Chapter 863: Ellen and Karen! Origami Tobiichi! Mana Takamiya... And So On, Those He Conquered
The air shimmered, bending like warped glass before snapping back into reality. Ren stepped out of the temporal rift, his posture as relaxed as ever.
But he wasn't alone. A veritable army of stunning women trailed behind him, their heels clicking against the floor in a chaotic, overwhelming rhythm.
Yoshinon, perched securely on Yoshino's hand, blinked her oversized, bright button eyes. The little puppet's jaw dropped in exaggerated shock. "Wait, wait, wait! There were only six of us when we left! Now there's one, two, three... eighteen... Hiss! I can't even count them all! That's a whole crowd!"
The plush rabbit threw her floppy arms up in the air, completely baffled as to how Ren had managed to multiply their party size exponentially after disappearing for what felt like mere seconds.
It was simple, really. Ren had taken a little detour through the timestream, scooping up everyone he needed. And since he had effortlessly usurped the position of Director at DEM Industries, it only made sense to claim the mega-corporation's most exquisite assets for himself.
Take Ellen Mira Mathers, for instance.
Standing near the front of the group, the Head of DEM's Second Executive Department and one of the three original founders of the company adjusted her posture. Currently, she served a much more intimate role: his personal secretary, his right-hand woman, and his absolute favorite office romance partner.
Known to the world as the strongest Wizard in existence, Ellen's mastery over Realizer devices was unmatched. She possessed the sheer combat prowess to trade blows with Spirits, carrying an unshakeable confidence that no entity, human or Spirit, could best her in her prime. Yet, beneath that terrifying, lethal reputation lay a surprisingly natural airhead, prone to childish pouts when things didn't go her way.
Ren had taken it upon himself to give her a little 'specialized training.' The results were spectacular. She was now utterly devoted to him, her loyalty so absolute that the supposedly untouchable strongest Wizard would eagerly let loose and go all out on his office desk at a moment's notice.
Beside her stood Karen Nora Mathers.
Also serving as his secretary, the twenty-year-old beauty was Ellen's younger sister. The physical resemblance was striking enough to mistake them for twins, save for Karen's slightly shorter hair and the sleek glasses framing her sharp eyes.
Historically, the two sisters had shared a rather strained, fractured relationship. Ren, being the benevolent pragmatist he was, had stepped in to smooth over their disagreements. He didn't just mend their bond; he forged them into an inseparable pair of devoted sisters.
Naturally, his motives weren't entirely selfless. Ren had a deep appreciation for twins, and an even deeper weakness for twin secretaries. Having both Mathers sisters serving him simultaneously was an absolute delicacy he savored daily.
Then there was Artemisia Bell Ashcroft.
The Deputy Director of the Second Executive Department and another of the world's elite Wizards, Artemisia had once harbored a singular, driving wish: to eradicate all Spirits and bring lasting peace to the world.
Ren hadn't argued with her. Instead, he simply pulled back the curtain of time and allowed her to witness the pristine, perfect future his intervention would create. That single glimpse shattered her rigid worldview. The fierce, driven Deputy Director had instantly melted into his most devoted, starry-eyed fan girl.
She hadn't come alone, either. Artemisia brought along her three somewhat underperforming apprentices: Leonora Hills, Cecil O'Brien, and Ashley Sinclair. Ren found their dynamic highly entertaining. Indulging in a little 'roleplay' that involved the strict master and her three eager apprentices had quickly become one of his favorite late-night activities.
A few paces away stood Mana Takamiya.
The younger sister of a boy who, thanks to Ren's existence, essentially no longer existed in the grand design of fate. She stood tall, her long blue hair tied back in a sharp ponytail, a distinctive tear mole resting delicately beneath her left eye. When she spoke, her words were always laced with polite, formal honorifics, contrasting sharply with her lethal reputation.
Ranked among the top five Wizards globally, Mana's mastery over her Realizer was forged in blood. She was a veteran Spirit hunter, her body heavily cybernetically modified to grant her overwhelming strength. But that power came at a steep price. DEM had quietly estimated she had less than ten years left to live, a grim expiration date she had been completely oblivious to.
Her relentless pursuit of Kurumi Tokisaki had been slowly grinding her soul to dust. That was until Ren intervened.
He had orchestrated a final confrontation, bringing Kurumi directly to her. After a brutal, exhausting clash that left Mana on the brink of death, the blue-haired girl finally let go of her hollow crusade. Ren stepped in, his power washing over her broken, modified body, restoring her vitality and erasing her grim death sentence.
She dropped her weapons that day. The desire to hunt Spirits vanished from her eyes. Instead, she chose to stay by Ren's side, eager to learn a new path.
Her stated goal was to learn how to communicate and interact amicably with Spirits.
What Ren actually taught her, however, was a masterclass in endless temptation. He made a habit of 'accidentally' letting her stumble upon his highly suggestive, intimate sessions with the other girls. The constant exposure to such shameless displays had thoroughly corrupted her pristine mindset.
Eventually, Mana surrendered to the inevitable, joining the massive family and eagerly participating in their wild, late-night gatherings. She did, technically, achieve her goal of interacting amicably with Spirits, usually while tangled up with them in highly compromising, embarrassing positions on Ren's bed.
Since Ren had already claimed the throne of DEM Industries, extending his grasp to control the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Anti-Spirit Team, the AST, was barely an inconvenience. And with the organization came its most intriguing personnel.
Origami Tobiichi.
With her stark white hair and doll-like, emotionless demeanor, the AST Sergeant looked like a fragile porcelain figure. Yet, her past was a twisted, cruel irony.
Her parents had perished in a fire caused by a Spirit. That trauma had forged her into a living weapon, consumed by a blinding hatred for all Spirits. She joined the AST, convinced that her bloody crusade was absolute justice.
But fate had played a vicious joke on her. After transforming into a Spirit herself, Origami had used the power of the Twelfth Bullet to hurl herself back in time, desperate to save her parents.
Instead, she uncovered a truth that shattered her sanity. The Spirit who had rained fire down upon her parents wasn't some unknown monster. It was her. Her future self, traveling back to that exact moment, had been the catalyst for her own tragedy.
The sheer horror of realizing she was her parents' murderer had broken her mind, triggering a catastrophic reversal of her Sephira Crystal. In her maddened state, she had unleashed an indiscriminate, apocalyptic barrage upon Tengu City.
That was when Ren stepped into the storm.
He didn't just subdue her. He casually rewrote the tragedy. With a wave of his hand, he restored the devastated Tengu City and, right before Origami's hollow eyes, pulled her parents back from the abyss of death.
The darkness infecting her Sephira Crystal shattered. Her reversal was undone. Overwhelmed by a gratitude and devotion so deep it bordered on obsession, the emotionless doll finally found her resting place in his embrace.
Watching over her was Ryouko Kusakabe.
The Captain of the AST Tengu Base stood with her arms crossed, her sharp gaze scanning the room. Originally an accounting prospect fresh out of the Defense University, a random aptitude test had thrust her into the brutal life of a Wizard.
As Origami's direct superior, Ryouko projected a stern, rigorous, and unapproachable aura. But beneath the harsh military exterior, she cared deeply for the white-haired girl. She had spent years worrying that Origami's thirst for revenge would twist her into a cruel, bloodthirsty monster. She had even tried to anchor the girl's sanity, once pleading, 'Don't you still want to avenge your parents?' just to keep her grounded.
Now, thanks to Ren, those heavy burdens had evaporated. Ryouko no longer had to worry about her subordinate's mental state.
Instead, her primary concern had shifted to whether she and Origami could physically survive Ren's infamous, stamina-draining 'Level 8 Great Destruction' in the bedroom.
Ryouko had always carried a mountain of stress. She despised her cowardly superiors who hid behind desks while she fought on the front lines, and she was constantly hounded by her mother's nagging demands for a grandchild.
Ren's 'Level 8 Great Destruction' proved to be the ultimate stress relief. Not only did he thoroughly dismantle her pent-up frustrations, but he also gave her a very practical, hands-on solution to her mother's dream of holding a grandchild.
Finally, there was Mildred F. Fujimura.
Nicknamed 'Millie,' the blonde, blue-eyed, mixed-race Sergeant was a maintenance genius dispatched by DEM to the AST. She stood out in the crowd, wearing her signature loose white lab coat over baggy work pants, thick goggles resting on her forehead.
Millie was a savant when it came to technological research, but she harbored an intense, burning curiosity for romance gossip and, more specifically, the mechanics of sexual intimacy.
Ren, ever the generous benefactor, had taken it upon himself to satisfy all of her burning curiosities in one complete, practical lesson. The sheer intensity of his 'tutoring' had left the brilliant mechanic thoroughly addicted, her mind constantly whirring with thoughts of their next private session.
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