ã€ŠObsession x Manaã€‹


 0 x Prologue

    The shrill sound of metal clashing, reverberations in the air. Chilling gales of the winter blowing past every strike. Cries amidst the forsaken lands, like madmen who fight only for themselves.

    Gunfire and screams, disorderly shouts and the disturbing sounds of flesh tearing. A melodious cacophony which seemed to overlap the constant ringing in one¡¯s ears. The true battlefield was such a place, where talks of peace were nothing more than the fragments of one¡¯s imagination. Surely, there would no longer be men disillusioned by the false stability of their own countries who had sent them here. To this wretched place where humans were nothing more than ragdolls after taking a couple of stabs through their bodies. No one really knew what the other thought, but alas, the bloodied wastelands were the only proof required to reveal the muddy insanity, hidden within the hearts of men.

    Riddled with darkness, flickering in between a state of battle mania was a young boy with his left eye shut tightly, irritated by the blood flowing down from his head. He was in a state of combat, just like the men around him, thus his eyes merely settled upon his current opponent, yet he was still perceptive of any possible flanks. Such a pair of trained eyes, those belonged to a yet-grown child with the scent of death clinging onto the back of his shoulders. Those eyes were cold and lifeless, yet they seemed to harbor a spark of anger, something that kept him from being torn apart by the superiority of his enemies bigger than him.

    Clash. Another high-pitched frequency brought out from a single worn out dagger the boy had pocketed from a dead personnel nearby. It was one of the standard-issued ones from the army, thus he was rather familiar with it. However, it seemed that the quality of the metal used for it was about to wear out by every swing of the opponent¡¯s two-handed sword. As another collision occurred, it would seem that both of them were already aware of the difference in weapon durability, and individual skill. A cruel smile was lifted on the man¡¯s face, his face was obscured by a strange blur; like a recollection that seemed to be distant in years, the boy could not remember his face at all, nor the events following the last greeting of metal against metal.

    Thump. Thump. Thump. His heart beat furiously according to the rhythm of the battle, but the memories of that battle were slowly fading away. Was he about to wake up from the other side? His black hair dirtied by the soot from the warfare began to change in color. At first glance, it seemed as if his head was lighted up by some kind of magic, but it was merely a visual misinterpretation. His hair was turning white at a noticeable pace, but nobody except the opponent before him had noticed such a change. Not even the boy himself had realized it.

    Shiiiing. A powerful strike had broken the dagger into two, it was a miracle that it had lasted for this long in the first place. The broken edge stabbed onto the soiled ground nearby. The boy seemed to stop his movement for a brief second, looking at the broken dagger emotionlessly. He had no more weapons in his arsenal. There were nothing around him left to plunder and use. His head lifted itself slightly to match the blade coming down to cut him in half.

    And then the boy felt a sudden warmness enveloping him, traces of life returned into his hollow eyes. It was a subtly gentle sensation, like his body was being hugged tightly. His bloodied face were covered by another hand which cleansed the dirt away, masking the visage of death with white.

    ....The roll of film nicked off at the most crucial moment, resurfacing the boy from the frozen time.

    This boy was a man called Perun in the present.

    <hr>

    The manopened his eyes slowly.

    Left hand moving over to the top of his head where he thought would be severed, the vestiges of the war like a flickering flame. This was a phantom wound.

    What he dreamt of, was a recurring nightmare of that time. His opponent at that time, wore the uniform of a general on the opposing faction, wielding that pitch black sword, it¡¯s dark frame reflecting no light. These were all in the past.

    Perun¡¯s own broken dagger as well, with its cracked pieces left suspended in the air, captured at that single frame in time, completely encapsulated in his memory.

    He was just 12 at that time, gaining the powers that made him a famous war hero. But now, he was but a shadow of his former glory. He was now the guildmaster, and proper father for his children. It wasn''t as if the mandid not feel bad about having lost his powersas he grew older, but he was also satisfied with his current life.

    Perun was now a husband to a beautiful wife and hissixdaughters. He was no longer the bloodythirsty killer that he once was.

    Hoping to raise his adopted children in a better and different environment than his, Perun did not reveal the existence of the Dark Guild he had created after retirement, to his new family. Since he merely filled the role as the guildmaster, Perun handled purely paperwork without seeing bloodshed for the rest of his life. Additionally, the paperwork had terms obscure to people unfamiliar with the underworld to eliminate any potential of his participation in the dirty work. His daughters would only see them as nothing more than ordinary files for an accountant. Occasionally, Perun would also sneak out and oversee the work of his underlings in secret.

    He was a guildmaster after all.

    Rubbing his scruffy white hair with one hand, Perun frowned from the displeasing feeling lingering in his body. It was an inpurity that weakened his vitality every time he had the same nightmare.

    The nightmare that he had left on the battlefield 28 years ago,the one dream that happened irregularly in his peaceful life.

    He could feel his body sticky with sweat just thinking about it.

    Perun turned to look at the window outside to shake off the ominous thoughts, remaining still and dazed from what he had seen in his dreams.After baskinghis naked bodyunder the sun for a bit, Perun felt himself getting a little better.

    "...Fuahh..."

    He yawned weakly.There were a few scars etched onaround histoned body, signs of his violent past.

    Ever since the fateful meteorite had struck the surface on Earth, Perun had becamethe progenitor of the awakened humans, more commonly known as ''meta-humans''. That was the cause of ''mana'' created from the veins within the meteorite, giving birth to a world identical to that of true fantasy and magic.

    The man was ratherdrained of strength even for a 41-year old, yet Perun''s youthful face didn¡¯t seem to look his age at all due to the side-effect of his pinnacle-grade ''magic''flowing within his body. That was because of mana,a new kind of element that created phenomenons that went beyond the limitations of physics.

    While it was true that Perun possessed overwhelmingly pure mana, the quantity was disappearing and getting smaller day by day. The cause of his weakening powers were those nightmares which drained him from vitality without end, and soon Perun knew that one of these days, that flickering flame he called mana, would burn out, returning him to nothing more than a normal middle-aged man.

    His time on Earth was getting lesseras the years passed.

    Perhaps he had outlived his purpose, Perun thought with a wry smile.

    He had kept it a secret from his family to keep them from worrying, but... it was just a matter of time.

    Perun raised his wrist up and gazed at his hand with empty eyes.

    (I should handle the delegation of work in the guild very soon... but what excuse should I give the girls...)

    "Haaah..."

    He sighed again, remembering how bad the relationship between him and his daughters was lately. It was hard to bring it up today as well.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Shifting his legs to the bedside, Perun stretched his arms strongly, ridding of the strain accumulated last night.

    The time was a little past sunrise, the sunlight had begun to prickle his eyes.Perun squeezed the bridge of his nose with a little strength, allowing his eyes to close again momentarily before opening them once more after adjusting to the light.

    When he was done, Perun paused for a moment and looked down at the bulge popping up under his blanket.

    A smile crept up his stoned face.

    (I guess I was talking in my sleep...)

    As Perunremembered the soft sensation resting against his legs as he woke up from his sleep earlier, he quickly came to a realizationof who had relieved him of his nightmare.

    Perun flipped over the blanket carefully, revealing a woman with a short height, hugging his left leg coquettishly in a fetus position.

    Her hands were extended outwards like a cat, her rhythmic breathing made his heartbeat calm like tides along a seaside.

    "Are you having a good dream?"

    Perun whispered to her. As if hearing those words in his dreams, the woman returned a pleasant smile without breaking from her trance.

    The woman was his wife Pixie, the ideal Yamato Nadeshiko any man would yearn for. It wouldn''t be an exaggerationfor Perun to boast about her ethereal beauty as such, considering that Perun had seen his fair share of womenback in the days.Pixie was also the reason he could move on from his violent past.

    Pixie¡¯s black lustrous hair parted in between her slim shoulders like strings, and while her appearance was one of an adult, it didn¡¯t seem as if she had grown anything on her chest yet, and not a trace of wrinkles could be seen on her clear and smooth skin.

    As he heard the soft puffing escaping her lips, Perun gave in to the urge of stroking her head. If Pixie could be described as an animal, then she would be like the Chesire Cat, a black-furred feline that held an aura of elegance and playfulness.

    It looked like she was sleeping rather soundly, Perun thought it would be a shame to wake her up. Once he had become satisfied from the headpats as Pixie was, Perun decidedthat it was time to get up. As his hand left Pixie, he could see his wife feeling a little reluctant from it.

    (...Sleep a little longer for now.)

    Perun smiled again.

    As he relocated Pixie¡¯s arms gently to a pillow, Perun realized consciously that he hadreceived a brief respite from it.

    After adjusting Pixie to a position where she could sleep more comfortably, Perun moved to the shower space in his room.

    It was soundproof using a coat of mana-charged curtain, so he was not worried about the sound of the shower leaking outside.

    Equipment that utilized mana. That had become the norm of society, allowing for deeper and faster technological advancements for the human race. Things that required petroleum, electricity or any kinds of ''energy'' had been replaced with mana, the ever omni-potent material in the air.

    Still, the mana in the atmosphere required a medium or filter to be collected and refined into usable energy. They had thus become a new kind of product in the world. Washing machines, elevators, cooking stoves. The lifestyle of humans had become far more complex, refined and efficient than that of the past. Not many countries had remained to benefit from it however, considering the fact that more than half of the human population were unable to handle the changes of mana within their bodies. A portion of them died from rejecting the foreign substance, while the other transformed into feral monsters or hordes of zombies.

    ...While the meteorite had given humans many beneficial things, it had also put in an equal to disrupt their progress. In spite of everything, the humans who survived in a metropolis where mana is used primarily for the sake of mankind, were definitely happy. InLiberun, a newfound country that rose from the ashes of the old world, Perun and his family lived such a decent life.

    In this moderately futuristic home, many things operated automatically as if they had a will on their own, as mana also could detect, trace and comprehend the intentions of its user. Their three-storey terrace house that had various equipment that ran on mostly mana, was a luxurious place where only the upper society could afford to live in.

    ...

    In the shower room-

    Perun lightly swiped his hand across a display panel lodged onto the side of the wall as if passing the gantry terminal of a train station. The black screen display lit up without much loading. The words ¡°MANA INDUCTION ACTIVE¡± appeared, activating everything within the shower room.

    The number ¡®53%¡¯ could be seen at the right side of the display panel.

    Perun placed the dirty clothes which he hadcarried along from the bedroom floor, and placed it on a tray that was in standby. It quickly slid back into the wall once the clothes were collected, and the churning sounds of a washing machine could be heard from the other side.

    The man walked further in and a thin glass wall closed automatically after he was inside. Within the sectioned shower space, the faucets began to run.

    ¡°52 huh¡­ that''s kind of low."

    Perun muttered slightly as the shower continued to rinse himself smartly. His gaze fell upon the panel near the entrance of the shower room.

    The nightmare had further sapped him of his mana. Astrange thought overcame him for a brief moment.

    "Should I test it... my mana..."

    (...Of course not...)

    But he resolutely shook off his thoughts.

    "Haaahh..."

    Sighing again, Perun noticed that he had been doing so quite abit today. The melancholy of his life was beginning to seep into his battle-hardened soul.

    But he didn''t have the confidence to test it. Perhaps it had gotten to the point where using his mana would cause his body to deteriorate even more without his knowledge...

    Soap and shampoo were applied using an automatic dispenser, and Perun merely closed his eyes and cooled himself in the shower.

    When he was done, Perun leftthe shower space with a towel around his waist feeling much more refreshed.

    ...

    Perun walked over to the bedside with steady steps. He bent his body forward and swept her fringe to the side, and kissed Pixie''s forehead lightly.

    ...Pixie¡¯s ears twitched cutely like rabbit from it. The effect was rather visible.

    Perun smiled at this change.

    "Did I wake you up?"

    "...Haauuuu~ Mn... Mm..."

    Pixie opened her mouth a little and let out a cute-sounding yawn while bobbing her head up and down. It seemed as if she had just woken up from a nice dream, and was barely returning a response.

    She was unexpectedly light-headed in the morning, but Perun sat beside her and waited patiently.

    ¡°Hmm... Perru? You¡¯re awake already¡­?¡±

    "Perru" was of course, a nickname.

    Pixie giggled lightly with narrowed eyes. Raising her flat chest, she got up from the bed and wrapped her arms around his chest.

    "Auu... Perru''s warmth... rechargeee~"

    Pixie truly reacted like a cat. She rubbed her small nose on Perun''s body and sniffed continuously.Perun pushed her head away after a while, feeling a little ticklish.

    "Kusu kusu... Mm, you smell good~"

    "Good morning, Pixie."

    "Hmm hmm... Good morning, Perru."

    She smiled, now fully awake.

    "You bathed already?"

    She was not as tall as Perun, thus her head was right at the place where his chest was.

    "Yeah, yesterday... uh..."

    "Un, I know. I won''t tell the girls."

    Perun scratched his head awkwardly. Pixie was the only one who knew about his condition. Still, she had continued to stick by him. Perun wondered if his life that treaded on betrayal and revenge would change if he had met Pixie sooner.

    ¡°...But still.¡±

    Pixie suddenly tiptoed and looked right into her husband¡¯s eyes with a moderately serious gaze. Her eyes reflected his, asif trying to ascertain the truth.Perun returned this gaze with his own.

    A few seconds passed, and Pixie got back on her feet again and smiled brightly.

    ¡°Great, doesn''t seem you''re lying.¡±

    Of course, it was the half truth which Perun had told her. The fact that it was just a recurring nightmare and not that it drained him of his mana, resulting in a lower lifespan. In the first place, it was inevitable that she would find out, considering that the two slept together in the same room. Giving an adequate reason was enough for Pixie, although Perun felt a little painful inside fully knowing well that she would not be able to handle the truth.

    Despite how cheerful she looked like, Pixie also had a deeply-seated trauma like the girls he had adopted.

    The increasing frequency of it must have made her worried again. At this, Peruncould do nothing but bite his lips in secret.

    "Are you sure you don''t want to hire asleep therapist?"

    ¡°I''m fine, Pixie... ...I''m fine."

    ¡°...Alright. If Perru says so..."

    While she still felt a little reluctant, Pixie could merely nod her head meekly. Perun felt as if he could see an invisible cat tail drooping down behind her.

    "Well... enough of this topic, how about taking a shower?"

    "Eh?"

    Pixie raised her despondent face. Perun knew what would cheer her up. He grinned and raised her up in a princess carry.

    "H-huwahhh! P-Perru...!"

    Pixie became flustered, but it was clear that she enjoyed it. Perun continued with a grin.

    "Let¡¯s take a shower together. It''s been some time since we did it after all.¡±

    ¡°Y-you took one earlier..."

    ¡°Come on, the bath is ready~¡±

    "U..uuu..."

    Carrying her into the shower space with a better mood, the two enjoyed their time in the bath and headed downstairs shortly after.

 [NSFW] 1 x Evas Morning

    She was a precocious childwho had the name "Eva".

    A name which was given to the man who had picked her up from the streets. The name which had been imprinted upon her very soul 12 years ago.

    The slums which she had been living in seemed like a mudpit that sucked up all hope, but the only one who had pulled her up out of it gave her a new life void of deceit and darkness.

    ''Eva'', had finally found meaning to her life.

    <hr>

    "S-Save m-"

    Kach-aa-....

    The voice crying for help was quickly silenced in the middle. A faint sound of blood spurting could be heard as a heavy feeling rebounded vibrations in the earth.

    "..."

    Before a man that had become nothing more than a pieces of deformed flesh, a girl could be seen in the darkness, her hands were placed on the flat ground as it pulsated periodically in response, as if it were a living thing.

    This girl was the 16-year old Eva.

    "...They die so quickly..."

    Her greyish hair revealed small cuts which covered her stationary eyebrows, the golden irises in her eyes were covered by a black blindfold, but there was a small cut which revealed its color on her left eye. It looked as if it was artificial, considering the fact that they were hollow without focus.

    It was nearing dawn, but the dark setting in the abandoned alleyway she was in only strengthened the cold and dangerous atmosphere around her.

    Clearly for a girl her age to kill without batting an eye, Eva must not be a normal person, nor a sane one in the eyes of a bystander.

    "...Is it morning already... agh... my hands are so sore..."

    The dead flat voice echoed in the narrow alleyway, as if spoken by an artificial lifeform incapable of emotions. But to call this person an artificial lifeform might be roughly inaccurate. Eva still had a body made of blood and flesh, at least physiologically speaking. She was a meta-human, but she was also alittledifferent from one.

    ¡°...Gehh... Why are there so many of them..."

    The smell of blood tickled her senses uncomfortably. While her eyes were disabled since young, Eva was compensated with superior hearing and smell perception. Thus the putrid smell of blood became an unpleasant experience.

    As her palms remained rested on the ground, the girl manipulated the earthen elements and buried the bodydeep underground. Still, the thick stench of blood remained. Eva grimaced and placed even more effort in burying the remains of the bloodied bodies around her.

    <hr>

    The ability to control the earth, that was Eva''s ridiculously overpowered use of mana within her body. It was strengthened as years passed, along with her other sisters.

    Of course, Eva too knew the reason for it. Yet it was inevitable that some sacrifices had to be made to achieve greater things. Eva had learnt that from one of Perun''s past ''teachings'' as he reminisced about his stories as a war veteran.

    Yes, various things were still required to lay the groundwork for something greater, Eva and her sisters continued working under the shadows to return the Master''s former glory.

    Still, evenif temporary, Eva felt her heart sink as she watched her Master''s body weaken each day. But of course,Eva also contradicted those thoughts as she tingledeach time, feeling thefruition of her forbidden love come closer every day.

    The activities of this morning were not recorded under the records ofthe Dark Guild.Theguild members that had long been replaced by Perun''s daughters in secret, moved according to their own will and created forged papers for Perun to approve. In a way, it was for the sisters to maintain as innocent as they were in the eyes of their father, and to keep him weakened body as safe as possible.

    Amongst the sisters, Eva was in charge of "Protection".

    And these ''rats'' who loitered around the district where the guild was located at were under her responsibility. Since she was the one who had the highest defensive ability,Eva should have stayed by Perun''s side at all times.

    And it had changed as of late after her Master had encountered a ''rat'' coincidentally the day before.

    The fury and regret which enveloped the girl was insurmountable. Eva decided to purge them before they multiplied. Of course, she did so while hiding her tracks with her earth manipulation.

    The bodies would never be found.

    <hr>

    Maintaining the supernatural sense the minute vibrations of the earth, Eva''s super-sensitive ears maintained vigilance.

    "...Fucking rats... I won''t go home today until you''re all dead."

    She grit her teeth in annoyance. The existence known as a "Dark Guild" had always been targeted by the government as they operated under the premise of committing crimes to achieve their clients'' jobs. Especially for [Kuromori], the dark guild which her Master had created a long time ago. Its notoriety had been raised from her sisters'' recent activities.

    As she thought, there was probably an ability user that could track them, albeit being a rough estimate.

    For now, she continued to bury the tenacious taskforce sent to sniff out the location of where Kuromori operated.

    Finally feeling unpleasant from the stench, Eva pinched her nose lightly and fanned the air with her hands.The girlsoon narrowed her hollowed eyes, feeling the dampness around the hems of her tunic dress.

    Her inelegance had caused a stain on her clothes.

    "H-how did it even get there... Fuck...!"

    Eva cursed as she bit her gums till it bled.

    Staining her dress like that was akin to her not being to wear it anymore.Even worse, it was a dress she had received from her Master as her 16th birthday present.

    No one had celebrated her birthday before in the slums, and Perun was the only who discontinued her ugly past.

    "..."

    Naturally, Eva began to feel a pit of anger rising within her. Silence had never been more deafening as her body trembled, like a kettle about to burst.

    "...Y-"

    "You... you lowly... little rats..."

    Since it no longer mattered, Eva ''raised'' up a half-moving corpse of a man. She wanted to vent out her frustration.

    She wanted to hear the screams.

    Eva lifted one of her legs and pressed her weight with her feet.

    And she screamed.

    "You lowly ratssssss!!! How dare you!!! Dirty this dressss!!! DO. YOU. HAVE!"

    "Nnn~!""ANY IDE-A. HOW. MUCH!""Aunnn~!""I LIKED.""THIS DRESS....!!!"

    Venting it out on the unmoving corpses below her,the occasional tides of arousal causedEva tostop her feet momentarily. She squeezed her thighs together to endurethe sense of sadism boiling within her.

    As her climax subsided, Eva resumed stepping on the ''rats'' with all her strength.

    Blood continued to squeeze out from beneath her feet. Various pieces of guts got onto her face, yet the girl still indulged in the feeling of dominance. The whimpers that had made it enjoyable, died out a long time ago.

    ¡°...It¡¯s all because of you¡­ you, you, you, you, you, youuuuu!!!¡±

    Still, Eva continued dirtying her dress, her paleface distorted with a mix of infuriation and ecstasy. Legs that never stopped stepping on entrails and torn flesh.

    (Ah ah¡­)

    Eva¡¯s shoes were thoroughly sullied. Her breathing was rough, as strings of saliva dripped out from the corners of her mouth like a ravenous hyena.

    "Haah... haahh... Master is right... I do seem a little unfit... I guess I should exercise more..."

    Before long, the girl was now a tad bit calmer.

    Suddenly, she felt a fluctuation beneath the earth.

    Sensing that there might have been a witness from the commotion that she had created in the abandoned alleyway, Eva pressed her palm against a wall quickly.

    ...The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°...Hmm?¡±

    Movement.

    (...Someone...heard me...)

    Did she miss out on someone in hiding?

    When Eva began paying closer attention to her surroundings, she noticed a subtle movement behind a dustbin very soon.

    The body of the "rat" trembled, as if sensing that clairvoyant stare from the ground.

    The rat was a weakling with barely enough mana in his body to pose a realistic threat against her inhuman abiliity to control earthen elements.

    ...Still, he had mana unlike the rest of the inferior species. Eva''scuriosity was piqued, albeit by a miniscule pinch.

    She felt the sudden use of mana, and then suddenly, the man was ''disappeared'' from her eyes.

    (Invisibility? Aha...)

    But through the vibrations on the ground, Eva could still perceive the general direction of escape. She did not feel particularly worried that anyone would actually be able to escape...

    (Hide-and-seek, is it?)

    Eva revealed a sadistic grin, her predatory eyes remained hidden by the blindfolds.

    (One more~ Hee hee~)

    "..."

    "..."

    "...What am I doing. I can''t leave any witnesses, can''t I... Isn''t this... bad. I''m out of breath too."

    (No... this is not the time to be playing...)

    "The consequences... Yes, the consequences... elder sister has warned me before... The consequences if I let even one rat scoot away from me..."

    There was only bad things that would happen if she happened to fail in removing these people from existence. People who sought out the Dark Guild for their heinous trade in the underbelly of society.

    These rats would compromise the Master and Eva''s love nest...!

    This realization turned Eva''s face a little blue.

    This useless person whose only purpose was to sniff out information about the Dark Guild, how dare he... How dare he hide...!This rat... the chance to be with Master, had the rats finally realized his worth?! No, she wouldn''t hand her essence of love over to anybody...

    It was also not below the low-life to tattle on her, about the fact that she was actually a girl who got off on the suffering of others. WouldMaster be disillusioned at that time? For the pure and diligent Eva to be this kind of girl inside. There¡¯s no doubt about it¡­ disgust. Her Master would be really disgusted by her putrid nature. Not even a word of rebuke from her kind Master¡­ but all kindness had its limits, her behavior would never allow her to become any closer as his lover...

    "...You goddamn psycho, you lunatic. So you were actually a monster..."

    The master would abandon her without a second glance. No, that¡¯s not it! Master, it¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s a reason for this! Eva would cry out with an excuse, but her Master would push her away coldly, eyes filled with rejection. "Get out of my house, you monster."At the doorstep where she would be abandoned, she could see her sisters crying for her, but in truth Eva was the one who only knew that they were actually all laughing inside at her misfortune.

    Master...! Look behind you... They''re laughing...! They''re laughing at me...!!!

    (One less person to worry about~ What''s that? Ah, Master, I was just talking to myself~ Here~ touch this place too! Ahn~)

    Your hands...! They''re too close...! Get them off!

    (Hehe... wrapeth thy hands ''round mine own waist liketh this, ahh, valorous pleasure seeps into thy heart~!)

    That disgustingly bad accent. Stay far away from Master!

    (Papa, do not concern with Eva any more... you have us...)

    No, get your hands off him!

    (That''s right father, let us comfort you... haaah ahnnn~ th-there~ Let it out on us... release everything... release everything onto our bodies...!)

    Nooo! I should be the one there...!

    (We are sows meant for Master''s pleasure... we are your cocksleeves!)

    Ahhh.... How envious... how frustrating!

    Eva imagined her loved onelying down on a master bed with several women attending to him. She could only hear the slutty voices of her sisters, whom she hated so much for stealing her Master away.

    (They should just die already. They should just die. Die... die...!)

    "Ahhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything that Eva has worked... Everything will be gone...! I won''t allow it...! I won''t allow Master to leave meeeee...!!!!I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it-!"

    At this point, Eva''s delusions had gone off the rails. The presence of blood had seemingly triggered something in her heart. Eva''s eyes were turning darker.

    (...He... Hehehe... No one willknow if I kill them all, right? ¡­ Rats... Eliminate. All rats must die... Kill them all.)

    She was to be the most perfect and convenient daughter in her beloved''s eyes. She would continue to hold the spot where her Master would continue to fawn upon.

    And first, Eva had to secure the "rat".

    ¡°Huhu¡­ little rats¡­ always hiding¡­ squeaking your dirty lies to Master¡­ huhu¡­ huhuhuhuhu...¡± She murmured, a crazed smile on her face as she briefly glanced over to where the last survivor was hiding.

    "You think... you can run...? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, you think you can run?!!!"

    As if possessed by a demon, Eva¡¯s shoulders twitched and her head tilted sideways, bobbing back and forth unsteadily. Her screams would send a chill down the spines to anyone who heard it.

    <hr>

    The man who had been hiding all this while realized that the footsteps had suddenly turned silent. This man was called Dabi.

    Did she leave? Did that monster leave? The men who had came with Dabi couldn''t have possibly died with just one hit... right? That was surely it, they were probably playing dead or in hiding just like him! He knew that those guys were pretty resilient. Still, that was his limit of caring for others, Dabi couldn¡¯t think of anything else other than his own survival. Calm down, me¡­ get a grip¡­! Dabi continued to convince himself, his strained eyes and ears in full alert. Dabi suppressed the uncomfortable feeling welling in his throat, he could not afford to pass out now. A strange feeling sprung up in his chest that somehow, this was a suicide mission his boss had purposely ordered him and his men to undertake. After all, that monster was clearly a mutant! Mere mana users like them were not enough against her! A few seconds passed like this, and then a few more. It seemed as if the coast was clear. Maybe... this mutant did not have the ability to sense him while hisCamoflauge Cloakwas in use. It was a taxing ability that splurged his mana pool, so he couldn''t hold it for long. At the best, he would sustain it for 20 seconds more.

    Just to be safe, Dabi spent the maximum of time in stealth, before he released his breath and muttered while panting.

    ¡°Sh...she¡¯s gone¡­Hah¡­ haha¡­ I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m al-¡±

    ¡°There you are. Run~?¡±

    ¡°?!?!?! Hiiiiiii-aaaaaaaa!!!¡±

    A chill ran down his spine, the voice was just right behind him! But Dabi did not even think of turning back, he got up and ran. Without looking back, surely¡­ he would have a chance at escaping! The light, he could see the light at the end of the alleyway¡­! Once he¡¯d escaped¡­ he¡¯d inform the higher-ups about this girl. About what an impossible opponent this was for his taskforce, his platoon could not even put a scratch on her. And without even breaking a sweat, forty-two men lost their lives instantly to the girl. And where was the reinforcements? The back-up, the support?! The other platoon that was supposed to be here was nowhere to be seen. Dabi had a bad premonition of what had possibly happened on the other side. The air was silent, only the rough and haggard breathing of the man. Dabi had ran for a long time, yet he was not even close to the exit. He had been running for a long time. A long time. He ran, and ran. And ran¡­ but to his horror, he slowly came to a dark realization.

    He was running on the spot, Dabi had not moved an inch ever since he started running. The dustbin at the side was still there. The blood from the crushed remains of his counterparts still stuck to a spot on the ground where he could still visibly see it.His eyes slowly worked their way down to the floor, where he finally saw the reason for his uneasiness.

    The ground was sifting through sand, flowing backwards like a treadmill. Once he realized that there was no point in running any more, Dabi fell to his knees in despair. He did not want to look behind him. His actions, all of his actions were merely just dancing in the palm of her hands. The girl who nowoverlapped with theimage of ademon in his eyes.

    The earth stopped moving.

    Tap, tap, tap. Crack¡­. Splat. Legs which pressed its weight down on flesh and bones, making the sound of cracking and sloshing. But it passed rather quickly, and all that was left was a wet and squishy sound.

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ don¡¯t kill me¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t want to die¡­ please¡­ have mercy¡­¡± The smell of urine permeated in the air. Dabi had wet his pants. All while pressing his palms and forehead on the ground, no one could save him anymore. He had no choice but to beg.

    ¡°...Hmm¡­ there are still a few rats.¡±

    But Eva''s attention was brought elsewhere, Dabi was not even a threat in her eyes.

    Saying that with a grin, Eva furrowed her eyebrows... yet her bloodied face still hung a bright and unmoving smile. Truly, the disparity was frightening, only Eva herself knew what was going through her mind at the present.The sound of footsteps moved away from Dabi, he could not see what was happening to the others behind him.

    Tap, tap, crack. Crackkk¡­ Splat splat. He did not have the strength to run anymore, Dabi¡¯s legs felt like jelly hearing the girl stepping over a number of corpses.

    Save me¡­ save me¡­ someone please¡­ His dry throat could not make out a scream. There was no one who could save him.From behind came afew screams, painful choking sounds¡­ but they died down soon after.He was going to be next, Dabi thought as he pissed himself even further, his pants were now completely soaked. What kind of pain would he go through¡­ Dabi couldn¡¯t resist looking back to prepare his heart. But it was just as horrifying as he''d thought, more abnormal was the scene in fact. The remains of what seemed to be a one-sided butchering of body parts. The girl... was smiling maliciously, she was enjoying it. A lunatic, she was a lunatic, Dabi cried out in his mind. There did not seem to be any sort of hesitation whenever she took a life. The girl was looking at farm animals, ready to be sent to the butcherhouse.

    But the scene had merely been turned into one of gore in Dabi''s unstable mind. The men were all being enveloped by sand, mummified into the earth. It seemed that Eva had learnt her lesson about the blood spraying all over her, thus she dried them from the inside out. Eva was a person who never made the same mistake twice. Still, she was already covered with blood and filth, there was almost no point in doing it now. Eva noticed that the man was staring at her while trembling uncontrollably, his mouth was twitching incessantly. Was he too afraid to puke? That was hilarious. Eva thought silently that this was truly the movements she wanted to see from a cornered rat.

    Still Eva was kind enough to respond to Dabi''s gaze at what she was holding. A cylindrical-shaped item made of hardened mud, there was a faint whirring sound inside of it.

    ¡°Hmm¡­? Ah, this? Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let you die so easily¡­ you have quite an amount of mana now that I look at you properly.¡±

    A powerful grip on the man''s shoulders, preventing him from moving. Eva''s nails pressed into Dabi''s skin like needles, procuring spurts of blood from the point of incision.

    ¡°Kuhhh!!! I-it hurts¡­ l-let go¡­!¡±

    His limbs and the lower half of his body had already been restricted by solidified mud coming from the ground. He could only watch as the girl leaned over him, with raspy breathing over her flushing red face. Eva''s sadistic urges were being tickled from his discomfort.

    ¡°So Eva¡¯s been thinking, why not turn you into a mana inductor? You¡¯d do well to save Master some money~ Hee hee¡­ I shouldn¡¯t be so focused on my mistakes, and work on things that I can salvage instead. That¡¯s what Master taught me before after all, I listened! I listened properly to his lessons! Am I not diligent? Am I not a good girl? But why, why does Master not look at me properly? Why does Master not look at me more? Why does Master share his time with vixens around him?! Why does he not understand my feelings for him? Is he really dense, or is he just hiding it. He knows it all along already, doesn''t he? Why does he not tell me he loves me back? Does he not love me? He says he loves me but I know it''s as her daughter! I don''t want to be his daughter, I want him to see me as a woman! So why?! Why?! Hey, tell me why? Why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why.. why¡­ Hey¡­ why aren¡¯t you responding¡­ are you dead? Are you pretending to be dead again? Huh, open your eyes¡­ Hey, hey¡­ open your eyes, hey I said... oh, you''re really dead... ...boring.¡°

    The man was already apuppet whose strings had already been cut, and Eva casually tossed the corpse onto the ground where she began to work on turning it into a mana battery.

    "Sav~ing~ mo~ney~ for m~y ma~ster~ Ahhh ahh ah, wh~at a wo~nderful feelingggg~ I hooope he pra~ises me today too~"

    Her hands continuing a grotesque surgery on a limbless body, singing her words out of tune. Eva truly felt happy working for her Master. Aftercleaning the alleyway by soaking most of the blood with mud, Eva pressed her palm against the surface of the ground.

    A second after she did so, Eva was encased in a suit of hardened dirt much like that of a mecha. This was herEarth Golem, which she could pilot in.A ''bodysuit'' which completely covers the pilot, towering over 3 meters in height; the bulky frame resembling that of a sumo wrestler. The exterior appearance of the golem was rather crude-looking like a snowman, but it still did its job well at obscuring the person''s appearance.

    "Ah, it''s time to head back home. I did a pretty good job today, if I do say so myself."

    The emotionless voice amplified and reverberated within its hollow shell inside. Clutching the ''mana battery'' covered with a layer of dirt, Eva moved the golem back home.Today''s report for Master: There are no abnormalities today either.

 2 x Leilan, Flowers and the Afterlife [Part 1]

    A teenage boy walked along an open-air passageway in the middle of a flower garden, the color of morning light transformed by the colorful panels of glass over his head. Leading him at the front was an elderly nun, whom he respectfully caught his own pace while he admired the flowers nearby.

    ¡°These are¡­¡± The beauty of a bush of blue flowers near him stole his attention, the boy stopped walking.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mister Perun?¡± The bespectacled nun stopped a second after the other pair of footsteps had stopped, and turned around.

    ¡°These flowers weren¡¯t here the last time. Sister, may I touch them?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Mister Perun, this bush has grown just in season. It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it.¡± Her eyes on its petals, a splash of purple throughout its leaves.

    ¡°Well, a little¡­¡± Seeing that it was within an arm¡¯s reach, the boy¡¯s hand brushed past a bush of them. The boy thought that it was a little embarrassing to admit such a hobby to others. Rather, it was something that made him recall the trivia given by one of his late friends, that the type of flowers symbolize different things. This one if he recalled correctly, was a Blue Lilac. He moved his fingers close to his nose and smelt it; a strong, sweet and heady scent that was almost cloying. The fragrance filled his body with a certain strength, causing his eyes to widen.

    ¡°Are you surprised?¡± The nun smiled at his reaction. The boy continued to sniff a few times, and after recognizing that the feeling didn¡¯t repeat itself, his shoulders relaxed.

    ¡°...Yes. My mana just reacted to it¡­¡±

    Still, his hands were all over one of its petals, edging his head closer to inspect it carefully.

    ¡°...Strange¡­ while it¡¯s weak, I can definitely feel a little revitalized just by sniffing it¡­ is this not a blue lilac?¡±

    ¡°It is, but these lilacs are absorbent to mana.¡± The nun answered.

    ¡°Absorbent to mana?¡± Perun looked at the nun in surprise.

    ¡°Hm¡­ I think it was¡­ four months ago? Mm...¡± Folding her arms, the old lady tilted her head as she tried to recall the reason for it.

    ¡°Four months ago¡­¡± Perun muttered under his breath, trying to remember anything of significance that had happened around the church during that time. He looked around, and saw a change near the left side of the church.

    ¡°...Hm? Come to think of it, wasn¡¯t there supposed to be an empty space there? Does that have anything to do with it?¡± Perun who had a tendency to notice the minor changes in places pointed towards a wide open grassland area over the fence of the church, where many tombstones were laid in rows.

    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t think so. That is the graveyard that was recently erected to the side of the church. They¡¯re using most of the space around here to bury the dead soldiers, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the reason. If I remember correctly, the first person to notice it was the caretaker of the flower garden, he¡¯s also a new human like you. Do you perhaps want to speak to him?¡±

    The nun was of course referring to the 32-year old Paul, who cleaned and trimmed the garden once every week. Perun had met him before a few times already, although he had never spoken to him. Perun nodded his head to indicate his interest, and added that he would do it after finishing his business here for today. That is, of course his donation to the church again, which was conducted deep inside the church grounds where the god Y¡¯ghan could see. The nun nodded in return, and the two continued walking along the passageway while continuing the talk from earlier. The nun spoke first.

    ¡°However, this isn¡¯t limited to the blue lilacs, the entire garden could take the mana within them.¡± The nun said, her smile unchanging.

    ¡°It absorbs the mana¡­ from humans?¡± Once again, Perun¡¯s face became slightly cautious, hearing that it had the potential to suck up his limited amount of mana. The nun seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, thus she followed up not noticing his strained face.

    ¡°Do not worry, it¡¯s not to the point where it becomes life-threatening. I understand that the new humans experience drastic side effects when they lose all the mana in their bodies, but the flowers take them in like oxygen, the amount is to the point of not being noticeable. After all, it is as you¡¯d seen earlier. The flowers are rid of mana once you touched them, there¡¯s not much stored in them. The caretaker does not have enough mana in his body to do anything with it, yet he¡¯s still fine after touching the flowerbeds constantly. Please rest assured.¡±

    Although Perun was slightly dissatisfied with the nun¡¯s answer, he still let it pass. Although he corrected her in his mind that the caretaker simply did not know how to make use of the limited amount of mana.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°...I see. Thank you for this information.¡±

    ¡°No no, it is the least that I could do for the generous donations you make every month. You¡¯ve helped us maintain our operations even through these hard times. I thank you on behalf of our followers, Mister Perun.¡±

    It seemed that she did not know anything beyond that. It wasn¡¯t anything unusual either, as the normalcy of people in this country ran deep. Ignorance rather, where they take pride in being the older generation of humans, calling the mana-influenced the ¡®new humans¡¯. It was intended for it to be a derogatory term on purpose, the government had a major part on its propaganda in most poverty-stricken states. However, Perun had a privilege to dispel such a misconception of the church people on himself, and was a welcomed ¡®new human¡¯ for he had been of a great help to the church in easing their financial burden since the last year.

    Perun still was a little fidgety now that he had the knowledge that there was the existence of a potential ingredient for a mana-replenishing medicine in this garden. If this was true, then Perun just might have stumbled onto a gold mine. The world was in need of such a product right now. Looking back over the fence where he¡¯d just been curious of, Perun noticed a person there.

    A little girl with long and messy grey hair sitting on a tombstone, her short feet swinging to and fro. Had she no idea that she was in a graveyard? Her childish and innocent demeanor seemed to convince Perun of such. What was she doing in such a place?

    ¡°Ah sister, do you know that girl?¡± Having caught the nun¡¯s attention, Perun pointed towards the little girl. The nun squinted her eyes to see, and suddenly sighed.

    ¡°...Oh, that child?¡± The nun removed the pair of spectacles and pressed her nose, her face creased with wrinkles as she did so.

    ¡°That child¡¯s name... is Leilan. She is from an orphanage nearby, but... she doesn¡¯t talk much.¡±

    ¡°...Are her parents¡­¡±

    Wearing the spectacles back, the nun continued.

    ¡°I think you¡¯d know, but her situation¡­ is very tragic. If you can take it, then¡­¡±

    ¡°...Please, if you don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ll hear it.¡±

    The nun stopped and pointed towards a bench in the garden.

    ¡°...Let¡¯s take a short break.¡±

    <hr>

    Perun and Pixie had finished bathing, and moved down to the first floor of the three-storey terraced house. The living room had the size of a studio apartment, and it had a rather minimalist feel to it. Shelves, chairs and tables were all in alternating monochromatic colors, and the side of the stairs was a long aluminium rod acting as support and a panel of glass under it.

    On a large couch at the side of the living room, there was a girl who looked around 20 years of age playing with her smartphone. She had grey and lustrous hair down to her waist, and a hairpin stuck to the side of it resembling a yukata hair accessory. She was wearing a rather fashionable set of clothing, and a pair of stockings which was raised up rather high as the girl was huddled up together where her feet were resting on the cushion of the couch.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re early, Leilan.¡± Perun greeted his daughter.

    As if she had been waiting the entire time for Perun to call out to her, Leilan returned the phone to the pocket in her dress and slid her right leg forward on the couch. She placed her palms together in front of her chest and turned to stare at her father''s direction silently without returning his greeting.

    Was she waiting for something? Perun thought, as he finished the flight of stairs. Seeing this, Pixie pinched his back.

    ¡°O-ouch! Wh-what?¡±

    ¡°...Hug me.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this about again¡­?¡±

    Perun received another pinch.

    ¡°Okay okay!¡±

    Perun lowered his waist and hugged his wife dumbfoundedly. He could hear Pixie breathing softly beside his ear. Her heartbeat raised, just a little. Then, to his unguarded ear, Pixie whispered coquettishly, ¡°...Princess carry me to the kitchen like this.¡±

    ¡°Ehhh¡­ but its t- Ah, ouch! Okay, stop it! A-ah! It tickles, it tickles! I get it already, so stop doing that...¡±

    To this, Pixie stopped, and extended both of her arms upwards, like a baby expecting a carry over the shoulders. Perun was a little weirded out by his wife¡¯s unexpected behaviour, but he quickly compromised to the Pixie who was currently puffing her cheeks. He couldn¡¯t bear to make this small squirrel angry, Perun swept his wife off her feet and moved over to the kitchen area on the same level.

    Why don''t you just die already.

    "Huh?" Perun turned around from the immense amount of blood lust behind him, but it was just Leilan playing with her phone still, she wasn''t paying the couple any attention at all.

    ...He thought he felt a cold, piercing glare behind him, but it was probably just his imagination. Leilan was one of his cute daughters, she would never do something like that. As expected, Perun felt that his sense of perception was getting rather rusty over the years being out of service. Turning his head back again, he could see his wife snickering for some reason.

    "...Uh, you look happy?"

    "Fufu, do I? Do I? Fufufufu, I''m happy I think. I''m reaaaaaally happy." Pixie spoke out in a louder voice on purpose. The shoulders of the girl sitting on the couch twitched violently, but Perun could not see it.

    "Well then, I''ll cook up breakfast so you can sit in the living room or something."

    His wife was in a strangely good mood, and was already putting on her apron and moving to the refrigerator for the egg tray. Leaning against the open fridge door, Pixie appealed her body to her husband and wriggled her butt.

    "Although... I don''t mind if you stay here and watch~"

    "...I''ll go chat up with Leilan. It looks like she wants to talk to me about something."

    "Tch." Pixie''s mood immediately turned sour, it could be seen on her face. She immediately retracted her gravure pose, took the ingredients out of the fridge and shut the door loudly.

    ...

    Perun left his wife to her own shenanigans and walked back over to the living room.

 3 x Leilan, Flowers and the Afterlife [Part 2]

    Leilan has succeeded. Leilan has managed to squeeze out what little time she had, and claimed first for the morning time with Master. Giggling to herself softly, the girl¡¯s lips curving gradually upwards, but not too distinct to call it a smile. Of course, Leilan wasn¡¯t anywhere close to Eva¡¯s emotionless facade, which closely resembled what people of a portion of Liberun would call a ¡°Kuudere¡±; Leilan was just a girl who was hard to please.

    As Leilan had grown up looking at the back of Perun, he had became the only person that would ever tickle her emotions this much. Just like her five other sisters, Leilan had her own job assigned to her in the dark guild Kuromori, but that was merely the means to an end. They were working towards something even greater than what their Master would¡¯ve ever imagined, and they were going at it earnestly each and every day. Since each one of them had also used this as a leverage to push back the other¡¯s advances against him, there was barely any downtime each woman had over Perun. But sometimes if one of them would have their jobs finished faster than usual, they would have the rare chance to interact with Perun who would be usually sitting at the usual desk on the second floor at home, working on mountains of Kuromori¡¯s administrative work.

    And today was Leilan¡¯s day, her work this time had been cut short due to some luck on her end. And with a lofty smile on her face, Leilan skipped her way up to the third floor, humming a tune with each step.

    ¡°Masu~ter (Master)~ Ma~su~ter~ La, la, la~

    Sli-ding~ in the fu~ton with, my Masu~ter~¡±

    And so she reached the third level where Perun¡¯s room was located at. But she frowned, stopping before the doorstep.

    The door¡­ was coated with a layer of mana¡­?!

    Leilan¡¯s eyes turned cold immediately, her smile immediately lost on her porcelain white face.

    ¡°...Enemy?¡±

    The girl raised her right hand up to chest level, fingers still loosely pointed down on the floor, as if she was drying her hand like that.

    ¡° ...Mashu.¡±

    Muttering a word under her breath, the underside of her hand turned translucent, revealing the inhuman purplish flesh and bones of her arm. That monster arm dislodged its skeletal frame and came out from under the skin, dropping to the floor with a puddle of sticky purple fluid. A faint scent of roses came from it.

    That singular skeletal arm grew out even more explosively, turning into a complete skeleton body after 8 seconds.

    ¡°Search.¡±

    The skeleton bent down and pressed its bony palms down onto the floor, its exposed pelvis made a cracking sound as it did so. Leilan closed her eyes and synced her mind with the summoned skeleton.

    The unnamed ability which would be loosely called Summon Skeleton, from Leilan¡¯s mutant body, and the skeleton¡¯s Life Search, to detect signs of lifeform around her in a small fixed radius. Leilan could connect to her summoned skeletons, thus Life Search would allow her to ¡®see¡¯ what was inside.

    ...Master and¡­ another woman¡­ this heartbeat is¡­ She¡­ is awake!

    ¡°...Tch.¡± Leilan grit her teeth strongly, face filled with frustration. Pixie had a smug smile on her face, she had probably sensed Leilan¡¯s use of mana behind the door. Dark emotions swirled within Leilan''s chest, the ends of her fingers twitched as she was tempted to use even more in her arsenal to blow up the door.

    Not able to reveal her emotions this strongly for extended periods of time, Leilan¡¯s anger immediately cooled down.

    ...No, Master will be mad at me. I... cannot make him unhappy. A calm and logical thought came from herself, with that 180 turn on her state of emotions.

    But she was no longer in a good mood. After having such a rare chance of being alone, it was stolen right before her eyes¡­! The girl could only lament about her own position as Perun¡¯s daughter, and the difference that came with the title of being his legal wife. Leilan drooped her shoulders down lifelessly, and allowed the skeleton to carry her down to the first floor before dispelling it.

    <hr>

    ¡°...Sooooo¡­ you needed something?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    An awkward silence, Leilan did not even bother giving a reply. His daughter was rather preoccupied with her smartphone. This wasn¡¯t the first time Perun had tried to strike up a conversation, but he still always found himself stuck at this part.

    The man was incredibly awkward with his daughters as of late. Sure, he had taken them in because he felt pity for them, and also because he liked children. But as time passed, each of his daughters had began to differentiate themselves from when they were younger, they had their own ambitions and thoughts that were not inherited by him.

    Perun had an incomprehensible feeling of loss whenever he talked to the girls. The conversations never felt connected anymore like they used to. To quote the day before, just giving one of his daughters a compliment sparked a heated argument on the dinner table.

    Just what was going wrong?

    The man thought that he would never have a chance to understand again.

    But still, Perun loved his daughters just as much as he did when he had tried his hardest raising them back when they were still little kids. Most of them were already over 30 (with the exception of Eva who was the youngest at 16 years old), yet their appearances retained that of when they were 18. As expected, the lifespan of mutants differed from normal humans. That was the only fact that Perun found solace in, since his own physical constitution had roughly stayed the same even after all these years, and he was able to see his children growing up healthily under his care.

    Perun felt that he was best just being a guardian, watching over his lovable daughters from a distance. But interacting with them was a little¡­ tricky. ...While Perun had received some confessions by her daughters when they were younger and more innocent, he was a little conscious that those feelings for him might have been more deeply-rooted into the girls¡¯ minds than he had initially thought. As a father, Perun was a little on edge every time he conversed with them.

    He wanted to distance himself away from them so that they would make new friends and find their own love... one that was not as misguided as their current one. So to Leilan who did not talk much at all even to him whom she¡¯d only give one-word replies, Perun was genuinely concerned about his daughter¡¯s social life.

    Perun leaned against the side of the couch, and stared at her daughter up close.

    ¡°...What.¡±

    A clear-cut voice echoing inside of his head all of a sudden. Leilan¡¯s mouth remained unmoved, eyes still glued to her phone.

    Telepathy? She really doesn¡¯t want to talk to me huh. I¡¯ve gotten my hopes up for nothing. Perun thought dejectedly.

    ..The ability to hold conversations in another¡¯s mind, Telepathy. Or to be more precise, it was one of Leilan¡¯s familiar abilities. And just like Life Search, she had to have the summon with that ability, activated somewhere. It didn¡¯t matter where, the connection did not have a range. After all, five of her strongest summons were carrions of different sizes, located far away from each other. They are hidden deep underground where the dead accompanied them.

    Of course, Leilan had kept her true abilities a secret from her father, who had the impression that she only knew how to talk to the dead.

    ..

    ¡°...What game are you playing? I love games too, maybe¡­ can I get an invite? What game are you playing? I¡¯m good, you know? Leilan? You¡¯re playing aren¡¯t you, come on let¡¯s play together!¡±

    Leilan stopped her fingers moving her phone screen.

    A brief silence, it seemed that she was trembling a little but it stopped very quickly.

    ¡°...Dad, this is a social app, ...it... isn¡¯t a game.¡±

    ¡°...Oh.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°...Aha¡­ ahahahahaha¡­ I see I see¡­!¡±

    ¡°...You¡¯re trying too hard, ...dad. Please stop or I¡¯m going to feel embarrassed... for you...¡±

    Cough, cough.

    ¡°...Right... Well... I''ll just... sit at this corner then... haha...¡±

    His poor attempts at trying to connect with her tech-savvy daughter had inevitably ended up in failure again.

    ...Self-reflecting.

    Without anything else to do, Perun took out a holographic display screen that showed the daily news. He read them and waited patiently for Leilan to finish while breakfast was being prepared in the kitchen.

    An article on flowers?

    Flowers huh. Perun began to reminisce about the events leading up to meeting Leilan for the first time.

    <hr>

    ¡°A child... loved by the dead.¡±

    I closed my eyes. That seemed to sum up Leilan¡¯s entire life up till now.

    Misfortune came whenever she went, as if she had a grim reaper on her shoulders. So this was why she could not make any friends. It was just discrimination, wasn¡¯t it? But none of that was her fault! These fuckers¡­!!! Honestly, I¡¯m pretty disturbed. That is Leilan, an 8-year old¡­?! Then why isn¡¯t anyone acting!! Why isn¡¯t anyone looking at her properly!!! Was this supposed to be what an 8-year old should go through?!

    She was a bubble about to burst, that I could tell at a glance. She was one of them; a mutant.

    Unable to bear it any more, I finally decided to voice out my displeasure. My original intentions of coming back to this place, I spoke them out.

    ¡°...Sister, I believe my funds were specified to prioritize the building of orphanages¡­?¡± My voice was trembling under that anger that I tried to control.

    The nun seemed to have noticed something, and that ¡®benevolent¡¯ smile was lost on her face for just a moment. But misdirecting conversations, the old lady seemed like a veteran. Immediately putting on a business smile as soon as she broke character, the nun gave an excuse.

    ¡°...This¡­ Mister Perun¡­ it¡¯s out of our control. The money is simply not enough as a long-term solution for these children.¡±

    ...What... is this woman saying?

    ¡°...Are you saying that orphanages¡­ are short-term solutions¡­?¡±

    Anger flared within my eyes. The mana in my body was boiling, emanating out of my normally black eyes, painting it bright blue from the mana inside of me. I could see a look of disgust hidden beneath her smile when I did so.

    ¡°...No, not at all, please do not misunderstand me, Mister Perun. I understand your worries, but picking her up would begin an unhealthy cycle!¡±

    ¡°...An unhealthy cycle you say?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that is exactly the case. Listen carefully¡­ Not just her, but the remaining children left in the streets would automatically become our responsibility.

    The citizens¡¯ negative emotions are at an all time high right now because of the war. They are starving, and sleeping under broken rooftops, the pressure is going to rebound somewhere very soon. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    And if we start to gather attention because of us picking up the children, then the citizens who because of poor business, unlawful conditions and their general misgivings of some new humans in the church, had nowhere to vent their frustrations on, what do you think will happen, Mister Perun? The people will turn on us! Not to mention some of these children who had no choice but to steal, would also become an eyesore in their eyes! The war had also involved the existence of mana, no? Then even you Mister Perun, would be targeted! I am saying all of this¡­ for your own good!¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Taking my silence as agreement to her points, the nun continued to speak quickly with a slightly haughty tone.

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ you probably didn¡¯t know it, did you? Erecting any number of orphanages would only fuel the cycle of hatred, and heavens, that goes against the teachings of Y¡¯ghan! Do you understand now, o¡¯ misguided one. The mana in your blood must have affected your emotions, but please be at ease. We will proceed with the Cleansing Ritual now if you may follow me to the Prayer Hall, it is a little early for this month but we will make an exception for our kind donor.¡±

    The elderly nun hand patted my shoulder lightly.

    I remained silent, eyes returned to the blue lilacs.

    ...Really? Is this your excuse?

    I wanted to do something for her. But the people I¡¯d entrusted children like her to¡­ they¡¯re adults. Ha...hahaha¡­ really, what did I expect from those filthy adults. The money I¡¯d donated was more than enough to build a whole district full of orphanages!!! An uprising from the commoners?! Then silence them with money, appease them with your words, isn¡¯t that the only thing you lot are good for?!!! Haha¡­ hahahahaha¡­ it¡¯s so stupid, it¡¯s really so stupid.

    ....What should I do. I really¡­ am¡­

    ¡°...Mister Perun?¡±

    Ah ah¡­ I had enough of this bitch. Her mouth is too foul, I don¡¯t want her to talk anymore.

    ¡°...You know, sister. You sure run your mouth a lot when it comes to wiping your own ass.¡±

    The nun frowned with displeasure.

    ¡°...Excuse me¡­? I am not sure what you are talking about.¡±

    ...Discarding responsibility down to the very last moment.

    ¡°What I¡¯ve said, is the truth. If y-¡±

    ¡°-Did you think I didn¡¯t notice?¡±

    I grabbed the wrist of the nun who had her right hand on my shoulders. The old lady became wary of me.

    ¡°Huh? Wh-what are you doing?¡± She tried to struggle free from my grasp.

    ¡°...Yeah, bringing me through an area where you had not done much of your ¡®renovation¡¯, trying to approach me with humility again. You expected me to fall for that¡­ again? What difference do you have from a hooker on the streets who put on makeup?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not like those prostitutes who sell their bodies for money! How is it all comparable to us who are servants of God?! Your words are an act of heresy!!!¡± The old lady flared, continuing to move herself away from me. But my grip was firm so she could not escape.

    ¡°No no, to attract those attractive numbers from the ¡®clients¡¯ that you receive? Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re doing right now?¡±

    ¡°...Mister Perun, I think you¡¯ve misunderstood. It is a donati-¡±

    My grip became stronger.

    ¡°A-ouch! Y-you¡¯re hurting me, please let go!!! It¡¯s starting to hurt!!!¡±

    Using my other hand, I pointed at the other end of the passageway, where a large double leaf door was. Made of polished oak, intricate designs of their god could be seen carved at the corners of the entrance and adorned with silver.

    ¡°Let go! Let go or I¡¯m going to call the guards!!¡±

    Yet she did not even turn to look at where I was pointing at.

    My voice. How cold was it right now, I had no way to tell.

    I had already lost all of my patience.

    ¡°You leeches. I¡¯ve given you plenty of chances. Four months. And what did you use the donations on.¡±

    ¡°P-please, let go and settle this peace- Guardssssssssahhhhhhhh!!! It hurtsss!!! IT HURTSSSS!!!¡±

    ¡°Peacefully? Do you think the world is at peace right now? Do you understand, the world isn¡¯t as it used to be? This is supposed to be a time when humans should be learning to help one another?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes¡­ so please-¡±

    ¡°No, no I don¡¯t think you understand at all.¡±

    I used a hand to remove her headpiece, and grabbed her weakly white hair, pulling it up forcefully.

    ¡°A-IEHHH!!! IT¡¯S COMING OFF! IT HURTS, IT HURTS, IT HURTSSSSS!!!¡±

    The nun grabbed my arm in an attempt to shake it off, but to no avail. Her legs were flailing and kicking about, as I raised her up from the ground. Strands of hair continued to fall off her head. There was blood dripping from her forehead.

    ¡°PLEASEEE!!! DON¡¯T DO THIS!!! IT HURTS!!! IT HURTS SO MUCHHH!!!¡±

    I accepted the frail beatings of her wildly swinging limbs. It did not hurt.

    ¡°Ever thought about the people on the streets? What kind of pain they experienced? What kind of senseless treatment they were used to from the results of the war? Why aren¡¯t you helping, huh? Why? You¡¯ve got all this money, so why don¡¯t you help?!¡±

    ¡°THIS VIOL...ENCE IS U-UNJUSTIFIEDDD!!! YOU ARE MAD!!! SOMEONE¡­ IS SOMEONE THERE?!!! HELP!!! THIS NEW HUMAN HAS REVEALED HIMSELFFF!!! HE¡¯S A MONSTER!!!¡±

    ¡°Denial, proceeding with anger huh. I expected more from the integrity of this place, but it looks like the corruption ran deeper than I expected.¡±

    My blue eyes were slowly turning red.

    The effects of my rampaging mana had taken effect before I knew it.

    Beastly Instincts.

    It was a stage where my powers would emit bloodlust as a side effect. For a person who was not used to that kind of environment, that killing intent was enough to paralyze them in fear. As expected, the nun felt a chill amidst the pain along the skin of her head, and whimpered.

    ¡°W-wait!!! I-I will return it!!! I will return it sooo, don¡¯t kill me!!! Don¡¯t kill me pleaseee!!!¡±

    Those eyes that once looked down on me in secret, now it had eyes of fear, knowing that her life might end in this place, moreso from a child who possessed the powers of a ¡®devil¡¯, a new human.

    ¡°...Bargaining? Fuck no. You¡¯re going to die here.¡±

    Her face paled.

    ¡°Return¡­ huh. Not that I actually care about it anymore.¡±

    ¡°...HUH?¡± The nun had a look of confusion on her face.

    ¡°Shows a lot that you actually had a guilty conscience over it. You pocketed some of them didn¡¯t you, well no matter. That was just a pretext. See, I¡¯ve looked into you guys before coming here. I thought it was strange at first. The first few months of donation had done practically nothing to improve the environment of the poor, yet this place just keeps continuing to flourish. And then I searched you guys, guess what I found. A large amount of gold that was being processed in the market, those with mana attached onto them, mana which had traces of being bled out from someone¡¯s body. ...

    ...This place is a fucking nest for organized crimes. I will omit the things that you had done so far, ...but I can most definitely not tolerate you doing trade of little children¡­ To be exact, children with mana mixed in their bodies. Selling mediums with mana can only mean one thing you see. You know it, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Hiiii!!!¡±

    ¡°God Y¡¯ghan? No, what you pigs truly worship, is gold. ...You killed children to feed that ¡®god¡¯ of yours, locked deep underground the Prayer Hall. A nameless child, a mutant with the ability to turn human lives into expensive alloys. That is when you¡¯ve entertained the idea of finding another child like him, all while feeding the lives that he needed to create the gold!¡±

    ¡°Nooo¡­ nooo!!! Don¡¯t kill meee!!! I swear I will give you the money!!! Don¡¯t kill meee!!! Not here!!! Nooo!!!!¡±

    I stopped talking, there was no use. This person only had eyes for herself the entire time. Everything that she did in her life, was only to satisfy herself. I pitied her environment where the old lady grew up from. As they say, a child at young is at the stage where they would be influenced the most. This nun was twisted with greed, a regret. I thought she was a good person when I met her at first. Surely even now, she would still have some good left in her. But I wasn¡¯t interested in finding that out.

    I twisted her head without hesitation. She died with her eyes widened unpleasantly.

    Didn¡¯t resort to torture if I had to, I did not have such a hobby. But I know some people who had turned into real ¡®demons¡¯ during this war, there was always something fucked up that happened to them whenever someone turned into a ¡®demon¡¯.

    I just hope that Leilan would never have to experience murder to trigger it. That girl is unstable as it is.

    ..

    Religion was booming with the advent of ability users due to mana, and also because of the war that was waged because of it. Some parts of what the nun had said was true, but she had twisted the truth to her own convenience. The citizens needed somewhere to find solace in, but not like this.

    This church was a no-go.

    These people only have eyes for themselves. I cannot entrust the future of millions of lives to this place, much less hiding such a dark secret from the eyes of the public. I would spend the day taking care of the rest of the people involved in this shitty mess, but they don¡¯t seem to be present today.

    For the time being...

    ¡°Clean.¡±

    I worked my mana all over my body and removed the bloodstains on my clothes and my face. And I cleaned the nun as well, the blue essence moving towards her and wrapping tightly for a few seconds before it dispersed into the air. I had used up a stupid amount of mana for a worthless skill. I followed it up by injecting mana strings into the ¡®object¡¯ and had it walk like a puppet into the garden and laid it to rest there. Not much mana remaining now.

    And then from the back of a pillar along the passageway where the murder would be unseen from the side of the graveyard, I bent my body forward and looked over a distance.

    ...Eh?

    The girl Leilan was looking at me with a stunned face, her mouth was agape and even the toy on her hand had dropped onto the ground. But I took measures to hide it! How did she notice?

    ...In any case¡­ I should go over and talk to her¡­ ...There¡¯s no choice to it¡­ Ah¡­ would Soma be happy to have a younger sister I wonder¡­

    I picked up a blue lilac from its bush and walked towards her slowly.

    At least she wasn¡¯t scared and running away from me. The closer I got, the easier it was for me to read her facial expression.

    She doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s wary of me.

    ...Also...is that girl... smiling at me?

    <hr>

    Today at the place where the others are, mama did not come out of here and talk to Leilan again. Why must it always be nighttime when Leilan could see them? Leilan is quite sad, the other children also don¡¯t have papa¡¯s and mama¡¯s like me, but Leilan thinks they don''t like her. Leilan is alone as usual, which is very very sad, but Leilan doesn¡¯t worry about it. Leilan talks to her friends here too. They aren¡¯t mama. Mama doesn¡¯t talk at all¡­ it¡¯s really sad. Does mama not like her anymore? But still, Leilan loves mama. If only papa comes visit her sometime, Leilan thinks that would be nice.

    Well anyway, this place is Leilan¡¯s secret hideout. Leilan calls it a hideout because not many people come here. When someone comes, she hides in a corner. They are grown-ups, but they always cry here. Leilan doesn¡¯t understand. There are many friends here, why are they crying? Grown-ups are strange. Sometimes they come together and dig up a space to put down a big black box, then they hug together while crying. Honestly, Leilan is a little jealous. Leilan wants a hug too, it looks nice. But it is all good, because most of the time, Leilan makes a new friend on the same day too.

    There are also loooooots of flowers grown here, so Leilan likes to play here a lot. Leilan knows flowers have many meanings, one of her friends had taught her that. It''s beautiful you know, this is Leilan¡¯s favourite place. Mama says that Leilan should not tell her favourite things to anyone so easily. It must be with someone she ''likes¡¯. Mama says that when she grow older, Leilan can be like papa and mama. If Leilan have someone like that, then she can tell share my favourite place with them. But there is no one else other than Leilan¡¯s friends who would come visit her.

    Leilan doesn¡¯t play here the whole day though, Leilan only comes here from afternoon till evening. Until dusk when she has to return back to where the other children are or else Leilan would get scolded by a big sister that she doesn¡¯t like. She says that if Leilan does not listen to her, Leilan would be sold off somewhere else. Leilan wants to see mama and friends, so she listen to her, but Leilan doesn¡¯t like her at all.

    She smells like money. Money smells dirty, Leilan friends say. Leilan sneaks out at night so she can see mama. And sometimes Leilan sees some sleeping children being carried away into a big white van at the back, and this sister from the church would come talk to that big sister. Yuck, that smell again. Leilan would run away from that place back to her hideout. Are they being sold away? Leilan feels sad for them. There is no food outside Big Sister¡¯s place, she tells Leilan. It is hard to live alone.

    That¡¯s right, Leilan is alone so it is impossible to go outside other than her hideout.

    ...But today, ...Leilan met a very strange person.

    This person looked at Leilan with warm eyes. Itwas a little surprising.

    A boy?

    He looks older than Leilan... Hmm, shall she call him her older brother?

    Leilan''s always wanted an older brother.

    Brother is visiting the church, to thatplace? Brother is strange.

    (Frown) Why would brother go to a place like that?

    And then...

    Ah, that is the sister that comes at night! Leilan never sees that sister come through here though, it is rare.

    Flowers?

    The two were discussing about flowers.

    Leilan sees the smile on the boy¡¯s face, and her chest tightens for some reason.

    Why is it so, shewonders. This kind of feeling was a first!

    Leilan looks intently at this elder brother, trying to find out the reason for the changes in her body. Leilan becomes a little impatient so she tells her friends to listen to them through the ground.

    Many words were exchanged. Leilan understands a little bit, but not much. Still, it looks like elder brother is angry.

    ...Huh.

    Shedoesn¡¯t understand what just happened, but looks like the sister is sleeping.

    And then Leilan sees it! She sees the blue stuff that is inside of her own body! Can elder brother talk to her friends too? Leilan is excited, elder brother can move them too! Leilan does it sometimes as well! Is elder brother the same as Leilan? Leilan¡¯s chest thumped in excitement. Her cheeks felt a little hot.

    Ah, it looks like elder brother noticed Leilan too. Leilan smiles back at him. He picks up a flower. A blue lilac?

    Happiness and¡­ tranquility. That was such a meaning for a blue lilac.

    Jumping down from the seat of the tombstone, Leilan searches nearby and finds a flower in response when he came.

    A black rose. One of death, or the beginning of new things, a journey into unexplored territory. That was Leilan¡¯s current feeling in her chest right now.

    Realizing the meaning of the flower that she had picked up, Leilan began to slowly understand what she wanted from that elder brother. As long as he too, became her friend, Leilan felt like she could entrust all of her problems, past present and future to him. Such a resolve was carried on the exchange of flowers on that day.

 4 x Morning and Inventions

    Sizzle. The aroma of waffles and pancakes drifted into the air.

    ¡°Haah¡­¡±

    Perun sighed, as he flipped the pancake over.

    The breakfast menu had changed after some mishaps in the dining room. The man peered over his back, and sighed again.

    (What a waste of food¡­)

    Perun recalled what had happened earlier. Two of her daughters, Eva and Leilan seemed to have argued over something when it was time to eat.

    (...At least Pixie stopped them from going too far¡­ Still, what did she whisper to them¡­ they fell silent immediately after that¡­)

    Scout-type abilities that increased hearing or sight were common amongst the new humans. And so naturally for Perun, using Enhanced Hearing was easy. Still he followed by his ironclad rule of keeping his abilities in check when around his family, and would remain the normal father that he was. There was, of course a mountain of contradictions which came from his conviction (such as maintaining a dark guild that worked to kill rogue ability users, equating to putting her daughters at risk). But Perun swore on the day he adopted his first daughter Soma, that he would become family properly for them. That means that he would try to make them feel as little discomfort as possible when interacting with them. For the very volatile girls who had their abilities ¡®sealed¡¯ by him, it truly was a therapeutic connection.

    While the others had drifted a little away from him in various degrees, Perun was still determined to keep this rule of his intact unless he really needed to do so. Eavesdropping on his family was not his hobby; the usually paranoid man had placed this much faith in them.

    The pancakes were done. Perun slid the last one into the third plate and carried them all over to the dining room.

    Nearing the end of eating, there was a rare chance where he could talk to his daughters. Pixie, who had an unusually fierce animosity towards them had went ahead to wash the finished plates.

    Noticing that Eva was the only one still eating, Perun looked a little more closely at his daughter.

    Eva, the latest in his familia. Grey hair down to her shoulders, and eyes concealed by two slightly tilted strips of black cloth. The color of her skin was a healthy indication, Perun was satisfied after looking for a bit.

    ¡°I...Is anything the matter, Master?¡±

    (Ah, I¡¯ve stared at her for too long¡­ I don¡¯t seem weird¡­ right?)

    Perun quickly spoke out.

    ¡°Eva, you had a job yesterday? You look really tired.¡±

    At her master¡¯s words, the 16-year old girl jolted up from her seat in shock.

    Had his Master noticed something?!

    ¡°N-no, Master. Everything is fine, thank you for your concern.¡±

    There it was, the usual deadpan voice which did not fit well with her actions. But clearly, she was flustered. Noticing that her sister was put in a bad spot for some reason, Leilan who was at the next seat raised the corners of her lips a little.

    ¡°E...err¡­ that¡¯s¡­ okay then. You can take a seat now¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thank you.¡±

    Following that suggestion like a drill, Eva sat back down with a smile. Leilan who was at the side did not show any emotions on her face, but Perun felt a faint amount of mana being used under the table. Leilan was staring intently at his face.

    (¡­? Is there something on my face?)

    ...Anyway.

    Perun placed her elbows on the table and rested his hands on his chin. The previous interaction was a complete failure, Perun had to redo it. He was unsatisfied with how it turned out¡­ Family members should be more¡­ natural.

    ¡°So¡­ what did you do today?¡± A simple question to make his daughter feel a little less tense.

    Perun knew that Eva was an inventor at heart. While most of her inventions were rather off, she still liked to present new ideas to her father frequently. It was to the point where the girl would only come home when she had something to show. As a result of that inventive spirit, Eva had managed to experiment enough to create the black-coloredEarth Metal, an ''Earthen Alloy'' made out of graphene metal and obsidian. After breaking it down to an atomic level, Eva could then inject her own mana into the mix, creating a material harder than diamond. So strong was the metal that Eva who had padded it around her, had single-handedly became the one with the highest defense among Kuromori.

    This new metal formed the crucial framework for the earthen ¡®Mech Suit¡¯ and other devices which aided her in combat. It was absurdly sturdy, a metal that Eva who had wasted no time in its implementation. With just the Earth Metal alone, Eva single-handedly becamethe only one with defense that could dampenall the attacks of her sisters during their spars. Eva was the weakest among them, but she never lost a bout because of this.

    Her geomancy abilities were cohesively enhanced by her upgrades. And Perun knew that his daughter had also prepared something this time.

    As expected, the girl smiled almost instantly. And as if remembering something, Eva snapped her fingers.

    An Earth Golem with the appearance of herself entered the open dining room with hastened steps. Perun was not surprised by the clone, as Eva had created a few of them to assist him with his paperwork. These earth golems were largely incapable of combat due to its small stature. Perun had seen them around the house for a few months already, and since the solidified dirt was covered in a mana that prevented it from dirtying anything it comes in contact with, the family was also okay with it around (especially if it was meant to help Perun, ...and nothing else¡­ hopefully).

    Was it made in the likeliness of its creator on purpose because Eva felt that it was a little weird to have them look like inhuman puppets? Perun had always thought fondly about his daughter¡¯s considerate thinking.

    These Earth Golem clones also had a blindfold over their eyes, and were only distinctified by its number on its forehead: ¡°01¡±, ¡°02¡±, ¡°03¡± and so on. Perun noticed that the number on the one walking in this time was ¡°18¡±.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve made a new one?¡±

    While admiring his daughter¡¯s consistent craftsmanship with her geomancy, Perun remarked.

    ¡°Yes Master. This is the eighteenth Earth Mimic, does Master want to name it?¡±

    ¡°...Eighteen, we¡¯ve already been calling them by their numbers. (Don¡¯t get full of yourself, bitch.)¡± Leilan, who had been silent all this time, snorted coldly. She had seemingly picked up something, and was dead bent on stopping it. Mostly because it sounded like Eva was trying to practice doing the "What shall we name our baby" play.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Eva clicked her tongue, realizing that her plan had been exposed.

    ¡°...I believe it is Master¡¯s decision to make the names in this household... sister Leilan.¡±

    (...It keeps going towards this direction every time these two talk to each other...)

    ¡°W-well¡­ isn¡¯t it fine? Simple is good¡­ simple is good¡­ haha¡­ hahaha¡­¡± Perun quickly settled the naming portion for now, although it seemed like Eva was still a little unhappy about how it ended,

    ¡°...Well, if Master says so¡­¡±

    Her eyes which were hidden by the black cloth seemed to be staring daggers at her elder sister.

    ¡°So, why did you bring Eighteen in here?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right¡­ this is the more important thing.¡± Eva muttered with a grin.

    She got out from her seat and walked over to Eighteen, who had its palms open. It was holding something in its hands.

    ¡°Look at this, Master.¡±

    ¡°...This looks like¡­¡±

    A black capsule? It had an appearance like the mana batteries that were sold in the country.

    Eighteen lowered its palms and handed it over to Eva respectfully. She then gestured it to leave the room, and genuflected before her father, presenting the cylindrical-shaped capsule before him to hold.

    At this point, it was already impossible to correct his daughter¡¯s unusually servile actions. Perun simply sighed, and grabbed the capsule. It had a different color as compared to the standard mana battery. Those had a dark blue metal exterior and was lighter than the one he was holding right now. This black exterior was clearly a casing made ofEarth Metal. Were the contents different? Whatwas inside beside just weightless mana? As expected, this was a different kind of item? Perun''s curiosity was piqued.

    Feeling satisfied at Perun¡¯s genuine interest in the capsule, Eva finally answered.

    ¡°This, Master, is a recycled mana battery.¡±

    Perun widened his eyes.

    ¡°A recycled¡­ mana battery? ...How did you do it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a filthy thing. Dad, you¡¯d better not touch that.¡± Before Eva could explain herself, Leilan cut her off with narrowing eyes. It seemed that she had responded to the ¡®dead matter¡¯ inside. Eva could only turn her head over and grit her teeth in annoyance.

    ¡°...Filthy? This is a completely normal, usable mana battery. There is nothing filthy about it since I made it.¡± Her emotionless voice seemed to be colder than usual. Leilan returned a glare, and seemed to lose all interest a few seconds later.

    ¡°...Whatever. I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    ¡°W-wait¡­ Leilan, I-¡±

    Slamming the door behind him, only Perun and Eva was left. ...There goes his chance to talk to Leilan today. It seemed that she was in a really bad mood today, Perun thought helplessly.

    Why were they like cats and dogs every time they talked?

    It could be said that Leila and Eva were similar kinds of people who did not express themselves more than the average person. These two had some parts of themselves which maintained emotionless; Eva being her ''antipathic'' voice and Leila, her ''untouchable'' mood.

    As, Perun pressed his fingers along his nose, he sincerely wished for the two of them to understand each other someday.

    <hr>

    ¡°Indeed, I can sense mana from it.¡±

    Eva¡¯s spirits were lifted. She continued carefully.

    ¡°Yes Master. I took Master¡¯s advice and decided to salvage things around. You were right, there were materials if I just looked around with more effort!¡±

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s good, Eva! Looks like you¡¯ve put it into practice rather quickly, as expected of my daughter!¡±

    ¡°H-Hauuuu¡­ Th-thank you, Master.¡±

    Eva was ecstatic from her Master¡¯s answer, a sloven smile dripped on her face.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    Perun tilted his head. His eyes turned blue as he tried to read the mana strings in the capsule. It was a little strange. The normal mana batteries had very straight lines, like a stack of hay. But Eva¡¯s salvaged creation had tangled mana strings¡­ as if¡­ it was merely just squashed together by a hydraulic metal press.

    Perun looked up, and saw Eva¡¯s innocent smile.

    (Hm¡­ am I overthinking this¡­)

    ¡°In any case¡­ it looks usable¡­ We were just about to fall below fifty percent upstairs, so it really helps that this saves the trip to the city for one. But the mana efficiency won¡¯t be as good as the one on the shelves right now.¡± Perun remarked, eyes still fixed on the mana inside.

    ¡°Yes Master, it is a prototype still, but I will work harder to improve it in the future!¡±

    ¡°Haha, alright. You work hard then.¡±

    Perun patted the girls¡¯ head twice, causing Eva to twitch a little in happiness.

    ¡°Can I leave it to Eighteen to install it on the third floor?¡±

    ¡°Yes, leave it to me, Master!¡±

    Eva voice was a little higher pitched than usual.

    Pixie returned a few moments after Eva had left the room joyfully.

    ¡°Did something happen to that girl?¡±

    ¡°Well, she made something good today. Hear this...¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Hey dear.¡±

    At the doorstep of the house, Pixie turned around and smiled, putting her hands behind her back.

    An expectant look.

    Perun bent his waist and kissed her.

    Pixie¡¯s face blushed like when they were newlyweds. This relationship never became stale for her. Being wed to Perun was something she had continued to cherish every day. Pixiesunk down and held her knees together weakly, grinning sheepishly and eyes intoxicated by Perun¡¯s dashing appearance (in her mind).

    ¡°You¡¯re running late, go on.¡±

    ¡°...Un.¡±

    ...

    Pixie stopped after a few steps, and turned back again.

    ¡°...What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°No, nothing. I just feel like¡­ is it really okay for me to receive this much happiness¡­¡±

    She laughed.

    ¡°At this point. I think I¡¯ve used up my lifetime¡¯s luck¡­ probably.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly.¡±

    Perun responded back, breaking his stone-faced expression. This was his second time smiling today.

    ¡°I feel happy when you¡¯re with me too.¡±

    He wrapped his wife in a gentle embrace.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to feel this happy. I love you, Pixie.¡±

    ¡°...Un, I love you too...¡±

    A moment passed, and Pixie crept over to his ear and whispered with her lips curled.

    ¡°Dont feel too lonely when I''m not around okay~ When I get back, ...you''re mine for the night~¡±

    "..."

    "...Dear?"

    Noticing that Perun was not responding towards her night invitation, Pixie was about to act up and complain¡­ but she noticed his face lowered. He was feeling sorry for himself.

    ¡°...As expected, you¡¯re this worried?¡±

    He had seen through Pixie¡¯s actual intentions.

    Pixie moved away from him, and smiled wryly.

    ¡°...Yeah. It¡¯s that nightmare again, right? The doctor had already said that it was a post-war trauma, the symptoms should have been alleviated by the medicine a long time ago. If you¡¯re having it again recently, then-¡±

    ¡°-Don¡¯t say it.¡±

    Perun placed a finger over her lips. His face was unusually serious this time.

    ¡°...Don¡¯t say it.¡±

    A face which Pixie did not know whether she liked or disliked it. It was a face which he would only show when it concerned his daughters.

    ¡°...¡±

    Maybe it was a bit of both, Pixie felt frustrated from the mix of emotions in her chest. She could do nothing to help her husband even though she was a ¡®healer¡¯.

    ¡°I understand, but¡­ let me try again tonight... if, you don¡¯t want them to...¡±

    Perun nodded, and saw her out.

    ¡°Have a safe trip.¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Haahh¡­¡± Another long sigh. Perun was mentally exhausted. It was a lie that he had overcome his nightmare. Its effects would only show as the day passed, he would feel his concentration wavering.

    It was kept a secret from his daughters but...Perunwould eventually be pulled to one side of that abhorrent state: Berserk Mana.

    He hadfirst noticed it when he was in front of a mirror while brushing his teeth one morning after waking up from that same dream. His eyes were bright red, a deep darkness hidden within which threatened to consume those who saw it.

    ...That was enough proof to show that he did not have much time left.

    The man shivered at the thought that he might become unstable one day in the presence of his daughters.

    (...Pixie is right¡­ I need to do something about this¡­¡±

    Pulling out a drawer below his desk, Perun pulled out a phonebook.

    He flipped through the pages and found the number he was looking for.

    <Hammond Rinsfelt>

    <War Council of Liberun>

    <Secretary>

    That name made him hesitate a little. But he decided it was for the best.

    ¡°...It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to ask for anything absurd in exchange¡­ right.¡±

    This was a conversation that he would not allow his daughters to overhear. Leilan and Eva were still at home after breakfast, and he knew that they had no more assignments from the guild for the remainder of today. Perun manipulated mana strings from within his body and closed the double leaved door a distance from him.

    The doors closed silently as he weaved and pushed the mana strings.

    He was now enclosed in the room, and just for precaution, Perun walled the room off with an additional layer of mana.

    Now the room was also soundproof.

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Now then... he was about to call someone troublesome.

    Prepping himself up, he dialed the number.

 5 x Overprotective Daughters

    Perun closed his eyes and sat back down on his recliner, deep in thought.

    (...)

    It seems like it was unavoidable. His contact with the War Council had ended ever since he had declared his retirement.

    And now, it seems like there was going to be a reason for him to come visit again.

    Perun looked down at his clothes., and then to his hands which still had traces of scars.

    (This is fine. It¡¯s just a simple visit.)

    <hr>

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re heading out?¡±

    Perun stopped walking along a short corridor and turned around.

    (Oh, it¡¯s Eighteen.)

    Perun inspected the Earth Mimic from the ground up. There had not been a single flaw in the recreation of her daughter Eva. Its voice, Perun had never deciphered where it came from no matter how much he tried to deconstruct Eighteen from inside.

    Because each one of the mimics had a different voice individually, till this day, even Perun who was at the peak of mana mastery, had considered this to be an unsolvable mystery.

    (...)

    (Master¡­?)

    Concerned over the master¡¯s silence, the mimic spoke out.

    ¡°Ah, no¡­ it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°Is that so.¡±

    As Perun had made the call earlier, various complicated feelings welled up from inside of him. Was it really okay for his daughters to continue running the dark guild Kuromori? Even if they had been adopted by his hand, Perun genuinely treated them like his kids. As a father, he could not understand why he had not thought about this before.

    Had he changed?

    Without realizing what was going on inside of his mind, Eighteen broke Perun¡¯s train of thought and spoke out with its artificial voice.

    ¡°Are you heading out, Master?¡±

    It had noticed a watch he had worn on his left wrist.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be back before dinner. Don¡¯t worry about, please let those two know.¡±

    Of course, who Perun had referred to, Eighteen understood clearly.

    ¡°Acknowledged. I will pass down Master¡¯s message.¡±

    ¡°Mm, you do that.¡±

    The man took the stairs down to the first floor, and unexpectedly, Leilan was still there.

    She was at her couch, watching the television with a bored expression. He could detect a small trace of anger in her, an invisible pair of eyes staring at him from the side. When she noticed that Perun had avoided her gaze, he could feel the girl snorting at him.

    (...What to do with this girl¡­)

    Perun sighed inwardly as he had begun to realize that the distance between his daughters and him was getting wider. There was, of course a very good reason why he had been so awkward around Leilan specifically for a long time now.

    ...Namely because, that lass hadconfessed to him before.

    Shaking off that ridiculous notion of getting together with his own daughter, Perun went to the front of the house to put on his shoes.

    ¡°You¡¯re going out today, Master?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Perun replied without turning his head around. Eighteen was part of Eva, thus she must¡¯ve known that he was about to leave the house.

    ¡°Then I will send-¡±

    ¡°No need, don¡¯t bring the golems over. They might be harmless, but it looks intimidating to onlookers¡­¡±

    Indeed, Perun had always seen Eva¡¯s failed inventions time and time again, and the Earth Golem was no different from the mimics. While they looked sturdy and heavy enough to trample anything below its feet, the reality was that Eva did not have a good sense on how to control her mana. As a result, she had always requested for supplementary tutoring from him late at night, about how to make the golems more durable as a weapon. To that, Perun felt rather conflicted on whether or not he should teach her to use her talent in this way.

    "Besides, someone is going to fetch me by car. You can''t fit your golems in there, can you?"

    ¡°...I will try to¡­¡±

    It seemed that Eva was very reluctant to let him go without a bodyguard.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay... or rather, please don''t. I¡¯m not going anywhere dangerous.¡±

    Eva paused for a moment and scrutinized her father''s face.

    ¡°Uhn¡­ Master¡­ Master promises?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I promise.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Eva was still a little suspicious of him.

    Perun smiled wryly at the willfulness of his youngest daughter who always had a strong desire to protect him. Was it ¡®imprinting¡¯?

    The man could only feel comforted that this kind of warmth and concern he felt radiating from Eva (barring the fact that he was always referred to as ¡°Master¡±) was the ideal kind of relationship he wanted to have with his family.

    Perun¡¯s chest tightened, seeing the hardworking Eva overlapping with the crying girl he saw in the past.

    The man patted his daughter''s head, and replied.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Huuu¡­. Haaahh¡­¡±

    Once he was outside, Perun took in a mouthful of air.

    When was the last time he had taken a break from his job of handling paperwork? It must have been at least a week. Sunlight pierced his eyes from the top, as he instinctively looked upwards.

    A floating island in the sky, with the sun just slightly above it like a halo. That was one of the things Perun had long grown accustomed to after the outbreak of mana.

    Truly, the meteorite had changed many things.

    But Perun wasn¡¯t given much time to sink in his thoughts again. An expensive-looking car that did not operate with wheels soon arrived before the flight of stairs. More than a car, it looked like a hovercraft in the future, and that was made possible with the energy of mana. It was here to pick up the man along the doorstep of the three-storey terraced house.

    The black car stopped, and the side of the car lifted its automatic-canopy door. Behind the darkened windows, a blonde-haired woman with a rather mature look and attire was revealed, her hands still on the steering wheel. A bob-haircut trimmed to perfection, suggestive of her clean and precise personality.

    Noticing the approach of the man, she took off her sunglasses and quickly got off from the other side of the car.

    Then returning to the front of Perun again, she bowed her head in 90-degrees and said with a respectful tone.

    ¡°Master Jin.¡±

    ¡°...Mia. It¡¯s been a while.¡±

    ¡°...Yes, ...yes it has.¡±

    Mia held in tears when her name was called by the man before him. She retracted her bow shortly after and carefully looked at the physique of Perun.

    Broad shoulders, a strong chest and a sturdy waist. Not much had changed much since the last time she had seen him.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°I heard¡­ the Master got married.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°It is rather late but, congratulations.¡±

    ¡°...Thank you.¡±

    The conversation ended so suddenly, Mia felt that it was rather a shame. If possible, she really wanted to talk to him even more. How her life had been¡­ and how he was living right now...

    Should she say something else? But Mia knew the stony and straight-laced personality the master had. Probably, he had no interest in her too. Maybe she had already been forgotten.

    ¡°Mia, are you bringing me to the association today?¡±

    ¡°Ah-eh¡­? Y-yes¡­ I am. Excuse me.¡±

    Mia felt her cheeks burn up with shame.

    (What¡¯s up with that awkward reply?!)

    Yet it also contained a tinge of sadness.

    What would her colleagues say when they see the ¡°Ice Queen¡± act so flimsy around a man? Mia did not want to overstep her boundaries lest she might be disliked by the master. Just like he had said, Her only role was to escort him safely to the Association¡¯s building in the city.

    (Calm down, Mia...)

    (It¡¯s only Master Jin. it¡¯s only him¡­ it¡¯s¡­)

    ¡°As expected, you¡¯re not feeling well?¡±

    Mia who had her eyes closed, jolted backwards as she saw the master¡¯s face right in front of her.

    ¡°Huwahhhh!!!¡±

    The usually composed Mia fell down on her butt, as her face was looked right back at him.

    A hand was extended.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I-It¡¯s okay¡­ I can get up by myself- Huaaahhh!¡±

    Mia lost her balance on her jelly-like legs, but Perun quickly caught her from the back. Her heart... she could feel it beating out of control. Her ears felt hot.

    ¡°A-a-a-ahh¡­-¡±

    Had her embarrassment reached a certain threshold?

    Like a reset button had been pressed, Mia suddenly returned to her occupational look, one that hid all of her emotions under a mask.

    ¡°-I apologize for showing such an unsightly scene, Master Jin. Please get in the car. I will be fine.¡±

    She patted the dust off her long black dress and informed Perun.

    ¡°Shall we depart?¡±

    Mia bowed her head curtly.

    Perun smiled. He had seen Mia since she was younger. She still looked as clumsy as ever.

    Since it seemed like Mia was fine already, Perun was about to get in the car when-

    A stare.

    A feeling behind his back, scrubbing his spine with a grip of death. Or not?

    Perun sensed the suffocating atmosphere a little more carefully.

    He was mistaken, that feeling had pierced through his chest and went straight towards Mia who was hidden in view behind his back.

    Enemy? Perun¡¯s eyes turned cold.

    ¡°...Wait.¡±

    ¡°Yes, is there anything wrong?¡±

    It did not seem like Mia was aware of it. An ability to perceive killing intent, honed from being in the battlefield for many years. The aura was cleverly concealed, but Perun could see it.

    ¡°Say, have you been followed?¡±

    ¡°Followed¡­?¡± Shock filled Mia¡¯s expression.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think that is the case, but don¡¯t tell me¡­!¡±

    Hearing that remark from the master was more reliable than any of her five senses, that was the overwhelming difference the two had in ability.

    Mia could not help but get nervous. The ¡°Master Jin¡± in her memories had not been in service for a long time, but it was not rusty to the point where his field of expertise in detecting enemies was completely gone.

    ¡°Ssh. Be silent.¡±

    Perun warned, and Mia quickly shut herself up obediently, quietly hiding behind him.

    One second passed, two, and then a full minute went by.

    Perun spread his invisible ¡®threads¡¯ all over his surroundings, attempting to sense out anything out of the ordinary, even the spot where he had last felt that murderous glare.

    (Traces of blood...?)

    (It¡¯s gone¡­ but that density of mana around that stalker¡­ it¡¯s unbelievably thick...)

    Perun felt a cold sweat running down his forehead, realizing that such a dangerous person was near the house where his family lived.

    He sighed.

    ¡°It should be fine now. Let''s go back.¡±

    Perun turned to look at Mia¡¯s face. Her almond eyes constantly matching his with a worried gaze.

    Yes, that was fine, Perun thought. He was confident that any chances of intrusion would be thoroughly crushed by the one-of-a-kind mana-supplied systems he had designed around the house. Well, most of the parts had been created under the advice of Eva who enjoyed tinkering around with tech, but she had repeatedly discredited herself in its creation so her father could take the glory should he ever decide to sell the blueprints to a security firm.

    In any case, Perun was confident that the house with the system installed, could withstand the force of a nuclear missile. So Eva and Leilan who were in it should be relatively fine.

    The remaining problem was the fact that the identity of Kuromori might have been exposed.

    But thinking about it for a moment, Perun felt that it was unlikely. Since he was the guildmaster, the killing intent should have been focused on him if that person in the shadows ever had any intentions of harming or disturbing Kuromori''s operations.

    Towards Mia then? While he still had doubts, it was more logical to divert the attention of the enemy away from his house as fast as possible.

    The connection with Kuromori wouldn''t be made if he acted normally. And he would be able to protect her against the unknown assailant.

    Perun considered sending a message to let his daughters know, but he ultimately decided against it. It was best for his cute daughters to stay at home without any concern. That was Perun''s duty as both a father and as the guildmaster.

    Still, as a safety measure, Perun reminded himself to take a detour later for the day and see if there were still any suspicious people around.

    That way he would feel more at ease.

    <hr>

    Back in Eva¡¯s room on the second floor, the petite-looking girl had already known that the ¡®dangerous person¡¯ was her sister who was watching the outside with a different pair of eyes.

    She recalled its name.

    Decaying Eyes.

    An ability that condenses mana containing the connection Leilan has with the undead around a living target¡¯s eyes, causing it to corrode like rotten flesh. But in exchange for normal vision, the caster can see through the target¡¯s eyes as if it were their own.

    It had the same effect for the other Decaying series skills, correspondent to the body part it could usurp; a a very convenient pseudo-human puppeteering ability, Eva thought. It would be difficult to trace the origin of such a torturous skill, so there was no chance of her Master figuring out.

    Yes, they should all be innocent and weak girls in Perun¡¯s eyes. The jobs they did as a Dark Guild had not yet been known to him, as they were moving towards a far greater goal for their Master''s sake.

    In any case, Eva smirked thinking about the screams that the person was making now.

    Ah, her sadism had tingled her arousal.

    Eva licked her lips, as she tossed and turned around the bed, her fingers slowly reaching towards her nether regions.

    ¡°Hua¡­ haannn~ Ah ah~...ahn¡­ Master¡­ Master¡­ Master~ There¡­ that place is¡­ ahhhh!!!¡±

    Her eyes rolled upwards, and her mouth had strings of drool still leaking out at the ends.

    Still, it felt a little empty, if it wasn¡¯t the real deal.

    As Eva panted to calm down her flustered breathing, her thighs pressed together while indulging in the afterglow.

    ¡°...Mia¡­ huh.¡±

    Her expression darkened.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave this to older sister, since she doesn¡¯t cut corners when it comes to Master too...¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ there¡¯s nothing to worry about¡­ that female pig will regret touching Master with her filthy hands¡­¡±

    A yawn escaped from the girl¡¯s mouth. Her eyelids begin to feel heavy. It was still half past noon, but Eva had been working since yesterday night. The fluffiness of her bed began to ease the tension.

    ¡°Mn, mn¡­¡±

    Eva nodded, as the uneasiness from the absence of her Master mixed in with her rising fatigue. As expected, making the ¡®mana battery¡¯ today used a fair bit of her geomancy. The mana within her had been depleted.

    The thought of killing Mia¡­ if Leilan did not do it in the end, then Eva would do so herself when she woke up tomorrow. That was for the best.

    ¡°...Rechargeeee¡­ huhe...hehehe...hehehehehe¡­ Mas...ter¡­ ...wuv¡­ you...¡±

    Eva who was hugging the body pillow that had the image of Perun plastered on it, soon fell asleep.

    <hr>

    (My eyessss!!!)

    (What happened to my eyes?!!!)

    (IT BURNS!!! IT BURNS SO MUCH!!! PUT IT OUT! SOMEBODY, PUT IT OUT!!!)

    (THAT¡¯S RIGHT, MY HANDS, I¡¯LL JUST RUB THEM O...FF¡­)

    Plop.

    (Eh.)

    (S-something¡­ fell off¡­?)

    (Vision¡­ it¡¯s back¡­)

    (Wh...at¡­ those things on the ground¡­)

    (My¡­ my god¡­ OH MY GOD, MY RIGHT EYE!!! MY EYEEEEEEEEE!!!!)

    (NO, THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE¡­ WHAT IS HAPPENING¡­ THIS IS A NIGHTMARE, THAT¡¯S RIGHT, IT¡¯S A NIGHTMARE!!!)

    The man screamed internally, as he slowly felt that his head had not been under his control the entire time.

    Understanding so only made him squirm more in terror.

    What was he looking at?

    It was a man, and a cool-looking woman well within his strike zone, but why?

    Why was that vision seemingly causing his body to tremble?

    Why is he feeling this kind of fear?

    The more he looked at that scene, the more he felt that his head was about to burst from some kind of unknown pressure squeezing his skull.

    (I don¡¯t understand¡­ I don¡¯t understand anything¡­)

    He was supposed to be in charge of a raid today. To hunt down the dark guild Kuromori from an anonymous tip they had received. Was this a trap all along? Since a while ago, they had already lost contact with the other squad. Before he knew it, his colleagues had died after having their skin mysteriously corroded. Was it his turn now?

    He could not even scream.

    The feeling of his body turning into paste was not a pleasant feeling.

    It was just like the feeling of being cooked alive. His skin sizzled and the bare flesh behind it stung like a painful stimulant.

    Another scream he could not make.

    Why?

    Why was his voice not coming out?

    And finally when he had gotten control over his lifeless hands, he moved over to touch it.

    (They are¡­ stitched¡­)

    The man felt like vomit was filling his throat.

    But it only stung his lips, the metal piercing his mouth like being stapled together. He did not even want to look at himself in the mirror, of what he had become.

    Melting¡­ everything is melting, leaving only his skeleton intact.

    Had his brain turned into mush?

    The man no longer knew. The pain had far exceeded what he could comprehend, and he soon devolved into a vegetative state.

    No words to convey his pain. No actions to convey his suffering.

    As his life flickered before his eyes, he remembered the guild he was sent to hunt down.

    One responsible for the undertaking of assassinations and various other illegal acts.

    Kuromori.

 6 x VIP treatment [Part 1]

    A swing of cold steel. All too familiar to a certain man.

    The sight around him that tortured his eyes and mind.Hehad returned inside of the body he had as a child.

    Desperation placed in eachand every step, the priority was to escape, yetthat man with a height akin to a goliath.

    ...He wouldnever let him go.

    Fwiip.

    Thefoot which had lost balance, slipped offthe rock and fell to the side. A blade where the boy''s head had been.

    The hyperfocus from the dance of death, must haveresulted in the cold sweat that acted as a lubricant forone of his open foot. Suspending in slow motion, the boy fell forward, a few strands of thehair at his back lost from the blade''s edge.

    BOOM! The thunderous crash of the sword resounded, creating a dust cloud.

    "Cough cough..."

    The boy closed his eyes to avoid the dirt from getting into his eyes, while he heard the giant black sword lifting itself up from the earth, removing bricks of earth from where it had indented.

    (...Fuck... fuck... fuck...!!!)

    This taste of metal in his mouth. The dust that clogged his nostrils each time he breathed. And the cries of death.

    They were all signs that he had returned again to this place.Perun felt his heartbeat rising.

    The Awakening War that took place 28 years ago.

    On the day that it began, this was the nightmare that never ended.

    The goliath swung his pitch black blade around again like a scythe, tearing everything apart. Blow after blow, the only weapon in the boy''s hand... the knife had already been chipped so much that it no longer had any use. He merely ducked and dodged, feeling the gap between the two shorten.

    Too much. The boy could never hope to stand up against him. He was going to die if he continued running.

    What kind of expression did the boy make, Perun felt a twinge of disgust in his head.

    This body in his recollection, was far too weak as compared to him now.

    An empty stomach, burning throat, and even his eyes seemed to hold a large amount of fatigue. Had he been sent to the field under such feverish conditions? What was he thinking when he was younger?

    The opponent merely snickered at the sight of a dead man. Another trophy to his collection. The battlefield, that was a place where murder could go by freely, and he would be hailed as his country''s hero for winning! How much more joy would it bring to kill this boy, so brilliantly elusive and so desperate to live...?

    The goliath grinned sinisterly. He wanted to kill him so badly.

    Notmaking a single concession for the age difference, nor the fact that he was about to kill another human being. There were no morals in that battlefield. The gap shortened before long, and the blade came near him again. The boy knew very clearly hehad just ran out of chances.

    (Ah.)

    The moment had arrived. When it would change the world forever.He thought he had been prepared, yet Perun¡¯s heart still froze when he saw the blade swing right towards his skull. As expected, it was a deep scar in his heart.

    Just an inch closer. The murderous intent threatened to split his body vertically into two.

    Desperate, and yet still reluctant to admit his powerlessness. The boy was far too weak, he could not avenge anything. Deep within his heart, he had already felt it.

    He closed his eyes. Notfromacceptance, but in grievous regret. He was powerless, thus he shut his eyes from everything else. He didn''t dare to face his death head on.

    Just a little more now- The blade approached him frame by frame.

    "...Soma¡­!"

    His final cry, full of emotion that it seemed to signal the start of a change.

    As he had finished, those pair of dead-fish eyes started to crackle cobalt blue. As if an electric current had zapped him out of that haziness, Perun suddenly feltthe boy''s bodyturning lighter. The wounds on his body were also starting to heal at a rapid pace.

    "Re...covery...?"

    He saw the impossible. The deep cuts that had severed most of his tendons were healing themselves.

    Telekinesis? Magic?

    In addition, his opponent had literally frozen still.The black blade stopping right in front of him, unable to deal the finishing blow. The man who originally assumed that he had already won was stiffened with astonishment.

    ¡°[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]?!¡±

    The voice that Perun could never remember, shouted at him.

    And then-

    ¡°A..aahh...ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡±

    The boy screamed both in pain and fury, tears falling off his cheeks as if reminding him of the pain that began coursing through his body a brief moment after that shock.

    (My...bod...y!!! It burnss...!!!)

    Both the goliath and the boy¡¯s expression changed for varying reasons.

    The blade that was just an inch away from Perun''s head had been wrapped around a veil of translucent blue, the connection could be clearly felt at the tip of his fingers. There was a connection to a powerful energy source, something that he had never felt before.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    As his eyes opened, enduring the heat that was permeating throughout his entire body, the boy saw a whole new world.Ablue aura that covered the wastelands. As far as he could see, everything around him was sparkling blue.

    The shock, surprise¡­ and wonder the young Perun had felt, as he saw the cloudy skies decorated with those surreal hues.

    <hr>

    ¡°Jin¡­¡±

    ¡°M¡­ Jin¡­¡±

    ¡°Master¡­ Jin¡­¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Perun opened his eyes groggily.

    He felt sick in the head, butthere were signs of his usual symptomsloosening up as if he had taken an aspirin.The man quickly came back to his senses and knew that he had fallen asleep in the car.

    At the side of him was Mia, who bowed gently with his well-endowed features. While she was still driving, Mia did not make any sharp movements, with every action exuding a fair amount of elegance like a professional maid.

    ¡°We¡¯re arriving soon, Master Jin.¡±

    ¡°...Ah.¡±

    Perun stared at the roof of the vehicle. How pathetic was he to be drained of his strength in front of an old colleague. Even if he had retired a long time ago, the man still knew that he had to keep up the appearance of the fourth ranker in the world assigned under his official name, Jin Bathory. Of course, the name "Perun" was what he preferred to use in his private life, there was a certain meaning behind how Mia and the public addressed a famous war veteran like him.

    Beginning to feel that he was getting a little too comfortable, Perun straightened his back and refocused sharply. It was clear that the atmosphere around him had changed in an instant.

    (I''m the guildmaster... and yet I''m leaving everything to the girls... haah... I really need to assess myself again soon.)

    Perun thought painfully, thinking about what he had been doing ever since the establishment of Kuromori. He grimaced, after realizing that most of the work allocated to him were paperwork. Had the girls noticed it and was doing this deliberately? Maybe, he had become too lax around his family. It was no wonder that he had rarely stepped outside for such a long time.

    (Hmm...? Living like this... it''s as if... I''m being confined, aren''t I... haha...)

    (...It probably is just a coincidence, isn''t it. There''s no way those lovable lasses would do that. The girls are just watching out for me in case I got hurt... Mm, that''s it I think. I''m getting older after all, but it doesn''t affect my appearance because of my mana quality. My physical strength too... Well, I guess it doesn''t matter. I''ll just go out for some fresh air tomorrow, maybe I''ll take up some guild requests after so long.)

    While Perun was stuck in contemplation in setting up his future schedule to work out, the vehicle had already stopped.

    He looked around to find himself in a basement that seemed to be an underground parking lot for VIPs.

    Mia unfastened her seat belt at the side and turned towards Perun with a courteous smile.

    "Hm? Is there something wrong?"

    "N-no, well..."

    Mia laughed softly with a hand covering her mouth, and proceeded to procure a handkerchief from the breast pocket of her suit.

    ¡°Did you sleep well, Master Jin?"

    ¡°... You jest.¡±

    Catching on to her suggestion, Perun sighed. He held up his palm to stop her approach, and wiped the liquid stain around the corner of his mouth with his shirt sleeve.

    While doing so, hecould feel the chuckle from Mia who had returned the cloth promptly.

    Theliquid tasted like a medical disinfectant. Perun was misled that he had been drooling in his sleep.

    "..."

    Clutching his hair and pushing it back, Perun sighed as he felt the sweat on his forehead being cooled by the car¡¯s air-conditioner.

    ¡°...You applied it... for me.¡±

    ¡°... ...Yes."

    The atmosphere changed. Mia had lowered her head and remained silent after nodding once.

    "...Thanks. But-"

    Miareturned the man with a meaningful gaze, and held a hand over his. Perun tried to avoid her stare, but he had unintentionally focused onto the puckered lips of hers.

    He swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

    "Mia. Don''t do this, we''re already adults."

    ¡°...¡±

    The prescription that Perun was returning to his ex-employer to receive. The one who had applied it while he was unconscious.Perunwas not an oblivious man for his age. From the flushed expression on Mia''s hazy face, he knew the signals of an interested woman when he saw one. For his past fame, Perun was used to dealing with the infatuation of being hailed as the country''s hero.

    Furthermore, he had left things with Mia on vague terms a long time ago. Had his decision come to haunt him now?It didn''t matter. Perun was already married.The image of Pixie smiling made Perun recall her warmth that remained.

    The man quickly moved his hand away, and Mia could feel his refusal through this action.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just¡­¡±

    Perun could tell that the woman before him was stifling her tears.

    Perun shifted his gaze somewhere else. This was exactly why he hated to lead women on. In a way, he was indecisive at times when it truly mattered.Feeling that it was partially his fault, Perun spoke his mind.

    ¡°...Mia... don''t cry for my sake."

    "..."

    "You''re a good woman, I''ve worked with you long enough to know your good points. You deserve better."

    Mia twitched her body upon hearing that, but she was crying louder than before.

    The atmosphere between the two remained as awkward since their reunion, and Perun had no choice but to wait for her.

    <hr>

    "I''m sorry for my previous appearance. It must have been rather unsightly, please forget about it."

    Mia was grabbing her leftshoulder weakly while saying so.

    "...Let''s get going. Thanks for accompanying me here. A big shot like you should be rather busy huh, the other guys must have objected your sudden leave."

    "...Don''t worry, I was the one who insisted to escort you here."

    "Haha..."

    White smiled wryly.

    As they continued to walk slowly towards a large exit in the underground parking lot, White decided to make some idle chatter.

    "You''re doing paperwork these days?"

    "..."

    "Mia?"

    "Oh, ah... Yes."

    She rubbed her shoulders, as if indicating that she was tired from doing menial labour all the time.

    "There''s nothing much to do on-site after being promoted. The work I handle usually are administrative ones."

    She explained without much vigor.

    In a way, every working hierarchy in this world were the same. The higher you go, less physical risk was taken but more pressure would be placed on getting results through ordering subordinates as a superior. It was just like Perun''s position in his underground work as the guildmaster. He needed to approve many things and decline the ones that seem to be detrimental to the guild. But even that kind of work was relegated partially to his daughters, who had a discerning eye over their clients.

    It wasn''t a good thing to mention to others about murder and other illegal activities that Kuromori did, and only a few people knew of how to contact them for their services. Since it would lead to unhealthy development for his daughters, it was usually the eldest daughter Soma and him who handled things on-site. Since he was handling the paperwork in recent years, White was a little worried about his eldest daughter''s condition.

    Perhaps he should check up on her later tonight as well. There were many things that he needed to do, now that he had gone outside for a fresh perspective. As expected, he should be talking to people more often.

    Mia seemed to be in the wrong mood for a conversation however, so Perun stopped in consideration of her feelings. The two reached the front of the large black doors with a sleek metallic texture to them. At the top of the door was a display panel which had two arrows indicating up and down.

    This was the elevator that connected the other floors to the basement.

    As Perun was already outside of his house, he had already begun to be conscious of mana around him. He could feel the mana of 8 individuals behind a few hidden doors around the elevator. They did not seem to be particularly hostile to him. Perun could tell that they were either trained escorts or personnel guarding the elevator.

    There was already a man expecting Perun and Mia who was walking with high-heels behind him. The manhad the appearance around the mid 20s, with an almost identical black suit like the one Mia was wearing. It seemed to resemble a gakuran* or what a bellboy at a hotel lobby would wear.

    There was a golden name tagabove the breast pocketwith carvings for his name.He was bending his body in a 90 degrees just like Mia. Yural deKalseig. That was the name on his tag.

    (Kalseig? ...Hmm.)

    It was the bearing some connections to nobility inthis post-mana world.Of course Perun was aware of such a name while working as a guildmaster. There were some requests before that wanted the head of the family dead. It seems like the Kalseig family had created some deep grudges with the people.

    If he recalled, the bloodline of Kalseig heldstrong connections within business trades within this country. People who handled business lines would usually be a target, sometimes indiscriminately for unscrupulous fools whom benefited from their downfall.

    In any case, the new world was filled with people like these.

    ¡°We have been expecting you, Master Jin."

 7 x VIP treatment [Part 2]

    ¡°We have been expecting you, Master Jin."

    Yural spoke out his registered name conservatively. That person seemed like the type who respected private space. Perun had immediately taken a liking to this guy, and nodded in response.

    That, and probably Yural knew the actual status of the man, no matter his current status of employment. In the eyes of others other than a few select individuals, not even the far-reaching War Council knew that their hero operated a dark guild under the surface.

    Another reason was because Yural had not minded his outfit, despite knowing the status of the establishment he was in. A coat that looked like he could had just picked it off from the homeless, and a pair of inexpensive denim jeans that did not complement any kind of style.

    After observing Perun from head to toe with a quick glance, Yural returned his eyes back straight and then continued carefully with a straight face.

    "Perhaps, Master Jin, might we trouble you with a new selection of clothing? It would be far too conspicuous to visit like this. If you may allow us to, we can direct you to our walk-in wardrobe for a change of look."

    "A change of look, is it."

    Yural bowed politely.

    As expected, it did seem like it was a problem to enter like this. Probably understanding the logic behind it, Perun sniffed the hem of the shirt under his coat and shrugged.

    "I don''t mind. I was a little conscious about it anyway. On second thought, this does look rather bad in this kind of place..."

    The response seemed to be satisfactory, as Yural revealed a bright smile from the guest''s understanding. He gestured with one hand to one side of the vast basement, signalling as if for a pedestrian crossing.

    "Then, please follow my colleague here, Hethy to the dressing lobby."

    Another employee in a black suit appeared, this was one of the presences hidden behind a door.

    "It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Jin. My name is Hethy, and I will be your coordinator for today."

    Hethy was a tanned-skin woman who donned the same outfit like the other employees. She had a refreshing smile on her face, as expected of one who worked in the service industry. Or rather, Perun could tell that she had a considerable amount of combat experience judging from her posture and muscles behind her attire.

    Probably because Perun had begun staring at her for a considerable amount of time to be awkward, Hethy inquired him bashfully.

    "I-Is there a problem, Master Jin?"

    "...No, sorry about that. You seem strong, so I unconsciously had another look at you."

    "...!!!"

    Hethy''s eyes widened, as if she had been seen through.

    "The mana channels in your body are very pure, you must have trained quite a lot."

    Her face turned to one of admiration shortly after. Perun could sense a similar gaze from Yural at the front.

    "A-as expected, to even discern Hethy''s true strength, who is part of the Eight Orders directly led by the Chancellor... I have a newfound respect for Master Jin."

    "Eh?"

    "I had been thinking that Master Jin might have deteriorated in ability after so long. To think of such rude thoughts before, please forgive me."

    (...Ah... I remembered. Sensing mana does still seem like a big deal huh.)

    "... ...Hm, well. Don''t mind it. Hethy was it?"

    "Y-yes...!"

    The woman who had received direct compliments from one of the strongest figures in this country stood at attention. Her eyes were sparkling while her body was stiff from his words. She too, knew the implications of receiving the praise of the fourth ranker, Jin Bathory. It wouldn''t be a dream for her to receive a promotion in rankings after receiving such a recommendation from the person himself.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    "Haha... there''s no need to be so tense. I''ll be in your care for today."

    "E-eh, ah... Y-Hye- ouch-!"

    (Ah, she bit her tongue. This woman... she''s unexpectedly clumsy huh.)

    Hethy''s face reddened from shame, and she swiftly worked to correct herself.

    "Yes, l-likewise. It is truly an honor to accompany esteemed Ranker during your visit, Master Jin! Please let me know if there are anything you need at anytime! Anything at all!"

    The high-spirited Hethy continued with a refreshing voice. Perun could only nod awkwardly at her diligence.

    "A-alright, keep it up..."

    As expected, the standard of service was higher than the time he had last visited this place. Even the elevator had changed to a more sophisticated one. He could sense the use of mana in it.

    "Then... Mia? I won''t hold you up any longer than this. You should head back with your colleagues, I will see you later if negotiations were to take place."

    "...Mia?"

    As Perun asked a second time, he turned around and felt a small fluctuation with her mana. Her head was lowered so he could not see her expression.

    "Mia, are you feeling unwell..."

    As he pressed his arms on her shoulders, she finally returned a reply with a whisper.

    "...No, it''s fine. You can go ahead with that woman there. Like you said, I will be rather busy from now on so I will be going then."

    "A-ah... alright. Then, we''ll see each other again later if there''s a chance."

    "...Yes, we shall."

    The conversation seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, yet Perun could not help but feel some kind of anger from her words.

    (It probably isn''t a big deal since I don''t feel hostility against me, but...)

    The detection of mana that Perun was good at did not raise any signs of being attacked. Perhaps she was just angry at the fact that she had to return to work again?

    (Really, I totally understand how she feels.)

    "Miss Mia, the Chancellor is waiting. We will escort you there."

    "I understand."

    Without much hassle, she followed Yural into the elevator. As she passed by Hethy who was standing near Perun as his temporary attendant, he could feel her anger spike up again.

    Recalling that she was to return to work after reporting back, Perun could not help but feel a sense of empathy for her. Mia''s job must be really busy.

    (I feel bad for pushing a rejection onto her like this earlier, but it couldn''t be helped. The atmosphere was just really bad for me...)

    "Then, please excuse me. I hope you have a pleasant visit, Master Jin."

    Yural bowed again.

    "Then, I''ll see you again later, okay? Definitely."

    It seems like Mia had cheered up a little. She waved her hand towards Perun with a smile.

    (Really, that woman...)

    (...Wait, definitely?)

    "Then, we should get going too, Hethy?"

    "..."

    "Hethy?"

    "-Ah...ahhhh! I-I''m sorry, please do not worry about me. I was merely thinking about something."

    (Hm? Is that sweat...?)

    "Are you nervous?"

    Perun placed her hands into the pockets of his cheap coat.

    "N-no well..."

    "Don''t worry about it. Should we skip the change of clothes after all, if it''s bugging you?"

    "I... N-no, that''s not the case. Please let me be your coordinator for today."

    It seemed like she was still worrying about something, but soon snapped out of it.

    "I see."

    Slapping herself on the cheeks to refresh herself, Hethy bowed her head.

    "...Still, please do not overdo it. I am okay with anything."

    "Yes, there are no problems! Then, this way, Master Jin."

    <hr>

    The War Council was the largest guild in this country of Liberun. It was a place where many diplomats and important figures spanning the entire nation, other times even internationally would visit. No matter how powerful one is, they would have to dress for the occasion. To dress this badly would conversely attract eyes. One would be subject to the eyes of countless of influential figures once inside, it was not advisable to stain the atmosphere with an inappropriate dress code.

    While problem for someone looking like this to enter the building. The War Council could be considered a branch of the country¡¯s parliament, so wearing the clothes of a commoner could only be seen as a joke. One could regard the establishment under the War Council''s name as a status symbol, a place of high society in this new world.

    Many people come to the War Council for varying reasons, most of the times to request for the services of their ability users, or "new humans".

    "This way, Master Jin."

    Perun was led to a wide ballroom with a high ceiling. At the side of the doorstep was a line of maids and butlers ready to receive him. The center of the interior had a classy chandelier, befitting the atmosphere of this ''hotel suite''.

    "...Hoh."

    Perun felt that the War Council had prospered a lot to prepare these kinds of things.

    A large selection of suits and ties, coats and various other wear befitting that of a high-class person. Be it silk, linen or any other material, they all gave off the feeling that purchasing even one of them might have burnt his pockets.

    This kind of treatment made him feel like royalty, something which he had not experienced for a long time. After all, Perun had always been the one taking care of people, namely the daughters he had adopted while he had been roaming around from war to war. Had it been a scheme to draw him back into active service, Perun could not help but feel that his heart had wavered a little by it.

    "Cough."

    Since Perun was not very particular with how he coordinated himself, nor did he know how to, he left the change of clothes to the attendants around him without reserve.

    "Then, I shall wait for you outside until you have gotten a satisfactory change of clothing."

    Taking a glance at her watch, she continued.

    "Mr Rinsfelt will be leaving in 30 minutes, I will notify Master Jin when it is time to head out. Please rest assured."

    That was true, Perun came to the War Council after contacting his old buddy Hammond Rinsfelt. He was now the secretary of such a big guild, thus his reception had been welcomed without a hitch.

    Hammond was also a busy man. Perun decided to not make the guy wait.

    With the help of the attendants inside, Perun changed into an appropriate set of clothes without much deliberation.