Chapter 81

The pale, beautiful girl slowly opened her eyes, instinctively rubbed her nose, and remembered what had happened with a painful groan. She looked around angrily and saw the servant practicing nearby.

«You are the worst human being in the world... Even worse, you aren't human! I warned you not to kiss me, but it seems you don't want to stay alive. I will keep my promise, so you have two options: either you disappear from the mansion right away, or soon you will suffer my fate, that is death.» – Her voice was full of ice and unwavering grim determination. She was ready for anything.

As her damned tormentor didn't say anything but kept staring at her, she bit her lip angrily, got up from the bench and walked to the exit.

Juno's strong-willed character was growing on Kyon. Once again, he understood that he could hate and admire someone at the same time. Most people have straightforward thinking: someone is either bad or good. But it is important to understand that the world is not black and white. It's diverse and multi-colored like a rainbow.

«Don't leave, Juno. I've decided to change our relations. Forget your hasty words. You are a nasty, crappy girl with mediocre talent, but you have an unwavering will and desire to get stronger. That's why I am taking you as a student. If you behave yourself, obey me, don't cause trouble anymore, and treat me as your master, I will occasionally instruct you and clean your keys.»

At first, Juno thought he was mentally ill, then she threw her head back and laughed like a myriad of silver bells scattering on the ground. Hatred and contempt, spite and malice sounded in her laughter. Her face distorted in disgust:

«You are insane. You don't need money or freedom… You are the most insane person in the world, and you deserve to die. Oh, please, say no more. It can't be true, and your dirty lies turn me inside out. Either get ready for your imminent death or disappear from my life. I will be sincerely grateful to you, and believe me, my gratitude is worth a lot.»

Kyon frowned. He had an urge to punch her arrogant brazen cute face very, very hard... Anyway, it was reassuring to know that the truth was on his side.

A mysterious smile lit up his face.

«Hit that dummy with all your might using pure energy.»

Juno protested:

«Oh please… Don't… I'm still in pain…»

«I said hit the dummy, or I'll hit you!» – Kyon shouted at her in his sternest voice.

Juno moaned with unbearable mental pain. She wanted to cry, but she had no more tears. Juno wished she could go back in time in those happy days when she hadn't connected with her soul yet. She'd better envy her sister for eternity than be a slave to this monster.

Juno went to the dummy and crashed it with all her might. A relatively solid doll noticeably bent aside from her powerful blow and returned to its previous position.

«And now come to me, please.» – Kyon beckoned her toward him with a finger.

Juno obeyed and came up to him. There was no point in resisting and asking for trouble. She avoided looking at her despised master and turned away from him squeamishly. Juno's breath was intermittent, her emotional state depressed, her mood - she'd better die. She wanted to lie down on the ground and lose herself in a dreamless sleep.

Kyon put one finger under her blouse, the other across from her belly button and poured in Synergy, providing it with directions to clean her key by 10%. It had never been his intention to please Juno with such a priceless gift, but he had made his decision and put his emotions aside. First things first, he had to rub along with the little brat.

«You may go.»

Before he finished his phrase, Juno briskly stepped back, shooting almost tangible fire from her eyes, and silently went to the exit. {Please... Just don't say anything... I don't want to hear anything from you, please...}

«You could at least check what has changed, little fool. Go and hit the dummy again, and then, if you don't feel any changes, you can go to your room and think about ways to kill yourself elegantly and painlessly.» – Kyon said in a mocking voice.

Juno spun around. She looked so intense that it seemed she could explode any moment. She approached the dummy and struck it with all her strength.

*bam*

The dummy bent much further this time.

Juno frowned at Kyon.

«Are you happy, crazy freak? Who do you think you are… you are…» – She slowly turned back to the dummy. Something was wrong... Did it seem to her… Was her blow much stronger than before, or did she imagine things?

«…» – Juno was speechless.

Kyon was on the verge of laughter. It felt so good to watch her deceived expectations. The expression on her face was priceless.

Juno slowly clenched her fist and struck again... And again…

*bam* *bam* *bam*

With each next blow, the situation seemed more absurd. Her head was spinning, but she continued to batter the dummy.

She hit dummies hundreds and hundreds of times every day. She knew the limit of her power perfectly well. It was different now... By about one-fifth.

Her pure energy key had always been 49%.

Juno pinched herself on the wrist but couldn't wake up. The reality hadn't changed.

Punch-punch-punch... Her face was confused, her eyebrows were about to crawl somewhere behind her head.

Juno clenched her fists, closed her eyes, whispered something three times, and stared at the dummy. Then she punched it again.

«Gods, what's going on? Mamma mia!» – The happy girl squealed with emotions overwhelming her. The unexpected upgrade filled her with joy, and she was darker than a storm cloud a moment ago.

Kyon couldn't help laughing, catching her attention.

The wary slave girl slowly turned around. Her big green eyes expressed fright and shock as if she had noticed a sneaking predator.

«Alright, you played it out very well! Haha, very funny! Now tell me kindly what this trick is about?»

«It's not a trick. I've just cleaned your pure energy key by 10%.»

«You're lying!!» – Juno interrupted him, her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest. – «I don't believe you! You are deceiving me for some reason!»

Kyon shrugged indifferently.

«Maybe I am... By the way, I order you never to say anything about the purity of your keys. If someone finds out about my ability to clean keys because of your intentional actions, I order you to kill yourself at once. I order you to avoid checking the purity of your keys. If it happens against your will, please call me and wait for my instructions. I advise you to check the purity of your key now. When you find out that I am telling the truth, come to my room, kneel before me and swear to do everything mentioned before. Then you can be my student and I might clean your keys from time to time. You could even acquire all the elements, which is rather doubtful, though.» - Kyon had no intention to make her that talented.

Juno nearly choked in amazement. Her legs turned numb, she had to lean against the nearest wall.

«You are crazy, indeed. I asked what trick was that, and you're pulling my leg again! My ears hurt to hear your nonsense. If you don't want to tell me the truth, then don't! I need it like a hole in my head.» – The arrogant girl turned up her nose to show how little she cared.

Kyon decided it was pointless to prove anything to her. He turned around and went to his room to have dinner.

With a puzzled look, Juno watched her "master" go. Then she looked at her hand that was trembling with excitement, balled it into a fist, and began to beat the dummy again. There could be no mistake... The gain was significant. Anybody who cared to look would see that!

{How… How is that even possible?} – The bewildered girl asked herself again and again, beating the dummy with unprecedented joy mixed with confusion.

Juno had heard about medicine and special formations that could enhance the soul, but the effect lasted a very short time. She would have known if she had been drugged, anyway. The rebound would only intensify over time.

A shocking, impossible thought popped into her head. What if the "master" didn't lie! {No... It's bullshit! Nonsense! I'm losing my mind! That's impossible!}

Juno knew pretty well how the world worked. The purity of keys was something bestowed at birth, a natural talent. Those who were born with impure keys belonged with mediocrity. The purer the keys, the bigger chances to succeed in life. Add to that an increased cultivation speed and you can conquer the whole empire. As a rule, there existed no absolutely pure or impure keys. The more complex the element, the more impure the key. In Juno's empire, the average indicator of purity was 250%, she had 300% but even so, she always lagged behind Elsa.

It was possible to clean the keys by a tiny little bit, which cost an insane amount of money and was a one-time procedure. The same method never worked twice.

It would take all the Stones' property and resources to get Juno's keys cleaned by 2-3%. The price of boosting innate talent was immeasurable. The world was cruel to mediocrities. According to the legend, only goddess Danna could bless the worthy ones, cleaning their keys by a couple of dozen percent. Was her master a god? A slave god. Wasn't it ridiculous?

«Ha-ha-ha-ha!» – Juno burst into hysterical laughter. Not so long ago, she wanted to die. She seemed to have changed since then. She couldn't understand what was happening to her. Delighted in the heart, confused in the head.

The harmful, meaningless, absurd idea was haunting her. What if the slave was telling the truth? Once again, she wanted to hit herself for being so stupid. It was impossible... It just couldn't be! The sky couldn't change places with the earth!

Then Juno decided to refute his words just the way he had advised her to prove him right. She went to the storeroom, took a rounded thing with a vacuum cup, put it to her belly button and pressed hard.

The device generated pulsations. Juno counted 59 of them. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She remembered perfectly well that the purity of her energy key was 49%! She took another device and repeated the procedure. The result shocked her to the core. The key checker fell out of her hands and rolled under the shelf. Juno collapsed to the floor. Her whole world had just turned upside down.

{He… cleaned… didn't he…} – Her heart drummed frantically in her chest. She remembered Kyon's words. Could she really acquire all the elements with his help? It sounded extremely ridiculous back then. It didn't make any sense, but what if it was true... Wondrous fantasies, so impossible in the real world, started captivating her mind.

Juno imagined the energy filling her soul and body. Her lifelong dream had finally come true. She pictured herself as a super genius capable of conquering all the distant lands. She dreamed that Elsa was creeping at her feet, asking how much sugar to put in her tea. Juno would kick her face and say with contempt: "It's time for you to stop asking stupid questions! It's time to remember that I take four cubes!"

Juno's beautiful face blushed. Her happy eyes sparkled. Her dream had never been so real, so close, within arm's reach. She could almost touch it. The mere thought of acquiring all the elements filled her with elation. The gloomy idea that she was nothing but mediocrity had been haunting Juno since the very moment she had connected with the soul. Her persistence to move towards her goal didn't help. And then, all of a sudden, she found a way to overcome the biggest obstacle on the way to her dream.

Juno was so overwhelmed with indescribable happiness that she wanted to cry, but then another thought entered her mind like an annoying buzzing fly. It reminded her of the status of the boy who was going to clean her keys. Could scum like him have a divine ability? According to the legend, only goddess Danna could do it! Did the miserable slave who she would gladly kill, or better torture to death, have the power to plunge the entire empire into chaos? She remembered their last battle when he kept crushing her down with his fists. It confirmed all her guesses! He could be the bender of pure energy! An unspeakable feeling of envy washed over the arrogant girl. He was better than her... It wasn't about her mediocrity, he was extremely talented! Anyway, she was still a high-born lady. This thought calmed her down.

Juno had finally come to an important decision. {My slave... He... He is not a slave... Now he is no slave... From now on, he is my servant! Miserable, insignificant, flawed, but still mine!}