"Alright, remember this," said Arata.
Arata immediately cast his magic in front of Yuki.
"This magic is called Hitori Yokei Keiyaku—it's a spell used to form contracts. Use this to make a contract with Yami no Sōsei," said Arata.
"So you're teaching me this spell to form a contract with him?" Yuki asked.
"Yes, that's correct," replied Arata.
Mira, who was standing beside Arata, whispered a question about the contract.
"(Whispering) Is it safe for Yuki to form a contract with Yami no Sōsei?" Mira asked.
"Don't worry. When Yuki activates the contract, Yami no Sōsei won't be able to harm her, because if the user dies, the contracted creature will also die. However, if the contracted creature dies, the user will be unaffected," Arata explained.
"Wow, that's pretty ruthless, Arata. But you're right. At least my sister's soul is protected now, so I can rest easy," Mira said.
After seeing Yuki start to cast the spell, Arata motioned for Mira to return to the real world.
"Alright, our business here is done. Let's go back and wait for your sister to wake up after she's finished making the contract," Arata said.
"Alright then," Mira agreed.
Kira and Arata decided to return to the real world while waiting for Yuki to finish her contract.
In the real world, Yuki was still lying in bed as her soul continued making the contract with Yami no Sōsei.
"Hoahh, finally back in the real world," Arata sighed.
"But I never expected my sister to heal so quickly. Her soul is now protected," Mira said.
"Relax, I promised to make your sister better," Arata reassured her.
"You're right. Thank you so much, Arata," Mira said with deep gratitude.
"Don't mention it. The important thing is that we just need to wait for your sister to wake up, and everything will go back to normal," Arata said.
"You're right, Arata," Mira agreed.
As they were chatting about Yuki's recovery, a loud commotion suddenly came from outside.
"That sound... Isn't it from Ryuka?" Mira asked.
"You're right. It seems like she's dealing with a troublesome enemy," Arata said.
Moments later, a loud crash echoed through the air.
"CRASH!!"
Then, a scream followed.
"NGH-AAAAGH!!"
"That scream... It's from Ryuka. She's in trouble," Arata said.
"You're right. Something must have happened to her. Let's go check on her," Mira suggested.
"No, you stay here and keep an eye on your sister until she wakes up," Arata ordered.
"Are you sure you can handle this alone?" Mira asked.
"Don't worry. If I get hurt, you can always heal me, right?" Arata replied.
"Alright, go ahead. But remember, don't die. My sister hasn't met you in the real world yet," Mira warned.
"Don't worry," Arata reassured her.
Arata quickly grabbed his sword and headed out after hearing Ryuka's scream.
A little earlier, before Arata returned to the real world:
"Damn, I'm almost out of energy... If only I could use my real form," Ryuka muttered to herself.
Looking exhausted, Ryuka was unintentionally spotted by Renji.
"Look, she's exhausted. Increase your power!" Renji ordered.
The group cheered and immediately raised their power levels.
Soon, the barrier Ryuka had been holding up finally shattered.
"Great! The barrier is broken. Now it's time to enter!" Renji said.
"Right. I can't wait to see Arata's face after we show him his woman like this," Dason said with a smirk.
"And I want to make Mira pay for insulting us," Claire added.
Ryuka, who had collapsed, tried to re-establish the barrier with the last of her energy.
"I won't let you in!" Ryuka shouted.
But as she attempted to cast the barrier, Claire fired a fireball at her.
"Hey, do you think I'll let you set up that annoying barrier again?" Claire taunted.
Renji quickly grabbed Ryuka, who was weak, and punched her in the stomach.
"Argh!" Ryuka screamed.
"Haha, look at her. She was so arrogant before, but now she's like this," Renji mocked.
"You're right, Renji. How should we deal with her now?" Dason asked.
"How about we tear off her clothes and give her to the group that hired us?" Claire suggested, grinning.
The group cheered in agreement with Claire's idea.
"Good idea, Claire. Let's tear off her clothes!" Renji said.
Just as Renji's hand was about to tear at Ryuka's clothes, a shadow suddenly appeared at high speed and sliced off one of Renji's arms, then swiftly took Ryuka back.
"Arghhhh!! What just happened? Why did my arm get cut off?" Renji screamed.
"What happened? Did you see that?" Dason asked, confused.
"No, we didn't see anything," one of the others replied.
Claire quickly used low-level healing magic to mend Renji's arm.
Then, a figure emerged from the dust that had been kicked up. The figure was familiar to them.
"Renji, look! Who's that behind the dust?" Claire asked while healing Renji.
Renji, still in agony, looked to see who Claire was referring to.
"It can't be... Arata?" Renji gasped.
After a few moments, the dust finally settled, revealing Arata, who was holding Ryuka.
"Arata, finally! You've come back. I've been waiting forever, you fool!" Ryuka said with relief.
"Sorry for making you wait so long. What happened to you?" Arata asked.
"I was almost assaulted by them," Ryuka replied.
Upon hearing this, Arata was immediately filled with rage and, without realizing it, released an aura so powerful that it caused the entire city to shake.
"WHAT?! How dare they do that to you?!" Arata shouted.
The moment Renji and the others felt the quake from Arata's aura, they were instantly filled with fear.
"Wh-what is this? Why is his aura so powerful?" Renji stuttered.
"You're right... He used to be a coward who was always in the background," Claire said as she continued to heal Renji's arm.
"How strong is he, really?" Dason asked.
Arata gently set Ryuka down on the ground and walked toward Renji.
"How dare you do that to Ryuka? Tell me how you want to die!" Arata threatened, raising his sword in front of Renji.
Renji, panicking, begged for forgiveness.
"Please forgive me, Arata. I didn't mean to do it," Renji said, trembling.
"You didn't mean to? Ryuka looks like this, and you didn't mean to?" Arata snapped.
"Please, Arata! We were once teammates... at least forgive us," Renji pleaded.
"That's right! Forgive us! We won't do it again," Claire begged.
"We won't bother you again, how about that?" Dason added.
Hearing their pleas, Arata released his skill and swiftly cut off both of their hands. Renji was left alone, as Arata had already severed his hand earlier.
The three screamed in pain, but they couldn't complain because they knew that Arata had already forgiven them.
"(Sheathing his sword) Consider those hands as payment for your actions. Now leave," Arata said coldly.
The three of them scrambled away, clutching their severed hands.
The group, watching from a distance, asked Arata what would happen to them now.
"W-what are you going to do to us?" one of them asked nervously.
"You should have all been killed for following them, but this time, I'll forgive you. Now go," Arata said.
"Th-thank you for your forgiveness. Let's go, everyone," one of them said, and the group quickly left.
After that, Arata went to Ryuka.
"Are you okay?" Arata asked.
"I'm fine. I'm just tired. Thanks for helping me," Ryuka said.
"No problem. You're my person, after all. I should help you," Arata replied.
When Ryuka heard this, her face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
"W-what are you saying? Don't think I'm happy you said that!" Ryuka protested in her usual tsundere tone.
"Yeah, yeah. The important thing is that you're safe. Now, let's go inside and see if Mira's sister has woken up yet," Arata said.
"Alright then, carry me. I'm exhausted from holding up that barrier for so long," Ryuka said.
"Alright, alright. Here we go," Arata replied.
Arata picked Ryuka up in a cradle carry.
"Feels nice, being protected by Arata. Now he calls me his, doesn't that mean I'm his?" Ryuka thought to herself.
Arata, seeing Ryuka smiling to herself, couldn't help but wonder what was going through her mind.
Will Yuki wake up after Mira's healing? What will Mira do after Yuki's recovery? And will the Shadow Leaf members still trouble Arata after having their hands cut off? Find out in the next chapter!
*If I made any minor mistakes that might be distracting, I sincerely apologize. I have done my best for this novel, and if you enjoy it, please consider giving it a like and sharing your feedback, suggestions, or criticism so I can learn and improve. Thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter!*