Ch 371: Made to watch.

"Welcome back, every…one?" blinked Sakura when Chisato, Takina and the others returned inside the Sanctuary, bringing with them more people than expected.

A grin started to grow on her face as she stared at the shackled, blindfolded forms of Alpha, Beta, Delta, Nu, Zeta, and two girls she didn't know, one of them a blonde therianthrope with bunny ears.

"Hehe, are you surprised?" grinned Chisato. "Things didn't go exactly according to plan."

"I can see that." nodded Sakura. "It is great to see you again, Claire, Rose."

"Yes, thanks." replied Claire. "Are we really inside that crystal ball?"

"We are." nodded Sakura. "Isn't it a really convenient artifact? With it, he have a mobile base we can regularly move around. Shadow will never find us here."

"It does sound convenient." nodded Claire. "Where is Alexia? Is she fine?"

"She's currently taking a nap, and so are Akane, Aurora, Shuuko, Kanna and Emi." shrugged Sakura. "And Medusa is secretly following Shadow and updating us on his movements. According to her last reports, he is still roaming the streets of the Velgatia Empire's capital, trying to search for any traces of Valhalla. So, how did we end up having the pleasure of hosting most of Shadow Garden's strongest members?"

"That's Alpha's fault." shrugged Chisato as she gently squeezed Alpha's right shoulder, who stiffened. "When Claire and Rose said they wanted to fully join us, Alpha immediately said no, and she wouldn't budge. She was even willing to start a fight against us, even though we had a clear advantage. So we thought, since they didn't have those slime suits on them, and we knew Shadow was far away, why not take them now instead of keeping them for the late stages of our campaign?"

"That's what happened." nodded Claire. "But about that, why is she so opposed to me joining Valhalla? I don't even know her."

"Don't tell her!" exclaimed Alpha, putting as much authority as she could in her voice. Although the shackles, collar, and blindfold greatly blunted her efforts, much to her chagrin.

"…Claire, I am very glad that you and Rose decided to join us, but this isn't really a secret I should be the one to reveal." sighed Sakura. "But I will tell you a little, because I know being kept in the dark about this would be painful. It's about your brother Cid. Alpha is one of the friends he often meets whenever he disappears on you. Alpha is afraid that you joining us might cause harm to your relationship with Cid. And that is not something we actually want to cause."

"Oh. I… see." nodded Claire, glancing at Alpha with a reevaluating gaze. "I can understand that, at least. And there's no way I'd ever turn on my little brother. I'll scold him a lot for hiding this from me, but I'm also relieved that he seems to have some strong friends, at least. But wait, does that mean that Cid is part of Shadow Garden?"

"Like I said, this isn't something I should be the one to talk about." shrugged Sakura. "But you don't have to worry about his safety."

Alpha relaxed slightly, relieved that Sakura avoided answering. As long as she didn't say more, Alpha might manage to salvage the situation with Claire.

"Because he has more friends like Alpha and the others around him?" guessed Claire.

"He has more strong friends willing to help him, yes." nodded Sakura.

"…Alright. So what are you going to do with them, then?" asked Claire as she gestured toward Valhalla's prisoners.

"For now, I will create another Sanctuary as a holding facility, and we will do what is necessary to convince them to join us. It will probably take weeks or months, but you do not need to worry about them."

"Claire, Rose, joining Valhalla involves swearing loyalty to our leader Noah." continued Sakura to change the subject. "But if you are uncomfortable with the notion, that oath does not have to mean absolute obedience. You can for example put conditions to it, such as not doing anything to harm the Midgar kingdom, or set up an expiration date."

"Is that oath necessary?" frowned Rose.

"It is." nodded Sakura. "That oath will forge a temporary mental bond between Noah and you, allowing him to meet with you while you are asleep, and it is by his intermediary that you will gain most of the abilities and body reinforcement Valhalla can give you."

"It sounds like something that could be abused." frowned Claire. "What if I agreed to swear loyalty only long enough to gain those abilities?"

"To date, there has never been any case of a member of Valhalla wanting to leave after receiving them." shrugged Sakura. "But if it happened in your case, I assume you would lose some of those abilities, but the knowledge about them would remain, so you would still leave with some significant benefits. How about you both go inside the house while we deal with the Shadow Garden members, and think about the condition you may want?"

"Okay." nodded Claire. "Alexia and the others are sleeping inside, then? Rin is asleep, too?"

"Rin died the night we had to escape from the capital." shrugged Sakura, and both Claire and Rose gasped. "But that's okay. Noah already revived her."

"Re-Revived her?" repeated Rose, astonished.

"Yes, he can do that." smiled Sakura. "Nee-san is with him currently, working hard to become stronger, and when Noah enters this world in a few months, she will follow him."

"We spoke to her several times after she was revived using an artifact for remote communication." nodded Chisato. "Rin is perfectly fine, she hasn't got any trauma from dying. But let's go inside, Claire, Rose. We'll be more comfortable talking, and I'll prepare tea."

Claire and Rose nodded, and they let Chisato and Takina lead them inside the house.

Sakura turned back to Alpha and the other prisoners, as well as those keeping a vigilant eye on them, Scathach, Okita, Millia, Olivier, Lily and Freya.

"Great job, everyone." smiled Sakura before starting to create a specialized Sanctuary. But considering its intended purpose and some features she already wanted to add to the inside architecture, she decided to name this one Purgatory.

She couldn't add a time compression feature, but as long as they kept it inside the original Sanctuary like a smaller Matryoshka doll, it would benefit from the time compression anyway.

The only thing that couldn't be done, for some reason Noah himself didn't understand, was put a time-compressed Sanctuary into another time-compressed Sanctuary. Noah had wanted to test if he could obtain a time compression factor of 2 500x using a pair of Sanctuaries with a 50x ratio, but only one time compression had applied.

In less than a minute, Sakura was done creating her Purgatory. On the outside, it looked like a dull gray brick.

On the inside, the Purgatory consisted of five floors of what would essentially be a BDSM-themed penitentiary, large enough to hold over a hundred prisoners. And that was only counting the holding cells, not the more… creative forms of confinement Sakura was already imagining. In one of the rooms, she had created 18 deep compartments that they would be able to fill with coffin shaped boxes.

As for what those boxes would contain… Sakura repressed a grin of anticipation.

Of course, the Purgatory was devoid of furniture and accessories for now. Sakura and the others would have to work on it later to add the countless restraints, fetish outfits and other accessories they would need.

"I am wondering, Sakura." said Freya. "How do you manage to create a complex artifact like a Sanctuary so fast? Wouldn't it require an extremely complex magic formula or array to include all the little details?"

"My System is doing most of the grunt work." shrugged Sakura. "I provide the magic power, the general idea, the overall shape, and some of the details I want, and the System does the rest. However, that assistance will only be provided once you reach the ability to create Reality Marbles by yourself. You need to earn it first."

"I see." smiled Freya.

"Alright. I am putting them in holding cells. We'll deal with them later." said Sakura, walking closer to the prisoners, and she stated transferring Alpha, Beta and the others in separate holding cells. The cells were padded and were closed by padded steel doors, not iron bars, so they wouldn't be able to speak with each other even if they weren't currently gagged.

Not that they should be used to not being gagged. Sakura had already discussed with Noah about what to do with the members of Shadow Garden, and while he mostly gave her carte blanche, he also encouraged her to use a wide range of options, for variety's sake.

They would not get the gentle treatment Epsilon had enjoyed.

Instead, Sakura and her companions would play a bad cop routine, and Noah would be the good cop in their dreams.

…

Alpha finally managed to remove her blindfold by rubbing her face against the padded material of her cell, and once her eyes became used to the lighting coming from the ceiling, she examined her surroundings.

She stood inside an empty room, about four meters wide and five meters deep, whose walls, ceiling, and even floor were covered by a white, springy material that felt like leather. The ceiling was three meters from the floor.

She quickly spotted the door despite the seams being barely visible, thanks to the small, thin, steel-framed window meant to allow someone outside to look in.

Alpha approached the window, but it was currently closed.

There was no handle, so she tried to push the door open with her right shoulder.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't move. She next attempted to kick it open. She even backed all the way back to the far wall to build some momentum, then tried to drop kick the door, counting on the floor's padding to cushion her fall.

She was right about the padding, but the door still didn't budge or show any sign of damage.

With a sight, Alpha sat in the middle of the ground. She would need to preserve her strength to endure whatever her captors intended to do to her.

…

Alpha didn't know how much time passed when she heard the door being unlocked.

Sakura and a young woman with golden eyes and long black hair in a ponytail entered. From what she remembered of Nu's description, this was the one named Shuuko Aikawa.

"W-What are you wearing?" blurted out Alpha in shock.

Shuuko wore high-heeled, knee-high black leather boots, a black leather corset accentuating her waistline, and a black leather collar. And underneath was a jet-black bodysuit made of a material that reminded her of Shadow Garden's own slime suits, but far more reflective, and Shuuko's suit was open from neck to corset, revealing a deep cleavage.

She also had a leather belt around her waist, from which hung several tools Alpha didn't have time to stare at to guess their function.

Sakura, on the other hand, wore a jet black, sleeveless bodysuit of the same material, as well as matching gloves covering her arms almost all the way to her shoulders. The material completely covered her sternum but was so tight that it only drew attention to her large breasts.

Unlike Shuuko, Sakura didn't wear a corset, but she had the same high-heeled boots and belt with accessories.

"What? You do not like skintight clothes?" chuckled Sakura. "That is surprising, considering how much time you spend in your slime suits."

"Our slime suits are made for battle, so they can be easy to move in? And skin contact is necessary to better control the slime!" retorted Alpha. "But this… this looks too obscene!"

"Oh? You modeled your own slime suit with a window showing of your cleavage quite nicely as well, if memory serves. Are you going to pretend you didn't want to draw attention to it?"

"That was… to distract the enemy. Almost all the cultists are males, so."

"No point trying to lie." shrugged Shuuko. "We can detect lies. You probably wanted to attract Shadow's attention. Not that it matters at this point."

"…How are you going to torture me?" asked Alpha, wanting to change the subject and to get an answer to what she had worried about before they came.

"We won't do anything that would make you bleed, so you don't need to fear something extreme." Shrugged Sakura. "But you're still going to hate it. Now, we are going to strip you and bring you to the restroom. I suggest you use this opportunity to relieve yourself, because once we start, we will not pause for quite a while. You'll feel humiliated enough without making a mess on top of it."

Alpha nodded quietly. They would need to remove her shackles to strip her of her clothes, and he they grew careless and gave her an opportunity…

No. Even if she managed to get the jump on one of them, which was already unlikely, they would simply heal themselves almost instantly.

It was better to bide her time and let their vigilance dull. Until a better opportunity presented itself, she would need to endure their torture patiently.

And if Sakura was honest when she told her that they wouldn't torture her to the point of making her bleed, Alpha was confident that she could endure it. It sounded tame, compared to what she heard about the brutal beatings Midgar's guards resorted to when they interrogated suspects.

She pretended not to care and to keep a dignified appearance when Sakura and Shuuko removed her shackles and stripped her of her clothes with efficient moves.

Sakura kept a loose hand on Alpha's right arm as she led her out of the padded cell.

The dimly lit hallway had a wooden floor and was both wider and longer that Alpha expected. There were doors on both sides every ten meters.

"Are the others inside some of those rooms?" asked Alpha.

"You do not need to know." smiled Sakura.

Shuuko walked a few steps before them and opened a door marked with the letters W and C. Inside was a large washroom with a half-dozen toilets in individual cubicles.

"Since you behaved yourself until now, Alpha, we will trust you to do your business alone. You have five minutes." said Sakura.

Alpha nodded and entered a cubicle, closing the door behind her. She looked around as her hands flew to the black collar around her neck, trying to find a seam, a release mechanism, anything that might help her understand how to remove it, but all her fingers found was smooth metal.

With a heavy sigh, she sat on the toilet, staring at the anchor points on the floor and walls.

Alpha relieved herself as she tried to find anything that might help her, but aside from a roll of toilet paper on the side and the toilet she sat on, the cubicle was empty. There were no convenient vents or maintenance passage for her to escape, or lock on the door to even just slow down Sakura and Shuuko.

Alpha did her business and wiped herself, flushed the toilets, and left the cubicle. Sakura gestured to the wash basin with a nod, and Alpha washed her hands under their close watch.

"Are you afraid I'll steal the soap?" asked Alpha in mirthless humor.

Sakura chuckled, but didn't say a word. She gave a small towel to Alpha when she was done washing her hands.

"What did you do with Claire? Did you tell her anything more about Shadow?"

"No." shrugged Sakura. "Claire agreed to swear loyalty to Noah for a period of six months, renewable by mutual consent, and with the condition that she wouldn't be forced to use her abilities to hurt innocent people. She was also quite smart about it and included another provision stating that she would be allowed to disobey any order of a sexual nature. So our Master will need to seduce her slowly, just like he did with Epsilon."

"Slowly? You convinced Epsilon to betray us in less than a week." replied Alpha with some bitterness in her voice.

"You're wrong about that." shrugged Sakura. "Time is not as absolute as you seem to believe, when Agents of the Gods are involved. From Epsilon's point of view, about a month passed between her capture and the moment she truly agreed to offer herself to Noah."

"It's a pity Master didn't let us train her back then and decided to take the time to slowly convince her, really. We couldn't have our fun subjecting her to proper slave training."

Sakura's smile had turned sinister, and Alpha felt like taking a step back.

"But since he is quite busy these days, he decided to entrust us with your own training, Alpha. You won't be as lucky as Epsilon was."

"Do not go too far, Sakura." glared Alpha. "You said your goal is to have us join Valhalla, right? Even assuming you succeed, are you not afraid of what I might do later as retaliation?"

Sakura paused for an instant, then chuckled.

"Shuuko, you too were an unwilling captive when I started training you. What do you think my reaction would be if you threatened to do to me what I did to you?"

"You would let me do it, Mistress, and you would enjoy it." shrugged Shuuko. "And then you would remind me of my place, so I do not get any idea. And I would enjoy that as well."

"There you have it, Alpha." grinned Sakura. "You don't understand now, and that's normal. But you soon will. Now let's get you properly attired, we're wasting time."

As Sakura created some new garment between her hands, Alpha's attention was distracted by door of the restroom that suddenly opened, and three people entered.

Epsilon and Millia were dressed in lewd attires similar to Sakura's and Shuuko's, and they escorted Nu inside the room.

"Alpha-sama." nodded Nu.

"Nu." replied Alpha. "Did they do anything to you?"

"No."

"Not yet." nodded Sakura. "Alpha, step into those panties, please."

Sakura was holding a pair of panties that seemed made of the same glossy material their suits were made off.

While Nu was forced into a cubicle by Millia, Alpha examined the panties with deep suspicious, but didn't see anything strange.

"They aren't normal panties, right?" asked Alpha with resignation as she stepped into them.

"They aren't." nodded Sakura as she quickly slipped them up her legs

Once Sakura was done adjusting it around her hips, Alpha noticed the anomaly. While the panties sat comfortably around her flesh, the part pressing against her sex seemed to be much thicker than necessary, causing her lower lips to part slightly.

She suddenly panicked as she imagined what panties like this might do if they were made of slime and controlled by someone else.

"No, we aren't taking your virginity." smiled Sakura as she seemed to read her mind. "At least, not using those panties. Now give me your hands."

Alpha gritted her teeth at Sakura's qualifier and reluctantly extended her hands. She expected Sakura to put shackles around her wrists again, but Sakura apparently wasn't satisfied with Alpha being able to move her fingers, and she forced Alpha's right hand into a black leather mitten, making Alpha close her fingers into a fist. A strap was fastened around her wrist, then Sakura worked on Alpha's left hand.

Once both hands were stuck in the mittens, Sakura turned Alpha around, used a padlock to bind her arms behind her back, and Sakura brushed her hair aside.

Alpha flinched slightly as she felt a finger touch her on her spine, under the collar. It confused her for an instant, before the memory of her latest fight came back, and she thought about the way some of her companions had their magic power sealed by a symbol on their skin.

Before she could ask to verify her hypothesis, Sakura grabbed her black metal collar, and it clicked open.

Alpha immediately tried to circulate her magic power, but it was like some invisible glass panel isolated her will from it.

"Next, I am going to gag you, Alpha. Open your mouth wide, please." said Sakura.

Alpha couldn't stop a sigh from escaping her mouth as she glanced at the gag in Sakura's hands. It looked like a mouth guard with grooves where her teeth would be, and a hollow space for her tongue. The mouth guard was connected to a black patch of that not quite slime material

"What is the name of that material you all seem so fond of anyway?" asked Alpha before opening her mouth.

"Latex. It was originally made from the processed sap of a fairly uncommon species of trees. But the latex we create is artificial and of a much better quality." smiled Sakura as she filled Alpha's mouth with the mouth guard, moved behind her, and stretched the latex panel over her lower face.

"Originally, it was used in transports and heavy industry as shock absorbers or joints, thanks to its stretchy nature. Nowadays, new artificial materials better suited for heavy industry use have mostly replaced latex, and it is mostly used to make protection gloves against contaminants, or in fashion to make some… visually appealing clothes, let's say."

Alpha tried to push against the elastic material covering her lower face from just under her nose to her chin.

Unsurprisingly, with the mouthguard part in place, she wouldn't be able to get it out without her hands.

"Mmphh." said Alpha to test the gag's efficiency. The device certainly did what its name implied.

"Now let's move, we need to prepare all seven of you before we can start." nodded Sakura.

She took Alpha's right arm in a loose hold, and Alpha followed.

They left the restroom and descended one flight of stairs, and Sakura let them into a room about twice as large as the padded cell. Two peculiarities immediately came to her attention. One side of the room was almost completely occupied by a window giving them a view into another room.

And on the opposite wall were ten shallow V-shaped indentations at chest level, with ten red half-circles on the ground under them. In each semi-circle was a white number going from 1 to 10. Between each indentation were some metal bits slightly protruding from the wall.

"Alright, we'll place you in the middle, so you will have the best view." nodded Sakura as she moved Alpha and made her stand on the red semi-circle with the number 6, her back pressed against the wall.

Alpha's arms partially sunk inside the indentation, revealing its purpose, and Sakura grabbed the protruding metal bit on Alpha's right and pulled on it.

To Alpha's surprise, the metal part turned out to be the tip of a wide belt that could be pulled from the wall. The belt was made of a gray, woven material.

And it was at least thirty centimeters wide.

Sakura fastened the metal end to the wall on Alpha's left, and when she let go of the belt, the latter partially retracted around her waist, pinning her against the wall with a mechanical sound.

"This belt had a ratcheting mechanism inside the wall, so the more you struggle, the tighter it will become." nodded Sakura as she bent down, pulling on another similar belt. This one closed on Alpha at knee level, ensuring that she couldn't flex or spread her legs.

The only movement Alpha could try with those restraints was to stand on her tiptoes or move her head, but what would be the point of that?

"Now wait patiently for the others, Alpha." said Sakura as she and Shuuko left.

"Mmph!" snorted Alpha. What did Sakura think she could do, pinned against the wall like this and with her magic power sealed?

As Sakura and Shuuko left the room to fetch their next captive, Alpha searched for any way to gain an advantage.

She quickly found what she assumed was the belts' release mechanism, ten buttons near the door with corresponding numbers.

They were far out of her reach.

A few minutes later, Epsilon and Millia dragged Nu on, gagged and her hands bound in mittens just like Alpha's.

Nu's eyes widened at the sight of Alpha pinned against the wall by the pair of wide belts, and she struggled in vain as she was forced to stand on Alpha's left. Seconds later, she too was secured by the belts.

When Sakura and Shuuko returned with a similarly bound Delta, Alpha reflected that this particular way of binding them left their bare chests exposed, and their arms bound behind their backs even pushed their breasts upward invitingly.

Knowing that Sakura had been the one creating this place with her unknown magic, she didn't think it was a coincidence.

One by one, the rest of her fellow captives were brought into the room and secured to the wall. Beta, then Zeta, then Iota.

Alpha expected 665 to be brought last, but to her surprise, she was dragged by Millia and Epsilon into the other room, behind the glass. Her hands too were kept inside mittens, but she wasn't gagged and didn't wear panties.

665 could obviously see them, as she looked at them with fear for an instant, then with a grave expression and a nod as she visibly steeled herself.

Alpha nodded at her, acknowledging the courage of the gray-haired elf girl.

While 665 was bound by Millia and Epsilon to chains on the ceiling and floor, forcing her body into a X-shaped posture, Sakura entered the room Alpha and the others were in, followed by Shuuko.

She ignored Delta's growl as she created a red leather collar, and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

Alpha went rigid as she felt something vibrate against her crotch, even if it lasted less than a second. Delta's growl had stopped with a strangled squeak, so she assumed it wasn't her alone.

"The synchronization is working." nodded Sakura to Shuuko, handing her the red collar, and Shuuko left the room, only to enter the other room. She wrapped the collar around 665's neck.

"665, do you hear me from the other side?" asked Sakura, and 665 nodded warily.

"Thank you for waiting, Ladies." smiled Sakura as if they had any other choice. "I will now explain what is going to happen. Epsilon will leave to resume her combat training with Scathach, while Millia, Shuuko and I will remain to entertain 665, and the rest of you will watch."

"We are going to play with her body and do this and that, relentlessly giving her pleasure without allowing her the sweet release of an orgasm, until she breaks and agrees to swear loyalty to our Master, Noah. For your information, Epsilon withstood such torture for almost two full days before breaking from sheer exhaustion, which is quite impressive, let me tell you!"

"But you may wonder, what about the red collar and the panties you wear? The collar can sense its wearer's arousal level, and it is synchronized with your panties. Panties that will stimulate you while you watch, and the stronger her arousal, the more intense the stimulation will be. But you too won't be allowed to cum."

Alpha stiffened, glaring at Sakura and willing her to turn into a pile of ashes this very instant.

"The purpose is double." smiled Sakura, satisfied with their reactions. "The stimulation will soften you up, making it easier for us to break your initial resistance when your turn comes. And the awareness that 665's own resistance and stubbornness are also causing you to suffer, the sight of you girls writhing in your bonds in desperate need like she is, will become another incentive pushing her toward giving in."

"Once 665's resolve breaks and she swears loyalty to our Master, we will give her relief, then carry her back to her cell, where she will be able to rest while the rest of you get you turn inside that room.

"Mmpjh!" growled Delta, struggling hard against the belts, and only getting them ratcheting tighter against her as a result.

"I will add that we are starting with 665 because she and Iota have the smallest shares of responsibility in the events that led to this, so they deserve to suffer least. After 665 will be Iota's turn, then Nu's. Alpha, you will be last."

Alpha nodded defiantly. She actually agreed that she should be one taking the worst of the punishment. She had been the one giving the orders.

"Breaking each of you to allow you to meet our Master is the first part of your training. Once this is done, we will train each of you individually, using different methods. Delta and Zeta, I hope you like pet play. And if you don't, it is fine. We will make sure you grow a liking for it anyway."

"Mmpht!" spat Zeta, expressing her outrage, but this only made Sakura smile widen.

"Nu, you will be trained as a maid. A sexy maid, wearing latex outfits and a chastity belt that will stop you from touching yourself. Denial and edge play will be something you will experience every day, but you will have to earn your orgasms."

Nu snorted in contempt.

"665, Iota… Honestly, we haven't decided yet." shrugged Sakura. "Maybe we will train you both as masochist slaves, for variety's sake. We will teach you to enjoy pain to heighten the pleasure."

From the way Iota and 665 were vehemently shaking their heads and shouting into their gags, it was clear they had much to say about Sakura's suggestion.

"However, for Beta and Alpha, I do not have to make a decision. Master already told me what he has in mind for you both." said Sakura, and both Alpha and Beta stiffened.

"Beta." smiled Sakura as she walked closer to her. "Noah appreciates your creativity and intelligence. But your works are a bit bland where romance and sex are concerned, due to a lack of expertise in this area."

"He wants to… enhance your creativity a little, by offering you knowledge about things you currently have no experience about. Master asked us to teach you the pleasure of sex. He will personally show you what it is like to be with a skilled male partner."

"And we too will teach you the joys of sex between women. By the time we are done, your writing style will have improved, and we will also count on you to come up with new ideas for toys and accessories to use in the bedroom, or to help train future Shadow Garden members. You will also become quite slutty, but we are fine with it."

"Mmphooph!" vehemently denied Beta.

"And finally, Alpha." nodded Sakura, ignoring Beta. "Master wants you as a Shibari slave."

Alpha frowned at the unknown term.

"Shibari is a term from my country. It means rope bondage, in the artistic sense." explained Sakura. "Yes, bondage can be a form of art, especially with rope. We will teach you to enjoy being bound by rope, and the stricter the bondage, the more you will like it."

"You're probably wondering why Master would choose this for you, specifically."

Sakura paused, expecting a nod that Alpha refused to give.

"…I won't tell you if you don't nod. Are you sure?" grinned Sakura.

Alpha sighed and nodded. She did want to know.

"Good girl." praised Sakura, but she stopped smiling. "…It's about the burden of being a leader, Alpha. Shadow may be the figure all members of Shadow Garden yearn for and worship, but we all know that you are the one fulfilling the duties of an actual leader. You may be doing this job as your duty. You may even feel happy and proud that Shadow trusts you with this role."

"But being a leader, assuming responsibilities for the lives and wellbeing of all those who follow you, also comes with a cost. A guilt for each and every of your decisions that leads to failure, injuries, or deaths. A weariness that comes with having to maintain the image of a perfect leader at all times, not ever allowing yourself any moment of weakness."

665, Beta, Delta and the others were looking at Alpha intently, wondering if Sakura was right, if they had been blind to the pressure Alpha had been under all this time.

Alpha turned her gaze back to Sakura, seeing actual compassion and understanding in her eyes.

She felt a strong urge to nod at her, to acknowledge that Sakura had seen through the image Alpha projected and seen the girl behind the mask.

But then she remembered Shadow, and what Rin had declared Sakura intended to do to him. She remembered that indeed, she had to project the image of a confident leader in front of the others to prop up their morale. And doing it now was more important than ever.

Alpha didn't nod, and straightened her posture as much as she could, staring defiantly at Sakura.

"Be stubborn if you wish." nodded Sakura, not looking displeased. "It's only a matter of time, and we have plenty. But back to Shibari, and the reason Master chose it for you. He does not want Alpha, the leader of Shadow Garden. He wants the girl behind the mask."

"By binding you with inescapable rope, by rendering you completely helpless, Master and I will take all the decisions away from you. We believe that in the snug embrace of ropes, you will find a freedom, a peace that you are not yet aware you need, and you will be free to be yourself…"

Alpha's astonishment must have been visible on her face, gagged as she was. How could being bound give someone a feeling of peace and freedom? It was ridiculous.

"This isn't without precedents." shrugged Sakura. "There are several young women in Noah's harem who lead large organizations of their own or are the Heads of powerful noble houses. And they do enjoy regular bondage sessions, enjoy being treated as pets for a few hours. They love the opportunities to lay aside their responsibilities and their worries for a time, and to just enjoy our Master's affection. It is for them a very pleasant way to cope with the pressure."

"And now, I have said what I wanted you to know." said Sakura as she turned toward the door. "Now, it is time to start what will without a doubt be the most unpleasant part of your training. The sooner you give in and agree to swear loyalty to Noah, the quicker it will end."

The door closed behind her, and Alpha exchanged a quick glance with Beta before her attention turned to what was happening in the other room. Sakura had just joined Millia and Shuuko, and the three of them started running their gloved hands all over 665's body, kneading and fondling her flesh.

It wasn't long before the panties Alpha wore started vibrating, slowly at first, but the intensity increased steadily. Even she quickly found it difficult to endure.

Delta started groaning as she squirmed in discomfort, and Alpha looked at her with sympathy. The brave but somewhat simple-minded girl was ill-equipped to withstand a kind of pleasure she had never experienced before.

…

After an hour, 665 was moaning and gasping non-stop, endlessly squirming against the chains holding her upright as six gloved hands, often joined by several tongues and pairs of lips, drove her to a lustful frenzy.

From time to time, she glanced through the window at Alpha and the others, her face burning with mixed lustful need and shame, and shook herself, shoring up her mental defenses against the waves of pleasure crashing on her mind.

Not that those defenses lasted very long.

…

After two hours, Delta was panting as she squirmed, her head down while her waist was humping the air as much as the belts allowed. Long moans escaped from her gag.

Zeta was staring in defiance at the scene unfolding before them, but she too was constantly moving her waist, her thoughts growing hazy from the need to get an orgasm.

Iota kept moving up and down as her legs rubbed against each other and she lifted her heels off the ground repeatedly. Her face was burning with need. Were her hands free, she would be fingering herself like crazy, paying no mind to the people watching.

Alpha was withstanding it better, but she decided to completely forgive Epsilon. If she had managed to withstand two days of the constant torture 665 was currently experiencing before giving in, this wasn't something she could look down upon. Alpha wasn't certain she herself could hold that long.

…

After four hours, 665's struggles were weakening. Exhaustion was taking its toll.

Alpha wasn't blaming her. Shadow Garden trained its members for fast-paced battles, not marathons. They trained for speed, precision and magic power rather than endurance.

Sakura suddenly stepped back and cupped 665's head with a gentle expression.

"Are you ready to swear loyalty to Noah, 665? You only have to agree, and we will remove the rune that stops you from getting over the edge. We will give you the pleasure you crave, and you will get to rest for a few days."

665 seemed about to nod wearily, then caught herself and shook her head.

"Noooo... " moaned 665.

Sakura nodded and released her head before joining the others back in tormenting 665.

…

After about ten hours, 665 finally gave in. With tears flowing, she agreed to swear loyalty to the man whose voice came from the device Sakura held in front of her.

As soon as she did, Alpha saw Sakura remove a rune from 665's stomach, then finger her roughly as 665 convulsed and produced a half-strangled scream of pleasure before going limp.

Alpha, struggling to keep her panting under control as the vibrator tormenting her went into overdrive, didn't feel like blaming her. 665 had no close relationship with Shadow, having met him in person only once or twice. And it was Epsilon who cured her from her possession. It was natural that her loyalty to Shadow would be less firm.

Rather, to withstand ten hours of such torture was already commendable.

Shuuko removed the red collar from 665's neck, freed her from her bonds, and carried her limp body away.

Sakura returned into the room.

"From the intense smell, I'd say the panties have been very effective... Delta, are you okay?"

Delta lifted her head to look at Sakura and whined, trembling from need.

Sakura pressed a button on the wall, and the belts holding Delta unlocked and retracted within the wall.

Delta started to fall, and Sakura was suddenly beside her, holding her. She removed Delta's gag.

"Delta… Delta is burning…" weakly said Delta, her knees grinding against each other.

Sakura sighed and removed the panties from Delta's crotch. she used her fingers to rub between Delta's legs, and in seconds, Delta convulsed as the experienced a powerful orgasm.

She was completely exhausted as she came down from it, and her eyes focused back on Sakura.

"What was… Delta felt very strange!"

"That was an orgasm, Delta. You never had one before?"

Delta tiredly shook her head.

"Well, you will have many more in the future. Stand up, Delta."

Delta struggled to stand, exhausted after about ten hours of edging followed by an earth-shattering orgasm. She flinched as she saw Sakura create another item.

"Don't worry, Delta." said Sakura. This one isn't going to make you feel strange. It will just stop you from touching yourself without our permission."

"But Delta still feels funny. It's itching." protested Delta.

"Are you ready to swear loyalty to Noah?" gently asked Sakura as she locked the chastity belt around Delta's waist. the belt's back was shaped like an inverted omega symbol around the base of her tail.

"Delta can't! Delta is going to have kids with Boss!"

"I'm sorry, Delta, but you aren't going to have kids with Shadow." sighed Sakura.

"Delta will!" shouted Delta.

"You can't have kids with another woman, Delta." gently cut in Sakura.

"…Ah?" exclaimed Delta with a tilted head, confused. "But Boss is a man?"

"For now, yes. But once Master defeats Shadow, Shadow will become a woman."

Alpha's eyes opened as far as they would go. and her fellow captives protested loudly into their gags.

They wanted to turn Shadow into a woman? Was that even possible? And what about Rin's threats to make Shadow into Sakura's dog? She glared at Sakura, wanting to get some answers at the first opportunity.

"So you can't have kids with Shadow. But if you want kids, Noah will be willing to give you some, maybe many. Isn't that what you want? To have kids with a powerful father? When Noah defeats Shadow, he will have proved that he is the stronger one."

"But… Boss is the strongest…" hesitated Delta, her desire to have a hundred children with the strongest father possible clashing with her feelings for Shadow for the first time. "…No! Delta won't betray Boss!"

"Alright, Delta. For now, I will clean you up and give you some food, and you can get some sleep. We will resume tomorrow morning with Iota."

Iota flinched and looked back at the dangling chains in the other room with fear, already imagining herself suffering like 665 had. How long would she manage to hold on?

…

By the time Epsilon came to release her from the wall, Alpha's arousal had cooled down a lot, reduced to something she could almost ignore.

"I asked Sakura to be the one to take care of you tonight, Alpha." nodded Epsilon as she removed Alpha's gag and freed her from the wide belts. "I figured you'd like an opportunity to ask me some questions in private."

Only her and Epsilon remained in the room.

Alpha worked her jaw for a few seconds before nodding.

"You went through two whole days of, this?"

"I did." nodded Epsilon. "It was only Sakura and Alexia tormenting me back then, and I was still clinging to the hope that Shadow and you girls would find me, if I only held on long enough. That helped, until I just couldn't endure anymore."

"I understand. I'm not happy about you being part of Valhalla, but I can at least understand." sighed Alpha. "Maybe I too would have given in, if our places had been reversed. But what about Shadow? Are you aware of what Rin said they wanted to do to him?"

"I am." nodded Epsilon. "Although Rin wasn't serious about it. Their goal was to get under Shadow's skin and to harass him all the way to the day when Noah enters our world. And from the way he suddenly decided to leave the Capital, it certainly succeeded. When Rin made that recording, Noah had already decided he would fight Shadow himself and deal with him afterward. But yes, Noah is going to use some kind of magic medicine to turn Shadow into a woman."

"How can you accept this, Epsilon?" asked Alpha with rising anger. "He saved us all! He took care of us when we had been abandoned, and…"

"Save it, Alpha." cut in Epsilon. "You do not need to lecture me about gratitude. I have not forgotten the debt I owe Shadow, nor the years we all spent together. But this isn't a fight Shadow Garden can win. I do not like much the idea of him becoming a woman, but at least, he will still be alive."

"Why are you so convinced that Shadow would lose to Noah in the first place?" fumed Alpha, trying to poke holes into Epsilon's logic.

"…Haven't you noticed, Alpha?" sighed Epsilon. "For years now, since Shadow's magic power stopped growing, he almost completely stopped trying to become stronger. The only notable progress he made was to create the slime suits. Shadow stopped trying because, once you stand at the top of the mountain, you have no motive to try to climb even higher, and no one able to push your limits."

"And Noah is different?"

"He is." nodded Epsilon. "Because he knows that there are greater mountains just beyond the horizon and that he will eventually have to subdue those who stand on those peaks as well. And he uses and abuses both the time manipulation of the Sanctuaries he created and his ability to meet in the dreams of the strongest members of Valhalla, essentially duplicating himself into multiple copies, each of them training themselves before transmitting what they learned back to his real body."

"For each day that passes in the real world, Alpha, Noah actually receives several thousands of hours' worth of training. When he isn't sparring with Scathach or Okita in their dreams to hone his swordplay, he is discussing various forms of magic with other experts to optimize his existing abilities or creating new ones."

Epsilon paused, staring at Alpha, and sighed.

"I am not exaggerating, Alpha. As things stand now, Shadow may have a decent chance of defeating Noah. But those odds are steadily dwindling, and Noah won't enter our world for months yet. By then, the outcome will be decided before the fight even begins."

"Several months? Is he scared of facing Shadow now?"

"Noah is busy in another world. Ours isn't the only one that needs saving." replied Epsilon. "He mentioned a few things about his current enemies, and at least three of them are very likely stronger than Shadow is. They are stronger than Noah himself is, and he is working hard to reduce the gap and overcome them."

"Sounds like potential allies." grumbled Alpha, and Epsilon snorted.

"Sure, if you're willing to ignore the minor matter of those guys actively planning to massacre over three billion innocent people."

Alpha gasped at her.

"Follow me out of this room, Alpha. If I stay there too long, I'll start smelling like I just had sex. Take care not to slip on any puddle."

"It's not that bad!" retorted Alpha as she stared at the ground, her face flushing red. There were indeed small puddles of body fluids on six of the red semi-circles, and the inner sides of Alpha's thighs were sticky.

Epsilon ignored her outburst and gestured for her to go out of the room.

Feet naked, Alpha followed her down the hallway.

"Why does Noah even want to make Shadow into a woman in the first place? Can't he subjugate him by doing the same thing he just did to 665?" asked Alpha after a moment.

"He could. There are several reasons behind his decision, and I am not certain I know them all." nodded Epsilon. "First, Noah has made a habit to repurpose his enemies, on the principle that making them work to save people or do good deeds is more productive than turning them into fertilizer. Although he mostly do that with women, and that's for the second reason."

"Noah believes that the best way to cement a subordinate's loyalty and prevent future betrayal is through sexual pleasure. And he may be right about that."

"Sexual pleasure?" frowned Alpha.

"You won't understand until you experience it, but sex with Noah is… dangerously addictive." nodded Epsilon. "Not in the sense that you will experience withdrawal symptoms if you don't have sex with him, but it just feels that good, and not just on a physical level. The way he looks at me when we do it, the way he watches and listens so carefully to each of my reactions… This is something you have to experience to truly understand. But back to your question."

"Lastly, I think Noah sees Shadow as a rival for the affection and loyalty of every girl of Shadow Garden, and he wants us all. He may be a great man overall, but he isn't without flaws, and being lustful is one of them. By making Shadow into a woman, he will be getting rid of that rival in a way that won't antagonize us girls nearly as much as killing him would. Rather, with Shadow as a girl and part of his harem, many of us won't resist too hard joining in as well, to remain close to him. Her."

Epsilon stopped in front of another door and opened it. Epsilon immediately heard the sound of running water.

The room's floor and walls were covered in white and blue tiles, and it was a large bathroom. She saw Beta and Millia inside. Beta was standing in a cubicle, arms lifted above her head by black leather cuffs linked to a chain dangling from the ceiling. She was being washed by Sakura.

Alpha entered and let Epsilon position her under another chain in the next cubicle. A thin wall of transparent material was separating them.

"Has she given you any difficulties?" asked Sakura to Epsilon.

"No. We just talked for a bit." shrugged Epsilon as she removed the padlock linking Alpha's gloved fists and started removing the left mitten.

Sakura nodded and returned her attention to washing Beta, who was gritting her teeth.

No, she wasn't just washing her, noticed Alpha as she saw Sakura's right hand squeeze Beta's left breast for a few seconds.

"I'm giving her a taste of the pleasure I will give her later." winked Sakura as she noticed Alpha's gaze. "I will slowly awaken Beta's slutty side and bring it to the surface."

"I won't let you do as you please!" retorted Beta. "Whatever you do to me, I will endure!"

"Yes, you will." smiled Sakura. "Until you can't anymore, and a single moment of weakness, giving in even just once, is all it will take. Then, just like what happened with Epsilon, every time you fall asleep, you will experience in your dream a week's worth of time with our Master. The only question is how long it will take for you to fall in love with him. And when you're awake, we will still train you as a lesbian slut."

"Shadow will find us." said Alpha. "He will find us and free us from you monsters."

"Monsters, huh?" sneered Sakura. "That's rich of you, coming from someone who ambushed us when we only wanted to establish a friendly relationship, and then attacked us again after we saved your butts."

Sakura stopped the shower, and a large white towel appeared in her hands. She started drying Beta while Epsilon started Alpha's own shower.

Her wrists bound above her head, Alpha watched powerlessly as Beta was groomed, then made to wear a bright orange latex bodysuit, then black latex stockings and black latex shoulder-length gloves over it. Sakura added black leather cuffs on Beta's wrists and ankles, a tall black leather collar that she padlocked on the back of Beta's neck, and a black leather belt-like contraption that completely covered Beta's crotch and was locked with another padlock.

"This is the prisoner outfit that you will all wear while you are trained in these walls." declared Sakura as she bound Beta's wrists behind her back with yet another padlock. "Sometimes, we will vary things a bit, like making you wear straitjackets and legbinders, but the orange bodysuits and black stockings and gloves will be your default attire. And the belts, of course. We don't want you to rub one off when we aren't looking."

She clipped a leash on Beta's collar, and the silver-haired elf exchanged with Alpha a gaze of tested patience before she was led out of the bathroom.

Alpha brooded in silence while Epsilon washed her, wondering how long it would take for Shadow to find them. She was sure that once he learned of their disastrous battle, he would send everyone to search for them. There were a number of therianthropes in Shadow Garden, but would Valhalla's members leave them a trail to follow?

She didn't even know how far they were from the nearest village or city, since they had been blindfolded.

But they would make a mistake at some point, do something that would allow Shadow Garden to find them.

They had to.

…

After being fed and having another break in the restroom, Alpha, her body below the neck tightly wrapped in orange and black latex as well as black leather accessories, was led by Sakura to a different padded cell. There was a bed in the center, whose mattress was half covered by eight, wide, black leather straps, and connected to those straps was a black leather body bag. She was forced inside before they closed it on her, then they gagged her and blindfolded her before leaving.

Alpha tested her bonds. The gag was just as effective as before and the leather bag had very little give. She wouldn't be getting out of it until they came to free her.

Alpha decided to conserve her strength for the next torture and let her body go limp. The words Sakura spoke back then came back to her, about being bound letting her relax. But she didn't see it happening.

And before long, the long day's exhaustion caught up to her, and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

…

Claire looked around curiously. She stood in the courtyard of the manor her family had built over a century ago, but the surrounding woods seemed closer than she remembered. Then she understood from Chisato's description where she was.

As if summoned, a wooden door appeared in front of her, and Noah entered.

"Hi, Claire." smiled Noah, the door behind him disappearing. "It is nice to meet you in person. Well, not exactly in person, but that it is still better than through the phone."

"Yes." nodded Claire, examining him intently. She of course knew he was handsome from the short conversation he had with her when she discussed the particulars of her oaths and took it. But damn, was he somehow more impressive face to face. "The you in front of me is part of yourself, right? Not a copy?"

"…I am not sure I would be able to give you a definitive answer about that, Claire, because I'm not completely certain myself." shrugged Noah. "But assuming I am a copy of the original Noah, my memories are synchronized every day, so there is no chance of personality deviation, and I am identical to the original to such an extent that whether I am a copy or not becomes largely meaningless as anything but a philosophical question. I'll have a perfect memory of anything that happens in your Soul Space, and anything I will say there is something I mean."

"I suppose so." sighed Claire. "But maybe I can finally get an answer from you. Is my brother part of Shadow Garden?"

"What did my girls tell you about it?" frowned Noah.

"That Alpha and the other girls they captured are my brother's friends, and that he has more of them ready to protect him." said Claire with some frustration in her voice. "I asked Sakura outright if he was part of Shadow Garden, but she refused to answer. And her refusal makes me think he is, but I need to be sure."

"I see." nodded Noah with a small smile. "It's frustrating, right? To be surrounded by people who know something that is related to you, but they won't tell you."

"You got that right, it's damn frustrating. So if you want us to get along, you better answer." demanded Claire.

"I understand." nodded Noah. He gestured with his hand, and a sofa suddenly was in the middle of the courtyard, facing a giant black thing with a flat surface reminding her of Sakura's smartphone, but hundreds of times bigger.

"Let's sit, Claire, and you will have not only your answer but also the how or why. But I warn you, it won't be entirely pleasant."

"I can take it, whatever the truth is." frowned Claire as she sat beside Noah, taking care to leave a meter of distance between them, and the giant smartphone lit up.

"Uh? Who's that kid, he vaguely look like my brother, but at the same time, he's not."

"What you are seeing right now, Claire, are images of your brother's previous life, when his name was Minoru Kageno. His last name was almost identical to the one in his current life. I can't say if this is coincidence or if there's a meaning behind it."

Claire frowned, her gaze fixed on the screen as she saw the little kid sit in front of another giant smartphone-like device and stare with an entranced expression, and she heard the kid's inner voice, talking of his fascination about shadowy characters helping the protagonists in the stories he watched. The so called 'Eminences in the Shadows'.

She saw the kid engage in all sorts of relentless training, to the point of reaching the limits of what a young man could achieve without magic, then perform all sort of bizarre attempts to learn magic in a magicless world. Until he dazed himself by repeatedly bashing his head against a boulder while repeatedly shouting 'Magic! Magic! Magic!', saw a white light in the distance, and mindlessly rushed toward it after believing it to be the source of what he craved so badly.

And then, he died from a collision with a truck.

The screen turned black for a moment, until it lit up again, showing a newborn, and the same inner voice showing that it was the same person. The field of view changed, showing Claire, then only four-year-old, standing by the door and staring intently, and wondering why the baby wasn't crying.

The next scene Noah showed her was of her and Cid sparring near a river. In the middle of the spar, her movement suddenly slowed to near immobility, and the Cid on the picture almost injured three times with his sword before resuming his stance, and time seemed to resume its normal flow just before Claire's sword pushed him into the river.

"…I remember that." muttered Claire as she touched the right side of her neck like the Claire on the giant smartphone did, having sensed something even if her eyes couldn't follow. "Back then, I thought I had imagined it because, well, he was my little brother, and he was weaker than me… He really fooled me all this time?"

"He fooled everyone. You shouldn't blame yourself for falling for it." nodded Noah.

Claire kept watching various scenes of Cid leaving at night to slaughter bandits, finding and curing Alpha, and gaslighting her into creating Shadow Garden. She watched until Cid entered the Dark Knights Academy, and the screen went black.

"Now, Claire, what you are going to see from now on corresponds to a slightly different future, one where you and Alexia didn't become friends, and where one of Solomon's demons never entered your world." said Noah.

"Yes, I'm aware." nodded Claire. "The girls told me about your ability to see a different future."

Noah nodded, and showed her the events as they had happened in the original fiction. Alexia's kidnapping, the Cult's invasion of the academy, the clash between Shadow Garden and the Cult in the secret research center under Lindwurm, but also the betrayal of Rose's mother, and the incident with the vampires in Lawless City.

"That little shit, making a fool of me." sighed Claire. "I'd like to say I would spank his butt with the flat of my blade, but if he gets serious, I won't be able to. And if he lets me do it to act like a so-called background character again, I would only be making a fool of myself… How infuriating! …At least I'm glad that this time around, Aurora has her own body. I have nothing against her, but I'd rather not share my body with anyone."

"Of course." nodded Noah. "And now, you know just about as much as I do about this world. The first time I spoke with Alexia, I didn't show her any further than what happened with Assistant-Principal Lutheran."

"Are you going to show this to Rose as well? Another of your shards should be speaking with her at this time, right?"

"That's something I already discussed with the girls, and we reached a consensus. We do not intend for Rose to learn about it until Medusa or one of the others can gather actual evidence." sighed Noah. "If I only show her what might have happened, she might go into instant denial… And there's always a small chance that it will be different this time around."

"I hope so." sighed Claire. "So how do I get your powers, now that I swore loyalty to you? I want to close the gap with this dear little brother of mine as much as possible!"

"That's going to require a bit of time, I'm afraid." sighed Noah. "In your case, and in Rose's case, it's basically a three steps process to share my powers."

"First step, the oath allowing us to meet so we can become more than strangers. Second step, we get comfortable and genuinely appreciate each other's company. Third step, our relationship grows to the point where you honestly accept me as your Master without reservations, and you see your oath of loyalty to me as more than just a way to become stronger. That is when the threshold will be reached, and then you will lose consciousness. When you wake up less than an hour later, you'll be able to use the abilities I can share as if you used them for years."

"…Is that what you did with everyone else?" frowned Claire, not liking that each time she compromised to gain those abilities, the goalpost seemed to move a little farther away.

"Before I received this convenient ability to create Soul Shards, I was pressed for time" nodded Noah. "I'll admit that in the past, I often used sex to accelerate the process. It probably won't surprise you if I say that giving a woman mind-blowing sex, especially if I position myself as the dominant partner as I do, does wonders to convince her that having a Master isn't such a bad thing after all. But that is off the table with you and Rose."

Noah rose from the sofa, and two wooden swords appeared in his hand.

"How about we spar for a while, Claire?" smiled Noah. "It will take some time for you to share my abilities, but those aren't the only way I can help you grow stronger."

"Now you're talking my language." nodded Claire as she stood and accepted one of the wooden swords. "But those will shatter if I circulate my magic power."

"Not necessarily." chuckled Noah. "We're not in the real world after all, and in this place, I get to make the rules. Besides, you do not need magic power to hone your swordsmanship. But first, you may want to change. I put a copy of your academy's training gear in what I assume to be your room, on the bed."

Noah pointed at the manor, and Claire nodded. "Stay there and don't try to peek."

"Please." snorted Noah. "I'll admit to being a pervert, hard not to when I have a huge harem, but if I want to watch, I'll do it openly. It's more fun when the girl is also blushing in embarrassment."

"I don't know if I should find your honesty about being a pervert alarming or reassuring..." sighed Claire before heading to the manor.

Claire found the inside of the building to be identical to her memories, which she assumed was normal, since her Soul Space's details were probably drawn from them.

The training tunic on her bed, black with light-blue trims, also looked very familiar.

She quickly stripped to her underwear, quickly glancing at the window to make sure he wasn't peeping. She walked closer to it and peeked through the corner, seeing him standing where she had left him. His clothes had already changed to a black, close-fitting outfit more appropriate for fighting, and he was doing stretching exercises.

Claire nodded to herself as she put on the tunic. If fit her perfectly, and she wondered for a second how he knew her measurements before remembering that Chisato mentioned their magic clothes could resize themselves to their wearers.

She returned outside and stopped three meters from him.

"Ready when you are." smiled Noah as he slightly shifted his stance. He held his sword in a seemingly loose grip like an extension of his left arm, its tip near the ground at an angle.

Claire nodded with approval and focused. She was skilled enough that she could tell that Noah's relaxed stance and quiet confidence were hints of a very skilled swordsman.

She lowered her center of gravity, then pounced.

Noah's wooden sword rose to intercept her own, but the impact was soft, surprising her as her momentum brought her forward.

Only, the resistance became firmer half-way while Noah pivoted on his forward feet, and her blow was deflected to the side.

Not only that, but Noah slid his wooden blade along hers in a forward movement, aiming at her flank with the hilt of the sword. Noah was using her own momentum against her, and she couldn't do anything about it.

The hilt sank a centimeter into her side before Noah suddenly jumped back.

Claire nodded to him, acknowledging the hit, and smiled with satisfaction.

She realized that he was right, and she was going to learn a lot from him.