Somnia ran along the perimeter of the outer wall of downtown Saikou where she’d just recently been walking with Rui. Being here reminded her of those two Honor Guards she’d fought earlier in the day. They truly were the scum of the earth. Them and people like them who’d abuse their power to trample over the people beneath them. They truly deserved no mercy, yet she’d been forced to give it because it was the “right” thing to do. Odds were she’d face many more just like them as the night went on, and once again she’d be forced to spare them – these Honor Guards who would trample the weak and sacrifice their people for personal gain.

That should work.

Her father had always told Somnia that she had her mother’s temper. It was for that reason that he’d always stressed that “anger equals fuel” mantra to her. Thinking about things that upset her was always how she got ready for a big fight…

…and sensing opponents strong enough to make Yugo sweat was how she lost that fuel she’d built up.

It appeared suddenly from just beyond the wall. She’d expected to face a few opponents at the wall, but the Honor Guards she’d faced so far had been weak. If she had to give this newcomer a level, she’d say they were closer to Level 300!

I’ve trained against stronger opponents. I can handle this.

Somnia took a deep breath, hoping her anxiety left with it. It did, only to return the moment the newcomer popped into existence beside her in a flash of white light. The man was dressed in an expensive-looking 5-piece suit with a gold watch and gold glasses. She recognized him as “Masamura Manzo”, the man Yugo fought earlier in that Cabaret Club he visited earlier.

“Walk away and we won’t have to fight, child,” Masamura spoke.

“Call the Honor Guard out of the city and I will.”

Masamura darkened. “You know I can’t do that.”

Somnia coated herself in aura, prepared for the inevitable. “Then you know what has to happen.” She scoffed. “Shame Yugo didn’t kill you.”

“Shame indeed,” Masamura responded without a hint of humor. “I can heal myself, though I hadn’t used that technique once during my battle with your master. Perhaps with your death, he won’t feel the need to hold back?”

Just as Somnia had expected, Masamura unleashed his aura without warning, lunging at her like an enraged lion. Somnia sidestepped it, only for the man to teleport to her exposed right and blast her with a pink aura pulse. The shockwave sent her flying away from the city wall, and Masamura teleported to her side once again to grab her head and slam Somnia into the ground. He wasted no time, blasting her downed body over and over with those pink aura blasts.

The only reason the onslaught hadn’t killed Somnia was because she’d been forced to use her “Aura Armor” as Yugo called it, – the technique where she coated herself in a thin layer of aura to mitigate damage – and her “Beelzebub Blaze” technique to disperse Masamura’s attacks upon impact. While it worked, those techniques each cost a ton of aura for her to cast constantly. They were meant to be used once or twice in desperate situations, not over and over to cancel out one attack chain.

Somnia played dead, hoping Masamura would give up on her enough to drop his guard. The man stood over her, staring down with a look of absolute pity.

Wait… pity?

No child of mine would ever accept such degradation! Stand up! You are a Galerose!

Anger and humiliation warred in Somnia’s mind as Masamura turned to walk away. It was her turn to lunge at him now, launching a barrage of fiery punches at his back. This technique, “Cambion Flurry”, was the first and only technique Yugo had taught her. It utilized the aura around her, morphing it into a facsimile of fire just like Yugo did with his Elemental Burst technique. The sudden attack worked, sending the man to the ground.

Somnia followed up with an Aura Shot, but Masamura smacked the thin beam of aura away. He once again vanished into white light, appearing right in front of her.

“You should have taken my offer, child. Forgive me.”

Just like that, Masamura blasted Somnia with another one of those pink aura beams. This one was far stronger than the others. The wispy pink energy blast enveloped Somnia’s whole body, draining her physical health and remaining aura in moments. She fell to her hands and knees, gasping for air like she’d been trapped underwater.

It felt humiliating. Grating. How dare he bring her to her knees. How dare he look down on her! Deep down, Somnia knew she needed to be above these feelings if she wanted to lead the Family someday, but she could only suppress them for so long before they demanded to be heard.

“None of this is personal. I have a job to do, and that involves taking you and your comrades out. I wish I’d been given a different task, but this was the one Shogun Hana gave me.”

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The man charged another one of those aura blasts as Somnia gathered aura into herself. Something about the aura she gathered felt a bit… off, however. It wasn’t the malleable Unaspected Aura she was used to. No, this aura was much darker. It begged to be used, begged to be unleashed. It didn’t care about her ambitions to be a “role model”. It cared only about her desire to kill and rip and tear and main any and all who were foolish enough to oppose her. Foolish enough to challenge her.

“You know, I’ve always been pretty selfish. During my time in the war, all I cared about was my legacy. I wanted people to remember me as a war hero, not… this.” He shook his head, his voice suddenly shaky. “I wish your master hadn’t held back. Perhaps if I’d died, my legacy would have been repaired…?”

“If death is all you want,” Somnia said softly, a grin tugging at her lips. “I’ll be happy to provide.”

Somnia shot up from the ground, clawing at him with fists blazed in this unfamiliar black and red aura. She was unrelenting, each swipe digging into Masamura’s armor. She’d eventually ripped it off, only for her to begin clawing into his body. The man screamed as Somnia continued to strike her prey. He attempted to teleport away, but the technique never fully cast for some reason. Instead, he kicked her off of him with only his physical strength. Somnia recovered swiftly, easily dodging a string of punches to land a palm strike to his exposed torso.

The attack sent him flying into the city wall. Somnia wasted no time, chasing after him like a madwoman. All traces of her professional facade had vanished. This was Somnia Galerose. Completely uninhibited, completely honest. It was intoxicating. Masamura fought as well as he could, but what was he other than a mere human? He was no Galerose. He was no Somnia.

She obliterated him, beating him down and clawing at his body as if to tear him apart. Somnia laughed all the while, imagining the woman she so desperately craved to find in the same position.

Mamoru Ruma. The ultimate tyrant. The epitome of selfishness. The kind of person Hell was made for. Somnia’d have her chance, and when she did she’d savor it. Until then, this would have to make do.

“Blame your Shogun,” Somnia said. She held his beaten body the neck with her left hand. Her right was completely stiff, prepared to pierce him through the abdomen. “If she’d sent you to Archie, perhaps you’d be alive.” She smiled wider as she squeezed his neck even harder. “Unfortunately, she sent you to me. You should’ve stayed a war hero. Too bad you’re going to die a–”

”Get offa’ him!” An unfamiliar female voice shouted.

Somnia turned to look for the speaker only to be tackled to the ground by a woman in a white and pink floral yukata. It was the woman that Yugo’d been with earlier. She was joined by a few other women in similarly colored floral yukatas and men in suits similar to those of the Tiger Lily staff.

“What are you doing?!” Somnia and Masamura shouted at the same time.

The women focused their gaze on him, looks of worry and anger warring on their faces. “We should let that creepy little girl kill you, but then you’d die an idiot!”

Yugo’s “friend” walked up to Masamura and slapped him across the face, only to burst into tears. She remained standing, though, refusing to let her emotions overwhelm her completely. “We heard you talk about ‘legacy’ and all that. I know there’s a lot of people out there that only know you as Nori’s henchman. The people in the city probably know you as the club owner who beats up the rowdy rich people. But to us… you’re… you’re important. You’re the Boss…!”

Somnia’s sudden burst of energy began to fade as the men and women around her and her opponent started ugly crying. Even Masamura began to shake. She took the moment to observe herself and the state she was in. She’d been coated in his blood. Her nails were dirtied by skin and flesh she’d ripped from Masamura’s body.

She’d been completely and utterly bloodlusted.

This happened from time to time, like an itch that demanded to be scratched. She’d learned from her godfather how to put up a convincing front, but just like he’d warned it wouldn’t last forever. The professional, people-pleasing, mild-mannered Somnia was a complete and utter fabrication. Yet, if she wanted to become something in this world, she needed it to be a reality.

I thought I was getting better…

As embarrassing as it was to admit, she’d been trying to mimic Archie and his more personable, kind mannerisms. It’d worked well enough. She’d managed to convince Rui she wasn’t a complete lunatic… right? This, though? This was unacceptable. She’d have to talk to someone when this was all over. Perhaps Rui could help given his experience with Fallen Star? Yugo could help too, Somnia knew. He could be an oaf, but he was also deceptively intelligent – even without The Historian’s backing. He’d know how to help her.

“My goal is to dispatch the Honor Guard and… keep an eye out for Futakuchi-Onna,” Somnia said in a shaky monotone voice. “Stay out of my way and we won’t… need to interact.”

Yugo’s friend walked between Somnia and Masamura, grabbing the man by his shoulders. “Look, Boss. She’s letting you go! Let’s just go back to the Club and take a break, okay?”

Masamura looked down at the woman for a long time before looking over his staff. He finally closed his eyes, removing the woman’s hands from his shoulders and stepping closer to Somnia. When he spoke, his voice was shaky and broken as if he were on the verge of an utter breakdown.

“My… my family here has… taught me something valuable. Legacy is… determined… by the living. Not… the dead.” He took a deep breath as a single tear escaped his eye. “I don’t want to be remembered as an enemy of my home. I love my home. I love my family. I don’t want my actions to lead to their deaths in my attempt to care for them.” Masamura wiped tears away with his forearm, standing taller as he turned to face his staff. “Starting tonight, I will no longer be a member of the Honor Guard. Thank you all for loving me. Thank you for saving me from myself.” He turned to Somnia. “And thank you for smacking some sense into me. If you’ll have me, I would like to help you fight against the rest of the Honor Guard.”

Before Somnia even got a chance to answer, his entire staff surrounded him and gathered him up in a group hug. Finally having gathered her composure, Somnia spoke as professionally as she could.

“Of course, you’re free to join me. Know, however, that I will not tolerate any deception.”

Yugo’s friend spoke up for Masamura. “And neither will we!” She looked up at him. “Go on, now. Go give er’ your two-weeks notice!”