Kuroka couldn't quite understand why Arthas, whom Vali had described as barely reaching Devil King-class, had suddenly become so strong, so powerful that she couldn't even resist him.
Although she couldn't figure out the reason, Kuroka knew that her plan to take her sister away was essentially impossible. In fact, whether she and her companions could escape safely was an open question.
"Kuroka, prepare to retreat. This guy is too much to handle!"
While Kuroka was still reeling from her shock and confusion, Bimei's voice rang out from the distance.
With one hand, Arthas caught the iron staff that Bimei had hurled towards him. With the other, Kuroka turned to run, but Arthas suddenly plunged his longsword into the ground. Instantly, a series of ice walls erupted from the earth, completely sealing off her escape route.
"Trying to leave… did you even ask for my permission?"
"Damn it, I'll fight you then, meow!"
With her escape route completely blocked, Kuroka seemed to be consumed by a fit of frustrated rage. The girl spun around, charging towards Arthas once more, her eyes blazing with fury.
"Too noisy. Cats are always cuter when they're quiet."
Raising an eyebrow slightly, Arthas made it clear that he was losing interest in this little game.
He released his grip on Frostmourne, which was still embedded in the ground, then reached out and clenched his fist in the air, as if grasping something invisible.
The expression on Kuroka's face froze in an instant. Then, the girl realized that she was no longer able to control her own body.
The flow of blood within her veins had slowed to a crawl, and was steadily approaching a state of near-solidification.
This was the first time that Arthas had directly applied his power to someone's body, directly manipulating their blood flow. He had to admit, the results seemed quite promising.
Of course, the main reason for this success was that Arthas's strength far surpassed his opponent's. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to achieve such a dramatic effect.
"Kuroka, what's wrong?!"
Seeing his companion suddenly stop in her tracks, standing there motionless, Bimei shouted in confusion.
He tried to pull his iron staff back, but the force coming from the other end was far greater than he had anticipated.
"Considering Koneko's feelings, I can let you two leave, but Kuroka has to stay here."
Without even glancing at Bimei behind him, Arthas spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Don't even think about it. There's no way we'd abandon one of our own!"
Struggling to stand up, Arthur spoke these words with difficulty.
The man who was hailed as the strongest Holy Sword wielder on Earth was currently in a disheveled state, half of his body covered in a thin layer of frost, even his eyebrows tinged with a snowy white.
"How touching, but do you really think you're in a position to negotiate with me right now?"
Gripping the iron staff in his hand, Arthas swung Bimei's entire body up and over, then hurled him towards the side.
Arthas stepped forward, taking control of the somewhat disobedient cat spirit before him.
"Don't move, and don't even think about trying to break free from this state. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what might happen to you."
Looking at Kuroka's expression of resentment, as if she wanted to force her gradually freezing body to move again, Arthas offered a friendly warning.
This wasn't an ordinary binding spell or technique that prevented Kuroka from moving. It was a direct application of overwhelming power, freezing all of the blood within Kuroka's body.
If Kuroka continued to struggle, she would undoubtedly suffer a tragic fate, her own frozen blood piercing through her body from the inside out.
"What… what exactly did you do to my body?!"
"Nothing much. I just froze all of the blood inside you, that's all."
Arthas said somewhat casually, revealing a faint smile as he watched the disbelief spread across the girl's face.
"So… it's best if you just behave yourself and don't move… otherwise, if the blood that's now frozen solid pierces through your body, even I won't be able to do anything about it."
Hearing Arthas say this, and imagining the horrific fate he had described, Kuroka's body trembled involuntarily, like a frightened kitten. Her timid and vulnerable appearance was strangely endearing.
On the other side, Bimei, who had been thrown through the air, managed to regain his balance with some difficulty, then crashed uncontrollably into Arthur, sending the two unfortunate companions tumbling into a heap once more.
"Don't get me wrong, whether you leave or not is none of my concern. If you want to live, then leave now, before the Underworld's army and the Devil Kings arrive. Then, no one will be able to save you."
Hearing Arthas's cold words, Arthur and Bimei exchanged wry smiles, then helped each other to their feet with considerable effort.
"You guys go! Don't worry about me, this guy won't do anything to me!"
Looking at Bimei and Arthur's hesitant expressions, Kuroka spoke up.
"But…" "Don't worry, she's Koneko's sister, after all. I won't do anything rash."
Arthas said this, and Bimei reluctantly made his decision. He summoned his Kinto-un, carrying Arthur away from the forest at high speed.
"Arthas, are you alright?!"
Just as Bimei and Arthur had escaped, Rias's worried voice echoed from behind them. Then, accompanied by a deafening roar, the barrier that Kuroka had erected shattered into countless fragments.
"Found the soldier boy."
The one who spoke was the Magical Dragon, Tannin. The giant dragon landed before Arthas, carrying Rias and the others on his back.
"I'm fine, you guys got here quickly."
Turning around, Arthas greeted Rias. Not only Rias and Souna, but also the two Devil Kings, Sirzechs and Serafall, had arrived together.
"Are you alright, Arthas? Lias told me it was Koneko's sister? Did the Khaos Brigade try to launch an attack?"
"Nothing like that. It's definitely the Khaos Brigade, but it seems like it was just a reckless act by some silly older sister who wanted to see her younger sister."
"Hey! What are you saying, you little brat!"
Hearing Arthas talk about her like that, Kuroka immediately adopted a fierce, bared-claws expression.
However, because her body hadn't fully thawed out yet, even trying to twitch was stiff and difficult.
"I told you not to move, didn't you understand my words?"
Arthas glared at Kuroka with some annoyance, then flicked his finger against the girl's forehead.
"Myaoo…"
The latter let out a pained cry, looking at Arthas with teary eyes. However, to her dismay, she couldn't even raise her hand to rub her aching head.
"This is… Koneko's sister?!"
Looking at Kuroka before Arthas, Rias asked in surprise.
"That's right. The Stray Devil with the highest wanted level, Toujou Kuroka."
The one who spoke was Sirzechs. He stepped down from Tannin's back and approached Kuroka, speaking with a stern expression.
"Hmph, to think that the Devil King-sama would be so concerned about me, I'm truly honored. Since I've fallen into your hands, then do whatever you want with me."
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