Approximately thirty minutes after the assassins made their move…

“How long are we expected to wait down here!” Stefan yelled as he kicked the door.

There was one more section of this house that existed: the basement. It was larger than an entire floor of the mansion, its entrance was connected to one of the first floor staircases, and it was split into three sections.

The first section in the middle was a training area. It was commonly used by the residents to practice in battle. In fact, they were even allowed to use conjuring down here. The walls were specially lined with a certain material that was highly resistant to conjuring, but it was also unbelievably rare. While the material couldn’t be weaponized, it was commonly used to make safe rooms for royalty in their castles.

Due to both his connections and the nature of this mansion, Riley was able to build this basement with said materials. Of course, it couldn’t fully contain affinities like space due to its own nature, but even so, it was a tremendous sort.

Naturally, one would wonder why Zara and Elijah were training outside rather than in here, but the answer was rather simple. Everyone preferred going outside to spar rather than come in here. This room was more likely to be used in a serious mock battle, no holds barred.

The second section on the east side was a storage room. It held mostly junk or cleaning equipment. Naturally, it wasn’t that important.

The final section on the west side was an empty room. Initially, this was to be a part of the training room as well, but it would have turned out far too large. So, Riley divided it so that this room could be used for other purposes.

This western wing of the basement was currently where the remaining residents of the house were. Elice was leaned up against one side of the room’s walls, dozing off. Between getting up early, studying like crazy in the library, going shopping, and worrying about the attack that Simon had warned everyone of, her mind was exhausted, and she was ready to pass out.

To her side was her brother. Having noticed her dozing off, Elijah sat down beside her and let her lay her head on his lap. In the past, he and Elice had been rather distant, but with the time he had now, he intended to shorten that distance at least somewhat.

The reason Rosa and Marietta weren’t in here was because they didn’t want to move Rosa too much with the way she was. Marietta, wishing to stay by her side, declined to move down her, sticking to guarding her princess alongside Edna.

“Stefan, enough. It’s not been that long. Be patient,” Elijah said.

“Your Highness, you can’t seriously tell me that you trust these people! Why should we trust their words at all! Plus, they all act so superior to all of us, even though we’re nobles and royals! What right do they have to badmouth and snark off to us?!” Stefan complained. He’d been in this mood ever since Zara crushed him.

“You were out of line, Stefan. We’re not royals and nobles anymore anyways. It’s about time you realized that.”

“But Your Highness!”

“And stop calling me that. I forewent my title long before this happened.”

“Grr!”

“Tch!”

Though quiet about it, another person agreed with Stefan: Blanch. Ever since his one-sided loss to Riley, he’d been filled with rage. That said, he couldn’t do anything about it. Riley was clearly too powerful. Being surrounded by people like his sister, a duke’s daughter, several servants, and royalty certainly didn’t help, and neither did his sudden reveal of being a noble. Blanch could only stay silent and do nothing.

“It’s for the better that we don’t go up there. We’d only be in the way,” Joy said. Ever since she saw true power, the way she measured people's changed dramatically. She’d seen the people in this room fight once before with the exception of Stefan, and that’s why she could safely conclude that they’d only be in the way upstairs. Besides, if there were people up there capable of beating people on the level of Darius or higher, then there’d be no way that they could escape.

“Do you think that kid is seriously stronger than us though?” Wyatt asked. Like Joy and Blanch, he’d been thoroughly thrashed by Riley. And like Joy, he’d lost a lot of his confidence in his strength. That said, he was still prideful. He was still a man. He couldn’t bring himself to believe a child like Hombell was stronger than he was. If she was, then he’d seriously have to have some kind of mental makeover.

“Haven’t you seen the faces or heard the tones of the others when they mention that kid? There’s something clearly strange about her.”

“She also talks to that guy differently than those others also,” Rain said. Close by to Elice and Elijah, Rain stood ready to fight. Unlike the others, he wasn’t worried or angry in the least. He’d seen and experienced many things as he grew. Some things that would drive others to insanity. If he let feelings of fear, anger, or confusion cloud his judgment, then he couldn’t do his job.

“Exactly. They all call him Master Riley except for her.”

“Isn’t that because she’s just a kid, though?” Wyatt asked.

“It could be, but I think that if she was an ordinary kid, she’d probably go along with the others, right?”

“Special permission maybe?”

“I’d say not,” Elijah joined in. “Riley doesn’t show his emotions very much, even back when I knew him. I don’t know if it has something to do with his curse or what. Still though, I can tell that he doesn’t really seem comfortable with being called master.”

“I bet he’s enjoying it! Creepy bastard is what he is!” Stefan exclaimed.

“It’s a mouth like that that got you turned into a drooling mess earlier today, remember?”

“Sh-! Gah!”

He’d almost snapped at Elijah, but he held his tongue. If it were anyone else, he would’ve already let loose his tongue.

“Well, no matter what the case is, I say it’s better to regard her as abnormal,” Rain concluded.

For a short while longer, the group sat in this room in silence.

Finally, a change occurred. With a small flash of blue light, a short figure in a blue hood appeared before them.

“Miss Sierra!” Joy cried.

Sierra looked to the side and gave her a small bow-like nod.

“Wow, you look like a badass! Is this what you look like when you’re fighting?”

Sierra nodded again.

“Wow, that’s awesome! Maybe I should do something similar…”

As Joy pondered this, Stefan turned around and glared at the girl. “Well, it’s about goddamn time! You’re making us wait this long for one or two assassins?! How stupid are you, disrespecting your guests like this?!”

Sierra glared at him.

“Stefan!”

“Oh, and another thing, you stupid bitch! You owe me for breaking my nose! You dare to treat me like garbage?! I’ll show you a thing or two!”

Stefan swung his fist at Sierra’s face, but she easily swatted it away, placed her hand against Stefan’s chest, and sent him flying into the metal door, bending it unnaturally and knocking him out clean.

Dumbass, she wrote over Stefan’s body.

This shock of strength left the others stunned. Of course, Stefan wasn’t all that strong to begin with, but Sierra still swatted him away like he was just some dumb drunk.

“…Well, at least he shut up,” Wyatt muttered.

“Whatever works,” Joy stated.

“…I’m seriously thinking about just letting him be your punching bag at this point,” Elijah said, clearly giving up on trying to make Stefan stop. It was clearly pointless.

After an awkward silent moment, Sierra raised her hand and snapped her finger, teleporting everyone in the room into the foyer.

Surprised by the sudden change in location, the group looked around. Around them, the others were just sitting around and waiting.

“It looks like the princess fell asleep,” Simon said, leaning up against the arm of the large staircase while reading his book again. “Sierra, can you take her back to her room?”

Sierra nodded before making herself and Elice disappear. Even Stefan vanished.

Though startled by both of their disappearances, Elijah just couldn’t bring himself to say anything. This group was too bizarre for him to question.

“Look like everyone is here!” Zaria said, pumping her fist, ignoring the splatters of blood that stained her clothes, skin, and hair.

“Hey, Zaria? Don’t you want to take a shower?” Silas asked. Since his Salvation didn’t exactly help with hygiene, he couldn’t clean all the blood off for her.

“I’ll wait until these guys are gone!”

“…Whatever floats your boat.”

“Pardon me, everyone,” another voice came from the stairs. Darius was walking down while dragging his prisoners behind him in a large mess of chains.

“Sorry about the noise, but my abilities aren’t exactly quiet.” It was fortunate that Sierra took Elice to her room. Otherwise, the chains would have woken her up.

“If you would have waited, Sierra would have gotten them and brought them down here,” Zara stated off to the side.

“Sorry. Even if that’s the case, I just feel better about doing it myself. It’s an old habit by now,” he declared with a smile.

Dragging the assassins behind him, he set them besides others that were nearby.

“Where do I put these guys by the way?”

“If you think they’re decent enough people, put them over there. Otherwise, over there,” Simon replied.

“Got it.”

The way the assassins were divided was by whether the one who defeated them liked them or not. If they weren’t worth saving, then they’d be placed against the left wall (when looking from the entrance). However, if there were people here who came against their will or weren’t particularly worthy of being disliked, then they were put against the right wall, which was where Darius placed his opponents.

Currently, all the assassins that were still alive were mostly left where they were, restrained and waiting for Sierra to bring them downstairs.

The only living assassins down here were the ones who were defeated by Simon (currently coated in paper), Sierra (currently incapable of movement with their tendons slashed), Darius (currently tied up in chains), and Zara (the man he paralyzed). Naturally, Simon’s and Darius’s victims were against the right wall.

There were also Silas’s captures along the right wall. Thanks to him leading them while keeping them under the pressure of his power, all of his opponents were brought in quietly and were also coated in paper.

“How many assassins were sent?” Rain asked, his eyes resting on everyone.

“We’ll see soon enough. Everyone who’s alive will be brought down here,” Simon explained.

“Alive? Does that mean that there are some who have died?”

Simon merely responded by pointing to a nearby red stain on the floor, no body in sight.

“That’s blood…” Blanch muttered, his eyes wide and real emotions other than anger finally on display.

“Well, it’s to be expected,” Darius said coolly. “They broke into someone’s house. If they knew who they were targeting, they should have at least been prepared to die.”

“Mmm…” Joy understood this sentiment. It was kill or be killed. In this world, these kinds of things happen all the time. This was merely self-defense.

Still, even though she knew this, she had a hard time bringing herself to fully commit to such acts. Back in her country, she often hunted in the woods. Whether it was a rabbit or a deer, she still hunted it. It was so she could eat, a necessity.

But even then, that was just animals. She knew this world was more violent, and she had already seen her share of dead bodies in both this and her old world. But this did not dull her perception of bloodshed.

“Did you guys kill anyone?” Wyatt asked the others.

“I killed one person when he mouthed off. Sierra took his body outside along with the rest of them.”

“I managed to bring back everyone I was fighting alive.”

“I killed fourteen others across the first floor.”

“I unfortunately lost sight of one of my guys, but Annika killed the last one.”

“I left a bunch dead upstairs, but I wasn’t keeping count. I was too busy tearing them apart to pay attention to how many there were.”

Simon, Silas, Zara, and Darius all turned and faced the shrugging Zaria. They all thought that she was being dramatic, but they knew otherwise. Especially Darius who had to move through the halls that she’d been in.

“All that graffiti you left on the walls and floor are probably going to haunt me for the rest of my life,” he muttered.

“Hey, it was well deserved! It was their fault for intruding! I only wish they stayed alive longer so I could torment them more! They were so fragile!”

“You say that as if you were playing with a breakable toy,” Elijah muttered.

“They may as well have been!”

“That’s enough, Zaria,” Simon said.

A few moments later, Sierra returned, but she didn’t come back with a single person.

“Are there no others left alive?” Silas asked her, to which she merely nodded. “Seriously? Did the others not remember to bring at least the leaders back alive?”

“Don’t be a hypocrite, Silas. If not for a whim, you would have killed all your targets, right?” Zara pointed out.

“Hey, hey! I at least remembered that I needed to bring back a leader. I don’t want to hear any complaints from you, zappy.”

“What was that, mouth?”

Zara and Silas were getting heated, but everyone ignored them.

“Wait, so then everyone else is dead?” Wyatt asked.

“I mean, they asked for it, but… still,” Joy trailed off.

“Sierra, how many were there?” Simon asked.

Sierra raised her hands and released her letters once again.

Forty-nine survivors. Eighty-six Deceased.

“Jeez, 135?” Silas asked disinterestedly. “And that’s not even including the group heading off for Hombell.”

“What about the dead? Are they still in the halls?”

They are outside. I will dispose of them and the blood shortly.

“Thanks. Sorry for leaving the cleaning to you, Sierra,” Simon apologized. Sierra only shook her head in response.

“Dispose of them? What are you going to do with them?” Joy asked.

“She’ll just erase it all. Space is so handy!” Zaria complimented.

“Erase? What do you- Wait, what?!”

Before she could get an answer, however, darkness spread across the floor.

“W-What is this?!”

“It’s sticking to me!”

“Get it off!!”

“What are you doing!!!”

The assassins all yelled as the darkness slowly crept up and grabbed ahold of them.

“Guess she’s already got her lot sorted then.”

“Hey, Simon. Did you make sure to label which group she can play with?”

“There’s short letters on each group’s side. She’ll know.”

“You shouldn’t let any of them off easy…”

The rest of the servants already seemed to know what this was and who it belonged to. Not in the loop, Joy and Wyatt spoke up.

“What’s going on?”

“Yeah, who’s doing this?”

Blanch and Rain only stared at the rising darkness.

“Don’t worry. It’s just Hombell’s shadows,” Silas said casually.

“That kid?” Rain questioned.

“This is Dark Embrace. She’s merely transporting people into the underground prison beneath the town,” Simon explained.

“Beneath the town?”

“It’s only accessible through these shadows or by teleporting in. It’s also Hombell’s… playground, if you will.”

“Playground?” Blanch asked quietly.

They had plenty of questions, but they could be answered later. The group could only watch as the assassins struggled against the shadow that was dragging them into the darkness.

~~~

Sophia

 

“W-Where… am I?”

I looked around me, but I was in an unfamiliar place. I was in a room with Fuschia colored walls and no door. There was also a long oval mirror, a single chair in the corner, a dresser, a chest, and a bed with the same colored blankets. That was where I woke up. I wasn’t alone either. Josephine was beside me, and we were both in one piece gowns. Our assassin’s garbs were gone.

We were in a strange situation, but how did we get here? The last thing I remembered was the shadows on the ground sucking me in with everyone else.

Where is everyone else? I needed to go find the others. I may not have had any attachment to the others, but while we were here together, I needed to make sure the others were okay.

With that in mind, I stood up from the bed, intending to leave Josephine behind for the time being. But as soon as my feet touched the ground, I felt a soft warmth, like my feet were stepping on feathers. So warm and soft…

I was tempted to stay where I was and soak in the comforting warmth, but I shook my head to dispel the notion. Patting my cheeks, I nervously stood up and began investigating the room.

The walls didn’t seem to have a door, but it was possible that the color was throwing off my perception. Besides, this room was also dark, lit only by the candlelight from the dresser. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that this was some kind of sex room.

Leaving that thought aside, I rubbed my hands against the wall, hoping to find the entrance to this room. But my efforts were in vain. I couldn’t find a single crack or keyhole that indicated a door. Did that mean that the door could only be seen on one side? Or perhaps…

Another way to enter maybe…?

I knew that some noble houses or mansions or even castles were built with secret passageways for hidden escapes. If this room was built with something like that in mind, then maybe there was something blocking or covering the real escape.

I proceeded to look around the dresser and the chest, but to no avail. I couldn’t even open the drawers or the chest. They were locked, and I had no way to undo them without a key. After all, I couldn’t pick locks, and even if I could, I didn’t have anything to do the deed anyhow.

Even more than that, I tried to move them both, but due to my frame, I couldn’t move the dresser. It was really heavy. As for the chest, it was firmly planted on the ground, so it wouldn’t budge.

That left the bed, mirror, and chair. Since I thought the bed would be a struggle to move around, I checked the others. Yet, they were merely as they appeared. Moveable decorations. There wasn’t even a hint of a hidden door.

I guess the bed is the only place to look.

I went back to the bed where Josephine was still unconscious. Looking at her sleeping face, I couldn’t help but feel afraid. Josephine was a strong swordswoman, and yet she didn’t even get a chance to fight. Not a chance to react. Remembering how she got taken so easily just like me was frightening. I could feel myself trembling.

But… now wasn’t the time. I needed to find a way to escape. Looking at the size of the bed, I wouldn’t be able to move it myself. That said, it looked so comfortable. I didn’t pay attention to it when I awoke, but getting a chance to see it like this, I wanted to jump right into it. Josephine was sleeping so soundly in it, and it looked so soft. It looked heavenly, something I was never allowed to experience.

Hesitantly, I decided to touch the bed myself. “Wow!” And when I did, I felt overwhelmed by the softness! It felt so lovely! Is this kind of bed what everyone in this house slept on daily? It feels so comfortable!

“Mmm… Sophia…”

Looking up, I saw Josephine sitting up in the bed.

“Uhh… What are… you doing?”

I looked down at my hand touching the bed… and realized I was strikingly close to touching Josephine’s boobs!

“Ahh! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

I jumped back and started bowing and apologizing profusely. I could feel the heat rush into my cheeks. I didn’t intend to look so lewd, especially when I was only feeling the bed. This was so embarrassing that I wanted to find a hole to crawl in.

“What were you doing?”

“T-The bed you’re on looked so comfortable… so I wanted to feel what it was like!”

“The bed?” She tilted her head questioningly before looking down at herself, seeing the nightgown she was in and the soft bed she was laying on. “But weren’t we just in an alley?” She looked like she wasn’t even bothered by the clothes she was in and was more curious as to her location. Perhaps she’d dressed like this before?

“The last thing I remember was the shadow taking us, and then I woke up here and started looking for an exit.”

“An exit?” Josephine stood up from the bed and started looking around. “Indeed, it doesn’t look like this room has an exit. Is it only conjuring accessible perhaps?”

“Conjuring accessible?”

“Yeah. Rooms that are only conjuring accessible means that there aren’t any entrances. The biggest thing about these kinds of rooms, though, is that the only conjurings that can bring someone inside are teleportation or movement based spells… like that shadow spell.”

“Huh…” I admit, it did sound intriguing, but I wouldn’t ever be allowed to learn conjuring. This curse and my family… and even my current conundrum. Would I die a slave to that man? It would be better than serving him forever, but… I still want to live… I still want to be saved!

“Sophia, please don’t cry. I’ll still protect you.”

Josephine reached her hand up to me and wiped away the tears that were starting to form in my eyes.

“We’ll find a way out of this. I will murder your dad personally. There’s no way I’ll let you keep being a slave for that piece of shit.”

Despite her violent words, they relieved me.

“Oh, so that’s the case, is it?”

“Who’s there?!”

The voice came out of nowhere. A voice similar to the one we heard when the shadow swallowed us up. I could feel my legs trembling, my breathing turning haggard. My fear was surging.

Both Josephine and I looked around, wary of the strange presence coming from everywhere around us.

“Well now, what could ever be the problem, I wonder.”

From the center of the room, darkness swelled on the floor and rose up.

“Aah! It hurts!”

“Get it out of me!!”

“You bitch!!!”

“Jeez, those extras are so noisy. All I did was play with them for a while, but they just can’t stand the feel of those things inside them.”

From the shadow, we could also hear the sounds of various screams. Where were those screams coming from? What was she planning to do here? Just who exactly were we dealing with?

But those screams became mute the moment the darkness peeled away from the person and vanished.

“Ah well, I can keep playing with them later. Right now, you two are the most interesting toys I see.”

As she rose, the young woman soon became visible. It didn’t seem to be the same child from before, but she could easily pass for her older sister. She had the same pale skin and amethyst colored eyes, and her long, wavy black hair hung loosely on her back and shoulders. She also had the same thick accent as the little girl when she spoke.

But the biggest difference between that child and this woman was her size and outfit. I mean, this girl was probably eighteen or so, and she was definitely well-endowed. More so than any woman I’ve ever seen.

As for her outfit, she was wearing a loose red shirt that hung over her chest and was just long enough to cover her more private regions. Her legs were covered in rosy red stockings with a rose pattern on it. It was like a perfect mix of cute and sexy.

…And honestly, it made me jealous.

“What do you mean by toys? And who are you?” Josephine stood in front of me to protect me.

“It means what it sounds like. Things I can play with.”

I felt my fists begin to ball up in fear, a habit I had out of response to my father’s abuse.

“Now, as for who I am, there’s no need to answer that.”

“Why not?”

“Because the only thing you’ll call me from now on is your mistress,” she said with a seductive grin and what looked like a fang hanging out of her mouth.

“Your mistress? Yeah, right!”

Josephine charged with her fists outstretched, fully intending to strike this woman.

“Now, is that any way for a toy to talk to its mistress?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes! In just a single moment, before my eyes could even recognize what was going on, the woman had managed to hold Josephine in an armlock and face me.

So fast!

“Hmm, it seems like you don’t know your place yet, but don’t worry, I’ll take my time with you.”

As she spoke, she stroked Josephine’s face seductively, her eyes leeringly gazing at her cheeks. I couldn’t respond. I was so afraid of what she would do if I moved. If I moved, would she hurt her? This was a hostage situation, right?

No, even more than that, would I even be able to do anything? I was weak, and I had no idea how strong this woman was. If I tried, would I even be able to reach her?

“Amf!”

“Yah!”

The next thing I saw, the woman had sunk in two fang-like protrusions into Josephine’s neck. She’s biting her!

“Mmm, yummy!” she said, licking the tiny amount of blood on her lips away.

Then she let go of Josephine, allowing her to fall on the floor. My mind was overwhelmed by confusion and fear. What had she done to Josephine? Did she just kill her?

Then my brain switched to anger before I could even notice, and I started running towards the woman. “Leave her alone!”

At least, that’s what I thought was about to happen. As soon as I yelled and took a step forward, I found that my feet were bound by the darkness again.

“Hey, now. I don’t intend to do anything to you, Miss Slave noble. You’ll go to talk later with my master to explain who sent these assassins after us. Until then, please relax on the bed and watch. I promise, this’ll be very entertaining.”

Her words were confusing. What did she mean that she wouldn’t do anything to me? And how did she know I was a noble? But even more so, did she work for the noble who presided over this town? The practical Saint? Was he really a saint with someone like this working under him?

“Shadow Casting: Beloved By Shadows.”

Before I could open my mouth to ask questions, however, my shadow which was born of the candlelight stretched up and grabbed me, pulling me back onto the bed and tying me up to the headboard.

Though I was struggling to escape, I couldn’t move my body at all. The most I could do was open and close my eyes as the shadows hugged me to the bed.

“That’s a little better.”

“W-What are you going to do to Miss Josephine?!” I screamed desperately and fearfully.

“Nothing, nothing. Just… play around with her.”

“Are you going to torture her?!”

“Torture? No, no, not that. I’m just going to give her a good time.”

“Then why is she laying on the ground unable to move?!”

It took all my will to scream these questions at her. I was so afraid that I felt like my heart would burst any minute. What did she intend to do to Josephine?

“Oh, right. Guess I’ll explain.” The woman stared straight at me and used her fingers to raise her upper lip, revealing three canines on part of her mouth.

“Fangs?”

“Yep. I’m a vampire.”

“V-Vampire?!”

I’d heard of this race. They were cursed beings that were said to be able to live extremely long lives, but in exchange, they were supposed to hide from sunlight, avoid things like silver, and feed on human blood. They could even spread their curses with a bite or control people with their blood.

I thought vampires were nothing more than fairy tales. My dad would often threaten to toss me to a vampires’ nest to try and scare me. I always acted scared by that, but I always thought it wasn’t true.

But now, there was one standing in front of me, clear as day. Then did that mean…?

“The fear on your face tells me you’ve heard of us. Probably that crap about feeding on blood, sunlight, and silver?” I hesitantly nodded. “Well that’s all crap. Vampires do like blood, but it’s so we don’t go on a berserk frenzy. Plus, we’re not weak to sunlight or silver. We’re basically cursed humans with a few tricks up our sleeves.”

Human? This was all new to me. Stories of the past all described the most well-known vampires, and they almost always said something like silver or sunlight. Even the blood. Was all that a lie?

“The guys they talked about in those stupid stories were killed by light or silver type conjurings or abilities. Those guys were wimps anyway, letting themselves get killed so easily.”

Wait, does she know the people in the stories? How old is she?

“Anyways, that doesn’t matter. What I was trying to say was that vampires are born or granted certain unique aspects.”

“Aspects?”

“Yep. You see, we have three sets of fangs.” She lifted her lip up again and brought out a pair of fangs from behind her upper canines. “Back fangs are feeder fangs. These and my lower canines are what I used to suck blood out of my target.”

She retracted her back fangs and pointed to her upper canines. “The middle fangs, my canine teeth, are infector fangs. This is what I use to spread my curse around. Unlike my master’s or Sierra’s, due to the nature of this curse, it’s permanent and can never go away. That’s how vampirism works.”

As soon as she explained her infector fangs, I immediately shook. Was she going to do that to me? But wait… Then is Miss Josephine…?!

“Did you turn Miss Josephine into a vampire?!”

“Nope.”

A wave of relief washed over my shoulders.

“I used my forefangs to bite her.” She showed off a new pair of fangs that protruded from in front of her canines. “When I bite someone with these fangs, I inject them with a toxin that I can control the properties of.”

“Toxin?” This was confusing. Were vampires always this complicated?

“Yep. This chick is still awake down there. Usually, I use this toxin to paralyze my victim, make them borderline unconscious so that their memories are fuzzy when they awaken, and so I can stimulate their sexual drive despite their paralyzed, nigh-unconscious selves. That way, I can have some fun when we don’t have anyone down here to play with. Of course, I usually only do this to the citizens of the town so that they merely think they passed out in an alley and wake up sore. I’ve heard that the people here have been calling this the Phantom Sleep. It’s got a nice ring to it. Though, you’ll still end up with hazy memory after we’re done.”

I heard it earlier myself when I was helping Josephine investigate this place. Apparently, people would wake up one day with fuzzy memories of the previous night, and they’d be really sore, but they wouldn’t know why. Both men and women alike were victims of this. Then if what this girl said was true, did that mean she’s been…? And then she was…

“Oh? Your face is glowing beet red! I can see it past your hair!”

“S-Shut up!”

I couldn’t help it! Just thinking about it is embarrassing!

“Anyway, I bit your friend with those teeth. But this time, I slightly altered the toxin.”

“Altered?”

“Yep. This time, she’s only paralyzed and stimulated. She’s going to feel pleasure all night long!” Her eyes glowed with ecstasy, like a beast in heat. “And since I’m treating you like a guest, Miss Slave noble, you can sit back and watch. Maybe one day, I could treat you to the same pleasures,” she said seductively, licking her lips.

“P-Please… D-Don’t! Don’t do this!”

“Oh, you can still talk? Well, I did make the toxin weaker, so I guess that’s to be expected.” She rubbed her chin with her hand, but then a much more lustful gaze was cast upon Josephine. “But that also means I can hear you squeal! Eeeek!”

She squealed like a child filled with excitement, but I couldn’t help but feel like shrinking back or trying to help Josephine escape. But thanks to these shadows, I couldn’t move! I wanted to help so badly, but I was bound!

“No, please let her go!” I pleaded. “She hasn’t done anything wrong! She’s only here to protect me! She didn’t want to help all those others, so please don’t do this!”

“Oh, I know. I could tell.”

“Y-You could? Then please, use me instead! Just le- Mmff!” My mouth was covered by one of the shadows binding me.

“Now, now. There’s no need for that. Since you’re asking for it, maybe I could oblige you another time. But since you seem to be rather important, I’d rather take you to my master full of energy. This one isn’t necessary to be there, so I want to take my time with her. But don’t worry. I won’t do to her like I’m doing to the other punks. If she’s lucky, maybe she could become one of Riley’s servants, or maybe, she could be my own personal toy. Hehehe!”

She took a step forward and proceeded to take off her own shirt, leaving everything exposed.

“My only disappointment with you is that you seemed to have already popped,” she said almost forlornly while looking down at Josephine.

Popped?!

Then, she lifted her head and sniffed the air hard, smiling sinisterly as she gazed my way. “Oh, but you don’t smell like you have. It’s a shame that I have no intention of touching you. Virgins are definitely my personal favorites, hehe.”

I could feel horror as my spine shook and she licked her lips.

“Now then, shall we begin, fraulein? Hehehe!”

“No. No, please! No! No! Nooooooo! Stoooooopppp!!!”

“Mmmmmfmmfmfmmfmf!”

Though I tried to protest with all my might, my struggles were in vain. I could only watch as the woman used and abused my friend for hours. I didn’t want this to happen. I didn’t want to watch! I wanted to stop this, to protest! But I couldn’t! I could only sit there and watch.

And worst of all, as I was forced to watch this all, I could feel something in me break, snap, distort. I don’t know what happened, but I could feel my insides burning! I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew that if I was exposed to something like this again, I might be changed for the worse.

Finally done with the chapter. With this, chapter 5 will finally be done, and I can finally get to adding the part people have been waiting for. Ya know, the main dude. Sorry for taking so long, but hey. This was a very long chapter when I wrote it out. Guess it was bound to happen.

Next chapter will be on Saturday, January 27th.