Bloody Evolution Chapter 36

Ophelia stared with dull eye's at the sight of the orange-haired girl who was clearly previously a slave for a time. Having a 'minor' pyschotic break and then she looked towards the peak Grandmaster Yunyun who she had already crippled.

Sure, her cutting off her limbs would make her far more manageable. But it was Aurora's inert venom that sealed her aura and magical energy within herself that would keep her out of trouble.

And Ophelia watched as Yunyun's eye's turned dark as she glared at that Nora girl who stumbled back over to Jake and just face planted into his chest and began bawling out to her 'master'

"Feixiao, you had better call Ozpin, tell him that Lahmasu was here, got away. And that Yunyun of the Mistral did manage to send messages to the other raiders about Jake having his Silver Eye's." Ophelia spoke before she tossed Yunyun's scroll over to Feixiao.

Feixiao snapped the scroll out of the air that Ophelia threw out of the void and her voice carried magically over to Ophelia as she said with clear annoyance. "Lahmasu is going to stir up trouble you know... She has a fetish for drinking the suffering of people."

Ophelia shook her head and said coldly. "She is still merely an Apocalyptic Grimm, should she go to a Transcendent tier Grimm to bring trouble. With the wounds she has taken, it's certainly possible that the Transcendent will eat her instead. No, she will keep her head down to heal before she attacks our weakest point she can find."

The green-haired snake faunus sage then spoke up quietly with a distinct hiss that rolled over her S's she spoke. "She is an ambush predator for sure. I am more worried about the other Sage's and Grandmasters of Mistral coming for Jake, as look at Yunyun's scroll blowing up with messages."

Normally, one couldn't open a Grandmaster's heavily enchanted and protected scroll even for Ophelia... But Ophelia literally had Yunyun's arm so she could use the fingerprint and aura scanner to pick up the remains of the aura tied to the arm before it dissipated to open up the scroll.

And sliding down the messages were people from other clan's and sects of mistral stating that they were rushing here from the main battlefield between Mistral and Vale to get Jake, seeing as she was so useless.

But what worried Ophelia the most, and the reason why she had Feixiao call Ozpin directly was that Yunyun had directly sent a message to the Mistral Church of Light, who was overseeing things here in Vale, to make sure that the raiders didn't burn down any churches.

Then Feixiao turned away from where Jake and his retainer's were loading up their captures along with Jake carefully putting away the corpses of the mistral slaver's who had died into an dark floating coffin.

With the fox faunus calling out with a wry smile. "Uhhh the Pope and the Bishop from Mistral have met and are coming here."

There was a pause before Ophelia said what could frankly only be said. "Well... This is going to get complicated."

-

With their limbs removed, the prisoners weren't going to be too much of an issue thankfully... Even if it still sat wrong within myself doing this, it was for my future. With a dozen people and especially Yunyun to act as a battery for my Admiral Essence, I would be able to gain strength and use it far better.

And although now with my cultivation I could also use the prisoners as well... Well, using some chicken fucking nugget of a woman to dual cultivate would be weird as fuck even if we didn't have sex at all.

'I could also make Yunyun especially a cultivator to be able to drain her cultivation periodically... Damn I am truly sliding down the rabbit hole.' I thought before a shift of Nora got me out of my thoughts.

With Nora having mentally snapped and killed Xiao Yan, she seemingly 'woke' up and was overwhelmed with her emotions and came to me comfort and I realized why she came to ME for support instead of Ren. As Ren was still in his YoRHa flight suit that was a minature mech.

And now with the prisoner's dealt with, the dead put away in Calia's scary as fuck spatially expanded coffin. I was laying across a couch with Nora laying on my lap with my hand gently but firmly petting through her orange hair as she sorted out her emotions.

"I know Ren talked a bit about our past... But he doesn't know something." Nora spoke quietly and with dull eyes.

"I wasn't born of a noble clan, or even having any family in one of the sects of Mistral. I remember my dad was a decent blacksmith, he made good tools and even some quality melee weapons for the town's guard."

"My mother was a baker... Although I wanted to spend all my time with my dad and I use a hammer in honor of him, I spent so more time with my mother. She taught me how to cook, how to sow, and take care of a home and family. But she was too beautiful."

There was a heavy pause before she spoke quieter. "Ren's father. He was visiting my town and seeing my mother, he decided to take her as a concubine. My father obviously refused, and in front of the whole town... Ren's father nailed mine to a stake in the town square and skinned him alive for resisting him."

I had zero fucking clue what to say about this but Nora wasn't at all done trauma dumping on me as she continued with that same dull empty tone.

"I had to listen... As his father then broke into my families bakery and forced himself on my mother, who didn't survive it. Then later on more men came and found me, and took me to be sold as a slave."

I finally broke my silence as I asked quietly. "Do you hate Ren? Even a little bit?" 

There was a silence before Nora sighed and looked up with tear-rimmed eyes. "For a while... Yeah Jake, I hated him. But he inherited a similar semblance to his father who had some form of Emotion Burning semblance that would give him strength at the cost of his emotions."

Nora shook her head and said softly. "I couldn't blame Ren for his father's mistakes... But I can also see how Ren will also turn out like his father with how his emotions have become more and more muted due to his constant semblance use."

She exhaled and said with finality. "Xiao Yan... He reminded me so much of Ren, of Ren's father and the rest of his family who had no care of enslaving others. I just lost it."

"I don't blame you Nora... Preferably we can blame the Grimm for his death, and his surviving retinue won't see the light of day most likely." I muttered before I shifted and then she squeaked as I bent over her to spank that bakery that was her ass before I leaned back with Nora looking up at me.

"That's what you get for getting tears and snot all over my clothes." I teased her making her snort and smile weakly.

Nora shook her head and then took a deep steadying breath before she said quietly. "Come then. Let me help you get washed up so you can see those prisoners. You gotta look your best when you brand someone after all."

My lips twitched at cruel irony in Nora's words and then I got up and nodded as Nora did. As I knew that with how Nora was... Her helping me clean up was just an excuse for her need for more physcial intimacy.

-

After cleaning myself up of the battle and Nora's fit, I left Nora behind as she was taken in hand by Velvet and Alice who were more caring and could support her more. But meeting with the rest of the Mistral people was going to be a more... Detached thing.

Something Nora obviously shoudn't be involved with.

But, I didn't go alone as Prinz Eugen followed me into the brig of the Black Pearl, where all the chicken nuggets... I mean our prisoners were being stored.

As I entered the brig, the occupants who were separated by gender in the brig's two reinforced rooms went silent.

I took a deep breath and then I stepped forward and filled the silence with my voice. "My name is Jake Bariss as you all know by now. I am going to use you all as mana and aura batteries, that treatment will be harmless once an aura and magical gauge is attached to you so I don't overdraft your stores."

The room filled with a silent tension before I continued. "I won't argue ethics or morality with you all... You all will be fed, taken care of, and if you don't cause issues. I can see about giving your arms back to at least be able to entertain and clean up after yourselves."

Yunyun's cool voice then rang out from the women's room we threw the half dozen women in the raiding party into. "And that's it? For the rest of our lives, that is to be our lot?" 

I was silent for a moment before I was honest. "You know- Yeah, that's right, I will try to keep things civil and not have you all suffer. But it's either this or I kill you all and have the Necromancer Calia make puppets and undead with your corpses if I don't just sell you to her demented disciple to make Flesh Automatons out of you."

The words 'Flesh Automatons' was a deadly arrow in the hearts of the slaving party as that was quite literally a fate worse than death. Having their souls and minds locked within their bodies as the necromancer piloted their bodies through the strings implanted in their souls.

I would very much prefer death then such a fate obviously.

With that, I took a breath and said with finality. "You all make your peace with this. As in a couple of hours, once you regain your aura and magic, I will be coming for your first draining."

I felt Prinz grab my waist with her, leaning into me to whisper softly into my ear. "Come, darling, New Jersey, Shinano, have a little present for you."