{ - Why didn’t you let her come? Aren’t you in a party now? She would be useful, you know that. }

[{ - I know. But... Ah, I don’t know why I didn’t let her accompany me, okay? Let's follow him, that's all. }]

Anna let out a sigh at Jane's answer. She was following the suspicious man she had seen back at the bar. Maybe it was just paranoia on her part, but Jane could swear that man was up to something.

It could be related to Ouroboros, or it could not be at all. But she had to know—something in her was screaming to find out for sure.

While following him, a cape appeared on her head to hide her features. It was already quite late in the evening, and there were not many people in the streets—just some drunkards and citizens going home for the night. Since it was starting to get a bit chilly, it wasn’t strange to wear a cape to keep warm. So nobody gave her weird looks, except maybe the few drunks, since it was still visible she was a woman.

The trail lasted a few minutes, following a series of side streets and going deeper and deeper into the commoners' district. It was at this moment she began to hear strange noises, like female panting and male grunting. Her face slowly drained of blood, turning as pale as physically possible.

[{ - Is it… what I think it is?... }]

{ - A brothel? Yeah, probably. It isn't illegal, you know? }

[{ - I'm not sure it's just a brothel, Anna. There's a smell in the air… it's not normal at all. }]

Like Jane said it, the air seemed saturated with a strange odor. It almost formed a fog around the area, she could feel it numbing her senses bit by bit.

She shook her head and continued to follow the man. He entered a simple building connected to others that all seemed the same. Before the door could close, she used her speed to slip inside, having a feeling she wouldn’t have been able to if she hadn’t reacted fast enough.

The interior was dark, the smell stronger, and the sounds louder. She became even more certain she hadn’t entered a brothel at all. Jane gritted her teeth, anger swelling up inside her. With how that fog was making her feel deep down, she was growing more and more disgusted. She continued following the man, moving from one hiding spot to another.

The deeper they got into the building, the louder everything became until they finally arrived in a large room where it was difficult to see the inside due to the fog.

After adjusting her eyes, she could finally see what was happening in that room… and almost puked on the spot.

Everywhere she looked, people were having sex. There were dozens of beds, and on each one was a girl with a man—or sometimes more than one man going at it. On the side of each bed was a weird green crystal that lit up each time a woman orgasmed.

The women were a total mess, covered in semen on every inch of their skin and in their hair. Their expressions were mostly vacant, as if they were elsewhere.

[{ - Anna. We have to free them. Right now. }]

{ - W...ait! ..ne! }

[{ - Anna? What's happening? }]

Having a bad feeling, Jane took out her katana from her dimension. It was difficult, as if her link was almost cut off, and it took her nearly a full minute before getting it out.

Suddenly, a loud voice echoed through the room.

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— It’s time for a break, everyone!

All the men got up from their… activities before all going through a door at the far end of the room. Soon, only the women were left, moaning as if they still felt pleasure. Occasionally, a crystal would light up, making the fog clearer in that area.

This was her cue. She left her hiding spot and approached one of the beds. She hadn’t seen it from where she was hiding before, but each woman was tied up to the beds. Jane had to suppress her rage when seing this as she started cutting the restraints one by one. But no matter how much she shook them, none of the women woke up from their weird trance.

A chill ran down her spine suddenly when she felt a presence behind her before it could speak.

— Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Jane Denki, in the flesh! We thought we lost you last time!

Jane slowly turned around as she stood up. Behind her was a man in an obscuring black robe, his arms crossed in front of his chest. On one arm a tattoo could be seen: a snake biting its own tail, with the number fifty in the center.

— Ouroboros…

The man chuckled and nodded his head.On each of his side dozen of men, armed with swords and various weapons, appeared from the fog. The same was happening all around Jane. She was totally surrounded now and the situation looked grim.

— Of course! I don’t know how you found this facility, but we kinda need it. You see, each time they orgasm, we gather that energy. It’s a great source for magic—a special kind of magic. We can’t lose that, can we?

— Really? Explaining your plan? Did you never read stories before, where the villain does that and lose right after?

Another laugh escaped the man's lips, and even the others joined in. Jane gripped her katana harder, her eyes darting everywhere, searching for a way out or a means to kill them all and free the women.

That last thought surprised her, she didn't expect considering murder would be natural for her. After all even back in her village she had to puke in disgust even if she was protecting herself.

— No, it won’t happen. Now, let’s get this over with, shall we? Get her.

All at once, the goons launched themselves at her. Jane tried to use her speed to retreat and avoid most of them, but she found she could only use about half of it. The redhead hadn’t noticed before, but her senses were starting to get even blurrier than before. Her reflexes and thoughts were slower too. So slow that she was hit by more attacks than she’d intended at first. The cuts were shallow but bled.

These kinds of wounds reminded her of the fights in her village. They didn’t want to kill her; they wanted to capture her once again.

Jane couldn’t understand why. They had killed her whole family—what was their obsession with taking her alive? As she wondered, another wave of attacks came crashing down on her. Once again, she couldn’t block or dodge them all. This back-and-forth left her panting for breath. After several rounds, they stopped, and the robed man approached her.

— It seems the drug is taking effect. Coming here alone, without any protection, was kind of stupid, you know? Are you sure y—

His words were cut short as Jane attempted to slash his throat when he got close enough. He took a single step back, shaking his head in disappointment.

— Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to interrupt someone? Especially with a sword!

— You’re just a monster, not a human.

Jane’s voice was full of venom and contempt, making the man laugh again. He reached out, and a subordinate handed him a sword. He pointed it at Jane, shrugging.

— Fine, I’ll give you a chance: defeat me, and I’ll let you go.

— I’ll kill you and everyone in this room. No one is getting out.

Without another word, Jane sped up, attempting to slash him from top to bottom. Her speed was even slower now, not much faster than a trained swordsman. The man just blocked her strike while yawning a bit, his hand mockingly waving in front of his mouth. Instead of locking their blades, Jane used the force of their weapons meeting to spin on herself before slashing toward his waist, adding more power thanks to the centrifugal force. This time, the man just took a step back. In the middle of passing his waist, Jane hit the pommel of her katana with her other hand to make it go a bit farther, losing some of momentum but still managing to wound her opponent.

— Oh, you’re full of tricks, I see. Well then, Let’s see how you deal with this.

He snapped his fingers, and a translucent veil appeared around him. Jane was confused for a second but didn't dwell on it, attempting to slash his arm in one stroke. Unfortunately for her, the katana bounced off the veil without so much as a ripple.

— You won’t be able to break through that, Jane. Maybe at full capacity, but even then, I doubt it. Well, you wouldn’t have given me time to prepare it, though.

Even without seeing his face, she could sense his smug smile. The redhead tried to circle around him, attacking from odd angles and various spots, but the results were still the same everytime : her blade bounced of the veil, even when she tried to attack with all the strength she was left with. The only thing happening was the counter-force tearing the skin between her thumb and index finger, making it bleed.

Every moment mare and more painful. Her shallow wounds continued to bleed without any sign of stopping, and her mind grew blurrier, as if she was about to fall asleep at any moment.

— It’s impressive how you’re still moving around in these conditions. The Denki really are something else! And you seem to be their pinnacle. No wonder they hid for so many years, who knows how they made you. I’m very interested in that.

— Shut up. I’ll hunt each of you down and drag you to hell.

Even her voice was weaker than before, her anger could be felt but with almost no life left in it, no fire.

— Well, let’s end this pitiful show, shall we? Good night, Jane.

With those words, the man moved swiftly and injected a needle into her neck, making her collapse on the spot.