บท 345: Punishment

Unsurprisingly, every one of the former Pandora ended up choosing to stay within Asora as Alex's slave maids, with the sole exception of the still sobbing Felice of course. The reason they chose that over banishment was due to the fact that none of them had ever in their lives felt so naked, literally and figuratively, as they did after losing their stigmata.

When they had originally been chosen as Pandora and received the stigmata, the Pandora felt as if they could do anything with the strength and abilities that no one else in their world could hope to match, except of course the Nova. Now however they were powerless, and would be vulnerable to anyone that wanted to take advantage of them if they were banished from Asora.

Though they would still subjected to any of Alex's whims in Asora, it was still a better alternative to possibly being raped and/or murdered in whatever place he dumped them in. There were also several other factors as well that any normal person would need to worry about living on their own, which none of the former Pandora knew how to do.

Still, that didn't mean life would be good for them even in Asora or the space-time orb, as they no longer had any possessions to call their own, regular meals to eat, or even a roof over their head to sleep under. The most horrible part however was the fact that they even had to earn clothes to wear, meaning that they'd all stay naked as they did their work until they were finally able to afford a new uniform.

None of them dared to voice any complaints though, for fear of being automatically banished like Felice, as Alex went down a list of orders for each of them. These ranged from things like never resorting to thievery, to them not being able to harm anyone for any reason, including themselves. Once he was done Alex stepped back, and Ravel stepped forward to hand each other of them a list while saying,

"These are all things that need to be done by the end of the day, no discussion. So I'll expect all of you to finish by the time we are finished eating dinner. Dismissed!" Without a single word the former Pandora dejectedly stood and left to complete their work, which had increased in amount compared to before. This included even Felice, who Alex wouldn't kick out until the following morning when he returned to teaching at Youkai Academy.

As they left the tension that been present within the villa courtyard vanished immediately, and everyone that had been spectating swarmed forward to check on the trio that had been held hostage, Haruna, Mikan, and Kunou. Though the former two were still a little shaken after having actual weapons held to their throats, they were already recovering from the experience due to the suffering they had experienced in the past. Meanwhile Kunou was no worse for the wear, and was even trying to use what happened to get Alex to pamper her more, something he was more than happy to do given the circumstances.

Before things could get too rowdy though, Alex called out, "Ok, that's enough for right now! Lets give them a chance to breath and rest for a little while, but everyone can talk to them when we have dinner later!" Though there were a few groans and minor protests at his words, the majority of those who had gathered began dispersing to leave only a few of them standing in the now repaired courtyard. He then turned to those left, and said,

"Let's go relax for a while to calm down, and I think we can arrange someone else to work on dinner for tonight." As he finished speaking Alex glanced at Ravel meaningfully, who then began making different arrangements for the kitchen staff for that day. She then took the lead as everyone headed for a lounge to relax after the extra stress, but Alex stopped for a brief moment to smack the butt of the still lingering Chiffon and whisper into her ear,

"Come up to my room tonight and we'll finish what we started." He then left along with the others as if nothing happened, but the look of anticipation on Chiffon's face was as plain as day to anyone that was paying attention, which a certain fellow combat maid was. Though they hesitated for several seconds, their own expression showing hesitation, they then walked up to Chiffon to ask her something.

Meanwhile Alex and the others had all plopped down into chairs and couches in the lounge they had decided to rest in, while Elaine went to collect some snacks and drinks. Alex was on one couch with Kunou in his lap, Ravel to his left, and somehow Haruna on his right. Sitting across from him was Ringo, who pulled Mikan in to her own lap and was hugging her loosely from behind, with Lala and Yami on either side of her as well. Yasaka took one of the only chairs for herself, and Grayfia was standing attentively behind Alex, waiting for any orders he might have.

He then told the girls that if they needed anything after what they just went through then they only needed to ask, to which Kunou immediately replied, "All I need is to be pampered some more!" As she said this the little fox girl nuzzled her face into Alex's chest, making him smile wryly as he patted her head, while Mikan couldn't help but shake her head since Kunou was slightly older than her, yet she always seemed to be the more mature one.

"Ara ara," Yasaka suddenly spoke up, getting everyone's attention as she continued, "Kunou, don't tell me you let yourself get captured on purpose just to get Alex to pamper you afterwards?" Surprisingly, Kunou's only reaction to her mother's teasing remark was to snort, before stating,

"You're only half right mama! I did let them take me, but only because they had already taken Mikan and Haruna hostage, and I didn't want them to get hurt because of me. If that wasn't the case I would have turned them all to ashes myself!" As she declared this, the fur on Kunou's ears and tails bristled in irritation, both at the former Pandora, and at herself for being too weak to actually help her two friends.

She calmed down though when Alex ruffled her hair and ears with his hands, and said, "You made the right choice Kunou. Though I would normally refuse to negotiate with a hostage situation, you were outnumbered and I'm sure you knew that we would be able to help you when we realized what was going on."

Kunou only giggled in response to Alex's praise as she leaned back into his chest and enjoyed his touch, making everyone else narrow their gazes slightly. Of course what truly surprised them was when Haruna, her face Crimson from embarrassment, leaned over onto Alex's side as she seemingly tried to take some comfort from his presence as well. Of course, her embarrassment only increased when Alex put his arm around her as if to hold her even closer, leading to the shy girl to try and hide her gaze from the smirks opposite her.

But then, the nice moment was interrupted when Elaine reappeared and demanded as she placed the refreshments, "Was that punishment truly necessary?" Alex looked up to see expression was practically a glare as she continued, "I understand punishing them for doing what they did, but was there any need to have them stripped naked and humiliated?"

Alex frowned and was about to answer, but it was Ravel who spoke up first as she said, "With everything that's happened, I'd say the humiliation is needed just as much, if not more, than the actual punishment." Her words drew Elaine's sharp glare onto herself, however Ravel's gaze was unflinching in the face of a being that could kill her, Phoenix or no, in an instant if she so wished.

"And why exactly do they need to be humiliated in such a way?" Ravel then rolled her eyes and said as if it was obvious,

"Because they are all women from various noble and wealthy houses, and have the pride and attitude of such. If we truly want them to learn their lesson, and avoid a repeat incident further down the line, then their pride needs to be broken down completely to start with." When she heard this Elaine's expression seemed to become a slight amount darker, but, seeing Grayfia, Yasaka, and Kunou all nodding in agreement, she held her tongue.

As ladies of noble, or even Royal, backgrounds, they had all been taught growing up that their status wasn't just a sign of superiority, but of responsibility as well. High class Devils weren't just born with the most authority, but they also had the most power of their species as well; meaning that they were usually the first to be sent to the front lines of any existing conflict, especially with the establishment of the Evil Piece system.

Meanwhile Pandora were mostly comprised of high class ladies that joined up, not for the responsibility, but for the status. Despite the fact that they were all willing to fight and even die for humanity, only a few seemed to take the Nova threat and their responsibilities seriously, while others would get drunk on the power their stigmata provided.

Seeing that no one in the room shared the same views as her, Elaine then politely excused herself before going to find something else to do. After she left everyone was then surprised when Mikan looked at Alex, and asked sincerely,

"By the way, is there any way I can become stronger too?" Not just Alex, but everyone else showed looks of surprise at her sudden and unexpected request, while Yami asked with concern,

"Why do you want to become stronger Mikan?" Mikan looked down at the ground at her friend's question, before finally saying while clenching her fists,

"I'm tired of being used against my friends..." Everyone made an expression of understanding at her words, while Yami fell silent in contemplation. Once, back on the earth that Mikan once called home, she had been against her by another assassin that had a grudge against Yami. And then when 'that' man attacked he had also used Mikan against her, resulting in both of them falling to his disgusting ability. And now she had once again been used against her own friend, Kunou, and had to be saved. While she didn't care to become as strong as Alex or Yami, she still desired to be able to protect herself against this kind of thing again.

With both of them also having been used as hostages before, both Haruna and Kunou nodded in understanding while Grayfia said thoughtfully, "I'm not sure about actually becoming stronger, but you might go and ask Le Fey about learning some magic from her. It is extremely difficult for a regular human to learn magic, but with enough training you should be able to at least defend yourself."

Mikan looked up at Grayfia's suggestion, a small twinkle appearing in her eyes at the idea of learning magic herself. She had watched others perform spectacular feats with magic ever since arriving in the space-time orb, but had always reasoned that it was something she wouldn't be able to do. What Mikan didn't know was that using magic didn't just rely on things like affinity or magic/demonic power, but also difficult calculations and formula that one would need to study for years. With Mikan being smart enough to even apply pressure to, and regularly correct her teachers, it was hard to imagine that she would struggle with such formulas.

And so, the group passed their time until dinner discussing different types of magic and methods that Mikan could use to avoid being used against her friends again. Meanwhile, the former Pandora were quickly realizing just how hasty they had been in trying to say that Alex had been taking advantage of them.

Never before had any of the former Pandora done so much menial labor, to the point that several were developing blisters on their hands and scrapes on their knees from having to get down on all fours to scrub. And never before had any of them felt such humiliation, as in that moment when they were doing all of this work, they were completely naked.

With even mere clothing being something hey had to earn, each of the slave maids in question now had no choice but to remain naked until they earned enough points to purchase them. As if this itself wasn't bad enough, they also had to deal with several of the other Pandora silently reveling in their punishment.

Many of the new slave maids had habitually and gleefully harassed and tormented any of those they considered 'lower' than themselves, either in rank or standing. As such, one Pandora looked down at her former tormentor, who's hands and knees were almost rubbed bloody from scrubbing the floors, and couldn't help but recall a previous Carnival when the same Pandora had cruelly and meticulously broken her bones and severed her limbs simply for accidentally bumping into her a few days before, leading to her spending months recovering even with their advanced healing procedures.

Another couldn't help the absolute glee they felt when they came across their own former bully, who was trying to grab somethings that seemed to have rolled under a piece of furniture, which resulted in her trying to retrieve it with her face down on the ground and her butt up in the air, completely displaying everything that shouldn't see the light of day. When she saw this the Pandora in question couldn't help but remember when she had once been bullied by the slave maid and tried to stand up to her, resulting not only in her complete and utter defeat, but also her being forced to strip by her tormentor in front of the more than fifty spectators comprised of both the female Pandora, and their male Limiters.

These two and more understandably felt a great amount of vindication at their former tormentors current station, yet, despite the undeniable desire to kick them while they were down, none of their former victims took advantage of the current difference in status. The reasons for this was that none of them wanted to disappoint or also get onto Alex's bad side, while they also felt that it was pointless to antagonize them further with low far they had fallen. With even the plants and animals within the space-time orb being treated better than the slave maids, courtesy of Nana and Momo, there was genuinely nothing within the orb that had a lower standing than they already did, making it a waste of time and energy to bother trying to put them down even further.

That didn't stop the occasional snicker or comment that one of the passing girls might mutter to their friend under their breath, which served to slowly turn the fear and humiliation they felt into anger once more. However the orders they had been given prevented them from being able to act on it, meaning they could only grit their teeth and continue their work while bearing the shame until they had finished the list they had been given.

After what had felt like a lifetime's worth of embarrassment and work, Miyabi finally managed to finish and drag herself exhaustedly to the courtyard where everyone had just started dinner. When she saw the food set out her stomach made a roar of anticipation to be filled, but, right as she tried looking for her seat, Ravel's voice suddenly demanded,

"What do you think you're doing?!" Miyabi jumped at the sound of her voice, the image of Felice being burned alive still fresh in her head, before slowly turning to face Ravel and saying,

"But I'm starving...." Ravel however didn't seem to be bothered with Miyabi's hunger, and stated,

"That may be, but if you recall you need to spend points to be able to eat with us, of which. You have none. You, and the rest of the slave maids, will have to wait until you're given your breakfast in the morning. In the meantime, stand over there and wait until someone needs your help or we're done eating. I will talk to the rest of you once dinner is over."

Ravel then turned and headed back to her seat at the large table without giving Miyabi a second glance, leaving the former Pandora to stare wistfully at the delicious smelling food until the compulsion of Ravel's order made her move to where she was directed. As everyone else ate in front of her, Miyabi was slowly joined by her fellow slave maids as they finished their work until finally Felice arrived right before dessert was over. As everyone stood and cleared off to go and take their baths, most going to the commons baths while a few went to their private ones, Ravel then approached the slave maids along with several other women in maid outfits, those that had given up being Pandora while staying as maids.

"These are for each of you." She said while conjuring a pile of electronic tablets couples with ear pieces. As each of them hesitantly accepted it, with the sole exception of Felice, Ravel then explained, "Each tablet has an alarm set for five in the morning, and when you get up they will be updated with a new list for you to complete each day before dinner. The green zero indicates the points you've saved up, while the red number there shows your debt-"

"Wait! Why are we in debt already?!" One of the former Pandora suddenly cried out, to which Ravel narrowed her eyes at from being interrupted, before explaining,

"That is a rough estimate for the damages you caused this afternoon, along with what would typically be considered medical treatment from when Alex brought you back to life or healed your injuries. We did discuss if we should include a cost for all of the resources you've used up until now, but decided it would be too unrealistic to have you pay that back..." As she trailed off the slave maids expressions paled as they imagined trying to pay back all of the food and medical treatments they had received since arriving in Asora, a number none of them even wanted to consider. Ravel then continued,

"You will all receive an approximate amount of points depending on the amount of work you do, as well as how well you do it. However for the time being ninety percent of the points you earn will go towards your debt until it is paid off." As she finished speaking the former Pandora tried to plead with her to lower the percentage, but a stern look from Ravel's fiery gaze quieted them down, while Felice nearly wet herself then and there. Truthfully they had originally started at a lower percentage when Ravel and Alex discusses the matter earlier, however they eventually decided to raise it in order to draw out the slave maids punishment, forcing them to cherish and prioritize the few points they did obtain.

Ravel then went on to explain a few other things about the tablets and the ear pieces, before finally ending with, "And as for you Felice," the blond haired girl flinched when Ravel called out her name, which she ignored as she continued, "for the rest of the night and the morning you will act as a maid with the rest, but when Alex leaves to teach at Youkai Academy he will deposit you somewhere in the world of his choosing. You have until then to say any goodbyes you might have. Now, all of you are to clean this up, and no eating the leftover scraps!"

As she turned to leave, Ravel pointed at the remaining food and tableware while the rest of the maids that accompanied her left as well, as they all headed to the baths. This left the slave maids to clean up the food and dishes left behind by nearly four hundred people, by themselves. Gritting their teeth once again, they had no choice but to get to work while ignoring the temptation of the food before them, despite their empty bellies loudly protesting.

As they cleaned the giant mess that had been left for them, the former Pandora weren't the only ones having a long night. After his bath Alex opened the door to his room and was surprised to find not just Chiffon, but the entirety of 'Team Elizabeth' waiting for him. With the smile widening on his face, Alex said, "Well this is quite the surprise!"

His words made Chiffon's own smile widen, as she was greatly looking forward to continuing from where they had been so rudely interrupted earlier, however Elizabeth and her troop of followers all squirmed slightly under Alex's scrutinizing gaze. Chiffon was already completely naked, but Elizabeth was wearing black panties and a bra, along with a matching garter belt. Meanwhile Arnett was wearing only a mint green see-through nighty, allowing Alex to see her dark nipples through the fabric while the neatly trimmed patch of hair between her legs occasionally made an appearance whenever she moved.

Between the five of them though Alex definitely had to say that Attia and Creo's outfits were the most 'risqué', as the petite white haired girl had on a matching pair of light blue bra and panties with light green trim and ribbons, except the bra had heart shaped holes for her nipples to peer through, while the panties had a hole opened up for easy access to her slit. Creo on the other hand had practically done the exact opposite of Attia, with the dark-skinned beauty having pasted heart shaped stickers to her nipples while a single bandaid was all that protected her virtue from the beast before her.

As he unashamedly analyzed every bit of the beautiful bodies exposed to him, Alex asked Chiffon, "So, what is this?" The legendary Pandora smirked as she explained,

"Well, after you told me to come to your room tonight I was surprisingly approached by none other than miss Mably here, who said she was interested in joining us. Naturally her three hanger-ons wanted to join as soon as they heard." When they heard Chiffon refer to them as 'hanger-ons' the trio of Elizabeth's followers directed a glare at her, however Elizabeth herself then stated seriously,

"Truthfully, I wanted you to know that not all of us share the same thoughts as those from earlier. I figured this might be the best way to do so." Alex's smile turned into a frown when he heard this, as to him someone sleeping with him only as a sense of 'duty' or because they 'had' to ruined the experience. He then said,

"You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to just because of a bunch of idiots did something stupid. I prefer sex when everyone involved is enjoying themselves as they lose themselves in lust, desire, and affection; not when the other party is an emotionless doll that would rather be anywhere but but with me."

Though she had already known it, Elizabeth was still shocked at the differences between Alex and 'that' man. If it had been 'him', then he would have gladly taken anything or anyone offered to him as long as they were a woman, willing or not.

Before she could try to explain that she, and the rest of 'team Elizabeth', weren't trying to push themselves, except past their own 'traumatic' experiences, she was surprised as Chiffon suddenly swept her legs out from under her to lift her up by the back of her knees. She then spread Elizabeth's legs open so that the thin piece of black cloth was the only thing protecting her shame from Alex's gaze before saying with a teasing smirk,

"Let's just skip ahead to the point where you see they actually want it. I mean, can't you see the wet stain right here?" As she spoke Chiffon gestured to the thin cloth covering Elizabeth's privates, where a very small and almost impossible to notice wet stain could be seen. She then went on to whisper something into the surprised blond's ear, making even the firm-hearted Elizabeth blush slightly as she reached down and pulled the crotch of her panty to the side with one hand, while the other spread open her now revealed sex.

"Please ravage my filthy pussy." Elizabeth then said at Chiffon's direction, shocking her comrades at the vulgarity coming out of her mouth, along with her actions. Alex's expression however was unreadable, until his smile from before returned in force.

Looking at Elizabeth's embarrassed, yet firm gaze, he then took a step forward and started making his way towards her as his clothes suddenly vanished. With every gaze in the room zooming in on the thing dangling between his legs, there was an audible gulp from the five women as Alex approached them.

***

While the slave maids were laboring, and Alex was playing, yet another person was unable to sleep at that night as they stared at the ceiling above their bed, their wife sleeping next to them.

Issa sighed as he looked over at Akasha next to him, her sleeping face mirroring the frustration she seemed to have been experiencing the last several days. Though he had asked her about it, she told him it was nothing, and so Issa watched his wife in concerned silence even as he thought on his own troubles, namely a certain Vampire Princess that had decided to pay him a visit a week ago.

*A week earlier*

"There must have been a reason for all of this, so what is it?"

Yue smirked at Issa's question while the rest of the remainder of the Shuzen family tried to catch their breath behind him, all of which had just been beaten by her singlehandedly. After a moment though her smirk vanished and she said,

"...I....want you to be my warden for this world..." Issa was struck silent by her quiet words, before he hesitantly asked,

"What?" It wasn't that he couldn't hear her, he just wasn't sure exactly what she meant. Yue frowned however and repeated herself,

"...I want you to be my warden...." Seeing that Issa was no closer to understanding what she meant, Yue sighed and stated as she stood from the chair she had been seated in,

"....I intend to take the vampires of every world we visit under my control...and by extension Alex's..... Instead of taking them all into Asora though.....I plan to install 'Wardens' in each world to watch over them....and enact my justice when I am unable..."

Issa was struck silent as what Yue said, as he realized that she essentially said she wanted him to rule over all of the vampires of earth. Though he couldn't deny that having such power and authority was very tempting, he still asked,

"Why do you want to rule all vampires? And why pick me to lead them instead of my wife?" Yue was silent for several minutes after this, as if she was contemplating how to answer, before finally saying,

"...We wish the world's we connect to be peaceful, as none of us have the intention to constantly be fighting new wars in the same worlds every time we visit..... Vampires can be a threat to this because of their strength, pride, and their hunger...."

When she said this Issa was silent once more as he considered the truth of her words. He had only ruled over the vampires of Japan, and even that was a handful due to their backstabbing nature, and desire for blood. If Issa ever showed even he slightest hint of weakness at any time, then dozens, if not hundreds of vampires would readily tear him to shreds before trying to take his position for themselves.

It was because of this that having family like Akua, Kahlua, Gyokuro, and Akasha around was a blessing since they could watch his back, though he ended up being betrayed by his own wife due to his negligence. Then as if this wasn't enough, there was the fact that all vampires craved human blood, a single tidbit that was their biggest hurdle towards coexistence.

Despite the fact that popular concepts of vampires drinking blood were false, like them drinking until their victim died, turning them into vampires with a single bite, or even so much as leaving a single mark after they've fed, humans would still react with fear and paranoia at the idea that existences like vampires 'fed' on them. It was partially for this reason that several vampire organizations had started blood donation centers to acquire blood without any of the hassle of feeding, however there were still rogue groups or even entire nations that still hunted or even killed their prey for no reason other than the thrill.

Combine all of this with their inborn strength, and Issa very much understood Yue's concern with the vampire race obstructing peace. However he couldn't help but state, "Vampires are strong and prideful like you've said, but how do you intend to hold entire world's of them under your thumb when even subduing a single world's population can be considered a pipe dream?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when an indescribably powerful aura started radiating from Yue's body, making Issa and his followers turn even paler than they already were as realization dawned that they never even posed a challenge to the petite girl before them. Even as she continued radiating raw power, Yue stated as simply as if it was fact,

".....They will submit and obey.....or die.... And besides.....I'm sure even vampires would hesitate to bare their fangs against their goddess...." As she finished speaking Yue let the last word hang in the air before one of the other vampires hesitantly asked,

"Goddess?" Yue nodded and stated seriously,

"....Along with subduing them...I want you to spread faith in the 'Vampire Goddess of the moon'...Aletia....."

"Aletia...?" One of the other vampires asked hesitantly, to which Yue nodded and explained,

"...Yes..... A vampire princess of another world that had led her people through endless wars.....only for the very god they worshipped to smite them in rage after they hid her from his grasp....."

While his followers hung onto Yue's every word, Issa focused onto two different things. First was that she alluded to him subduing the vampires of this world, not herself. Second was that with everything she was saying it was fairly obvious she was referring to herself in this story, yet under a different name.

"Do you mean to style yourself as some kind of goddess?" Without any hesitation or shame Yue nodded and said,

"....There is power in faith...power that will better serve the one I have dedicated my everything to." Issa was silent as he contemplated this, not that he didn't understand Yue's desire to become stronger for Alex, but because he knew nothing about faith for becoming divine. He then asked,

"And what exactly makes you sure that you could pass as 'divine'?" Though one would usually take offense at such words, Yue instead smiled unsettlingly.

"....Let me show you....." Then, without another word, Yue suddenly appeared right before Issa as she placed her hand directly onto his forehead.

"....This is my gift...as your new goddess.... Use it to prove yourself by subduing the vampires of this world for me....." She then began to channel both Evolution and Alteration magics to not only evolve Issa into a Shinso like his wife and daughters, but to grant him even more strength and power to properly serve as the Warden of this world.

*Present*

Issa held up his hand that he could see clearly despite the darkness, and watched as its skin blackened and his nails sharpened into lethal claws. Canceling the transformation, he then sighed and thought about the coming battles he'd undertake in the near future to not only help establish actual peace, but for the sake of his new and pushy goddess. His only real hesitation though, was Akasha.

Issa turned to look at his sleeping wife once more, sadness welling up within him. She had given more than anyone could have hoped in the pursuit of peace and coexistence between humans and monsters, and if she knew about his intentions then she would lead the charge into even more battles without hesitation. Even though Issa loved that about her, he couldn't help but want her to stay away from battle due to the sacrifices she had already made, a sentiment shared by both Touhou and Mikogami.

Wondering what he was going to do with this wonderful wife of his, Issa stayed awake until the sun began to peek through his window less than an hour later.