The mage and the defense agency operative who rushed to the mansion where the Third Prince had been confined found the place deserted, with signs of a fierce battle.

The succubus collaborator who had aided the prince’s escape seemed to have been captured by the forces of the dark mages, and it was highly likely that she had met with a tragic fate.

Enraged, the Third Prince pledged his full cooperation in the pursuit of the Succubus Queen. He divulged all he knew and willingly submitted to a physical examination.

After a thorough investigation by the Mad Wizard, now serving as a consultant on illusion magic, the defense agency acquired crucial information.

“There’s a massive gate in the Elmest territory of the western empire, connected to ‘The Nest’.”

“Wasn’t the entrance to ‘The Nest’ supposed to be in the Third Prince’s head?”

“It is. But it’s a narrow gateway, limited in data transmission speed and capacity. It’s only large enough for one succubus to pass through once a week.”

The academy didn’t need many succubi infiltrating, so a narrow entrance sufficed. Limited bandwidth slowed down attacks but also made defense easier.

It was a safety measure by the succubi, in case the Third Prince was captured, to avoid significant losses. Normally, no information could be extracted through such a narrow passage.

But the Mad Wizard, using the information equivalent to one succubus, managed to locate the massive gate, proving to be a step ahead.

“The massive gate… Why was it created? Do you know, senior?”

“Succubi are unique beings that traverse between substance and information. But the transformation isn’t a simple click. You know about Pingballez, it takes time… and they’re vulnerable during the change.”

“I asked the senior,” I said.

‘If you pull out the USB while transferring files, won’t it cause an error?’ the mad magician left behind such a cryptic and incomprehensible analogy.

That’s why. For the succubi living in the information-based otherworld “Nest” to safely emerge into reality, a well-crafted passage is necessary.

And it would be needed to bring real-world objects into the “Nest.”

“It would take all day to transmit a human soul through a narrow passage. The demons would scatter, drawing out vitality or whatever to bring back to the ‘Nest,’ so an entrance is necessary,” he said.

“Either way, it’s a critical facility.”

“Just destroying it would cause significant damage. It’s like blocking the entrance to a beehive; it would take ages just to create a way out,” he added.

With this information, Prince Irid decided to dispatch the military force “Annihilation Squad” under the Defense Nation to the Elmest territory. The goal was set to close the giant gate.

Thus, Yuri Lanster, an agent with a distinguished record in the Great Succubus War and exceptional charm resistance, was reassigned to the “Annihilation Squad.”

The “Nest Entrance Closure Operation” had begun.

—

Yuna and I gathered at the south gate of the academy to bid farewell to Pingvallez. Yuna was sucking on a lollipop she bought from a nearby vendor, her expression gloomy despite the sugar content.

My expression was probably a mirror image of Yuna’s. As if rain were pouring down my face, I must have looked just as dismal.

The weather was gloomy too.

It was different from when we left to back up Roderus. This time, Pingvallez’s departure had no promised return date…

Pingvallez had adamantly refused our offer to join, leaving both Yuna and me with a sense of hurt. How wonderful would it be to go together?

But after all, it was the “Nest Entrance Closure Operation.” There was no intention of facing off against the Succubus Queen, or at least not unless it was truly a dangerous situation that warranted calling for help.

There were many reasons for refusal, but I believed the real reason was different… It seemed closer to not wanting to show something. To what?

I don’t know. What kind of relationship do we have? We know each other’s three sizes, each other’s scents, it seems we know more about each other than we don’t…

From noble mtl dot come

Click-clack. Click-clack.

The sound of heels echoed. I turned my head towards the sound, ready to make a light joke.

“……”

Black uniform.

Pingvallez… no, Yuri Lanster was dressed in a plain, pitch-black uniform. The shirt inside, the gloves, all black.

It wasn’t the tight-fitting suit that accentuated her figure. The uniform was baggy to not hinder movement, rough rather than luxurious.

Her expression… it was different from her usual impassiveness. Her calm, yellow eyes held a hue similar to that of a wolf quietly observing a wounded deer.

My tongue wasn’t tied.

I hadn’t thought the uniform would suit her to this extent. At this moment, she seemed all too capable of effortlessly ripping out the threads of human life. The scent of blood was in the air.

She began to speak lightly. But her tone was different. There was an edge to it.

“Have you been waiting?”

“Ah, um… Yes, I waited! To see you off… Quick, say something…!”

Yuna flapped about, hitting my thigh. She seemed greatly taken aback by the unfamiliar sight of Yuri Lancer.

I let out a sardonic joke.

“You look good, Pink Ballet. Is this what they call ‘lone wolf mode’?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“…”

I teased her, expecting a witty comeback or a smooth deflection. Something like, ‘And you, the woman of fantasy?’

But Yuri Lancer didn’t play along with the joke.

Hiccup. Yuna started hiccuping. She seemed startled by the oddly chilly atmosphere. I wished I could hiccup too.

In that mood, Yuri Lancer drove the final nail.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Ah, okay.”

Her words cut off as if severing ties. I let go of the urge to cling to that moment. Don’t go, Pink Ballet, or at least, ‘How about one last meal?’

There were a mountain of things I wanted to say, and she probably knew it too. That’s why she cut it short deliberately.

Yuri Lancer walked past us. Yuna and I could only blankly follow her retreating figure with our eyes.

But then.

With a V.

Without looking back, Yuri Lancer made a peace sign and waved it lightly. Only then did Yuna and I relax, our shoulders slackening.

We muttered our farewells to the back of her head, which had scared us and run away.

“Come back soon, Pink Ballet, we’ll be waiting.”

“Yeah, that’s right! If you don’t come back, I might just come looking for you…!”

Swaying gently. Pink Ballet’s ponytail fluttered.

The pink hair, trembling like a candle flame, grew distant and then disappeared.

Long after it had vanished from my retina, I chased the lingering image, returning to the lab with Yuna, feeling somewhat empty, muttering about hiding that damned black uniform.

Plop. Plop.

“Oh, it’s raining.”

“Shoot. Why today of all days?”

A raindrop hit the bridge of my nose. I looked up, wondering if I had cried, but thankfully, it was just rain. Dark clouds were rolling in from the west.

Oh sky, are you crying in my stead?

If that’s the case, I’d like to say there’s no need to cry. It’s not that sad. Anyone would think we’re parting forever. Right? But I’ll return.

Yes, let’s think positively. Didn’t The Little Prince say the same? Waiting will fill my life with the excitement of a fluttering heart. The joy of reunion will be squared.

So, I’ve decided to think of this loneliness as something joyful.

—

There are two cases when one prepares for death.

Either they’ve taken on a mission heavier than death, or life feels lighter than death. Courageous people who risk their lives despite knowing the preciousness of life are rare, so the world is mostly filled with the latter.

And the “Annihilation Squad” is a place where only those who find their lives to be weightlessly trivial gather.

I’ve lost everything. It doesn’t seem like happiness will come my way if I continue living. So, I’d rather use this life for revenge. I want to risk my life to crush the throat of the one who stole my life from me.

That’s why I can stake my life. I can move forward without hesitation, even to the brink.

It doesn’t matter if I die today or tomorrow. In this place gathered by twisted souls, there was a strong bond unique to them. A sense of belonging.

A bond among those living a miserable life.

That’s why… the one who fled from the “Annihilation Squad” and has now returned.

The one who enjoyed all that life had to offer and now claims to have been hurt, rejoining the squad. I despise him. I can’t acknowledge him as a comrade. That’s what the boy thought.

He loudly voiced his complaints to his comrades.

“Leaving the Annihilation Squad means you’ve given up being ready to die! And now you come back? Does that make any sense?!”

“Hey, kid. A warning… no, a piece of advice. Don’t mess with the pink-haired Lancer.”

The one-eyed old man of the Annihilation Squad muttered while looking at the campfire. However, the thoughtful old man’s advice, remembering the past, did not reach the ears of the frenzied boy.

“I get it, you had your glory days in the past. I understand. I understand that you have to participate in this operation! Then you could have joined as a regular agent, not assigned to the Annihilation Squad! Why take back a coward who ran away to life?!”

The boy thought she tarnished the name of the Annihilation Squad.

This is a gathering for those prepared to risk their lives. Rumor has it, she was flirting around as a field agent for the Defense Agency with the same woman.

With that mindset, she returns to the Annihilation Squad?

That’s unacceptable. It shouldn’t be. Someone who has enjoyed the happiness of life, who has grasped joy in their hands, shouldn’t take the name of the Annihilation Squad, my only pride.

Jealousy boils within me to the point of churning. And with that jealousy disguised as honor, the boy stood up to confront her.

She, Yuri Lancer, sat on a stump with her head bowed low.

Somehow, the air around her felt sticky. And without realizing it, goosebumps formed. The boy’s body, sensing the threat beforehand, was telling him. Don’t do it. Don’t stir the hornet’s nest.

But the young boy’s impetuous heart preceded his instinct, and he stood before her, unleashing his suppressed anger.

“…Leave the Annihilation Squad!”

“……..”

If asked why, he intended to list all her sins. To scold her for leaving like a coward, to stay gone.

But she, in silent tranquility, simply stood up without a word.

“I, I’m leaving…!! You don’t have the right, you who fled to life, you don’t have the right! It’s not a place where you can stay and enjoy all the happiness, it’s not, the Annihilation Squad…!!”

Right? That’s how it is.

The boy looked around for agreement, as if seeking validation. Those new to the Annihilation Squad nodded in empathy with the boy’s rage.

But those with more experience, those who remembered Yuri Lancer, their eyes betrayed a sense of pity. They looked upon the boy as someone pitiable and pathetic.

Why.

The reason became immediately clear through the body.

Crunch.

“…Gah?!”

In an instant, his throat was seized. His body was lifted. The strong grip constricted his throat, tightening further under his own weight. His airway was abruptly blocked, gasping for breath.

Trying to suppress me with strength? I know. I knew it. I’m aware that you’ve reached enlightenment. But it’s not about strength. I won’t submit…!

The boy thought so, glaring at Yuri Lancer with rebellious eyes. But it was a mistake.

Smack!

A sensation like a flashbang exploding inside his skull. It was a fist. He must have been hit by a fist, but it felt like being hammered by a siege mallet. His cheek was torn open in an instant, teeth shattered and scattered.

Violence, I won’t yield.

Thwack! Smack!

Fists flew one after another. He was thrown to the ground. And then came the kicks. Blood spurted, bones broke. The boy tried to resist. He swung a dagger, aiming to kill. But it was futile.

Neither skill nor brute strength was a match.

He was crushed. The boy was literally being turned into pulp. Yet, there was no sign of the fists stopping. Silently, with a steady rhythm. The mechanical violence continued.

Amidst the agony, the boy wondered. Why… doesn’t it stop. At this rate, I’ll die. I’ll be killed…?

With his eyes swollen shut, the boy looked up at the source of the violence. In the darkness, a yellow gleam flashed. A detached, indifferent gaze floated in the void.

Then the boy understood.

The “Annihilation Squad” wasn’t about throwing away life.

It was about being able to do anything because you’ve thrown away your life. That was what mattered.

To Yuri Lancer, the boy was an obstacle. If he raised his voice in protest, it could shake her position within the Annihilation Squad. That would lower the success rate of operations. Therefore, she completely excludes him.

She does not hesitate to beat the boy to death.

Accusing him of being a succubus’s spy, mocking his lewd and dull body, questioning what he could achieve with only martial arts training…

Yuri Lancer had silenced such talks with her fists. Without a shred of compassion.

Although he had been away from the Annihilation Squad for a while…

With C’s help, he had detached from the Annihilation Squad, carried out various tasks, engaged in banter, and mingled with magicians. Yet, the hatred that clung to his heart never faded.

He adapted quickly. It was a simple matter of dredging up that feeling.

“Please… stop… please stop.”

It was only after the boy’s frail plea that the fists halted.

The boy understood. The violence ceased not out of mercy to spare his life, but because… it’s always better to have one more meat shield. It was a calculated decision.

Yuri Lannister wiped his bloodied fist on the boy’s uniform as he commanded.

“Seris.”

“Yes, senior!”

“Clean this up.”

“Yes, understood! I’ll move him to the medical unit, and if he seems unusable, I’ll leave him behind!”

Seris, with a smile close to exhilaration, tidied up the blood-drenched scene. He had returned. The senior he had long admired had finally returned to the Annihilation Squad.

Laughter spread among the Annihilation Squad members who were watching from around. It was a smile full of joy, welcoming back a comrade.

Nothing had changed. Nothing had disappeared.

The mad dog of the Annihilation Squad had reappeared.