Once it determined these truly were intruders, the tail-like shell split apart.
“A Springloaded!? Wah… Why you-!”
Several wires shot out toward Ange. She fought back with her blue flames, but she could not immediately burn through the metal wires and their thread-like flexibility kept her from cutting them with her sword. They ended up capturing both her wrists.
This mechanical spider was a Springloaded. They were the soldiers of the human organization named FeTUS which was also after the Serpent’s Eye.
Mutsuki had seen ones based on cars before, but this one seemed to have modified the engine running the large clock. It was mostly made of metal parts and some analog pieces like gears and springs were visible here and there.
“Ah ha ha ha! Weren’t you listening, moron? I found a way to deal with you.”
Like a trapped butterfly, Ange was lifted up high by her captured arms and Lucia laughed in delight.
“Wh-why does a demon like you have a human weapon?”
“I’m not using it. The humans left it here to monitor Mutsuki-kun since he’s a top priority target.
It took me three weeks to find a toy that would eliminate anyone who got close and that was waiting somewhere I could lure you to.”
The boy looked perfectly calm, but the spider Springloaded was attacking him too. However, the black water swallowed up the approaching wires and hardened to keep them from moving.
“My adorable little Succubi were keeping it from moving, but – heh heh – a certain someone thought it would be a good idea to burn them all away. …Whoops.”
While mocking Ange, he turned around and stood in front of Mutsuki to protect him from the metal wires coming his way. The black water followed him and surrounded both of them.
“Are you okay, Mutsuki-kun?”
“…”
The boy had been left speechless by the successive reversals.
“Stay close to me.”
Lucia moved so close his shoulder pressed against Mustuki’s chest.
“L-let go!”
Even if he could not keep up with what was happening, Mutsuki did not remember growing that close to the boy, so he violently twisted out of the way.
Lucia furrowed his brow at the unexpected resistance, but his smile remained.
“It’s no use. With a Springloaded on the scene, you’ll have to rely on me.”
He spoke with a confident tone different from his usual charming one.
“Were you thinking that girl could help since she beat me and I’m holding off the Springloaded? If so, I’ve got bad news. Angels aren’t that all-powerful.”
Mutsuki stood perfectly still as the black water created a wall around him and the boy calmly walked out amongst the flying wires.
“All of those with power are burdened with a certain duty. None can be perfect but god. If there’s someone at the top, then there have to be people down below. That’s the absolute rule of all things.”
He picked up the girl’s dropped swords.
“You know rock-paper-scissors, right? Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. It’s the most even matchup in the world.”
He placed the two swords together like scissors and lightly swung the original sword around. It easily sliced through the Succubi at his feet like they were paper, but it was easily deflected by the spider Springloaded that’s metal was as hard as rock.
“An angel’s flames are a purifying light, so demons like us can’t beat them. But angels can only intervene according to the rules of the natural world and those patterns have been analyzed by the descendants of those who ate the Fruit of Knowledge…in other words, you humans. We demons, on the other hand, have no restriction to the natural world. FeTUS only has the knowledge built up by mankind, so they can’t kill non-life forms. In other words…”
“It’s a three-way deadlock?” muttered Mutsuki.
Lucia gave an exaggerated nod.
Mutsuki looked up toward Ange, but the captured girl made no rebuttal. She hated to lose, so if she had nothing to say, it was likely true.
Angels were strong against demons, demons were strong against humans, and humans were strong against angels.
“But enough boring talk. What matters is that the angel isn’t going to be any help here.”
Lucia tossed the sword aside.
“Two intruders. Possibility of capture…negative. Prioritizing examination of captured target.”
The Springloaded also seemed aware of those compatibility issues, so it gave up on the demon. It quit battling the black water and turned all of its threads toward the girl it already had.
The wires were not mere fibers. They seemed to be autonomous machines themselves. They were already approaching their captured target and branching out their tips into something like a brush.
“Fwah!? ~~ Wait, hey!”
The split tips dug into the fibers of her clothing. Ange cried out in confusion, but it was too late. With each turn of the gears, the wire brushes mechanically pulled at the clothing.
Then there was a tearing sound.
“Ange… Wah!”
“~~~~~ M-Mutsuki, you idiot! Look the other way!”
“S-sorry!”
Her uniform had already been cut down the front, so it was easily torn away and her skirt fluttered to the floor.
Except for her socks, the ribbon worn instead of a tie, and her hair ribbon, she now only wore her sports bra and spats.
The skimpy outfit may have been even more provocative than if she were nude. Even with the metal threads wrapped around her, she tried to shrink down her body to hide her chest and belly. Mutsuki quickly looked away.
Ange had superhuman physical strength, but not even she could tear through the countless wires. Even as she was disgracefully stripped in front of others, she could do nothing more than blush. Meanwhile, the machine continued its assault.
“Beginning to take samples…positive.”
The finely split fibers pressed against her skin like ivy climbing a wall. Attack did not seem to be their goal, but goosebumps covered the girl’s skin as they traced along her flesh.
“Heh heh. How pathetic. The Springloaded have plenty of ways to leave an angel powerless, so it’ll make quick work of you.”
Lucia sounded satisfied that the opponent who had nearly defeated him was about to be turned into a specimen.
“Do you get it now? I’m the only one that can protect you.”
“Nwah… Wah. Um, stop.”
“Eh heh heh. You were worried for me before, weren’t you? I was sooo happy?”
He returned to Mutsuki and moved his face in close. Mutsuki tried to escape, but the black water that had defended against the wires wrapped around his hands and feet, pinning him to the wall. After rendering him as much a specimen as Ange, Lucia leaned in and rubbed his cheek against him.
The beautiful boy gave off a strange smell that was not quite an essence of sweat. It was different again from Micha’s sweet womanly scent, but it was just as alluring.
As that seductive aroma surrounded Mutsuki, Lucia rubbed his body against him with the same friendly smile as before. The androgynously soft skin gave Mutsuki goosebumps of his own.
“W-wait. Aren’t you a boy? Stop that.”
“Hmm? I am technically male, but what does that matter? Do you not like me?”
“Well, it’s mostly that…I-I’m a boy too.”
Mutsuki complained while feeling flustered from the adorable expression on the face below his own.
The demon boy had slender limbs and a slender build. His white collarbones peeked out from his tank top, as did the nape of his neck. His body was filled with a bewitching charm somehow different from a woman’s.
Mutsuki had never felt any homosexual urges before, so he was confused by the pounding of his heart when the boy pressed up against him. Lucia seemed to have realized how he was feeling, though.
“Is it wrong when it’s two boys? But I love you.”
“…”
The look in Lucia’s eyes was purity itself.
Despite who this was and despite the situation, Mutsuki’s heart skipped a beat when he heard someone say they loved him. And while his mind went blank, Lucia grabbed his cheeks between his hands.