Chapter 235 233
"So Kaito, what did you think of my family?"
"Your father seems like the complete opposite version of you."
"Huh? How?" Lala asked, surprised by his answer. If someone asked which of the three sisters resembled their father the least, Lala would point at herself.
"You're cheerful and every now and then you try to be serious. He's serious while trying to appear cheerful. But overall, I like him, he seems like a good person."
"Oooh?! The fact that you think he's a good person means he liked you. Great." Lala smiled, but then sighed. "Still, even though I know what you're like, I didn't expect you to go after my sisters just a few minutes after meeting them."
"No, you saw what happened." Kaito defended himself. "I didn't do anything."
"Hehe, a nervous Kaito is kind of fun." Lala teased before looking at him with a slightly embarrassed expression. "By the way, Kaito, now that we're engaged... how about a kiss?"
"Why the sudden interest?" Kaito raised an eyebrow, surprised by her attitude.
"What do you mean, sudden? You're always being affectionate with everyone, I want that too!" Lala complained with a childish pout.
"Alright, come here." Kaito pulled Lala into his arms, startling her for an instant before she quickly reacted, wrapping her arms around his neck and closing her eyes in the process.
"Cough cough."
"Oh, we're back" Kaito said once he opened his eyes again.
To be precise, they hadn't actually returned to Gaia, they were in the waiting area of the Tower of Worlds.
Apparently, the system had decided on its own to bring them there as soon as they returned from Hell.
The cough had come from Kaguya, who was trying to get both of their attention.
"Kaito, can you stop getting yourself a new woman every time you go on a trip?" she complained.
"What do you mean, new?!" Lala protested. "I've been here for a long time. And all of you are always kissing him, why can't I?"
"But I haven't even kissed him?!" Kaguya replied, blushing immediately after realizing what she had just said.
At the same time, their argument caught the attention of everyone else in the waiting area. After all, having gone through this process several times already, most of them were used to it by now, everyone was calm and preparing for the next mission. That didn't make them any less nervous, they had simply learned how to control it.
So a group arguing and joking around like they were immediately drew everyone's attention.
"What's going on over there?"
"No idea, looks like relationship drama."
"Wait, isn't that Lucifer's group?"
"Yeah, there he is, I can't believe I'm seeing him in person."
"Damn, so it's just his harem fighting? Lucky bastard."
"They're all top tier beauties, how can someone be that lucky?"
"Lucky? Isn't he ranked number one in the world?"
"Number one in the world or not, he's still a wanted criminal now."
"Oh yeah? Then why don't you go capture him yourself?"
"Come on, he only wiped out one of Japan's Four Great Families, it's not that big of a deal, right?" the young man who had just spoken laughed awkwardly after being challenged to act.
"Hypocrite."
"Who's the hypocrite? Then you go."
"...I've always hated those capitalist families."
"Need I remind you that Shinigami is the head of one of those capitalist families?"
"..."
"Yeah, silence is the best option."
Kaguya's face only grew even redder as she listened to them talking about them.
"Welcome." Meanwhile, Mashiro walked up to Lala and welcomed her.
"Great, the second wife accepted me! That's an absolute victory." Lala immediately cheered and hugged Mashiro excitedly.
Although she didn't react much, a small smile tugged at Mashiro's lips when she heard the words second wife.
"Ah, Kaguya, you got beaten again." Ai teased her former mistress as well. "You're falling behind."
"Um, do I count as a girlfriend?" Chika asked, raising her hand with a flushed face.
Kaguya heard that and stared at Kaito with piercing eyes, demanding an explanation.
"Ahem. I'd like to chat and greet everyone, but we don't have much time, some things happened in Deviluke that I need to tell you all. And yes, Chika, you're my girlfriend." Kaito quickly changed the subject.
"Good." Chika clenched her fist in triumph, earning everyone's gaze before looking back at Kaito.
"Wait, Kaito, why are you saying we don't have much time?" Kaguya asked.
"You all know the situation I told you about with Shiho. Counting the days, it'll happen by the end of today, so either I won't come back from here, or something will happen as soon as I return. It's better to tell you now."
"Didn't you already solve that?" Megumi asked as bluntly as always.
"I did... I think. Even so, it's better if I tell you in case something happens."
"I won't listen." Mashiro interrupted.
"Huh? But..."
"You'll come back." She interrupted again with absolute certainty while everyone else behind her nodded in agreement.
[Hello everyone!!!
Welcome, Lords, to the 7th Floor of the Tower of Worlds. You've all been through a lot and you're much stronger now, so there's no need to talk too much.
Just, congratulations on making it this far.] the system's voice interrupted them.
"Well, looks like there isn't time anyway." Kaito sighed.
[Here is today's mission:]
[World of the God's Tournament
Description: In a world where God is searching for a successor, He gave twelve people items capable of seeing the future in different ways. A battle to the death will unfold between these twelve mysterious individuals until only one remains alive.
The survivor will obtain the greatest honor that exists, becoming the new God of this world.
Mission: You will take the place of each of these twelve participants. Your mission is to kill the other eleven.
MAY THE BEST WIN!!!
Note: Due to the mission's completion conditions, Sub Lords cannot enter the same world as their Lord or other Sub Lords under the same Lord.]
"""Tsk"""
"This is the first time I've heard so many tongue clicks at once." Kaito laughed when he heard the sound behind him.
When he turned around, the entire group simply looked away as if they hadn't been planning anything and the system hadn't just ruined it.
"As always, I'll tell you everything you need to know." Kaito smiled, deciding to ignore their obvious intentions.
...
Later, in the world of Mirai Nikki, Kaito stared at the system screen.
[Remaining participants in the world: 12.5/12]
"System, what's going on?"
[I'm sorry, I have no idea this time.] the system apologized.
Kaito frowned. He wasn't in a position where he could ignore an unknown problem like that.
"Alright, I'll try to complete the mission as quickly and efficiently as possible... but carefully." Kaito made sure to add at the end.
Actually, this mission was pretty easy. As if finding twelve people whose identities and locations he already knew wasn't easy enough, their real souls had been replaced by the souls of eleven people competing against Kaito.
In other words, whether through information or through "Negative" finding them was ridiculously easy.
Not to mention killing completely ordinary people or destroying the devices Kaito knew they possessed.
Thus, he tracked them down and eliminated each of the twelve one by one, without needing to speak to or argue with any of them, just a single strike and a quick death.
During the hunt, he also examined their souls out of curiosity with his ability, realizing that they didn't match their bodies.
Although on the outside they still looked like the characters he knew, on the inside their souls didn't match at all.
But although he was initially surprised by such manipulation, once he remembered that the Gaia System literally possessed all of that world's original souls, it no longer seemed like such an incredible feat.
Now, there was a reason Kaito was particularly interested in this.
Knowing how all this worked, understanding the system's error was easy.
Apparently, there was half a soul too many, someone the system hadn't been able to remove completely.
[At least it's easy to figure out who it is.] the system said.
Kaito nodded. If anyone could do something like that, it had to be her.
That was precisely why he left her for last, and after only a minute and a half had passed since taking care of Number 3, Kaito arrived at her location.
Dealing with everyone else had been easy, so easy it wasn't even worth mentioning, a spell here or a simple phase shift there, and it was over.
But the fact that it had been so easy only made Kaito even more cautious.
'What the hell is going to happen that will make me disappear?'
With those thoughts, he finally arrived at an old fashioned Japanese house.
It was built mostly out of wood, raised above the ground, with large walls, and even a small pond with fish in the courtyard.
Kaito calmly entered the house and headed for the central room, with tatami flooring and a low table in the middle, cushions placed on both sides for sitting.
On one of them sat a beautiful and refined looking girl with long pink hair and elegant features.
However, that entire appearance was ruined by her posture, it was obvious there was a boy inside.
Upon seeing her, Kaito frowned, though not just because of the mismatch between appearance and posture.
'I recognize this energy, this resentment.' he realized.
"Lucifer, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
The boy smiled with a smile that didn't fit his current body.
"Arata, have you recovered from your depression already?" Kaito replied as he sat down across from him.
"It was a necessary period of personal recovery. Now I'm ready to..."
"Stop." Kaito interrupted him, and Arata, as if compelled by a higher force, obeyed.
It wasn't just his physical movements, his thoughts, his abilities, even the beating of his heart, everything stopped. His body had been completely frozen in time.
Whatever was about to happen to him, Yuno, or Arata in this case, was the greatest anomaly he had encountered and it could be related, so Kaito held nothing back and used his strongest ability from the very beginning, deciding to prevent Arata from using any kind of plan he had prepared.
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