Clyde, Alice, Harumi, Chika, Kitome, Toru, and Yuki sat in silence as Melody paced back forth, panicky . After nearly ten minutes, she collapsed with a sigh onto the couch .

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"Any bright ideas?" Clyde said . "Besides hide from a G.o.d we can't see . "

"My father's not omnipotent," Melody said . "But we can't fight him . "

"We're not really going for that, strawberry-head," Chika said . "How do we fight against the magic he's given to Maki? Clyde magic couldn't even touch her . "

Melody gave them a weary look .

"Since the net that protects her is G.o.d tier, you'll have to break it with G.o.d tier magic . Or G.o.ddess tier . "

Clyde frowned .

"Natalia's spell takes too long . "

"Not to mention the fact that the psycho girl will teleport," Alice said .

Kitome shook her head, still disbelieving .

"So Maki has really sold her soul, huh?" Suddenly her face it up . "Sahara has a spell that should work, maybe stop the teleporting . We'll still need Natalia to break the net . "

"Or you know, Clyde could just power up to max," Toru said .

"I don't have any G.o.d tier skills," Clyde said . "Not yet . "

"It looked like everything you did in that state was G.o.d tier," Toru said .

"Okay, so we've got a small plan," Chika said . "Something's better than nothing . When do we do this . "

"Tomorrow," Clyde said . "Toru, you can take us to where she lives, right?"

"Yeah," he said .

"Before we finalize this, Kitome, go contact Sahara . Tell her everything and get her here tomorrow, early noon," Clyde said . He looked at Alice . She nodded .

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"Natalia and Tear will be here tomorrow morning . "

"To think we're up against Maki of all people," Clyde said . "She should still be civilian . Not wasting our time . h.e.l.l, I hope I won't be exhausted enough to meet with the vampires . "

Yuki ma.s.saged his shoulders with a technique that set the young man at ease, whether he wanted to or not .

"You won't be exhausted," she said . "I'll make sure of that . "

The others blushed . Yuki grinned . Toru rolled his eyes .

"I can see why Seth keeps d.a.m.ning you," he said .

"He sure had no problems when he made us listen to his disgusting grunts at the hotel," Harumi said . Everyone looked at her and then erupted into laughter .

Somewhere in Lot City, Naomi's room… .

Naomi held her hands against her head, desperately ignoring the voice . The voice that demanded her to proclaim Maki as a G.o.ddess then become a sacrifice . Naomi would be d.a.m.ned if she placed that b.i.t.c.h on an even higher pedestal . Someone who always got her way and nothing less . Life was just unfair and it sickened Naomi . She would not give in . Whatever was happening, had to be stress related . She would not give in . Never . Not to that one . d.a.m.n her to h.e.l.l, she thought .

Naomi nearly tripped over a stack of books as she made her way to the mirror . The young woman had always been attractive, but distant from everyone . She had to be, to do her job, run the newspaper club, and make ends meet . She worked hard for everything .

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And yet Maki thought she could just swoop in and take it all away . Naomi allowed a tear to drop . She was so scared to answer the phone when Clyde called, not after being forced to betray him . She ignored the calls from the others too, afraid to…afraid . . . She was never afraid, always strong-willed, never the one to give up .

Naomi straightened, allowing the fire to return to her .

"Venus, if you're watching over me, please give me strength . "

She took a second shower, calming her nerves, steeling her resolve . The hate formed into a blade in the back of her mind . What would Clare do?

Kick a.s.s . Clare was just two years older than her yet said some wise things . Naomi considered learning the ways of the maiden like her old friend . As if she had the time .

After donning sweatpants and s.h.i.+rt, she pulled a box from under her bed .

Answer the call . Proclaim your loyalty to the ascending G.o.ddess, Maki .

"You can f.u.c.k yourself, voice," Naomi said as she opened the box . A katana sheathed in red-gold metals and leather brought her memories of an old life . Then the madness finally took over as she touched the sheath of the cursed sword . It wasn't madness it the literal sense, but all of the knowledge on killing with it returned to her conscious memory . Memories she'd rather leave buried . "I will kill her . "

Naomi couldn't return to her old life, not after running away from the Band to live as a free woman . She let a tear drop . To be driven this far insane . A voice in her head, intense desires to kill, and unveiling the cursed sword . Venus, forgive her for what she was about to do . Venus, forgive her for making the claim to another life .

Libado Gra.s.slands at eleven that night…

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Clyde panted as he reached his fourth consecutive hour of training . He was still p.i.s.sed at himself for freezing . Freezing because the magic he relied on didn't work . Since when did he become over-reliant on something he never used before entering this world .

He switched from pushups to combat to running and normal exercises, meditation, and sword practice . After remembering the brief exchange of blows between Alice and Maki—or Alice putting on the beatdown—he laughed . They were overthinking the entire matter . Maki couldn't be defeated with magic, but physical damage was fine . He had skills that did physical damage and now was the time to put them to the test .

[Unarmed attacks:

-Roundhouse kick . [Attack] – does physical damage . Change of knockdown at 5% .

-Mystic punch/kicks . [Attacks]- does physical and spiritual damage . Chance of stun at 1% . 50% stun if catching enemy by surprise .

Sword attacks:

-Precise Slash 6 . [Attack] – does physical damage . Chance of critical at 31%

-Deep Slash 6 . [Attack]- does physical damage . Chance to cause bleeding at 29% . Chance to stun at 7% .

-Spirit Slash 6 . [Attack] – does physical and spiritual damage . Chance to cause dizziness at 17% . Chance to cause spiritual blight at 27% .

-Shatter Strike 3 . [Attack]- does physical and fire damage . Chance to break barriers at 12% .

-Tier 3 skill: Sound Slash [Attack]- does physical and sound damage . Chance to cause deaf at 1% . ]

Clyde trained with all of them and especially Sound Slash . He wasn't perfect—there were times that even some of the best leaders could crack . His party members didn't demand perfection out of him . He was only human . A person . Sometimes among the loads of stress, a moment of weakness wielded its head . The young man knew he could only learn from this . Only a couple of weeks ago, he knew jack s.h.i.+t about magic and combat and extrterrestrial dimensions . Of course, there would be moments where the human in him couldn't compute…

He let out a breath, feeling the resolve within strengthen . He'd probably make even more mistakes as he learned more about this world, his place, and even the deeper power that lied within himself .

Without turning around, he blocked the incoming blow of the hornet that crept behind him with a single hand .

"You know, despite looking like us, you guys don't think civil at all," Clyde said as he turned to look at the ma.s.s of hornet monster girls . Well, fleeing hornet monster girls . He grabbed onto the stinger of the one that tried to stealth-sting him . She fell to her knees, strength drained out of her, breathing huskily . He kicked her to the ground, straddling her back .

"See how your hornet friends abandoned you? And now you're about to die . Was it worth it?"

"Please," the hornet whimpered . "I'm sorry, I'll do anything, don't kill me . "

"It's not fun being on the other end of it, is it?" Clyde said . "Well, I tell you what, we're going to make a deal . You're technically a demon right, so listen, unless you know, death is a preference . "

"No," the hornet said . "I'll let you do whatever you want to me . "

"I'm not a f.u.c.king rapist," Clyde said . "What is up with you monster girls and—never mind, that's not the point . I need you to put that stinger to use, so make a pact with me . Just for a day or so . "

He grinned evilly as the plan came to mind .

[You have made a pact with the hornet . Due to the circ.u.mstances and your overwhelming power in comparison, she has become your slave . ]

[You have earned the t.i.tle, Slave-driver . Tsk, tsk . ]

Oh G.o.ddammit System, Clyde thought .

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