Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"*Sigh* These two really are talented." Venelana said in a wistful tone. "I can only imagine what their careers will be like when they're older."
"Yeah, I'm not even all that into classical music." James added. "But this is really making me feel a kind of relaxation that I don't usually get to experience."
"Oh yes, because you spend so much time working." Scáthach snarked.
"Hey, I work plenty hard." James shot back. He then smiled slyly as he continued. "Delegating work is work, too, after all."
Everyone who heard James reply rolled their eyes simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Yakumo was sitting with Violet, quietly discussing their thoughts on Tatsuo having a harem.
"I still don't know..." Yakumo said in an apprehensive tone.
"I can understand." Violet replied gently. "You have to do what's best for you. But you have to ask yourself... Are you willing to not have him at all?"
Yakumo did not have an answer to that question currently. But what she did know was that she did not want to even think about not being able to be around Tatsuo. And she was not sure that would be possible if she decided against being a part of his harem.
"Like Tatsuo-Kun said, just take the time you need to think about it." Violet continued. "Until then, try not to let it consume all your thoughts. Just enjoy the time you can spend together."
"I'll try." Yakumo replied softly.
Before the conversation could continue, Sumire's voice drew everyone's attention.
"Well, the show is almost over." Sumire said, the pride she had for Tatsuo evident for anyone to hear. "Tatsu-Chan and Kaori-Chan have really made both me and Kurashikku Ensō so proud."
"Also, it looks like nothing went wrong during the performance, either." Ayane added.
*Smack!* x 4
Immediately after Ayane's words ended, Sumire, James, Alfonzo, and Elicia face palmed in unison.
"What the hell is wrong with you all?" Ayane asked, a bit surprised by all the smacking sounds.
"You just raised a flag." James said, answering for the other three.
"Raised a what?" Ayane asked, not as familiar with such terms.
As if to answer Ayane's question, all the supernaturally inclined people in the VIP box noticed that a large number of small pellets fell from the ceiling, landing all over the audience and stage. A moment later, smoke burst from all the pellets, shrouding the auditorium in dense smoke.
"He basically meant you jinxed it." Sumire explained patiently.
"Hey, what's going on?" Eri asked.
"Is there a fire?" Mikoto asked while looking around for a fire extinguisher.
"A fire? Oh no!" Tenma shouted as she went into full-on panic mode. "We have to get out of here!"
Meanwhile, Akira, though not supernaturally inclined, had been trained well enough to notice the pellets that fell from the ceiling.
'So, they really are coming after Soramoto-Kun.' Akira thought to herself as she reached into the sleeve of the formal kimono she was wearing and wrapped her fingers around a small pistol, a Keltec P32 to be exact, in preparation to protect as many people as she could.
"Maou-San, what's going on?" Chiho asked as she instinctively latched onto Sadao's arm.
Yet, Sadao did not respond. Instead, he was staring into the cloud of smoke with disbelief written all over his face.
To the normal people in the box, it would look like he was frowning in shock. Yet, that could not be further from the truth.
'My magic is increasing?' Sadao asked himself. 'But how? Wait... I know why already. It's because of the fear that the rest of the audience is feeling. Fear is what makes demons powerful, after all.'
Sadao then turned to glance at the other people he identified as demons earlier, namely James, Scáthach, Venelana, Grayfia, and Lilith. However, when he saw them, instead of focusing on the fear that should have been flowing towards them, he only saw Venelana about to lose her cool.
"Unforgiveable!" Venelana shouted, her voice resounding throughout the entirety of Suntory Hall.
*Voom~~~~~~~!*
In the next instant, Sadao felt a wave of pressure wash over the entire venue. Then, Chiho, who was still holding onto his arm, went limp, causing him to quickly move to catch her. However, Chiho was not the only one to fall unconscious, as Tenma, Mikoto, and Eri also lost consciousness.
To Sadao's surprise, Akira did not lose consciousness like the rest of her friends. Though, to say she was fine would be a vast overstatement, as she had slumped into her seat, clearly unable to move.
'That girl isn't normal.' Sadao thought to himself while surveying the situation. At the same time, he noticed three blurs shoot out of the room without letting very much smoke in when they opened the door. 'Oh, those three are even better.'
The three blurs Sadao saw moving were naturally, Mai, Kasumi, and Ayane, who left to deal with as many of the Alpha Clones as possible before the fire department and police showed up.
*Eep!* *Eep!* *Eep!*
Just then, the venue's fire alarm, set off by all the smoke, sounded. Luckily, thanks to Venelana releasing her aura, there was no panic. Even so, everyone who was still conscious knew they did not have much time before emergency services arrived.
At the same time, on the stage, Tatsuo had erected a barrier of his own [Energy]. Though, he was not concerned about protecting himself, as his assassin training made him quite capable of moving and fighting in a cloud of smoke like this, Kaori was not the same. In fact, with her medical condition, the surprise had already done a number on her. And he had no doubt that inhaling so much smoke would only make things worse for her.
'I should have expected this.' Tatsuo thought to himself while shaking his head. 'Venelana only came here to see this show. So, the fact that she lost it when it was interrupted, especially right before the finale, we're lucky she didn't do more than just knock everyone out.'
In fact, when the show was interrupted, Tatsuo would not have been surprised if Suntory Hall became a thing of the past thanks to the combination of Venelana's anger at the interruption, her raw power, and the [Power of Destruction] she wielded.
"Soramoto-Kun, what's going on?' Kaori asked, pulling Tatsuo out of his thoughts. "Did a fire start somewhere?"
"*Sigh* Unfortunately, no." Tatsuo replied. "In fact, this might actually be my fault."
"Huh?" Kaori intoned, confusion and panic evident in her tone.
"We can talk about that later." Tatsuo replied calmly. "But when you find out, your entire life might change. So, you should think carefully about whether you want to know or not. Instead, let's start moving and try to find your parents, alright?"
At first when she heard Tatsuo say that all of this might be his fault, Kaori's confusion reached its peak. But when Tatsuo reminded her about her parents, who were in attendance to see her professional debut, all of her confusion was pushed to the back of her mind, replaced by concern for her family.
"Yes! I have to find my mother and father." Kaori cried out. A moment later, she looked at Tatsuo, who seemed so calm. "But what about your mother and sisters? Don't we need to find them, too?"
"You don't need to worry about them." Tatsuo replied with a small smile. "They know how to take care of themselves. Plus, they're in a VIP box. I doubt the smoke got inside the boxes."
Though she found it strange that Tatsuo was not more worried about his family, the fact that he was so calm helped calm Kaori down, as well. A moment later, she saw Tatsuo step forward and extend his hand towards her.
"This smoke is really thick." Tatsuo said in a soothing tone. "It could be dangerous if we get separated. So, we should hold hands while we search."
Instead of reacting immediately, Kaori continuously looked back and forth between Tatsuo's face and his outstretched hand. Then, after shaking off the thought of the boy who often occupied her thoughts, she stretched out her own hand and placed it in Tatsuo's. And to her surprise, when their hands made contact, she felt an unprecedented sense of security.
With that, Tatsuo closed his hand around Kaori's much smaller hand. Then, he pulled her towards the audience.
"So, do you remember where your parents were sitting?" Tatsuo asked.
"Should be in that direction." Kaori replied while pointing in a certain direction.
"Alright, stay close to me." Tatsuo said as he started moving in the direction where Kaori pointed.
As the two moved, unbeknownst to Kaori, Tatsuo with no mercy to be seen, sent extremely thin [Spatial Rends] at the incapacitated Alpha Clones he came across, most of which were not actually unconscious. Rather, thanks to their training, they were in a state just a little better than Akira's.
By the time Tatsuo and Kaori found Koari's parents, a man with dark brown hair and a broken pencil mustache and a woman with light brown hair styled into a bun, Tatsuo had put seven Alpha Clones out of their misery with Kaori none the wiser. And because the cuts were so small, the scent of blood was impossible to be picked up thanks to all the smoke.
"Mom! Dad!" Kaori shouted as she let go of Tatsuo's hand and rushed to her parents' side.
Unfortunately, thanks to the stress from the situation, mixed with the fatigue from her performance, Kaori's body gave out before she reached them. Luckily, Tatsuo reacted quickly and caught her before she fell to the floor.
"Calm down, Miyazono-San." Tatsuo said while using his [Energy] to keep Kaori stable. "Mom told me about your condition. You have to stay calm. Otherwise, when your parents wake up, they'll be the ones worrying over you, instead."
Hearing that, Kaori tried to forcefully calm herself down. Even so, it was clear that she was too fatigued to walk on her own. So, Tatsuo helped her over to her parents before sitting her down on the floor next to them.
Then, while maintaining a barrier to block the smoke, Tatsuo entered the [Dimensional Chat] in his mind.
[{Dimensional Chat]
Tatsuo (Admin): How are things with you guys?
Alfonzo: No issues here
Alfonzo: The smoke didn't even get into the box
Aletia: Are you okay, Tatsuo?
Tatsuo (Admin): I'm fine
Tatsuo (Admin): Right now, I'm in the audience with Miyazono-San and her parents
Tatsuo (Admin): But Miyazono-San really needs to get some rest
Tatsuo (Admin): Her condition is acting up thanks to all the fatigue and excitement
James: Damn, I forgot about that
James: Seeing her on stage, I thought she was already healed
Lici: What do you need us to do, Tatsuo?
Tatsuo (Admin): There are a bunch of those clones in the audience
Tatsuo (Admin): They were probably here to cause a bigger frenzy in the smoke
Tatsuo (Admin): I put down a few of them
Tatsuo (Admin): I need someone to help me get the bodies out of here
Tatsuo (Admin): Dead bodies will make the po-po ask too many questions
Alfonzo: Seriously
Alfonzo: Fuck the police
James: NWA... Nice
Zelretch: Now is not the time for old musical references
Lici: I'm actually more surprised that you got that reference at all, Zelly
Zelretch: Just because I don't consider rap real music, I do remember seeing a news report about a song like that fifteen, or so, years ago
Zelretch: Anyway
Zelretch: If you can point out their locations, I can open a portal to them, then we can just pull them through
Zelretch: After that, I can open a portal to the ocean or something, and we can just drop them through
Zelretch: And voila, no bodies for the police to find
Tatsuo (Admin): Works for me
Tatsuo (Admin): I'll put some spatial markers on the bodies
Tatsuo (Admin): You should be able to find them with that, right?
Zelretch: Naturally
Akatsuki: Hey, what happened?
Tatsuo (Admin): You guys explain the situation to Akatsuki
Tatsuo (Admin): I've got work to do
Violet: Leave it to us}
With that, Tatsuo did exactly what he said he would. However, he did not stop at just marking the Alpha Clones he killed. Instead, he marked every incapacitated Clone he could sense. And since they all had similar presences, they were not hard to differentiate from the rest of the audience. He even marked all the Clones Mai, Kasumi, and Ayane dealt with, as well.
In fact, the only one he did not mark was the one standing guard next to Rig, who was quickly moving towards one of the planned escape routes.
'Hmm... Those two are a lot stronger than I thought.' Tatsuo thought to himself while keeping track of all the movement within his range of [Perception]. 'I'm pretty sure one of them is Rig. And that other one is an Alpha Clone. But why can she move under Venelana's suppression while the rest are incapacitated. I wonder if Mai-Nee, Kasumi-Oneesan, and Ayane-Neechan will try to take her alive for research.'
While that thought ran through Tatsuo's head, Rig and the Alpha Clone acting as his escort were running through the halls of Suntory Hall. Though, they were both moving much slower than usual thanks to Venelana's suppression.
"Damn it..." Rig hissed. "What the hell is going on? What kind of monster can flood an entire concert hall with their presence like this? Have we been underestimating her this much? I need to get this information back to HQ. Otherwise, everything is going to fall apart."
*Thunk!*
Just as Rig and the Alpha Clone were about to reach an emergency exit, a fan flew past them and embedded itself into the door, conveniently covering the door's handle as it was lodged into the door.
"Damn it." Rig growled as he spun around to see the assailant. "So, it's you, Shiranui Mai. *Sigh* It's amazing just how many enemies the old man has made over the years."
As rig spoke, just as he said, Mai could be seen through the smoke standing at the end of the hallway, still wearing her qipao-style evening gown while using another fan to blow away some of the smoke surrounding her.
"Well, if it wasn't for Sumire-Sama, perhaps most of the enemies would have either continued to be his test subjects or would have been killed outright." Mai said while smiling seductively as she dropped down into her fighting stance. "But this time, I'm not even concerned about Donavan. Instead, I' really, REALLY, angry at you. Because of you, Tatsu-Kun's first professional appearance was ruined. And for that, you need to be punished."
"If it's all the same, I'd rather not." Rig replied.
"That's not your decision to make."
Instead of Mai, another female voice answered Rig, causing him to turn his head towards the other end of the hallway.
"*Sigh* This one, too." Rig said in a resigned tone. "Damn Christie. This is the second enemy she made for us. First that illegitimate little girl. And now a dangerous ninja girl. If she were still alive, I might just kill her myself."
"Enough talk." Ayane said as she dashed forward.
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Ayane reached Rig. At the same time, just as the Alpha Clone tried to shift her position to intercept, the fan in Mai's hand came flying at her, interrupting her attempt to help Rig fend off Ayane.
Meanwhile, Ayane whipped a high kick at Rig's head, which he ducked to dodge. Then, with the momentum of her kick, Ayane's body turned so that her back was facing Rig. Though, she kept her head turned so she could keep an eye on his movements.
In response, Rig, with his stance lowered, whipped his own kick, aimed at Ayane's back leg. However, as part of Ayane's fighting style revolved around fighting with her back to her opponent, she was not caught off guard. Instead, she reacted quickly, pushing off with her newly planted leg and performing a back somersault in Rig's direction.
Noticing that Ayane's heels would pass through where his head was positioned, Rig quickly moved to the side. Then, just as Ayane landed, he put all his strength into a side kick aimed at her rib cage.
*Bang!*
Anticipating Rig's counterattack, Ayane was able to get her left arm up to block Rig's kick. Even so, the kick had enough force to send her flying towards the wall. However, instead of fighting the force, Ayane rode it towards the wall while reorienting herself to hit the wall feet first. Then, with all her might, she kicked off the wall with a spin while pointing her feet in Rig's direction.
*Bang!*
"Damn..." Rig grunted as Ayane's feet slammed into his guard.
*Bang!*
Though he was able to successfully defend against Ayane's attack, Rig was sent sliding back into the opposite wall. However, before he could step away from the wall, he found Ayane right in front of him again. On top of that, one of her legs was shooting up towards his chin.
*Bang!*
Once again raising his arms to block, Rig managed to avoid taking the hit directly. However, thanks to the extra force behind the kick because of Ayane flipping into it, he was lifted off his feet, sliding up the wall.
Then, before gravity could bring him back to the ground, Rig noticed that Ayane was already standing on the ground again and ready to unleash a flurry of attacks.
'Well, fuck me sideways.' Rig thought to himself as he braced for impact.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Ayane then threw a then threw a sweeping left hook. Then, riding the momentum of her hook, she spun into a right back fist. And while continuing to spin in place, she threw a left high kick, followed by a right roundhouse kick. Then, after another full rotation, she leapt into the air and delivered a flying roundhouse kick.
While Rig was able to move his arms to deflect the punches, despite being off the ground, the kicks were a totally different story. With the force packed into the kicks, even though he was also able to block them, his arms were forced back into his body. And although that dampened the damage he took, it did not negate it as much as he would have hoped.
*Cough!*
And with the last kick, the jumping roundhouse, Rig, thanks to the heaviness of the previous two kicks, was unable to move his arms fast enough to block it, at all. As a result, Ayane's heel was driven into his abdomen, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood.
*Bang!*
Yet, Ayane's onslaught did not end with that. Instead, before Rig could fall to the floor, as she landed after her leaping kick, Ayane grabbed Rig's right forearm with her left hand, slid in close, and drove her right elbow into his abdomen. She then reached up to grab Rig's left forearm with her right hand, as well, before slamming into him onto the floor with an over the shoulder throw. And to finish off the combo, with his arm still in her grasp, she wrapped her legs around his neck and shoulder, and started to squeeze.
*Thud!*
"Well, it looks like you had fun, Ayane-Chan." Mai said, dropping the unconscious Alpha Clone on the floor next to Ayane. "But I just got a call from Sumire-Sama. She said not to kill them. She might be able to get some information out of them."
"If you say so." Ayane replied with a shrug. She then let go of Rig's arm with her right hand and...
*Bang!*
Struck him in the head hard enough to knock him unconscious.
A moment later, a circular portal with a kaleidoscopic visual effect opened next to them. And on the other side of the portal Sumire stood in the VIP box with the others. Een Kasumi had already returned.
"Good job, Mai-Chan, Ayane-Chan." Sumire said while smiling brightly. "The smoke is starting to thin. So, come back quick. The police are outside, too. Oh, and don't worry about them. Zelretch-Chan will send them home for us."