Phantom Thief Lupin, Be the Hope (5)

***

“Huff… it seems like it’s roughly over.”

On the opposite side of where Phantom Thief Lupin appeared on stage, Holmes, who had knocked out all the guards protecting the nobles in the auction booth, stood triumphantly.

Initially, he had considered retreating at Seri’s suggestion to face over a hundred enemies alone, but…

“You crazy woman… but that’s what makes you so enticing.”

Before heading to the Black Rose, Holmes had been absorbing Seri’s magical power non-stop. When her magic finally ran out, she drank the breast milk from the fridge in the office to replenish it.

Especially, Holmes’s skill 【Bind】, which enveloped the entire booth in a black fog, excluding the current stage.

Not just Holmes, but Seri too had grown stronger with each embrace. Bind, which once could only shroud a small café in darkness and extend six black hands, had transformed into an absurdly overpowered ability.

With strength incomparable to a few hours ago, Holmes easily subdued all the guards inside the building and even had the leisure to administer breast milk injections to the noblewomen who couldn’t escape.

“All of them are inferior to Lupin, but they’ll do as spoils.”

“You… you’re one of us! Why are you helping that villain?!”

“…Hm?”

As he pulled out a syringe containing the essence of 『Breast Milk Constitution』, the female monster, trembling in fear.

Currently unaffiliated and labeled as 『Rogue』, Holmes attacking his own kind, nobles no less, was an outright criminal act. To anyone, it would seem he had allied with Phantom Thief Lupin.

Especially since he was aiding a thief who had been tracked even by Mars’ parents, who oversaw the planet’s security companies and were renowned as a Seven Star entity.

Had he gone mad? Or was it as the rumors suggested, that Lupin had brainwashed him, causing Holmes to shout at him to snap out of it.

With pursuers closing in, Holmes and Lupin had come to rescue the captured magical girls.

“Are we funny? Do you think you can defy the nobles and go unpunished? You’re dead!”

True to his words. If they escaped the Black Rose, they would face not hundreds but thousands, perhaps tens of thousands.

‘I’ll give you a lifetime pass to drink it whenever you want, just help me!’

“…..I’ve lost something far more precious to her.”

Despite the immense danger, the reward was too sweet for Holmes, leaving him unburdened both physically and mentally.

“Kheeeheehee─?!”

“Move your lower jaw, not your upper one. Slut.”

Swishhhhh─

“The magical girl… finally in my hands!!!!”

“So take Hyun-ah and leave!”

The magical girl, who was about to be violated in the coffin, vanished without a trace due to Holmes’s enhanced Bind.

It wasn’t a trick; it was magic. But still, it worked. Anyway…

The Pig King’s footsteps caused the ground to tremble, making it hard to even run. His speed wasn’t fast, but his enormous, bloated body made him dangerous to dodge.

She had to keep gathering magic until she could land the final blow…

『Mild Drug Addiction has been activated.』

『Corruption Desire LV 6 has been activated.』

“Gasp…”

“Hah, you’ve slowed down~ Let me pound and violate you!!”

“Stop talking during the fight…”

“It’s not a fight, it’s playtime!!”

Even with Holmes’s Bind clearing a path earlier, the pungent, sweet smell lingered, likely from the aphrodisiacs in the air.

The longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantaged she became. But they had to prolong it… or she’d die.

This was her last cartridge. The Pig King’s body was unbelievably resilient.

Even if he were just a pig, the name of the Seven Stars wouldn’t let him go down without a fight. Not a single bullet had penetrated him, and the rounds only dented upon impact.

His testicles were hit, but there was no damage, only deformed bullets.

With no escape from the wall behind, and the coffin in front, she had to aim…

“Then…”

Bang─Bang!!

Five shots fired at the ceiling, leaving seven rounds.

She had to reserve two bullets, so she could only fire five. The remaining rounds had to take him down.

“Hah, can’t even aim now~? The name Phantom Thief is in vain!”

“Huff… can’t look up because of my neck…”

“….Up?”

Creak… creak…

Crash!!!

“Ugh… you’re relentless…”

“Oh, look who’s talking?!”

Crash!!!

“Ugh… ah…”

“Did you think the Seven Stars were easy to defeat? Aah?! Did you think you could win as the lowest of the low?!”

Crash!!!

The floor turns red.

Her shoulder is released, and the Pig King’s hoof aims for her leg. Her vision alternates between bright and dark.

『Threat Detection has been forcibly activated.』

『Current Status: ON』

『You can detect threats harmful to the owner. The intensity increases the closer you are to someone with malicious intent.』

Whether it was the skill’s effect or the brink of death, the ringing in her ears wouldn’t stop, and the red droplets from her body scattered in the direction she was flung.

“You can’t even cast proper magic, you bitch! Who do you think you are to save anyone?!”

Her front teeth were gone. The front felt empty.

From the constant impacts against the wall, even her molars felt loose, and something like blood clots rolled around her mouth.

“Hah… didn’t kill you gently, did I~? Should’ve played more…! You ruined my fun and made the magical girls disappear… a bold thief like you… give them back…! Return my magical girls!!”

It was all just venting.

To him, she was nothing but a fleeting amusement.

Her body, tossed about like a ragdoll, finally came to a stop after smashing into the magically reinforced coffin, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth.

“How should I punish you… should I turn you into an onahole by cutting off your limbs? Or cook you alive… what’s better, Phantom Thief Lupin~?”

“Kheh…”

“It’s a shame the nobles were deceived by someone as low as you… I wish the missing magical girls could see this… how pitiful, hah hah…”

“Kheh… fine… no one… will mourn me.”

“Will anyone cry for you? Probably not… they’ll just laugh….?”

She finally died.

How pathetic. Good riddance. They’d probably praise her.

“You… have no friends?”

The Pig King raised his hands high in the air, his face redder than usual.

“Till… the very end… you… can’t… win!!!!”

“Cough… cough…”

She had to hit both marks, so she needed to pinpoint his exact location.

Had the blood not been visible, she would have been in trouble, not knowing where to aim.

Holmes was too strong… giving him that free pass was a mistake…

“Yes… I can’t defeat you. Absolutely not.”

She exhausted all her magic, every last drop.

It was just like when she drugged Mars’s coffee… easy enough.

『Magic Transfer has been activated.』

『You can give your magic to the person you choose.』

『All magic has been depleted.』

『Luna & Mera’s heat has been lifted.』

『Luna & Mera’s magic has been fully restored.』

Two shots fired. The amount of magic transferred was incomparable to before.

The surging heat melted the metal of the coffin, turning it into a puddle, and as she sank into it, a bright, moonlike light enveloped her, lifting her into the air.

“But… will they win?”