Hmm, hmm~! How nostalgic this is, gliding through the air on devilish wings without a care in the world while your targets meander about without a care in the world below. Times like this make you feel like the apex predator you are.

Wait, no, that sounds horrid. Nobody in their right mind refers to themselves as a predator. That's how you wind up turning into one of those deranged madwomen who hunt down, kill, and eat some cute girls in the not-sexy ways! Probably by shooting them with a crossbow too, like some masked lunatic vigilante who's too big for her britches.

You're certainly out to hunt down some naughty, naughty girls who're poking around where they shouldn't. But you draw the line at pointless, pleasureless sadism! And cannibalism! And snuff! Goodness gracious, you have standards.

You're Alice Takanashi, Void Heart, and you'll cheerfully acknowledge that you're a degenerate monster with perverse tendencies, extreme fetishes, and no pesky morals to prevent you from slaking your lusts whenever you please. But you're a classy degenerate fetishist monster!

Unlike some people. Like that uncute Bitter Blossom girl who keeps yammering on about killing and mutilating other poor, cute girls. Ick, what a sicko she is.

Although a little biting here and there, a little worry to the shoulder, some light tonguing of some delicate nipples… Hmm, those three naughty little Dark Magical Girls sure are cute. You're sure you'd be forgiven for indulging in a teasing nibble or two, here or there…

Well, two of them are cute. One of them's an arrogant pig sow who needs to be taught what the pecking order is; oh yes...

You shake your head, snapping yourself out of your stupor as you finish tracking your target. What did she call herself again? Sanguine Descent?

She's currently stepping outside of the corporate hotel onto a balcony. Popping out for a breath of fresh air, perhaps. Or maybe to get away from her teammates. At any rate, it's the opportunity you've been looking for.

You descend, gliding towards the ground, spells woven to conceal your presence. The noise you make, your smell, and even your mana signature have been suppressed. From what your maids have told you, the only thing that even betrays your presence when you're like this is a faint shimmer in the air. Barely detectable, hardly discernible.

So unnoticeable, Sanguine Descent doesn't even react as you hover over her, wings drumming soundlessly against the air. There are so, so many ways you could approach her now. So many wonderful ways you could take her here and now. You could sneak up on her from behind and hit her with a dose of neurotoxin to keep her compliant. Some surprise tentacle beasts would certainly put her in a sticky situation.

But there's really one method that appeals to your sensibilities the most.

"Hey, hey~!" You cheer as you uncloak and drop to the ground in one fell swoop, descending from the ceiling like the cute pink sexy xenomorph you really are beneath your luscious curves.

The direct method's really the best~!

Especially when you're dealing with green-as-grass rookies who don't even bother to look up. If you were dealing with some real Dark Magical Girls instead of these posers you wouldn't even have bothered with all this grandstanding, in all honesty. Mostly because your colleagues are the sort of girls who shoot first and ask questions never and you don't like having to regrow your limbs.

Sanguine Descent jumps at the sight of you, leaping a full foot off the air. The poor, startled dear's face goes white as she takes you in. Her red eyes practically bulge out of her skull. You let out a playful giggle upon seeing how dumbfounded and startled she is. Goodness gracious, that's a visceral reaction if you've ever elicited one. She's like a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming truck right now~!

It's pretty cute… And, wait, hold on, that expression's familiar. Or rather, her face is familiar. Now that you're getting a good look at her up and close… Hmm. Hmm, hmm, hmm… You swear you've seen her before, you've seen that face before, but where…

Oh, right! Speechy-time. Monologue time! Time to tell some punk kids to get off your lawn!

"Why, hello there! I've come to have a little chat! I'm the cute, sexy Dark Magical Girl, Void Heart! Pleased to meetcha!" You do a little twirl, then mime a curtsy. Then wink while flashing v-signs with your fingers, as moe and cutesy as can be.

"…" Sanguine Descent doesn't say a word. You frown. Ooh, a tricky customer, is she? Trying to play like she's the stoic, eh? Well, you can work with that. Your precious Kaina's a pretty stoic person.

You lean in, getting up in Sanguine Descent's personal space, and the Dark Magical Girl steps back.

Oho? You were expecting a reaction to your little ploy, but not this one. You cock your head like a bird studying a particularly juicy worm, scrutinizing this delicious morsel in front of you, and Sanguine Descent shudders when you make that gesture. It's so subtle that a regular person probably wouldn't notice, but you're no regular person.

You're Alice Takanashi, a connoisseur of all things related to cute girls. Their habits, their tells, and the little micro-expressions that flicker across their faces when you finger and tongue and molest them~!

"Hmm? No reaction?" You probe again, noticing the way Sanguine Descent flinches as you speak. You cock your head to the other side as you take a step forward… And Sanguine Descent quickly takes a step back. "Oh, I am getting a reaction. But it's not arousal, not… Oh, I see. Are you afraid of me?"

"… No, I-" Sanguine Descent blurts out, all too hastily.

"Oh yes you are. Your pupils are dilated, I can hear the way you're trying to control your breathing, your heart's beating like a little rabbit's inside your adorable chest… No, that's definitely fear. But why? I'm scary, sure, but this feels like… This is a learned response," you realize. "Which means… Oh, we've met before, haven't we?"

"…" Sanguine Descent forcibly clamps her lips shut, doing her best to suppress her autonomic reactions. You giggle.

"That's cute, you're trying to stop me from picking up on your tells. That won't work, little missy~! But points for effort! So. We've met before, haven't we? That's why you're vaguely familiar. But where…"

Hmm, the more and more you study this girl's face, the more vaguely irritated you're getting! No, the more genuinely steamed you're getting! You want to punch her in the face right now; she has that kind of punchable face you just wanna beat into a pulp. And you can't shake that sense of vague familiarity like you swear you've seen this girl before. You briefly file through your memories of some of the Dark Magical Girls you've interacted with.

"You could be wearing a disguise, but I don't think you're Morgana Ravena or Blaze Inferna, or any of the flashier girls living in New Vegas. Definitely not a member of the old guard like Nocturna Eden, all of them know not to mess with me and my things after what I did to that one slut, the one who thought she could burn down my base and kill my pets," you begin to monologue because there's more than one way to poke a starving animal.

Words are probably the best way of getting what you want, of provoking someone into making a response. And you certainly want Sanguine Descent to respond, to feed you with all sorts of tells that you can use to peer into her mind and tease the thoughts right out of it. You do pride yourself on your ability to read people, and that's exactly what you're about to do.

Sanguine Descent flinches again, unshed tears beginning to brim in the corner of her eyes. Oho? That's more of a reaction than you were expecting.

"Of course, none of them would be this terrified of me so you can't be any of them. They'd treat me with wary respect, not act like I'm a monster about to rend them open with my claws so I can torture their helpless body. Like what I did to that one useless slut who got too big for her panties," you giggle again, this time more malevolently. "Oh, the things I did to her before staking her soulless corpse in the middle of the plaza… Did you know the human body has 100,000 kilometers of blood vessels in it? I did, but I didn't appreciate how large that number was until I ripped every last one of those vessels out of that idiot's body, including her still-beating heart..."

Another flinch, more recognition flashing across Sanguine Descent's red peepers. So she does know what you were talking about!

… Come to think of it, that might be where you've seen this girl before. It's no coincidence she's reacting every time you talk about what you did to that garbage person of a Magical Girl… What was her name? Cruor… Cruor something. Cruor Hemis? Yes, that's it. And what did she look like again…?

Oh. You blink, look at Sanguine Descent, then compare her face to Cruor Hemis' face. Oh, now that's interesting. Cruor Hemis was a biomancer like you, and she also engaged in rampant cloning of herself. You remember having to slaughter a whole multitude of her clones before going to scoop that wretched witch up and venting your fury upon her before dragging her kicking and screaming back to your lair.

Considering the state you left Cruor Hemis in, her kicking and screaming was more like wet gurgling and helpless flailing, but you're digressing now. Gotta get back on track!

The point is, you do actually remember what that horrible little Dark Magical Girl looked like. Vividly. You remember what her clones looked like; you had to slaughter so many of them.

And the next time you look at Sanguine Descent, you find Cruor Hemis' face staring up at you, terrified out of her little mind.

So that's how you recognize her!

"Kya~!" You squeal, clapping your hands together gleefully. "Oh, we have met before~! You're one of her clones! Her daughters? Her clone-daughters."

"N – No," Sanguine Descent protests weakly, but you roll over her feeble objections pretty easily.

"Oh yes you are. I don't forget the faces of cute girls, and as horrible as Cruor Hemis was, I'll admit that she did look particularly delicious," you lick your lips as you move in closer and closer to Sanguine Descent, the poor albino stepping further and further back as you encroach on her personal space.

Until she has no more space to flee because you've managed to back her against the wall, oh, it's delectable, the way her face freezes up in fear and the way her fingers scrabble desperately against the wall, searching for more space to flee to. You sniff, inhaling deeply of this girl's fear-scent, relishing in how desperately afraid she is of you.

Delicious. So delicious you decide to pounce, your claws sliding home as you lean in and plant an arm beside Sanguine Descent's head. Sanguine Descent tries to hold her breath as your pheromones wash over her, as your hot breath wafts against her face…

… And also as your boobs lightly touch her own, dominating her small chest just as much as you're dominating her with your words.

"So we do know each other. You know that I killed your… Mother? Progenitor? Let's go with progenitor. The point is, I killed your progenitor a while ago for interfering with what's mine. And this city? The Magical Girls living in this city? They're mine, dear pet," you purr, and dawning horror flashes across Sanguine Descent's face.

Hmm, hmm. What to do, what to do? Oh, there are so many ways you can push this now that you know this girl's terrified out of her mind because of you. Fear's such a good motivator – Both in getting stupid interlopers to pack up and get off your lawn, and in compelling some particularly unruly pets into behaving more appropriately.

And right now, a new, cute girl is in front of you! A pet-in-waiting who's practically gift-wrapped herself with her fear and despair! Sure, the only downside is that she has a very punchable face, mostly because it's the face of some uncute girl who you despise! But that was her mother… Er, progenitor? Whatever. The sins of her mother aren't Sanguine Descent's sins; you've never been the type to hold a grudge just because of what someone's parents did.

No, you hold grudges because of things that person, in particular, did. And right now, you'll readily admit that you're holding just a teeny-tiny grudge against Sanguine Descent because of what she's done. Or what she's about to do.

"You were hired by Mendesdyn Security, weren't you?" You probe again. There it is, there's that little tell Sanguine Descent shows every time she tries to hide how scared she is, the way her teeth gnaw against the inside of her cheek. The poor dear's probably got one heck of a cold sore in that spot now because of you. "Oh, don't try to lie to me, you wouldn't be in this corporate hotel if you weren't. You know, that irritates me. It's actually annoying. Because I also know why you're here."

"…" Sanguine Descent audibly gulps, and you chuckle malevolently again.

"You're here to try to kill Infinity Princess, aren't you?"

"… That's what our contract says," Sanguine Descent mumbles, and your cheerful facade breaks upon that admission.

"Well I can assure you," you hiss, letting some of your anger seep out. "That would certainly be a mistake. Because Infinity Princess is my girlfriend. And soon-to-be wife but that's not the point. The point is… Do you understand what you've done? What you're about to do? You're trying to touch what's mine. And you of all people should know what I do to trash that tries to touch my precious… Eh?"

You blink, sniffing as you detect the faint scent of… Ammonia? You look down, then up at Sanguine Descent, and you let out a huff of laughter. Ha. Ha! So terrified she's peed herself.

"… I'm sorry my – my lady. My – my goddess. I – I'm willing to – I'll leave. Immediately. If that's what you want," Sanguine Descent stutters, finally managing to speak.

"Is that good enough? I don't know, you still have a very punchable face and I am pretty annoyed right now," you muse.

"I – I'm willing to – to alter I am perfectly willing to change my facial structure if it so displeases you, Lady Alice. Goddess," Sanguine Descent says, and you blink.

"… Eh?"

Sanguine Descent holds up a trembling hand and unsheathes her claws, raising them to scrape across her cheek?

Oh, ew. You wave her off frantically.

"None of that, none of that! And none of that goddess business too! We don't do that here! Were you seriously going to disfigure yourself just because I terrified you into submission?"

Sanguine Descent nods, and you sigh.

… Sheesh, that's crazy, even by your standards. What kind of perfectly serviceable cute girl disfigures themselves? It's like cutting the wings off an angel, messing with an adorable face! Wow, this is starting to get less and less fun. You thought you'd have to break some arrogant slut with an ego, and here you are, kicking a helpless puppy who was already afraid of you.

How droll. How boring. Way to kill the mood.

Yep, it's about time to wrap up here, you're starting to get bored. But what to do, what to do…

(149/250 essence, 100 regen.)(63 banked essence.)