Minerva’s tower

We arrived at what was presumably the elevator to Minerva's tower and Maria started to punch a few numbers into the terminal in front of it.

“Yes, what is?”, came the voice over the speakers. It was a male one. And not one I recognized.

“This is Maria. Master Beta wishes to speak with Lady Margaret. Might she be available?”

“Lady Margaret has yet to...one moment.” Five more eternal minutes passed before the voice finally returned. “Very well. Lady Margaret will receive you.”

And just like that the door opened. This was rather tense but Sylphid stepped inside the elevator without hesitation.

A brief ride later and we arrived at the top floor. I'm not sure what I was expecting. It obviously looked the same as my own apartment.

A handsome man in butler attire bowed to me while Minerva was languishing on the couch, accompanied by a massive amount of beer bottles. “Yo.”

But there was no sight of Valkyrie.

“Where is she?”, Sylphid asked without hesitation.

“**** room. Not much to do tomorrow so I'm gonna have some fun with her later”, Minerva grinned and took a huge gulp out of her bottle. “Don’t worry, I want her to see the final, so I leave at least one eye.”

“Sylphid, stay right here.”

That order was absolutely needed. The bloodlust that emanated from Sylphid was overwhelming. I had no doubt that she was just about to attack Minerva, consequences be damned.

“You have your pets well trained, boy”, Minerva chuckled and then laughed outright. “Can’t believe you bagged Sylphid! Shame, was looking forward to our rematch! You want to sell her to me?”

“The opposite actually”, I responded sharply. “How much do you want for Valkyrie? I buy her from you.”

The butler politely coughed at that. “Mr. Beta. The purchase of slaves from a third party is forbidden in all of the Free Cities per the Free Cities Fair **** Trade Act.”

Minerva smirked at the comment. “Well, that's too bad, ain’t it?”

I ignored that. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

“Mr. Beta, with all due respect...”

“That's enough out of you, Carlos!”, Minerva cut him off sharply. “This isn't a discussion for servants. Leave us. You too, Maid.”

Maria and I exchanged a glance and I nodded. Carlos seemed to still want to object but then thought better. The two servants left.

“Noisy bastards”, Minerva scoffed and nursed her bottle some more. “That one’s on Ojou’s payroll. Probably same with your maid. You bet your ass the mighty leader of the Sama Syndicate is aware of everything that’s going on here.”

“I’m not here to talk about Ojou-sama.”

“That so?”, Minerva’s grin turned somewhat wider. “Had a run in with her lately, didn’t you? How’s the old bean?”

“Splendid”, Sylphid answered. “Almost **** her with a pistol.”

Minerva laughed at that. “Good, good. Care for a drink?”

“Just name your fucking price already”, Sylphid screamed, well past the point were she could contain her rage.

“Can't believe I would witness the day when Speed Sylphid loses her cool. Shame that Cass isn’t here. We used to drink a lot back in the day.” Minerva sighed wistfully as if reminiscing, not caring about our anger in the slightest.

Screaming and shouting will get us nowhere. I decided to pivot. “Why did you do it? Why turn yourself into a monster?”

“Now that’s a dumb fucking question, boy.“The newly made Dark Lord sneered at me. “Power, what else?”

“The risk is massive”, I argued. “A Dark Lord almost always takes over the host. You could have lost your sense of self.”

“Ah that...”, Minerva finished another beer before answering. “I was always fond of gambling, you know?”

“Then why didn’t you transform?”, I asked instead, remembering what Beatrice screamed about earlier. She’s drunk right now. Might as well get any information I can out of her.

“Who knows?”, Minerva shrugged her shoulders. “I got his powers, so I don’t really care.”

Was she lying or...I couldn’t tell. Despite how clearly intoxicated Minerva was, her face was a complete mask to me.

“Why so glum!” Minerva laughed and shook a bottle towards us “Sure you don’t want some?”

“The only thing I want is Valkyrie. I pay you double.”

Minerva’s answer to that was to first empty her bottle again. Then she looked at me. “You don't get it, do you, boy? I don’t give a damn about money.”

I feared as much.

“I won this tournament three times already, I have more money then I know what to do with. And thanks to this handy power…” Minerva looked at her bottle and crushed it with her bare hand then proceeded to show me her pristine palm. “I am now invincible. If I ever want something, I just take it.”

“You want me? Fine, I swap with Valkyrie.”, offered Sylphid.

“Now, ain’t that an offer?” Minerva chuckled amused as she looked Sylphid over. “What does your owner say?”

Of course that was not an option. Sylphid already had control of Cia and Lucky. All this would result in was more slaves for this monster to ****.

”Thought so”, Minerva fished for another bottle. “Anyone else you want to offer? Happy to trade you the Valkyrie for any of your slaves.”

That fucking bitch. Is she trying to get me to value my girls individually? Are there any that are worth less then Valkyrie?

…

“Don’t Handsome”, Sylphid shook her head. “Don’t even think about it.”

Minerva watched our struggle in amusement. “Eh. Doesn’t really matter to me. I’m adding you all to my collection the day after tomorrow. If the boy shows up, that is.”

“I am a lucky loser”, I reminded Minerva. “I have to.”

“To human bravery.” Minerva raised her bottle in toast. “If that’s all, kindly show yourselves to the door...or do you want to watch?”

Sylphid knuckled her fists so hard they draw blood. “I am not leaving here without Valk.”

“You will”, I told Sylphid in a voice that broke no argument. “We are done here. Get in the elevator.”

“Say hi to Cass for me”, Minerva chuckled.

I ushered Sylphid into the elevator and stopped. “Just one more thing.”

The Dark Lord smiled at me as I faced her. “So far, I treated my slaves rather well. Some of them more generously then they deserve. How I will treat you is entirely dependent on how you treat Valkyrie."

“Boy...are you serious right now?”

I simply kept glaring at her. “Keep her safe. You are not as invincible as you think.”

Minerva looked at me with an expression I couldn’t really grasp. “Two days from now the Galmon will be the least of your worries.”