The soldier captain noticed Akemi's unusual behavior, frowned, and asked, "Have you seen these people?"
Shiho's expression didn't change. She shook her head. "I don't know them."
The soldier captain glanced at her, didn't say anything more, and turned with his men to leave.
"Hey—"
Aqua's voice floated out from behind the crowd. "Is there a reward for providing information?"
The soldier captain turned around, his gaze meeting Aqua's expectant, sparkling eyes. "A portion can be provided."
Aqua's mouth opened again.
Shiho's fist slammed into the back of her head.
Aqua's face hit the table, the bridge of her nose colliding with the edge of the wood.
The soldier captain's frown deepened. "What do you think you're doing?"
"She's drunk, talking nonsense." Shiho withdrew her fist, flexed her wrist without expression. "This woman lost a fortune gambling. Please don't mind her."
The people behind her nodded vigorously.
The soldier captain looked at her for a few seconds, also remembering the recent rumors about a blue-haired idiot woman who had lost everything at the casino.
He didn't suspect anything and left with his soldiers.
The sound of horse hooves gradually faded away at the end of the street.
Shiho grabbed Aqua by the collar and lifted her off the table.
"What are you doing? Do you know how dangerous that was just now?"
The three Uzaki women, mother and daughters, stood nearby. They usually defended Aqua, but now they were also very unhappy.
"Those people are going to be killed soon anyway."
Aqua pouted, shrinking into a corner, drawing circles on the ground. "What's wrong with cashing in before they die?"
In her view, Makoto's group had already gone to kill Alderp.
These soldiers were Alderp's men, so they would naturally be killed too.
So why not earn some reward money before they died?
The group looked at each other.
That made a lot of damn sense.
Alderp's mansion was located on the high ground in the north of Axel City, occupying an entire city block.
Kazuma craned his neck, his mouth wide open, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground. "How much evil do you have to do to afford a mansion like this?"
Makoto nodded.
Whether in anime or the real world, ninety-nine-point-nine percent of people who could live in a place like this had done something shameful.
The remaining zero-point-one percent... were in the process of doing it.
Footsteps chased after them from behind.
Hana ran at the front of the group. Behind her came her mother and sister, the Miyano sisters, Mrs. Shizuka, Kazuha, Aqua, Megumin, and even Luna, who had come to watch the excitement, had followed.
Hana bounced over to Makoto, looked up, her eyes sparkling. "I want to help too! I learned magic in this world!"
Makoto raised an eyebrow with interest. "What spells do you know?"
Soldiers poured out from both sides of the mansion. They had been watching Makoto's group's movements for a while.
Hana completely ignored the soldiers approaching her. She raised her slender little arm.
"Just wait and see."
Her hands slowly closed in front of her, ten fingers interlaced, palms facing each other.
Her fingers pushed slightly. Her knuckles made faint cracking sounds.
A thin layer of blue light film rose around her body.
Ability Enhancement... a basic martial arts skill that increased her own strength and speed.
The next skill came right after.
The light changed from blue to white. Pain Desensitization!
Yu frowned, leaned close to Makoto, and lowered his voice. "Senpai, isn't this Zero's martial arts skill from the Six Arms?"
Makoto nodded. "That's how it is in a hodgepodge world."
Zero... the leader of the Six Arms, the largest criminal organization in the Re-Estize Kingdom. His profession was a monk, specializing in hand-to-hand combat.
But Makoto was a bit surprised that someone as small as Hana, barely 1.5 meters tall, had a close-range combat style.
If she trained well, he could consider teaching her Armament Haki.
Hana took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and crouched slightly, like a spring pressed all the way down.
"Steel Wrist Savage Strike—!"
The blue light film on her forearms suddenly burst into brightness, making her two fists look almost transparent.
But in the next instant, just as everyone thought Hana was going to attack the soldiers gradually approaching her, she suddenly twisted her waist and struck at Makoto beside her.
This scene stunned the mother and daughter Tsuki and Yanagi, who had been quietly watching the excitement.
"What are you doing—!"
Tsuki's voice cracked.
Yanagi was simply stunned speechless.
At the critical moment when Hana's fist was about to hit, a huge black shadow shot out from beside Makoto.
The Rabbit Devil's body rapidly expanded in an instant, growing to a size comparable to the fourth form of Susanoo.
He extended his enormous palm, fingers spread, and blocked it in front of Makoto.
The shockwave of Steel Wrist Savage Strike slammed into the Rabbit Devil's palm, producing a dull, loud bang.
The Rabbit Devil's hand didn't budge. It didn't even sway.
"What's up with this girl?" The Rabbit Devil looked down at his unharmed hand, his brow furrowed into a knot.
The next second, his expression suddenly changed.
That enormous hand, which had been protecting his master, was raised high, fingers spread, and came slapping down at his own master.
"Rabbit, have you gone crazy too?!"
The Teddy Devil's voice exploded from behind. His body also began to expand at the same moment.
The moment his size matched the Rabbit Devil's, the Teddy Devil tackled the Rabbit Devil to the ground. The two Devils rolled on the ground, smashing the mansion's walls.
Yu, Beam, and the others' faces changed dramatically.
But even more surprising things were still to come. It wasn't just Hana and the Rabbit Devil.
The Miyano sisters drew their staves. Mrs. Shizuka pulled a broken sword from her waist. Kazuha clenched her fists. Megumin slammed her staff onto the ground. The magic crystal at the staff's head glowed red.
The Gorilla Devil and the Dolphin Devil also entered their Devil forms. Their target was all Makoto.
There was only one exception.
"Hey! What's wrong with you all—!" Aqua stood still, waving her hands in the air.
She looked at this one, then at that one. She had no idea what was going on.
Yu cursed. With a sound of something being chambered, he transformed into the Gun Devil, his gun barrel aimed at the Gorilla Devil and the Dolphin Devil.
Bullets poured out, each one precisely hitting vital points.
A bloody hole exploded in the Gorilla Devil's chest. Half of the Dolphin Devil's head was blown open.
The two Devils' bodies swayed and then collapsed with a crash.
Bright red blood gushed from the wounds, forming little streams in the gaps between the stone paving.
"Senpai, what exactly is going on?" Yu turned his head, which had grown a gun barrel, to look at Makoto.
Makoto stood still, not moving.
The palm that the Rabbit Devil had brought down was bitten in two by the Teddy Devil.
Makoto sighed and said:
"A power similar to Nayuta's."