The Spartan warrior in black armor felt a sudden chill as Kaito's gaze fell upon him. Though Kaito's eyes seemed unchanged, the Spartan's instincts, honed to near-prophetic levels, screamed danger.
Before he could figure out what was wrong, Kaito stomped the ground and vanished.
The Spartan barely had time to react.
By the time he raised his hand, Kaito's Wind Sword and Azakana Sword were already slashing at his armor.
In just one second, the sound of metal clashing rang out—
Five times.
The Spartan's mind instinctively registered the number of strikes Kaito had landed in that brief moment.
But something felt off.
Kaito's strikes seemed slower than before. Was he injured?
As the Spartan pondered this, Kaito raised the Wind Sword high.
"Do you really think you can break through my defense?" the Spartan thought, feeling a sense of absurdity.
He tried to plant his feet firmly and draw his laser sword to counterattack, but his armor didn't respond. It was as if...
Before he could finish the thought, the Wind Sword struck his waist.
The cut was so clean and fast that he didn't even feel it.
The Spartan's vision spun as his body was flung into the air before crashing to the ground.
What just happened?
Could a single sword strike really generate such force?
And why were his teammates looking at him with such shock?
The Spartan turned his head and saw the lower half of his body still standing in place, severed at the waist.
He looked down.
His lower body was gone.
So...
This was how it ended.
U.S. Military Base, Japan
Headquarters, Command Center
The room, which had been filled with celebration just moments ago, was now dead silent.
General Tom Patrick gripped the railing tightly, his knuckles turning white as he stared at the screen in disbelief. His body trembled slightly.
"The Hunter Team and the three Spartan Warriors..."
After a long pause, the communications officer's dry, strained voice broke the silence.
"All vital signs have ceased."
Another long stretch of silence followed.
The screen still displayed the scene: the bodies of the three Spartans and the entire Hunter Team lay scattered on the ground, their faces frozen in expressions of shock.
"General..."
"What do we do now?"
What do we do?
Tom finally snapped out of his daze. He looked at the screen, at the dismantled armor and the corpses of his soldiers, and felt his head pounding.
The Hunter Team had been the elite special forces unit of the U.S. military base in Japan. They had carried out dozens of missions to capture or eliminate targets from the "hidden world."
There had been casualties before, but never more than one or two at a time. The complete annihilation of an entire squad was an unbearable loss.
And then there were the three Spartan Warriors, each worth hundreds of billions of dollars, now dead under his command.
Tom could already imagine the congressional hearings, the investigations, the end of his career.
"Send a team," he said finally, his voice hoarse. "Retrieve their remains and equipment."
He paused, his mind flashing to the image of the young man with dual swords. A cold, seething hatred filled his eyes.
Tom was only in his forties, a lieutenant general with a bright future ahead of him. But now, because of that man, everything was ruined.
"I heard he has a lot of women living with him?" Tom said, his voice low. "Find an excuse to deal with them—and their families."
He couldn't touch Kaito now, not after this failure. But ordinary Japanese citizens? That was easy.
"If you're going to ruin my life," Tom muttered, "then I'll make sure you suffer too."
The thought brought him some comfort, and he began to plan how to minimize the fallout from this disaster.
But then—
"G-General..."
Tom frowned at the panicked voice interrupting his thoughts.
"Speak properly. What's with the—"
He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes fell on the massive screen dominating the wall.
At the base's front gate, a young man with black hair and brown eyes stood over the bodies of several guards. He looked directly into the camera and flashed a bright, almost cheerful smile.
The Next Morning
"Last night, a massive explosion occurred at the XXX U.S. Military Base in Japan."
"Reports indicate that Lieutenant General Tom Patrick, the base commander, was killed in the incident."
"The exact number of casualties and the cause of the explosion remain unclear."
"Further details will be released following an official U.S. military report..."
"How could a U.S. military base just explode like that?"
Rin Tohsaka, busy making breakfast in the kitchen, glanced at Kaito, who was lounging on the couch playing with his phone.
"Was it you?"
Kaito didn't look up. "Who knows?"
Rin didn't press further. She was just making conversation.
"By the way, where did you go last night?"
Kocho Kanae, who was helping in the kitchen, nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her lips pursed as if she could still taste the metallic tang of blood.
"Upholding justice and maintaining order," Kaito said casually.
Rin rolled her eyes. "Just say you were out sleeping with women. You never tell the truth."
The girls in the kitchen and living room couldn't help but laugh.
Maria chuckled softly. "Mr. Kaito does seem to have a thing for women."
Last night, Kaito had "treated" her while also engaging in some... extracurricular activities. Despite the intensity, she only felt a slight discomfort this morning, nothing that hindered her movements.
"Big Brother is just too amazing," said Suou Yuuki, who had just finished her morning routine and was now clinging to Kaito's neck. "You can come to my room tonight, Big Brother!"
Sakura Tohsaka glanced at her sister, her hands pausing as she washed vegetables.
"Big Sister..."
"Don't mind her," Rin said dismissively.
Sakura sighed. Her sister was hopeless. How was she supposed to compete with that?
"The next news item..."
"Yesterday morning, a male body was discovered near XX Children's Park."
"The time of death is estimated to be four nights ago."
Hearing this, Mahiru Shiina's eyes snapped to the TV screen.
That park...
Wasn't that where she had been on that rainy day?
And four nights ago...
That was when Kaito had "kidnapped" her and brought her here.
"The deceased has been identified as Ryunosuke Uryu."
A photo of the dead man appeared on the screen.
"After searching his home, police confirmed his connection to at least dozens of missing persons and homicide cases nationwide."
"Further details will be released as the investigation progresses..."
"Seems like there's been a lot of good news lately."
"Ugh, he looks so normal. Who would've thought he was such a monster?"
"Compared to him, Mr. Kaito's... habits don't seem so bad."
"Hey, being a pervert isn't a crime, okay?"
"So you admit you're a pervert?"
The living room filled with laughter.
Only Mahiru remained silent, staring at the TV screen.
After a long moment, she turned to Kaito, who was laughing and chatting with Sakura and Maria.
"Mahiru, what's wrong?" Kaito asked, noticing her gaze. "Is there something on my face?"
Mahiru blushed slightly but shook her head, a gentle, angelic smile spreading across her face.
"After hearing Maria's words, I realized... Mr. Kaito really is a bit of a pervert."
Kaito: "?"
"Mahiru, you've been corrupted."
"Please, she's just telling the truth. Everyone knows you're a pervert."
Kaito looked down at Yuuki in his arms.
"Yuuki, is Big Brother a pervert?"
Yuuki hesitated, then nodded.
"Sorry, Big Brother, but I don't want to lie, so..."
"Okay, that's enough."
The room erupted in laughter as Kaito pinched Yuuki's cheeks in mock punishment.
Even Mahiru couldn't help but smile, her eyes softening as she watched Kaito.
Mr. Kaito...
He really is a good person.
Later That Morning
After breakfast, Rin and the others left for school. Kaito stayed behind, watching Kocho Kanae as she bent over to wipe the dining table.
Her loose home clothes couldn't hide her curvaceous figure.
Kaito walked up behind her and lifted the hem of her shirt.
Since moving into the Tohsaka residence, Kanae had followed Kaito's instructions and gone without undergarments, ready to serve at any moment.
So...
"Master...?!!"
Kaito didn't linger at home for long. After a quick "game" with Kanae, he took a shower and, around 9 a.m., used his imaginary number abilities to teleport to the school.
He appeared in Hiratsuka Shizuka's office just as she was shutting down her computer.
Shizuka jumped at the sudden appearance of a black void in her office, but she relaxed when Kaito stepped out.
"Are you heading out?" Kaito asked.
"I only had one class this morning. I'm planning to do a home visit," Shizuka explained, then added with a frown, "Can you not just appear out of nowhere like that?"
"Uh, are there no cameras in your office?"
"Cameras? Of course not. Why would—"
Shizuka stopped mid-sentence, her face turning red as she realized what Kaito was implying.
She clenched her fists.
"I'm not that much of a pervert!"
Sure, she occasionally relieved her stress with her hands or toys, but she wasn't about to do anything like that at school!
"Alright, alright."
"But I'm just saying, it's not good to hold it in. Letting it out is healthier, especially at your age..."
Shizuka's eye twitched.
If Kaito were really her student, she would've already smacked him for that comment.
"Do you need something?" she snapped. "I have a home visit to do!"
"Now? A home visit?".