Ch 277: Disappearance.

"So, you signed up for being our chaperone, Misaki-sensei?" asked Jinah with a smile, and Misaki Sasasaki, sitting to her right on the large dining table, grinned.

"That's right. Natsuki-chan was really bossy about it, you know?" nodded Misaki Sasasaki, a beautiful young woman with pale skin, clear blue eyes, and long wine-red hair styled into two Chinese buns and long bangs framing her face, was also an attack mage and Natsuki's closest friend. She was dressed in a yellow qipao.

They were all having a small house-warming party in Jinah's new apartment, now that the Island's Administrators had quarant… given them a building in one of the residential sections. There were more than enough empty apartments in the building for them to occupy one each, and since the real estate company had meant to rent them all to relatively wealthy customers, they were already furnished.

"Don't complain, Stupid Mutt." retorted Natsuki beside her. "I heard you say many times that you found being a PE teacher not exciting enough. This is better than you walking around pretending to be a clueless college girl to attract molesters and gangs to beat up."

"Hey, I am doing community service, taking out the trash and making the streets and trains safer." protested Misaki-sensei. She glanced at Kanon, sitting near La Folia, and nodded to herself. "Still, you're right, Natsuki-chan. It looks like this is going to be an interesting adventure."

Mash nodded with a smile and turned to Natsuki.

"Natsuki-chan, what is going to happen to those six girls?"

Kanon stiffened, and La Folia near her took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"It's Natsuki-sensei! They have been identified and returned to their families. We can't do anything about their memories, however." sighed Natsuki.

After Medb came out and reported on what she had learned, Kanon had been greatly shocked. The man she had thought was her father, had actually kidnapped her, and erased her previous memories with drugs, then used her for an experiment because her blood had some special properties.

Kensei Kanase was now in jail, and the investigators had found the six other girls who he had kidnapped for the same purpose. Unfortunately, they, too, had been dosed with that drug, and their lost memories weren't something Jinah's healing could fix.

"It is good that their relatives can take care of them." nodded Gudako.

"Yes." said Natsuki. "Stupid Mutt, I got word back from the Headmaster as well, Starting tomorrow, Misaki, Mikoto, Tiné and Saika will join my class, and you'll be their PE teacher too."

"I see." smiled Misaki Sasasaki. "They really are dumping everything on you, are they? I hope the male students won't make a ruckus, with eight cute girls joining their class in less than three days."

"I'll keep them in line, for their own sake. They'll end up with broken bones if they mess with them."

"Come on, we're not all that bad… are we?" smiled Mash.

"No, we deliver one verbal warning to back off before we do the bone breaking." chuckled Gudako.

"Seven, actually." corrected Medb. "I am not interested in playing student, and my attention is required elsewhere. I am almost done with reforming Aya, but Beatrice is going to need a lot more cooking."

"You intend to release her already?" angrily exclaimed Natsuki. "I warned you that she would pretend to be compliant but would take off at the first opportunity!"

Medb smiled, then took the Sanctuary and set it on the table. "I'll be right back." she said as she disappeared.

"Natsuki-chan, one of the best things about this artifact is that we can set the flow of time to run faster inside." shrugged Mash. "It has been only two days from your perspective, but Medb has worked on Aya Tokoyogi for well over a month now. And her methods are… very effective."

"Ah? What did she…"

Before she could continue, Medb returned with Aya, dressed in her elaborate black kimono.

Aya looked at everyone for a few seconds before clearing her throat, blushing slightly.

"Hum, good evening, everyone. I am Aya Tokoyogi… Natsuki, I will not apologize to you for my past actions, because apologies that aren't heartfelt are meaningless, and I would only do it because Mistress asked me to. But I want you to know that I am not the evil witch you remember anymore. My previous ambitions and goals all seem worthless to me now, and I will not harm anyone ever again, except in self-defense, or if Mistress asks me to. Hopefully, one day, we will be friends again."

"And I won't ever ask you to harm any innocent." proudly smiled Medb. "Alright, I'm taking you back inside now."

Aya disappeared, and Medb retrieved the Sanctuary.

"A few more days, and she will be willing to sign a Geass guaranteeing her cooperation." smiled Medb as she sat back.

Natsuki was too shocked to speak. Even if Aya pretended, she would lever lower herself to call someone else Mistress. She was far too proud for that.

"How did you do it?" asked Misaki Sasasaki, speaking for her and Natsuki both. The three of them had been classmates before, and she too knew Aya well.

"Let us just say that I gave her a new goal, one more attractive to her than whatever she was pursuing before." shrugged Medb before taking a bite of her meal.

Natsuki and Misaki were both sharp, and with Aya referring to Medb as 'Mistress' and the natural, domineering allure that Medb casually exuded, they both understood the general lines of what the "reform" was about. But since there were many young and innocent students listening, they both decided to keep their suspicion to themselves.

"A Geass?" asked Misaki Sasasaki.

"Some kind of magic contract." said Gudako. "We will include in the wording a clause stating that trying to go against the contract's spirit or exploiting a loophole to escape it is forbidden, so Aya will be truly stuck."

"You do not need to feel sorry for her." said Mash, guessing what was inside Misaki's and Natsuki's minds. "She did some terrible things, after all, and while she will not really be free, she will still be happy with her situation."

"I guess…" sighed Natsuki. She mentally decided to have a talk with them in private later. If Medb really was making Aya into some kind of sex slave, Natsuki would tolerate it. But they better not have any design for any of her students!

…

They ended school a little early the next day, and Natsuki teleported Nagisa, La Folia, Jinah, Mash and their observers from the Lion King Organization to one of the docks. Gudako and the others remained behind to escort Kanon and Asagi.

"Whoa, is that a yacht or a cruise ship?" exclaimed Gudako as they immediately saw the giant white yacht slowing down to dock.

"That's certainly a big one. Three hundred people could easily have a party in there." nodded Jinah.

"Dimitrie Vatler is a direct subordinate of the Warlord. Money is of no concern to him." shrugged Natsuki. She was maintaining a stoic expression but was actually very worried. If her new students and Vatler started duking it out here, and Jinah's dragons were released to fight Vatler's snakes, the damage to the docks would be significant, and even with her ability to teleport people away, she would be hard-pressed to keep all of her students safe. It was for that reason that the Administrators had ordered all civilians to evacuate the surroundings.

But she had little choice. It was clear that Vatler would meet Jinah one way or another, and if a fight was to happen, better here on the edge of Itogami Island than near the residential areas.

The yacht stopped, and the crewmen tied it to the dock. When they were done, the gangway was deployed, and a woman with light blue eyes, long blonde hair and dressed in a red two-pieces swimsuit walked to them.

She smiled pleasantly and bowed.

"Greetings. I am Maiden Red. I bring an invitation from Lord Vatler to Miss Minamiya and her party."

"He didn't name me specifically? I am deeply offended" chuckled La Folia.

Maiden Red stared at La Folia for a second, then her eyes widened slightly as she recognized her, and she smiled back.

"Our apologies, your Highness. Your presence here is a surprise. But a very welcome one." replied Maiden Red, going along with the princess's quip.

"I trust that man is still treating you well?"

"Yes, your Highness. We have nothing to complain about."

"Good. We shouldn't make him wait." nodded La Folia.

"Please follow me." nodded Maiden Red, and they walked to the gangway.

"Maiden Red?" asked Jinah with a raised eyebrow at La Folia in a low voice. Now low enough, as Maiden Red turned her head with a smile, then spoke as she kept walking.

"My real name is Vika. We are hostages of the Warlord, and he entrusted us to Lord Vatler. Lord Vatler wasn't interested in learning our names, so he simply assigned a color to each of us, instructed us to wear only clothes of that color, and calls us Maiden Red, Blue, Black, Yellow and White. Only for battle can we wear military camouflage."

"Ah, I see. Wait, you are hostages, but he makes you participate in battles?" asked Jinah.

"We are trained in the use of military hardware, and Lord Vatler only sends us against opponents we can take on without too many risks. It doesn't happen often. But this is fine. He doesn't force us to do it. This way, please."

Vika gestured to a lavishly furnished deck that was furnished like a hotel reception room.

A handsome man dressed in a white blazer over a white vest, lavender shirt, and white pants stood from a sofa as they approached. He had light blue eyes that seemed both mischievous and cold at the same time, peering at them from between bangs of blond hair stopping at his neck.

He was attended by four attractive young women in swimsuits, whose age seemed to range from barely adult to mid-twenties. The other four Maidens, judging by their colors. They lined up behind him, and Maiden Red joined them.

"I am grateful that you took some of your time to greet me, Miss Minamiya." smiled Dimitrie Vatler. "I am even more thankful that you came with Miss Akatsuki."

Nagisa, Yukina and Natsuki stiffened at his words.

"I thought you came because of dragon sightings. Did you come under a false pretext, Lord Vatler?" demanded Natsuki.

"Not at all. The Warlord asked me to come because of those dragons, but I was intending to come soon anyway."

He turned to face Nagisa, an eager expression on his face.

"Shall I say I am pleased to meet you, Nagisa Akatsuki. No, Kaleid Blood… My beloved Fourth Progenitor."

As he said this, Vatler touched his lips with two fingers, and sent her a kiss with a wink.

"Eeek!" exclaimed Nagisa with a horrified expression, taking a step back with a visible shudder.

"…Are you sure you have the right person?" asked Mash.

"Regulus Aurum appeared several times in Itogami Island these last few months, and while this Island's rulers tried to suppress the footage and witnesses, they didn't succeed completely. It is too late to hide." chuckled Vatler.

"So let us speak of love, Nagisa Akatsuki." smiled Dimitrie as he walked toward Nagisa. She did the best thing she could think of and hid behind a strong wall called Jinah.

"Wait a minute! I'm not really the Fourth Progenitor!" shouted Nagisa.

"But you consumed her, is that not the case? So, as you were the one to inherit her blood, I shall give you my love."

"That doesn't make sense!" yelled Nagisa, pointing a finger at him. "First of all, I'm not into guys!"

"…Ah?" exclaimed Yukina and Reina in sync, and Nagisa blushed furiously as she realized she had let her secret slip.

Jinah sighed and removed her ring, not hiding her aura anymore, and Vatler stopped mid-step as he felt the change.

"It looks like this is headed towards a non-consensual direction, so I will ask you to restrain yourself a little, Lord Vatler." said Jinah.

"…You have some interesting companions, Miss Minamiya." said Vatler, not taking his eyes off Jinah's. "And who might you be?"

"Jinah. Sung Jinah. The one who summoned the dragons." smiled Jinah.

"Ah, I really am blessed today, to have my mission made so easy." smiled Vatler, nodding to her. "Miss Sung, my Warlord invites you to his domain. Your friends can come along, of course. We can depart immediately. I will give the..."

"Thank you for the invitation, but I decline." cut in Jinah.

Vatler's expression froze, as if he couldn't understand that someone would say 'no' to a request of his Warlord.

"I am afraid that this invitation is not one you can decline, Miss Jinah. It would make things much easier for everyone if you accepted it with grace." replied Vatler with a forced smile.

"If your Warlord wishes to see me, he can come to Itogami Island. I have things to do here."

"…I see we are at an impasse. I suppose I could simply overpower you, but that would be boorish of me. So, I have a suggestion."

"I think you would find it more difficult than you believe to take me against my will, but let's hear it." nodded Jinah.

"Let us have a duel. If I win, you will let me bring you to the Warlord as a guest, and Miss Akatsuki will accompany us."

"You seem to be very interested in the Fourth Progenitor. But she clearly isn't interested in you." said Jinah, and Nagisa nodded vehemently.

"I am fine with my love being one-sided." smiled Vatler, looking at Nagisa behind Jinah's shoulder. "I will take her as my wife, have her carry my child, and once I have a successor, I will drink her blood to the very last drop and take Avrora's bloodline and power into mine."

"Heck no!" exclaimed Nagisa in both anger and fear. Yukina, Reina and Sayaka were about to bring out their weapons when Jinah gestured for them to stop.

"You love is pretty… terminal." frowned Jinah. "And, assuming I agree with that duel, what do I gain if I win?"

"You can name your prize. What do you wish for? Money? A nobility title as part of my territory?"

"Do you think that someone who can summon dragons would have any difficulty obtaining money or power on her own?" asked Jinah. "Let's say, your five Maidens, and a guarantee that their families won't be retaliated against."

Natsuki facepalmed. The Maidens looked at each other, not knowing if they should object. In the end, they simply decided to let Vatler make the decision.

"Oh? So, this is the kind of person you are. How interesting. As they say, great heroes have great appetites." chuckled Vatler.

Jinah nodded before she turned to Nagisa.

"Hey, Nagisa. Do you trust me enough to accept this in the first place? I'll decline this duel if you wish."

Nagisa hesitated, torn between a desire to avoid the risk of Jinah losing, and one to see Jinah trample this arrogant vampire. She thought back about Igris, and the absolute confidence in Jinah's eyes, and nodded.

"I will trust you, Jinah."

"Thank you." smiled Jinah, before looking at the maidens.

"Are you also okay with being used as prizes for this duel?"

The maiden glanced at each other, and Vika sighed. "As long as our families won't be harmed by the outcome of that duel, we have no objections."

"The deserted island twenty kilometers west of here." stated Natsuki. "I can't have you wreak havoc in this place."

"I agree." smiled Vatler. "Maiden Blue, please go to the bridge and use the radio to contact the homeland and inform them of the terms of our duel. Tell them that I will return with the dragon summoner and the Fourth Progenitor within a few days. Then ask the Captain to move the ship to that deserted island."

"Yes, Lord Vatler." nodded the girl with long blue hair and blue eyes, dressed in a blue bikini, as she left the deck.

"Well then." grinned Vatler as he walked away and sat on a sofa. One of the maidens was already giving him a glass of red wine. "It seems we have some time to kill. How about we have a little chat?"

…

It took less than an hour for the yacht to travel to the deserted island, and for Vatler and Jinah to disembark and reach the empty beach using a smaller boat.

Jinah had excused herself to the ship's bathroom and returned wearing black and gold plate armor from neck to toe, the same one she had used when fighting the Monarchs in her own world. It made her look like the high-tech version of a medieval knight.

"What a gallant appearance." nodded Vatler as she approached. "But I do not think any armor is necessary, Miss Sung. I can carefully control my familiars and defeat you without causing you any severe injury."

"It helps me get in the mood." shrugged Jinah. "The fate of several people depends on the outcome, so I am taking it seriously."

Jinah's real reason was the armor's attribute boosts. They wouldn't add much to her personal strength, but every little bit helped.

"By all means. It wouldn't be interesting if you held out." said Vatler as they both boarded the smaller boat driven by Maiden Red. The others would stay on the boat a hundred meters from the beach and watch from a safe distance.

"Just to be sure, Lord Vatler. You can regenerate even severe injuries like missing limbs, right?"

Dimitrie Vatler raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"I have not been injured in battle for decades. Not since my fight with the Warlord. If you manage it, it will be worthy of celebrations. But to answer your question, yes, a severed limb would only be a temporary inconvenience."

The boat reached as close to the shore as Maiden Red could bring it without being beached, and Jinah jumped into the knee-high water. The blonde vampire did the same, not caring about the damage the sea water would do to his leather shoes.

Jinah and Vatler spread out and stopped with fifty meters separating them, while Maiden Red bought the boat back toward the yacht.

"Well then, let us begin." smiled Vatler. "Come out, Manasvin!"

The air behind Dimitrie Vatler shimmered, and a huge black and blue snake with glowing red eyes appeared.

Its size reminded her of the Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka boss she had once faced, and she smiled fondly, taking from her inventory a black sword. At the same time, she summoned the largest of her dragons.

Vatler's eyes widened in admiration as the massive beast, at least three times the mass of his snake, fully emerged from Jinah's shadow.

Jinah then activated her Monarch's Domain skill, and the dragon's power was further enhanced, the blue light coming from his body joints turning purple.

"Go." ordered Jinah, and the dragon charged the snake.

And just as the two beasts were about to make contact and Vatler's eyes were glued to them, Jinah used Shunpo to appear near him, her posture lowered, and with a horizontal slash, cut both of his legs mid-thigh.

"Wha?" exclaimed Vatler, surprised as he fell.

He stared incredulously at her and his severed legs.

Then he coughed blood as he suffered backlash from his familiar. Jinah’s dragon had bitten into the snake’s neck and was busy tearing its head off.

"Looks like celebrations are in order." sniffed Jinah, taking a step back.

"H-How did you move so fast?"

"…Since you treated those women relatively well, I will not use this opportunity to kill you, despite your threats toward Nagisa." said Jinah with cold eyes, ignoring his question. "But you only get one chance. If you ever try to harm Nagisa or any of my companions, I have ways to stop you from healing your wounds."

The headless snake dissipated, and as Jinah started to walk away, waving at Maiden Red, Vatler started laughing.

A full-throated laugh, with an edge of madness in it.

"Upananda! Sagara! Utpalaka!"

Jinah turned back toward Vatler, looking at her with crazy eyes as three more snakes materialized behind him. He coughed more blood, as summoning three of his familiars simultaneously put a severe strain on his body, but he didn't care.

"This duel, how could I put a stop to it?! You are what I have searched for all this time! Someone who can actually kill me! Do not disappoint me, Miss Sung!"

Jinah sighed and summoned two more dragons, as well as Tusk, the High Orc Shaman who was once the boss of a A-rank dungeon, bordering on S-rank. She had further boosted him by giving him the S-rank item Orb of Avarice, a magic item doubling the power of magic spells.

"Tusk, vaporize him." ordered Jinah.

The five-meter-tall Orc Shaman nodded, and a red magic array formed in front of him. Two seconds later, a ten meter thick beam of what could best be described as plasma shot toward the laughing Vatler. When the beam disappeared, all that remained was a wide trench of glowing, molten silicon along most of the beach's length, vitrified sand extending toward the see, and the roar of distant seawater instantly turned into vapor.

Jinah received the notification of the third quest being fulfilled, and looked back.

Tusk was looking at the three dragons with a smug face and satisfied grunts, as if saying "See? Your dragon breaths have nothing on me!", and the dragons were making a show of ignoring him.

"Good job, everyone." smiled Jinah, and they returned in her shadow, satisfied.

She then used Shunpo again to step into Maiden Red's boat directly, and she jumped in fright, almost falling off.

"Sorry for startling you."

"Please shout me a warning before you do something like that again, Miss Jinah." sighed Vika. "…is he really dead?"

"I think so? Does that make you sad? If so, I am sorry, but he literally asked for it."

"…Not really." replied Vika as she turned the boat's engine on again and slowly headed toward the yacht. "He treated us well, but was always distant, so we weren't close. The only ones I really care about in this yacht are the other Maidens and most of the crew members. Besides, I was too far to hear what you said to him, but it was clear that you gave him a chance."

"Yes, he wanted to die, it seems."

"…So what happens to us now that we are yours?" asked Vika, keeping her eyes on the yacht as she guided the boat to dock with it.

"I intend for you girls to come live with us. We have been given a whole building to ourselves for the duration of our stay. We could use a few maids, and we will teach you our own brand of magic. In time, you will become stronger than those overrated Progenitors."

"Stronger than the Progenitors? After seeing that duel, I believe you could defeat them. But then, why are you not creating your own empire?"

"Not interested, too much work." immediately replied Jinah. "Besides, I already work for someone. It's a long story, so I will tell you more about it later."

Natsuki, La Folia and the others were waiting for them as they to set foot on the yacht.

"Good job, Jinah." grinned Gudako.

"Thanks. It was nothing."

"Nothing?" grumbled Natsuki. "You just killed a Duke of the Warlord's Empire. That's bad enough, but what is worse is that you didn't even try to hide your identity. What will you do if the Warlord chooses to retaliate?"

"Then I will deal with him as well. If he wants apologies, I'll apologize. If he wants a fight, I'll give him one."

Natsuki wanted to retort, but sighed in defeat. She wasn't used to feeling so helpless, and she hated it.

"If the Warlord doesn't accept it, make sure you settle things with him properly before you guys leave, at least."

"We will." nodded Gudako.

…

The yacht was half-way back toward Itogami Island, and the five Maidens had already gathered their belongings into suitcases near the gangway, when Natsuki received a call from Misaki Sasasaki.

Jinah was chatting with the Maidens when she noticed Natsuki's expression.

"A problem? It this about the Warlord?" frowned Jinah.

"I don't know if it's the Warlord. Avrora has disappeared, and Reina has been found unconscious."