After the match, Ryuji rushed to the tunnels to meet them. Although they won, he could see their bodies had various wounds from the fight. He knew the Butcher wasn't someone they could have fought in the past.
'Their growth has reached such a remarkable level.'
"Eh, Ryu? You came to see us?"
Erika was the first to notice him, or rather, Yumiko winked as if to signal that she wanted to let Erika enjoy his comfort first because of the battle.
'Let Erika have your attention. and she has been extremely excited since the battle ended and kept saying your name. She seems to be quite the lonely woman.' Yumiko's thoughts appeared in his mind, though not perfectly. He needed to join and guess some words himself.
"Of course I did. You're both important to me, and I wanted to see you fight. Come here."
He spread his arms while the bruised and winded Erika suddenly seemed fine as she leapt into his arms and clung to him like a koala.
"Ryu~ I fought so hard, but that guy was so strong... even a normal swing from his axe almost tore apart the armour you bought for me."
"Haha, that makes me want to revive him just to kill him again. Though did you feel your improvements thanks to training with Kathryn and her maids in this battle?"
Yumiko wrapped her arm around Ryuji's while leaning against his side, her charming and alluring figure more mature than ever, as she seemed to have grown slightly after sleeping with him the other day, her stomach smooth, with a set of sexy abs.
"Nn! I realised where we had been relying on you too much, the times we needed to trust you more and also found a way to shorten the chants for my stronger spells!"
Erika's eyes shone with delight, her beautiful face glowing with pride, while Ryuji stroked her hair and held her tight. "You did amazing, I saw you both working together to defeat him near the end and it shocked me how far you have both grown."
"Nn... thank you, Ryu~ you seemed tired after the night with us all. So I wanted to let you and Ciela rest."
'Was I good? All I thought during the battle was how to help you, what can I do to become strong enough to support you...' Yumiko's hands gripped him tighter as if she were feeling insecure while he felt her overflowing affection and passion towards the idea of supporting him.
"If I didn't have both of you supporting me, would I have ever reached this point? Maybe I would have lost my way without you all. Be it Yumiko, who keeps my mind focused and my heart racing with how much she makes me feel. Erika, who supports me when I lose my way, or Sariel, who stops me from becoming depressed and low.
Then, of course, I have Ciela, who is willing to follow me to the ends of the world... and Liana, who accepts all that is dark and evil within me."
Ryuji liked his new ability to understand these subtle gestures, although it seemed the level of their bond affected this as his Empress. Yumiko's feelings and thoughts came through the most clearly, like someone wrote on a foggy window.
In comparison, the others felt more like colours and sounds that represented their feelings.
"I see..." Yumiko's lips curled into a wide smile, her shimmering white teeth showing as she pushed her face into Ryuji's arm to hide her face.
"Hehe, Ryuji you really can't live without us can you?"
"I really can't, so you're stuck with me now. If someone tried to take you away from me, I would kill them, no matter if it was a god, devil, monster or even Alan. You five will never escape me now. I have no desire to let you go."
He spoke seriously, his expression unchanging as he looked between them, his eyes shining sapphire blue.
'They are mine.'
He held the two girls close, his gaze falling on Sariel, who fluttered her wings behind him, making strange faces in her jealousy. "You too Sariel."
"Ehehe~ master loves me too." She smiled as she flew into his arms, joining the hug, though Sariel struggled to find a spot, instead sitting on his shoulder as she adjusted her size to be far smaller.
"Tsk."
Ciela had an amused expression as she turned her back to Yumiko and Erika, her soft, round rear like a massive juicy peach bouncing in her tight dress.
"So, Master, I would love to see how you fare against the girls and me, hehehe~ I will win!" Sariel didn't seem selfish. Instead, her actions always seemed to spur the other women on rather than focusing on herself.
"I have heard the challenge! I will take part in this duel." A lovely girl's voice sounded as a fluttering display of crimson hair appeared in the air.
'Liana?! Damn it...'
"Oh, Liana, I missed you. Where have you been for the past few days?" Ryuji stepped forward, putting down Erika and Yumiko before his body tensed. His legs bulked out before leaping into the sky and landing beside Liana.
"Mhm, father wanted to speak to me and made me complete an annoying test..."
"A test for what, Liana?" Erika asked, while looking irritated that Ryuji left her side to approach Liana.
"Hehe, it was a test of love. Father wanted to make sure that I was truly devoted to my darling and not just his influence, as if I was, he would have used his authority to have me locked away."
"Oh? So you're going to become my little princess?" Ryuji whispered as Liana rushed into his arms. Her face looked up at him, her eyes full of lust, delight, devotion and excitement as she licked her lips.
"I'm already your princess. But, I need to show you just how much I love you. So, will you take me with you?"
"Of course, you belong with me, just as the rest of them do."
Liana's crimson eyes narrowed, her pupils turning into vertical slits, as she kissed Ryuji's cheek before four long arms of fire grasped the stone wall and flung themselves towards Yumiko, Ciela, Erika and Sariel.
"It seems the battle has already begun," Yumiko muttered.
"Eek, why are you targeting us?!" Erika panicked while Sariel flapped her wings, a pink aura surrounding her.
"Ciela, you should take a break; otherwise you will fall apart."
"Nn... I can't believe how good It feels, sorry I won't give in!" Ciela responded.
Ryuji appeared beside them, his form shrouded in flames and darkness, Ryuji's body pulsing with raw, untamed energy. The five women looked back and gasped.
"Let's go to the practise rooms, I will crush you all." Ryuji spread his arms and released a loud chuckle before dashing towards Alan's private training area.
"Oi Ryuji, wait up!"
"Ah, Ryu is so fast!"
"Ugh, he is so arrogant and annoying..."
"He is so cool, ah, master, I will be the one to win and make you play with me all night~ hehe."
"He is going to have fun with us, even if we don't win, he will not let us go. We should work together to defeat him first... Then decide who wins the night alone with him." Liana added, her body flowing with intense flames as she prepared herself to fight.
The five girls all spoke, their voices overlapping as they rushed to follow their lover's lead, knowing that their relationship would never become dull or stale because of the constant competition.