A Kitten Protecting Her Mother

I put on my disguise as Clark and teleported to the headquarters of the Red Skull Gang together with Ysnay.

As soon as I appeared, the two gang members in the entrance bowed respectfully and opened the door for me. At the same time, one of them went to call at Marana.

The atmosphere in the gang was very tense. Although most of the members did not know what was going to happen tonight, they could feel that today was different than normal days.

Less than one minute after we arrived at the gang, a pair of soft footsteps came running towards me.

"Big brother!"

The petite cat girl jumped into my arms with a happy expression. She closed her eyes and rubbed her head on my chest while hugging my waist.

"Raven, how are you?" I asked with a doting smile. Raven looked at me shyly and smiled.

"… I'm fine. But I missed you, brother."

"Sorry for not spending time with you recently... I have been a bit busy."

"Nn." Raven shook her head with a soft smile. "Don't worry, big brother. I understand."

I could not help but kiss my little kitten's lips. Such cuteness is almost irresistible.

Raven's cultivation had been climbing quickly lately. Currently, she was at the peak of the ninth layer, close to breaking through the tenth layer.

That is something incredible if you take into account that even Rose, the hero, was just at the seventh layer when she is a few years older.

Of course, Raven's circumstances are a bit special, but even so, her talent is pretty much top class.

While I was hugging Raven, a voice came from behind me.

"Claus, are you not going to introduce me to the little kitten?"

Raven was startled, finally realizing that someone came with me this time.

But when she saw Ysnay, her expression changed.

"… Witch of Unending Fates!"

Instinctively, Raven stood protectively in front of me and unsheathed her daggers.

Raven was someone linked to me by a soul contract, and when that contract was done, she managed to see some of my memories.

Of course, the memories about Ysnay were not enough for Raven to identify the immortal, but when she felt my wariness through our soul contract, she connected the dots.

Only another Immortal could make me feel threatened.

Ysnay was surprised when Raven recognized her. Almost immediately, though, realization flashed through her eyes.

"So it's you, huh…"

For an instant, faint killing intent filled Ysnay's eyes.

It was very faint. So faint that even another Immortal would have been unable to detect it.

But I'm different. Nobody in the entire universe knows Ysnay better than me. Moreover, I have kept my senses focused on her since she appeared. There is no way I could miss it.

Thus, I released my own killing intent.

It was as though space itself suppressed Ysnay, waiting for an opportunity to crush her into bits.

Even without looking, Ysnay knew I had seen through her.

She narrowed her eyes briefly as though weighing her options, and finally, she smiled wryly.

Her killing intent disappeared as suddenly as it appeared and was replaced by a complicated expression.

"… To think you found such a special kitten… Don't worry, I know my limits."

But despite hearing her words, my killing intent did not disappear.

"… Ysnay, I hope you understand something. The only reason I have not killed you yet is that the risk of fighting against you is too great. But if you show killing intent to one of my people again, I'll be forced to shoulder that risk."

"How scary…" Ysnay giggled. "Don't worry, this will not happen again."

"… A leopard never changes its spots, Ysnay."

Ysnay smiled bitterly. "I apologize, I was wrong. This will not happen again."

I stared at Ysnay for a few seconds before nodding.

I hope so.

I don't want to fight against Ysnay when two other Immortals are waiting for an opportunity to attack. In the current situation, Ysnay is a valuable ally.

Perhaps if I was in top condition, I would have taken the risk, but I'm still a bit far from being in top condition.

Although Ysnay's healing was useful, that was not enough to heal the rebound caused by the Universe's laws. I still need a bit more time.

... Sigh, so complicated.

Raven was still glaring warily at Ysnay as a little kitten protecting her mother. With the way she was baring her fangs, she seemed more a puppy than a kitten.

I smiled wryly and patted her head. "Stop it, everything is alright."

"… I don't like that woman, big brother."

Ysnay giggled. "You are not the first one to tell me that, little kitten... Now that I think about it, most of the women related to him don't like me."

I guess it's obvious whose fault it is then.

At that moment, another set of footsteps approached us.

"Boss." Marana greeted me with a respectful expression, but she froze when she felt the tense atmosphere.

I took advantage of this opportunity to soothe the awkward atmosphere.

"Marana. Are the preparations done?"

"Everything is ready. The men of [Eternity's Fangs] are already in position. They are just waiting for your orders."

I nodded. [Eternity's Fangs] is the group of elites I chose from the Red Skull Gang and trained in the Space-Time vortex.

Unfortunately, the space-time vortex was destroyed recently, so they have been unable to continue training there. However, their strength has already grown enough to be useful plus I found another way to continue their training.

Even the weakest of them is a fifth-layer practitioner. And the strongest, Raven, is about to have a breakthrough to the tenth layer.

More than two hundred and fifty elite practitioners that follow all my orders without hesitation. If we don't include peak powerhouses, this force is comparable to the private forces of the three big families.

And tonight, they will debut with their first big battle.

"Make sure that everything is in order," I instructed Marana while walking away. "We will make our move after midnight."

"Understood."

"Oh right. I forgot to tell you something. Some people will come before the operation starts. Make sure to receive them properly."

"Some people?" Marana was confused. "Can I ask who they are?"

I chuckled and put on a mysterious smile.

"Reinforcements."

...

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