The sun was setting over the Sainan River, casting long, fiery reflections across the water. The grassy banks, usually a place for couples and joggers, had become a battleground.
Yuuki Rito sprinted along the path, his chest heaving not from exhaustion, but from the adrenaline of the chase. Beside him ran Lala, her anti-gravity boots skimming the ground, and Mikan, who was keeping up with a grim determination that spoke of her annoyance at having her evening ruined.
Ahead of them, Zastin was closing in on the fugitives.
"Princesses! Halt!" Zastin roared, his voice booming like a foghorn. "You cannot escape! The Royal Guard has the perimeter secured!"
Nana and Momo skidded to a stop near the bridge underpass as they realized that they were cornered. Behind them was the river; in front of them was the greatest swordsman in the galaxy.
"Che!" Nana spat, turning around. "You're so persistent, Zastin! We just got here! We haven't even seen a convenience store yet!"
"Your education is paramount!" Zastin argued, making the motion of drawing his sword, but keeping it sheathed. "Please teturn to the ship!"
Rito slowed to a halt, flanked by his fiancé and sister. He scanned the area quickly.
'Wait, where is Yami-chan?' Rito wondered, checking his phone.
A text message blinked on the screen: [Perimeter check. Detected unfamiliar bio-signature in Sector 4. Investigating. - Golden Darkness]
Rito sighed. Yami was taking her "Observer/Protector" role seriously, chasing shadows while the real chaos was happening right in front of him. It was up to him to handle the in-laws.
"Nana-chan, Momo-chan." Lala called out, stepping forward. "Just come home! Mikan is making dinner! It's curry!"
"We don't want curry!" Nana shouted, her temper flaring. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the D-Dial. "We want freedom! And if Zastin won't let us go, we'll make him let us go!"
She spun the dial.
"Summon: Gii-chan, Giga Wild Boar of Shishinabe!"
The air warped, and a massive portal ripped open above the riverbank.
ROAAAAAR!
A creature the size of a dump truck crashed onto the grass. It was a boar, but covered in iron-hard bristles, with tusks that looked like scimitars. Its red eyes locked onto Zastin immediately.
"A Class-B Beast?!" Zastin gasped, drawing his sword fully. "Princess, this is dangerous!"
"We're not done yet," Momo giggled, pulling out her own device. She tapped a button. "Let's make it a garden party!"
She threw a seed onto the ground.
Instantly, the earth rumbled. Vines erupted from the soil, thick as tree trunks, whipping around like angry snakes. A massive, carnivorous plant, the Okiwana Tree Monster, burst forth, its branches lashing out.
"KYAA!"
One of the vines whipped toward Mikan. Before Rito could move, it snatched her by the waist, lifting her high into the air.
"Mikan!" Rito shouted.
"Let me go!" Mikan struggled, her skirt fluttering as the vine held her suspended ten feet off the ground.
"Get them!" Nana ordered the Boar.
The beast didn't go for Zastin. It turned its massive head and locked eyes with the boy standing next to the pink-haired girl.
It charged straight for Rito.
…
The ground shook. The Boar was a locomotive of muscle and rage, tearing up the grass as it barrelled toward Rito.
In the canon timeline, Rito would have tripped. He would have flailed, screamed, and ended up being saved by Zastin or Lala while accidentally groping someone.
But this Rito didn't flinch.
He saw Mikan dangling from the tree and saw Lala preparing to fire a laser that might hurt her sisters due to her usual invention malfunctions. He also noted that Zastin occupied with the vines.
The spoiler knowledge flashed in his mind. 'The Boar charges in a straight line. Its neck muscles are its strength, but its momentum is its weakness.'
'Though I can't yet use it at will… Here goes nothing.'
Rito took a deep breath and centered his weight, planting his feet firmly on the dirt path.
His eyes flashed gold.
It was subtle, a flicker of light in the iris, but the energy surge was real. The Darkness power he had absorbed flooded his muscles, hardening his skin, reinforcing his bones. His muscles tensed like steel plating.
"Rito! Run!" Lala screamed.
The Boar was just ten feet away.
But Rito didn't run, he stepped into the charge and threw his hands out.
CRASH.
The sound was like a car hitting a wall.
Rito's hands caught the Boar's massive tusks. He didn't buckle, nor did he fly backward. He slid two feet, his sneakers carving grooves into the dirt, and then he stopped.
He held the three-ton beast in place with his bare hands.
"W-What?!" Nana gasped, her D-Dial slipping from her fingers. "He... he stopped a Shishinabe Boar with bare hands?!"
The Boar roared, thrashing its head, trying to gore him. Rito gritted his teeth, the veins in his arms bulging, glowing faintly with golden light.
"You're in way." Rito growled.
He twisted his hips, and using the Boar's own struggling momentum, he pivoted. With a roar of effort, he lifted the beast, physically lifted its front legs off the ground, and threw it sideways. The Boar crashed into the river with a massive splash, dazed and defeated.
Rito didn't wait to celebrate. He turned to the tree holding Mikan.
He sprinted, and then jumped, clearing six feet in a single bound.
"Hah!"
He didn't need a sword. He stiffened his hand, channelling the Trans-Energy into a knife-hand strike. He slashed at the thick vine holding his sister.
SHING.
The vine was severed cleanly causing Mikan to fall.
Rito caught her mid-air, landing softly on the grass.
"You, okay?" Rito asked, setting her down.
Mikan stared at him, her eyes wide, her cheeks flushed. She looked at the severed vine, then at the river where the Boar was paddling away.
"You..." Mikan whispered. "You really are a womanizer."
Rito grinned, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Haha, it seems you're fine."
…
Silence descended on the riverbank.
Zastin lowered his sword. Lala floated down, looking at Rito with stars in her eyes.
But the most shocked were the twins.
Nana stood with her mouth open, staring at the boy she had called "weak". He had just manhandled a Class-B beast and severed a bio-engineered plant with his bare hand.
Momo walked up to him ignoring the chaos. She also ignored Zastin and walked right up to Rito and looked him in the face.
"You..." Momo whispered. She reached out, her finger tracing the muscle of his arm, feeling the residual heat of the Golden Energy. "You aren't human, are you?"
"I am," Rito said, straightening his shirt. "Just... a little different."
Beep-Beep-Beep.
Zastin's communicator went off. A giant hologram of King Gid appeared over the river.
"ZASTIN! HOW'S THE STATUS— WAIT! WHY IS THERE A BOAR IN THE RIVER?!"
"Sire! The Princesses—"
"Zastin, I had told you to not let them cause trouble, that's it, you will be cleaning toilets for three months as a punishment!"
Zastin stiffened at Gid's words. "W-What…?"
"Father!" Momo stepped into the projection's field of view. She smiled, a sweet, terrifying smile. "We met him. Lala-nee-sama's fiancé."
"Oh?" Gid grunted. "And?"
"He's... interesting," Momo said, her eyes sliding back to Rito. "He beat Nana's pet and saved his sister by defeating my Okinawa Tree Monster. I think... we should stay, to observe him, of course."
Nana blinked. "We should?"
"We should," Momo confirmed. "Right, Nana?"
Nana looked at Rito, then blushed and looked away. "F-Fine! Whatever! I want to see if he can do it again or was it just an one-time thing!"
Gid sighed. "Fine. But if you cause troubles, you both are coming home!"
The hologram vanished.
…
That night, the Yuuki household was more crowded than ever.
Nana and Momo had moved temporarily into the guest room, unpacking their alien luggage, Lala would later add rooms for them in her dimension in the attic.
As the house was quiet, settling down after the chaos, Rito was walking down the hallway to get a glass of water.
"Rito-san."
Rito suddenly stopped hearing the voice. Momo was standing in the doorway of her room. She was wearing a silk nightgown, leaning against the frame.
"Momo-san?"
She walked up to him. She didn't have the innocent vibe she showed her father. She had the aura of a cunning strategist.
"I saw them," Momo whispered, stepping close enough that he could smell her floral perfume. "The Seals. Other than Lala-nee-sama, it was on Mikan-san too, your own sister. And I am pretty sure that it's not just them."
Rito stiffened. "You... you did?"
"They even glow," Momo smiled. "When they look at you. It's a beautiful sight."
She reached out, her hand resting on his chest, right over his heart.
"You're building a personal paradise, aren't you? A Harem."
Rito didn't deny it. "I'm building a family."
"It's the same thing," Momo giggled. She leaned up, her lips brushing his ear.
"I want to help you." she whispered. "I want to help you build it. I want to make you the greatest King the universe has ever seen in every sense. It feels like a great thing to do while I'm here."
She pulled back, winking.
"And maybe... when you're King... you'll have a spot for me too?"
She turned and slipped back into her room, leaving Rito standing in the hallway, his heart racing, realizing that his life had just entered a whole new level.
*****
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