As everyone saw those responsible for bombing the kitchens, and the three they held captive, a series of mutters filled the surroundings as they glared at the offending party. They weren't surprised though, considering that the ones responsible were among those who would actively terrorize their fellow Pandora, and would usually slack off instead of working. At their head was unsurprisingly Felice Mojave, the same girl Alex had mentioned during the meeting before, and Miyabi Kannazuki, someone infamous at West Gentics for seducing limiters and then throwing them away once she had gotten tired of them.
Meanwhile the one that stepped forward from the surrounding was considered the official spokesperson of the Pandora, Elizabeth. The blond ran her stern gaze over all of the offending Pandora before settling it on Felice and Miyabi, and demanding, "What is the meaning of this?"
The two ringleaders scowled at her words, before Felice retorted, "'What is the meaning of this?'! Are you kidding me Mably?! We are NOT servants to be bossed around and treated like the help! We are women of power and influence, the last hope of humanity! WE ARE FUCKING PANDORA!" As she roared the last words they echoed through the otherwise silent surroundings, making several people frown and scowl at them in return when they realized what was actually going on.
Then Miyabi spoke up, as she directed her attention to the rest of the Pandora around them and stated while pointing at Grayfia, Ravel, and Rossweise, "Aren't you all tired of just following their orders?! Of being stuck here just because they refuse to even bother taking us home? Living and serving under yet another person driven by their lust and desires, bidding their time until we let our guard down to attack us?"
Miyabi then paused as if to let her words sink in as more of their sister Pandora joined their side, yet no one moved a single muscle. From their perspective it had been nearly a year since they had been brought to this world and freed from 'that' man's control, nearly a year for them to recover from 'his' abuse as they regularly received treatments with Spirit magic. And, for most of a year, they had been watching their host like a boil of Hawks.
Unlike what the group of ingrates before them was trying to insinuate, none of the other Pandora nor the girls from the To Love Ru universe believed Alex was trying to take advantage of them any longer. With the sole exceptions of Lala and Yami, he had never made any untoward moves towards them or otherwise made them uncomfortable outside of his interactions with his own harem, which they more or less considered normal now. As for the aforementioned peerage members, while Alex would usually push them to do things like kissing or washing each other when in the baths, he never tried to push them farther than they actually capable of handling.
Seeing that no one was moved by her earlier words, Miyabi's expression darkened as she spat at them, "You worthless SLUTS! You would seriously throw away everything we've fought and died for just to be worthless servants, who's only purpose is to clean, fight, and spread your legs when that hypocrite orders you?" At this many of the surrounding Pandora glared at Miyabi, while others answered with their own curses and insults until Grayfia signaled for them to calm down.
The silver haired maid then stepped forward as Elizabeth stepped back respectfully, before she said,
"You talk of protecting humanity, yet you've taken several innocents captive just to get your way, two of which were those who also suffered at your side. Is this itself not hypocritical?" This time it was Felice who sneered in response to Grayfia's words, as she retorted,
"So what? Send us home like we want, and there will be nothing to worry about for them. If something does happen, then their blood will be on your hands." When they heard this everyone became disgusted with the twisted logic that the ones wielding the knives would blame the blood they spilt on others, but before they could say Anyang a new voice suddenly said,
"And yet you call me the hypocrite..." Several women parted as Alex casually approached with Chiffon at his side, who was looking strangely annoyed for some reason.
As Alex took his place beside the silver haired maid, he promptly ignored the seething Pandora and looked at the three captives before asking, "Are you alright, Haruna, Mikan, Kunou?" The former two nodded with pale expressions, before saying,
"Yes, we are..."
"Just please get us out of here as soon as possible..."
While the captors of the duo of regular humans tightened their grips on them when they spoke, Kunou then practically growled with the fur on her three tails and ears bristling,
"Once I get free I'll show these ungrateful bitches exactly why you should never mess with a Youkai!" Of course once the words were out her mouth they were followed by a crisp slap, as the Pandora holding her hit her before hissing in her ears,
"Watch it you filthy little animal, or I might just cut off your ears and tails instead of selling you off when we get home!" As she whispered the Pandora then flicked her knife against one of Kunou's ears, showing her just how serious her threat was. Despite this however her defiance didn't falter, while a certain mother with surprisingly sharp ears hissed into Alex's ears,
"That one's mine!" Alex just barely moved his head in the smallest indication of affirmation, while he also used his 'Domain' to check on Ringo, Lala, and Yami, all of which were more than a little anxious to free Haruna and Mikan from their captor's clutches.
"Don't worry-" Alex muttered as quietly as possible, while also using his 'Domain' to transmit his voice to the anxious women. "-I'll do my best to make sure none of them are harmed." Though it didn't completely ease her anxiety, Ringo still calmed down a little while Yami and Lala waited for any orders Alex might give them.
He then similarly gave orders to Shia, Shizuku, Kurumu, and Moka to wait for his command, as he didn't want to risk any unneeded injury on any of the captive girls. It was only after all of this, that Alex finally turned his attention towards the insurgent Pandora, his expression cold and uncaring as he examined the ones who dared to attack his home.
As he cast his gaze upon them, many of the revolting Pandora shuddered as thoughts that they might have made a mistake entered their heads. Regardless of any second thoughts that they might have started having, Alex then stated in a firm tone, "I'll give you one chance to surrender, and maybe your punishment will be lighter. Do not, and I won't guarantee your lives."
As he spoke Alex's fingers twitched as he flexed them warningly, planting more doubts into the minds of the Pandora. The two in the lead however didn't pay any attention to this, as Felice sneered, "Do you really think you can still give the orders here? Or do you simply not care about their lives?"
When he heard this the icy pressure coming off of Alex increased by several times as he snarled, "Don't mistake yourself to be in a position of authority right now, the moment a single hair on their heads is disturbed your own lives are forfeit, consequences be damned."
His words, combined with the intense aura coming off of him made many of the offending Pandora, as well as even a few of the women standing around him, pale as they now wondered if it was wise to take hostages. Of course Felice and Miyabi were among those affected by Alex's aura, but their expressions quickly transitioned from fear to anger as Miyabi snapped back,
"You'll regret acting so cocky!" She then turned to the Pandora holding Mikan, and barked at her, "Open her throat! Let them see how serious we are!"
There was a brief pause as everyone took in what she just, before the Pandora in question grimly nodded her head.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Ringo shrieked as she desperately tried to fight her way through the crowd to get to her daughter, only to be held back by Koneko as the cat girl used her Touki to try and calm her. Meanwhile the Pandora holding Mikan tightened her grip on the young girl, while also lifting her chin to clearly show everyone her neck as she raised the edge of the kitchen knife to place it right below the left side of her chin. Right as the cold metal was about to touch her skin though,
KABOOOOOM!!!!!
The entire villa shook as the sky roared and space itself started fracturing around them, throwing everyone into confusion even as they tried to keep their footing and a cloud of dust rose to veil what was happening. Due to the lack of sight, each of the combat maids entered battle ready stances in case any of the rebelling Pandora tried to use the dust cloud as cover to attack, but none of them came. Instead, a blood chilling scream tore through the air.
"This is ridiculous!" Anne swore, before crying out, "'Sky Dragon's Breeze'!" In an instant the area was cleared of dust and everyone could see again, but what they saw surprised them. Instead of attacking the group of rebelling Pandora had also taken a defensive position, however one girl was left out of it while two others were missing, the ones who had taken Haruna and Mikan captive. Meanwhile the girl that had been left out of the defensive formation was the one who had threatened to sell Kunou, however she now had both of her arms grotesquely twisted beyond the point of use, or even recovery without Regeneration magic.
As for the three captives, they were now safely away from the errant Pandora and wrapped up in Alex's protective arms. Though they were also disoriented at what just happened, Kunou was the first to recover as she wrapped her arms around Alex's neck and planted a kiss on his cheek before saying,
"Thank you Alex~!" Alex's smiled warmly at the little fox girl, and said as he gently ruffled her hair and ears,
"You're welcome Kunou." He then turned his attention to Mikan and Haruna and asked with concern, "Are the two of you ok?" Though it seemed to take a second for her to register what had happened, Haruna eventually said,
"Y-yeah.... That was the scariest thing I've ever experienced....." Mikan nodded silently in agreement as, even when she had used against Yami by another assassin, she had never in her life felt so close to death. She then gingerly reached up and touched the spot where the knife would had penetrated her neck, had it not been for Alex's intervention, when Ringo's voice suddenly called out,
"MIKAN!" They all turned to see Ringo hurrying towards them alongside Lala and Yami, before the distraught mother pulled Mikan from Alex's embrace and wrapped her in her own.
"Are you alright?!" She breathed into her daughters ear, relieved that she didn't lose her only other child. Mikan however could only barely nod in response to her mother's concern, before trying to get out,
"Yes mom, but, you're kind of choking me....." Ringo quickly released her daughter when she heard that, before going over her to make sure she was ok while Yami hovered silently in the background.
While everyone was watching Mikan and Ringo was soft gazes, their expression changed when another mother slowly approached them, her expression ice cold as she passed them and made her way to the Pandora with the destroyed arms, who had been sobbing until that point.
"Now what was it I heard about you wanting to sell my daughter, or was it cutting off her ears and tails?" Yasaka asked as she approached the crying girl, who quickly quieted down when she saw the approaching Youkai.
"Yeah! Get her mama!" Kunou cried out as she hopped up onto Alex's shoulders.
As Yasaka inflicted her wrath upon the one who threatened her daughter, Alex turned back to look at the rest of the battle-ready Pandora. He then glanced briefly at Grayfia, who nodded in understanding of Alex's intentions as she ordered, "Take them."
Those two simple words were all it took for eight figures to leap forward into combat, each of the Pandora who had joined her maid squadron.
"FINALLY! AN ACTUAL FIGHT!!!" Arnett cried out as she eagerly summoned her volt scythe, making her comrades shake their heads in exasperation despite the fact that they too were eager for a fight against an opponent that wasn't a simple sparring match, or a monster.
One by one the Pandora summoned their weapons to attack their former comrades, Stella a giant blade that had gaps on the backside for her to use as handles, Ticy a greatsword almost as tall as she was, Rana and Creo both charged forward with their steel gloves while Chiffon summoned both of her gauntlets, and the petite Attia swung her morningstar intimidatingly as Elizabeth's satellite type volt weapons flew over their heads to provide cover. Of course the rebelling Pandora also responded in kind, as they too unhesitantly prepared to face them.
"REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING, AND TAKE AS MANY DOWN WITH YOU AS POSSIBLE!" Felice shouted as she summoned her own volt weapon, a pair of daggers. However she never could have predicted what happened next as Arnett suddenly appeared within their own ranks, and swung her scythe in a circle around her to create a grotesquely beautiful arc of blood and gore while instantly bisecting no less than four Pandora at once.
Time seemed to slow from Felice's point of view, as she watched her comrades being sliced apart, or turned into pulp against their foes. Stella was like a hurricane as she shot forward unhindered, the body parts of her opponents flying as she passed them. Meanwhile Rana and Creo dashed to and fro, pounding their opponents into submission with their fists, while Attia used her morningstar to completely obliterate whatever body part it collided with, leaving a trail of pulped organs and splintered bone in her wake. Though they should have managed to get a single hit or two in themselves, Felice also saw Elizabeth's satellites weaving between the fighting, using their shields to protect her comrades from any potential injury.
Despite the fact that they too had been training against monsters specifically for this day, there was an undeniable difference between the two groups of Pandora as a result of Grayfia's training, and 'Guidance'. Then, Felice saw her own opponent slowly approach her, prompting her to sneer at Ticy, "What? Still want revenge for back then, 'Zero', or do you prefer 'Chiffon's Lap Dog'?"
With an expression as cold as ice on her face, completely contrasting the happy and carefree look she had a short while ago when feeding her turtles, Ticy readied her greatsword without uttering a single word. Felice's expression darkened when she saw this as, even as she readied her own daggers, she still considered Ticy to be the pathetic and weak willed little girl she was before Chiffon arrived. Deciding to 'teach' her a lesson before killing her, the corner of Felice's mouth twitched in anticipation right before Ticy's figured suddenly vanished from view. Before Felice could even try to register what was happening, her vision was filled with a giant slab of metal right before it impacted her face and sent her flying with a sharp 'crack!'
As she watched the limp body of her old enemy roll away, Ticy sighed and muttered to herself, "I'm still too soft...." She then glanced at the now bloody and already bruised face of Felice, who she had hit with the flat side of her blade to knock her unconscious and break her nose, before shaking her head and rejoining the battle despite it already being practically over.
"What the hell is this....?" Miyabi swore to herself, as each of her comrades were felled or torn apart within seconds before her while there wasn't even a single scratch on their opponents. She had even gone out of her way to stay towards the back of the group and use her flying knives to try and snipe the combat maids from behind, but each one was skillfully blocked by Elizabeth as if it was nothing, even when she tried to use one on any of the bystanders.
"Fucking Mably!" She swore as yet another one of her attacks was blocked as Elizabeth directed her gaze at her, as if taunting her in her mind. Right as she was trying to think of a way to deal with her though, a new voice suddenly said,
"Are you sure you should be focusing on her~?" Miyabi barely looked up in time to see Chiffon's bladed gauntlet when it was only a mere couple inches away from her face, before the blades were suddenly sinking into her face as the back of her head collided with the ground.
Chiffon then dragged Miyabi back through the ground by her head, before slamming her against the outer wall of the villa behind them. Then, with the same casual smile that she always had, Chiffon proceeded to brutally and mercilessly beat on the helpless Pandora until she had gone completely limp, with blood dripping from her entire body while her face was so tore up it no longer resembled a human's.
"You know-" Chiffon started to say without bothering to keep her voice down, "-I was having some of the best sex in my life when you started this. So don't mind if I take out my 'frustrations' on you!" She then resumed beating on Miyabi in progressively cruel ways while the majority of gazes gathered on Alex, making his eye twitch just ever so slightly.
Despite the beating she was taking though, Miyabi still possessed enough will to just barely control one of her knives with a twitch of her finger. Chiffon noticed this however, and just barely shifted her head to the side to prevent having the back of her head impaled, causing he knife to lodge itself into Miyabi's stomach instead.
"Naughty, naughty!" Chiffon said with her smile widening, before she used her free hand to plunge the knife in even deeper until the tip even came out her back as it severed her spine. "I think this deserves some more punishment!" Chiffon then declared, as if Miyabi hadn't already been punished enough. She then grabbed her right arm, and proceeded to pull on it to completely tear the limb from its socket, making a feral scream escape Miyabi's throat as her only remaining hand weakly tried to grab onto Chiffon's wrist.
"That's enough Chiffon." Grayfia suddenly said, making the 'Smiling Monster' turn to look at her challengingly, even going as far as completely opening her eyes to show everyone her Nova-like irises. Instead of reacting to the sight though, Grayfia then calmly said, "Or if you prefer, I can be your opponent."
Though there was absolutely no intensity in the way she said, Chiffon still suddenly felt a great pressure on her after Grayfia finished speaking, prompting her to simply toss Miyabi into the pile of bodies and parts that had been formed after the rest of her comrades had defeated, before she then threw Miyabi's own arm at her. Despite the fact that Chiffon had relented when asked, Grayfia still decided that she'd talk to the legendary Pandora later about her tendency to go berserk when she fought.
It was at this point that Alex finally stepped towards the gory pile of bodies and limbs, which was making several of the girls from the To Love Ru universe go green or even losing their lunch from never having seen such a gruesome sight before. He then turned towards the combats maids, who stood attentively at the side as they awaited his word, and said while plopping his hand down on the small and petite Attia's head,
"Good job everyone, I'm very pleased with your progress." Though most showed pride at Alex's praise, several of them also showed genuine happiness at his words while Attia turned a fairly deep shade of red, as she secretly enjoyed it whenever her head was pat.
After giving them a few more words of praise and complimenting the impressive parts of their fighting, Alex then turned his attention back towards the bloody pile composed of the rebel Pandora bodies. Currently there was only one or two of the rebelling Pandora left alive within the pile, but Alex didn't care about that as he held out his hand, and a magic circle formed that enveloped the entire bloody pile in demonic light.
Everyone around him watched in slight awe as the light shone for several minutes before it eventually faded to reveal each of the rebelling Pandora, alive and whole once more with the sole exceptions of the three that had previously held the girls hostage. This was due mostly to the fact that the two Alex killed had been practically reduced to atoms, while the one that had been left to Yasaka was similarly reduced to ash so fine, that Alex wasn't sure she could even be brought back with Regeneration magic.
He didn't bother to worry about it though as he focused his attention on the pale and nervous looking revived Pandora, before saying, "It is over, you have lost." When they heard his voice many of the Pandora looked at Alex with a never before felt fear, even as they fought the urge to cower before him. Of course the only exception to this was Felice, who had only been knocked out by Ticy during the fight and suffered nothing more than a bruised face, and a broken nose.
"W-why?" One of them eventually got the courage to ask, even as she tried to avoid his gaze. It wasn't too difficult to know that she was asking him why he had brought them back, and, with everyone else looking at Alex curiously as well, he answered,
"Because, despite your horrible attitudes, when all of you became Pandora you knew that you would more than likely die in combat against the Nova threat. We're not Nova, but I still consider it a privilege to die for what you believe in(no mater how misguided), not a punishment. That is why you will all live instead, and I will personally decide what to do with you." While many of the Pandora showed resolute expressions at Alex's declaration, their will to resist having already been shattered, others turned pale with horror while Felice was the only one to show anger at Alex's words.
After spending a moment contemplating what to do with them though. Alex finally turned towards Grayfia and commanded, "Strip them." Several of the Pandora's expressions turned to horror at Alex's decision as Grayfia nodded in affirmation, while off to the side Elaine's expression was stony as suspicions filled her mind of what Alex planned to do.
After signaling to them to do as Alex commanded, many of the combat maids that hadn't participated in the fight stepped forward to retrieve the clothing of the Pandora that had been ordered to strip, or take it by force in needed. The ones who's will's had been broken offered no resistance as they willingly stripped in front of their audience, while the horrified Pandora resisted slightly before giving up as the maids literally tore the clothing from their bodies. The last in line to be stripped was Felice, but, instead of fighting back, she instead willingly removed her own clothes before throwing them as hard as possible at Grayfia directly, ending with her panties that she aimed directly at Grayfia's face.
"Happy now?!" She demanded of Alex even as Grayfia peeled the still warm cloth off of her face, her mask of professionalism never wavering even as she tallied each offense for later. Alex however didn't pay her words, or even any of the naked bodies before him, any mind as he then looked at Ravel and said,
"Now remove their stigmata." Compared to when they had been ordered to strip, when the Pandora heard this several of them even fell to their knees pleading not to remove their stigmata, but ther pleas fell on deaf ears as Ravel retrieved a certain device before doing as Alex ordered. Naturally when some of the Pandora had made the decision to give up their stigmata and live as normal women they had to come up with a way to remove them, which Lala had been more than happy to provide after spending a few minutes examining one of the Pandora's stigmata.
Now Ravel had the cutesy suction cup shaped device in her hands as she went down the line, removing the precious devices from their skin one by one despite their weak protests. There wasn't a single serious incident until she got to the last person in line, Felice, who had a very slight smirk at the edge of her lips.
Right as Ravel was about to apply the suction cup to the spot where Felice's stigmata were, right on her shoulder blades, the Pandora suddenly used every bit of power she had left in her body to twist faster than Ravel could react, and plunged her volt weapon into her heart to the hilt.
"HA!" She cried out triumphantly at taking out at least one of the people around Alex, before two things suddenly happened. First was Ravel's blood spilling out of her wound, drenching Felice's hands up to the wrists in the boiling hot fluids. At the same time her right arm was suddenly bent backwards by a petite figure in a maid uniform, resulting in a sickening crack followed by an ear-splitting shriek as Felice felt both her hands burning, and the attack on her arm.
She didn't get any time to deal with either one of injuries though, as Routier, her attacker, suddenly grabbed Felice by the face and slammed her down into the ground similarly to what Chiffon did to Miyabi earlier. What followed was a beating to rival Chiffon's, as the little oni meticulously and sadistically beat Felice in such a way as to inflict the most pain with a gleeful expression on her face.
Meanwhile Ravel casually looked down at the dagger that had been plunged into her still beating heart, before calmly grabbing the hilt and pulling it out so that the super heated liquid metal that had once been the blade dripped onto the ground. Her wound then seemed to bleed pure flames as it slowly closed, leaving a bloody hole in her dress.
"And I really liked this dress too..." She pouted lightly, before using magic to repair the fabric until it was as good as new. It was only after this was done that Ravel even bothered to look at the bloody mess that had once been Felice, before saying,
"That's enough Routier." In a flash, the little oni whirled to face Ravel in her bloodlust but a single look at the Phoenix was enough to curdle any rising remarks she had, as she had long learned that of the people of Asora, not to push Ravel or Grayfia the most. With the little oni respectfully making way for her, Ravel stepped forward and looked down at the broken and bloody form that had once been Felice Mojave.
She then reached down and placed her hand in the middle of Felice's chest between her breasts, unhesitantly setting the beaten girl aflame and filling the air with her screams once more. Slowly the air filled with the acidic smell of burning flesh and hair amidst her screams and the sound of roaring flames, until Ravel decided that was enough and allowed the flames to die down to reveal Felice's soot covered, yet otherwise unblemished body.
As her screams of pain were instead replaced with pitiful sobs, Miyabi shakily asked, "W-what was that.....?" Though she wasn't obligated to explain, Ravel still said as she removed the stigmata from the whimpering girl,
"I used my Phoenix flames on her; they can not only burn, but heal if I will it. I decided to heal the injuries Routier gave her, while also personally paying her back for trying to kill me."
As she finished speaking Ravel made her way to Alex's side to give him the stigmata she had taken, while also being completely aware that she driven yet another stake of fear into the hearts of the rebelling Pandora due to the viciousness of her actions on Felice. Once he had stored away the retrieved stigmata, Alex then approached the still whimpering Felice and grabbed her hand before placing his slave mark on it. He then proceeded to the next Pandora in line and said,
"First I will mark you all as my slaves, now give me your hand." With any hope of resisting extinguished from their eyes, each of the former Pandora obediently presented their hand to Alex when it was their turn to be marked, until each and every one of the naked women were now his slaves. He then stepped back and said,
"From here I've decided on two choices for each of you to choose from regarding your actual punishment. Firstly is the one Felice will now automatically be subjected to, banishment." Alex let the word hang on the air for a second in order to gauge the reactions of the former Pandora before him, who showed a mixture of expressions ranging from confusion, to despair at the idea of being banished now that they had been stripped of their stigmata. He then began to elaborate,
"This option is for those who truly cannot stand being here any longer, and any that choose it will be placed in a random city somewhere in the world, as is. You'll have no friends, no family, and no help whatsoever as you will be forced to live as a commoner with nothing, namely as a beggar unless you can work your way up. Of course I'll also use the power of the slave mark to ensure that you are unable to hurt anyone ever again, outside of self defense."
As he finished speaking there was more than a little tension and anxiety in the air as the former Pandora, all elite women who had never actually had to work a single day in their lives, paled at how terrible it would be to suffer such a life. Unsurprisingly no one jumped at the chance to leave like they had wanted earlier, and so Alex then started explaining their other option.
"The second option is to simply stay here as slave maids, however every single thing that you did not have when you first arrived will be taken from you. Anything you would want beyond that must be earned through work, clothing, items, hot water, a room to sleep and stay in; even every meal must be earned since all you'll be given every day is a single energy bar that would grant you the energy and nutrients your bodies need. Of course to do this we'll need to establish a point system similar to an employee's wage at a work place." As he finished speaking Alex glanced to the side at Ravel, who immediately got the hint and pulled out an electric tablet to begin working on such a system.
He then turned back towards the still silent Pandora, and commanded, "Now choose."