Rain fell over Shibuya—a black rain, heavy with magical ash from the Gate that had just torn open above the famous crossing. The chaos here was more visceral than in Ueno. The giant screens, which usually broadcast advertisements for idols and cosmetics, were now either dead or blurred by static interference.
Amidst the wreckage of cars and the screaming crowd, a makeshift rescue unit was attempting to stabilize the wounded. That was where Kenji saw her.
[Oppressor's Eye activated.]
Name: Saotome Maya Potential: S-Rank (Sacred Healer) Status: Critical exhaustion, Altruistic despair. Current Desire: "I can't save them all. Give me the strength not to give up."
Maya was kneeling in blood, her pure white hands placed on the chest of a policeman whose torso had been ripped open by a monster's claw. She was crying—not out of fear, but out of helplessness. In the original timeline, Maya had become the "Madonna of Martyrs," a woman whose kindness was exploited by every major guild until she eventually committed suicide, unable to bear the darkness of humanity.
Kenji, standing on the roof of an overturned bus, watched her with clinical coldness.
"A soul too pure for this world," he whispered. "I'll have to break her before she breaks herself."
Beside him, Rin was a living ice statue. She now wore a combat suit of black and blue polymer, designed to accentuate her curves while providing maximum protection. Her eyes never left Kenji. Since their night in Roppongi, she breathed only for him.
"Master," she commanded, her voice vibrating with ill-concealed jealousy as she saw Kenji staring at the healer. "Should I eliminate her? She is slowing down the evacuation."
Kenji placed a hand on the nape of Rin's neck, squeezing just enough to remind her of her place.
"No. She is the missing piece. A team needs a healer. And I need a saint to corrupt. Get ready. The Hounds of Abyss are coming out of the Gate."
As if to confirm his words, a dozen canine creatures, made of shadows and obsidian fangs, lunged from the rift. They didn't attack the civilians at random; they headed straight for the purest source of mana: Maya.
"Help!" a first responder screamed before being decapitated by one of the beasts' leaps.
Maya didn't move. She continued to treat her patient, her trembling hands glowing with a faint golden light. She had closed her eyes, accepting her end.
CLANG.
The sound of shattering ice rang out. A three-meter-high wall of frost had erupted between Maya and the monsters. Kenji jumped from the bus, landing with supernatural grace right in front of the young woman.
"It's useless to heal the dead, Saotome-san," Kenji said, his voice cutting through the tumult like a scalpel. "The man under your hands is already gone. But you... you are still useful."
Maya looked up, her lashes wet with tears. She saw this ordinary-looking young man, but his aura radiated an overwhelming pressure.
"I… I can't leave him…"
Kenji grabbed her wrist, violently pulling her away from the corpse.
"Look around you. The world has changed. Compassion is a luxury you can no longer afford. If you want to save people, you must first belong to someone who can protect you from the consequences of your own goodness."
He gave her no time to respond. A Hound bypassed the ice wall. Kenji didn't flinch.
"Rin. Clean up."
Rin appeared like a bluish specter. Her movements were fluid—a macabre dance. She didn't just kill the beasts; she tortured them, turning them into blocks of ice before slowly shattering them, ensuring every cry of pain reached Kenji's ears. She wanted to prove to him that she was the only weapon he needed.
[Level 12 -> 14]
[Strength +2, Intelligence +3]
Kenji brought his attention back to Maya. The saint was petrified, as much by Rin's violence as by Kenji's gaze.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
"Your new owner," he replied with a predatory smile.
He used [Oppressor's Eye] not to see her stats, but to project an illusion directly into her mind. He showed her the future: the guilds that would chain her, the politicians who would sell her services to the highest bidder, the thousands of wounded she could never save. He showed her her own suicide from his past life.
Maya let out a cry of mental agony, her hands clapping over her ears.
"Stop! Please, stop!"
"I can save you from that, Maya. I can give you a sanctuary. A place where your power will serve only those I choose. But in exchange, you must give me your will. You must accept that your light shines only for my shadow."
The System sent the fateful notification.
[Unique Submission Attempt: The Broken Saint.]
[Condition: Total despair reached.]
[Do you accept the bond?]
Maya, broken by the vision of her own future and overwhelmed by Kenji's aura of domination, clung to his jacket. She was desperately searching for a master, someone to carry the burden of her choices for her.
"Yes… I'll do whatever you want. Protect me from this world… Master."
[Bond established: Saotome Maya (Rank 1 Slave - The Saint).]
[Synchronization...]
[You have acquired the skill: "Dark Restoration" (A-Rank).]
Note: Heals wounds by converting the target's pain into mana for the user.
Kenji felt a new form of energy flowing through him. Warmer than Rin's ice, but just as malleable.
Suddenly, a shockwave made the Shibuya asphalt tremble. At the center of the crossing, the D-Rank Gate widened, and a massive silhouette emerged. This was no ordinary monster. It was an Abyss Demon Warrior—a three-meter-tall humanoid creature in black plate armor, wielding an axe that exuded corrosive smoke.
[Warning: Gate Boss Detected - Rank D+ (Evolving toward C).]
Rin returned to Kenji's side, out of breath. "Master, this one is different. My ice doesn't even graze him."
Kenji observed the Demon. In his previous life, this Boss had leveled three districts before being stopped by a B-Rank team. Today, it would serve as a demonstration.
"Rin, Maya," Kenji said in a calm voice. "It's time to see how my flowers work together."
He grabbed Maya by the waist and pulled her against him, while keeping a hand on Rin's shoulder.
"Maya, activate your healing skill on Rin. But don't try to soothe her. Use my [Dark Restoration]. Transform Rin's fatigue into striking power."
Maya, her eyes still glazed, nodded. She placed her hands on Rin's back. A golden light tainted with crimson veins erupted. Rin let out a cry—not of pain, but of violent ecstasy. Her muscles swelled with mana; her skin became so cold it began to steam.
"Go, my Ice Queen," Kenji whispered into Rin's ear. "Show him what true domination is."
Rin lunged. She was no longer a long-range mage. She had become a force of nature. She slammed into the Demon with the force of a moving glacier. The impact was so great that the windows of the surrounding buildings shattered into pieces.
The fight was brief but terrifyingly intense. Rin dodged the axe blows with agility boosted by the magical bond, striking the Demon with ice blades that didn't just cut—they froze the blood inside the wounds. Every time the Demon injured her, Maya healed her instantly, funneling the energy of the pain directly back into Rin's spells.
It was a perfect cycle of destruction and regeneration.
Finally, Rin drove her entire arm—transformed into a spear of pure ice—through the Demon's visor. The creature froze, then exploded into a cloud of black particles.
[Boss Eliminated. Level 14 -> 18]
[You have obtained the item: "Heart of the Abyss" (S-Rank Material).]
Silence returned to Shibuya, disturbed only by the moans of the wounded in the distance. Rin returned to Kenji, collapsing at his feet, her armor broken in places, revealing her pale skin. Maya remained prostrate, her whole body shaking after channeling so much dark energy.
Kenji contemplated his two conquests. One was his sword, the other his shield and battery.
"Look, Maya," Kenji said, pointing to the battlefield. "You saved thousands of people by allowing Rin to kill that monster. But you did it through pain and submission. Isn't that better than healing the dying one by one in the mud?"
Maya looked up at him. A glint of corruption was beginning to shine in her once-clear eyes.
"Yes… Master. The pain… it is necessary."
Kenji smiled. The "Saint" was already on the path to ruin.
Suddenly, a voice rang out behind them, amplified by a megaphone.
"This is Kurogane's Special Unit! Drop your weapons and identify yourselves!"
A dozen armored vehicles surrounded the crossing. Kurogane himself stepped out of the lead vehicle, his face twisted with contained rage. He had seen the fight. He had seen Rin's power, but above all, he had seen how Kenji, the simple "assistant," directed the two women like puppets.
"Sato Kenji!" Kurogane barked. "You told me you were just an observer! What is this masquerade? And who is this woman with you?"
Kenji stood tall, his face instantly resuming its mask of humility. But this time, he let a hint of threat leak into his tone.
"Mr. Kurogane, you asked me to stabilize Rin. I've done better. I found her a compatible partner. Maya Saotome is a talented healer. Thanks to my 'guidance,' they were able to eliminate a C+ Rank threat before your men even arrived. You should be thanking me."
Kurogane stepped closer, his hand on the grip of his pistol.
"I don't like surprises, kid. And I don't like my tools having their own tools. Saotome comes with us. She'll be placed in another unit."
Rin stood up abruptly, a growl escaping her throat. Spikes of ice erupted from the ground around her.
"Nobody touches what belongs to the Master," she spat, her eyes glowing with a terrifying yandere light.
The atmosphere turned electric. Kurogane's soldiers raised their rifles. Maya huddled against Kenji's back, her golden hands ready to curse rather than heal.
Kenji placed a soothing hand on Rin's shoulder.
"Calm down, Rin. Mr. Kurogane is joking. He knows full well that separating a team that has just proven its effectiveness would be a major strategic error. Isn't that right, sir?"
Kenji locked eyes with Kurogane. He discreetly activated [Sovereign's Domain]. Kurogane felt a sudden heaviness in his chest—an ancestral survival instinct screaming at him not to cross that line.
Kurogane gritted his teeth until they ground together. He knew he was losing control, but in front of his men, he couldn't back down.
"She stays with you for now. But I want a full report on this 'synchronization' tonight. If I find out you're hiding anything else from me, Kenji…"
"You'll be the first to know, sir," Kenji cut in with a sarcastic salute.
Kurogane turned on his heel, ordering his men to clear the area. Kenji watched the armored vehicles pull away.
"Master…" Maya whispered. "Is he going to hurt us?"
Kenji stroked the healer's cheek.
"Kurogane is a walking corpse, Maya. He just doesn't know it yet. Soon, this city won't be run by bureaucrats in suits, but by those who possess strength. And that strength... I hold it through you."
He turned toward the slowly closing Gate.
"Get ready. The government is organizing an 'official expedition' into a B-Rank Gate next week to reassure the public. They're going to send their best elements. And that is where we will make our first move to take total control of the Bureau."
Kenji picked up the "Heart of the Abyss," which was still pulsing with a crimson glow.
"Rin, Maya… tonight, we are going to test your new limits. Maya, you are going to learn that healing can be far more intimate than you ever imagined. And Rin… try not to kill your new roommate out of jealousy."
Rin shot a dark look at Maya, who lowered her eyes in fearful submission. Kenji laughed softly. The internal conflict in his harem would only make them more dependent on him for his favor.
Everything was going exactly as planned.