The head butler stared at me. He was holding a gun right at Eljari’s skull. “You shouldn’t have come here, idiot.” He said. Every trapped fantasy creature glared at him with hatred. Only Elyrantha had a curious expression. Pupp was looking at him with anger, her flames were blue. Harpina was shrieking angrily while the expression of Angelica wasn’t a mix of malice and kindness, but malice and hate. The head butler spoke. “If you want this thing to die then take one step or move one limb.” He looked quite serious about it. I however, stayed calm. I looked at Eljari. “Sorry if it hurts.” I said. Eljari looked terrified at me. “Trust me, Eljari.” I said. She nodded. I looked at the head butler again.

I then used the shockwave crystal for the first time. Next to the training of course. It separated and sent Eljari and the head butler flying backwards, and the shockwave had the glass door of Pupp break into pieces. The rest of the doors were still intact. Perhaps because the glass of Pupp was weakened by her heat.

Either way, i was too busy focusing on Eljari and the head butler. I shifted my hand to my machine guns. I ran at the head butler, disarmed him and kicked his arms, breaking them. He was now writhing in pain. I couldn’t care less. He attempted to murder a new friend. I looked at Eljari. “Get a rope somewhere.”

She ran out of the room and came back a few minutes later with rope, which I used to restrain the head butler. I then pulled him by his hair up to have his face be leveled with mine. “Let them go.” I demanded. He shook his head. “You don’t know how I can unlock the doors, idiot.” Milo then spoke up. “All you need is his finger.” I smiled at Milo, and thanked him for the help. I then shifted my hand to the Cyborium sword, and then looked at Pupp. “Pupp? Come here real quick.” Pupp then came walking over to me. “What’s up Daurine?” She asked. I replied. “I’m going to cut his finger off and I want you to burn the wound, so he doesn’t bleed, okay?” She smiled and nodded excitedly. “Okay!” She exclaimed happily. “On one.. three.. two.. ONE.” As I said ‘one’ I cut his index finger off and Pupp quickly pulled his hand into her ears to burn the wound, which left him screaming in pain. Pupp looked like she enjoyed it and kept burning his hand. “You shouldn’t have been such a bad person..” she calmly said. “Alright Pupp, enough enjoyment, you gotta help me keep the finger warm.” She nodded and let him go, and walked close to me, close enough to keep the finger on body temperature. I placed the fingertip on the little spot for it and then I two options showed up. “Open All” and “Open Singular”. I pressed “Open All”, and then all the cells doors opened. Everyone came out and ran at the head butler but before they could reach me I shot into the air, and everyone froze. I just said a simple but cold “No.” which had everyone looking down. “Not today.” I then grabbed him and began dragging him.

“Elyrantha? Can you come with me real quick?” I asked her. She smiled. “Sure.” She said and then walked after me. I spoke up again. “Everyone else, stay here. I will return soon with a way to get down easier.” They all nodded. I looked at Elyrantha. “Elyrantha, can you drag the butler up the ladder once we’re there?” She nodded. “Of course! I will happily drag the butler -or however you just called him, my English isn’t really that great- up the ladder!” I smiled at Elyrantha while dragging the butler. “Good. Thank you.” She smiled back, her sharp teeth glistening in the light of the hallway.

On the way there, we came across the creation room of the butler. I became curious. I tilted the butler up by his hair, and harshly pressed his hand against the panel to unlock the door. It swung open and I walked inside, with Elyrantha following. Inside, there were a couple of ginormous monstrosities that were called machines, even my internal system didn’t recognize the machines. I asked the butler.

“What are these machines?” He answered with a shaky voice. “T.. these machines are u.. used to c-create the subjects, a-and the one in the corner that looks like a telephone cell, is the dimensional traveler which got miss pissed demon elf her-“

His voice turned to a choke, and when I looked back from the machine to him, I saw Elyrantha choking the guy, showing no intent to let go of him. The man was desperately pounding and pushing on her arm which were as hard as a stone by this point. She looked at him with a glare that embodied hatred.

“Elyrantha. Let go of him. After the judge decides his punishment, and based on that outcome, after that punishment you can choke him all you want. But now now.” She scoffed and let go, still glaring at him with hatred. She then spoke up.

“You are lucky that I listen to people who treat me like an actual person and not some lab rat who is considered under the stupid scientist’s league and who are locked up in cells with the capacity of a coffin. I listened to Daurine because she respects me and accepts me for who and what I am, and treats me like a person instead of a test subject. Because I wouldn’t let go of your throat otherwise.”

I looked at the butler with a serious expression. “She isn’t wrong there. Treat people like you want to be treated. And you treat people like garbage, you throw them into cells and you conduct tests on them. I guess you also want to be dragged around and treated like an animal.” I said. He didn’t say anything back. Not like I cared. I turned back to the machines. I saw another machine, which was filled with a see through tube and see through liquid with a slight tint of red, and inside was another fantasy creature, this one was a half human , half dragon hybrid. It was about the size of a small child, and was rapidly developing. Her wings grew and grew, her scales, which were around her tail and wings, but nowhere else on her body, that was all human skin, grew and turned white, and her dragon tail also grew, as well as the rest of her body. She was rapidly developing into a teenager, and her feminine features grew too. She got more defined lines and curves, as well as medium sized melons, if you know what I mean. Her hair was a bright blonde color and also grew. Because she was ripe from the incubator, she was unclothed. “I see why you chose to have a white floor.. to make certain accidents less likely to be seen..” I mocked the butler. He looked down in shame. A beep could be heard, and a flickering green light at the tube. I suppose she was done. The butler looked up. “Elyrantha? Can you do me a favor and keep this guy away?” She nodded and dragged him out the room, while he screamed and begged to not leave him alone with this ‘crazy creature’. “She’ll keep you alive.” I said while looking at Elyrantha with a stern expression. She nodded. “I’ll keep him alive.” She stated softly and then closed the door. I turned to the tube, which was emptying the liquid, leaving only the creature lying on the floor, softly breathing. The tube opened. I walked up to the dragon hybrid and gently shook her. “Hey, wake up…” I said. I kept gently shaking her. She eventually woke up and opened her soft purple eyes. “Where.. what... who.. am I?” She looked disoriented and confused. She stood up and spread her wings. She already had the muscle memory to do that, I suppose it was a natural instinct. I smiled. “You’re in a.. underground lab where some crazy scientist has a double life where he’s a butler in a mansion above this lab and is a crazy scientist in here. What you are, you are a half human, half dragon hybrid. And who you are, is up to you. Decide your own name.” She paused. Processing it all. “How am I here?” She asked. I nodded at the machines. “Molecular building machines. They basically make the DNA off any creature, make a baby version of it, and then said baby is put into the growth machine you’re in.” I said. “Beats me how it works, even I don’t know.” She chuckled. She was optimistic and uplifting, despite her situation. “I guess I not the only one?” She asked. I nodded. “You’re number 12. Number 12 of 12.” She looked excited. “I can’t wait to meet everyone else!” She clapped her hands together and jumped up and down, her tail wagging happily. I smiled, and opened the door, where Elyrantha and the butler were. Elyrantha was standing there, with a cruel smirk while the butler was shaking in fear. I shook my head with a smile. “Elyrantha, meet..” I looked at the dragon hybrid.” She made a “uhhh” sound and then smiled. “Dragina!” She said happily. I repeated my sentence. “Elyrantha, meet Dragina. The final experiment of him.” Elyrantha smiled at Dragina. “Nice to meet you, Dragina.” She said respectfully. Dragina smiled back. “Nice to meet you too.. A..lee..ran..tha…. I hope i said your name right!”

Elyrantha smiled. “You said it right. Don’t worry. Now, meet the mad scientist who created you.” Elyrantha’s tail reached out and wrapped around his upper chest, and pulled him up. “This despicable man created you. He was gonna treat you like everybody else. Like shit.” Dragina looked angry. “If he would treat me like shit I won’t leave him unharmed.”

Dragina was a fiery woman. She spread her wings to look more intimidating. She let out a loud growl and looked at him with a look of hatred. She spoke up again. “Treat me like shit and you won’t forget it.” The butler had closed his eyes and was shaking violently. All of pure terror.

I chuckled. “Karma comes around eventually.. you treat people like shit, karma comes and the tables turn.” Elyrantha and Dragina agreed. “Exactly.” They said in unison. They then started chuckling at each other. They smiled at each other and did a little tail box, like humans would bump their fists against each other’s fists as a sign of accomplishment or something else. I knew that they would be great friends.

I smiled. “Alive for maybe an hour.. and already got a friend.. that’s gotta be a world record..” She smiled. “That’s cool! A world record for having the fastest time in getting a first friend!” I smiled back. “Now, how about you go to the rest of the fantasy creatures and get acquainted to them? If you go out the door, to your right, follow the hallway and then you’re there.” She nodded.

“Okay!” She said happily and then went the direction I told. I then turned to Elyrantha. “Come on, let’s go up.” She nodded and grasped the butler’s feet with her tail, and effortlessly lifted him up into the air while he let out a yelp of surprise and fear. She grinned. “I enjoy his fear..” She softly muttered.

I chuckled and began walking towards the small, dimly lit room where the ladder up to the mansion was. I climbed up the stairs, and Elyrantha followed closely behind me, with the butler dangling upside down.

We climbed the 400+ meters, and eventually reached the living room. I peeked out from the hole. No one. I checked the time. 21:48. Ruby and Lily might be upstairs. I climbed out the hole, with Elyrantha following. She looked around in awe. “This looks.. marvelous.. magnificent… such a beautiful difference between the dark and damp colors of the alternate world I come from…” She said softly.

I turned to look at her. “Ely, -if you allow me to call you that-, can you wait here while I get my adoptive sort of kinda but not really that.. mother? The mother of the girl who I protect, she is the Empress of this country, I think she’s pretty excited to meet you and the others once they’re out.” She chuckled. “You’re allowed to call me Ely, and sure, I’ll wait.”

I stuck my thumb up and then left the living room, and went upstairs, to Lily and my bedroom. I opened the door and saw Lily getting tucked in bed and getting kissed goodnight by Ruby. I quickly ducked back in the hallway, before Lily saw me. If she saw me she wouldn’t be sleeping at 1AM.

I could hear her ask “When is Daurine coming back?” I also heard Ruby chuckle and reply. “She’ll be back tomorrow.” Ruby kissed Lily one more time on her forehead and then left the room, and closed it. As she closed the door, and I watched her in silence, she looked at me and smiled.

“There you are! Lily missed you like crazy! How was it down there?” She asked. “Good, although there’s something -or rather someone- I wanna show to you. Come.” I grabbed her hand and led her to the living room. There was Elyrantha, looking around curiously, lifting up the couch like it was nothing. She looked up and gently placed it back down. “O-oh! Hello, Empress.”

She got on one knee and looked down at the ground. I guess that was the demon’s way of bowing.

Ruby smiled at Elyrantha, and softly spoke. “What’s your name?” Elyrantha, who still looked down, told Ruby her name. “Elyrantha, miss.” Ruby smiled. “My name is Ruby. Now, what species are you?” Elyrantha replied. “Elf demon, miss Ruby.” Ruby still smiled. “Stand up.” She said.

Elyrantha stood up. “You’re an interesting person, Elyrantha. Elves don’t exist naturally in this world, so do demons.” Elyrantha spoke up again. “Down the ladder, is a laboratory, which houses more fantasy creatures, all created by the head butler, however, I am from an alternate world.”

As Elyrantha said ‘created by the head butler’, Ruby glared at him. Her eyes turned to judgmental and ruthless. “What is a fitting punishment for him? How did he treat you guys?” She asked.

“Like test animals. They were kept contained in cells of four square meters. They got tested upon a lot, and barely fed.” I said. Elyrantha nodded. Ruby nodded as well, and then spoke again.

“Then I will sentence him to a lifelong confinement in one of the cells he kept you all in. I will also allow every test subject to give him a good slap. His nuts are a extra bonus slap.” He looked horrified. “Please, my Empress! Have mercy! I beg of you, ple-“

His voice was cut short by Ruby shouting “SILENT! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK!” She looked at him furiously.

“First of all, you no longer have the role of head butler. Second of all, you’re fired. Third, Elyrantha has the right to slap you. Fourth, every other test subject has the right of slapping you. Fifth, you will be locked into one of the cells in the lab. And last, you will be there, FOREVER.”

She paused. “Do. You. Understand?” He nodded. “I want to hear you say it.” Her tone was ice cold.

“Y-yes, Ruby.”

“IS THAT HOW YOU SPEAK TO YOUR EMPRESS?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Miss Ruby, I truly am sorry, Empress Ruby.”

“Much better.”

She looked at Elyrantha, stepped back and gestured at him with a smile at her. Elyrantha then got a devilish smirk. “Is squeezing allowed, Miss Ruby?” Ruby nodded. “Oh boy oh boy oh boy… I will have so much fun…” She giggled, and her tail wrapped around his nuts, tighter and tighter, as the scream of the ex-butler began turning into a high-pitched shriek. Elyrantha kept wrapping her tail around it tighter and tighter. She kept it squeezed together until the butler was out of breath from screaming. She then let go, and proceeded to slap him on his cheek. He didn’t even flinch. Then, the door swung open and a soft and tired voice could be heard saying “What is all that screaming about..?” Lily had woken up from the screaming.