Chat group, become my wings!

Gray stared at her eldest sister in disbelief. Just moments ago, Brunhilde had been calm and composed, as if she had everything under control so how did she suddenly flip like this? The change in her expression was too drastic, too sudden.

Now watching Brunhilde in a full-blown rage, Gray trembled in silence, too frightened to utter a single word.

Could it be… is this just one of those days for her? she thought to herself. But that can't be right. She's a Valkyrie! There's no way she still has something like a monthly cycle. So... early menopause? No, that doesn't make sense either. That would be even more abnormal... Her tiny brain whirred frantically, trying to figure out what on earth had triggered this drastic shift in her sister's mood.

In the group chat...

"Three points? Hahaha! I knew it, I knew it! There's no way I'm the unluckiest one here. Sure, maybe my rewards are on the low side, but I'm definitely not at the bottom of the barrel. Look! Single digits! Hahaha!"

Kumoko was practically bouncing off the floor, giggling with manic glee.

"Shut up! You wretched little spider, how dare you mock me?" Brunhilde erupted in fury, unleashing her wrath into the chat.

Now that Izumi had agreed to help, Brunhilde was required to formally join the group chat so that Izumi and Kevin Cross could travel to her world. As luck would have it, the sign-in system had just gone live, so she had taken the opportunity to test it out.

Only for her to be greeted with a humiliating total of three points.

Three.

She was a divine being. A legendary Valkyrie. The first among the thirteen sisters. And yet, she had drawn the absolute worst result imaginable.

"Hahaha! So what if I'm a spider now? I'm evolving, remember? I'll become human again no, even better, I'll become a goddess! And a smoking hot one, too! But most importantly, I'm not cursed with bad luck. I'm not! Hahahahaha!"

Kumoko's laughter was filled with exaggerated triumph.

Brunhilde shut down completely. She said nothing. Responded to no one. She just quietly exited the group chat.

Shinobu Kocho watched the chaotic flurry of messages, feeling a strange ache in her chest. Everyone else had already joined the chat officially and earned points. Everyone except her.

She felt left out.

Of course, joining wasn't that complicated. All it took was officially becoming part of the harem group chat that is, officially acknowledging herself as one of Kevin Cross's women.

She hesitated.

Would joining now, just for the points, make her seem shallow? Would Kevin think she only cared about the benefits? Would it leave a bad impression?

Still, she couldn't deny the temptation.

And it wasn't like her heart was entirely closed to the idea. After all, Kevin had shared future knowledge with her, changed the course of her fate, and protected what she cared about. She often found herself staring at his photos ahem studying them closely. Deep down, she'd already made the decision. She owed him her life. Offering her body in return wasn't such a big deal, right?

She just hadn't expected it to happen at this exact moment.

But Brunhilde had just joined too. It wasn't like she'd be the first. So really, joining now was... fine. Right?

Convincing herself with this logic, Shinobu finally clicked the button to join the chat.

Ding! The Demon Slayer Ready to Sacrifice Herself has officially joined the Harem Group Chat.

Seeing the announcement gave Shinobu a strange flutter in her chest, like she was standing on a stage, all eyes watching. She felt self-conscious, afraid they might laugh at her.

But the truth was, no one cared that much.

Everyone in the chat was in the same position. They'd all joined. They were all equals now. Who was going to mock anyone else?

After a moment's pause, Shinobu updated her display name to "Shinobu Kocho" and tapped the sign-in button.

Ding! Shinobu Kocho signed in and received 88 points.

"Eighty-eight?" Her eyes lit up. It wasn't as high as Kevin Cross's ridiculous triple-digit score, but she didn't expect to match him anyway. In her heart, Kevin was the true master of this group. Him receiving more was only natural.

And she'd scored only two points fewer than Izumi. That wasn't bad at all.

Her heart thumped with anticipation as she stared at her balance. Points could be used to strengthen oneself just the idea was exciting.

Opening the enhancement menu, Shinobu discovered that upgrades were divided into two categories: one for physical body enhancement, and one for breathing technique proficiency.

She skipped the latter. Her Insect Breathing had already been developed and refined specifically for her body. She didn't feel a need to increase its mastery just yet. There was only so far she could go with it.

What she truly cared about... was her body.

She had always been physically weak. Her strength was below average, her frame delicate. Despite wielding a Nichirin Blade, she lacked the force to cleanly sever a demon's neck. That was why she had created her own breathing style, focusing on speed and precision, and why she had poured herself into crafting poisons from wisteria.

If her body had been strong no, even if it had just been normal she wouldn't have needed to fight that way at all.

Now, for the first time in her life, she had the chance to change that.

____________________

NEXT CHAPTER : Demon Slayer

(Shinobu Kocho uses her points to strengthen her frail body and for the first time, feels truly powerful. Grateful to Kevin Cross and the chat group, she resolves to grow stronger and defeat her greatest enemy: Doma. Kevin proposes a bold idea capturing a demon to develop modern-tech weapons like UV rounds that could change the tide of the war. Shinobu agrees.

Meanwhile, Kumoko laments her fantasy-world struggle and lackluster sign-in luck... but refuses to stay down for long.

Next: Can science beat demons? A new weapon may change everything.)

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