Chapter 5 - Shiho: I'm a devil now!?
The very next moment, Shiho didn't even have time to feel embarrassed.
Her heart started pounding, and every cell in her body seemed to be active.
[Shiho Miyano]
[Race: Devil]
[Master: Cain Lucifuge]
[Level: LV9]
[Skill: Heart of Magic]
[Heart of Magic: Any form of magic in existence holds no secrets from you; mastery comes to you at an extreme speed.]
"Low Class to start with… and Heart of Magic?" Cain muttered, lips curving into a satisfied smile. "Not a bad skill at all."
A perfect second servant, acquired the moment he set foot in the human world.
He pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen and quickly jotted down her stats.
Shiho leaned over his shoulder, read the words, and let out a startled cry. "I'm… a devil now?"
"I'm pretty sure I mentioned that part," Cain said with a straight face.
Shiho's eyelid twitched. "You absolutely did not!"
She opened her mouth to argue, then just sighed and gave up.
Fine. She was already on the devil's ship. No point jumping off now.
Besides… she didn't exactly feel weaker. If anything, she felt like she could punch through a wall.
She clenched her fists experimentally. Yep. Definitely could kill anything with one hit.
And this Heart of Magic thing… the idea that she could learn real magic made something inside her spark with excitement.
Then she remembered why she'd even performed the summoning ritual in the first place.
She looked up at Cain, eyes narrowing slightly. "Since you're my Master now, you're supposed to protect me, right?"
"Naturally," Cain replied without hesitation.
"Good." A cold smile crept across her face. "Then I want revenge."
The Black Organization.
They never imagined this day would come.
Cain gave a small nod. "Lead the way."
Kuoh Town – Outskirts
Secret Research Facility of the Black Organization
The two of them descended from the sky and landed silently in front of the hidden entrance.
Shiho was still a little dazed. So this is what flying feels like…
"Couldn't you just take me straight to their headquarters and wipe them all out in one go?" she asked.
"For you, that would be like stepping on an anthill," she added, half-serious.
"I'd love to," Cain said with a helpless shrug, "but you said they don't even trust you enough to tell you where the main base is."
Shiho sighed. "Exactly."
As they walked toward the gate, surveillance cameras swiveled to track them. Alarms blared inside.
Several men in black suits emerged, calmly screwing silencers onto their pistols.
"Sherry. What's the meaning of bringing an outsider here?"
"Have you betrayed the organization?"
Shiho nervously whispered without turning her head, "Devils aren't scared of guns… right?"
Cain rolled his eyes. "Do you really think that little of us?"
"Change your mindset. To devils, normal humans with guns are made of wet paper."
As he finished speaking, demonic power rippled outward.
Crack.
One of the men's necks twisted a full one-eighty degrees. He dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.
"See? Just like that," Cain said casually.
Shiho took a step back and hid behind him. "B-but I've never killed anyone before…"
Cain's mouth twitched. "Didn't you just say you wanted revenge?"
He grabbed her by the back of her collar and hoisted her up like a cat.
Shiho flailed. "W-wait, I need to think about this again!"
"No time for second thoughts. Real combat is the best training."
The remaining men finally snapped out of their shock.
"What the hell just happened?"
"Forget it—open fire!"
Muzzle flashes lit the corridor.
Several bullets streaked straight toward Cain.
Without even blinking, Cain calmly shoved Shiho forward.
"Shiho, you're up."
Shiho's eyes went wide with pure terror.
He actually used her as a meat shield?!
She opened her mouth to scream every curse she knew.
But the bullets were already there, growing huge in her vision.
What do I do...what do I do...
I'm a devil now! I have demonic power!
Some desperate shred of confidence surged up. She thrust both hands forward.
Then her expression collapsed.
How the hell do you even use demonic power?!
She'd been a devil for all of five minutes!
The bullets closed in.
"I don't want to die again!"
On pure instinct, her hands started moving—blurring into afterimages.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
One by one, she caught every single bullet between her fingers.
The men in black stared, jaws on the floor.
Shiho slowly opened her eyes and looked at the crushed pieces of metal in her palms.
"I… I actually did that?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Cain said, folding his arms with a smug grin. "Stop thinking like a human."
Shiho turned to glare at him, voice faint with lingering trauma. "That still doesn't make it okay to throw me in front of bullets!"
"What, a servant hiding behind her Master? Where's your pride?"
Cain sounded completely reasonable, as if he weren't the one who'd just committed minor war crimes.
Shiho opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
"Whatever. They're getting away," Cain said, nodding toward the men scrambling for the exit.
Shiho looked at the bullets in her hand, then at the fleeing organization members.