Oh, So Slavery is Fine when You do it!

The carnage raged on, with Dige proving himself the psychopathic maniac to all of his new cat friends. His swings were fast and ferocious, and he could move between the flanking guards like a cannonball, bashing one down before dashing to another. Forget escaping. They were gonna stick behind the bearded monster.

Eventually, one of the retainers dragged forward another slave and tossed him into the bloody ring.

“Kill him, I command you to!” 

“Oh fuck, really?” The orc said. “With my hands?”

Against his will, the nearly naked orc rushed into the dwarf’s line of attack, but instead of being chopped into chunks like the twenty other guards before him, his knee slammed Dige’s hand, disarming the axe within for himself. While not in full control, the orc was a beast in combat. Well, not like how beastmen fight. Rather, his strikes were precise and measured like a master veteran. It took Dige all he could to keep up with the attacks. Even the orc’s strength matched his. A terrible combination.

“Ay, shut up you chuffer!” Dige grunted. “You’re making me hand feel funny!”

“Kill him! Kill him!” The tamer kept yelling, but he was so caught up with the dwarf that he neglected the catgirls surrounding him, ready to take his words literally.

After a few seconds, the orc stopped with a sigh of relief, as the commander was left screaming and thrashing under a pile of pussies. He had to dodge one more shot from Dige though.

“Hey, stop. We're done,” he stated, throwing back Dige's weapon. “Screw this mess. I’m out.”

“Okay, bye-bye.” Dige waived him off. The warehouse was getting very noisy with monsters and beastmen of all kinds escaping every which way they could. Dige’s merciless self defense had left many gaps in the security. “Kitties, I think we’re in trouble. I’m sorry, but I can’t buy you at all.”

The lead catgirl looked back at him with confusion, her mouth filled with human blood. “Huh? What are you talking about? We’re escaping.”

“Escaping!? When did this happen!?”

“Are you kidding me? You didn’t know that? How couldn’t you? You’re a slave too!”

“I am?”

“Yes! Look at your hand. That’s a slave mark. It makes it so that anyone can control you to do their bidding. Once fully activated, it can even control your thoughts.”

Dige looked at his hand. The mark was still fresh and glowing from the noblewoman’s calligraphy. He remembered her giggling face and smile, all of them, thinking the world of it for such kindness, not seeing the sinister trickery underneath.

“They…made me a slave?” His hand trembled as he recollected memories. “Why would they-...”

His dark thoughts were interrupted by the slave master barging into the room for safety.

“What in the three goddess’s ass cheeks is going on here!?” He screamed. “Dear ladies, the bodies, my cages! Why is my life falling apart all at once!? Are you with those adventurers, half man!?”

“Half-man?” Dige peered up.

“Stop right there!”

Hideyoshi’s party slid around the corner and found the slaver trapped. He may have been fast, but Gerthwyn was an avid tracker, and Lupa had the strength and stamina to catch up with both priestess sisters in tow. As far as they were concerned, the quest was completed, and yet they drew weapons.

“This ends here, slaver.” Hideyoshi coughed, out of breath. “Your oppression ends now. Are…are those a bunch of catgirls?”

Everyone paid notice to the catgirls, and they were in fact, that. They then quickly noted that the protagonist had a nosebleed and an unflattering look on his face.

“I knew it! You’re a depraved fetishist!” Gilfried pointed. “I knew all of this bravado was for you to get your hands on more beast tail!”

“That’s not true!”

“Is it true though?” Sawa asked.

“We weren’t a package deal, Saru,” Gerthwyn added. “Did you ask us to join you only because we were beastwomen?”

“Why are you asking that now!?” Hideyoshi cried. “Shouldn’t we worry about this bastard first?”

“Saru, answer the question.” Lupa’s face was stern. “Are you turned on by us?”

Hideyoshi clenched his fist. “You got it all wrong. You guys are more than just eye candy. I’ve known you all for months. I’ve risked my life for you. I’ve heard your terrible pasts and what slavers have done to your families, and I can’t help but act, because deep down I know what it feels like to be different, to be treated as an outcast by society. Before I came to this world, I was so confused about who I was, but after spending time with you all, I realized the truth. I may be a Japanese human man, but inside, I’m just like you. Hideyoshi has the heart of a beastman!”

For the slaver, he just heard a generic tale about being an outcast, something he could almost relate to as a human, but even he was shocked to see the chalk white faces of his companions hearing those words uttered. The slaver hadn’t been around Hideyoshi Sarugami for months. He had not seen his weird tics and habits, or heard the off-color comments over a campfire or in an inn. Now it all made sense. His companions understood Hideyoshi completely now, and it almost made them vomit.

“Boy, I have been through too much to lose everything to a pervert.” The slave master took off his glasses. “Do you know how hard it is to capture slaves? I’ve trained my body and magic for years, studying under Glynn’s World’s greatest teachers. I formulated bombs that can put any type of creature to sleep, and spells that can form entire networks of hive mind synergy, all with my superior intellect. I wrestled with monsters, conquered demons, and crossed dimensions into realms you couldn’t even imagine, just to build the empire you see today. I am not going to sit here and be chastised by some thug who simply doesn’t like my business.”

The room went quiet again, as if everyone was amazed by the feats this entrepreneur had created.

Hideyoshi stomped. “YOU. SELL. PEOPLE. FOR PROFIT!” 

“THEY’RE NOT PEOPLE, ASSHOLE!” The slaver raised his hand. “Psychic Connection: Vampire!”

Magic shot from the slaver’s back and into the heads of the catgirls, turning their eyes a blank white. What was once a complete encirclement became a standoff with team Hideyoshi on one side and a catgirl army on the other. The boy was ready to drop his weapon immediately.

“No, you’re kidding,” he stammered.

“I’ve seen some despicable slavers in my time, “Lupa grunted. “But this is beyond low.”

“This is how a good slaver operates,” he explained. “I’ve combined my life force with these little kitties here. If I should die, the psychic backlash will kill them as well. I’m sure your pervert leader doesn’t want that to happen.”

“Neither would we! Leader, what should we do?”

Hideyoshi’s spear shook out of his hand. “I-I don’t know. I can’t fight them. They’re just like us beastmen.”

The slave master laughed. “See, I knew you were sentimental. This is why you learn to discriminate.”

The cat girl posse pulled out their claws and, like zombies shambled forth, ready to do bloody battle with the party, all the while the slaver backed away, ready to make his mistake. His heel bumped against someone’s leg.

“Oh, another slave. I don’t remember you,” he said, raising his hand. “Go out and kill them, Psychic Connection: Vam-.”

Dige’s axe cut his leg clean off from his funny trousers, much to everyone’s shock. As the villain fell to the ground in the worst pain imaginable, the psychic backlash hit Dige full force in his brain, enough to knock the dwarf unconscious.

“My leg! You bastard! What are you-!”

But Dige kept hacking anyway, the slaver gurgling in more and more pain until Dige finally hit his face and killed him with a splatter. Hideyoshi’s party rushed to stop him.

“What have you done! The kitties!”

“Stop messing with my head!” Dige roared back to consciousness. “Oh, he's dead. Who did that? Hah, oy my head. I need a drink.”

As silence fell on the warehouse, the cat beastwomen came to their senses and looked to their hands. Almost as if by magic, the seals controlling them faded away. The same occurred on Dige. The master controller of slaves was no more; by extension, so was the magic.

“You saved us.” the lead catgirl said. “How’d you do it?”

“Hold on, lass. Oh, what was I thinking about before? Oh right, those noble shites! I’ll kill them, I swear it!”

The girls looked at each other and bowed in appreciation for the man brave enough to free them. “Thank you for everything, half-man. If there’s anything you desire, please let us know.”

But he was getting too worked up in his rage to notice them. As murderous as he was, they recognized a good heart was in there somewhere. Perhaps they could find a home somewhere in that heart, too.

“Hey, fellow beastmen,” Hideyoshi stepped forth, bringing his best smile and a hand forward. “How would you like to join our merry band?”

It wasn’t on their mind in the slightest to join these four randos who just showed up, but after spending so much time in the control of the slaver, they could recognize a familiar tone in their brains, a little suggestion. It wasn’t magic, nor was it charisma. It was as if by divine force they felt compelled to join the protagonist. As soon as he said those words, it was already complete.

“Sure thing!” the catgirl said. “I’m Khylee, and this is Chloe, and Curly, and-.” The names took a while. “Let’s have lots of fun!”

“Hold on. Isn’t our party too big now?” Lupa sighed. “I’m sure the goddesses have a plan for us somehow.”

“Agreed,” said the other two.

“Oh, right. I forgot,” Dige snapped back to reality. “I’m putting together a party. Would ye like to-. Huh? Why are you all over there?”

He was too late. The protagonists got him again. In a way, he was always too late.