Slady was operating on Roger and Rin Yuang's brain, wanting to erase some of their memories. But suddenly, like a voice in his mind, it echoed.
"Is what you're doing right?"
Then, looking back, like a ghost, that no one can see except Slady, a woman, with white and black hair, closed eyes and with her naked body covered by a white cloth, approaches him.
"I don't really like to interfere in your actions, but I'm just curious."
She puts her hands on Slady's shoulders, like a massage, a caress on his soul.
"Legally, it's not right. But I'll do it for their own good." Slady says in a murmur, looking at the woman.
He wasn't irritated by the mental spirit, as if he was quite used to her presence. So he continued his operation.
"Understanding, I won't bother you."
She just leans on Slady's shoulder, watching his work.
The woman caressed Slady's chest, even if he didn't feel it physically, it was like a caress in his spirit.
Hours later, after finishing the operation, Slady got up, putting Roger and Rin's brains in the glass jar with a liquid.
"Better put it in the right place."
He put it in a bag and left the library. Halfway there, the mental spirit appears again.
"Are they your friends?" Asks the woman, floating next to Slady.
"Acquaintances, I suppose. But they seem trustworthy." Slady says, without emotion.
"You don't want my help?"
"No, I can do it myself." Slady says in a whisper.
"Okay, just call me if you need it, it's the *deal*, after all."
Then the woman disappears from Slady's mind.
A few minutes later, Slady arrived at an abandoned cabin. Upon entering, he came across Rin and Roger's naked bodies, where the area in their heads that was missing their brains was.
He observed their bodies indifferently, beginning to put the brains back into them and regain their consciousness.
"This is going to be boring..." Slady muttered to herself.
***
The next day, Rin Yuang woke up in her dormitory at the Libretanhya Criminal Investigation Department, with no memory of Slady, except for the day he took her to the dormitory a few days ago. As if she had met him that day, not before.
"Hmmmmmm."
She stretched, as if she had had a great night's sleep, as if nothing had happened to her. Since it was the weekend, she didn't have any work to do, so she would take advantage of that time for herself, maybe to train and hang out with her friends.
***
In the library, Slady was woken up by Shaphira, who was lying next to him, biting his cheek lightly.
"Dad."
Slady wakes up easily. Normally, he would attack anyone out of reflex, but he recognized Shaphira's presence and scent easily. After all, it was a paternal instinct.
"What do you want?" He asks.
"I want to train, to become really strong, like you."
"I'm physically weak, girl." Slady murmurs.
"But..."
Shaphira just lets out a sigh, she knew Slady was right, physically he was very weak, only his bionic arm was the "physical" part of his body that was strong.
"So I want to be strong to protect you, dad." She says, seriously.
That surprised Slady, although he didn't show it. For him, the father had to protect his cubs, not the other way around.
"No need..."
He was interrupted by Shaphira.
"Please..."
She makes a face like an abandoned puppy, that was too far for Slady. For someone so rational and unemotional, it was impossible to deny Shaphira's request, especially after the... sly way she asked.
"Okay."
***
In a more distant and cleaner area of the library, specifically, an area of hills, Slady was sitting on the grass with his back against a tree, analytically observing Shaphira's training.
She tries to control the Renkai Energy, mainly to try to strengthen her body, without much success. It was something that Slady had to go deeper into to understand and try to help Shaphira control this unique energy in her.
After all, only Destroyers are capable of controlling Renkai Energy with a certain mastery and dominance, and Shaphira was the only Renkai Creature that Slady knew who was not a Destroyer, was conscious and could dominate that energy.
"Shaphira."
"Yes?"
He then stands up and stands behind Shaphira, placing his hand on Shaphira's right hand, the other he places on her thigh, changing his position to something firmer and more prepared.
"Get in the right position, then close your eyes, feel your heart beat and try to concentrate." Slady says
Shaphira obeys, closing her eyes and concentrating. Then from her right hand, pure Renkai Energy begins to manifest, Slady is surprised, but maintains control
"Fire at the tree."
Then Shaphira opens her eyes and shoots the Renkai Energy with force, making both of them fall to the ground, with Slady falling on the grass and Shaphira on her lap.
"Sorry, dad!"
"No problem."
Slady calms her down, then gets up carefully and goes to the tree, seeing that it didn't have a significant effect-
"Wait..."
He runs his hand over the tree, realizing that some kind of "corruption" had happened to that tree, or maybe just, the Renkai Energy hadn't taken a form yet. But he'll definitely have to cut that tree down later.
"This girl... seems to have a lot of talent."
Then Shaphira approached Slady, poking his back.
"So, Dad, how did I do?"
"I think you're going to be really strong, you just have to train more to get the conclusion."
The girl seemed to like the answer, with her tail wagging a little.
"Great, I'm going to train a lot and get really strong."
"Perfect."
After a while, Shaphira finished her training, without much result yet, she was staggering and ended up falling on Slady's lap, snuggling there.
"Rest..." she murmurs, asleep.
Slady put his hand on her head, caressing it carefully.
"You did well, rest."
Despite seeing Shaphira salivating on Slady's shirt, he didn't feel disgust or repulsion, he just closed his eyes and enjoyed that moment a little.
"What a cute little girl..."
The voice echoed in Slady's mind, who looked to the side and saw that same woman, sitting next to him, looking equally relaxed with him.
"Even if you don't quite understand that girl's feelings, you're an incredible father figure to her."
The woman leaned against Slady's chest, as if she also appreciated the man, like Shaphira.
"Despite your apparent lack of emotions, you're someone who's indifferent to small things, which makes people feel comfortable and trust you."
"Indifference... shouldn't that be a negative thing?" Slady murmured.
"On some occasions, yes. But often, it's good for the people around you and for yourself."
"I see."
Slady puts her other hand in the woman's hair, who just sighs in relaxation.
"Even if I don't have a physical body to feel your touch, if I'm just a *part of you*, it's still good to appreciate it, as a gesture of self-care."
Then that woman disappears from Slady's mind, and he realizes that he has both hands in Shaphira's hair, stroking it in a practically automatic gesture.
"Self-care..."
He thinks about that word, looking at Shaphira with appreciation hidden through her expressionlessness. Her ears lowered, just like her tail, her lips open, letting out a purr-like rumble and salivating on his chest, her sharp nails almost tearing the fabric of Slady's skin through his shirt, as if she never wanted to leave his lap.
Many people would feel irritated, repulsed or even in pain, but Slady seemed equally at peace. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, for him, it was natural.
"Shhhhh..."
Her hands move down until they reach Shaphira's buttocks, beginning to pat her lightly, without intending to hurt her, as if she were taking care of a small child. Perhaps today was one of the few days that Slady was truly at peace.
***
Some time later, Slady had already put Shaphira to bed, now he had already taken a shower and was in his library workshop, walking through the various machines he had created.
"Hmmmm..."
"Don't you need some help, Slady?"
The woman appears in Slady's mind again, sitting on a workbench.
"You don't have to offer yourself at every opportunity, Truth."
The woman, now identified as Truth, just stretches on the counter.
"Please, as a *Destroyer of the Truth* living inside your mind, I must help you with your needs."
Slady remains silent, starting to organize the materials to make preparations for future battles.
"Isn't that part of our *agreement*?"
Truth places her hand over Slady's, he doesn't pull away, after all, he doesn't feel her touch.
"You give me the knowledge to live and I give you the knowledge you forgot so you can survive. We are a duo."
"I appreciate your kindness, but I can do it alone." Slady says.
Truth lets out a sigh, she had known Slady for a long time, she knew how stubborn he was, but she recognized that he was completely capable of doing almost anything without her.
"I understand."
She floats over to Slady, wrapping her legs around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder. Even with her eyes always closed, she seemed to see everything he did.
"Can I stay with you, just to keep you company?"
Truth asks, looking very bored to just rest and let Slady do all the work alone.
"Do I have a choice?" Slady says in an emotionless whisper.
"Of course I don't! You're mine!"
She says, as if she were saying the cruelest thing ever, but it was just a gesture of affection. After all, even inside Slady's mind, she had a great affection for him, like a sister.
After a while, he finished the preparations and put them in his pocket, ready to test them.
"What are you going to do now?"
Truth asks, still on Slady's back
"There's an Inferius that opened up near here, it's going to be my experiment area.
"Better not end up killing everyone there."
Truth moves away from him, disappearing from his mind.
Slady looks at the empty space where Truth was, even though that Destroyer didn't have a physical form, it was as if she was really there, by his side, always.
***
Upon entering the Inferius, Slady looked around and noticed that it was an Infernal Inferius, the most common among them. But when he looked further, there seemed to be a... fight?
As he ran over there, he realized that it was Faller fighting a Destroyer, the Destroyer of the Tide.
"Bastard."
Faller holds his sword tightly, running towards the being, which was being controlled by Renkai Energy, starting to create a rain with sharp waters, like blades.
Faller manages to cut them with his sword, then With his free hand, he fires a lightning bolt at the Destroyer, who dodges it and creates a kind of water stake, throwing it towards Faller.
He manages to cut the stake in half with his sword, a flash of light coming out of the blade and heading towards the Destroyer. Who created a small tsunami beneath his feet and jumped back.
"You are strong, human..."
He raises his hand upwards, creating a large tsunami behind him, extinguishing the hot flames of the Inferius and, as a bonus, with several aquatic creatures coming towards Faller.
"But you will never be able to defeat a Destroyer."