Chapter 5

"OK," Skuld said, "This is what we know."

Sitting at the table with her were Sayoko and Misato, both giving the elder Goddess their complete attention.

"Number One, There are at least two demons running around Tokyo-2. Number Two, they have caused several small problems around the city, as well as one big one involving you, Misato, and the pilots that live with you. Number three, we now have an incident where all the pilots have targeted, as well as one of their friends. The question is, what are the demons up to?"

"It seems to me," Misato began, "That the children were the targets all along."

"But I wasn't affected by the first incident." Sayoko said.

"True. But you also were not on planet."

"The weapon that was used is rather general." Skuld said, "And my original testing showed that a lot of the building was hit, not specifically your apartment."

"So there are others with their souls mixed up?" asked Misato.

"No," answered Skuld, "In the hands of a skilled demon, the device would only seek out those that the demon wanted, meaning he'd sense for those that knew of NERV, or the inside of an EVA, something that only you all would know. That was another reason it isn't used much anymore because of the concentration required to target it."

"So the first incident was targeted generally in the area the pilots were in." Misato said, "The Second then was aimed specifically at the pilots. The names of the pilots have never publicly been announced or released officially. There are even those running around that claim they are the pilots, but the government denies them."

"Not many in Heaven know who the Pilots are either." Skuld added, "Mara told me before that there are extremely few Demons who know who they are. Hild apparently did that as a favor to Urd."

A knock at the door interrupted them. Sayoko got up and answered it.

"Kensuke?" she asked surprised.

"Sorry for intruding." He said with a bow. "It's just……..they're all missing and……"

"You think you might be next?" Sayoko asked. Seeing Kensuke nod, she continued. "I wouldn't worry about it, but please come inside. We're trying to figure it all out now."

Kensuke followed Sayoko in and bowed politely to Skuld and Misato. He then joined them at the table.

"So back to what we were discussing, at some point in between the attacks, someone blabbed who the pilots were." Misato frowned, "Most of those that were at NERV have gone off to different countries. Ritsuko, Kaji, Maya, and I are about the only ones still in the area."

"Suppose it was a student at their school?"

"No way." Sayoko said, "None of the teachers know who we are. The principal knows, and those that transferred over from Tokyo-3 don't talk about it. The other pilots and I don't even talk about back then. There is no way someone could know from school."

"Um…" interrupted Kensuke, "There is someone at school how just recently found out."

Sayoko narrowed her eyes slightly. "Who?"

"Mana Kirishima." Kensuke said, "She asked why Shinji and Asuka were together and I mentioned that they had lived with each other since Tokyo-3. She started asking more questions, so……I ended up telling her about you being pilots."

Skuld scratched her head. "Mana Kirishima? Isn't that the new girl?"

Sayoko nodded. "She arrived the day after we left to get the licenses renewed."

"Asuka hates her because she seems to be after Shinji," Misato said, "Though from what I saw she's a normal school girl."

"I didn't detect anything demonic from her when I shook her hand." Sayoko added.

"Hmmm." Skuld suddenly sat up. "Maybe we've been going at this wrong. What if there is just one demon and its possessing someone."

"Possessing?" Kensuke asked, "So you do what, an exorcism?"

"That's the Christian term." Skuld said, "Remember, we're Norse, but you have the general idea."

"Problem is we're still back to who is possessed." Sayoko said, "If it was anyone at school, I would have detected them by now."

Skuld looked at Kensuke, "When did you tell Mana?"

"During Sayoko's performance at the concert." Kensuke replied.

"I didn't detect anything." Sayoko said, "Though I was concentrating on something else."

"I felt something," Skuld said, looking back over her memory, "But it was faint. I think it had mostly to do with the song you played."

Sayoko nodded, "It was one of Mom's favorites."

"BLEEP!"

Skuld turned and looked as Banpei and Sigel walked into the kitchen.

"What is it?"

"We have found something odd inside one of the seal envelopes." Sigel said, "It seems to be a cat hair."

Skuld frowned. "Cat hair?"

"Shinji mentioned at school that Mana had a cat." Kensuke said, "A black and white one with a funny star shaped spot on its head."

Skuld's eyes went wide. Sayoko on the other hand looked rather thoughtful.

"Sounds like the cat I had when I was younger. She disappeared when I was…….."

"WHERE DOES MANA LIVE?!?!?" Skuld all but shouted at Kensuke.

"I haven't been there but I think it's listed in the school database……."

Skuld flew out of the room and raced to her computer. Kensuke and Misato looked at Sayoko confused.

"What's wrong with her?" Misato asked.

"I really don't know."

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"Well this is different." Asuka said.

They had finally exited the forest and now found themselves looking over a large desert. The yellow brick road they had been following, vanished under the sand.

"Lovely." Asuka muttered, "So how the hell are we supposed to follow the damn road?"

"Um Asuka." Hikari said.

"What?"

"What's that over there?" Hikari pointed towards a small hill along the forests edge, looking over the desert. On top appeared to be a figure. A very familiar figure.

Touji squinted. "That kinda looks like……"

"REI!!" Asuka shouted. She immediately ran towards the hill, Touji and Hikari following her from behind.

By the time Touji and Hikari had caught up to Asuka, she was already beside Rei. Rei had not acknowledged the others. Her face remained fixed towards a point on the horizon out over the desert.

"Rei?" Asuka said, "Come on Rei!! Wake up!"

"It's like she's frozen." Hikari said, waving her hand past Rei's eyes.

"She can't be frozen." Touji said, "It's like hotter then….well…if we're in Hell I guess it can't be hotter then that."

"Not that kind of frozen stooge!" Asuka shouted, "Like magic frozen."

"So how do we unfreeze her?" Hikari asked.

"I don't know." Asuka grabbed Rei's arm. "I suppose we….."

Before Asuka could finish, there was a flash of light. Suddenly Rei grabbed onto Asuka, and fell to her knees.

"Rei!" Asuka shouted, falling to her knees beside her friend. "Are you alright?"

Rei took a couple of deep breathes. "I am fine Asuka."

"How long were you like that?" Hikari asked.

"Since I arrived here……" Rei looked around, "Where is here?"

Asuka quickly told Rei everything that had happened right up to when they found her.

"So all that remains is to find Shinji and Sayoko and then defeat the demon?" Rei asked.

Asuka nodded. "That's it."

"It sounds too easy." Rei said, "After all, this is a demon. There must be something else that it has in mind."

"That's probably where the desert comes in." Touji said.

"So?" Asuka said, "We crossed the stupid desert. What's hard about that?"

Touji frowned at Asuka. "You've never watched movies with Kensuke have you?"

"I try to avoid anything to do with that stooge."

"Ken got me to watch this movie awhile back that took place on a desert planet. And the desert had these giant worms that were attracted to the sound of people walking on the sand."

Hikari frowned. "I think I remember that. Kensuke was all excited the first time he saw it. He even searched online for a copy of the book."

Asuka whipped her head around. "It was a book?"

Touji nodded, "Yeah. Ken showed it to me. He was all excited because it was an original hardcover."

"Great." muttered Asuka, "Our demon friend likes books. What do you want to bet there are those worms out there?"

"You think the demon read that book?" Touji asked.

"Are you willing to run out there and find out?"

"Good point."

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Tokyo-2

Welsper sat in front of the TV, watching a game show of some sort.

"I'm never going to understand these things." She muttered to herself, "I wonder how Mana's doing."

As she watched TV, she failed to notice the slight glow coming from her water dish. She only realized someone else was in the room when a hand grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and lifted her into the air.

"RAWR!!" she cried. She brought out her claws and was all set to swipe at the person who grabbed her when she found herself staring at brown eyes.

"Hello Welsper." Skuld coolly said.

"Uh oh."

Skuld glanced down the hallway. "You here?"

"Yes Auntie." Sayoko stepped out of a room further down the hall, "Mana doesn't keep the bathroom very clean."

"You're telling me." Welsper muttered.

Sayoko walked up to her Aunt and took a look at the cat she held. Her eyes went wide.

"Isn't that Welsper?" she asked.

"Well…..yes…." Skuld replied.

"What's she doing here?!" Sayoko shouted, "She vanished when Mamma…….." Sayoko wiped her eyes. "…but…she's alive. Isn't she like 25 or something? Cats don't live this long."

"True." Skuld said, turning her attention back to Welsper, "But then you aren't a normal cat are you?"

"Meow?" Welsper replied.

Skuld's eyes narrowed. "I know it's you Welsper. You'd better start talking."

"Auntie," Sayoko said, "Cat's don't talk."

"This one can, and had better start talking soon." an evil grin appeared on Skuld's face, "You know, Urd's on good terms with her mother, she did get Mara sent to Alaska. I'm sure she could do really much more interesting things to……"

"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT!!" Welsper shouted, much to Sayoko's surprise. "What do you want to know?"

"She can talk?" Sayoko asked.

"Yes." Skuld said, "She's also a demon."

"A DEMON! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!?!?"

Skuld looked at her niece. "You were too young to understand." Skuld looked back at Welsper. "So it was decided to keep a few things from you."

"A few things?" Sayoko asked, "What else did you keep from me?"

"The other one was something kept from your mother too. Welsper here is your mother's Doublet."

Sayoko's eyes widened. "How do you know?!?"

"She caused a few problems years ago. Speaking of problems," Skuld's eyes narrowed, "What have you been up to here?"

"Oh….nothing much…." Welsper replied.

"Sayoko, call Urd and tell her….."

"OK OK!!!" Welsper shouted, "You know you've gotten an evil streak in you."

"Well?"

"ALRIGHT!" Welsper sighed, "I'm here as a teacher to a demon, to train her to become a First Class Demon. We were behind the pilot's soul swapping, and a few other things in town."

"What about what's going on now?"

"There's nothing going on……"

"Bullshit." Sayoko said, holding up an envelope, "We know about these letters."

Welsper's eyes widened. "How did you……?"

"I was sent one."

"But….Mana said she was sending them to the EVA pilots!"

"I am an EVA pilot." Sayoko said, "And what's this about Mana? She isn't a demon."

"She is." Welsper said, "How the hell did Heaven and Hell hide the fact that a Goddess is an EVA pilot??"

"Never mind that," Sayoko said, "She can't be a Demon. I'm in class with her, I would have detected her."

"Not if she is part mortal."

Skuld glared at Welsper, "You'd better start explaining."

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Ok Ok. So here's the deal.

Years ago, a Demoness tried to over throw Hild to become Queen. She had thousands of followers and was feared by all in Hell. But she was defeated, and locked away. But her followers remained. They tried to blend back in, as if nothing had happened, some succeeded, others failed. Mana's father, one of the higher ranking followers, was one of the successful ones.

He lived the life as any demon should, cursing mortals, causing problems that required the gods to fix, that kind of thing. He eventually rose in the ranks until he was part of Hild's court.

As with many of the court members, he mostly stayed in Hell. But once in awhile, he'd leave Hell and walked the earth. One day, he happened upon a beautiful mortal girl. He did the typical Demon thing, had his way with her, then left her for death.

Hey don't look at me like that! It's what a demon does alright!

The only thing was, she lived. Nine months later, she gave birth to a baby girl, Mana. Now somehow, he found out about the child four or five years later and immediately went to Earth to kill both mother and child. He was a high ranking member of the Queen's Court, it would be a scandal for him to have a half breed…….don't glare at me like that I'm just telling you the way it is in Hell…….for him to have a Half-Breed Child. He'd lose prestige, be stripped of his titles and ranks, and kicked to the streets. After some searching, he found them. He arrived and immediately went after them. The mother tried to protect Mana from him, but she was killed, using a technique that had made his former leader the most feared Demonesses ever. The mother was essentially erased from existence. He then turned to Mana and was about to kill her too when Queen Hild's guards arrived. He was taken into custody, as was the child.

This is where I came in. After Belldandy vanished, I didn't know what was going to happen to me. I was her doublet after all. Would I just vanish? Die immediately? Or fade? I went to Hell and sought Hild out. She kept me around for a good laugh, after all, look at me, I'm a cat.

Mana's father stood defiantly before Hild, claimed he did no wrong. Hild pointed out he'd kill the mother using the technique of her rival. Mana's father snarled back and tried to attack Hild, saying his Lady would rise again. For is arrogance, he was stripped of all his powers, and reincarnated as pond scum. His mind was left intact though, so where ever he is, he is experiencing every moment of it.

Back to Mana now.

Hild was intrigued by her. A half mortal, half demon child. Nothing like this had ever happened before in the history of Hell. The few that knew thought that as a half breed, she should die. Hild, however, decided that Mana would live, to be trained as a Demon.

Personally, I think Hild looked at Mana and saw her daughter Urd.

Anyway, Hild assigned me to teach and raise Mana. Initially, we stayed away in a secure area of Hell, but eventually, we returned to Mana's home. Records were changed, and with the help of another Demon, people believed that Mana still lived with her mother.

We then moved here for her to begin her 'on the job training' as it were. All was fine, she did both her mortal homework as well as her demon training. We even came upon the idea of disrupting the lives of the EVA pilots, to help her achieve First Class demonship. We only had the slightest of clues where the pilots lived, we didn't know who they were.

Then, that concert.

Mana played well with the mortals. I enjoyed it, watching from above. I was all set to leave when I saw you Sayoko.

("So that's what I felt." muttered Skuld.)

At first I thought it was your mother, but your hair is darker. The song you played….her favorite, it brought back good memories. I suppose seeing you there was a sign that Mana and I should have been more careful. Heck, I should have warned her that I saw a Goddess there at the concert. But she didn't say anything about feeling either of you, so I thought for awhile I just hallucinated it.

Guess I was wrong.

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"I hate the desert."

"We know. You said that eight dunes ago."

Asuka, Hikari, Rei, and Touji were walking across the desert. Each walking in such a way that there was no rhythm to their steps.

"How long have we been walking out here?" Hikari asked.

"I believe 2 hours have past." Rei answered.

"Go with what Rei said," Asuka called out, "She keeps great track of time somehow."

Touji walked up to the top of the next dune.

"Well," he said, "Doesn't look like it's going to be much longer."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I think I can see a tower."

The girls scrambled up to the top of the dune. At the top, they could see what Touji had just told them. A large black tower rose up in the distance. Towards the top, it split into two spires. Between the spires, red lighting flash, holding up what appeared to be a giant eye. The eye slowly moved about, as if looking for something.

"This Demon is starting to really piss me off." Asuka said, "What book is that from?"

"I do not know." Rei said.

"Definitely demonic though." Touji said, "Not much further?"

"Who knows." Asuka said, "Head towards the tower."

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Mana sat in a chair, staring at the sphere in the floor. She watched as the group of four made their way over the dunes. In another section, Shinji paced about in his cell, occasionally pounding on a wall. She reached out and touched Shinji's face on the sphere. She then pulled it back quickly.

"It won't be long now." She then let out a sigh, "Hell, it's taking to long already."

'Bad things like monsters exist in the dark.'

Mana shook her head. "I am not a monster. I am a Demon. I will never be like him."

She then looked back at the sphere.

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"Where are they?" Sayoko asked.

"Mana is holding all of them in an area of Hell." Welsper said, "She's created her own little world there using stuff from her books."

"How do I get there?" Sayoko asked.

Welsper's eyes widened. "You can't go there! It's Hell! Do you have any idea what the demons there would do to a Goddess?! There's no way I'm going to help you go there."

"You're not going to help her go there……." Skuld began.

"Damn right I'm not!"

"….You're going to help us."

"But but but….the Demons….they'll….."

Skuld walked over to the phone. "Leave the demons to me. You tell Sayoko how we get there."

Sayoko waited patiently as Welsper sputtered.

"I……you…eh….FINE!" Welsper looked up at the young Goddess, "It's the letter inside the envelope that does it. You read the sentence and that starts the reaction. In a few seconds, you're somewhere in Hell."

Sayoko eyed the envelope she had brought, one that had been addressed to Rei. "And then the letter becomes ash right?"

"Yes."

Skuld walked back over. "I called Urd. She's going to contact Hild and ask for permission."

"Think she'll do it?"

"Hild has gotten a soft spot for Urd lately." Skuld replied, "What about getting there?"

"We need my letter."

"That's back at the apartment."

"Yep."

"Back to the apartment it is." Skuld then grabbed Welsper by the scruff of the neck. "And you are coming with us."

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"When we get out of here…" Asuka said, "I am going to take a three hour bath, just because that's how long it will take to get rid of all the sand."

"I have sand in places I didn't even know existed on the human body." Touji muttered.

"Asuka, I intend to fight you for the bath." Rei said.

"But I called it first!" Asuka shouted.

"I do not care. I will carry the fight into the bath if need be."

"That's something to think about." muttered Touji. He promptly received a smack on the head from Hikari.

"Pervert." She said, "That's something Kensuke would think of!"

"What makes you think…." began Touji before he realized something.

He was no longer walking on sand. In fact, he was back on the yellow brick road, which led directly to the Dark Tower.

"The road is back." He called out.

"Yippee." Asuka replied. She walked out along the road a bit, staring at the giant tower. "So, you guys coming or…."

The giant eye suddenly turned downwards, looking right at them. In a flash, they vanished.

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Mana smiled. "Welcome."

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"Ow." For the second time that day, Asuka had been teleported to God (or Goddess) knew where. Some mutterings and groans, however, told her she was not alone.

"Who's still alive?" she called out.

"Me." came Rei's reply.

"I want to file a complaint with the travel bureau." came Touji's voice.

"I think I bruised something." was Hikari's reply.

"Where are we?" asked Rei.

Asuka looked around. They appeared to be in a large stone chamber that lacked doors and windows. The room was well lit, though where the light came from was unknown.

"I have no clue where we are." Asuka said.

"I do."

Asuka turned about to see the hooded figure from the Munchkin village. The figure floated several feet off of the floor. Touji leaped to his feet.

"Just who the hell are you?!" he shouted, "Why did you bring us here and why….."

"ENOUGH!" the figure shouted. With a wave of it's hand, Touji was sent flying backwards, slamming hard into the wall.

"TOUJI!" Hikari screamed running to his side. She turned and stared back at the figure. "You monster!!"

"I am no monster," the figure said, "Simply a demon on a mission."

Asuka leaped her feet. "Enough! Where's Shinji and Sayoko?"

"Sayoko will not be joining us." The figure replied, "Shinji however……" The figure waved it's hand to the side. A cage flashed into existence with Shinji inside.

"SHINJI!" Asuka cried out.

"ASUKA!" Shinji then glared at the figure. "Damn you Mana! Let us go!"

"MANA?!?!?" the other children shouted.

The figure pulled back it's hood, revealing the auburn hair and green eyes of Mana Kirishima.

"Surprised Sohryu?" Mana said with a smirk.

"Well….yeah….I mean…I always thought you were a demon…but….."

"What she means is why are you not allergic to Lucky Charms?" Rei asked.

"Something I have my Mother to thank for." Mana replied. Her face froze for a second, then she shook her head, trying to clear her mind of something. "So Sohryu, ready to give up on Shinji? If you do, I'll let you all go."

"Don't do it Asuka!" Touji shouted, "She's a demon. She wants us all dead."

"I would tend to agree with Touji." Rei said, her eyes narrowing, "Either we all go home, or none of us does."

Asuka smiled at her friends and then glared at Mana.

"Give me your best shot bitch."

Mana smirked, a force bolt forming in her hands. As the bolt formed, Mana's eyes glowed red and her demon markings flashed into existence on her face.

"You asked for it."

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Sayoko and Misato paced about in the goddess' apartment. Kensuke sat on the couch, alternating between watching TV and watching the two pace back and forth. Skuld was sitting in another chair, calmly reading a book in the god's language.

"I can't take this!" Sayoko shouted.

"Calm down and have a seat." Skuld said, not looking up from her book.

"How can I?" Sayoko replied, spinning about to face her aunt. "They're alone in hell! They could be hungry, they could be injured…….

"They could also be dead." Misato added.

"I seriously doubt that." Skuld said.

"Why?!"

"Because Peorth would have called by now." Skuld replied.

"Uh….Skuld?" Kensuke called out.

"What?"

"Your TV is glowing."

A glance at the TV revealed a pair of legs coming out of the screen. Skuld let out a loud sigh as her eldest sister pulled the rest of herself from the TV.

"Must you always come out legs first?" she asked.

Urd ignored the comment. "I talked to Mom. She isn't happy about it, but she'll allow us to come."

"Great, Sayoko and I will…." Skuld trailed off and looked back at her sister. "Us?!?!"

"You think I'm going to let my sister and my niece go into hell all by themselves?" Urd smiled, "No way I'm going to lose anymore family members."

Skuld smiled, then glanced at her niece. "Ready to go get your friends?"

Sayoko nodded, "Let's go give Mana a surprise."

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Asuka sailed through the air for what seemed like the twentieth time. In all honesty, she had totally forgotten how many times Mana had sent her through the air. Nearby, Touji lay stunned on his back, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Asuka knew she didn't look much better. She felt something warm oozing down her forehead and a coppery taste in her mouth. A quick wipe of her hand across her forehead revealed the sight of blood.

"You can't win." Mana said, "You can't even begin to hurt me."

As if to prove it, Rei leaped at Mana's back. A red shield flared, knocking Rei away. Hikari, who had been trying to avoid fighting and instead trying to help the pilots, ran to Rei's side.

"Just give up Sohryu." Mana pleaded, "Concede Shinji to me, or you can remain in hell for eternity, and I'll still get Shinji."

"Never." Asuka spat, "When Sayoko gets here, she'll….."

"She'll what? Add more blood to the floor?" Mana forced out a laugh, "You three have already shown that mortals can't harm me. What can she possibly do to me?"

"What?" Asuka said, "But she's……"

"ASUKA!" Shinji shouted, "She doesn't know!"

Mana looked at Shinji and then back at Asuka. She knew that Sayoko was a pilot, what more was there? Welsper hadn't said anything.

"What are you two…" Mana began, before a chime interrupted her.

"Ahhh, finally." Mana said, "Miss Morisato has finally arrived here in….."

Mana grabbed her head as a loud voice began to telepathically speak to her.

THE GODS HAVE ENTERED HELL!!!! the voice shouted, REPEAT! THREE GODS HAVE ENTERED HELL!!!

Mana paled slightly. From outside, a loud siren seemed to fill the air. Asuka smirked slightly.

"What's the matter Kirishima? Something unexpected happen?"

Before Mana could reply, another voice entered her mind, one she knew all to well.

This is Hild, your Queen. Do NOT repeat do NOT interfere with the Goddesses. Anyone who so much as hurts a hair on their heads will spend the next 5 centuries in pain.

Mana was now very confused. Sayoko had entered Hell, within seconds, the alarm had been raised that Gods had entered Hell, now Hild was telling everyone to let them be? Did this mean Sayoko was…….."

Mana shook her head clear of the thought. It was impossible. She would have detected Sayoko as a Goddess long ago. Welsper never said anything, and he had been at the concert. It must have been a coincidence.

She came out of her musings just in time to see Asuka running at her with fists raised. Mana quickly sent another force bolt at Asuka. This one slammed hard into Asuka's chest. The German girl fell backwards, coughing up blood as she landed. Mana blinked. She hadn't wanted to hit her that hard. She shook her head again.

'You're a Demon.' Welsper's words repeated in her head.

Mana stared at Asuka. "By the time Morisato arrives, all she will find is a corpse of her friend." Mana formed another force bolt. "Good bye Sohryu." Mana released the force bolt.

Asuka closed her eyes, feeling the heat of the bolt as it ripped through the air. But it never reached her. She felt something move in front of her and then a loud explosion. Asuka opened her eyes to see not one, but three angels floating in front of her. One had black and white wings, another had short brown hair. The last had become very familiar to Asuka. It had long honey brown hair. It was Morning Bell, Sayoko's angel. That meant the other two, World of Elegance and Noble Scarlet, belong to her Aunts.

Mana was stunned.

"Wha….what?!?"

"You made a big mistake." came Sayoko's voice.

Mana turned to see three helmeted Goddesses in battle gear. Two she recognized, Sayoko and her Aunt Skuld. The third looked kind of like Queen Hild.

"Sayoko?" Mana whispered, still in shock.

Sayoko glared at Mana, "I am Sayoko Morisato, Goddess First Class Type Two Unlimited. You will release these mortals, or you will regret the day you ever entered Tokyo-2"