10 Chapter 10 - Choose!

In the outskirts of Tokyo, four people walked silently underneath the cloudy sky, the full moon now hidden from view. One masked man and three smaller figures draped in hooded coats followed behind.

When they reached the edge of a forest, Styxx stopped walking, he turned around and looked at the three exhausted girls behind him that were trying to keep up with him, years of captivity did not help the girls' stamina at all.

"You are free now, you can go wherever you want now," Styxx said,

"Are you getting rid of us, nya?" asked the small cat girl, tears threatening to fall while her legs trembled from both fear and exhaustion.

"Please! We have nowhere to go, we are orphans!" The bunny girl begged as she dropped to her knees.

"At least take care of my little sisters!"

"…"

The girls pleaded to the masked man, their savior, in front of them. The eye on his mask had long disappeared.

"*sigh*" Styxx sighed in defeat, like he just made a decision he was going to regret later on.

"I'll give you two choices…" Styxx began to say, the girls stood up hope reignited in their eyes.

"You can have your memories of what happened to you locked away. I'll give you money, enough to last you a lifetime. I can heal all your wounds and your bodies; it would be as if no one had ever touched you. You can have a regular life…" Styxx proposed the first option to the girls.

The girls looked up to the towering man before them, that option was enticing.

"What's the other option?" Styxx was asked by the dog girl,

Styxx stepped forward, his towering figure becoming even taller in their eyes, more imposing.

"You will follow me… Forever!" Styxx declared,

"Forever?!" Exclaimed the bunny girl, her face quickly turning into anger.

"You want us to be slaves?! Never again!!"

It was Styxx's turn to be angry.

"I AM NOT LIKE THOSE SCUM!!!" yelled Styxx.

The shout shook the trees, scaring the girls, and woke up the animal life nearby in the process.

Seeing the fear in the eyes of the girls, Styxx took a deep breath to calm himself before reaching up and taking his mask off.

The girls gasped when they saw Styxx's face, more specifically his eyes. Styxx was without a doubt a handsome man but his eyes… Those eyes were like whirlpools of melted silver, almost like they were made of stars and space dust, like the Milky Way itself was contained in them. His eyes seemed to suck them in the longer they looked, like their souls were going to be sucked out of their bodies any time now.

Bunny girl was affected the most, her face was slowly turning red, the more she stared the more she realized he seemed to be around her age, the more attractive those eyes seem to become.

"Wow, nya! Your eyes are so pretty, nya!" Cat girl exclaimed in wonder,

"Yeah, yeah! They are very pretty!" said the dog girl excitedly,

The bunny girl, on the other hand, stood in a daze as she stared at the young man before her. Styxx's eyes captivated her as if her soul was slowly trying to escape her body.

Noticing this, Styxx pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, breaking the bunny girl out of her trance.

"I know they are," answered Styxx towards the two little girls before turning towards the bunny-eared one.

"You will not be slaves, you will be followers,"

The two little girls rushed at him and gripped his clothes, looking up at him with innocent eyes.

"Are you adopting us, nya?!?!" cat girl asked bursting with excitement,

"We will have a big brother?! Wan~" the dog girl was so excited she let out a cute little bark,

Styxx was taken aback, a wry smile forming on his face as he looked down at the adorable little girls.

"I guess you can call it that…" Styxx said,

"Yayyy!" the little girl duo jumped up and down in joy,

Styxx smiled when he saw the girls' reaction, a warm feeling spread across his chest he hadn't felt in a very long time. Still, Styxx looked down just to make sure it wasn't blood that got on him.

He then turned to the bunny girl, she struggled to her feet, but she had a clear look of determination when looking back at Styxx. There was still a question in her heart she needed to ask before she decided for her and her sisters.

Styxx looked on in appreciation, even though the girls weren't genetically related, the look in her eye showed that she treats them as family. The girls stopped celebrating and stared at their big sister feeling the tension in the air.

"Will you protect us?..."

The three girls stood next to each other as they looked up at Styxx. Their hearts beating in anticipation of the response their hero would give them, fear and hope flashing through their eyes.

The leaves rustled as the wind began to pick up and flow through the trees. The clouds in the sky began to move and revealed the full moon in all its glory shining upon them. Styxx's presence seemed to increase to the girls looking up at him. His presence engulfed them, their skin broke out in goosebumps as they felt the power and authority held in his tall frame.

"If you follow me, you will receive everything you will ever need and everything you will ever want. You will never know hunger again; you will no longer fear for your life. You will be able to sleep in peace, never having to worry about someone coming for you in the middle of the night. Pain would no longer be your punishment when you make a mistake. If you want to learn something, I will teach you. If you want to be strong, I will train you. If you want a regular life, I shall give it to you..."

The girls had tears running down their faces as they looked up at him. Styxx's glasses disintegrated off his face and the dust blew away with the wind, his swirling silver eyes seemed to outshine even the moon high in the background.

"I, Styxx Athanatos, will keep you safe until the day you die!"

That proclamation seemed to envelop them like a warm hug and branded themselves in the souls of the three girls kneeling and crying before him.

The girls began to wail their hearts out as they dropped to their knees as if they were trying to get rid of all the pain and misery that they had dealt with throughout the years.

"Pwease twake care of us!! Waaaaa!" Bunny girl exclaimed still sobbing uncontrollably, they finally learned the name of their savior.

Styxx then sat down and patiently waited until all their pent-up feelings were released.

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