Ch 362: The whole bottle.

All around the capital, the members of Valhalla paused in their tracks and looked at the sky. The explosion of dense magic power that lingered for a few seconds before starting to dissipate had illuminated the land with a purple-tinted light almost intense enough to be called daylight.

They could guess that Shadow was responsible for it.

Shuuko, Emi and Kanna had been pursued by a large group of rank-and-file Shadow Garden members, but they weren't fast enough to keep up, and they lost them inside the maze of streets before heading north and leaving the capital. They entered the cover of the forest when the explosion happened.

"Hey, isn't that thing going to cause a massive shockwave? Will the capital be flattened?" worriedly asked Kanna.

"I don't think so." frowned Emi. "This is a magic discharge, not an actual nuclear explosion. Shockwaves are created by the air dilating under the extreme heat, but we don't feel any heat coming from it."

"We should keep going for a while, and from now, we fly between the trees." sighed Shuuko. "Some of Shadow Garden's members are Therianthropes, and I suspect they may have an enhanced sense of smell. Let's not give them a trail to follow."

"Alright." nodded Emi and Kanna as their feet left the ground.

The girls flew several kilometers north this way when Shuuko's phone vibrated. She signaled to her sisters, and they slowed down to land on the branches of a large tree.

Shuuko looked at the message, sighed, and turned to her sisters.

"This was a message from Chisato. Rin is… gone."

"On no…" muttered Kanna.

Emi closed her eyes painfully and let out a long breath.

"That explosion?"

"Probably. According to Type: Moon and Alaya, everyone else successfully escaped. So there's that, at least." sighed Shuuko as she deleted the message. Chisato had instructed her to do so, on the off chance that Shadow Garden would catch up to them and capture her phone. "We are to regroup within a day, about 75 kilometers north-east of the capital, on the northern flank of the tallest peak of that mountain range."

"Let's go, then." sighed Emi. "It is better if we cover the distance before the sun rises, less chances of being spotted by people."

Shuuko nodded, and the sisters resumed their flight.

…

"You're going to be okay now, Delta." said Alpha with a sad smile as she finished closing Delta's wounds with threads of magic power. The therianthrope girl had limped her way back with a miserable expression and a few rather serious cuts on her body, including a severed Achilles heel. It was clear that whoever she fought, and from Delta's description, it wasn't anyone they heard about previously, didn't want to kill her, but was also quite ruthless in the way she stopped Delta from pursuing.

She wasn't as skilled at healing as Epsilon or Shadow, and she couldn't do it perfectly. Delta would have scars. But at least, she had returned alive.

As far as she could tell, no member of Shadow Garden had been killed or suffered permanent injuries, and they had killed one of Valhalla's strongest members.

In theory, they came out ahead.

So why did this 'victory' leave a taste of ashes in her mouth?

She of course already knew the answer. They had not suffered any death because Valhalla's members had chosen not to kill them. Had they not shown mercy, had they attacked rather than run and hide, Shadow Garden might have lost over fifty people tonight, including several of the Seven Shadows.

Even Alpha herself, who took pride in her own strength, failed to catch the purple-haired woman who had landed a kick on Shadow. That woman could run at a speed that she wasn't sure even Shadow himself could match, and then, she dove into the sewers.

Alpha, expecting an ambush, had to slow down a little as she followed, but once inside, she couldn't locate the woman anymore and had to return empty-handed.

Shadow had returned after dealing with Rin Tohsaka. He had been disappointed when Alpha reported on the situation, then shrugged it off.

He told Alpha to deal with the aftermath and left. Alpha was, as always, appreciative of the trust he had in her.

But the aftermath in question had ruined her mood. It was hard to feel different when almost all of their targets had escaped, and some of the girls had returned injured.

She hoped that Epsilon would return with good news.

"Is Delta going to be scolded for failing the mission?" asked Delta with a miserable tone, her wolf ears down.

"…No." sighed Alpha. "I know you did your best, Delta, and we underestimated them. We were all guilty of that. How strong was she?"

Delta looked at her, then away, and her words were full of reluctance.

"Alpha-sama… that woman's sword… was faster than yours. And her movements were strange, Delta couldn't follow her completely."

"I see." nodded Alpha. From the corner of her eyes, she saw a few more members of Shadow Garden entering the small warehouse they had hastily converted into a field hospital.

Just looking at the way 655 was carrying 654, she could guess than 654 suffered from a broken leg, and Alpha winced. She could heal flesh wounds, but mending bones was beyond her. She wasn't sure even Shadow could manage it. It was likely that 645 would have to be on bed rest until her leg healed naturally.

312, too, might have a broken arm judging by the slime splint supporting its weight. When they met her gazes, they lowered their eyes in shame.

As 655 gently set 654 on a field bed, 312 walked to Alpha, regret and fear mixed on her face.

"Alpha-sama, I am sorry! Epsilon-sama had been taken captive by the enemy!"

"What?" exclaimed Alpha, alarmed. Delta jumped to her feet and winced as her left foot was still sensitive.

"We were pursuing the woman with the red spear. She was carrying a black-haired girl over her shoulder, the one we assume was summoned from another world. After a while, the woman with the red spear stopped running and fought us. I am really sorry! We were too weak to face her."

Alpha nodded impatiently, urging her to continue as 655 placed herself by 312's side, deciding to share the blame.

"That woman put some kind of magic-sealing shackles on Epsilon-sama after defeating her, and Epsilon-sama lost control of her slime suit. That woman had already rendered us unable to fight, and she said she wouldn't harm Epsilon. She said they were taking her hostage so that they would have someone to trade for if we captured one of them. Then she ran toward the east, carrying both Epsilon-sama and the black-haired girl over her shoulders."

"I see…" sighed Alpha. "Get some rest while you can. We will relocate to our headquarters as soon as everyone is back."

312 and 655 nodded and returned by 645's side.

"Alpha-sama, we're going to rescue Epsilon, right?" asked Delta, her bushy tail angrily waving around.

"As soon as we can find them, Delta." promised Alpha. "We have members in every large city and a large network of informants. We will find them soon. I will also ask Pi to follow their scent."

Alpha turned to look at another group of girls coming in. None of them seemed injured, but just looking at their expressions, she could guess they hadn't caught their preys either.

…

Noah woke up, feeling tired, and wanting to fall asleep again. But he couldn't waste time. It was Monday morning, but for once, he didn't want to go to school. He still had too many things on his plate.

He turned his head to his right, seeing Nei sleeping peacefully.

They had yet to have sex. After the sex marathon with Yukino and Maika, not taking into account what now happened with his girls' Soul Spaces, he felt like he needed a short break. Which was also why he still hadn't gotten around to deal with Mana and Artemisia, the two DEM girls in his basement. He had half of a mind to just bind them to his Throne of Domination and deal with them later, like he had done with Bambietta.

With a soft smile, Noah left the bed, took his smartphone, and snapped a picture of her face. He dressed quietly and left the room.

He found Morishita and Katsuko were having coffee in the living room.

"Hello, Morishita-san, Katsuko-nee." smiled Noah a she entered.

"Good morning, Noah-kun." replied the old man with a respectful nod.

"Morning, Noah. Are you ready for another school week." smiled Katsuko.

"To be honest, I feel tired this morning. Not physically, but mentally. Maybe I'll ask Minaho to let me skip. Thank you, Katsuko-nee." smiled Noah as she served him a cup of coffee.

"Yes, you seem a bit under the weather today. Are you coming down with something?" asked Katsuko.

"I don't think there's any disease in this world that could make me sick. Maybe I just had too much sex lately." shrugged Noah.

As Noah put a bit of milk in his coffee and idly stirred it with a spoon, he tried to analyze the cause of his own mood. Did he lose interest in going to school because the mission with Minaho was resolved, and he had no lead or obvious path to find the Elemental King? He thought that it was a large contributor to his current lazy mood.

Was it the number of tasks he still had to do? The girls in his basement. Learning leatherworking to craft collars for Misuzu and Nei. And, he suspected, many others. He would be surprised if Katsuko, who already declared herself as his sex slave, didn't want one as well. And Minaho, too. And Ruriko, and Yoshiko, and…

Noah shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Was he having too much sex in the Soul Spaces? Maybe this was contributing to this feeling of tiredness as well. If that was the case, it was easy to fix. He was sure most of his girls wouldn't mind more romantic dates and lots of cuddling, and…

Noah blinked as he was suddenly hit by a realization. This night, he had not received any memories from his shards associated with the girls in the Eminence in Shadows world.

The simplest explanation was that none of them had slept tonight. But even that would be very strange. The other explanation was that they were all dead.

And he refused to even consider it.

"I'll be right back." said Noah as he stood. "I have a phone call to make."

"Alright." nodded Katsuko.

Noah left the living room and paused in the hallway. He called Chisato, and she answered after the fourth ring.

"Hi, Noah." said Chisato. The tone of her voice sent alarms down Noah's spine. Usually, Chisato sounded happy to talk to him. Right now, she sounded like he was bothering her.

"Hi, Chisato. Is everything well on your side?" asked Noah. "I just noticed that I didn't receive any memory from you girls' soul shards this morning, so I'm worrying."

"I would have called you soon anyway… We didn't sleep. We're on the run right now. Noah, I'm sorry to have to say this, but… We misjudged Shadow Garden, and it cost us. They turned a meet-and-greet into an ambush... Noah, Rin is dead. Shadow killed her."

Noah froze in shock, and forced himself to relax his hand before it crushed his phone.

"…Is everyone else safe?"

"Everyone else is, and as far as we can tell, we all lost our pursuers."

[System, how much will it cost me to revive Rin?] mentally asked Noah.

[629 000 Yin points.]

"I will revive her in a few minutes." sighed Noah. "But this will cost me roughly three quarters of my stored points. We can't afford for another of you girls to die, or it's going to be months or even years before I can bring you back."

"Right, thank you, Noah." said Chisato. He could hear the relief in her voice.

"How is Sakura taking this?"

"Relatively well. She's being cool-headed about it, but that's only because she knows you'll be able to bring her sister back. Scathach has joined with her on their way out, and she took Sakura as her temporary Master. Sakura has already asked her for the most intense training Scathach can give her."

"I see. When can I call you back to discuss this in more details?"

"I've already reached the meeting point, and Shuuko, Emi and Kanna are with me. The others are on their way, from what Alaya told me, and we should all be gathered in about two hours."

"I'll call you in three hours, then." said Noah.

"Yes. Oh, and we took Epsilon prisoner, by the way."

"Understood. Call you later, Chisato. I have a lover to resurrect now." sighed Noah.

"Later. And thank you, Noah."

Noah sighed as he pocketed his phone. He returned to the living room. Morishita was gone, likely in the kitchen, and only Katsuko remained.

"Katsuko-nee, I'll be borrowing one of the empty rooms upstairs. And I'm definitely not going to school today."

"Did something happen, Noah? You look a bit angry." frowned Katsuko, and Noah nodded.

"I told you that several of my lovers were on expeditions in various worlds to solve various crises, right? One of them has just been killed, and I'll revive her."

"Oh. I see. I am sorry to hear that." said Katsuko with a sympathetic expression.

"It will be alright." sighed Noah. "She's a strong girl. I don't think she'll get a trauma from this. And I'll give her plenty of cuddles."

Katsuko nodded, and Noah left to go upstairs. Using Promise to locate an empty bedroom, he entered it, took a deep breath, and started the resurrection process.

This time, the amount of mana leaving his body was so extreme that he felt light-headed by the end of it, but it still succeeded.

Rin was sleeping peacefully, dressed in her black and gold Valhalla uniform. She was so beautiful that Noah felt like staring for hours.

After a minute, she suddenly opened her eyes and saw Noah on the side.

"So, I really died, huh?" said Rin with a sigh.

"You did." nodded Noah. "And boy, am I glad that I was able to bring you back. Don't die again, Rin."

Rin sat up and nodded. She pressed a hand on the right side of her chest, and Noah didn't have to ask to know she was remembering something painful.

"I'll try to make a note of it. That wasn't fun, at all. How long has it been since my death? And how are the girls doing?"

Noah sat beside her and put his arm around her waist.

"A few hours. When I noticed that I wasn't receiving any of the memories from the Soul Shards associated with you girls, I called Chisato, and she told me about you. She thinks everyone else made a clean exit, and when we call them again in about three hours, they should all have regrouped. And Scathach took Epsilon, but maybe you know about that already."

"I didn't, but nice." nodded Rin with a small, vengeful smile. "I'd have loved to see that jerk's face when he was told."

"I won't ask you to tell me the details of your fight against Shadow right now. I suspect that you'll do it when we call the girls, and let's not have you repeat the unpleasant parts unnecessarily. But how did it come to a fight?"

"…That's partially our fault, I guess." sighed Rin, nodding in thanks. "When the Cult of Diablos started murdering civilians and blaming Shadow Garden for it, we agreed to get in the open and hunt the murderers. We knew this would likely lead to us facing members of Shadow Garden, but we decided it was worth the risk."

"We didn't want to sit around while innocent people were killed. We didn't want Shadow Garden's reputation to be worse than necessary, since they were going to become our comrades. And we thought that making contact with them in those circumstances and suggesting a duel in a few months was the best way to ensure that we wouldn't instantly clash on each other if we crossed paths later."

"We also decided to let them know that we knew about him being Cid, and that we would out him if he ever used his Atomic in the middle of a city."

"I can follow the logic." nodded Noah. "Did he ambush you to make sure you couldn't talk?"

"No, it's worse than that." replied Rin. "Our worst mistake wasn't to tell them we knew his name. It was to assume that Shadow was a proper martial artist. But he's just a selfish, deluded psychopath."

"Not that I disagree with it, but how does that lead to him wanting to kill you all?"

"Because our very existence is a threat. Not to him, his sister, or the girls of Shadow Garden. A threat to his delusion of being the Eminence in the shadows. Think about it, Noah. From what Chisato and Takina told us, this guy became a martial artist to feed his delusion of grandeur. For all his foolishness about hiding his identity, Cid loves secretly looking down on other people and occasionally showing off to prove his superiority. That's what he lives for."

"So what happens when a new organization full of really strong people appears? Some of those people possibly being as strong as he is?"

"Ah, I see what you mean." sighed Noah.

"Yes. The more Chisato was talking about the benefits of being part of Valhalla and us gathering the strongest people from various worlds, the more I could see his face growing cold. And I knew from Scathach back at the dorm that some members of Shadow Garden had gathered there, ready to attack those of us who didn't go to that meeting."

"Then Shadow gave us a choice. Join Shadow Garden, let ourselves be captured, or die here and then. We chose option four, run for it and scatter to the winds. I guess we were at least lucky that he chose to go after me. Chisato was the one carrying the Sanctuary."

"By now, shouldn't you girls be able to create your own Sanctuaries?"

"Those we can make do not have this convenient time compression feature." shrugged Rin.

"Ah, yes. Only Seekvaira and I can do that… Are you in the mood for a cuddle, Rin? Because I am."

Rin smiled and moved a little, giving them enough space to lie on the bed. When she snuggled into his arms, Rin sighed in relief.

"I don’t like having gone through dying." muttered Rin. "I don't like the pain it caused Sakura and the others. I don't like not being able to participate in the mission anymore, exploring worlds and saving people… But being there isn't all bad."

Noah nodded, his arm slowly rubbing Rin's back.

"I'm thinking about your mother, Rin. I sort of remember promising to revive her once you could be present."

"It's good that you remember, I won't have to pinch you to death for forgetting." smiled Rin. "Let's wait until Sakura is there as well. I don't want to rob her of that moment."

"Alright… Rin, can you remind me of the quests you were given in that world? Just the objectives, not the rewards."

"Befriend Claire and Alexia. That one is done, we got that Pulse Rune. Even if we haven't really taken the time to think about its possible applications yet. Stop at least three schemes from the Cult of Diablos. We should be at one out of three right now. Assimilate Shadow Garden and deal with that prick. Participate in some grand tournament and get four of the first five places. And finally, start bringing Law and Order to Lawless City."

"I see. I am starting to think about ways to make Shadow regret killing one of my girls. How spiteful do you want me to be, Rin?"

Rin lifted her head to look at him, and a cold smile widened on her face.

"Take the whole bottle of spitefulness and empty it on the plate, Noah. If you have any idea on how to make his life hell, ask the girls to go for it."

"As long as they don't take unreasonable risks." nodded Noah. "Tell me in details about your adventures in this world, Rin. I know quite a bit already, but I want to learn about your interactions and how you girls have started to change things. I need to have a clear picture before we start planning."

…

Epsilon had to admit, the thick, mate black bodysuit that this damn woman forced her to wear was quite effective in keeping her warm. It was made of a material that vaguely looked like her own slime suit and clung to her body.

After about half an hour of being jolted around on Scathach's shoulder, as she now knew her name was, they had met with Sakura Tohsaka, who glared at her in such as way that Epsilon feared she would be killed regardless of Scathach's intentions.

It was then that she learned that Shadow had killed her sister Rin, and that every other member of Valhalla had escaped. Epsilon felt ashamed as a member of Shadow Garden that they only got one, and she worried that they might try to get revenge on her.

Since Shadow Garden had failed to secure any prisoner, her own value was now limited to the information they would wring out of her, and she started to mentally prepare herself to endure torture.

Sakura did something while uncovering her right arm, and three red marks appeared on the back of her hand. She spoke with Scathach in that foreign language, and three more red marks appeared, on her wrist this time, before they all disappeared. Epsilon could tell that this was something important, but neither Sakura nor Scathach deigned explain it to their prisoner.

Scathach forced her to wear that bodysuit before binding her again, then Sakura took the black-haired girl, Akane, in her arms. They resumed their run. Epsilon still got the shoulder treatment. After a while, they flew, and Epsilon stared in shock at the ground below her, more and more distant. If Scathach dropped her now, with her magic power sealed, Epsilon would die for sure.

But maybe she should try to die, before they started torturing her. Epsilon had interrogated many people in the past, and she knew that everyone had a breaking point.

She considered trying to wriggle out of Scathach's grasp while she had the chance, but… she could not quite resolve herself to it. She knew it was cowardly, but she hesitated, and instead chose to cling to the hope that Shadow and the others would find her before she broke.

They flew all the way to a mountain far in the north-east of the capital, and the sun was about to rise when they reached the other side and slowed down.

They landed near another person waiting there. From the description she heard from Nu, this was Chisato Nishikigi.

"All the others are inside." nodded Chisato. "Sakura, I'm sorry. I already told Noah, and she should be with him right now. Noah will call us in about an hour."

"Thanks, Chisato. I'll be okay." nodded Sakura.

"Let's go inside, then. It's too cold here."

Epsilon gasped as her surroundings suddenly changed. Instead of the cold, snowy mountain slope, she was in a small clearing, surrounded by a dense forest of strange trees with thin, green trunks, and a large wooden house stood in the middle.

Scathach let Epsilon on her feet, but she kept a firm grip on her right arm and led her inside the house.

Eight young women were already inside, sitting around a long table. Epsilon recognized Princess Alexia among them, and many of the others fit Nu's descriptions.

She remembered hearing Chisato say that 'all the others' were there, and that was useful information. It seemed that Valhalla only consisted of a dozen people, at least in the Midgar area.

She also noticed that they didn't seem to hold a lot of hostility toward her, as they mostly made sympathetic declarations to Sakura about her sister and ignored her.

Scathach unlocked the shackles binding Epsilon's arms behind her back, only to bind them again in front of her, and removed her gag.

"Behave yourself, Epsilon." warned Scathach.

Epsilon could only nod as she worked her jaw. With her magic power sealed and no weapon or slime she could use, she knew that the vast majority of them would have no difficulty overpowering her.

"Alright, everyone. Noah will call us in about an hour." said Chisato. "Until then, let's have breakfast. None of us have eaten since last evening."

The girls nodded, and Epsilon's eyes widened as they somehow used magic power directly to create food. Before Epsilon knew it, the table held enough pastries and snacks for twenty people. And all of them looked delicious.

"What do you want to drink, Epsilon?" asked Chisato.

"She can drink water." grumbled Sakura.

"Come on, don't be mean, Sakura." sighed Chisato. "What Shadow did wasn't her fault, and you'll get to vent later."

"Right." nodded Sakura with a predatory glance at Epsilon, and the elf gulped in dread.

"Epsilon, do you want tea, coffee, orange juice, grape juice?" asked Chisato.

"…Tea, please." replied Epsilon, deliberately staying away from beverages whose heavy flavors would easily hide some drugs or poisons.

Chisato nodded, and in seconds, a cup of hot tea was in front of Epsilon.

"Help yourself to the food, Epsilon." warned Chisato. "You should enjoy it while it lasts, because I suspect most of the day will be quite strenuous for you."

"Are you going to torture me?"

"That is likely, yes." nodded Sakura.

"…No matter what you do to me, I won't talk."

"I will put those words to the test. But later. Eat first, you will need your strength."

Epsilon almost retorted that announcing that one was about to be tormented was a sure way to kill anyone's appetite, but Sakura wasn't wrong.

With a sigh, Epsilon took one of the pastries, a flat cake with a spiral pattern, with a yellow cream and dried grapes, and tentatively bit into it.

It was delicious, with the cream preventing the bread-like texture of the cake from feeling too dry, and Epsilon decided she would transmit the concept to some of the baking girls in Mitsugoshi later.

As the girls were eating, with Chisato and Takina translating for Akane, Epsilon ate quietly and observed them. At some point, Chisato seemed to deliver some good news to Akane, as the girl jumped with joy and went to hug Chisato tightly. Then she apparently felt embarrassed and returned to her seat with a blush, making the others chuckle.

When she calmed down, Chisato noticed Epsilon's gaze and smiled.

"I just told her that thanks to the ones we work for, we can guarantee that she will be able to reunite with her family."

"By doing that summoning ritual in reverse?" asked Epsilon.

"Something like that. But don't worry, Alexia, we won't need your blood!" joked Chisato.

"If it was for this reason, I would have been willing to donate some." shrugged Alexia. "Can you pass some of those chocolate puffs? Thanks."

Epsilon kept observing as they kept talking, but her confusion only grew. The atmosphere in the room reminded her of Shadow Garden's formative years, when the Seven Shadows worked together as equals, learning from Shadow and finding practical application to his wisdom. They truly felt like family back then.

Later on, things had become more formal and rigid, due to Shadow Garden having grown to well over five hundred members and operating in several countries, but what really puzzled her was that the contradiction between their apparent cheerful closeness, and that they didn't display much sadness for Rin's death.

The breakfast lasted for a while, then they stood and got rid of the table and the breakfast's remains. In barely a minute, they had rearranged the furniture into two lines of sofas, one close to the ground and the back one higher than usual, and they installed on the opposite wall a huge, flat black device.

Chisato took from her pocket a small black, flat something, tinkered with it, and suddenly, the large device lit up, showing many strange symbols. One was obviously representing a clock, another reminded her of an envelope, and the time and date was displayed in a corner.

It changed suddenly, and Epsilon saw herself and everyone else in the image projected by the device. It was a bit like a mirror, but different, and the others adjusted the sofas so that they would all be inside the image.

"You'll sit here." said Sakura as she pointed to a corner on the second row.

Epsilon did, and the others did the same with no apparent order.

Chisato said something to Akane, and she nodded. Chisato then turned to Millia and Epsilon.

"I just told Akane that, to keep things moving, the upcoming conversation will be in your language so that you two can understand, and that I will tell her later what was said."

"Thank you, Chisato." nodded Millia.

The girls sat down, and for a few minutes, nothing happened. Then a sound came from Chisato's small black thing, and she tinkered it again. This time, the large device on the wall displayed two people. A handsome young man, and Rin. They both sat so close that it was clear they were a couple.

She now understood that this black thing was a way to communicate between long distances. She heard that the Cult of Diablos had retrieved similar artifacts form the Ancient Era.

But Epsilon frowned, confused. Wasn't Rin supposed to be dead?

"Hi hi, Noah, Rin. I'm so glad to see you again!" grinned Chisato.

"Yeah, sorry to make you worry. This damn stalker is just too overpowered! I couldn't escape him." said Rin with a sad smile.

"I am happy to see you well, Nee-san." said Sakura. Epsilon heard the longing in her voice and didn't understand it.

"It's okay, Sakura." replied Rin with a soft voice. "It will be a while before we can meet again, but I'm not going anywhere. And look! I can now take it easy and watch while you toil away!"

"Maybe not for too long, Rin. Since you're here now, I might have you help me with a few things." said the man with a smile before turning to them. "Hello, everyone. I see a few new faces here." said the man. "You must be Akane, Millia, and Epsilon. It is nice to meet you. I am Noah, Valhalla's leader."

Epsilon nodded stiffly.

"N-nice to meet you." shyly said Millia. Akane nodded her head respectfully.

"Rin and I spoke while we were waiting for you to regroup. She told me that Shadow attacked you not because you knew about his real name, but because the very existence of Valhalla is a threat to his obsession. After all, how could Shadow enjoy being the almighty individual hiding beneath an appearance of mediocrity, if there are people around who already are or soon will be just as strong as he is, maybe even stronger? Do you share her assessment?"

Epsilon felt her anger rising. Was this really what Rin thought of Shadow? That he was this… this childish? How ridiculous!

"That's also what I think." nodded Chisato.

"That, makes sense." said Sakura. "I thought that he had decided to silence us to remove the chance we might out him, but he had to know that he wouldn't manage to get all members of Valhalla, and that we might spread his identity as retaliation."

"My theory was that he simply didn't think that far ahead." suggested Takina. "Everything I learned about him suggests that he acts on impulse and half-assed ideas, and that he isn't exactly bright. The Seven Shadows are the real brains of Shadow Garden."

"This was because you knew about his identity!" exclaimed Epsilon, unable to keep silent any longer, and they all turned toward her. "He said that no one outside of Shadow Garden was allowed to know his identity. So stop slandering him by calling him an idiot or attributing such ridiculous motives to him!"

For a few seconds, none of them spoke, but the way they were looking at her… not with anger… was it pity? Was she being pitied right now?!

"Let's agree to disagree for now." said Noah. "Epsilon, we know a lot about Shadow, including things you are not aware of. We judge him from a more objective point of view than you, who was saved by him after being abandoned by everyone else, and became one of his disciples. You should at least be able to recognize that your emotions are causing you to see him in a very favorable light."

"That's… I'll admit that, but isn't it natural to be grateful to someone who saved you?"

"Yes, it is entirely natural, and I do not blame you for it." nodded Noah. "Let's set speculation about his intentions aside for now. What matters is that he started a war against Valhalla, and that we will make him pay. He dared to kill Rin, and he will make his life hell. Rin, how about you tell us exactly what happened after he started chasing after you?"

"Kill?" exclaimed Epsilon. "But, you're right there!"

"I can revive the dead." shrugged Noah. Epsilon's eyes widened, and when Rin nodded at her to confirm, she gasped.

"Not without paying a price, and if any of you dies again, it will be months before I can bring you back. So, don't go do something reckless." warned Noah.

The girls nodded, and Rin cleared her throat.

"When I saw that Shadow was after me, I first tried to use Shunpo repeatedly to lose him, but that guy is just too damn fast. He broke through my gravity trap almost instantly. When I reached the capital's outer wall, I decided I had been a decoy for the others long enough, and I flew up, thinking that he wouldn't be able to follow me, but no luck. He can fly, too. Because why not?"

"We climbed to about twelve kilometers above ground, with me only keeping him at bay by putting obstacles after obstacles on his path and shooting at him, but he just shrugged everything off and when he got close enough, used mana wires to try to ensnare me with a net. I escaped his nets three times, but when I last did, he managed to spear me with a harpoon made of slime."

"…In hindsight, he must have let this gap in the net deliberately to predict how I would move."

"Anyway, I chose not to reveal the Stop Runes and resolved myself to let him cause me the kind of wounds that would have killed anyone else. He would have lost interest in my falling, limp body, and I would have healed myself before crashing into the ground, then retreated."

"But this jerk decided to show off and use his damn Atomic, so I was screwed. Before dying, told him that Sakura would avenge me and make him her bitch. Sakura, please make him your bitch, one day. But not before Scathach decides you're ready."

"I think you can count on that, Nee-san." said Sakura with a cold voice.

"About that, I have other plans." said Noah. "Chisato, you're the team leader, and the decision belongs to you. But I would like you to avoid Shadow until all of Solomon's Demons are dead. Then, I will enter this world, and deal with him myself."

"Oh? You want us to just avoid Shadow Garden, then?" asked Chisato.

"Not quite." smiled Noah. "The important thing is staying clear from Shadow himself until the Demonic Pillar is located and destroyed. Saving this world is more important than Shadow Garden or even the Cult of Diablos."

"But we are Valhalla!" declared Noah. "If someone slaps us on the right cheek, we do not turn to them our left cheek! What we do is smile, kick them between the legs, and then we break their limbs!"

Rin and most of the other girls aside from Epsilon nodded vehemently with hungry smiles.

"Rin and I have been brainstorming a bit those last two hours, and we came up with a few ideas to mess with Shadow and make him increasingly angry and frustrated. Do you want to hear about it?"

"Of course!" grinned Chisato. "Do we reveal his identity to the public after all?"

"No. That's the one thing you should not do. If he becomes unable to play the eminence in the shadows, he might just decide to play the demon lord instead. First, I want you to go after the known members of the Cult of Diablos while their plans are still maturing. Kill that archpriest Nelson in the Sacred Land of Lindwurm, infiltrate their secret base, and recover the right arm of Diablos. Try to free Aurora, too, if possible. Go to the Oriana Kingdom, gather proof of the queen having an affair with that snake Perv Asshat and her slowly poisoning the king, and…"

"Wait!" exclaimed Shuuko. "What's the name of the guy you just mentioned?"

"Perv Asshat. That's his actual name. What can I say? Some deities have a rather pointed sense of humor." shrugged Noah.

Epsilon frowned, as she didn't see anything inherently wrong with the name.

"We met a student named Po Tato in the academy." said Kanna. "More sense of humor?"

"Probably." nodded Noah. "Just like there is a noble called Brad Despoht in the Midgar kingdom, and he leads a group of thirteen corrupt noble families with close ties to the Cult of Diablos. Back to the Oriana Kingdom business, I suggest you kill Perv Asshat and show Rose the evidence about her mother's misdeeds, so she won't grieve her too much. Don't give that slutty queen the Bad Girl treatment. Just end her miserable existence."

"Then, go to Lawless City and kill all the vampires except Mary, who would be a nice addition to Valhalla. Secure Elisabeth's core so we can revive her later, and deal with that agent of the Cult of Diablos, the therianthrope with an eye-patch whose name I forgot. Please recruit Yukime as well before Shadow gets the chance."

"You could possibly get all of this done within weeks. And by doing all this, you could in theory fulfill the requirements about the quest related to the Cult of Diablos, and you will deprive Shadow of valuable allies, as well as opportunities to show off."

"Yes, I can see that happening." nodded Chisato. "But that's not really messing with him if he doesn't know about those opportunities we take from him in the first place."

"No, but that's only the first of the four approaches Rin and I thought about. The second one will require you to know for certain Shadow's location. When he is far away from Mitsugoshi's headquarters, preferably with the Seven Shadows… I mean, Six Shadows accompanying him now… rob the place blind."

"Shadow pretends to be above such base considerations, but he actually cares a lot about money. He uses it to buy the expensive art pieces, vintage wine bottles, and other things he uses as props. Steal from him, and he will fly into a rage!"

"This is sure to work." smiled Takina, remembering a scene from the original show.

Noah nodded at Rin, and she continued presenting their ideas.

"Third approach, about that tournament. According to Noah, Shadow is going to participate using a fake identity and disguise. We'd like you to recruit a few women that Shadow Garden has never seen or heard about, and have them participate in the tournament while hiding their affiliation to Valhalla. And when those girls face him in a match, they should immediately forfeit. When this happens once, Shadow will be secretly happy, like it checks an item on his secret bucket list."

"When this happens again and again, he will be frustrated by the lack of opportunities to show off the special moves he created to win while still appearing weak."

Chisato burst into laughter.

"That's… That's so petty! I love the idea!"

"Right?" chuckled Rin. "When the tournament ends, instead of his fake persona being known as the weak-looking man who is actually super strong, he will be known as the weak-looking guy who only won because his opponents took pity and let him win without a fight. That jerk will hate that a lot!"

"Finally, and this is by far the most important, we want you to keep tabs on Shadow's location, then start kidnapping Shadow Garden members in the countries where he isn't present. A girl here, two girls there… make them disappear quietly, one, two to three every week, and take care not to follow any predictable pattern or leave a scent that the therianthropes in Shadow Garden might follow."

"Stay away from the cities as you all quietly train and raise your attributes. With our abilities, you do not really need to be in the cities in the first place aside from gathering information, and the Heroic Spirits are very suited for that."

"Lastly." said Noah. "I will prepare on my side. I am already using the Soul Shard I have with Scathach to get some serious training every night. I will do the same with Luo Hao, another great expert I have yet to sign a Soul Contract with, and with you, Medusa."

"I will do my best, Master." smiled Medusa.

"Thank you." smiled Noah. "Okita, are you also willing to help me train?"

"I am." nodded Okita. "What do I have to do to get one of your Soul Shards?"

"You need a Soul Contract, but I can establish one verbally… Okita, are you willing to acknowledge me as your Master and follow my orders?"

"I am." nodded Okita.

"Thank you. I will strive to prove worthy of your service." smiled Noah.

The more Epsilon listened, the more her confusion grew. They were mentioning a lot of things she didn't understand. But their plans regarding Shadow were so spiteful! To recruit some people and have them participate in a tournament just to irritate him!

But the last one, however, really worried her. They had the strength to abduct members of Shadow Garden if they caught them unaware. Or even, admitted Epsilon when she thought about her own situation, if they were seen coming. Mitsugoshi's employees were spread all over several countries, and the company's stores and warehouses were easy to find.

They would be defenseless. Moreover, if Valhalla spread the abductions around the distant branches, they would probably get away with capturing at least a dozen before someone in the headquarters realized they were being targeted.

For that matter, she doubted that those working in the other nations had even heard of Valhalla at this point. If one went missing, her colleagues would suspect someone among the locals and would not necessarily report to headquarters immediately. They would spend a few days investigating first.

Once Alpha and Shadow noticed, they would face a choice. Close the minor businesses to concentrate manpower around the major ones and hope it would be enough to stop the abductions. Or bring everyone back to the Mitsugoshi headquarters at the capital, or to their real base.

The first choice probably wouldn't stop Valhalla. They would just assault one location, defeat them all, and capture however many they wanted. The second would probably stop the abductions, but it would be an economic catastrophe and sabotage over two years of development!

The conversation ended, and the device on the wall was turned off.

"Alright." said Chisato. "Time is precious, so we'll start moving right away. Alexia, please write two letters to your sister and Claire to tell them we are fine, and why we had to suddenly disappear. Include some personal elements so they will know it was written by you without coercion, but do not write anything about our plans. Those letters may fall into the wrong hands. Medusa, since you're she stealthiest among us with your Assassin class, please deliver them once she's done."

"Understood." nodded Medusa.

"Thank you, Chisato, Medusa." smiled Alexia.

"Do not mind it." shrugged Chisato. "We will relocate the Sanctuary deep into the wilderness, just in case, and we'll change its location every two or three weeks. Sakura, you will remain there and start training Epsilon. I will do the same with Akane and Millia."

"Yes." nodded Sakura.

"Okita, Scathach, Takina, Shuuko, Emi, Kanna, you will all go to Lindwurm and crush that secret base of the Cult of Diablos, then take away that right arm of Diablos they've been experimenting on. Be careful, this mission is dangerous even for us. They have somehow cultivated low-grade replicas of the legendary hero Olivier, hundreds of them. You will need to kill that fatty archpriest Nelson who controls them before he can unleash them all on you."

"And then there is Aurora, the Saint who has been sealed away. She's almost as strong as Shadow himself with her blood manipulation ability. I think only her soul is left, so I will provide you with a high-grade artificial body if you girls can convince her to join us."

"Medusa, when you return from that errand, please go to the Oriana kingdom and start gathering evidence. We will have a talk with Rose later. After we show her the recordings and save her father, I don't think it will be too hard to convince her to join our family."

"Then, we will gather once more and make a move on Lawless City. I think the hardest part will be locating that therianthrope. We kill him and the vampires within an hour, and regroup to our base."

"Wait, I understand killing members of the cult of diablos, but why the vampires, and how strong are they?" asked Emi.

"All the vampires, with the exceptions of Elisabeth who is currently reduced to an inert metallic core, and her servant Mary, do not see humans as people to coexist with. They see us as livestock and blood banks." said Takina.

"…I see." replied Emi with a colder voice.

"Noah didn't ask us to revive Elisabeth immediately because of an incident that happened in the past. Elisabeth and her servant Mary were managing her territory well, protecting the civilians from dangerous beasts and bandits, and the humans living there were happy. But another vampire who despised Elisabeth for her stance about humans tricked her. He mixed some human blood into her food, and because of it, Elisabeth lost control and went in a terrible rampage for three whole days, killing thousands across three countries."

"When she regained her reason, she regretted her actions to the point of committing suicide to make sure it would never happen again. And she's almost as strong as Shadow and might act on instincts immediately after waking up, so we should wait to be ready before we bring her back."

"And by the way, that male vampire who tricked her? He's the current leader of the vampires. And we are going to kill him."

"I understand. Yes, we will kill him." nodded Emi.

"There more to it." nodded Chisato. "We mentioned the Red Moon incident in our challenge to Shadow Garden. It will happen soon, likely within a year. The moon will turn red, and the vampires' powers will be greatly amplified. And for some reason I am not clear about, they will unleash a ghoul outbreak on the population of Lawless City. Basically like zombies, but zombies who can run, and those who are bitten become ghouls within a minute."

"Killing the vampires before the red moon comes should put a stop to that." nodded Chisato. "As for how strong they are… I'd say maybe equal to the average member of the Seven Shadows? Not nearly as strong as Alpha, so they shouldn't be a problem for us."

Epsilon's cheek burned with humiliation. After training a lot under Shadow's tutelage, she had become strong. At least, that was what she had told herself, and she resented Chisato's comments right now.

But when she lowered her gaze to the black magic-sealing shackles around her wrists, her urge to retort died.

"Do they need to be killed in a specific manner? Like a wooden stake in the heart?" asked Kanna.

"They have significant healing abilities, but not to the point of being able to survive if we cut their heads off." nodded Chisato.

"Okay. What do you want me to do after writing the letters?" asked Alexia.

"I assume you're a bit too well known by members of Shadow Garden and the nobility to go to Lindwurm, so, how about you help Sakura with Epsilon, or me with Millia and Akane?"

"Alright." nodded Alexia. The look of sympathy she sent Epsilon made her shiver.

"Then I guess it's time for us to go. I already know Lindwurm's approximate location." said Takina as she stood and stretched. "We'll try to return with a new comrade within a few days. Good luck, everyone!"

Chisato nodded, and suddenly, some kind of mannequin, similar to those Mitsugoshi used to showcase some of their outfits, appeared in her hands. She handed it to Takina, then it disappeared.

If this crude, faceless doll was the artificial body Chisato mentioned, Epsilon pitied the poor soul who would be trapped inside.

Those who were about to leave for Lindwurm exchanged goodbyes with those who would remain here, wherever 'here' was, and Epsilon gulped as Sakura turned toward her.

"Epsilon, follow me. It is time to start."

Epsilon hesitated, but knew she couldn't escape it. With a sigh, she stood, defiance in her eyes. If she couldn't escape it, she would face it with dignity.

That dignity lasted approximately twenty seconds, until she saw what was in the basement.

"Wha-Wha-What are those things?" exclaimed Epsilon as she looked around with wide eyes, and Sakura smiled.

"Did you think that we would torture you with needles, pincers, or other painful things? That isn't our way. Now, I am going to remove those shackles, and you will strip naked. If you make me strip you by force, I will make things worse for you."

Epsilon nodded weakly. She could recognize only a few of the things on the many shelves, but it was clear to her that the pieces of furniture were meant to restrain someone in various ways, and that there were enough restraints hanging from the walls or on the shelves to bind fifty people.

Sakura removed the shackles, but the magic-sealing collar was still around her neck. With trembling fingers, Epsilon pulled the… whatever this was called, from her throat to her navel, opening the black bodysuit.

"C-Can you turn away?" asked Epsilon.

"No. You'll be naked for a while, so there is no point." smiled Sakura, and Epsilon stifled a groan.

Epsilon still turned away as she pulled the bodysuit off her shoulders and slowly got out of it. When she was done, she turned back to the smirking Sakura, the bodysuit pressed against her chest.

"Come with me." said Sakura as she walked to a relatively empty corner of the basement. Epsilon reluctantly followed, trying to restore her dignity as much as possible.

She let out a very undignified squeak as Sakura suddenly took one of her arms and pulled it up, only to fasten around it a wide, padded leather cuff connected to a chain hanging from the ceiling.

She was forced to drop the bodysuit when the other arm met the same fate.

"You seem to have a rather severe complex about your breasts." said Sakura with a slightly mocking smile. "Or should I say, your lack of breasts? They barely even exist. What a pitiful elf. You're flat as a board."

"S-Shut up!" yelled Epsilon, her goal for dignity instantly forgotten. She could already feel her eyes growing teary and hated herself for it.

Epsilon tried to kick Sakura, but she only grinned as she seized her ankle. A device made of a sixty centimeters bar between two leather cuffs appeared in her hand, and she fastened one end to her ankle.

"I guess you know where the other end goes. No be a good girl and spread your legs, or you'll get a spanking before we even start."

"Start what? Are you going to whip me?" asked Epsilon. She had seen a few whips on the wall, and the lack of furniture in this corner of the room now felt ominous.

"I have considered it, but no." said Sakura as she fastened the other cuff around her left ankle. Epsilon was now truly stuck. "I'll go easy on you, Epsilon, because it is true that you aren't responsible for Rin's death. So I will only do the minimum necessary."

"Minimum necessary to make me talk?"

Sakura shook her head with patience as if she was a child.

"Epsilon, you should have heard just now about how much information we have on various things. What do you think we would interrogate you for? We already know that Shadow Garden's main base is in Alexandria, the abandoned former capital."

Epsilon flinched. Noah really seemed to know everything... How could they even fight someone like this?

"Then why are you going to torture me?"

"You'll see. But for now, I am going to blindfold you." said Sakura before Epsilon's vision went dark. The blindfold was completely opaque and clung to her skin like her slime bodysuit did.

For a few minutes, she heard the rustling of clothes, the creaking of leather, and something slightly different. She concluded that Sakura was changing into an outfit she wouldn't mind dirtying with blood.

Her blood.

When Sakura removed the blindfold, she gasped. Sakura now wore a sleeveless bodysuit made of black leather and dark gray slime-like material, as well as long gloves and high-heeled boots. As she looked at Epsilon with a confident smile, she seemed more intimidating, more dominating.

"I have good news for you, Epsilon." purred Sakura. "Among the many magic techniques and magic items that Valhalla uses, there is a leather breast harness that is imbued with growth magic. Yes, I can see from your hopeful expression that you understand. The process is slow, so it will take maybe six months before your breasts fill out your slime bodysuit like before without you needing to cheat. But we will get you there, or maybe even give you slightly bigger breasts."

Epsilon didn't know how to take the news, assuming Sakura wasn't playing a cruel joke on her. Sakura had just implied that Epsilon was going to remain their captive for a long, long time.

Then her thoughts crashed when Sakura suddenly moved closer, grabbed her jaw, and kissed her.

"Mmphh! Back off!" shouted Epsilon, outraged. It had been her first kiss! One she had wanted to devote to Shadow!

"Eheh." chuckled Sakura, moving behind Epsilon. She hugged her from the back, and the hug was far from chaste, as her hands started to explore her chest.

"I wonder how sensitive your ears are, compared to a human's." muttered Sakura.

"You! Stop touching me, damn it!"

"Let me explain what is going to happen to you, Epsilon." chuckled Sakura, her fingers slowly tracing circles around Epsilon's nipples.

"Alexia and I are going to play with your body, again and again and again. We will take shifts, so you will not have a moment of reprieve. We will put you well past the point of getting an orgasm, but we will use magic to stop you from getting one, and we will keep you there for as long as it takes. We will only stop when you accept Noah as your Master. Once you do, a small fragment of his soul will enter yours, and you will become irrevocably bound to him."

"Thanks to his Soul Shard, every time you sleep, every time you lose consciousness, you will meet him in your dreams. Isn't that great? It means that no matter how large Master's harem is, you will always get some private time with him every day!"

"Maybe he will treat you like a girlfriend. Maybe he will treat you like a sex slave. it doesn't really matter. You will inevitably fall and become his willing slave. Then, you will be our comrade, and you will work with us to share this good fortune with the rest of Shadow Garden."

"Y-You're lying…" exclaimed Epsilon, horrified.

Shivers of pleasure spread from the spots Sakura was touching, and she shuddered.

Epsilon wasn't a stranger to sexual pleasure. She occasionally masturbated while thinking about Shadow. But for some reason, Sakura's warm embrace and soft fingers gave her a strange pleasure she couldn't deny.

Her body was already starting to respond, and she felt her nipples harden. What if Sakura kept working on her body for hours without a break? For days? Would she be able to endure it? And if what Sakura said was true, if she slipped up even just once, if she had one single moment of weakness, she might be trapped forever!

The basement door opened, and Alexia entered.

"Choose a suitable outfit, Alexia." smiled Sakura. "I was just telling our future sister that we were going to play with her body and edge her without a break until she agrees to serve our Master."

"Ah, I see." nodded Alexia. She opened a closet and took from it a white bodysuit, then started stripping without a care. "And once she does? Will you train her as a pet?"

"I will let Noah decide." smiled Sakura.

"She'll feel it more if you blindfold her." said Alexia, and Sakura's hands paused.

"That's true." chuckled Sakura, and Epsilon groaned in despair as the blindfold was put back over her eyes.