The Enigma of Avarice

(BANG! BANG! BANG!)

The dry detonations echoed in the chamber, silencing the wailing of the wind in the elevator shaft.

"Tch...!"

Armando's bullets, infused with massive spiritual energy compressed and condensed to the limit, flew forward.

"So predictable~"

In response, Kagura merely waved her fan with a lazy elegance.

(Clang!)

A blast of purple energy, dense like poisoned incense, detached from the fan and intercepted the projectiles.

(Tshk! Tzzk!)

The deflected projectiles struck the concrete, releasing sparks and the smell of ozone.

"Haaaa... Haaa... Argh... Haaaa..."

(Who... is he?)

Ford, collapsed and gasping on the ground, felt his body too heavy, but his mind focused on the Exorcist.

"Using your precious energy so soon... Have you learned nothing from the last time~?"

Kagura, on the other hand, remained undisturbed, smiling calmly after receiving the attack and analyzing her opponent.

"....."

In response, Armando remained silent with both pistols smoking.

(That damned woman hasn't changed!)

The hood completely covered his face, but the immense tension in his posture revealed the latent danger.

"But it's curious, you... You shouldn't be here for me, should you?"

At that moment, Kagura smiled, her slanted eyes gleaming with malice.

"You're here for those poor souls who failed. For your dead family and those 'precious' fallen comrades, aren't you~?"

"......"

"I must admit it was unexpected that you survived for so long considering your... lack of talent."

"...You."

"Mmm~?"

"Let me ask you one thing."

"Ooh, that's unexpected. Knowing you, I thought you'd shoot without thinking. I suppose time doesn't pass in vain."

"...."

Armando, repressing his emotions, maintained his calm at all times. He remained on guard because of the monster in front of him, refusing to be swayed by her subtle provocations, aware of what she was capable of.

"... You truly have improved. Go ahead, ask your question."

And perhaps impressed, or as a sign of recognition, Kagura easily agreed.

"What is your objective in all this?"

"My objective...?"

At the question, Kagura tilted her neck, her smile still intact.

"What do you mean by that~?"

The tension in the atmosphere became tangible, dense like the energy floating in the air.

"Don't give me that!"

Armando, however, did not yield.

"What are you playing at with everything you've done so far?"

Without taking his gaze off the "thing" in front of him, which tilted its head with a smirk of feigned innocence, Armando remained calm.

"I know what you're capable of. I know the destruction the Demon Lords of Sin can easily cause. Every one of you is a walking disaster that destroys and corrupts everything in its path."

"...."

The Kitsune's nine tails twitched, relishing the attention.

"However, you all have something in common: you are broken in one way or another. You are a sick reflection of the sin you embody. But you..."

He paused, taking a breath, his gaze still fixed and full of determination.

"... You are the exception."

"Oh. And what do you base that on, my dear Exorcist?"

Kagura blinked slowly; her sadistic smile remained in place, but it now carried a hint of genuine curiosity.

"I discovered the records."

"....."

At that moment, for the first time, the smile completely vanished from the face of the Demon Lady of Avarice.

"You saw the records...?"

Her eyes, previously filled with mockery, narrowed with genuine and dangerous intrigue as the atmosphere in the cavern turned silent.

(Did I hit a sensitive spot?)

Armando noticed the subtle, almost imperceptible, change in the atmosphere.

"Although few of the records still existed, as 'something' had eliminated the information about the Dark Era, I discovered information about the origin and the epithets of each Demon Lady: The Shadow of Envy, Destructive Wrath, Growing Sloth, Dominating Pride, Twisted Lust, and Insatiable Gluttony... and Deranged Avarice."

Maintaining his icy tone, Armando named the list with precision.

"And among all these, something is wrong with the last one. Unlike the others, the information about the origin of the Fox of Avarice is lost."

His voice resonated with the weight of that anomaly.

"That should be impossible. Although the exact birth origin of the Demon Lords of Sin is unknown, the general history of their births is transmitted, whether in tales or warnings. But the Demon Lord of Avarice's is... missing."

"..... "

Kagura sank into a tense silence, her face now an inscrutable mask. She stared fixedly at Armando; not a muscle twitched.

"After discovering that, I continued my investigation. I noticed historical voids and strange events that kept giving me a sense of incongruity. That led me to delve further and further until I reached a truth..."

Armando continued narrating, hardening his gaze.

"....."

Kagura remained silent; the air around her felt heavier than stone itself.

"I discovered that the origin of events such as the possession drug, the experimentation to create high-ranking curses, and even political manipulations throughout our world's history, were caused by the very existence I now face."

"Everything your sisters do is a reflection of their sin. They have tried to reach this world, but the barrier covering it is the only thing that has prevented them from invading or even finding it."

He fixed his eyes on her, his voice rising for the first time with the weight of accumulated frustration.

"However, you arrived. No, you've been here for a long time. And yet, the barrier remains. What is it that you're aiming for?!"

"Pfff... Heh, heh... Ahahaha! AHAHAHAHAH!"

"!!"

Kagura, confronted by Armando's shout laden with frustration, began to laugh, bursting into a high-pitched, unhinged cackle.

"Ahahaha... Haaaa... I see, I see."

Finally, she wiped a tear with her finger, recovering her composure with chilling control.

"Is that... is that all you discovered?"

"....."

"For a moment, I truly thought you had hit upon the truth."

"What do you mean...?"

"Had you discovered it, I would have had to kill you right here. But now... I can save myself the effort."

Saying that, Kagura smoothed her kimono a bit, returning to a smile as if nothing had happened.

"....."

"You asked about my objective earlier. It's very simple, my dear Exorcist. From the beginning, I have sought something very simple..."

"?!"

It was at that instant.

"... But"

That one of her tails shot out at absurd speed toward Ford, who was painfully dragging himself across the stone floor.

"Tch...!"

(BANG!)

However, in a blink, Armando fired, changing the trajectory of the tail at the last second.

"I can't keep playing your game and let that human over there take the precious catalyst before the ceremony ends."

"You noticed?"

(BANG, BANG, BANG!)

Asking, Armando fired again, leaping into the air, dodging two tails that attacked him from the sides.

"I noticed it from the start~"

(Slash!)

In response, Kagura launched a cutting attack with her closed fan from a distance.

"Wall Seal!"

(CRACK!)

Armando blocked the attack using talismans that burned upon contact.

"Swallow this!"

(BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!)

He lunged forward, firing again, but this time using explosive bullets charged with spiritual energy.

(BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!)

The bullets impacted near the Kitsune and detonated upon contact with the stone.

"Not a bad trick~"

Kagura leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the massive explosions; her still-calm expression bore a smile.

"....."

(BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!)

Armando, for his part, moved with cold precision. Firing continuous bursts of explosive bullets instantly, moving from side to side in the air to evade the tails that stretched out like whips.

(BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!)

The explosions raised a wall of debris, dirt, and dense smoke that he used for cover.

"Magnificent."

However, Kagura's nine tails lashed the air, creating gusts that cleared the smoke with supernatural force.

(BANG!)

The Exorcist momentarily appeared through the haze, taking the chance to fire again.

(GONG!)

"I must say that for a mere human, you've outdone yourself. You've deployed a simplified Divine Territory around you, haven't you?"

But Kagura blocked the bullets easily with her fan, each impact resonating like a metallic gong.

"Clever. That prevents my power from interfering with you."

She then pointed at the aura surrounding Armando, congratulating him with a casual tone.

"....."

But Armando was not listening to compliments. While shooting and moving, he placed talismans on the walls, ceiling, and columns, assaulting the entire area. They were seals that glowed faintly before becoming invisible.

"And that's to restrict me. To prevent me from expanding my own Domain over the area and restrict the use of my power. You really thought it through.... However."

After expertly analyzing the strategy, Kagura, with a slight sigh...

"... This is not enough."

She waited, raising her closed fan above her head.

(CLICK!)

And at that instant, she opened it, executing a smooth, wide, crescent moon movement.

(FWOOSH!)

A surge of purple energy erupted from the fan and, as she slammed it shut, manifested as a pure, blinding light slash.

"!!"

The wave fragmented into millions of deadly, sharp particles moving at incomprehensible speeds, cutting the entire cave in half.

(RUMBLE!)

The cavern ceiling collapsed. Stones, dirt, and pieces of rubble fell with the fury of an earthquake, causing a massive landslide that buried most of the area.

"I would have liked to finish... but."

After muttering that, Kagura turned to leave, casting a glance at the boy who, in the last second, had dragged himself to the frying pan, grabbing it and ruining the ritual.

"Unfortunately, it seems it is not the moment yet."

Kagura stopped. Her smile returned, but this time with a shade of calculated frustration upon realizing it would be impossible to continue.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

But at that moment, Armando emerged from the rocks and dust of the collapse, his body protected by the barrier, his pistols raised, and his voice ragged with effort.

"You're not getting away!"

(BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!)

By sheer willpower, Armando fired a barrage of bullets that simply missed their target.

"There's no point in pursuing. The collapse destroyed your seals; there is no way you can harm me now."

"Tch...!"

"But don't worry, the time to finish everything will come. The Night of Chaos that I so look forward to is getting closer and closer, and I am incapable of waiting."

And as soon as she finished speaking, the Demon Lady of Avarice dissolved into the air, vanishing as if she had never been there.

"Damn it!"