Ch 193: Confronting the “Heroes”.

"This is going too well. I don't like it." muttered Hitomi as she peered through the carriage's window, her fingers idly rubbing the ring Edelys lent her. Chisato sat beside her, with Sakura and Medusa sitting opposite. Two more carriages were used by Edelys, Alote, Saika, Nero and Darkness, and with the two Yangxu princesses and elder Baiyu, as well as the mandarin who would introduce them. Two dozen Yangxu guards were escorting them toward the Aquecian Imperial Palace.

"In another situation, complaining that things are going too well would make people look at you strangely, you know? But I agree with you." said Chisato.

Sakura nodded and turned to Medusa.

"Medusa, I would like for you to dematerialize and ask Saika and Nero to do the same. Please scout ahead of us and to the sides for any potential ambush."

"Yes, Master." nodded Medusa, disappearing.

"I'm envious of them." smiled Hitomi. "Being able to observe people like that, while being night indetectable and invulnerable, that's such a cheat."

"Yes, but they have to deal with some drawbacks as well. They won't have children unless they adopt, and they need to be supplied mana to maintain their existence in the material world." said Sakura.

The convoy was slowly getting closer to the plaza just in front of the Imperial Palace's main entrance when Medusa spoke to Sakura using their bond.

[Master, there is an ambush ahead. Three hundred soldiers armed with muskets in front of the gate, and more crossbowmen and musket-armed soldiers hiding inside the buildings surrounding the plaza. No trace of the three heroes.]

"Kuso…I hoped they wouldn't know about us coming." cursed Hitomi. She had made Milti's father, the only Shade in Raelera, as was as she knew, send false reports stating that she and the Tourinese Heroes were still in Raelera and Stormgarde, and used her knowledge on her former network to try to slip past them. But it obviously failed.

"…Can they incapacitate the hidden soldiers without it being noticed?" asked Chisato when Sakura relayed the message.

"…Medusa says that they can, but only if by inflicting instantly lethal blows. Otherwise, some will probably have time to fire their weapon or start screaming. And it will only be a matter of minutes before someone stumble over the corpses."

"Wait, I have an idea." suddenly said Sakura. "We can use your Reality Marble to bypass the ambush, right?"

"Ohh!" beamed Chisato. "I had forgotten about this!"

She took from her inventory the gray pearl-like object, and the citizen who were watching them suddenly gasped in shock as the carriages, horses and surrounding guards instantly disappeared.

Inside the reality marble, Chisato hurriedly got out of the carriage and explained to the scared soldiers what had happened, and told them about the ambush.

Once they calmed down, they quickly made their way through the empty streets to the Imperial Palace and entered, leaving the horses inside a stable and putting the carriages into Chisato's inventory.

Hitomi guided them toward the throne room, and they stopped in front of imposing gates.

"If Kojiro, Maki and Umeka weren't outside with the soldiers, they probably are with the Emperor. I really hope they'll be willing to listen."

"I hope so, too." sighed Chisato. "Is everyone ready? I'll bring us out of the Reality Marble in Three, Two, One… Go."

When they instantly emerged in the vast hallway, Medusa, Nero and Saika wasted no time knocking out the four soldiers standing guard. two nearby maids were frozen in shock when the Yangxu soldiers grabbed them and put a hand over their mouths, stopping them from screaming or warning the guards outside of the Palace.

Sakura, Darkness and Medusa cast Augment on themselves.

Without waiting any further, Medusa opened the large double doors.

The huge throne room seemed occupied only by a dozen people, and they all looked with consternation as they all entered. The two guards at the door were immediately incapacitated.

On the throne sat the emperor, who was just a child, maybe ten or so.

At the foot of the dais upon which sat the throne, a little to its left, was a large table with a map of the capital spread over it.

A handful of officers in uniforms stood around it, as so were the three people they had come to meet. Chisato recognized them easily by their outfits.

Kojiro was a young man of average height, with the short black hair and eyes expected from most Japanese, and was dressed in an ornate silver armor leaving his face unprotected.

Clinging to his left arm was a Japanese girl with long black hair, dressed in a white dress, and visibly pregnant.

And standing on Kojiro's right was the Witch, Maki. She was wearing a red dress and red witch hat, and many pieces of gold jewelry all over her body, enough for five people.

Chisato almost snorted at the thought. The Witch's vanity and greed for gold really was the least of her vices.

The male hero, Kojiro, freed himself from Umeka's grasp as he walked away from the table to place himself between the emperor and the newcomers. He had his hand on the hilt of his sword, but froze in anger as he noticed Hitomi among the group.

"Hito-chan? What are you doing here? Why did you bring them to this place?"

"Hi, Koji-kun. We need to speak, all of us. And don't any of you try to fight or launch a spell. I have seen the Tourinese Heroes fight, and they are way stronger than us. If you draw that sword, you will lose."

"So they are holding you hostage?" Instantly assumed Kojiro as he picked up on the fact that Hitomi talked as if she wasn't part of that group, and unsheathed his holy sword.

"Release Hito-chan immediately!" shouted Kojiro, incensed.

"He really is an idiot after all." sighed Sakura. "Listen well, you three foolish heroes. If you can't even break the speed of sound, there's no point trying to fight us."

"Koji-kun, stop this! I am not being…" started Hitomi, but the male hero was already sprinting toward her…

…Only to be intercepted by Medusa, who used Shunpo to appear in front of him, delivering a punch to his guts that made an indentation on his silver armor, and Kojiro fell backward with a cry, dropping his sword.

His speed was definitely superior to that of a normal human and exceeded what a Magus circulating his mana would be able to do. But it didn't quite enter Heroic Spirit territory, much less that of a Heroic Spirit bound by a Soul Contract to Noah and sharing half of his attributes.

"I'm confiscating that." said Medusa as she reappeared near Sakura, holy sword in hand.

The holy sword started sending electricity from its hilt, refusing to be held by someone it hadn't recognized, but Medusa didn't drop the weapon. She just glared at it and growled, her voice heavy with threat.

"Stop this, or I'll snap you in half."

The holy sword went quiet.

"At least one of you has sense." nodded Medusa before staring at Kojiro, who felt indignant.

He rose to his feet while holding his guts, sending the group a hateful glare, and Umeka hurried by his side, creating a golden formation between her hands as she healed him. Her glare was even more vicious than Kojiro's.

The Witch, Maki, had also gotten closer to Kojiro, her staff ready to attack. She warily watched everyone.

"How did you go past the guards?" asked Maki.

"That's a secret. You only need to know that we didn't have to kill anyone. Not that you care." shrugged Chisato. "Now, do you agree to talk, or do we have to subdue you first? Your choice."

Maki glanced at Kojiro and sighed. With their front-line warrior disarmed, and the speed at which at least one of them could move, they would be on her before she even managed to fire her fastest spell.

"We'll talk. Hitomi, did you betray us?"

"I should ask you that question, you bitch!" spat Hitomi. "I know you have taken over my Shades' network! I interrogated some of them and they confessed. And there's only one reason for you to do that. You planned to murder me and Umeka, so you would have Koji-kun all to yourself!"

"W-What?" exclaimed Kojiro, his eyes widening in confusion.

"Koji-kun, you will keep me safe, right?" said Umeka as she hid behind him, glaring at Maki. She didn't know if what Hitomi said was true or not, but it wouldn't surprise her for Maki do to something like this.

"I do not know what you are talking about. There must be a misunderstanding somewhere." frowned Maki.

The ring on Hitomi's finger vibrated.

"Have those behind you brainwashed you to turn you against us?" asked Maki, trying hard to destroy Hitomi's credibility.

But Hitomi wasn't done with her questions.

"Maki, what happened nine months ago. The nobles kidnapping Umeka and doing all those things to her. Did you put them to it? To break Umeka, and have a pretext to take over Aquecia?"

Umeka flinched as Hitomi's words bluntly reminded her of her trauma.

"How can you accuse me of such a thing? I have nothing to do with that!" yelled Maki, feigning outrage.

Deep inside, she started to panic. What were the guards doing? Why weren't they here already?

The ring on Hitomi's finger vibrated again.

"So that's how it is." sighed Hitomi. "What about you, Umeka? Do you want me dead as well?"

"No way! We are comrades, I would never think to hurt you! Maki… is what she said true?"

The ring had vibrated again, shattering Hitomi's hopes that her companions might simply have been misunderstood somehow.

She took the ring off.

"This ring is a magic item that vibrates whenever a lie is said. So, I know you both lied to me. You both want me dead, and Maki, you really are behind what happened to Umeka… I am giving up on you two."

"Wait, Hito-chan! You must be mistaken somewhere. there is no way they would do what you are suggesting!" protested Kojiro.

Hitomi, ignoring him, gave the ring back to Edelys and turned to Chisato and Sakura.

"Chisato, Sakura, please don't kill Koji-kun. That is all I ask."

Sakura glanced at Medusa and Nero, nodded, and all three moved at the same time.

Sakura appeared near Maki and planted a fist in her stomach, hard enough for the Witch's feet to leave the ground. As the witch doubled over, Sakura drove her to the ground and drew a Stop rune on her nape, then created steel shackles with Item Creation and fished for Maki's flailing arms.

Medusa used Shunpo to appear behind Umeka, snaked an arm around her throat to hold her in a hold, and engraved another Stop run on her before she could use her magic. She then bound her using the chains of her signature weapons.

Kojiro tried to act, but Nero intercepted him, hitting his head with the flat of her blade and sending him to the ground again, and she pointed her sword at his throat to stop him from getting up.

The officers standing on the side moved to help, but Chisato and Saika kept them in check with their guns or SMGs drawn. The officers had seen enough firearms to understand what they were and froze in their tracks.

After only a few seconds, passed, the three struggling Heroes had their mana sealed and were shackled in front of Chisato and her group, and the officers had been relieved from their swords.

The young Emperor was still sitting on his throne, clearly afraid, but not daring to say a word. Chisato shivered as she tried to imagine what the Heroes had done to him, to make sure he would only be an obedient figurehead.

When she asked Hitomi before, the girl immediately started crying, and Chisato hadn't insisted.

"Darkness, Saika, can you guard the door, please?" Asked Chisato. The guards would come soon, and she didn't want them to interrupt.

"Who is the highest-ranked officer present? asked Chisato as she looked at the men and women in uniform."

"That would be me. I am Legatus Aquillia Gerhardt, leader of the Companion Guard." said a young woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes as she stepped forward.

"Nice to meet you. I am Chisato Nishikigi. This is Sakura Tohsaka…"

Chisato started introducing everyone, but when she gestured to the princesses, the mandarin cut her in, starting their long introduction. Then the one of Core Elder Baiyu.

Chisato let him ramble for almost five minutes before he finally shut up.

"Yes yes. Anyway, we came to Aquecia to deal with those three evildoers, not because we intend to take over the empire."

"Evildoers? They saved me from the demons' slave pens!" angrily retorted Aquillia.

"Yes, and also cut you up to remove your reproductive organs. All so that scum could use you without having to worry about making you pregnant. How is that not evil?"

"That… We have all accepted it."

"You accepted it because we didn't give you a choice. It was that or becoming a slave soldier, and still be spayed anyway." said Hitomi. "I am really sorry, Aquillia. What we did to you, to everyone, was very wrong."

"Hitomi, did you forget yourself? Remember, they are…" started Maki, leaving the last word unsaid. Maybe she could help convince the Tourinese Heroes that this was a virtual game, and she would be able to negotiate for their release.

"They are NPCs? You know perfectly well that they aren't, and you manipulated Koji-kun, Umeka and me for your own gains, you sick bitch! Do you have any idea how many human beings you killed? I doubt any demon lord even comes close!"

"NPCs?" asked Aquillia.

Hitomi sighed as she explained to the officers, as well as the guards by the door, what a virtual game was in their world. How Hitomi, Kojiro and Umeka had believed they were in one, and that taking over this world would allow them to "win" the game and let them return to the real world. How Maki had been the one suggesting this way to win, and also the one to suggest they model their governing methods after one of the worst dictatorships of their world.

"…Maki had known for the start that you guys were real, but instead of helping us see our mistake, she insisted many times on us not getting close to any of you, and on us never forgetting that you were only imitations of human beings, not real humans yourselves."

"I am really sorry, everyone. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for everything I have done." finished Hitomi as she bowed to the officer, and the Emperor.

Kojiro and Umeka vehemently protested, of course, but Chisato quickly shut them down as she started enumerating the many logic flaws in their beliefs. Of course, it only caused them to stubbornly double down, as they didn't want to think about their responsibility in the many things they had done.

But that was fine for Hitomi and Chisato. The ones who needed convincing were the officers, and she could see it was working.

Maki didn't say anything. She only glared venomously at Hitomi and Chisato.

"Are you going to kill the Heroes?" asked Aquillia after a long silence.

"Maki will die, yes. She is way beyond any chance of redemption." sighed Chisato. "As for the others, we have discussed it with Hitomi and John Barton. Hitomi will follow us, and as she said, will devote her life to helping people in need."

"Kojiro will be made into a eunuch, as punishment for forcing himself into so many women. His mana will be permanently sealed, and he will be under the guardianship of John Barton, until John decides Kojiro had been reformed into a decent human being. And, maybe, he will restore his manhood."

"Umeka will give birth, then be spayed, as punishment for doing so to so many women. The child will be raised by John Barton and his wives, since Kojiro and Umeka both proved they would be terrible parents. They will have a right to supervised visitation, but that will be it, until John decides she has been successfully reformed. Like for Kojiro, her mana will be permanently sealed."

"You can't do this to us!" shouted Kojiro, struggling. "Guards! Help us, or we'll have your heads!"

He looked down the throne room to the hallway. Many guards were assembled and watching, not able to advance due to Darkness's force field, but able to hear and watch. They didn't really know what was going on, but they saw three of the heroes bound and kneeling on the ground, and their officers standing nearby, not taking action or giving them orders. So they decided to wait and see.

"That's the issue with dictatorships." shrugged Chisato. "They'll obey you when you're strong, but when you are chained and helpless? Not so much."

"Kojiro-kun, I'm scared. You'll protect me, right?" muttered Umeka, shifting her position so that their shoulders would touch.

"Don't worry, Ume-tan. I'll find a way to turn the tables."

Sakura knew Umeka wasn't as scared as she seemed. Or rather, she was, but still saw an opportunity to harvest sympathy points from Kojiro.

"Pathetic." said Sakura with a scornful glance.

Umeka flinched in shock. "Pathetic, you say? What do you know about all that I had to endure after coming to this world! I was kidnapped and raped! And treated as a plaything for almost an entire month!"

"Do not try to dupe me. Yes, something terrible happened to you, and I sympathize with you about that. But don't think I do not see you milking it for all its worth. You're not nearly as traumatized as you let on. your lack of reaction when Hitomi accused Maki is proof of that."

"Don't talk like you know anything about me!" yelled Umeka. "You haven't gone through that. You can't understand what it was like!"

"Pfft." snorted Sakura. "Don't try trauma dumping with me of all people. I've experienced worse, but you won't see me try to start a pity party."

"Ah? You claim to have experienced worse things? Like anything could be worse than being kidnapped and gang-raped? Then why don't you tell me, so I can judge?" challenged Umeka.

"…Then try this on for size. When I was six, my father sold me to another family of magicians. Yes, magic exists in my world, even if it's practiced in secret, and the public isn't aware of it. The first thing my new grandfather did was lock me into the worm room, where magically engineered worms violated me continuously for three days. The bugs invaded all my holes and made my body their new home. When it wasn't enough, They made new holes digging through my skin and burrowed themselves inside. They caused me great pain every day, and it lasted twelve years. My grandfather transferred his consciousness into one of the worms, intending to take over my body as his new flesh suit. This was his way of pursuing immortality, stealing other people's bodies using bugs."

"When he hit puberty, my new brother started raping me as well. He didn't mind about the worms in my womb or intestines. I lost count of how many times he used me as his plaything. And it's only recently that a friend helped me gain freedom and removed all the worms from my body, and destroyed the one hosting that man's consciousness. But do you see me whining around about how unfair life is?"

"I don't believe a word of it!" spat Umeka, her face red.

"And I do not care. I am not here for sympathy points, unlike a certain person. Legatus Aquillia, can you remove the Emperor, please? A kid shouldn't see what is about to happen." said Sakura as she created a floating light sword, staring at Maki.

The Legatus shook herself and walked to the throne, asking for the Emperor to follow her. The kid accepted her hand and let her lead him away via a door on the side of the throne room.

"Any last words, Maki?"

"What would be the point, when things have gone this far? I'll wait for you in hell." spat Maki.

"I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you." shrugged Sakura, sending the light sword to pierce her heart. Maki collapsed and died a few seconds later.

Chisato nodded to Medusa, and the heroic spirit forced Kojiro's knees wide apart, lifted the armored skirt, and tore his pants and underwear off. He screamed as Medusa used a small light blade to cut off his penis and ball sack, then healed him just enough to stop the bleeding.

Hitomi had turned away as she refused to watch, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails were digging into her palms.

A lot of the guards watching had put their hands between their legs by reflex, even if the damage was already done in their case.

"Alright. I need you guys to bring here every slave currently in this palace." Called out Chisato, looking at the guards.

The guards trembled in fear, but none moved.

"Do as she told you and bring in the slaves!" shouted one of the officers, and only then did some the soldiers start moving.

Over the next few minutes, slaves escorted by soldiers started coming in. The first was a demon kin girl, with short red hair obviously cut without regard of what the final result would look like, many scars and fading bruises on her body, stumps on her back where wings should have been, and the horns extending from her forehead had been filed into… handles?

Something about the horns, about how blatant the one doing this to a girl had been, and the utter disregard it implied, caused Sakura to remember all the abuse she herself had suffered, and made her snap.

She slowly walked closer to the terrified girl.

"Who did all of this to you?" asked Sakura with a soft voice.

The girl trembled and didn't answer, but her eyes shifted to look at one of the Heroes in particular.

Kojiro, who was numbly staring at his ruined pants and the small stump and patch of new skin on his crotch where his sex organs had been, lifted his head to meet Sakura's gaze, and what he saw made him scream in fear and try to crawl away.

Sakura caught him by the collar of his armor and punched his face four, five times.

When she stopped, Kojiro had lost most of his teeth and had a shattered nose and a broken cheek bone. He sobbed pitifully to the ground, with Umeka screaming in horror.

"I'll heal his face later." said Sakura to Hitomi. "But for a while, I want him to suffer."

"…Okay." nodded Hitomi, horrified at the state of the demon girl. It seemed things had gone even worse since she left Aquecia.

Sakura returned to the demon girl, who seemed a little bit less scared, and Sakura used Greater Healing. The scars disappeared, the bruises faded into nothingness, the wings started grew back, and her horns returned to their original form.

Sakura patted her shoulders with a gentle smile as the demon girl started sobbing, softly batting her wings and touching her horns. She walked to the next slave, an elven woman, and healed her.

The soldiers looked in awe at Sakura. it seemed that they hadn't yet heard news from Raelera.

"Everyone." called out Chisato, bringing their attention to herself.

"We will heal every single person who has been emasculated or spayed by those so-called heroes, as well any civilian who needs it. We can treat about 150 people per day. We will go to the central plaza every morning and evening to do it. Make sure to spread the word to everyone, okay? You can now leave. Your Emperor and your officers aren't in danger."

"The soldiers looked at the officers for confirmation, and after they glanced at each other for a second, and glanced again at Maki's corpse, the barely conscious Kojiro, and the sobbing Umeka fussing over him, they ordered the soldiers to take the day off and return to their barracks."

On the side, Hitomi sighed in relief. There were still a lot of details needing to be discussed today, and what happened between her and her former companions wasn't the best possible outcome, but… it could have gone a lot worse. Only one person died, Maki, and Kojiro would live. In time, he would see reason, and John Barton would help him become a better person.

The demons surely had spies inside the Aquecia Empire, and they would learn about what happened today, but they likely wouldn't try to attack. Not if it meant facing the group that had so easily defeated the Aquecian Heroes.

The freed demon kin would be escorted to the border, carrying messages that the demons should start reciprocating and release their own human slaves, before Chisato and her group decided to come after them.