"Ugh!" Burning hot like an iron stamp, the newly inked tattoo on my shoulder roasted my skin as we walked. "This Upturner or whatever it was, he's one hungry bastard…"
"Now you understand why my powers drain me so much?" Showing off her own stamped tattoo over her shoulder, Mizuki gave me a teasing smile. "Still, I thought you'd be more resilient, capable of handling as many god-kin binds as me or perhaps even more."
"We'll see about that," having been given the borrowed power to shapeshift, that inscribed tattoo resembling a murky face with countless eyes, had put me in a bond with some kind of dormant god granting me power in exchange for the misery of humans.
With enough time, that god will rise to whatever misdeed it may have planned, yet for now it was only a tool for me to fulfill my desires.
"What about Hibiki?" Turning my head to the short-haired pixie walking alongside us, I had a question to ask. "She can use fire magic, yet doesn't need a bond with anyone. Why's that different for me?"
"Because your partner is an imp," Ifrit explained, his voice coarse and grumbling.
Flying right next to Ifrit's shoulders, Mizuki growled in his ears like a rabid dog.
"Call me an imp and I'll make you regret having a tongue!" To her complaints, Ifrit only scoffed before ignoring her completely.
"About your deal with Mikato's worker," trying to change the topic, I turned to Hibiki once more. "How did the meeting go? I thought you'd turn us down when I called you to join us."
"It was…" Although her lips opened to answer, Hibiki shut them close just as quickly.
"Didn't go as planned?" I asked, yet again it was Ifrit who replied.
"It did, but I suppose our little fey isn't thrilled to meet her family once again," whatever he meant by those words, I left it untouched as they seemed to have visibly upset Hibiki's contour.
Not long after that tense conversation, we reached Yuuko's home. With the help of both our demons, we turned invisible and slipped in through the balcony of her two-floored house. Heading inside, we found ourselves in what could only be presumed as Hero's room with clothes thrown off everywhere.
Walking around a little, we also noticed some lewd posters and magazines crammed under his desk and bed. From the looks of the women on them, it was quite obvious why he went on to make Sakura his girlfriend.
"Someone has a fetish for boobs, and razor tongue women, hehe…" Giggling to herself, Mizuki kept going through the femdom content that overwhelmed most of Hero's stash.
"If you're done peeping, then get that tattoo machine of yours ready," telling her that, I finally led us out of the room.
"I have to say, I even felt the Upturner's surprise when you revealed what you intended to do to this man," saying that Mizuki followed right behind me.
The others did the same as we made our way downstairs and into Miss Yuuko's husband's room. Surprisingly enough, despite being married the couple had different rooms to themselves instead of a joint one.
'Both rooms only have single beds, seems intentional.' Judging from the information I had, their marriage was probably on the path to ruin. 'Good thing I'm about to end this nuisance today.'
All huddled up in the room while staying invisible, the four of us kept watch on the door, waiting for the man to take one step in. Meanwhile, I arranged for Akane to meet with us through text at the place where Yuuko was supposed to be in a few hours.
"What's the plan for her exactly?" Hibiki asked, trying to pass the time.
"Since she likes to keep secrets so much, I'm gonna give her a few more to add to her conscience," second after I replied to Hibiki, the distant sound of the front door opening trailed into our ears.
From what I knew, Hero didn't come home early, as for Yuuko she wasn't going to be home anytime soon, which only left her husband who was apparently a leecher with nothing to offer. The only reason I could even think of why Yuuko agreed to marry him would be that this man lured her in with his charm not long after her divorce.
'Given how easily I was able to get a love rating of four when we first met, I doubt she's a hard woman to please, at least not through appearance.' The sound of the room's door creaking open, had me shake those thoughts away in an instant.
As the drunken man walked in, I glanced sideways at Mizuki to make sure she was ready. Then as he waltzed over to the bed and placed his beer bottle on the side table, I waited just enough for him to sit down before grabbing the bottle myself.
'We don't need more monsters like my father!' With the same swing as my mother, I smashed the bottle against his head, turning his brown hair into a pool of crimson in an instant. Being as drunk as he was, he could only grunt in pain once before his mind slipped away.
Taking just a step back, I stared at him for a while before Mizuki broke the silence.
"You almost killed him," smiling, she leaned over the man's body and began undressing his shirt. "Thankfully, the fucker's resilient."
"J-just do what I told you," despite the shattered glass digging into my palm, I couldn't get my eyes off the first man I'd mortally assaulted.
'My aunt, I left her to die…' Reminded that I did kill someone before this, someone who really deserved it, that lingering regret began fleeing. Making things easier on myself, I touched the mark of certainty on my ribs to clear my head of all doubts.
"Alright then, remind me how do you want to torment this man?" Mizuki asked, looking at me.
"I want him forgotten by everyone and turned invisible with no means to interact with anything. His hands should be that of a ghost and his tongue void of any words," as if something had overtaken me, something far more sinister those words trailed off my tongue as if condemnation was my second nature.
"Very well, master," giggling once more, Mizuki dug her needles into the man's skin.
Soon enough he'd be turned into a living ghost with nobody to remember him, all thanks to that damned machine that breathed power into inked words.