59 Slave
Before, Makoto proved that even a ‘slave’ could resist.
Ryugo himself was the one who provoked that.
Then, he himself had to put it into practice. He had to overcome his fear, get over his defeatist attitude, and stand up with a determination to rebel.
People don’t just stay slaves forever.
“Crawl…is it?”
He took a step forward.
Due to the terrifying pressure, it felt like his whole body was creaking just by moving his fingers.
Another step.
His teeth chattered, and his tongue trembled so much it felt like it was getting tied up in the back of his throat.
One more step.
He forced his blurry vision to focus on the opponent he had to strike.
“I…never have…and I never will…obey you.”
“……”
“Listen up…Aira…I’m angry…so…”
He clenched his fists, which he had clenched many times before, with all his might, sending the burning Bl00d flow all the way to his fingertips.
“I’m gonna…punch the crap out of anyone…who pisses me off!!”
◇
“Bunny Suit, are you well-versed in the literature of humanity?”
The bound Double Suit said expressionlessly.
He was incredibly calm, as if the earlier panic had been a lie. Apparently, he had already adapted to the fact that his purpose in life had been taken away.
He really is an impossible guy to read.
“I’ve only looked into it enough to learn about geography and customs.”
He replied curtly, and Double Suit snorted.
“That’s just like you. I’ve had quite a lot to read myself. About a hundred thousand books, give or take. And the contents were quite fascinating.”
“So that’s how you used the Pocket Dimension.”
The flow of time is different in that space. If he read that much, there’s no way he could have done it without using that place.
“So, what did you read?”
“There’s this novel called ‘Princess Night and the Ear Man’… It’s about a carefree and cruel girl named Hime and a young man named Ear Man who rebels against her,”
“This is random.”
“Just listen. I’ll keep it short. Hime is a willful girl. She cuts off both of Ear Man’s ears, sets fire to his dwelling, and laughs hysterically as people die from disease.”
Bunny Suit had already guessed what his story had to do with anything.
“So Ear Man carves a fearsome monster statue to get back at her. To do that, he bathes in the Bl00d of hundreds of animals. He embraces madness himself so that he won’t lose to Hime’s madness.”
“So it’s a battle between a crazy woman and a crazy man?”
“Heh. In the end, Ear Man loses to Hime’s madness and ends up stabbing her to death. Despite how much he hated Hime, Ear Man is so shocked by her death that he faints. Love and hate are often two sides of the same coin, you know?”
I don’t know what he thinks he understands, but the smug look on Double Suit’s face is pissing me off.
He’s still acting weird, even though he’s lost his desire to have fun.
“A man who fights a heartless devil with his pride on the line. How about it? Doesn’t it remind you of Ryugo and Ira?”
“Surely you didn’t go to the trouble of making Ira the final boss in this game just to tell me that.”
“… Oh? You figured it out? — Oof!?”
I kicked his smug face.
Looks like his stupidity didn’t go away even after he died once.
“I’ll answer your question from earlier. ‘I don’t care’ …… is my answer.”
From Noble mtl dot com
I spat it out, and Double Suit, who had collapsed on the ground, looked up and muttered to himself.
“…I wonder how it turned out.”
◇
Ira had no “enemies” in her life.
Of course, there were plenty of people who had taken a defiant attitude towards her. People who couldn’t ignore Iraq’s tyranny, who spoke up to her face, or who reported her to the adults.
But that was all.
No matter what, Ira had always won easily thanks to the difference in their power, popularity, and charisma.
Once she crushed someone, their fangs would be broken, and they would no longer defy Ira. There were no exceptions.
She didn’t call those who couldn’t pose any obstacles enemies. She didn’t acknowledge them.
Until now, Ira had dominated every being she had ever encountered.
“…I’ll beat the crap out of her!!”
Yet there was just one person who had always resisted her.
Watanuki Ryugo.
She had broken his fangs, but he had come back again and again to bite her with those broken fangs. He was an anomaly.
Ever since he got the app, he had been like an unstoppable locomotive, mowing down any enemy he faced, no matter who they were.
The only “enemy” who wouldn’t become Ira’s “slave.”
No matter how much she tried to dominate him, he always rebelled.
“Ha, hahahaha… hahahahaha…”
Laughter bubbled up inside me.
At the same time, I felt a surge of excitement rising from the pit of my stomach.
I wanted him to stand up more. I wanted him to glare at me with more hostility. I wanted him to hurl more angry words at me.
“Kneel!!”
When I gave the order, Ryugo’s body collapsed. But it was only for a moment, and then he stood up again.
I know from experience with hypnosis that this is the power of a devil that can alter thoughts and consciousness itself. No matter how much he resists, the raw emotions that well up inside him are no different from those of a living being.
The fear that Ryugo feels as Ira’s ‘slave’ must be absolute and instinctive, like ‘if I disobey, I will be killed.’
No ordinary person could resist it.
Yet, why is it that she has received it countless times, and still manages to stand up?
Why hasn’t she gone insane?
Suddenly, the corners of his mouth turned up in a grin.
“How ironic… I tried to stop Aira from controlling people… and ended up using a mind control app myself… and in the end, I’m the one who discarded the app, and you’re the one who ended up with both…”
“……………………”
“But even with both of those… you can’t control me…”
No matter how much malice she endured, her relentless advance reminded him of a tank.
But that’s what he loved about her.
The way she desperately fought to overcome her fear of death made her incredibly precious to Aira.
“Ahahahahaha!”
This was getting exciting.
It was like the feeling of anticipation you get when the release date of something you’ve been wanting for ages is finally approaching.
“That’s right.”
He picked up the baseball bat he had brought for self-defense. It was made of wood and felt heavy in his hands.
“If it wasn’t, Aira would be in trouble.”
Ryugo’s expression changed.
“…You bastard.”
He could probably guess exactly what was going to happen next.
Aira swung the bat with all her might and smashed it into Ryugo’s shoulder.
“Uguu…!! Ugh…!”
She struck him repeatedly as he groaned in pain, avoiding his vital points to prolong his agony.
“Come on! Do something! You can’t win just by defending my orders, right? Did you honestly think I’d just let you do whatever you wanted?”
“Haa…guh! Gaha!”
“That’s why I’m telling you to do something…!!”
His skin split open, and Bl00d began to seep through his clothes.
But even as he was consumed by the terror of death and excruciating pain, his eyes still burned with determination.
If he saw an opening, he would probably try to bite her throat out. His eyes were like those of a wolf… a hungry wolf, gleaming with murder.
“…Tanuki-kun!!”
In the corner of her vision, she saw Madoka running towards them.
Had she also managed to resist the effects of the hypnosis with her willpower?
No, it was probably because Ryugo’s desperate struggle had given her the inspiration and determination to fight back.
At this point, the only advantage the app gave her was the ability to temporarily paralyze her opponents.
“Kick Ryu-kun.”
As soon as she gave the order, Madoka attacked Ryugo with a roundhouse kick.
“Gah…!?”
“Uwaah! Tanuki-kun… how could you!?”
Madoka’s face turned pale, and she was overcome with guilt.
As expected, even resisting required a certain amount of time. It must be difficult to resist orders that were given instantaneously.
“That was close, but… Aira still wins. After all, even with the both of you here, you still couldn’t do anything.”
“U…Uu…”
“That ‘ma’ just now… That was about Enka, right? She wouldn’t do something cowardly like leave an app behind so it wouldn’t be destroyed. But there was no app on Ryuu-kun’s phone. I checked , and it was definitely Ryuu-kun’s phone. So, there’s only one possibility.”
Aira approached Enka, who was unable to move.
“The bunny suit moved the app. That’s the only explanation.”
“U… aaah!!”
“Hand over your phone.”
Enka tried to attack, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Aira’s command. Her hand reached into her uniform pocket and came back out in a flash.
But it was too late.
“It’s in there.”
She put her hand in the bulge and pulled out its contents.
As expected, it was a smartphone.
“Tell me how to unlock it.”
“N… No… I… I won’t…!!”
Enka tried to resist, but her fingers were already tracing the lock pattern.
Once she followed it, it unlocked easily.
“Well, well… Oh, look what we have here. An app.”
“Ugh…Uguuuguuugu…”
Enka gritted her teeth.
Ryuuga was trying to stand up behind her, but it was too late.
“You tried your best, but it wasn’t enough. Too bad, Enka. Aira’s going to take your precious Ryuu-kun. Once Aira has everything in the world, you’ll… spend your life begging for Aira’s forgiveness while shaking your hips for some old man! That’s your reward for beating me up so much! Ahahahaha!”
“Ai… ra…!!”
Even her hateful glare felt good.
That’s right.
Anyone who gets in Aira’s way deserves to suffer.
“See you later. Delete—guh!?”
In an instant, she was put in a chokehold from behind.
Her neck was constricted, and her breath stopped. Her vision burst forth, and she couldn’t help but drop Enka’s phone.
“Wh… Wh… What!?”
“I… I won’t… let you…!!”
“Mi… Misato…!!”
Misato, who was supposed to be under hypnosis, was biting her lip hard enough to draw Bl00d as she tightened her grip on Aira’s neck.
No way, even this girl… resisting her ‘slave’ status…!? She had given her countless commands to prevent her from seeing or hearing anything, and she had broken her mind…!
So… unlike Enka, she shouldn’t have been influenced by Ryuuga’s actions…
“No way… on her own!?”
“I… I won’t… let you… do whatever you want… anymore…!!”