A group of bandits sat around a campfire as the attack was happening at Kojo's mansion. They were startled as a bright light fell from the sky like a comet and landed in the forest. They sat still and looked in that direction. They heard the rustling of leaves and drew their weapons, preparing for a fight. A naked girl with red hair staggered out of the bushes. The men were stunned by this, but that didn't last long as dirty thoughts began to fill their minds.
"Are you lost, sweetie?" The leader of the gang said, approaching with a cunning expression.
"Don't worry, you'll be safe with us," he said, sizing her up and licking his lips. The girl looked down and said something in a strange language, covering herself with her hands.
"What was that?" The leader asked, confused. "We don't mean any harm. Okay, why don't you tell us your name, and we'll tell you ours. My name is—" He stopped walking.
"Boss?" One of his men called, stunned by his sudden halt.
A cut appeared on the leader's head, and the area above his nose fell to the ground.
The girl began to give off a menacing orange aura, causing the men to shiver.
"Taking advantage of the weak. I wouldn't have expected anything else from lowly humans," she said, her eyes flaring. Clothes materialized and covered her.
"What are you?" One of the men asked, dropping his axe.
"I am Saleem, and I am here to awaken the demon lord and bring judgment upon this world." She said, her eyes becoming serpentine and her mouth morphing into a gaping maw. She blew a powerful flame that incinerated that part of the forest. She once again took on a human appearance and looked at the flames as they raged through the forest. She then turned and took a step, vanishing.
Kojo woke up completely worn out the following morning. He opened his eyes but couldn't see anything. He brought his hands to his face and touched something soft. He freed himself, realizing that his head had been in Sharone's chest. He tried to get up, but she hugged him, preventing him from moving.
(Enjoying yourself this early in the morning?)
"Why does this keep happening?"
(Don't act like you're not enjoying it, you pervert.)
Kojo managed to free himself from Sharone's grip, but the sudden movement woke the others up.
"Mmmm. Good morning, Kojo," yawned Adriana.
"Morning," said Lin as she stretched.
"Darling," Sasha said, hugging him with such force that they both fell off the bed.
"Hey, cut it out," Kojo tried to free himself.
"Master Kojo," Keo and Mekna barged in suddenly.
"Oh hey guys, sup?" Kojo said as Sasha rubbed her cheek on him.
They bowed, slamming their heads on the floor.
"Whoa, guys, chill," Kojo said, concerned.
"We are sorry," they said together.
"It was due to our incompetence that last night's attack happened," Mekna said.
"I should have thoroughly gone through the list of the staff working here."
"And I should have patrolled the entire area to ensure that nothing is amiss," Keo said.
"I'm pretty sure that's not the job of a maid."
"Due to what happened, we have sent off all the staff working in the mansion with compensation. We will personally handle all the day-to-day activities of your household as punishment. But please punish us further," Mekna said.
"Eh?"
"There's no excuse. Please do with us as you see fit," Keo said.
Kojo stood stunned. He shook his head.
"Alright, get up you two."
Keo and Mekna got to their feet.
"What happened is not your fault. It's not like you knew there was an interloper, and even if you did, I'm sure you'd have acted accordingly. About your punishment, I'd rather not, but if you're still insisting, I think having only the two of you do the work around here is fine. Also, you guys shouldn't be so formal all the time. It's making me feel uncomfortable. I know I defeated you during the tournament, and you are my subordinates now, but it wouldn't hurt to be less formal. I mean, the way you say it with dead seriousness creeps me out."
Mekna and Keo looked at Kojo. He walked up to them and put a hand on their shoulders.
"Let's all do our best to support each other, okay? We're a family now," he said with a smile.
Kojo then took a step back.
"Now there's something I'm gonna need you to do for me."
(Members Mekna and Keo have now been added to your household.) Mekna and Keo began to glow.
(Household now has seven members. They have inherited unique skills in relation to your dominion over reality.)
Mekna's total abilities are:
Crystal Hardening
Geokinesis
Accelerant
Nucleation
Objective Acceleration
Thermal Transmutation
Energy Absorption
Forcefield Creation (Aegis)
Ultra Regeneration
Durability Negation
Extrasensory Perception
Keo's total skills are:
Accelerant
Anti-Magic Barrier
Dissolution
Objective Deceleration
Thermal Transmutation
Ultra Regeneration
Extrasensory Perception
Water Manipulation
Weather Manipulation
Empathic Manipulation
"No way," Kojo thought to himself.
"That voice..." Keo said, touching her head.
"I feel lighter," Mekna said, clenching and unclenching his fist.
Keo looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time.
They looked at each other then bowed.
"Thank you, master," they said together.
(Well, since they accepted to become your subordinates, a Fealty was formed, and one of the conditions is that they are to receive gifts from their master.)
"But I don't have those abilities."
(True, but you have the Combination of Data Manipulation + Reactive Evolution to create the new ability Power Modification.
I fulfilled all the conditions and modified their abilities so they'd be complete opposites but still be able to complement each other in a battle. Neat, huh?)
"And there you go doing stuff behind my back," Kojo thought with a sigh.
"It's fine," Kojo replied to them.
"Now get up."
Kojo sensed something enter the barrier around the house.
"Forgive me. The duke sent a message that he'd be visiting today, but due to the events that happened...." Mekna said.
"Nah, don't worry about it," Kojo said.
Kojo and the others met the duke. He was accompanied by the king, Reynolds, Jack, Mordecai, Malakai, Yukio, and Leo, and the rulers of the other provinces. Kojo swallowed.
"Don't mind if we join you for breakfast," Duke Philip said, walking inside.
"Uh, sure," Kojo said, following him inside.
"Are you here for Adriana?" Kojo asked as Keo laid the table. Duchess Vincentia watched her as she did this.
"Kojo."
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Is there any way I can take Keo off your hands?" she asked. Keo, who was pouring Rey a cup of tea, spilled some. She, however, used her powers to redirect it back into the cup.
"I dunno...." Kojo said.
"No price is too high. She's a strong warrior of my province. I can't allow her to waste her time playing maid. I'm sure her offspring will achieve even greater than she has, given the right guidance."
"Vincentia!" the king yelled.
"Normally," she continued, ignoring the king.
"I would have ordered you to hand her over, but given your recent rise in social status, I thought it prudent to go through due process. But know that I'm not making a request," she said.
Keo looked at Kojo.
"Ma'am, I don't think it's right to just talk about someone like she's property and not a person. She has feelings too, so I'm going to have to ask you to address her with more respect," he said, looking straight into the Duchess' eyes.
"Whatever," she said, looking away.
"Also, there's nothing you have that I want. Even if there was, I could never exchange it for another person. She chose to join me out of her own volition. If you want her to come back, then you talk it out with her," Kojo said, smiling at Keo. She looked flustered and smiled back.
"No, I'm not coming back," Keo said before Vincentia could open her mouth.
She sighed.
"You always were a stubborn one," she said, taking a sip of tea.
"You'd better take responsibility, Kojo," she said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kojo wondered.
The girls eyed him.
"Alright," Mordecai said, getting up.
"We wanted to meet the new champion of Opal. Let's have a conversation," he pointed outside with his thumb.
Kojo understood, then smiling, got to his feet.
"I'm game. Let's do it."
"Oh, this is sure to be an entertaining morning," the duke said.
Yukio and Kojo's eyes met, and she smiled.