"This place is really uncomfortable, this broken place."
Entering her consciousness, Artoria looked at the 'man-eating money' blue pool and the terrifying black hole. This scene was simply too unpleasant, especially with the inexplicable things that often emerged from the black hole, which was a huge headache. There were only a few good things that could be used, and recently, this black hole had only been spitting out swimsuits, which was also very frustrating. So Artoria felt a headache every time she saw this black hole.
"Sacrifice my big brother's little brother's length, come out with something good! Dain, if you don't release good stuff, I'll feed you to the fish."
Artoria pressed her palms together, devoutly offering up her brother's body to the black hole and viciously threatening the hated being from another world. She dropped the Extremis in her hand into the blue pool and tossed in a few shards of saint quartz while she was at it.
Recently, a figure who only strikes criminals at night has appeared. No one knows who it is; the victims never saw their attacker, and the Police have no leads, so the cases are going cold. The real culprit is running around with a pile of saint quartz shards no one else can see, and right now she's heartlessly selling out her own brother.
'Ugh—!'
A nauseating sound echoed from the black hole, but Artoria didn't flinch—she'd already clapped her hands over her ears. Since she hated that noise and had no taste for self-torment, she simply filtered out the disgusting part. Block the sound and the mess in front of her wasn't half as revolting; sure, it had been vomited out, but nothing slimy clung to it, only darkness.
'Time to see if I'm blessed or cursed.'
Another ten-pull. Every time she tested her luck, Artoria's heart pounded like this.
'A Kunai, huh? Not bad.'
'Tsunade's bra? You're sure she ever wore one?'
'Kakashi's mask—heh.'
'Theresa's bitter-gourd juice—ugh!'
'Mei's violet panties… this is a bit much.'
'Cecilia's crystal hairpin—grant me strength, mother-in-law!'
'Sealing scrolls (empty) x3—acceptable.'
'Ninjutsu: Water Release – Great Waterfall Technique.'
Artoria's eyes bulged at the card. Her first offensive Ninjutsu ever—about time! Water Release was near useless, but it was a start, and that felt terrific.
'Ninja-body technique: Super Strength Punch.'
'Granny Tsunade, love ya!'
A second card appeared and Artoria nearly cheered. This could patch her biggest weakness; with it she could even arm-wrestle that green lump the Hulk. A Ninja's constitution is only slightly above average—fatal wounds still kill—but Artoria's body far surpasses normal human limits. Once she improves even further, this move's power will double.
'Stigma: Kallen – Oath.'
When the item materialized, Artoria froze. A single tear slipped from her left eye; her right stayed dry. Warmth and longing welled from deep inside—a resonance of knighthood. As the leader of the Kaslana Family, she is a knight, and this girl's stigma is especially so.
'The Kaslana crest stands for knighthood—and for protection.'
Once the stigma merged, those words echoed in her ears, and the restlessness in her blood finally quieted.
'But, Kallen, only the victor deserves everything; the loser is left with nothing.'
'Protect? I only protect the ones I love. I may not be a knight—sorry, Kallen.'
She shook her head helplessly, sighed, and muttered before fading out of consciousness.
'Interesting little brat.'
Inside the consciousness only Artoria could enter, an unknown female voice suddenly rang out, sounding quite amused by her performance.
Back in her body, Artoria calmed herself from the earlier emotions. Looking at the Little guy asleep on her chest, she felt her heart melt; she gently rubbed its belly with a fingertip, lifted it off her chest, and set it on a soft pillow. What had happened in her mind no longer bothered her—only those shameless little items annoyed her. She'd confirmed after the last 'youth' incident that they couldn't be recycled; she could only take them out and trash them. Now she felt irritated: throwing them away felt wasteful… a-hem! But in reality, who has a chest as magnificent as Tsunade's?
'Well… looks like I'm the only one who can carry them.'
She glanced at the two huge white pieces in her hand, then at the bosom blocking her view of her toes. Were these made specially for her? For a moment Artoria hesitated.
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