Chapter 738: Demon Couple
"What should I do...?"
A bewildered Yukino murmured to herself, sitting alone on a cold stone bench.
After leaving Sabertooth, she had gone straight to the Council Headquarters, hoping to request permission for a visit.
But because Sorano was a high-security inmate, and Yukino was no longer affiliated with any recognized guild, there was no one to vouch for her. Her request was promptly rejected.
If not for the Council’s meticulous archives, confirming she had only been eleven years old seven years ago, she would likely have been subjected to a full interrogation.
Still unwilling to give up, Yukino had stayed nearby, carefully rehearsing what to say, intending to try again the next morning.
Even if she couldn’t speak to her sister, just being able to see her once would be enough.
But when she approached the main gate the next day, guards immediately seized her, slapped Magic Sealing Stone cuffs on her wrists, and dragged her into an interrogation room.
That was how Yukino learned the shocking news, her sister had been taken in a prison break.
And she, the sister who had just been refused visitation, was naturally treated as the prime suspect.
Fortunately, the trace analysis team soon identified the real culprit, and her total ignorance of the event was proven beyond doubt. Otherwise, she might not have escaped so lightly.
Even so, Yukino didn’t know what to do now.
Her sister’s whereabouts were unknown. She had no guild, no home, no place to return to.
Lying on a park bench, one arm draped over her eyes, Yukino let the wind wash over her. A stray newspaper page fluttered through the air and landed on her chest. She picked it up to toss it aside, then froze.
"Crime Sorcière Destroys Another Dark Guild Stronghold!"
Her heart skipped a beat.
’Crime Sorcière...!’
That guild, the one that called itself "independent," had been remarkably active lately.
At their current pace, it wouldn’t be long before they struck another Dark Guild.
If she hurried, she might find them, learn why they’d taken her sister... or even find her sister herself.
Resolve lit in Yukino’s eyes. She gathered her belongings, stood, and began her journey once more.
...
"Dark Chains!"
Two gleaming chains shot from the magic circle before Mira, slithering like twin serpents through the enemy ranks.
They pierced magical shields as if they were paper, flinging foes aside and coiling tightly around others in mid-air.
Within seconds, more than a dozen armed thugs were down, their magic tools scattering uselessly across the ground.
Rhodes grinned.
"You’re getting better and better with that move."
Mira laughed, brushing back a strand of silver hair.
"Well, I have been practicing nonstop."
Below the hill, Rhodes’s summoned monsters were already hauling the captured thugs away. A few Crabs scuttled industriously up the slope, helping to clear out the bandits’ hideout.
When only the empty fortress remained, Rhodes lifted his hand. A complex pattern of runes flared beneath his fingers.
"Amaterasu, Thirty-Nine Styles!"
A thunderous boom echoed across the mountains. The ground trembled, and flocks of startled birds erupted from the trees.
The bandit fortress vanished in an instant, reduced to rubble.
Mira whistled softly.
"Your Amaterasu circles are getting sharper too."
Rhodes puffed out his chest.
"Heh-heh-heh~ Isn’t your husband amazing?"
"Yes, yes~" Mira slipped her arms around his, her voice teasing, almost sing-song. "Husband is the most amazing~"
A few of the half-conscious bandits stirred, their faces going pale.
"It’s them..."
"It’s them! The Demon Couple!"
"But, they’re not even in demon form!"
...
More than half a month had passed since Earl Rhodes was officially granted his title.
For those two weeks, he and Mira had roamed across the Joya Kingdom, half for travel, half for training, and incidentally, exterminating every bandit gang they came across.
The King might have said he didn’t intend to use their strength, but Rhodes and Mira happened to enjoy this kind of exercise.
Wherever they went, gangs disappeared.
And when Mira occasionally transformed into Satan Soul: Mirajane, or Rhodes showed off one of his "alternate forms," rumors spread like wildfire.
Soon, the terrified bandits of Joya began whispering a new name;
"The Demon Couple."
It became the badge of countless bandits’ nightmares; the moment their name was uttered, lesser gangs scattered like frightened mice.
Rhodes tilted his head at one trembling thug.
"The Demon Couple, huh? You guys come up with that?"
The bandits shook their heads frantically.
Mira laughed, eyes sparkling.
"Isn’t it kind of cute, though?"
Rhodes nodded thoughtfully.
"I think it’s a pretty good nickname too. That’s why I asked if they came up with it. I was planning to give them a little... preferential treatment."
He sighed, almost regretfully.
"But unfortunately, it wasn’t them."
The bandits wanted to cry but couldn’t. If only they’d known earlier, they should have claimed the name!
Mira chuckled and gave Rhodes a gentle pat.
"You’re teasing them again," she said, smiling helplessly.
As the couple chatted and laughed, they brought yet another bandit gang down the mountain. When they entered the nearest town, the people lining the streets greeted them with respectful smiles and cheers.
If they were demons to the bandits, then to the townsfolk, they were gods.
Later that evening, after returning to their lodgings, a local official came calling.
"Your Excellency," the man said respectfully, bowing low. "The mayor of Carondom Town asked me to inform you that construction on your mansion will begin tomorrow. Do you have any other requests?"
"Thank you," Rhodes replied. "Tell him there’s no need to rush. Just proceed according to the original plans."
A luxurious new mansion, built at the fief’s expense, wasn’t something he intended to refuse. However, to avoid any misuse of his name, Rhodes had already issued a strict list of regulations for the mayor to follow.
Naturally, the mayor didn’t dare to deviate from those rules. With Rhodes’s status as a Saint Ten Magician and a Earl, no one in the region would even think of crossing him.
During this period, King Jun Danton Shagotte invited the couple to the palace once more. His mood was visibly lighter this time; the political tide had clearly turned in his favor.
He even hinted that once his rule was firmly consolidated, he intended to raise Rhodes’s rank and privileges further.
But Rhodes and Mira paid little attention to politics.
They had come to realize just how long they’d stayed in Joya.
"There are still so many places I want to visit back in Fiore," Rhodes said, scanning their old travel itinerary. "We’ve been delayed here long enough."
Mira rested her chin on her hand, thinking for a moment.
"Then how about we take down the biggest bandit gang tomorrow, and after that, we’ll head home?"
Rhodes smiled.
"Sounds perfect."
That night, the two of them "discussed the meaning of life" in great depth.
The next morning, they set out for the southern territories of the Joya Kingdom, home of the largest and most infamous bandit organization: the Kuza Gang.
According to rumors, the Kuza Gang had chosen a natural fortress as their base, boasting over six hundred members. Their leader had publicly declared that no one in Joya could conquer their stronghold.
So Rhodes decided to prove him wrong.
From above, He and Mira soared in on a wind-summoned platform, preparing for a classic aerial drop
But before they even landed, Rhodes froze.
Below them, was carnage.
The once-mighty fortress was littered with corpses, packed so densely the ground itself was hidden.
Some bodies were riddled with gashes; others were charred beyond recognition. Several lay decapitated, heads nowhere to be seen.
Rhodes’s expression darkened.
"The King’s army wouldn’t do something like this," he muttered. "And Magicians on official missions wouldn’t kill this indiscriminately. Even if it were a fight between rival gangs, it wouldn’t end like this."
He extended his hand.
A flicker of black-and-purple light, the Void Crab’s scouting spell, swept through the area.
And in the next heartbeat, Rhodes realized, Among the sea of corpses, only one figure was still standing.
If that could even be called... a person.