Makoto Nanaya; one of my most fascinating specimens. To think a simple memory scan was all it took to turn this phenomenal source of power into my personal weapon.

"Good morning, Master Relius. Would you like me to kill someone today?"

It was clear she had been waiting patiently for me even before I opened the door to her cell, smiling as brightly as the rays of sun passing through her barred windows. She had dressed herself in that peculiar combat outfit of hers and had rubbed most of the drowsiness out of her eyes, but the slightly unkempt look in her hair told me she had awoken only minutes earlier.

This girl was quite different from the bothersome vermin who had stumbled into my home looking for Jin Kisaragi months ago. Once she was so fargone that I no longer had to shuffle through her memories and listen to her squealing for mercy on a daily basis, her spirit had adjusted to its new environment and steadily returned to its original strength. It was truly something spectacular.

"Don't worry yourself, pet. You've been rather... busy lately, and I want you to take a few days off."

She predictably responded to this with a slow wave of her tail and a cheerful twitch in her ears.

"Thank you, Master Relius. I like spending time with you."

It was an understandable notion. With her defense mechanisms reduced to mental ruin and all of her other memories destroyed, she needed something to cling to so she wouldn't completely lose herself, and I was the only recognizable thing she had left. What I had to say next would have made me feel sorry for her, if I had the patience for such silly emotions.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait, as I have matters of my own to attend to. I'd like you to help guard the manor for the day."

I saw the terror light up in her eyes in instant panic. Even after being domesticated, she was still subject to these sorts of spontaneous mood changes. It seemed to be an unavoidable part of her beastkin nature.

"D-don't leave me here alone! Please! It's creepy when I'm the only one here with your robots!"

Ah, I had almost forgotten. She was the only one of my subjects who had not been mechanically altered in any way and she had trouble socializing with the others. I would have had this issue corrected ages ago if her body's natural power weren't the very thing that made her so intriguing. It would be a sin to defile something so marvelous.

And besides, it probably wouldn't have been a bad idea to enlist an extra bodyguard for this mission.

"Very well. You can come along, but do try to relax yourself unless there's an emergency. Your latest examination showed you have been accumulating some fatigue from all those errands I had you complete."

Her routine physicals were imperative to my research, but they were a thorough affair she had initially found unpleasant. That was back when she still had enough of her mind to object to the procedure, however, and now she actually looked forward to it when the time arose. She was always chattering about how proud she was to show me how strong she was becoming.

"I want you to take it easy until you're back to your full potential."

Her ears perked upward and the sparkle returned to her eyes as her lips pursed like a cat's. She was giggling when she resumed addressing me in the polite manner I had trained her to use.

"Whatever you say, Master Relius. I'll stay out of the way, but I got ya covered if any bad guys come after us!"

Unit 12 was gone, Tsubaki Yayoi had died a fool's death, and the new source of energy I had discovered was quickly bringing the rest of my enemies to their knees. This world's fate would soon be sealed.