"What?" Sherlock couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion. What does Kenshin mean by 'Bottle of Water' ?
As for Yasaka, she was giggling to herself. She has watched enough human films and interacted with them online so she knows what Kenshin's intention was.
"Come on, it's just a simple thing. Bottle of Water, that's all!"
Despite Kenshin's urgency, Sherlock's sharp mind couldn't help but pick up a few suspicious theories.
Either saying those words would trigger some sort of Magic Spell that would go against him or the person in front of him is just that eccentric and has a few loose screws in the head.
After almost a minute of convincing, Sherlock grumbled and finally relented, "…Fine."
Breathing deeply, Sherlock took as much as he could, as if preparing himself for a life and death situation.
In front of Kenshin's eager eyes and Yasaka's amused ones, Sherlock's lips parted and he uttered the word, "Bo'oh oh Wo'oh. Oh fooking hell." That's when realization finally kicked in and Sherlock cursed under his breath.
No wonder Kenshin wanted him to say those exact words, even he, who has been living as himself didn't expect that his pronunciation of Bottle of Water would turn him into a laughingstock.
"BUWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kenshin's unnecessarily loud laugh resonated across the entire forest, causing some devil birds and imps to jump out of their nests.
Even Sherlock's two companions were looking away, just by looking at their shivering bodies, one could tell they were holding their laughter.
Sherlock's lips twitched several times, pointing his shivering finger at Kenshin, "Y-You!" This is the first time he has lost his cool since his reincarnation as a devil and experiencing its wonders.
Unfortunately for him, Kenshin failed to hear him as he was in the middle of releasing his pent-up laughter.
"BUWAHAHAHAhahahaa~ hah…"
When he's done, only then does he notice Sherlock's bloodshot eyes staring at him, "Are you done?"
Still stifling some leftover laughs, Kenshin cleared his throat and nodded his head, "Y-Yes. Ehem!"
Sherlock clenched his fist and he continued with a threatening tone, "Good, because that'll be your last laugh."
With a snap of his fingers, a light surrounded his feet circularly before expanding forward and engulfing everything in its path.
Kenshin, not detecting any malicious intention from it, allowed it to bypass him and Yasaka. Only then did it stop behind them, forming a circular domain that is brighter inside than the outside.
On the other hand, a smirk crept up to Sherlock's face, as if his great plan worked. Well, indeed it is. The man wanted to take full advantage of Kenshin's arrogance which is practically non-existent.
"You must be thinking it's just a harmless spell, isn't it?" Sherlock explained partially. He's not an idiot to fully explain the capabilities of his self-created spell.
Unfortunately for him, his enemy is Kenshin. A man who has almost a million self-created spells in his arsenal.
With a single look at the circular domain that looks eerily similar to Kasumi Miwa's Cursed Technique, Kenshin unraveled its secrets and even its history of how Sherlock created it.
Kenshin's sudden expression as if he finally realized it caught Sherlock off guard, "Oh I understand it now! This basically exposes our weakness to you isn't it? By being inside this domain, you'd be able to see it with your own eyes. Not gonna lie, it's a useful spell against other people but…not for me."
To prove his words, Kenshin spread his arms, letting Sherlock see everything about him.
How can this be?! Only for Sherlock's eyes to widen in surprise. His pupils shivered as he stared at Kenshin's flawless body. No weaknesses, no weak spots or anything like that.
Out of every devil, human, and other people he fought throughout his entire life, everyone always possessed a weakness that he could take advantage of.
But Kenshin does not. It seems as if he's a perfect being. A man without any flaw.
Maybe the spell isn't just working? When Sherlock shifted his attention from Kenshin to Yasaka, he saw the familiar glowing red spots on her pair of ears and golden fluffy tails. This indicates that those red hues were her weaknesses.
Which means his spell works just fine. It's truly Kenshin that is the problem.
Does he have some type of blocking spell? Yes, that must be it. There's no way he could've known about the spell beforehand, so having a blocking spell must've been where he got his confidence from earlier, Sherlock rubbed his chin, coming to a reasonable conclusion.
"Heh, alright. So what if you can block my spell? It changes nothing. Either you surrender now for infiltrating a devil territory, causing destruction, and killing the Head of the Naberius clan or we do this the hard way…" His words stem from the confidence in himself and also his companions.
Mind you, the two guys behind him are High-class devils. If they belonged to the Gremory clan, they might've been given a chance to possess their own Peerage as only the Gremory clan and a few other ones like the Sitri clan practice that tradition.
The other clans either see their peerage members as inferior to them or just a bunch of slaves that do their bidding.
Some laws might've been made to protect the rights of the reincarnated devils, but that doesn't mean devils would mindlessly follow them. Just like how slavery was abolished in the human world yet some still practice it, so do the devils.
Devils are literally beings made up of sins, they would barely follow the rules, and even if they did, not wholeheartedly.
"Hmm…." Kenshin pretended to be deep in thought. However, it only lasted for a single second before he had an answer.
"How about no?"
Sherlock's face turned grim. He gestured for the two behind him to make their move, instantly disappearing in their places and reappearing in front of Kenshin and Yasaka.
On the other hand, Sherlock stayed behind, his calculating eyes staring at Kenshin and Yasaka. If he can't see his weakness through the spell, then he'll go back to his old ways.
Before becoming a devil, he had always relied on his five senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste in detective work. And mostly it works all the time.
Unfortunately, before he could even gather any useful information about Kenshin, the two High-class devils whose strength is inferior even to his were taken down in an instant.
A single snap from Kenshin and those two disappeared without a trace except for their clothes.
Sherlock slightly backed away, his eyes widening in shock. He has never seen such a sight before.
A Sacred Gear perhaps? But I haven't heard of any capable of vanishing someone's existence in a single snap…
"Next…" Kenshin stretched his arms, his gaze landing on Sherlock who instantly trembled from fear. For some reason, looking at Kenshin's eyes felt like staring at the dark cold abyss itself, threatening to swallow his entire existence just like what he did to his two companions.
Sherlock knew he stood no chance. He's just a peak mid-class devil, although he's on the verge of breaking through the ceiling and reaching High-class. The difference between the two is large. There's a reason why low and middle-class devils were seen as cannon fodder during the Great War while High-class devils are valued as Commanders and high-ranking officers.
Don't even mention the Ultimate class devils. They're the epitome of devil strength. The previous Satans belong to this category including the new Satans. Though it is rumored that Sirzechs Lucifer and Ajuka Beelzebub were on an entirely different level in strength, surpassing the Ultimate class devils by a large margin.
Though that's it. It only remains as a rumor for now and despite it, every devil especially those who have lived through the Great War accepts this rumor as a fact.
Seeing him step back, a grin crept up to Kenshin's face. He matched Sherlock's attempt and stepped forward.
The more Sherlock tries to step back, Kenshin would be there to bridge the gap between them.
"Where are you going? You just arrived, didn't you? In our customs, it is bad not to let our visitors experience our hospitality. So please, stay." Although the content of Kenshin's words sounds kind, the meaning behind it is quite the opposite.
Without bothering to answer, Sherlock turned around to run. His mid-class speed brought him 10 meters away from Kenshin in a single second. He's smart enough to know when and who to pick a fight with.
There's no way in Lucifer's name he's gonna challenge someone who can casually snap someone's existence off.
What's odd is how instead of chasing after him, Kenshin and Yasaka just watched him. Even smiling in the process.
Whatever the reason, it's exactly what Sherlock wants. He just needs to get back to Sirzechs's office and only there would he feel safe.
———
"That's one way to send a message, isn't it?" Kenshin turned to Yasaka and told her.
Yasaka nodded her head. It was she who told Kenshin to hold his horses and let Sherlock run for his life. She wanted him to spread the word about her. Kenshin is in a disguise so he's fine about being exposed like it but Yasaka is different.
The relationship between the devils and Yokais is quite a bit strained. Normally, she wouldn't have the courage to make an enemy out of the devils but things have changed.
She has grown strong enough now, reaching the same level as a Major God. Not to mention, there's the unpredictable Kenshin whose strength she has no measurement yet but is definitely stronger than hers.
Then there's Ophis, the literal Dragon God always sleeping on Kenshin's shoulders. A single look from her could wipe out entire factions with ease.
Perhaps if Kenshin asks her, in exchange for his otherworldly sweets, Ophis would make her move to remove the devils from the Underworld map.
Unfortunately, she's not that cruel. Even though devils are known for their evil nature, there are still some good ones such as Serafall.
She had met her personally back then during the peace talks between the Yokai faction and the Devils, Serafall served as the devil's representative.
During that time, she was just a mere princess. The heir of the Kyoto Yokai Faction.
But now, she's the Queen. The strongest one there is.
"Now all we have to do is wait. Wait for their reaction. If they're smart enough, they'd overlook what we did and instead, look for a peaceful reconciliation." Yasaka tapped into her Yokai Queen mode and concluded.
As for Kenshin? He's just here for Yasaka's revenge and a vacation. Whatever comes his way is not his problem. No one in this world could see through his disguise. He made sure of it.
"Let's go. We still have a few more facilities to raid…" Yasaka intertwined her fingers with Kenshin's and said.
"Lead the way." Kenshin happily tiptoed. Before he forgot, she also promised him to wear 'that' thing after this.
Kenshin couldn't wait!
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 90 - Underworld is in chaos!]