(Lian Li POV)
It felt like the world was crumbling all around me.
When I woke up, I thought everything that happened last night was merely a dream.
But when I came out of my shelter and saw the haunted look on the other girls' faces, I knew it was not a dream at all.
We remembered everything.
I remembered how I kept screaming in my mind for myself to stop, but my body wouldn't listen and indulged in my darkest, darkest fantasies of pushing Master down and having my way with Him.
I remembered that look on His face when we jumped Him… There was the look of sadness and resignation on His pure face… The sort of expression that we had vowed to protect Master from…
But my body didn't care, I just mounted Master and kept going until I was filled.
And as much as I hate to say it… It felt glorious to embrace Master like that.
It just felt so good to openly worship Him, to sing Master's praises and His hymns while I was filled with His love… It was so, so, so dangerously addictive.
It still did not change the fact that we had done something unforgivable.
"What… What have we done…" I thought aloud.
No one answered me nor met my eye.
Brendan entered the clearing with Cai Hong, the little girl rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Oh… You're all awake. Umm… Good morning?" Brendan greeted.
No one responded to him.
Brendan scratched his cheek awkwardly, "Ok, yeah. I guess you're all tired from yesterday. You girls need anything?"
At the mention of yesterday, all of us flinched and felt even more dejected.
"Huh… I er… I can make you girls some stamina pills if you want?"
"It's alright Brendan," I sighed. "We don't deserve kindness."
He looked visibly confused, "Erm… Ok… I er… I'll be taking Cai Hong to go wash up if you need me…"
I watch him leave in the direction of the stream, leaving the rest of us to brood over our thoughts.
A few minutes of silence passed before Diao Chan stood up abruptly, "I have decided… I will leave and never return so Master may never gaze upon my despicable self any more."
Eris punched a nearby tree, cracking the wood, "Same for me… I will cast myself off the furthest cliffs and end this miserable life of mine. I ain't got da' right to live after yesterday."
I was about to voice my own self-exile as well when Sophia appeared, "Well now… This is worse than I thought. Isn't this the saddest bunch of girls I've seen in awhile? To think I actually pitied myself back then."
Kiyomi scowled at her, "What do you know, demon? Where were you when that bitch made us her puppets?"
"Sleeping," She said simply. "Even I need sleep too, you know? Besides, all of you looked like you were enjoying yourselves so it would have been rude of me to interfere."
The white fox growled, "You…"
I held up my hand to stop Kiyomi from continuing, "It's not her fault. We were the ones who inconvenienced Master. We should be the ones to pay the price."
Sophia tilted her head at me, "Is that what you girls think? Hmph. If the Dark Sect knew it would be this easy to break the Church like this, you girls wouldn't have lasted a day against them."
Manami stood up with a sour face, her face still stained with tears, "What do you mean by that?"
Sophia shrugged, "I had thought disciples of Master Lin were made of sterner stuff, but perhaps he had been coddling you all too much that such a setback was too much for you all to handle."
I materialised a bolt of lightning in my hands, "You do not know Master as we had."
"Perhaps. But I do know him as I had. From what I have seen, I can say with absolute certainty that none of you will ever reach his level, ever."
"How do you know that?"
She sighed as though she was talking to children, "Did any of you even consider how Master Lin even got to where he is today? Definitely not by constantly brooding over the past like you girls are doing now."
I tossed the lightning bolt at her, the former demon lord raising her hand to dispel my lightning casually with a flick of her wrist.
"Big words coming from the demon lord that once raised her hand against our Master. Do not forget that you are only here because Master allowed you to," I warned her
Sophia chuckled, "Not like that matters much now, does it? This is exactly what I'm talking about. Have you not yet realised? Master Lin has never let the past weigh him down. He simply just picks himself up and moves on. Hell, even the younger him didn't much care for the fact that I was a demon lord, such small details were beneath his care."
"Is that why Master isn't here now? He did not abandon us?" Manami pointed out, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
She nodded, "I believe all of you already know who the culprit as well as the real assassin is, correct? Master Lin had already left to deal with her while leaving instructions for me to take care of all of you."
Elaria perked up, "Onii-sama… Didn't abandon us?"
Sophia rolled her eyes, "Of course not. The first thing Master Lin had instructed me to do was to prepare breakfast for all of you and to make sure all of you were fine. I doubt someone who has chosen to abandon you would go that far. I know people who would kill to get someone like that as their Master. Did all of you really think Master Lin would leave just because of a mistake you girls had no control over?"
"Does Master truly think that? That we're not… Not useless?" Eris asked hopefully.
"I haven't even stayed with Master Lin for a long time and I could see he never thought of you girls that way. What is this? A small mistake and you're already thinking of throwing your lives away? Is this life that Master Lin granted you so easy for you girls to forfeit? You girls call yourselves his believers and yet place no trust in him when such a thing happens. Shame."
All of us hung our heads, knowing it to be true.
This new life that Master had granted me belonged to Him… To think I had wanted to throw away that which is His… How shameful of me.
I turned to my sisters, "My current life belongs to Master… Without Master's say so, I shall only live for His sake. If Master wants me to die, then so be it, but I will live for Master as long as He allows it. For our transgressions, I will kneel and beg Master for forgiveness and await His judgement. I will stay by Master's side as that is the only place I belong. Anyone who tries to come in between us… I will destroy them!"
"Ufufu… Yes, how can I have forgotten?" Manami chuckled, standing tall again. "Master is our destined mate. No one can pull us apart since fate itself has ordained us to be together!"
Eris looked down at her hands, "I am… I am Master's creation. Without Master, I am nothing… Hehehe~ That's right, I will stay by Master's side forever! Anyone who gets in my way will be cut down without question too!"
"Kukuku~ Me too," Diao Chan chuckled, "Master is the one who gave meaning to my life. I will do anything to stay by Master's side, even if it meant bringing the entire world to ruins!"
Kiyomi let a small smirk materialise on her face, "For me who sought power… How pathetic I must be now to give up so easily… Nay, I shall follow Master to the ends of the earth as well. I will follow behind Master no matter what."
Elaria clenched her fists, "I lost Onii-sama once, I won't lose Onii-sama again! Even if the world has to burn for the two of us to be together… Then so be it!"
All of us raised our fists together, "All for Master!"
Yes! All of us renewed our determination to bring glory to Master! We must not forget our holy mission of cleansing this world of its impurities!!
"Sigh… This isn't what I meant but… I suppose this is fine…"
Hmm? Did Sophia say something? Must be my imagination.
