Faced with Tatsuki's praise, Echidna's lips curved up; she was clearly in a good mood.
"Not only that. Annie, give Master a demonstration."
"Mm."
Obedient as ever, Annie walked over to an open patch of ground in the distance.
Tatsuki turned to watch.
Pandora, who had already been "released," was now behaving herself, quietly nestled in his arms without a word.
Then…
Golden lightning flickered over Annie's body without her making any obvious move.
With a thunderous boom—
"Raaah!"
Annie transformed straight into the Female Titan!
But that was far from the end. In the next moment, hardened armor plates began to form all over Annie's Titan body. That was the Armored Titan's trait. Her body continued to grow, bulkier and larger.
She even swelled to a sixty-meter class Titan, her body radiating scalding steam. That was the Colossal Titan's trait. And then Annie began the real showcase.
She cycled through all the traits of the Nine Titans, using every one of them.
Echidna narrated alongside the display. "All the different characteristics of the Nine Titans can appear on her at the same time, or she can transform into any single Titan form she wants."
"Besides that, Annie no longer has the weakness of the nape. Inside the Titan body, she can change her position at will according to her own intent."
"And lastly, the power of the Founding Titan."
As Echidna's words echoed, Annie's Titan body rapidly shrank down, re-forming into a figure wrapped in strange hard armor, a pair of bony wings spreading from her back.
The key point was—her body was the size of a normal human.
"This is the Founding Titan?"
Tatsuki was full of doubts. Shouldn't the Founding Titan be huge?
"This is Annie's Founding Titan form. Annie, throw a punch."
Following Echidna's order, Annie punched at the air from a distance.
Boom!!!
The bursting air thrummed with a deep hum. Just that sound alone made it clear how terrifying the force behind that punch was.
Light flashed in Tatsuki's eyes. In an instant, he understood Annie's current state. Her physique might look no different from an ordinary person, but within that body was the full energy of the Founding Titan condensed down. Right now Annie was a straight-up superhuman.
Echidna crook her finger and Annie immediately exited her Founding Titan state, trotted back over, and stood quietly in front of Tatsuki.
Curious, Tatsuki ran his hand over Annie from head to toe, feeling along her muscles—he didn't spare her chest, the insides of her thighs, or her backside either.
Whenever his hand brushed certain spots, Annie's body trembled.
"Nothing's changed. Once she leaves Titan form, Annie goes right back to being a normal person," Tatsuki concluded.
That was probably the only remaining drawback of the Titan power as it stood now.
But there was no denying Echidna had done something incredible. First, she had fixed the passive "transform when injured" problem—Annie could now transform into a Titan entirely at will. Second, she had solved the weakness at the back of the neck. Third, Annie now possessed the power of all Nine Titans.
"Can this ability be replicated?" Tatsuki turned his head to ask Echidna.
Of course, Echidna did not disappoint him. She answered with full confidence, "It can, and it's very simple."
She casually reached out and grabbed, and a clump of black energy gathered in her hand—this was the Power of Sin that permeated the Domain of Sin.
"In truth, it's only thanks to Master's overwhelming strength that I could do this."
"Oh?"
Pointing to the Power of Sin in her hand, Echidna explained, "Master's Power of Sin is an extremely powerful energy. Its magnitude is far above the Titan power."
"With just a small amount of the Power of Sin, I can perfectly simulate all the traits of Titan power."
"Master, your power is truly wonderful."
As she spoke, Echidna threw herself into his arms, smothering his face enthusiastically between her breasts.
She did not spare a single thought for how Pandora, squished between them, might be feeling.
After a long moment, Echidna finally let Tatsuki go and asked, "Master, you didn't come here just for the Titan power, did you?"
"No."
At first Tatsuki hadn't expected the Titan power to be analyzed so quickly. His true target this time was the girl in the painting.
He took SCP-085 out of his created space and briefly explained its strange nature to Echidna.
Instantly, all of Echidna's attention was drawn to the girl in the painting. She sank straight into the pursuit of knowledge, completely forgetting about Tatsuki and the others.
She looked so absorbed it left Tatsuki speechless on the spot.
So he turned to the other Witches instead, smiling with narrowed eyes. "You girls interested in taking a hands-on biology class?"
"Waaah!!!"
In an instant, the Witches scattered like frightened birds and beasts.
Tatsuki patted Pandora's soft rear, set her down, and helped straighten the white robe that was still stained with splashed tea. "I've got things to do. Head back on your own."
"I understand, darling. Come to the Love Nest next time."
"No problem."
He then glanced over at Annie, whose clothes were still soaked through, and couldn't help thinking Pandora might secretly know water magic.
Clearing his throat, he wiped away the garments on Annie's body with a thought.
After taking a moment to appreciate the lovely, unblemished figure in front of him, he conjured a new outfit for her.
"Stay here for now. Once I finish moving house, I'll bring you out."
"Thank you… Master." Annie replied with her head bowed.
After that, Tatsuki headed for the Domain of Faith.
He easily found Talulah and Alina. The two of them were out shopping.
Alina bounced around like a little sprite, curious about everything she saw. Talulah simply walked at her side with a gentle smile—so long as Alina was there, she could relax.
Shopping streets and storefronts were also one part of the city Kayo had designed.
One thing worth mentioning was that the currency Kayo had created here was used to fulfill wishes.
So long as the Angels had enough currency, they could meet Tatsuki and ask him to help realize their wishes.
This had been Kayo's suggestion during one of their deep talks in the Nameless World.
That way, the Angel's Children would have a powerful motive to live their lives actively and enthusiastically.
Naturally, Tatsuki could clearly hear every single wish the Angel's Children made.
And each and every one of them went:
"I want to become big brother Tatsuki's bride!"
"I want to give birth to big brother Tatsuki's child!"
Lines like that made Tatsuki break out in a cold sweat.
Their motivational drive was downright terrifying.
To the point that whenever he entered the City of Angels, he had to adjust how present he felt, in case he caused a massive commotion.
If all three hundred thousand Angel's Children came at him at once, he'd have to work hard for at least a year and a half.
Even though the Primal Energy meant he wouldn't literally get worked to death, the scene itself would still be far too exaggerated.
It wasn't something he dared seriously picture.
He did not hide his presence from Talulah and Alina, though.
Alina quickly sensed that Tatsuki was there. "Master!"
Her soft call made Talulah's smile freeze on her face. She turned around bit by bit to see Tatsuki walking toward them with a smile.
Remembering what Alina had told her before, Talulah forced her mouth open with some difficulty. "M-Master…"
Tatsuki's eyes lit up.
Alina really hadn't let him down.
Not only had she pulled Talulah out of her negative emotions, she seemed to have done a very good job counseling her, too.
Tatsuki chuckled. "You don't have to call me Master. Tatsuki is fine."
"So, Talulah, Alina—how are you two settling in?"
Grateful from the bottom of her heart, Alina's eyes shone. "Thank you, Mr. Tatsuki. As an infected, I never experienced such a wonderful life before."
Even though they were no longer infected, neither of them would ever forget the harsh days of being one.
For Alina, life here was like being in heaven.
....
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