--And that's when she saw her.

Shihon, in her human form, flinched, then held her breath.

The countless pores from her skin raised as she felt a cold chill creep along her body.

What was this feeling?

It was something deeper than fear. That was what she believed.

Still, there was absolutely no way that she could look away. The enchanting sight was just as ethereal as it was frightening.

After all…

…She began to witness the shadowed outline of the female figure behind that door.

That person had returned once again. The same one from her nightmare at the Kimetsu Hotel.

With forced quick and short breaths, Shihon's eyes wavered.

A terrifying sight it was, but it was also something that she weirdly felt a personal connection to, and that made her tremble even more as she stared ahead.

The shadowy figure slowly leaned against the frame of the door, placing both of her palms gently on it as two dotted glowing circles and a single curved line faintly emerged from its face.

Shihon pushed her own body backwards with both of her arms against the ground, and she tried ever so desperately to escape the gaze of those haunting eyes.

Who…are you…? was the only thing that she could ask in this instant, but not even those thoughts could be voiced as those words were caught in her throat.

She had opened her mouth to speak, to ask, to yell, to order the entity to go away, but only cold air escaped those dry, shivering lips.

And just as a dizziness began to slowly form inside of her body, she heard it once again.

..."KINEN IS COMING."

And instantly, Shihon returned to reality as her heart had been jumpstarted back to its usual rate by a taser picked up by none other than Liohime Kitagami.

(( One Minute Before…

"Basically, I'm able to use some of Shihon's powers, allowing me to control the foliage and vines with my own hands."

"I-Is that so? That's the first time I've heard of a special ability like that…"

When given a quick explanation as to seeing Liohime's peculiar state while the group advanced towards the tower with every step, Yariko decided not to question further, believing that it was a completely understandable logic of Magical Beast abilities that was probably listed in the Shihon's contract.

Little did he know, though, that this ability was actually an exclusive ability only limited to Liohime himself.

In reality, no human was able to use magical powers from a Magical Beast, but with trust already developed in the one who had stuck with him so far, Yariko thought nothing of it.

As Liohime and Yariko rode on the recuperating Killcreation, the other Hallory Circuit members continued to follow them closely, while the other Shinigami Soldier groups had reduced the gap to just about a mile.

"Thank you for helping all of us get out of those barriers, man," one from the Hallory Circuit group mentioned. We'll try our best to keep going and continue to support you along with our ace!"

"Right. We're getting even closer now. Shihon has already gone on ahead and is most likely battling, but knowing how reckless Shihon is, it's possible that the mana capacity will be out soon," Liohime replied with a grim face, before glancing over in front of him to view Yariko's troubled expression.

"....I'm sorry about your workmate, Yariko."

"...Tch, those bastards will fucking pay for that. We were really supposed to avoid almost all combat to save our strength for the lower layers, but what happened several minutes ago fucked everything up," he angrily spouted, gritting his teeth in frustration.

Liohime averted his eyes. In a sense, they were now pretty much gearing up for revenge, placing the need to enter the second layer to the side as the second most important option.

In his mind, he knew that this wasn't the right plan at all, but with Shihon in danger, a counterattack was inevitable.

Choosing who lives and who dies would be a bit complicated, though.

Knowing Shihon, she's most likely not going to hold back without my guidance, he thought. He was unable to communicate with Shihon here, as there could be a chance where the people around him could sense that he was having a conversation with his Magical Beast as if she were a human. Thus, he would have to back her up as quickly as possible.

I really hope that she didn't do anything risky and stupid like changing into her human form. That would be the worst case scenario other than her dying, I think.

Well, well, well. This should be interesting.

Now with only a few feet separating the group from the tower, Liohime stared at the huge hole that existed within the middle floors or the tower, then his eyes lowered to view the first floor that remained intact.

The first floor would have been where the Paradisus Legion Tower battalion would have resided, but with that group being completely annihilated by Shihon herself, it would most likely be vacant, right?

Thus…

"Hey, I think if we enter through the first floor, we might just be able to descend into the second layer without much resistance, you know."

"You might be right. But, don't tell me that you're planning on prioritizing running away from those pieces of shit instead of removing them from the equation?" Yariko merely responded with a glint in his eye. "And please don't bring up morality bullshit. I don't care if they're criminals like us, half-hearted, or the kindest saint you know. They killed one of my friends without a care in the world. I gotta get it back in blood."

Liohime paused, trying his best to put himself in Yariko's position.

In all honesty, if someone who was close to him died by someone's hands without a care in the world, he would want to get revenge. Still, there were a lot of different factors involved here, like other guards who may be completely innocent.

Thus, he had come to a decision.

"Alright, then. Let's initiate a plan that could get us some good payback while saving Shihon and minimizing needless collateral death."

"Oh? And what plan could this be? I'm all ears."

"Mission: The Sector Strategy."

))

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