Ascension: Online

I walked past the audience, ignoring their looks of terror. Hina-nee immediately ran up to me and clutched my left arm, where my hand had been impaled by a sword.

"Kaze-kun…" she had tears in her eyes as she looked at my wound, still dripping fresh blood.

She shut her eyes tight, unable to bear the scene, and quickly tore off a portion of her clothing to use as a temporary bandage for my injury. She wrapped it around my hand, covering up the massive gash and stopping the bleeding for now.

Thank goodness she did this, since I was on the verge of passing out. This was both because of this blood loss and the fact that my adrenaline rush was running out.

As if on cue, I felt my eyelids start to get heavy as my legs became weak, causing me to fall forward against my own volition.

"Kaze-kun!"

"Kaze!"

Hina-nee and Furuwa immediately stepped in, supporting me on either side. By this point, I was truly unable to keep conscious any longer, so I just closed my eyes and let the two take me wherever they wanted.

*****

When I opened my eyes again, I found the room dark and quiet. Beside me, I could feel warmth — the warmth of a human body. I didn't even need to turn my head to know who it was — the calming, flower-like fragrance was enough.

She — Hina-nee — held me in a tight embrace, wrapping her body around my own. Thankfully, she didn't seem to be completely naked, though still quite borderline. I slowly shifted my body to face her, careful not to wake her up. Then, I gently patted her head with my right, non-injured hand, subconsciously smiling as I did so.

With this, I confirmed that the decision I made today was the right one.

No one will get away with harming this kind, caring and perhaps sometimes a bit annoying sister of mine. No one.

*****

- The Next Morning -

I woke up to find Hina-nee lying on top of me. Her ample breasts pressed down gently on my body, stimulating my morning rise of iron.

Strangely, despite how brutally I murdered Ling Tian Yu yesterday, I didn't particularly feel any regret or pity after the fact. I lost my emotion of pity, but regret? That was a different matter. Still, he got what he deserved. To that, I was fully convinced. I did not feel any form of disgust or frustration with myself like I did when I made my first human kill on that woman who controlled the Phantoms a while ago.

Weird, isn't it? The first kill is always the hardest one. But once you start, the second, the third, and all the other murders you commit after that start to feel more and more natural, less and less nerve-wracking. That's why so many killers end up becoming serial ones.

I wasn't planning on becoming a serial killer who took lives for fun, like Nadeshiko, but I will do what I have to do.

"Mm… mngh… Kaze-kun?" Hina-nee murmured, opening one eye as she stared up at me. The expression was adorable, and I couldn't help but wrap my arms around her soft body.

At least, I tried to.

My left arm wouldn't budge. Well, it would, but the pain was insane. I eventually just settled on cuddling with her using my right arm only, to which she giggled happily and buried her face in my chest.

Wait a minute… I'm in fresh clothes right now. Last night, I had just woke up briefly before going back to sleep without even realizing this fact, but now, with a clear head, I finally noticed.

Who helped me shower and change? "Don't tell me…

"Hina-nee," I said quietly, glancing down into her eyes.

"Hm…?"

"… Did you help me shower and stuff last night, while I was unconscious?"

"Hehe~ yep," she replied, hugging me tighter. "Just like old times, I took a bath with you together and cleaned you up!"

"…" I didn't respond. How was I supposed to respond to that, anyway?

Oh man… I shouldn't have even asked.

"A-Ahem, anyway, can you get off of me now? We should get ready for the day."

"Eh? But you're still injured, no?"

"Yeah, but I made a deal with someone — one I intend to uphold. Besides, it's not like a wounded hand will prevent me from walking and talking."

"Hm… if you say so…" she pouted, pursing her lips. "But! I'm coming with you."

I sighed. "Fine, whatever."

I was planning on letting her in on the whole matter with AAA anyway, so this was as good an opportunity as any.

After we took our showers (separately) and brushed our teeth, we prepared to head out.

*****

Furuwa, Aisa, and — of course — Nadeshiko joined us in this short journey to the AAA branch here in Qilian. I had quite the line-up of beauties following me, which attracted plenty of weird glances, but they knew who we were from watching the tournament, so their gazes were more of terror and worship than jealousy and skepticism.

The receptionist who greeted me yesterday immediately tensed up after seeing me again, possibly because she heard about the events of the finals and what happened to Ling Tian Yu. I needed to confirm whether or not she knew, however, due to a certain reason. So, I decided to just line up for that exact same receptionist, even though that meant we would have to wait.

I could've just used my jade token here, but I wanted to observe the receptionist for a bit. Turns out, my prediction was right on the money.

The receptionist kept stealing glances at me awkwardly, but every time I met her gaze, she would quickly look away, pretending as if she hadn't been looking at me in discomfort.

When it was finally our turn, I boldly walked up to the receptionist and, in the most demanding tone I could muster, asked to see Grandmaster Song.

"Y-Yes!" she yelped nervously, not daring to look me in the eyes. I smiled, having received my answer.

This girl had definitely watched the tournament herself or at least heard stories of what happened. She knew I participated, and she knew what I did to Ling Tian Yu. That's why she was so scared right now.

I decided to stop teasing her, however, as Grandmaster Song arrived.

"Thank you," I replied to her, returning to my normal, polite voice.

"E-Eh?" she was startled at my sudden change, but couldn't exactly question as she quickly bowed in the presence of her superior. "W-Welcome, Grandmaster Song!"

"Mm… my guest is here. And with a few more friends this time, it seems," the old man stroked his beard, smiling wryly upon seeing me. Then, turning around, he beckoned. "Come, follow me."

We began heading for the second floor once more via the stairs. It seemed Grandmaster Song was quite the influential and well-respected figure here in this branch of the AAA, seeing as how everyone made way for him as he passed and some even bowed down, greeting him with great reverence.

Those guys were naturally the same people who eyed us with suspicion, but they couldn't really ask in the presence of the Grandmaster.

When we entered the familiar office of Song Qing Long, he told us to sit down. We complied as he did the same — there were six chairs in total, just enough to fit all of us.

"So. Tell me about the results of your… experiment," he said, getting straight to the point.

"What experiment?" Furuwa narrowed her eyes and asked.

"Hm… perhaps it is better for your friend here to explain it to you himself," Grandmaster Song chuckled and passed the baton of the conversation over to me.

I sighed, slightly annoyed. "Okay, so. Basically…"

I retold her and Hina-nee the story of how I formed my deal with this powerful character, word by word.

"I see… but may I ask, why are you inventing torture pills?" Furuwa asked, glaring at the Grandmaster.

"An alchemist's way is strange. They will refine whatever kind of pill they feel like refining, when not provided with a job. It just so turns out I enjoy making torture pills, just as you enjoy reading and… playing guitar?"

Furuwa's eyes widened. "What… how did you-"

"Ahaha, it's a soul art, my friend. If you like, I can teach you it… of course, there will be conditions."

"We can discuss that later," I cut in. "Let's keep this conversation on track here."

"Right. So, tell me about the results of the pill I gave you. Was it good? Bad?"

"It worked well," I replied briskly. "A little too well, in fact. I wasn't the one experiencing the pain, so I can't accurately tell you just how much torture it inflicted on its target, but it definitely was no small amount. His whole body imploded after consuming the pill, leaving behind a pile of disgusting organs surrounded by a large pool of blood."

"I see. So it worked as intended."

"That was… as intended?" Furuwa bit her lip, slightly uncomfortable.

"I'm guessing… the pill first deconstructs bones, then somehow superheats the blood to make it boil within its victim's body…?" Hina-nee murmured thoughtfully.

"Oh, not bad, girl. You may have a knack for alchemy. What's your name?"

"Sakura Hina," Hina-nee replied. "You can call me Sakura."

"Well then, Sakura…" Song Qing Long smirked deviously. "Would you be interested in becoming my disciple?"