"Wait! I can be your slave! I can help you!" Riri screamed as [The World]'s fist hovered inches from her face.
She had no dignity. Most succubi didn't. They were evolved to be subordinates to powerful males. She saw Alistair was the new apex, so she folded immediately.
Alistair signaled his Stand to wait. He didn't have mercy, but he lacked knowledge. His grandfather told him nothing, and his only other sources were Shima (who gave him fake memories) and the President (who was an enemy). Sister Anna's "Divine Inspiration" was too vague for systematic learning.
This succubus was a living encyclopedia of the supernatural.
"Explain," Alistair said coldly.
"I can sign a Slave Contract. I won't be able to disobey you, ever," Riri said, acting like a kicked puppy.
"Sounds useful. Try it. But if you pull a stunt, these fists won't hold back."
"Of course! I'll manifest it now." Riri began weaving her mana. Contract magic didn't cost much; it just projected a scroll. But the person projecting it wrote the terms.
"This is the contract?" Alistair looked at the strange, glowing symbols.
"Yes. Just sign your true name here, and I am yours for life."
Riri was too compliant. Alistair narrowed his eyes. Could a street-smart succubus really be this stupid?
"HAHAHA! SIGNED! You stupid human! You thought you could kill me? You just signed your own life away! You're my slave now! I'm going to drain you until you beg for death!" Riri leapt up, laughing maniacally as soon as Alistair finished signing.
"Sigh. I guess novels really are full of shit. No one just submits because you look cool," Alistair lamented. His eyes turned sharp.
"What? You want to hit me? You're a slave! You can't harm your master!" Riri sneered.
"Good grief... Your slave is 'Alistair.' What does that have to do with me, Jotaro Kujo?"
Alistair smirked. ORA!
"WHAT?! GUCH!"
Riri's face imploded as [The World] punched her.
"The show's over. ZA WARUDO!"
DOOM!
Everything froze. Alistair wasn't taking chances.
ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!
Three seconds. Hundreds of full-power punches.
Tick.
Time resumed. Riri Manabe was no longer a person. She was a smear of red and white across the floor—organs, bone fragments, and gore splattered everywhere.
Alistair stood there, looking at the mess. He didn't feel guilty. He didn't feel a rush. He just felt... disgusted. Like he'd just deleted a corrupted file on a computer. It was [The World] that did the killing; he just gave the command.
"Phew... I guess I need to get used to this... Wait. SHIT! The room is a mess! How am I going to explain this tomorrow?!"
The floor was cracked, the walls were shattered, and there were bits of succubus everywhere. Luckily she'd set up a barrier to keep the noise in, or the neighbors would be here with the police. But now he had to clean it up.
"Yawwwwn... Good morning, Alistair~"
Chiaki walked downstairs at 6:00 AM to brush her teeth. She saw Alistair sitting on the couch, fully dressed. She froze.
"A-Alistair? You're... you're up?" She hadn't seen him awake before 7:30 since middle school.
"Just insomnia. I pulled an all-nighter," he lied.
"Oooooh~" Chiaki nodded and went into the bathroom.
Alistair sighed. A new day. He had to return Sakura's "pendant" today.
At school, things seemed normal. Mystery was returning slowly, but not enough to disrupt daily life. Mina and Natsuha were both absent, but since they were often together, people just assumed they were playing hooky.
"Natsuha, I smell something familiar on your friend," Rhea whispered as Natsuha sat in class.
"Familiar? Is Mina a half-breed too?" Natsuha whispered back, touching her black-and-red pen.
"No. I smell my 'Sisters.' The ones sealed like me." Rhea sounded excited.
"She has one too?"
"I'm not sure, but she has the scent. She's either been chosen by one of them or has been in close contact with Horyaz, Steeya, or Bakua."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. And your friend isn't a pure human; she has dormant demi-human potential. She's awakened it recently. As for my sisters... we 'corrupted demigods' are a unique race. We have a specific scent. And I can tell she's still 'herself.'"
"Meaning?"
"If it were some of my other sisters—like Taleya—your friend's soul would have been devoured instantly, and Taleya would be wearing her skin. Taleya could kill me as easily as kicking a dog. I'm glad it's not her."
"Demigods? You mean literal demigods?" Natsuha's heart raced.
"Sort of. The 'Ascension Ritual' pushed our potential to the limit, raising our life-tier above legendary status. If our mana had converted to Divine Power, we'd be gods. But it came at a price: our natural lifespans dropped to twenty years. A real demigod lives millennia; we had two decades."
Rhea sighed. "But there was a world war. Our kingdom was desperate. That's why our 'First Tier' was made of girls under forty—we were the only ones with enough talent to survive the ritual."
"Forty-year-old 'youngsters'..." Natsuha muttered. Even if they weren't immortal, the scale of time Rhea lived in was hard to grasp.