At night.

I arrive back at the castle with the cat people I saved. There are fifty-five cat people in total and for some reason, they are all women.

Ray told me that the men were probably killed off since they were known to be tenacious and rebellious. The women were probably going to be sold off as sex slaves or workers.

Slavery. It sickens me.

I made sure that the men who captured them regretted their decisions before they died. One of them, I crushed using gravity magic. That was to make the others despair. There was also the one I cut off his limbs and left him for dead. Another one I set on fire. I did this while I left the other six or so witness the gruesome scenes.

I watched them as they begged pathetically for messy. Some said they had children while others said they had a family. I didn’t care. I beheaded them all after I saw their pathetic sides.

I feel sorry for the cat people for witnessing such a scene.

I had Abaddon put the four girls at the spare rooms found in the guards’ barracks near the training grounds.

I arrive at the location with the cat people and show them where to go. There, they are all reunited with the others.

They seem happy.

“Allen, was it. Thank you, my boy, for saving us. Thank you. I knew the beast god Vega didn’t abandon us.” thanks the elderly granny with tears in her eyes.

I just smile back at them before I teleport out of there.

I don’t like being thanked. Even if I save your life, you don’t need to thank me. I chose to help you, that’s all. If someone wants to thank me then they can show me by their actions. But, I’m not against it.

I appear at my study.

I need to prepare for my trip. I’ll probably stay up the whole night today.

***

The next day.

As I am still in the study, someone knocks on the door.

“Come in.”

It is the cat girl named Cat and the other two. The girl named Shelly isn’t here. From behind them emerge other young cat girls who are about thirty.

Did they make their decision? I left them alone last night to give them time to figure out their next move.

“So, what can I do for you?”

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Cat, who is in front kowtow as the others behind her follow.

“Sir, I would like to thank you for saving us.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll have your slave marks lifted then you can be on your way.”

“About that. We would like to serve you, my lord. I have brought with me the youngest and strongest of my people. We wish to serve you as your soldiers.”

Hmm, soldiers? Well, from what Ray told me, the cat race is the strongest beast race second only to the wolf clan.

“I see. But let me ask you a question. Serving me means that at some point in your lives, you will have to kill people. A lot of them. You might even die too. So, my question is, are you still willing?” I ask with a cold stare.

Silence descends in the room.

I guess they are probably thinking about it. Makes sense. I mean, anyone would stop and think if they were told that they were going to kill-

“Yes. We still do wish to serve you.”

Oh! She, no, they seem determined. I see. Abaddon probably talked with them while I was away.

***

It was after Allen had left to save the rest of the cat people.

Abaddon had just showed them to where they were going to be staying for the time being.

Abaddon called the three cat girls to have a word with them.

“You don’t need to worry about the rest of your people. My lord will rescue them. In the meantime, let’s talk.” Said Abaddon as he looked at Cat.

“So, what do we have to pay you for saving us?” asked Cat with sharp eyes.

“You don’t need to worry about that right now because you all have a decision to make.”

“And what is that?”

“My lord probably can erase the curse that has been placed on your bodies. You’ll be free. The choice you need to make is what you’ll do after.”

The three girls were stunned. They were shocked by the fact that the man who was standing in front of them said they could be free.

“Wait, how? How can anyone lift-“Cat was interrupted by Abaddon.

“Answer my question. I’m not a patient man when it comes to questions.”

“Ah, sorry. We don’t know where we would go. People like us can never find a place in this world. I’ve heard of a secret organisation that helps beastmen and slaves, but I don’t know where or how to find them.”

“Well, then. Why don’t you serve my lord? Since beastmen are naturally physically stronger than humans, I bet you can be of use to my lord. I’ll give you till tomorrow to make your decisions. Don’t disappoint me.”

And that was the end of their conversation.

***

“Very well. Then starting from today, you shall be my shadows. No. You shall be my Phantoms.”

“Yes, master.” They all shout while still kneeling.

I’ve been putting this project aside for long enough, but I guess they’ll be perfect for it. Abaddon probably thought the same.

I stand up and walk towards them. I raise my hand and light shines from it. The dark aura surrounding them slowly disperses. The curse marks that are imprinted in their bodies slowly change into different shapes.

“With this, you are truly free. The mark won’t disappear though so I decided to change it. From a mark of a slave to a mark that symbolises a new start. Starting from today, you shall be known as my Phantoms.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, I also left something extra on your new marks. A power of sort. Prove to me that you can be strong enough to awaken it.”

I remade the marks into different symbols for each person. In those symbols, there is my magic that can give them a power up if they can be strong enough to awaken it. I don’t know what the power is but after purifying the curse with high-level purification magic, I decided to not just leave the curse mark as it is and instead cast a spell that will be of use to their growth.

Curses are things that are hard to explain. In summary, they can use the laws of the world in their purest forms unlike magic. So, lifting it is nearly impossible. Of course, you can place a stronger curse that will cancel out the weaker curse. So, right now, the power I was talking about is actually something similar to a curse but instead of it being detrimental like a curse, it is beneficial beyond their wildest dreams.

I should let Uriel train this new division. I’ll let her train them the Phantom techniques and other assassination fighting styles. This is the birth of the Phantom Shades unit.