Aoi's expression tightened. "Master… are you certain? Akane is… impulsive."
Miki, however, clapped her hands. "Ooh, Akane-chan is coming too? This is turning into a party!"
My phone buzzed with an instant reply.
From: Dark Ruby 💥
A PLAYMATE?! FOR ME?! TONIGHT?! I'M ON MY WAY, MASTER! WHERE ARE YOU?! 🤩💥🔥
Less than ten minutes later, a whirlwind of chaotic energy burst into the quiet ramen shop. It was Akane, practically vibrating with pent-up power. "Master! Aoi-nee! Miki-chan! I'm here! Who are we fighting?! Is it someone strong?!"
"The target is perched atop the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the city," Gemgem stated. "She is prideful. She will not accept 'friendship' from those she perceives as weak. You must first demonstrate that your servants are worthy of her attention."
"Here's the plan," I said as we walked. "Akane, you're on point. Challenge her, keep her busy. Miki, Aoi, you're on support. Weaken her, break her focus." I pulled Akane close. "And you get a little something extra for the main event." I gave her a deep kiss, a tiny, almost invisible tendril extending from my sleeve to prick her neck, injecting a cocktail of painkillers and stimulants. "As for me… I'll be the finisher."
Akane melted into the kiss, moaning softly. "Whoa, Master… I feel like I could punch a hole through the moon!"
Aoi watched with a cool, unreadable expression, though a flicker of jealousy crossed her face. The Gem opened the service elevator for us, and we rode in silence to the empty, wind-swept observation deck.
And there she was.
Magical Star Empress stood at the far edge, her back to us. Her costume was a magnificent, intimidating dress the color of a midnight sky, dotted with points of light like distant galaxies. A powerful, oppressive aura of raw stellar energy radiated from her.
She spoke without turning, her voice echoing with cosmic power and immense arrogance. "Four little insects have wandered into my sky. I can feel your pathetic, tainted energies. State your purpose before I erase you from existence."
"Do your best," I told the girls, a rare flicker of genuine concern in my voice. "But don't get yourselves killed. You're too valuable to me." Then, I melted into the shadows, waiting for my chance.
My words seemed to land. "We won't run, Master!" Akane cried.
With a shout, she transformed, her body erupting in a vortex of crimson energy. At the same time, Miki and Aoi transformed, one in a swirl of dark purple, the other in a sheath of indigo shadow.
"Hey! Star Empress!" Akane yelled, cracking her knuckles. "You look strong! Fight me!"
The Empress finally turned, her face beautiful and terrifyingly stern. "You dare challenge me? A noisy little gnat?" She casually flicked her wrist. A softball-sized sphere of white-hot plasma shot towards Akane.
But before it could hit, a disc of pure blackness appeared in front of Akane, swallowing the plasma blast without a sound. The Empress's eyes widened a fraction. Aoi stood with her hand outstretched, her expression grim.
While the Empress was still processing that, Miki struck. She began to hum a sweet, simple tune, a song of pure, crushing loneliness. The Empress flinched as if physically struck, her arrogant composure faltering as the melody targeted her deepest wound.
"Wh-what is this feeling…?" she whispered.
Akane saw her opening and didn't waste it. "RAGE BOMB!" She hurled a crackling ball of crimson energy that exploded at the Empress's feet, shattering the reinforced glass and sending her stumbling back.
"You think they can take her, Gemgem?" I whispered in the shadows, my heart pounding.
The Empress recovered, a furious snarl on her face. "You think these cheap tricks can defeat me?! SOLAR FLARE!" Her entire body ignited with blinding, white-hot light.
Aoi's face was pale with strain. "Event Horizon!" She slammed her hands on the deck, and a larger sphere of impenetrable darkness enveloped her, Miki, and Akane, protecting them from the blast. When the light died down, the Empress was panting, her power visibly drained. Aoi's shield collapsed, and she stumbled to one knee.
"My turn again!" Akane yelled, leaping forward to punch the exhausted Empress.
"If the goal is to kill her? The probability is low," Gemgem answered my question with chilling precision. "But if the goal is to break her spirit, to shatter her solitude and make her vulnerable? Your girls are performing perfectly. They are not fighting her power. They are fighting her. And they are winning."
The Empress barely managed to raise a weak energy field to block Akane's punch. The impact sent another web of cracks through the floor. She was on the ropes, her power depleted, her emotional walls in ruins.
My cue. I moved silently through the shadows, my tentacles wrapping around her legs before she even knew I was there.
Homura took a ragged breath, trying to summon another ounce of power, but it wouldn't come. She didn't feel the two thin tendrils coil around her ankles until a third, tipped with a minute needle, slid up her leg and pricked the soft skin behind her knee.
A sharp, muffled gasp was the only sound she made. The fight instantly drained out of her. She collapsed onto the ruined deck, a puppet with its strings cut.
I stepped out from the shadows. My three girls stared, first at the fallen Empress, then at me, their faces filled with profound awe. They hadn't won. I had. They were simply the instruments of my victory.
"The apex predator has been felled," Gemgem declared. "The vessel is broken and empty. She is ready."
I knelt beside her. She was no longer a cosmic terror; she was just a young woman, disarmed and terrified. "Homura Saito, isn't it?" I asked gently. "We didn't come here to fight. We came here to end your loneliness."
Her eyes fluttered, trying to focus on me. "...Lonely…?" Her words were a slurred, confused murmur, but they echoed her deepest, most secret desire.
"We aren't forcing you," I said with a soft smile, holding out the Black Gem. "But if you want to join us, if you want friends who aren't afraid of you, who can stand by your side as equals… you have to accept our power. You have to accept me."
My offer, profane and manipulative, cut through the last of her resistance. It wasn't the pure companionship she fantasized about, but it was a connection. An offer to belong. Her desperate loneliness latched onto it like a drowning woman clinging to a piece of wood.
Slowly, shakily, she pushed herself up. She crawled the few feet separating us, her magnificent dress scraping against the ruined floor. She looked at the Gem, then at me, a single tear of shame, relief, and surrender tracing a path down her cheek. She reached out a trembling hand and took the Gem from me.
"The Empress kneels," Gemgem's voice whispered. "Pride gives way to need."
"Good girl," I said, patting her head. "Now, to complete the pact, press it to your heart."
With a final, shuddering breath, she pressed the Gem against her chest.
A wave of black and silver energy erupted from her, so powerful it pushed the other girls back. The lights on her dress inverted, becoming tiny points of absolute blackness. Her radiant silver tiara cracked and warped, its points twisting inward like a dying star.
When the light faded, she looked up at me, her eyes no longer glowing with starlight, but with the deep, captivating darkness of a nebula. The arrogance was gone, replaced by a quiet, intense, and absolute devotion. She had her connection. I was her anchor.
"Master…" Her voice was a soft whisper, filled with a reverence that was terrifying in its totality.
"Welcome to the team," I said, a smile on my face. "The loud one is Akane, Dark Ruby. The cool one is her sister, Aoi, Dark Sapphire. And the idol over there is Miki, Dark Heart Princess."
As I spoke each name, Homura raised her head slightly to look at them. No jealousy, no rivalry. Just a calm acknowledgement of her new teammates.
Akane grinned. "Heya, Homu-chan! Welcome! That was a great fight!"
Aoi gave a cool, elegant nod. "Welcome, Empress."
Miki clapped her hands. "It's so wonderful to have you with us!"
The four of them stood before me—a charmer, an artist, a berserker, and a cosmic powerhouse. Each corrupted. Each loyal. Homura looked up at me, her nebula-dark eyes filled with a simple, profound question.
"Master… what are your orders?"
"Orders? I'm tired," I said, checking the time. "You girls just get home before your parents worry." I held my phone out to Homura. "Put your number in here. Tomorrow's Saturday. I'll plan a team-bonding trip to welcome our new member."
The girls visibly relaxed. Akane let out a whoop. "A team trip! Awesome!"
Homura took the phone with a quiet reverence, her fingers barely brushing mine as she typed in her number as just "Homura".
At my unspoken command, they all de-transformed. "We will take our leave now, Master," Aoi said. "Awaiting your instructions for tomorrow."
The four of them gave me a bow before heading to the elevator, their chatter fading as the doors closed. I was left alone on the ruined peak of the city.
"Four," Gemgem's voice echoed in my mind. "Your harem of darkness grows. The balance of power in this city is irrevocably shifting. Rest. You have earned it. Tomorrow, you will forge these disparate weapons into a single, cohesive unit."