"Kanon… became an angel?!"
La Folia stared up at Kanon, her twelve golden wings unfurled in a radiant arc. Disbelief was etched across her face.
Even Natsuki—the infamous Witch of the Void—couldn't keep her composure. Her usually icy expression cracked, eyes wide with shock.
But there was no denying what was right in front of them.
A deranged laugh split the silence. Kensei Kanase, wild-eyed and bloodied, staggered forward. "Hahaha! Kanon really is the perfect angel! My masterpiece—at last! Hand her over to me. Now!"
La Folia's patience snapped. Her voice rang out, sharp and righteous. "Kensei Kanase, you're not fit to be Kanon's guardian. I don't care what it takes—there's no way I'll let you near her, you lunatic."
Natsuki's glare turned lethal. To treat her own student like that—on her island, no less—she'd never forgive him.
Shuo's eyes were cold, almost inhuman. A flicker of cruelty danced across his face.
Without warning, he appeared in front of Kensei and backhanded him so hard Kensei crashed into a far wall.
The commotion had already drawn a swarm of guards. Footsteps thundered in from every corridor.
Shuo turned to Natsuki. "Take Kanon and La Folia. I'll handle things here."
Natsuki gave him a curt nod, her tone as cold as his. "Do what you must. Just… don't go too far."
She grabbed the girls, and with a shimmer of magic, vanished.
Moments later, the room filled with hostile magicians and beastmen—Kirigaoka and Beatrice Butler among them. Their faces were thunderous as they took in the ruin of the artificial angels and Kensei's mangled body.
They'd been so close to realizing their plan—using Kensei to create the perfect artificial angel. Now, everything was in shambles.
"Kill him! Find Kanon and bring her back! I can still make the perfect angel!" Kensei shrieked, clawing himself upright, eyes burning with hatred.
If not for this boy, he'd have succeeded. Now, all he wanted was Shuo's blood.
Shuo met his gaze with dead, empty eyes. "Heh…"
He raised a hand—and unleashed his telekinesis.
In an instant, every enemy in the room—Kirigaoka, Beatrice, the guards—was crushed into a red mist, leaving only Kensei standing, drenched in blood that wasn't his own.
Kensei stared at his hands, trembling, mind blank with horror.
Then came the pain.
Shuo didn't hesitate. He reached out, gouged out one of Kensei's eyes with brutal efficiency. Kensei screamed, clutching his face, but Shuo was relentless—one hand clamped around Kensei's throat, the other tearing off his arm and incinerating it to ash.
Shuo hoisted him up, sneering. "Come on. Laugh now, you animal. You'd sacrifice your own niece?"
Kensei's bravado finally shattered. "P-please… cough… have mercy! I'm Kanon's uncle—let me live, I beg you!"
"Mercy?" Shuo's voice was ice. "Did you think of mercy when you ordered Kanon's death?"
He squeezed. Kensei's eyes bulged, breath rasping—then stopped for good.
Shuo dropped the corpse like trash.
Before leaving, he called down a storm—hurricanes and lightning tearing through the magitech facility, reducing it to rubble. Only then did he turn and walk away, satisfied.
—
Not long after, Shuo returned home, Kanon's hand in his, La Folia and Natsuki following behind.
"Oh? Shuo-kun, you're back!" In the castle's grand hall, the girls perked up as a spatial rift shimmered open.
"Huh? Kanon-chan? Natsuki-sensei?!" Nagisa's eyes went wide as she spotted the newcomers.
Yukina shot Shuo a look—another girl? She stifled her jealousy, but not very well.
Once everyone had gathered, Shuo explained what had happened to Kanon.
When the girls learned Kanon's uncle had used her as a test subject in those monstrous experiments—and tried to kill her—anger flared in every face. Even the usually calm Dimitrie looked murderous.
"To treat Kanon-chan like that… If I'd been there, I'd have made him pay!" Nagisa's eyes glowed crimson, her fangs bared in fury.
She and Kanon were closest. Knowing what Kanon had suffered made her want to unleash her familiars and tear Kensei apart herself.
Shuo ruffled her hair, smiling gently. "Don't worry. I already took care of it. The whole facility's gone—he won't hurt anyone again."
Asagi, ever the detective, turned to La Folia. "So… who's this?"
Everyone's attention shifted to the elegant girl beside Kanon. She looked so much like Kanon—could she be her sister?
La Folia smiled, giving a flawless curtsy. "Greetings, everyone. I am La Folia Rihavein, First Princess of the Ardeal Kingdom."
"A princess?!" Shock rippled through the group—except for Shuo and Natsuki, who just looked amused.
La Folia explained her story: arriving on Itogami Island, being received by Natsuki, and her search for Kanon. When she discovered what Kensei had done, she'd begged Natsuki to teleport her straight to the lab.
"That's the gist of it," she finished, glancing at Natsuki, who nodded in confirmation.
Kanon looked at La Folia, a strange feeling stirring in her chest. "But… why did this big sister come to save me? I don't think we've ever met?"
Big sister?
La Folia's smile froze. She glanced away, visibly conflicted.
Apparently, Kanon still didn't know the truth.
The other girls leaned in, curiosity piqued.
La Folia sighed, then confessed, "Actually, my grandfather… well, he had an affair late in life and fathered a daughter. Because of the scandal, it was kept secret from the royal family."
"So, Kanon… technically, you're my aunt."
"Pffffft—!" The room erupted in disbelief.
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