In the Kusanagi home, Lala was happily playing in the water with Rhea in the bathroom, while Sora was in the living room, teaching Run how to use her newly awakened powers.
In his harem, the No. 7 Sekirei, Akitsu, and Esdeath were all users of ice powers. He had even used them himself in the past when he shared his Sekireis' abilities as the Sekirei King, so teaching Run was a breeze.
When she found out she had awakened the innate ability of the Memorzorians, Run was overjoyed and listened to his explanation very carefully. Being a smart girl, she quickly got the hang of it.
"Lord Sora, I've brought the things," the little doll Peke's voice came. It was holding several glasses of water and flew over, placing them all on the table in front of them.
"Go play," Sora said, patting Peke's bald little head and dismissing it.
With a cheer, Peke took out a bag of its treasured snacks and sat down to watch.
"Try what I just taught you, Run," Sora said, patting the girl in his arms encouragingly.
With the awakening of her powers, her eyes had also turned the same ice-blue as her hair, making her look even more captivating and cute.
"Mmm."
With a soft hum, not leaving his embrace, Run held a glass of water in her hands and activated her power as he had taught her.
A mass of ice-blue mist appeared from her hands and enveloped the entire glass. The next moment, with a series of cracks, the glass turned into a transparent ice sculpture and then shattered into tiny, sparkling ice crystals that vanished into the air.
"Control your power more precisely. Try again," Sora said with a stern face, tapping her on the head.
"Okay…"
Pouting, knowing she had used too much force, Run picked up another glass and carefully activated her power.
Just like before, the entire glass was frozen, but this time it was better. At least it didn't shatter.
"Again," he said, his face still stern.
And so, under the great demon king's strict guidance, Run tried several times. On the fifth try, the water in the glass was frozen solid, but the glass itself was completely undamaged. Her progress in such a short time was incredibly fast.
"Nice!"
With a snap of his fingers, Sora finally dropped the stern act and gave her a smile of praise and admiration.
"Yay!"
With a cheer, the excited Run gave him a firm kiss on the cheek, her own face flushed with happiness.
"Lady Run is really amazing," the little doll Peke said, flapping its small black wings and flying over to flatter her.
"That's enough for today. I'll teach you how to use your powers in battle later," Sora said, stroking her hair, very pleased with her performance.
Without a doubt, Run was an incredibly smart and talented girl. With his guidance, she would grow quickly and become another powerful asset in his harem.
Though her control over her powers was still not perfect and their strength was not yet great, with continuous training, she could one day reach the level of Esdeath and the others, who could freeze time and space itself.
"Sora, Run-chan, we're done with our bath!" Lala's voice came as she bounced out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and holding Rhea.
"Hmph, Lala, look at this!"
Seeing them, Run created a mass of ice-blue energy in her hand and showed it off to Lala.
"That's great! Run-chan has awakened her powers too," Lala said with a pure and sunny smile, looking very happy for her.
Her big, watery eyes twinkled, and a mischievous, witch-like look appeared on Run's face. With a sharp cry, she suddenly threw the mass of cold energy at them.
With a cute, tilted-head expression, Lala didn't even try to dodge. She let the cold energy hit her and Rhea, and the two of them were instantly frozen into an ice sculpture.
"Yeah!"
With a triumphant and excited cheer, Run felt incredibly satisfied seeing the frozen Lala.
You detestable Lala, always stealing my toys and treating me like a toy when we were kids! Now you know how powerful I am!
"You silly girl, what are you doing?!" Sora said, giving the suddenly mischievous Run a sharp tap on the head.
"Ow… Lala used to bully me all the time! I was just playing a little joke on her! I'll unfreeze them right now…" she whined, rubbing her head.
However, before she could use her power to unfreeze them, a series of cracks appeared. The ice shattered, and Lala shook her head. A wave of her power blew away all the ice from her and Rhea.
"Heehee… Run-chan's power is so convenient! From now on, we can make our own shaved ice at home," she giggled thoughtlessly, not caring that the towel that had been frozen and shattered had fallen off, leaving her completely naked.
The little doll Peke quickly flew over and transformed into a dress for her. Seeing the unharmed Lala, Run was stunned, the corner of her mouth twitching violently.
"You wretched Lala! My power is not for making you shaved ice!!!"
Though incredibly annoyed, she was also shocked. Her power, which was so strong, had no effect on Lala at all.
And with the awakening of her own powers, she could vaguely sense the immense power radiating from Lala, hundreds, if not thousands, of times stronger than her own. This left her with a feeling of defeat.
It was only natural. Lala had the blood of the most powerful and noble Devilukean King and had been trained by Sora on another planet to awaken her potential. In terms of combat power, though she couldn't match him or a peak-condition Rhea, there were few in the universe who could surpass her.
Run's powers were impressive, but she was still a long way from catching up to Lala.
"How dare you attack me, Rhea Aslan Deviluke?! You think you can get cocky just because you've awakened your powers?!" Rhea said coldly to Run, having just had a snack she was about to eat frozen into a block of ice.
"Don't be angry, Lady Rhea! I was just playing a joke on you and Lala! How about I give you a few bags of my treasured snacks as compensation?"
After spending these past few days with her, Run knew that this once-invincible Valkyrie was now all bark and no bite. She wasn't as afraid of her as she used to be. But even though she had fallen on hard times, Run didn't dare to truly anger her. She took out a few bags of her treasured snacks to appease her.
"Hmph!"
With a light snort, the loli Valkyrie's anger subsided slightly. She accepted Run's apology and took the snacks, tearing them open and starting to eat.
"Hah… you guys play by yourselves for a while. I'm going to take a bath," Sora said, stretching. Seeing it was getting late, he said his goodbyes and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
After he came out, Run also went in for a bath. A long while later, she came out, wrapped in a towel, her face flushed, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"It's getting late. You should get some rest too, Run," Sora said, getting ready to go to bed with Lala.
"Um… um… I'm your fiancée too, and Ren is gone now, so I want… I want…"
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, her face so red it looked like it was about to bleed. She was extremely shy and fidgety.
A strange light in his eyes, and a peculiar smile on his face, Sora naturally understood what she was trying to say.
"Have you decided, Run? To become my true wife, just like Lala," he whispered with a smile, leaning close to her ear.
"Mmm…"
Her heart fluttered. Run replied with a shy and soft hum.
It was not in the great demon king's nature to refuse such a willing offer. A smirk on his lips, he said no more, simply scooping her up and carrying her into his room.
"That's great! Run-chan is going to be Sora's wife too! From now on, we can all play games together!" Lala giggled thoughtlessly, following them in with Rhea in her arms.
A shy girl, an evil demon, an innocent and thoughtless princess, and a certain silver-haired loli with a grim and hateful expression.
Because her nightmare was about to begin again…