"Are you calling me?"
There was a look of confusion on Locke's face, as if he genuinely didn't know who Kairos Flint was referring to when he said the name "Baiji Locke." His expression was that of a man wrongly accused, calm and composed.
"You've got the wrong person. My name is Krabatel. I'm Miss Keya's butler," Locke said, adjusting his glasses with his palm.
His acting was impeccable—smooth and convincing.
Even Keya and Merry were momentarily unsure. After glancing at 'Krabatel,' they began to question whether Kairos had made a mistake and confused Baiji Locke with the house steward.
"Locke, the way you adjusted your glasses just now gave you away," Kairos said coldly. "Even after three years in hiding, you haven't abandoned that subconscious habit you always had when using the cat claw weapon."
Kairos had spotted the slip.
Locke's heart skipped a beat. He had tried to suppress his old habits, but some reflexes were hard to kill. In that moment of panic—when his identity was called out—his muscle memory betrayed him.
"It was just a coincidence," Locke insisted, trying to salvage the moment.
"Coincidence? I'm not buying it," Kairos said, lips curling into a smirk. "Let's put you down for a nap first."
Ittoryu Style: Silent Sting!
Kairos moved. His figure vanished into a blur, and in a heartbeat, the Third Generation Kitetsu was out of its sheath, slicing toward Locke with tremendous speed.
Slash!
Beads of blood shimmered in the air, then fell to the ground, painting it in crimson.
But—
"You dodged? As expected of Baiji Locke. You're more skilled than I gave you credit for," Kairos muttered, flicking the blood off the blade of his sword.
His eyes fell on Locke, now standing a short distance away.
The sleeve of Locke's black suit had been split open. Blood dripped steadily from his arm, each droplet forming neat red circles on the floor.
Kairos hadn't landed a clean hit, but he had injured Locke's dominant arm badly. Without full use of that arm, Locke's infamous cat claw attacks would lose considerable power.
"What's the matter? Didn't bring your cat claws today?"
He already knew the answer. Kairos asked it just to rile him up.
"You bastard! I was this close to completing my plan. I was about to legally inherit all the Keya family's wealth. Why did you have to show up now?!"
Locke's calm mask shattered. Rage blazed in his eyes.
"You ruined everything! Now I've got no choice but to kill you all!"
Three years of patient scheming—posing as a humble steward, waiting for the right moment—had just gone up in flames.
"So, you're the one who murdered Keya's parents," Kairos said.
"Of course. How else would I have gained access to their fortune? They had to die," Locke admitted coldly.
There was no point in hiding it now. In his mind, Kairos and the others were already dead men. Once they were gone, he could blame the incident on the Black Cat Pirates and still claim the inheritance.
Even if the plan had shifted, the end result could still be salvaged.
"Butler Krabatel… it is you…"
Keya's voice trembled.
She stared at Locke in horror. This man—this murderer—had lived under her roof, pretending to be kind and loyal while secretly being the one who tore her world apart. She had believed her parents died in an accident.
Now the truth threatened to crush her.
Rage swelled within her.
But her fury meant nothing to Locke.
To him, it was the harmless anger of a weak girl. Something easily discarded.
"Time to end this," Kairos said.
His grip on the Third Generation Kitetsu tightened. A dark aura seeped into the blade.
Ittoryu Style: Ghost Energy – Cleanse!
In a flash, Kairos vanished.
The next instant—
Slash!
Blood gushed from Locke's chest. His eyes widened behind his glasses, filled with disbelief.
He hadn't even had time to dodge.
The strike had come too fast. Kairos Flint had been too fast.