Tokyo—-
Zaria, Nonoka, Rei, and Rika all sat atop a rooftop, watching the streets below.
"You know," Rika noted. "This is kinda like a girl's night out."
Rei nodded. "Mhm! It's super fun to watch over the city with you all!"
"Can't argue with that," Zaria agreed.
Nonoka scratched her head. "Hate to say it but…yeah. You girls are like some of my only friends. Even if I did try to kill two of you."
"No hard feelings," Zaria shrugged. "We've all done some pretty…messy crap."
"You think Han and Sōshin are okay?" Rika asked.
"Mhm! They're with Mr. Omariro!" Rei pointed out.
"Yeah, but I wonder why he couldn't bring us too…"
Down below, multiple trolls were busy destroying a pizza shop with their clubs. Zaria sighed and got up. "Okay, people! It seems we've got some action!"
She tried to summon her swords, but her head suddenly began to spin, and Rika had to catch her. "Zaria…are you okay?"
"Yeah, but my Loadout isn't working."
"Then you'll have to go back to being spear girl," Nonoka told her. "Those things are on a rampage!"
"Fine."
The girls all climbed down the roof, which made the trolls turn around. One immediately threw his club at Zaria, but she blocked it with her spear.
"Argh! Go away, nasty humans!"
Rei fired a moon beam at them, searing their skin before one picked up a nearby car and threw it at her, forcing her to form her shield.
"Don't worry!" Rika assured. "Try this!"
She brought her hands together, forming a sigil between them.
〈Sigil Created: Iron Skin. Description: Allows all party members to become immune to all *Physical ATK* damage for 90 seconds. Charges: 1〉
"Nice!" Zaria cheered. "A new sigil!"
"Yeah, but I can only make one of these per day!"
She tossed it to Zaria, who crushed it.
〈Sigil: Activated.〉
The trolls watched the girls curiously, but Nonoka buffed them before shifting into her armored form.
〈Humanity *Discarded.*〉
All at once, Rei, Zaria, and Nonoka attacked the trolls, clearing them out in a matter of minutes. Once they were done, Zaria picked up a club, tapping it with her knuckles.
"Is it me or do these things seem to be getting stronger?"
"Not just you," Nonoka confirmed. "These monsters are stronger than last week's. Something has to give, or we might be fighting bosses soon."
"With our luck, they might already be around somewhere," Rika groaned. "And we still don't know where those Mujinsha guys are."
As the girls discussed the situation, they noticed a tall man with spiky gray hair eating a bag of chips atop a nearby car, holding the head of a golem.
"Eh," he scoffed. "They told me there would be some strong monsters walking the streets. Can't believe they'd lie."
Rika tapped Zaria. "Who is that?"
"I don't know. Looks like some Dokkōdan groupie."
A faceless zombie walked towards him, and he checked a notification on his phone. "Huh. Zan hasn't gotten back yet. The show-off's probably flexing for the news."
The zombie reached out to grab him, but in one quick motion, he thrust out his hand and placed it on the zombie's face.
"Jugen-Metsusha: Shōkyo-gata Shī."
The zombie's head disappeared, and the body lay flat on the ground. The man quickly jumped out of the car, whistling under his breath.
"You ladies can come out now."
He turned his attention to Zaria and the others, who immediately jumped back.
"Huh—-?"
"Don't worry. I don't bite."
He slowly walked over to them as Zaria pointed her spear at him. "Hold it! Who are you?"
"Name's Zeku," he shrugged. "Pleasure's all mine."
"Okay, but that only answers part of my question."
He cracked his neck. "Call me the second-in-command of Dokkōdan. I'm Zan's younger twin brother."
"Really? So that means you're just as much of an asshole?"
"Whatever you say, girlie."
"And where's your true leader? That psycho bitch with the chains?"
"Eh? Sorry. Don't know much about that. You'd have to take that up with Zan. He's more versed in the higher-up matters."
Nonoka put a hand on Zaria's shoulder. "Don't even bother. It's clear he's not gonna talk."
Zeku sized up Nonoka before nodding. "Nice hair."
"Piss off."
He noticed the troll clubs and bodies nearby. "So. Troll slaying I see? Man, the Kaitansha really have regressed to mere clean-up crews."
He pulled a small glass of wine from his pocket. "So, any of you fancy a date?"
"Ew," Nonoka scoffed.
"Never!" Rika shot down.
"The nerve…" Zaria growled.
"Erm, I'll pass!" Rei said, politely.
"Oh. I see. You all like the older type. Like 97-year-old men who barely give you the time of day."
The girls all glared at him.
"Where is that old geezer anyway? I remember he brought a coffee one time. He still wear those oversized bathrobes?"
"If you'll excuse us, dork," Zaria spat. "We've got a city to protect. Go take your dorks and dork off somewhere else."
She stared him in the eyes. "And for the record, Mr. Nyugawa is like 100 times the man you are."
"Ooh, big talk. I have an idea! Let's see you back it up."
"Hmm?"
"Come with me. I know exactly where some of the Domain Bosses are. You don't want your precious city getting hurt, do you?"
He began walking down the street. "Well? Every minute is another life on the line!"
"Gosh," Zaria muttered. "I hate this guy."
Meanwhile, Achi—-
Han woke up, his hands chained to the wall. Next to him was Sōshin, who was still unconscious, and on his opposite side was Kazuki, who was humming to himself.
"Oh. You're up, brat."
"Where am I?"
"Down in the basement. With me. And your friend."
"Feels like I've been hit by a brick."
"Cuz' you did. Well, not a literal brick. My little sister Kana's Jugen. She can basically manipulate bone. She made a bone club to knock you out."
"But why? And she's your sister doing this?"
"It's…complicated. My siblings hate me."
"What?"
"Yep. So they've kept me here for two years straight, feeding me just enough to keep me alive and beating me whenever they get the chance. Not that it matters to me. I find it amusing."
"I don't want to be beaten though!"
"Better get used to it, kid. Because you're here with me now."
They both heard the trapdoor open.
"Quick!" Kazuki ordered. "Act like you're still out!"
Han closed his eyes and let his head slump as two pairs of footsteps could be heard walking down the stairs.
"Brother," one voice hissed.
"Who were you just talking to?" the other voice asked.
"Myself. Shit gets crazy when you're stuck in a basement by yourself for years."
"Get used to it," the first voice taunted. "You're not leaving anytime soon. At least you have these guests to join you."
"Yeah. Two kids. Unaware of anything that's gone on here. You proud of yourselves?"
"It doesn't matter! No one can know! No one can ruin our revenge!"
The second voice spoke in a gentle tone. "Sis, you can't scream. These are Sir Nyugawa's kids."
"WHAT?"
"Yes. I think he's nearby."
"Shit, shit. Why didn't you say something? What if he notices we took them?"
"Should we release them?"
"No! Not only will they leak our secrets, but we'll kill any goodwill with him if he figures out we abducted his kids."
"You're right…"
"We will go up there and make everything right. Convince him they left."
"Alright."
The footsteps left, and Han opened his eyes. "That sounded like Kaidanchō Tsukishima!"
"That was. She's my youngest sister."
"And she's just holding you hostage?"
"Uh-huh. Not as sweet as she portrays, that's for sure."
Sōshin lifted his head. "Friend Han? What happened?"
"Well, pal. We're basically locked up in Kaoru's basement."
"Whoa! Really?"
Kazuki stretched his legs out. "Yep, this is gonna be a LONG sentence."
Tsukishima House—-
Omariro walked with his staff, sipping coffee as he headed for the door.
"Leaving so soon, sir?" Karin questioned.
"We have more sugar and treats for you if you'd like!" Kanon told him.
"Kids not back. Situation strange."
Karin tapped her chin. "Yes, they have been gone a while, and our daughter doesn't travel that far from home…"
Omariro threw open the door, only to find Kaoru standing there, with an amber-haired woman behind her. Both of them broke into a bow.
"It's great to see you, Sir Nyugawa!" Kaoru greeted.
"Hmm."
Kaoru pointed to her sister. "This is my older sister, Kana. She's a big fan of you, just like me!"
Kana gave him a polite wave. "Greetings. If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know."
Omariro's eyes bore into them, causing them to shudder a bit.
"Children."
"Hmm?"
"Location of children."
Kaoru scratched her head. "Which children are you talking about, sir?"
As he stared them down, Karin noticed Kana. "Kana! Darling. Come on in! We can all have a chat on the couch!"
"Yes, that would be nice," Kana agreed. "If you would excuse us, Sir. You're welcome to join."
Omariro watched as they hurried into the house, and he briefly tapped his staff on the ground, allowing a greenish liquid to squeeze out of it and disappear before anyone noticed.
Back inside the basement, Sōshin tried to squeeze out of his restraints, but nothing happened. "Ooh! These chains are sturdy!"
"Yep," Kazuki explained. "We aren't Tōshi types, so we can't just pop these things. Our hands are useless here."
"We can't sit and do nothing!" Han insisted. "Those witches could be sitting up there lying to my Master's face as we speak!"
"They are good at lying, I'll give them that."
As the trio leaned against the wall, a green liquid dropped down the stairs and formed a puddle nearby.
"What the hell is that?" Kazuki asked.
Han and Sōshin immediately perked up.
"It can't be…" Han realized.
A slimy blob formed from the puddle, with a feminine face appeared. "Hey there!"
"Look, Friend Han!" Sōshin pointed. "It's our pet, Emeru!"
"I'm not a pet! Well. Only for Mr. Omariro."
She hopped over to them.
"How did you get here?" Han questioned.
"Mr. Omariro brought me along in secret! He knew this place was shady, so he told me if I came a lot, I'd get tons of meat and playtime!"
"He actually said that?"
"Well, he said 'Slime will get reward.' But what better reward is there than that?"
"Never mind. Can you get us outta here?"
She shifted into a humanoid form, tugging at the chains. "These are tight!"
She formed another blob, which grabbed the chains with its hands before ripping them off, freeing Han and Sōshin.
"I guess you can free him too," Han said, motioning to Kazuki.
Emeru ripped the chains off.
Kazuki stood up, rubbing his wrists. "The hell did I just watch? A talking female slime pet?"
"Yeah, it's best not to question it," Han advised.
"Trust me, I'm not. Finally free after all this time."
He took a step forward, but the lights turned on, and suddenly, the group noticed an array of bone spikes surrounding them.
"Uh-oh," Emeru blurted out.
Kana was standing there, with Kaoru behind her. "I knew something was off. Sir Nyugawa is too smart to be fooled."
"Yeah, exactly!" Han stated. "So let us go!"
"We can't. You've seen too much, and thus you must remain here, or be killed," Kana warned him.
The bone spikes got closer.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted, boys," Kazuki chuckled.
Before the spikes could move any further, they all disappeared with a single clap, and Omariro walked into the basement, catching the girls off guard.
"Sir Nyugawa?" Kaoru gasped. "I thought you were still up there with Mom and Dad!"
Omariro landed on the ground, analyzing the scene before him. "Women hiding secrets."
"Listen, Sir," Kana pleaded. "We understand you may not be happy, but we can't let our brother leave. You understand, right? You can take your students and pretend you never saw this!"
As she tried to form a bone claw, Omariro erased it with ease.
"Hey—-!"
"Time is now," Omariro declared. "Time for women to repent for crimes."
He jabbed his staff at them.
"And face justice."
——