Chapter 43

Juno and Jean had just finished their second workout, which looked like a beautiful dance of an angel with a monster. Then the young lady hopped away to the mansion, completely forgetting her slave's existence.

Kyon took out his sound transmitter and dialed Marina's frequency. She was his only hope — his athletic but skinny body was running out of energy, and it wasn't the best option to waste precious Synergy on ingesting grass. If nothing changed, another fight with Juno would turn him into a pile of half-dead meat with no chance for recovery until the next practice. He would simply have no time or energy for that. He was as good as dead.

Kyon heard Marina's pleasant voice in the device:

«Hello?»

«Hello, Marina. How are you doing?» - Kyon said nonchalantly.

«Hello, Kyon! I didn't recognize your frequency…» - Her voice perked up for a moment, but the next instant, she sounded sad: - «Nothing much… Flitz has been aggressive lately… What have you been up to?»

«I am fine.» - He answered with a barely suppressed sarcasm. - «Listen, I have a request of the utmost importance. It's a matter of life and death. Please come as soon as possible to Juno's mansion with five fat sausages, and I will tell you about Flitz's weakness.»

Marina exclaimed with joy: «Really?! Oh…» - Then she stumbled. – «I am sorry, Kyon… But Flitz has strictly forbidden me to approach Juno's mansion…»

Kyon's heart sank and then raced at a frantic speed. His hope was slipping out of his hands like a slippery little fish.

«Marina, listen to me. There's no such thing as a risk-free life. Flitz will never know! Just bring the sausage and hand it over to the guard. I will arrange it with him... And then I will tell you everything you need to know.»

Kyon reprimanded himself for trusting strangers with his life. It was unwise and completely against his nature, but he had no other option...

After a pause, Marina replied with a sigh:

«Alright, I will do it. But I am busy all afternoon. And all night, too…» - He could hear her suppressed whimper. – «I'll do my best to make it tomorrow.»

Kyon groaned. Then he said, trying to hide his disappointment:

«Okay. Just try and come as soon as possible, please…»

«Yeah, sure…»

After their short conversation, Kyon thought about what to do next. Could he get the sausage from Marina's hands? Would the guards allow it?

All these thoughts made him sleepy. He leaned against the wall and fell asleep. His body required some rest to recover. No servants came over to the training ground. Juno obviously wanted to avoid the witnesses of her atrocities.

At about 8 pm, Juno opened the gate, energetically warming up her shoulders. She looked around the training ground and immediately spotted the skinny slave. She flashed a pleased grin. The little demoness had come to reap the torments of the mortals.

Kyon wished he could run to her and kick her in the guts. However, his arrogant attempt would end him smashed on the floor.

He was in the following situation:

1) He was forbidden to speak to Juno, even utter a single word. Her order was clear and understandable. It was a no-brainer that she had carefully chosen her words and hadn't ordered him to keep his mouth shut. In that case, he wouldn't be able to cry in pain. She had specifically ordered to say nothing. Sly bitch, she had lots of experience with previous slaves. Juno let them wail just for the sick pleasure it gave her. To hell with her, he would never cry in pain or beg her for mercy. He might let out some moans, not more. Kyon couldn't help it. He was only human, albeit with Synergy.

2) He couldn't touch her because of the ether barrier, which meant he couldn't affect her with Synergy. Besides, he was already exhausted. Anyway, even if he happened to touch her, she would most likely get him killed for tainting her.

3) He was forbidden to look her in the eye. It was for his own good.

These three points created a strong cage for Kyon with no way to escape. In fact, he had exhausted all the options to influence his reality without hurting himself. What remained? Trying to survive, stealing Juno's underwear, waiting for Jean.

~sigh~

Without further ado, Juno attacked him again. She enjoyed beating this boy. The idea to make him wail gave her an extra thrill. He was strong, wiry, and handsome. It was double pleasure to torture him, ruining his face. She might have experienced some remorse if he were someone of her rank, but it was only a slave, her property, her punching bag. Boys like him were a dime a dozen.

Juno's speed increased twice. Kyon couldn't wait to get the basics of the pure energy that Jean had promised to him.

{That's something new… This slave is still holding on!} – Juno snorted. She wondered what boosted his endurance. An elephant would have already collapsed, and this puny boy was hanging on for his dear life. It was commendable, but she didn't want a disrespectful slave. As Juno wasn't going to give him either food or shelter for the night, he would die if not today then tomorrow. Disposable things needed no maintenance, and it was beneath her to order her servants to attend to a slave. She would never take care of someone as insignificant as a slave. The mere thought of it made her feel uncomfortable, even if everything she had to do was to give a simple order.

And yet, Juno could tell there was some secret about his movements, but she couldn't put her finger on it. He took good punches, but she missed where she was aiming. He could see through all her tricks. It was impossible to knock him down. He was really good at dodging her blows. He forced her to move faster and spend three times more energy.

Since Juno did not understand his movements, she did not believe the slave could teach her anything. He was constantly getting her blows anyway. Juno saw no value in him. She'd better practice with Jean, who easily fended off her attacks. The master's movements were clear and comprehensible. It was easier to learn new things with him.

Stupid girl. Kyon figured it out during their previous fight. He realized that he had no reason to prove himself. She did not see any potential in him because of her "wrong" upbringing. Juno's perception of him could be concluded in one sentence: a dog cannot be a violin teacher.

The battle lasted five minutes. Kyon was exhausted and numb. The beating had completely erased the effect of the ointment. He was about to fall when suddenly...

They heard a cheerful voice at the entrance:

«Hi, Juno.»

Juno's vicious victorious smirk disappeared from her face, giving way to confusion. She stopped so suddenly that she lost her balance and flopped on the slave, knocking him down.

Kyon got a whiff of her expensive shampoo. Her golden curls tickled his face. Something supple pressed against his chest. Oh, how much he wished he could squeeze this seemingly frail body in his arms! Squeeze it strong enough to hear a wonderful sound of her breaking bones. But the next moment, the beautiful vision was gone. Juno couldn't care less about his feelings. She pushed herself off him, plunging her fist in his stomach. Kyon gasped and coughed hard.

Juno shook off the invisible dust and turned into a completely different person. Now she was an innocent pretty girl, an angel descended to the sinful earth. Juno crossed her arms, turning away from the boy who was approaching her. She grunted in reply:

«Hi.»

«Juno, I am sorry about last time... I do not know what got into me. Don't sulk at me! You know, my father died…» - He added in a quiet voice.

Juno turned around, casting a pitiful look at Yegorka:

«I am sorry to hear that…» - She said kindly: - «All right, you're forgiven but never do it again.»

«I won't!» - The boy's face beamed. He looked about 14 years old, but even at such a young age, an expression of arrogance was firmly imprinted on his face. It ruined the impression of his beautiful features and gorgeous fair hair. He was dressed in expensive clothes that gave away his high-rank status.

Yegorka looked with contempt at the slave in black clothes who was lying on the floor.

«Who is this base phaser?» - Yegorka intentionally mentioned Kyon's cultivation to humiliate him.

Juno tucked a strand of hair behind her little ear and said impassively:

«It's a slave of mine. Ignore him.»

Yegorka snorted:

«Another punching bag? Well, this ugly freak is good for nothing else.»

Kyon frowned, visibly annoyed. He could be anything but ugly.

«Would you like to spar with me?» - Juno asked, slightly raising her voice.

«How many slaves have you had, Juno? Three or four?» - Yegorka wouldn't stop.

«Stop it! Enough! What's your problem?» - Juno said angrily, folding her arms. Her second cousin was always meddling where he didn't belong.

The sound of her voice was really disheartening. Yegorka smiled apologetically, trying to hide his frustration:

«Forget it.»

He lazily waved at Kyon, without giving him a second glance:

«Get lost, scum.» - Yegorka felt an urge to beat the slave to a pulp for the moment when Juno's gentle body landed over him. However, he didn't dare to do it in Juno's presence. Yegorka was afraid to look immature in her eyes.

Kyon suppressed his moans. He could feel pain all over his body. He got up and headed for the exit. However, he wasn't going to leave too far. Kyon leaned against the gate, unseen from the inside, and listened to their conversation. He had no idea who Yegorka was, but he could say that the boy was fond of Juno, to say the least.

«Juno, we have been friends for a long time. You haven't been yourself lately. There's something that concerns me. Those slaves… Did you kill them deliberately?»

«I killed slaves? Is that what you think of me?» - Juno put her hands at her hips, frowning.

Yegorka shook his head:

«No, no… I don't mean… It's just a bit weird.»

Juno sighed, feigning distress:

«Well... I hit them a couple of times just to keep fit. Then they all die for some reason... They die like flies. Perhaps, the doctors are bad here… I don't know. Let it go!»

Kyon nearly choked with anger at hearing her innocent babbling: {Bad doctors? Hit them a couple of times? You deliberately caused a hell of a pain to make them wail, bitch!}

Yegorka nodded in understanding:

«I see. Sorry for suspecting you. It's just... Sometimes your mood swings frighten me.»

Juno theatrically rolled her eyes:

«I am fine… No need to worry.»