Chapter 40: Soji, Heading Home
As if there were no bones in its tail, the pole was stuffed tightly into it. The most bizarre thing was that while Tom had ignored inertia so many times before, this time inertia seemed to increase its power. The pole had already reached the bottom of his tail, but Tom was still being pushed further by the so-called "inertia." As a result, Tom became a limited-time, limited-edition skin for this clothesline.
Tom finally managed to pull the pole out of his mouth but realized that he was no longer a cat but a mere tail. However, this state didn't last long. After blinking a few times and shaking its body as if shaking off water, Tom returned to its original form as if nothing had happened.
But all of this was inconsequential to Tom. Just as it had restored itself to being a cat... well, a cat standing on two feet with its hand on its forehead, looking around in all directions.
In any case, as soon as Tom recovered, it immediately began searching for Soji's figure. However, it was evident that she was nowhere to be found. While Tom was tangled up on the clothesline, Soji had long since disappeared, giving Tom no opportunity whatsoever.
In this situation, even if Tom had incredible abilities, what meaning did it have if it couldn't find the person? Seeing that it couldn't exact its revenge, Tom's expression turned sour. Coincidentally, a broom flew in front of it. Tom looked at the broom it had just been riding, and everything felt off.
After some thought, Tom kicked in the direction of the broom, attempting to vent its frustration using the magical flying broom.
"Crack!" Whether the broom had developed self-awareness or something else happened, in the moment when Tom was about to kick it, the broom dodged in the air, causing Tom to miss the kick. As a result of this failed kick, Tom ended up falling heavily to the ground, letting out a cry of pain.
After swiftly evading Tom, the broom, as if wanting to witness Tom's misfortune, flew vertically downward in front of Tom. This gave Tom a slim chance to capture it.
"Ah-ha!" Tom got up again, grabbed the broom successfully, and looked at it with an evil grin.
"Bang!" However, before it could decide how to punish the broom, there was a muffled sound, and the broom turned into a cluster of purple spiritual particles, completely disappearing before Tom's eyes, as if its one-minute experience card for the flying broom had expired.
Tom was dumbfounded by the situation, still holding onto the broom. It kept its grip on the broom and cautiously poked its head out from the left side, circling around to the back of where the broom had been. It turned its head to look in the direction of the broom, but even from the back, it couldn't see any trace of it.
At that moment, Tom suddenly realized that it wasn't that the broom had turned invisible, but that it had truly vanished! Tom was taken aback by this supernatural event, shrinking in fear, trembling with its right hand in its mouth, nervously biting its nails. Tom could even see its nails visibly falling down, but the length of its nails remained unchanged.
"Tom! What were you doing just now, Tom?" At that moment, Bai Song finally caught up, panting heavily. "Ha... ha... ha..."
Bai Song had intended to use Command Seals to summon Tom back, but for some reason, the Command Seals had partially taken effect. Tom was so determined to pursue and kill Soji that it selectively ignored the effects of the Command Seals. However, with the help of the Command Seals, Bai Song at least knew Tom's exact location.
Fortunately, Tom's pursuit of Soji was not a straight line but a random path. Otherwise, Bai Song might not have been able to find Tom so quickly. Initially, Bai Song had considered asking Jerry for help, but to his surprise, Jerry had thrown up his hands and started doing his own thing.
When Bai Song arrived, Tom's eyes lit up instantly. It stopped biting its hand and jumped onto Bai Song's thigh like a famished cat, holding on tightly. Its tail even wrapped around Bai Song's leg, as if afraid of falling off.
"What's wrong with you...?" Bai Song was startled by Tom's sudden leap, observing its reaction. He couldn't help but ask, "Weren't you the one chasing that Servant? Why are you trembling like this now?" Moreover, for some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity with this scene, as if he had seen it before, a déjà vu.
Upon hearing Bai Song's question, Tom trembled even more and released Bai Song's thigh, pointing to the spot where the broom had vanished.
And then, Tom leaped up and bit into the middle of the stick that was previously stuck in its mouth. It hung in mid-air, with its limbs pressed together, resembling a broomstick, and its tail acting as the bristles of the broom, swaying back and forth.
"Snap!" After a few seconds, Tom clapped its hands and released the stick from its mouth. It landed on the ground, signifying the instantaneous disappearance of the broom. Thinking that Bai Song should have understood what it was trying to convey, Tom trembled and took shelter next to Bai Song.
Fortunately, this time it didn't cling to Bai Song's thigh.
Observing Tom's performance and recalling its previous action of clinging to its leg, Bai Song suddenly had a realization and punched his left palm with his right fist. He understood that Tom had encountered a poltergeist and had extinguished it with a single slap!
Immediately, Bai Song's eyes lit up, and he applauded repeatedly. "Well done, Tom! You did a great job!"
Tom was momentarily stunned upon hearing Bai Song's words, looking at Bai Song's face with a perplexed expression, as if to say, "What are you talking about?" But after a moment's thought, it decided to let its master be happy. Perhaps there would be a grand meal awaiting it.
So, Tom decisively turned its gaze towards the distance, fixed on that stick. That stick was truly something else.
On the other side, after leaving the mountain, Kirei quickly rushed to the residential area where Soji and Tom were engaged in their chase. Initially, he had intended to use Command Seals to summon Soji over. However, just as he was about to use them, Soji suddenly shouted something like, "Hahaha, I finally escaped!" This caused Kirei to abandon the idea of using Command Seals.
After all, his purpose was only to assist Tokiomi in winning the Holy Grail War, so Command Seals were not that important to him. But if possible, it would be preferable to preserve them.
However, what puzzled him was that communication with Soji was interrupted afterward. Though he could confirm she was not in immediate danger. Therefore, he decided to proceed on foot.
After searching through the alleys for a while, Kirei finally found his Servant. She was squatting in a dark alley, hugging her knees, and hiding behind a black trash bin, completely invisible from the entrance.
"Assassin, what are you doing here?" Kirei leaned over Soji and asked.
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Soji trembled and looked up, with a face that seemed to have been played around with. "The Holy Grail War... it's so terrifying..."
After saying those words, Soji tightened her grip on her knees, as if doing so could bring her a sense of security.
Looking at Soji's fearful expression, Kirei fell silent for a while, and a bunch of question marks seemed to appear above his head.
"?????"