"Bad woman! Evil woman! Vicious woman!"
"Damn you, you have no honor!"
"Let me go! Let me go right now!"
With a bruised and swollen face, his body in a complete mess, a certain young boy named Lu Yinghua was tied up with rope and hung upside down in mid-air, wailing continuously at the group of demonic young women who were still surrounding and bullying him.
"Hmph, so what if we're evil women? Nanabei, you're up!"
Her brows furrowed slightly. With a soft snort, the young woman Rokubei kicked Lu Yinghua in the stomach.
"Oof..."
With a miserable howl, he almost threw up bile. Lu Yinghua's hanging body swung towards another of the secret sword maidens.
"Hehehe... Yes, big sister Roku!"
Nanabei also lifted a long, slender leg and ruthlessly kicked Lu Yinghua in the chest.
"Wah..."
With a cry of pain, Lu Yinghua's body swung towards Yatsubei.
"Kyubei, he's coming!"
Yatsubei leaped up and delivered a sweeping kick to Lu Yinghua's waist. With a wretched scream, the miserable boy's body bent into the shape of a bow and swung once more towards Kyubei...
From Nichibei to Kyubei, he was continuously kicked and abused like a toy by the eight secret sword maidens. The pitiful young hero, Lu Yinghua, was experiencing yet another dark moment in his life.
The reason it was "yet another" was because he had already experienced this countless times growing up. The only difference was that before, it was his cruel and domineering Cult Leader, his teacher. This time, it had been replaced by eight demonic young women.
I hate women! I hate women! Originally left with this trauma from his brutal teacher since childhood, Lu Yinghua now felt this hatred seeping into his very bones, into his soul.
For the ill-fated Lu Yinghua, "woman" was synonymous with "devil." They were the bane of his existence, a bunch of bullies who tormented him, villains who couldn't possibly be any worse!
"Big sister, Karen, come and play too! This kid is really sturdy, he hasn't broken yet!"
As the eight secret sword maidens continued to bully Lu Yinghua, they called out to Ichibei and Karen.
"Oh my, Karen has no interest in such things. I'd rather not have him dirty my feet."
With her usual fox-like smile, Karen spoke her true feelings. But her words seemed to carry immense destructive power. When they reached Lu Yinghua's ears, they instantly ignited an endless sense of grief and indignation. Unable to bear it any longer, the physical and mental trauma directly caused the poor boy to spit out a mouthful of old blood.
However, the secret sword maidens acted as if they didn't see a thing, continuing to play as they pleased and kick as they saw fit. In any case, the boy wasn't dead yet!
"You all can play by yourselves."
Replying faintly, Ichibei also shook her head.
Looking at her eight sisters, Ichibei was at a loss for words, thinking to herself, Master, oh Master, what have you trained my sisters to become!
She had a feeling that under the guidance of their wicked master, her sisters were becoming bolder, more wicked, more mischievous, and more...
Well, in any case, they weren't changing for the better in any way, but were becoming more and more corrupted!
However, the young woman didn't feel there was anything wrong with this. On the contrary, she felt an unusual sense of relief and happiness.
Before, they were merely tools cultivated by the family. As the family's heirs, although they appeared glamorous on the surface, they had no freedom for their entire lives. Every day was an endless cycle of training, training, and more training, destined to dedicate their lives to the curse of the Seishuuin clan.
In Ichibei's memory, she and her eight sisters always had cold faces, hardly speaking to anyone else. Even among themselves, despite their deep bond, they rarely ever smiled.
From the moment they were chosen, their lives were predetermined. There was nothing to be happy or excited about. Every day, they only knew how to train, obey the orders of the family head and the elders, and live like machines.
But, from that one day onward, their destiny was finally changed!
Treated as a bonus gift along with Lady Ena, they were given by the family to the legendary seventh Campione. This should have been a very sad fate, but the young women had long since lost any feeling of sadness. They had been educated and brainwashed from a young age to simply obey the family's orders absolutely, without the need for any other emotions.
A knowing smile couldn't help but appear on her lips. Ichibei now recalled just how lucky she and her sisters were to have been sent to their master's side!
Normally, they would have continued to live like machines until, many years later, the family head and elders had all died. Her sisters would have taken their places, then selected new secret sword maidens, trained and brainwashed them, doing the same things the previous generation had done to them, continuing this seemingly endless curse and cycle...
And now, because of their master, their curse had been broken.
Although he often did wicked things to them and taught them mischievous things, it was because of their master that her sisters' cold, dead hearts came back to life. They were no longer like machines, but like normal human beings.
He brought them hope and warmth, allowing them to start living lives that truly belonged to them. For the secret sword maidens of today, Sora was everything they lived for!
It had to be said, although both were forms of training and brainwashing, the results achieved by Sora and the Seishuuin clan were vastly different. This was the difference in level, the gap in realms...
…
"Nichibei, Sanbei, what are you all doing?"
Ena's voice, tinged with curiosity, suddenly reached the girls' ears from the side.
"Lady Ena! Lady Erica! Lady Liliana!"
Seeing that it was Ena, Erica, and Liliana, the secret sword maidens and Karen quickly gathered around.
"Hey, hey, you delinquent girls, to do this to the young hero Lu..."
Seeing Lu Yinghua hanging pitifully in mid-air, Erica's eye twitched.
To bully a child like this, do you have to be so wicked?!
"Well... my sisters were bored. But don't worry, Lady Erica, that kid is very sturdy. We were being careful not to break him."
Feeling a little awkward, Nichibei replied to Erica in a low voice.
"Lady Erica, how did things go over there? The Master and that Cult Leader Luo Hao..."
Although seeing Erica and the others return had already put them at ease, Ichibei still asked with concern. Because the area had been sealed by a barrier, they didn't know the outcome of the battle between Sora and Cult Leader Luo Hao.
Not only Ichibei, but Karen and the other secret sword maidens also wore expressions of concern.
"The King is fine. I'll let Ena and Lily explain the details to you."
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and recalling something, a wicked arc formed on Erica's lips. She let Ena and Liliana explain to the girls while she herself walked towards Lu Yinghua.
"Hehehe... Young Hero Lu, I'm so sorry. My sisters were being mischievous. You've suffered."
Raising a jade-like hand and waving it lightly, a blade of air instantly sliced through the rope binding Lu Yinghua. Erica apologized with a beaming smile.
"Hmph, Erica, you're with those evil women too. Don't act like a good person in front of me!"
"Where is my master? Why haven't I seen my master?"
With a flip, Lu Yinghua landed steadily on the ground. He straightened up and replied to Erica with a grim expression.
Although he had been miserably bullied by the secret sword maidens, just as the girls had said, the boy was sturdily built. Now that he was free, he didn't seem to have any major injuries.
Compared to the physical damage, this little boy had actually suffered more emotional trauma. In any case, from this day forward, his misogyny would only grow more and more severe!
"Haha, it seems Young Hero Lu has quite a misunderstanding about us. Didn't big sister already apologize to you? Don't be angry anymore."
Finding the boy rather amusing, Erica continued:
"As for your master, Cult Leader Luo Hao, she dueled with my king and lost. According to the agreement between the Cult Leader and the King, she is now the King's woman and his captive."
"Young Hero Lu, you can leave now. If you want to see your master, you can come back in a few days. She's probably not free right now."
With a wicked smile, Erica recalled how domineering Luo Hao had been in front of her and her sisters. Thinking about what she was about to go through next, Erica felt a sense of immense satisfaction and anticipation.
As for Lu Yinghua, he was completely dumbfounded after hearing Erica's words.
His brutal, domineering, yet invincible master had actually lost? And had become that King Kusanagi's woman and captive?
Heavens, how is that possible...