It was already late at night when Alistair finally stepped out of Yukino's apartment. Her "high libido" trait was certainly no joke; if he hadn't insisted on returning to prepare for his trip, she likely would have kept him entangled until morning.
Beep-beep, beep-beep!
"What the... who's calling this late?" Alistair muttered, his hand on the door handle of his own apartment as his phone vibrated.
"Hana Momokawa? I haven't heard from her in a few days. Why call now?" He looked at the caller ID, a question mark forming in his mind.
"Moshi moshi, Momokawa. What's up?" Alistair answered.
"Kujo, you mentioned before that you have a high demand for 'Mystic Artifacts,' right?" Hana's voice came through, rapid-fire but crystal clear. "I just got word of an emergency mission involving one. Its function seems to be related to protection or communication. Interested? Answer me quickly; people have already mobilized. It'll likely be recovered by dawn."
Kujo? Right, she doesn't know my real name. Protection or communication?
Alistair's mind raced. Personally, he didn't feel a dire need for those specific functions, but not all his women had semi-god partners like Natsuba or Mina. If he secured this, it could be a vital survival tool for them—or at the very least, another layer of protection for himself.
"I'm very interested. Give me the details," Alistair replied.
"At least three strange spirit-like creatures attacked a sub-base containing a 'Mystic Artifact' and fled toward the Stone Staircase Mountain area. The exact effect is unknown, but it's classified as an 'Auxiliary' type. You know the drill—our main base is just a hub; different factions have their own sub-bases and don't report everything. This faction was wiped out, so it's now a general mission. Also, Demi-humans are involved. Tread carefully."
Hana hung up abruptly. As a mole in the main base, she had to bypass monitoring, and her window of safety was narrow.
"Wiped out? Sounds like they know exactly what they're after. Spirits, though? Hehe, I happen to have experts for that." Alistair rubbed his chin, a smirk playing on his lips as he entered his home.
"Spirits causing trouble? Impossible," Sadako remarked, resting her heavy breasts on a low table and propping her chin on top of them. "We've studied them for years. Spirits are just experience points for humans to get stronger. As long as a human has a decent 'Weapon,' they can tear through the deep layers. Their supposed 'barriers' are just excuses to hide their fear of the Demi-human high command."
"But the base reports say these spirits have developed intelligence—taking hostages, using threats. They have brains now," Alistair noted.
"Children," Sadako said dismissively. "I could trick a spirit eight times in a single minute. They are fundamentally 'EXP babies.' It's just that this generation of humans is pathetic. I've watched spirits go from being completely farmed to actually resisting. Humans are just getting weaker."
Alistair nodded. He wasn't a savior; he only cared about his own circle. "Well, I need your help. A few spirits 'cleaned out' an Exorcist base. They have a Mystic Artifact I want, and they're near Stone Staircase Mountain. You guys are the specialists here."
"Stone Staircase Mountain? There's a 'Leader' type there," Sadako said, sitting up. "That area is Slit-Mouth Woman's territory. Take her with you. She's already prepared everything you need for the Oni clan trip. Besides, ever since she found out you can get us pregnant, the little hearts over her head haven't stopped glowing. She needs to vent some... energy."