The door to Don Corneo’s bedroom locked behind them with a click, trapping the three of them together with the underworld king of Wall Market inside this golden cage built from vulgarity and desire.
“Come on, my dear little beauties!” Don Corneo sat up from his enormous round bed covered in animal pelts, a nauseatingly greasy smile on his face.
His tiny eyes swept back and forth over Tifa, Aerith, and especially “Miss Cassie,” filled with undisguised possessiveness.
“Tonight, you’re going to learn what true paradise really is!” The room was filled with the murky smell of cheap perfume mixed with alcohol, making Cain’s brow furrow even tighter.
He was still wearing that ridiculous pink princess gown, and the high heels on his feet made him want to crush them into pieces every waking second.
He could feel his fists trembling slightly beneath the skirt because of his anger, while the suppressed power in his right arm stirred restlessly along with his rage.
“Before we begin our pleasant night,” Don Corneo said, clearly enjoying this cat-and-mouse game.
He leaned against the headboard and assumed the posture of a king.
“I’d like to learn a little more about my brides first.
Tell me, what kind of men do you like?” It was an utterly absurd question, but it was also a chance to stall for time and observe the room.
Tifa forced down the disgust in her heart and tried hard to play her role.
She took a step forward and answered somewhat uneasily, “I…
I like…
reliable men.” Her voice sounded nervous, but that actually fit the image of a timid girl who had just arrived here.
“Reliable?
Hahaha, that’s right!
I, Don Corneo, am the most reliable man in Midgar!” Don Corneo proudly slapped his fat belly.
His gaze shifted to Aerith.
Aerith was much more at ease.
Holding the hem of her skirt, she took half a step forward with a sly little smile on her face.
“I like men who have dreams, and who are willing to work tirelessly for those dreams.
Even if those dreams seem a little silly to other people.” As she spoke, her eyes seemed to glance vaguely toward Cain.
“Dreams!
Well said!
My dream is to have the most beautiful women in all of Midgar!” Don Corneo’s laughter grew even more wanton.
“Looks like we really are a match made in heaven!” Finally, his expectant gaze fell on the center of everyone’s attention, “Miss Cassie.” “Then, my dearest, dearest Miss Cassie,” he asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly, “what about you?
Beneath that icy beauty of yours, what kind of passionate heart do you long for?” The air seemed to freeze.
Tifa and Aerith both held their breath.
They had no idea what earth-shattering thing Cain might say.
Cain stayed silent for a full five seconds.
His blue eyes, framed beneath thick false lashes, stared fixedly at Don Corneo, their gaze so cold it seemed capable of freezing a person solid.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
His voice was hoarse and low, yet carried an undeniable authority.
“A real man…” he said, enunciating each word, “does not rely on money and high walls to show his strength.
He keeps his word and honors his promises.
He uses his own arms to protect those who cannot protect themselves, not treat them like toys.” His voice grew colder and colder, the anger contained within it almost becoming tangible.
“He faces his enemies head-on, rather than hiding behind women.
And…” Cain’s gaze swept over the ridiculous dress he was wearing, the killing intent in his tone almost spilling out.
“He absolutely, never, ever makes his companions wear something like this!” The instant his words fell, the temperature in the room seemed to plunge by more than ten degrees.
The smile on Don Corneo’s face stiffened.
He was no fool.
He could clearly sense the terrifying pressure radiating from the “woman” in front of him.
Those were not the eyes a woman should have.
“Who…
who the hell are you?” he asked, all bark and no bite.
“The game is over, Don Corneo.” As Cain spoke, he raised both hands.
Without the slightest hesitation, he tore off the ridiculous golden wig on his head, revealing his distinctive, unruly silver-white short hair.
Immediately afterward, he ripped away the obstructive pink princess gown.
The dress fell apart in shreds, revealing the dark combat gear hidden underneath for ease of movement.
When he stood before the underworld king once again in his true male form, the sharp aura of a powerful fighter, suppressed by disguise for far too long, erupted like a volcano.
“A…
a man?!” Don Corneo was so frightened that he fell from the bed onto the floor.
He pointed at Cain, the fat all over his body trembling.
“You…
you people…
Guards!
Guards!” However, his shouting was doomed to be useless.
This bedroom’s soundproofing was excellent, specially designed by him for his own pleasures.
“We didn’t come here to take part in your farce.” Tifa and Aerith also quickly entered battle mode, standing behind Cain on the left and right, cutting off all of Don Corneo’s escape routes.
“Tell me, where are the people from AVALANCHE?” Cain approached him step by step.
His shadow stretched long beneath the luxurious lights, like a demon god about to deliver judgment.
“AVALANCHE?
I…
I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Don Corneo crawled backward in terror, trying to get away from this frightening man.
“Looks like you need a little help remembering.” Blue light suddenly flared from Cain’s right arm.
A translucent blue giant claw made of pure energy appeared out of thin air, carrying a heart-stopping pressure.
The air in the room seemed to be sucked dry by that power, becoming thick and heavy.
“Ahhh!
Monster!
A monster!” Don Corneo saw the Devil Bringer appear from nowhere and was scared out of his wits.
His mental defenses collapsed instantly.
He scrambled and crawled to his knees, tears and snot streaming down his face as he begged for mercy.
“I’ll talk!
I’ll tell you everything!
Don’t kill me!” “Talk,” Cain said without a trace of emotion.
“The people from AVALANCHE…
they’re not here with me!” Don Corneo confessed everything in one breath.
“It was Shinra!
Shinra’s people told me to spread the news, to say I’d captured their people.
The goal was to lure out you AVALANCHE accomplices!” The news made Cain, Tifa, and Aerith’s hearts sink.
“What is Shinra’s goal?” Cain pressed.
“It’s a trap!
A huge trap!” Don Corneo’s voice turned shrill with fear.
“Shinra doesn’t care about small fry like you at all!
Their real target is the entire Sector 7 slums!
They’re going to blow up the pillar supporting the upper plate and make the entire Sector 7 plate…
fall!” “What?!” Tifa and Aerith cried out at the same time.
Make the plate fall?
That meant the entirety of Sector 7, including their home, Seventh Heaven, as well as the thousands upon thousands of innocent residents living there, would all be crushed alive.
What kind of insane and cruel plan was that?
“They’re going to pin all the blame on AVALANCHE!” Don Corneo continued screaming.
“They’ll make everyone think you rebels caused this horrifying disaster!
That way, no one will ever dare to resist Shinra again!” A blazing fury ignited in Cain’s blue eyes.
He thought of Marlene’s innocent smile.
He thought of the residents of Seventh Heaven, people who lived difficult lives, yet still worked hard to survive.
To maintain their rule, Shinra was actually willing to sacrifice so many innocent lives.
That kind of disregard for human life had completely crossed his bottom line.
“Is everything you said true?” Cain’s voice was icy to the bone.
“Every word!
I was only passing along the message!
None of this has anything to do with me!” Don Corneo kowtowed desperately.
Just as Cain prepared to force out more details of the plan, a trace of cunning and malice flashed through Don Corneo’s shifty little eyes.
While begging for mercy, he used his body as cover and quietly reached toward an inconspicuous button by the headboard.
“I’ve told you everything I know!
Please, let me go!
I…” Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly pressed the button.
“Goodbye, you idiots!” he let out a shrill cackle.
A deep mechanical rumble sounded.
The gorgeous carpet beneath Cain and the others, along with the floor underneath it, suddenly flipped downward in one piece.
It was a carefully designed trap.
The sudden sensation of weightlessness made Tifa and Aerith cry out as their bodies uncontrollably plunged into the abyss.
“Not a chance!” Cain’s reaction was pushed to the absolute limit.
In that lightning-fast instant, his instinct to protect overwhelmed everything else.
Without the slightest hesitation, he twisted sharply in midair and reached out with his left arm like an iron clamp, accurately wrapping it around the waist of Tifa, who was closer to him.
At the same time, the giant demonic claw on his right arm erupted with dazzling blue light and abruptly stretched out faster than the eye could follow, like a bolt of blue lightning, wrapping around Aerith as she fell on the other side.
In a single instant, he pulled both girls tightly into his arms.
“Hold on!” Cain growled.
He protected Tifa and Aerith in front of him, using his broad back to meet the unknown impact waiting below.
He could feel the softness of Tifa’s body and the silky touch of Aerith’s skirt, and he could hear their frightened, rapid breathing beside his ears.
But in this moment, there was not a single stray thought in his mind.
There was only one conviction, he absolutely could not let them get hurt.
The wind roared past his ears, along with Don Corneo’s triumphant laughter growing farther and farther away.
Splash!
With an enormous burst of water, the three of them slammed heavily into a cold, filthy liquid.
Cain used his back and legs to withstand nearly all of the impact.
The tremendous collision made sweetness rise in his throat, but he forcibly swallowed it down.
His arms remained like iron bands, holding the two girls firmly against him and keeping them from being swept away or choking on the impact of the fall.
Cold, foul-smelling sewage swallowed them instantly.
Cain struggled to stand up from the water.
The sewage only reached his chest.
He looked around.
They were in a wide sewer, surrounded by darkness, with only a faint light coming from far away.
He slowly loosened his arms.
“Cough, cough…” Tifa was the first to recover.
She had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, but thanks to Cain protecting her so well, she was not injured.
She lifted her head and looked at Cain, who was close enough to touch.
Her beautiful eyes were filled with lingering fear and a trace of indescribably complicated emotion.
“…Thank you.” Aerith also steadied herself.
She brushed aside the wet hair clinging to her face and looked at Cain.
Her usual playfulness was gone, replaced by a deep expression mixed with surprise and emotion.
In that instant just now, she had clearly felt that blue giant claw pull her into an incredibly solid and warm embrace.
That sense of safety was something she had never experienced before.
Cain looked at the two of them.
Though they were a mess, both were safe and unharmed, and the great weight hanging over his heart finally dropped.
But immediately afterward, an unprecedented surge of anger and humiliation rose within him.
He lowered his head and looked at himself.
The torn remnants of that ridiculous pink princess gown were now wet and tangled around his legs like waterweed, giving off the distinct stench of the sewers.
He was a former Shinra infantryman, a man determined to protect his companions.
After going through the colosseum, dancing, and cross-dressing, he had ultimately fallen into a foul-smelling sewer while protecting two girls, still wearing the shredded remains of a princess gown.
“Don…
Cor…
ne…
o…” A low growl, filled with endless killing intent and forced out from between clenched teeth, echoed through the dark sewer.
He swore that once he got out of here, the first thing he would do was make that damned fat man repay all the humiliation he had suffered today a thousand times over, ten thousand times over.