RSE CH 26 (Patreon)

“He wouldn’t ignore a nimantraṇa, would he?”

Standing behind her Mistress’ chair in the Occult Club’s main room, Shuri smirked upon hearing the question for the umpteenth time. She responded to it the same way she’d done all the other times, and simply nodded.

“Once again… Leo understands the import of your invitation, Mistress. He wouldn’t ignore it.” She checked her phone for the time. “They should nearly be done with Chemistry. Kira and Maria will escort him to the clubroom after class. You don’t need to worry.”

Rayne sighed as she slumped in her chair and wrung her hands. She was feeling antsy and anxious, waiting for Leo to arrive. It was only in front of her friends and family that she could afford to look so out of sorts. Otherwise, she only revealed the prim and proper appearance she was obligated to show as the heiress of the Mephisto Clan.

She groaned, clasping her hands in her lap. “I feel like I am stressing so much these days. I just can’t help it. You know Richard is pushing for us to announce the engagement, but I feel we aren’t ready to face him.”

She covered her face with her hands, pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes. 

Shuri frowned, and squeezed her friend’s shoulder. It was clear that the pressure was slowly getting to her—though this whole fiasco was her fault.

Instead of berating herself for her being useless, she could have used her time more efficiently. She should have trained more. She should have been more serious. There were so many things she could have done better but hadn’t accomplished because of her incompetence.

Even though the Phenex family possessed an incredible power of regeneration, to the level where they were often said to be immortal, if her skills in handling the power of destruction were at a higher level, she was sure that she could make him yield. 

Yet, her incompetence held her back from attaining that level of power.

Shuri gently patted the back of her dear friend and circled around in front of her Mistress as she offered these consoling words, “Please don’t be hard on yourself. We are also at fault for this situation. Aside from Kline, who trains regularly, the rest of us were chained down by our own trauma. We selfishly put the weight of our sadness and burdens on your shoulders. And you haven’t pushed us because you didn’t want to make us think we were your weapons.” 

She knelt before Rayne and took the other woman’s hands in hers. “And we all are grateful to you for that—so incredibly grateful. So, please, I beg you… don’t be hard on yourself like that.”

She tried to console her Mistress. But no matter how she tried to sugar-coat their circumstances, the reality was that entering a circle for a low-level devil or a reincarnated devil meant they were on the lower end of a master-servant relationship. This was in truth no different than a slave contract. 

That was the cruel reality.

Currently, all the members of Rayne’ circle were people who, despite their incredibly young ages, had already seen the worst the world had to offer. And those encounters had broken them, shattering most of the whimsical beliefs they’d held.

Shuri herself had to run away from her home after her mother was assassinated. She’d lived as a street urchin for more than a year before she being caught and nearly executed by her own family, specifically her maternal uncle, the previous Suzaku clan head.

She was only eleven years old when he’d caught her. Nothing needed to be said about what happened to the mentality of a child who lived through such a nightmare.

If Rayne hadn’t intervened and taken Shuri under her wing, Shuri would have died that day. Of that, she had not a shred of doubt. The others had been in similar situations or even worse since Kline and Jasper actually had died before Rayne found and resurrected them as devils. 

For them, Rayne’ circle was their last chance. It was a haven where she could protect them. It was the only place on earth they had left to call ‘home’.

With the power she held over them, it was safe to say she held their lives in her hand. It would have been easy for Rayne to abuse them. But she’d never done anything like that; she always did her best to care for them—in her own way.

Rayne was comforted by her best friend’s words, though her worried expression didn’t seem to have any intention of departing. The solemn expression made her look… well, pitiful would be an understatement.

The time to fight Richard was getting closer, and she still didn’t think she was ready to face him and his circle. After all, not only did Richard have more experience with Masque Games than she did, he also had a complete circle—a circle with strong and well-coordinated members, who each knew their role. 

For a newbie team like hers, they would be nigh impossible to defeat.

Rayne sighed. “I give up. There’s no use worrying about. I’m going to take a shower instead of sitting here fretting while we wait for him.”

Standing from her chair, Rayne began to disrobe, dropping one article of clothing after another onto the floor until all she was left in was a pair of panties. Her large, now exposed breasts seemed to tell gravity to go fuck itself. They stood firm, proud and straight, without the slightest bit of sag.

Raising and cupping her breasts, she lifted one and then the other with a quizzical expression. Frowning at Shuri, she asked, “Do you think they grew again? My bra has been a little tight.”

“Ara?” Shuri stared, then blinked owlishly. “Should we go shopping? I know a good lingerie store.” She cupped and weighed her own breasts before sighing. “I believe I have the same problem.”

“New bras! That’s a good idea… Do you think we should invite Kira?” Rayne asked the question innocently enough, but Shuri giggled before shaking her head. 

The amused expression remained plastered on her flawless face. “Let’s not.”

Standing in the corner of the room, with his back turned to them and his eyes trained on the wall, Kline had stayed silent all this while. He couldn’t help but snort when he heard them giggle.

‘Thankfully, Kira isn’t here,” he offered. “I don’t believe her pride could have taken such  a fierce blow.’

He chuckled after he heard the sound of the shower running. That was his cue that he could turn around. Taking a seat on the comfortable sofa, Kline sighed as he thought of the younger man who would soon grace them with his presence.

Leo Karteros, ex-exorcist, and son of Lane Karteros—the War God. 

Even though Kline hated the church, he knew most of its members didn’t have a clue about the experiments he and his friends had suffered through. This was even more so for a hero like Lane Karteros. 

Because of this, Kline harbored no hostility towards Leo. 

He was really curious, though, about how strong the other man was. He hadn’t been able to ask those who might know, but Kline was certain that Leo was not one to rely on his natural talent. He gave of an aura of competence that a man only earned through discipline and hard work. 

Such a man was dangerous, in his books. This made him all the more excited to learn the limits of Leo’s power.

Knock Knock Knock

“It seems our guest is here,” Kline called out.

Shuri looked up from the book she was reading. Setting it aside, she calmly walked to the door and opened it. Kira was followed inside by a man Kline assumed was Leo Karteros.

Kline focused on Leo and Kira.  If Leo accepted Rayne’ proposal, he would surely have an opportunity to see the man’s skills in action. That would satiate his growing curiosity.