thefictionvixens Page 190
Page 190
However, before he could act, his gaze was drawn to a lone figure not far away.
That's a girl.
She was petite, with long, wavy golden hair that almost covered her eyes, and her clothes were also strange, but what was most striking was the thick collar around her neck with a rein attached to it.
Her makeup and styling, which looked rather unconventional, immediately caught Higashino's attention.
The girl also saw Higashino Yu suddenly appear; after all, it would be difficult for such a large, living person to appear out of nowhere without being noticed.
But when Higashino Yu suddenly appeared, her face showed no change in expression, but Higashino Yu's keen senses caught a fleeting, extremely subtle emotion of surprise deep in her eyes.
The moment Higashino Yu saw her, he knew who the girl was. After all, her appearance was quite memorable, and this girl was one of the reasons he agreed to let Aleister resolve this incident.
A perfectly timed look of confusion appeared on his face. He stood there quietly, looking back at her with a calm gaze, without speaking first.
A brief silence flowed against the backdrop of the crashing waves, before the young woman broke the stillness:
“I am Michael Chloegef.”
Her self-introduction was normal. If Higashino hadn't known her true identity from the beginning, he probably wouldn't have discovered it.
"Russian religious magician."
Higashino Yu chuckled inwardly.
Misha? No, it should be Sasha Chloezef. But the person before us isn't Misha or Sasha; her true identity is Gabriel, the God of Power!
He knew perfectly well, but he didn't intend to confront her directly.
He nodded slightly, revealing a gentle smile: "Miss Michael Chloejef? It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Higashino Yu, from Academy City. I'm here to investigate a... well, rather bizarre incident. It's as if everyone in the world has been switched roles; everything is in chaos."
He said this deliberately, carefully observing Michael's reaction.
Misha stared directly at Higashino Yu. Her voice remained flat, but she gave a slightly unexpected answer:
"Me too."
Higashino Yu raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.
It was so uneventful; I thought there would be some unexpected developments.
Higashino Yu's mind raced with thoughts.
Does she not see me as a direct threat, or... is she assessing my danger? Or is there some other reason I don't know about?
And I should be a normal person in his eyes, since he didn't attack me like he did to Touma in the original story.
However, since she didn't make a move, Higashino was happy to see it happen. He didn't want to fight and wanted to avoid trouble. Wouldn't it be better to use his abilities to subtly influence things from the shadows?
What he needs to analyze the divine power is time, and delaying it as much as possible is to his advantage.
"Oh? What a coincidence?"
Higashino Yu smiled, offering a suggestion tinged with sincerity.
"Since we share the same goal—to find out the source of this world-affecting magic—why don't we temporarily team up and work together? More people means more strength, and it's always good to have someone to look out for you."
His words were half true and half false.
Finding the source was a piece of cake for him; he could quickly lock onto the target as long as he expanded his perception range.
But more than solving the problem of the fallen angels, he was more interested in the girl in front of him, or rather, in the nature of her power.
Michael fell silent.
This silence was a little longer than before. Her gaze seemed to be scrutinizing Higashino Yu, or as if she were analyzing something more essential to him.
Just when Higashino Yu thought she would refuse, or even launch an attack in the next second.
Michael nodded very slightly.
"can."
These two simple words amplified Higashino Yu's sense of surprise, which was then replaced by a strong sense of excitement and anticipation.
Great, this gives us enough time for close contact; it went much more smoothly than expected…
A faint silver glint flashed in Higashino Yu's eyes, disappearing in an instant.
"Great!"
Higashino Yu smiled even more brightly, as if he was genuinely happy to be able to team up with Misha.
"How about we take a stroll around the area first? I'm quite confident in my perception abilities, but my combat skills are a bit weak. If we encounter any enemies, I might need your protection."
As he spoke, he naturally began to walk along the coastline, gesturing for Michael to follow.
Misha didn't answer whether she would protect him, but she silently followed behind Higashino Yu and moved a little closer, which could be considered as her tacit agreement with Higashino's suggestion.
Her steps were light and silent, her gaze fixed straight ahead, as if she were just an ordinary girl with no connections or background.
As Higashino Yu walked, he chatted casually about unimportant topics in a relaxed tone, such as daily life in Academy City, interesting stories from the infirmary, and even occasionally made a harmless little joke. Unfortunately, Misha didn't respond much, which was a bit disappointing.
However, Higashino was not idle during his stroll; he was silently using his abilities to analyze her.
He was trying to understand the essence of what constitutes "divine power".
Moreover, Higashino not only wanted to analyze her, but also wanted to control her, to imprint his own mark on her essence, and to make her work for him.
This idea is both extremely dangerous and incredibly tempting.
If he succeeds, he will gain control of the power of an archangel! Although he already has a great demon, he doesn't mind having another angel.
He began his first attempt at contact and analysis. The power of cognition, like an invisible thread, cautiously reached out to Michael.
However, just as he was slowly trying to understand the essence of divine power, Misha's steps suddenly stopped for a moment without warning.
She slowly turned her head, and for the first time, her eyes showed a different kind of brilliance.
"Question one."
She spoke, her voice still flat, but it seemed to carry a hint of seriousness.
"What are you doing?"
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Had her subtle actions been noticed? Or was she referring to the fact that she had been wandering around aimlessly without actually looking for anyone?
Higashino Yu's smile remained unchanged, and he did not become nervous because of her words.
Although his divine power was immense, he was confident he wouldn't lose to her. Besides, if anything unexpected happened, he would call in reinforcements, summon demons for a mixed doubles attack, and bully the angel.
"nothing."
He shrugged easily, meeting those calm eyes with a composed gaze.
"I just feel that taking a walk with you is a rather special experience."
He cleverly avoided giving a direct answer.
Michael stared at him expressionlessly, remaining silent. The atmosphere around them grew increasingly subtle and tense.
Chapter 225 I've captured Gabriel!
Just when Higashino Yu thought that Misha would make a move against her, she remained silent as if nothing had happened, as if her question had been an illusion.
With a sense of doubt in her heart, she continued to follow Higashino in the vicinity, searching for the so-called "mastermind".
Higashino Yu appeared relaxed, casually chatting with Misha about some unimportant matters, then pretended to be more serious as he continued his search, but inwardly he remained vigilant towards her.
However, the rest of the journey went smoothly, and Higashino Yu didn't waste any time, continuing to speed up his analysis. He wasn't sure when this angel would turn on him, and achieving his goal as quickly as possible was the most important thing.
To Higashino Yu's surprise, Misha remained completely unresponsive and showed no resistance whatsoever, seemingly unaware of his subtle actions.
She simply followed silently a step behind him, her steps light and her gaze fixed straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to Higashino's actions.
What puzzled him even more was her attitude. As far as he knew, the return of divine power to the heavens should be her only and most urgent desire. Yet, despite him leading her in circles, she showed no impatience or urgency whatsoever.
As expected, her question was just an accident. She didn't actually realize that I was using my ability to analyze her true nature.
After all, even Laura hadn't noticed it before, so it's not impossible that she hadn't paid attention.
Higashino Yu's mind raced, but since the other party didn't react, he was naturally happy to continue stalling for time to achieve his goal.
Just as they turned onto a relatively quiet street, a figure suddenly entered Higashino Yu's line of sight.
Sensing the strange look in this person's eyes, Higashino Yu didn't hesitate and used his ability to see the guy's true face.
He didn't know this person at all; in fact, he had absolutely no recollection of him.
This is a guy who doesn't seem like a good person just by looking at him. Although judging people by their appearance is not advisable, Higashino Yu couldn't help but have that thought when he first saw him.
It wasn't obvious at first, but after getting closer, Higashino Yu could clearly feel that this guy obviously had an extremely strong malice or even murderous intent towards him.
He was bald, emaciated, and his skin had a sickly sallow hue. His eyes bulged out like those of a dead fish, his gaze was cloudy, and beneath his sunken, wide nose was a gaping mouth revealing uneven, yellow teeth.
He stood there in the shadows of the street corner, his gaze fixed on Higashino Yu.
Just as Higashino Yu had suspected, this man did indeed want to kill him, for no reason other than his "angel" making him do so.
He was nearby just now, and the moment he saw Dongye, he made up his mind to kill this stranger cruelly, and of course, take care of the girl next to him as well.
Higashino Yu paused almost imperceptibly, his instinctive revulsion rising at the look in her eyes.
He didn't know why this stranger suddenly had murderous intent towards him, but that didn't matter. Higashino wouldn't let this kind of guy have the chance to continue to disgust him.
Almost instantly, an invisible force invaded the man's brain.
A masterpiece by Hino.
The name and a series of fragmented memories flooded into Higashino Yu's mind.
This is a serial killer, cruel in his methods, who takes pleasure in torturing his victims. He is a complete scumbag, a psychopath with a split personality. He believes that the other personality in his mind is an angel, and he kills many innocent people on the orders of the angel.
This guy escaped from prison not long ago and has only recently wandered into this area.
Seeing these disgusting memories, Higashino Yu regretted his earlier initiative to invade his memories; they were simply too horrible to look at.
However, after learning his name and what he had done, Higashino Yuya finally remembered who this person was.
But it's not important; he's just an insignificant nobody.
"Question one."
Misha's voice rang out without warning, and she keenly caught the instantaneous change in Higashino Yu's mood.
"Your emotional fluctuations are unusual. Why?"
"nothing."
Higashino Yu quickly regained his gentle smile and shook his head.
"It was just a rather unpleasant bug. Let's go, Miss Michael, the scenery is over there."
He naturally led Michael in a different direction, away from the guy.
Just as the two figures were about to disappear around the street corner, Higashino Yu, with his back to that direction, subtly snapped his fingers at his side.
Snapped.
The sound was barely audible.
In the shadows of the street corner, the sinister smile on Hino Shinsaku's face froze instantly, and then his whole body suddenly felt excruciating pain, as if every inch of his skin was being tortured to death.
He lay curled up on the ground, his body convulsing violently, a hoarse "hoarse" sound coming from his throat, his eyeballs almost bursting out.
He felt every inch of his skin being burned, every bone being crushed, and this extreme pain brought him to the brink of losing consciousness.
A pack of wild dogs, their eyes gleaming green, suddenly appeared and pounced! The sounds of tearing and screaming were instantly drowned out by the dogs' excited growls.
Higashino Yu didn't even look back, as if he had just casually flicked away a speck of dust.
This guy is disgusting; Higashino feels it's a waste of his time to even glance at him.
He was unlucky. Whether he chose to kill Touma Kamijou in the original story or chose himself as his target this time, it was a choice that could not succeed. Otherwise, if he had continued to roam around, he might have been able to survive for a while.
Misha seemed to pause again, as if she had noticed the unusual activity over there. But in the end, she asked nothing and said nothing, simply following silently.
After walking for a while, Higashino Yu's gaze pierced through the outlines of the buildings and locked onto a house in an area near the sea.
There, a subtle yet immense magical fluctuation emanated. It was the location where the "Angel's Fall" spell was activated, and the small items that Touma's father had unintentionally placed there were all in that room.
"found it."