destroy a small mountain. Whenever a stray devil of this level appeared in the human world, the Gremory Clan would immediately subdue it.
If not dealt with promptly, an entire city might not be enough to contain the devastation.
The combination of two fallen angels and one devil was quite rare, attracting many stray devils hiding in Mount Mitsu along the way.
Several youkai who considered themselves powerful actively appeared before Haruto's group. "Hey, stop right there. This isn't a place you can just wander around."
"Move aside. I don't have time to deal with you right now."
Yuuma was extremely impatient. With Mittelt missing, she had no time to waste on these trash.
"You bitch, how dare you speak to me like that! I'll now... AHH!!"
Before he could finish his threat, a red streak shot out and pierced directly through him. With a scream, the B-rank hybrid wolf youkai died on the spot.
The others stared in terror at the hole in the wolf youkai's forehead, their bodies stiffening as they subconsciously swallowed.
They seemed to have kicked an iron plate - and one with barbs at that.
"Anything else?"
Yuuma coldly glared at these trash. If they continued to pester her, she'd have to spend a few extra minutes dealing with them first.
Seeing that Yuuma had no intention of continuing the attack, the several brutal youkai felt immensely relieved.
"No, nothing at all."
They immediately transformed into obedient children, shaking their heads like rattle-drums before quickly hiding to the side and clearing the path.
Yuuma dispersed the light spear in her hand, not even bothering to look at them as she flew low over the ground.
"Yuuma-chan, wait." Haruto suddenly said. "We don't know how long it'll take searching like this. Why don't we just ask the 'locals'?"
Yuuma and Kalawarna stopped, following his gaze to look at the several youkai who were trying to slip into the forest.
"Hmm, that's a good idea."
As the words fell, four or five solid light spears formed from magical power descended from the sky, blocking the group of brutal youkai who had only taken a few steps.
Swoosh swoosh—
The light spears pierced through the earth, leaving only their upper halves trembling in the air, just right to block the group of local youkai.
"Th... three honored ones, what might you be looking for?"
One particularly quick-witted youkai was the first to react, proactively saying, "This humble one will speak everything I know, holding nothing back."
The other youkai caught on and quickly expressed their stance as well.
"Yes, yes, honored ones, please feel free to command us wherever we can be of use."
Yuuma and Kalawarna exchanged glances, with the latter nodding and taking a step forward.
"Have any of you seen a blonde-haired fallen angel wearing a maid outfit today?"