Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

On the bedroom bed, two Einzbern maids, wearing black and white fluffy cat paw covers, cat ear headbands, and tail-shaped cloth strips, lay one on top of the other on the neatly stacked blankets. On top, Lisellete adorably imitated the cat's behavior, waving her paws.

"Meow...meow..."

Sera, the head maid pinned beneath him, blushed and could only bite her lip in humiliation. With a determined look in her eyes, she closed them and added a final meow.

Woo!

Samael's gaze swept over the scenery throughout the house, and he quickly looked up, pinching his nose tightly.

There's no way to resist such a fiery atmosphere.

"Alice, what are you doing?"

"Of course, it's a welcome ceremony to celebrate your return."

On the sofa, a silver-haired beauty, resting her chin on one hand and sitting regally like a queen, winked with a smile. Her slender white fingertips swept across the unlocked scenes of the bathtub, kitchen, and bedroom in turn, posing the ultimate soul-searching question.

"So, darling, are you planning to eat first? Take a shower first? Or go to bed first?"

As Irisviel's drawn-out, teasing tone faded, pairs of eyes, filled with a variety of emotions, all focused on a certain person in the room.

An invisible pressure surged forth, and the ancient snake broke out in a cold sweat, as if it could see countless raised woodcutting knives waving before its eyes.

"Can we not choose yet?"

Samael swallowed hard, forcing a stiff smile as he asked.

Irisviel blinked, smiled, and shook her head.

Realizing that this path was blocked, the ancient serpent took a deep breath, steeled its resolve, and forced a look of resignation to its fate onto its face, speaking with tragic grandeur.

"Then I choose—I want them all!"

————————Plot Break————————

Evening, Suiqunyuan College.

The school doctor, with her silver ponytail, stopped Ilya and Miyu Sakuzuki, who were about to go home together in front of the school gate.

“Your parents just called and said that the house is being renovated this week, so you don’t need to come home.”

"Huh? Where are we going then?"

Suddenly kicked out of their home, Ilya and Miyu looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

“There are still empty rooms in my apartment. Your parents said that you can come back with me and stay for a few days.”

Karen yawned, waved her hand, and answered casually, her golden eyes flickering slightly.

"By the way, your progress in collecting cards has been too slow. Now is the perfect time to calm down and speed things up. I'm leaving this task to you."

Upon hearing this, Ilya and Miyuki's slight doubts about Kallen vanished instantly. Their expressions hardened, and they nodded solemnly in unison, a sacred sense of mission rising within them. They gripped the Kaleidoscope Wand in their backpacks, their eyes burning with fighting spirit.

For love and justice, for world peace, magical girls, strike!

————————Plot Break————————

A week later, the Doll Museum, which had been closed for seven days and seven nights for renovations, reopened for only half a day before closing again.

Because Aozaki Touko and Nero, who had gone out, have returned.

They seemed to have their own opinions on the layout and design of the room.

After three days and three nights of discussion, the two people's demands were basically met, and all parties reached a basic consensus on the art and aesthetics of the decoration.

But when the gates opened three days later, the Queen of the Land of Shadows, who had come to visit, was very interested and actively offered her opinions.

Everyone actively incorporated the valuable suggestions and readily decided to extend the renovation period, working together to create a beautiful home.

After meticulous renovations, the Doll Museum has finally opened its doors for the third time.

However, an hour later, the door was closed again.

This time, it's Arcueid the White Princess and Arcruci the Black Princess.

The two blood ancestors were very knowledgeable about Gothic architecture, and they were happy to share their knowledge and experience to contribute their efforts.

Similarly, the fifth attempt to open for business also ended without success.

Because the participants in the first round, after a period of rest, have new inspiration and passion in their hearts.

As a result, a new round of innovations emerged.

……

Thus began the monumental renovation of the Dollhouse, a protracted battle of relentless effort and relentless pursuit of perfection.

The two innocent little girls, who had been almost forgotten, had gradually become numb to this and could only focus on honing their magical girl skills and pouring their love for maintaining world peace onto the land of Fuyuki City.

And so it went, and several months passed in the blink of an eye.

The Doll House, bathed in the serene beauty of the setting sun, casts its rays through the windows into the messy room.

On the spacious, soft velvet bed, a man with slightly sunken eyes and disheveled long hair sat against the headboard, spread out on the bed in a "big" shape, motionless for a long time, like a withered blade of grass that had been squeezed dry, his gaze melancholy.

When will this end?

The man listlessly reached into a crumpled cigarette box on the shelf, pulled out a Yanlong brand cigarette, put it in his mouth, rubbed his fingers together a few times to create a spark, lit the tobacco, took a deep, epic drag, and then slowly exhaled smoke rings, closing his eyes to enjoy this brief moment of peace.

"Dong dong!"

A moment later, a sudden knock came at the door, and the man's hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly.

However, as the barrier was broken, a figure like a silver wolf in the snow rushed into the bedroom, bringing a delightful surprise.

"Finally found you, boss!"

"Natalia, it's you?"

Samael looked at his old friend whom he hadn't seen for many years by his bedside, somewhat taken aback.

"Quick, quick! Wake up! Come downstairs with me, someone's waiting for you to save their life!"

However, before the ancient serpent could think further, this decisive and efficient dream monster bounty hunter dragged Samael out of the bedroom.

"Wait, let me get dressed first!"

Samael, who wasn't ready to walk his bird in broad daylight, saw that he couldn't persuade his old friend otherwise, so he hurriedly grabbed a coat, put it on, and went downstairs with him.

The hall, which had been deliberately tidied up, was clean and tidy. On the soft leather sofa, a robust figure sat silently.

The man was wearing a black jacket and black sunglasses. He had three scars near his right eye.

He had long, shoulder-length, brownish-yellow hair and a small mustache. His fierce appearance gave him the look of an American fugitive.

But contrary to his fierce appearance, this menacing figure, whose very being screamed "keep away," was cradling a comatose little girl with bluish skin and purplish-black lips.

Seemingly out of concern for disturbing the child, the fierce man moved with extreme gentleness, his lips tightly pressed together, like a frozen sculpture, as if he hadn't moved for a long time.

However, the anguish and worry in his eyes were almost impossible to suppress, but a glimmer of hope still appeared on his face as he kept looking up, clearly eager to see the person who could bring him a turning point and a miracle.

Even though he was extremely anxious, the man still maintained considerable restraint and decorum.

"You're the one looking for me?"

A series of ambiguous murmurs echoed in his ears. The magician on the sofa, almost like a wound-up machine, instinctively looked up at the sound, picked up the unconscious little girl in his arms, and excitedly greeted the figure coming downstairs.

"Boss, please save my daughter!"

"Poisoning from the magic imprint?"

Samael took the child from the fierce demon sorcerer's arms, slightly lifted his eyelids, checked his pulse, and then seemed to be deep in thought.

"So, this is why you sought me out. Lion's Claw... Jie Li?"

“Yes, Natalia said you might have a way. For this child, I’ll try, no matter the cost.”

The fierce-looking man named Lion Robber Jie Li nodded emphatically, his eyes behind his sunglasses filled with a soft light.

Beneath that soft light lay darkness and deathly silence.

Perhaps, the weight in his palm was the only hope he could grasp.

The faint yet dazzling light shone into Samael's eyes, bringing a slight touch. His surging thoughts involuntarily recalled everything about the man before him and his family.

The Shishi-Ze family are a family of magicians who migrated from Europe to Japan several generations ago. The name Shishi-Ze was adopted after they arrived in Japan. They had already declined before going to Japan, and even their magic crests were almost gone. After moving to Japan, their situation deteriorated even further. In less than a generation, their decline had reached the point where they could hardly call themselves magicians anymore.

The head of the Shishikage family at the time made a pact with something, which allowed the Shishikage family to miraculously rise again, even surpassing their former glory. As a result, the Shishikage family regained its prestige as a prominent magician family in the Far East. Although he had almost completely forgotten the magic he had learned in the past, and instead mastered necromancy, it was inevitable that he would make this sacrifice for the sake of the greater good.

Miracles always come at a price, and after several generations, the ultimate victim was Shishikage Kairi. Shishikage Kairi's children would die at birth, and his wife would leave him because of it. Therefore, despite possessing a valuable magic crest, the Shishikage family was destined to die out in this generation.

At first, the Shishikage family was optimistic. The head of the family, Shishikage Tōki, used his connections to find a girl from a distant relative's family who had inherited some of the Shishikage family's bloodline to be adopted by Shishikage Kageri.

However, according to her predetermined fate, the adopted daughter was to die during the actual transplantation of the magic crest. An autopsy revealed that the magic crest of Shishikage Kairi had become poisoned; if transplanted into another person's body, it would immediately form a deadly toxin. Upon learning the truth, Shishikage Kairi immediately dissuaded her father, who still intended to continue the transplantation experiments, and decided to abandon the family business.

Afterwards, Shishikatsu Kairi left his home and became a bounty hunter using magic. Of course, in his own eyes, this was a liberation from the responsibilities that had bound him since birth. However, he could never forget his deceased adopted daughter, living a nomadic life in a state of semi-death.

Even after suffering such cruel treatment, Shishi Jie Li simply collected the corpses of magicians on the battlefield or fought over magic seals. He would not deliberately do anything to increase the number of dead, and he maintained the most basic kindness and humanity in his heart.

So, from the moment he saw this gentle yet strong man, Samael decided to do everything in his power to help him get rid of that damned misfortune.

"Your daughter is lucky. In the past, the physical condition of ordinary humans would not be able to resist this kind of poison. But after the mysterious revival, the concentration of ether in the air has increased, and the human body's resistance in various aspects has also been subtly enhanced. Therefore, she was able to withstand the first wave of damage to her body from the curse."

“That’s right, just as you said. When I realized something was wrong, in order to save the child’s life, I had no choice but to use necromancy on her to put her into a state of suspended animation, hoping that she could last longer before I found a solution.”

Hearing Samael's reasoned analysis, Shizi Jieli nodded repeatedly, his heart finally calming down a bit, and took the initiative to explain the reason.

Samael looked at the lifeless body and sensed the last trace of consciousness in the girl's mind, which had been almost completely eroded by the curse and necromancy. He shook his head slightly.

"It's easy to fake death, but difficult to bring someone back to life. Necromancy is ultimately a form of magic that contradicts the continuation of life..."

"That……"

"However, you're also lucky; I can cure you."

Upon hearing the heavenly reply, Lion's Eyes widened in shock, and a look of wild joy bloomed on his fierce face.

Chapter 31: All Tactics Turn to Backdoor Strategy (4.1k)

Soon, in the Lion's Lair

Under his earnest gaze, the fingers resting on his daughter's forehead emitted a faint milky white glow.

Accompanied by the rhythm of life, a faint yet powerful heartbeat emanates from the slightly rising and falling small chest cavity.

A seed of light is taking root in the dark soil, spreading its branches and leaves.

alive?

Lion Jie Li lay on the side of the sofa, his two rough hands tightly gripping his daughter's slender wrists, feeling the wonderful rhythm of life, and was so excited that he could not contain himself.

"The necromancy-style curse and the poison of the magic mark have already seeped into the child's body and soul. It will take some time to completely purify these negative effects."

Samael clapped his hands, gave a brief explanation, nodded to Natalia beside him, and went upstairs together to catch up, leaving the father and daughter alone downstairs.

"By the way, how did you two meet?"

In the bedroom, the ancient snake casually opened a spatial rift, retrieved its treasured whiskey, poured a glass for its old friend as a treat, and sat down on the sofa next to it, asking questions with curiosity.

"We can barely be considered to have shared hobbies."

As Natalia spoke, she pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from her pocket, waved it around, and then skillfully lit one, puffing out smoke.

Got it, so it's a smoker's preference...

Samael's eyes fell on the "Yanlong" brand logo on the cigarette and he immediately understood.

This is a type of low-quality cigarette produced in some small workshops in Taiwan using a unique process. It is not widely circulated among smokers, but some people are particularly fond of its special taste.

For example, there's my old friend Natalia right in front of me, and my good apprentice Aozaki Touko...

The Lion Jie Li downstairs not only shares this hobby, but is also a craftsman.

Simply put, I made a few boxes of cigarettes myself and worked as a smuggler.

Over time, the two sides became acquainted.

Given Lion's status as a bounty hunter and his trustworthy character, they developed some acquaintance.

And so, after running out of supplies at home for quite some time, Natalia, craving a cigarette, went to the "supplier's" house and ran into Shishi Jie Li, who was taking his adopted daughter around seeking medical treatment.

As a professional bounty hunter, she's quite adept at killing, but rescuing people is a bit beyond her capabilities.

So, after much deliberation, Natalia turned to a highly capable professional.

With his whereabouts exposed, Samael was confused and couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him.

"But how did you know I was in Fuyuki City?"