A sensation as if her field of vision had heightened.

Looking down upon the earth, where lives as insignificant as ants struggle and scurry, from a vantage point high above.

And the sensation of limbs and unknown organs sprouting in dozens.

The Succubus Queen, amidst the chaos of these bizarre and mystical sensations, moves her hand to dodge a fist lazily flying towards her face.

“⋯⋯⋯⋯?!”

Yuri Lanster’s eyes whirl, and the trajectory of the fist veers off in an unexpected direction.

Oh my, what has happened? What power have I used?

It wasn’t a physical force. It acted upon Yuri Lanster’s mind. Piercing through those terrifyingly thick chains… it whimsically guided her movements.

Yuri’s metaphor, “The Restraint of Desire,” is undoubtedly the Queen’s counter. The pheromones she had been scattering around until now had no effect on her.

Let’s try again.

Let’s test it on that fierce and fearsome beast, bound in chains.

She flicks her finger lightly. Lie down, Yuri.

“──Sigh!”

Chrrrrrrrrk, ssssssssh──!!

Ignoring the Queen’s command, the iron chains sweep the ground, lashing out like a whip. The Queen, startled, uses Seris, her chair, as a shield to block the attack.

Puhak-!

The chains strike the Queen along with Seris. Creak, and the Queen’s right arm bends in an odd direction, floating up and flinging away.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be used… It’s not an ‘absolute command.’ It must be a more detailed ability.

Let’s write a bit more. I’m not sure what effect it will have, but let’s swing it around. The Queen, like a child who has found a new toy, laughs and unleashes her power in all directions.

From noble mtl dot come

Click-click-click.

The sound of gears meshing and turning.

Yuri Lanster’s eyes move to the left, then to the far right, shifting rapidly. With her vision chaotically entangled, Yuri decides to close her eyes instead.

She attacks relying on her senses. She swings the chains at the Queen with sharp intuition, but it’s slower than when her eyes are open.

The Queen, still able to use Seris as a shield a few more times, leisurely sorts out her thoughts.

Good, control of sight… I can captivate the gaze. Then what about this?

The Queen paints the air with something like a brush.

Charararararack-!! Yuri Lanster charges, leading a significantly increased number of chains. Five  strands on each arm. They resemble the claws of a metal beast.

As time passes, the metaphor seems to grow stronger…

Crack-crack-crack, boom-boom-!!

The chains literally plow the ground as they are swung widely. With her sight uncontrollable, it seems she has switched to a wide-area attack pattern that’s easier to hit with.

The chains, swung with the force to split the world…

“…A mad magician…?!”

Startled by a phantom sight, Yuri’s trajectory veers off course, causing a significant wobble.

Eek-!!

For the Queen, whose physical prowess is relatively lacking, even the chains, now weakened in speed and power due to their altered path, are threatening. She is caught by a single strand, flung about like an insect struck by a flyswatter.

Yet, the Queen is smiling. There’s no hint of tension. This… doesn’t feel like a crisis. Because, in reality, it wasn’t.

She finally understood.

This power, this ability… “Cogwheel: Heroine,” she finally grasped what it was!

Chrrrrrrrrr-!!

The number of chains entwining Yuri increased, now resembling a lion’s mane… or a heat haze. Creak, creak, ominous sounds came from Yuri’s arms, bound by the chains.

She was pushing it. Increasing the load on herself, amplifying the power of the metaphor. It was worrisome, like a tomato squeezed too tight, about to burst.

In other words… an overload of metaphor.

An irrational method of use. Considering the backlash when the metaphor ends, it was akin to a large-scale self-destruction.

If caught in this wave of chains, not even a form would remain. Shredded to pieces, scattering with the sound of grinding.

But.

“But, can it… grind up the one I love as well?”

Charararack, kwagwagwagwagwa-!!

Facing the oncoming storm of chains, the Queen lightly pushed the cogwheel. It interlocked and turned.

Click.

And then she closed her eyes. If there was a mistake in using her power, the Queen would die. In that case, she would vanish without a trace, leaving behind a single piece of regret. Let’s see the outcome.

It’s coming. It’s coming. It’s coming. It’s coming closer…!

The chains, grinding everything in their path, stopped right before the Queen’s nose.

The Queen slowly opened her eyes. The chains were close enough to graze her eyelids.

“Hu, uhuhu… huhuhuhut…”

She couldn’t help but laugh. A laugh escaped her lips without her realizing.

The Queen trembled with the terrifying thrill of omnipotence. The excitement made her waist quiver, and the euphoria left her tongue feeling parched, unable to control her emotions.

Yuri Lannister’s expression was filled with confusion. It seemed she couldn’t understand why she had stopped her attack.

“Shall I tell you? Why… you can’t attack me.”

“……..”

“That’s because, I am your ‘Heroine.'”

Captivating. Impossible to look away.

It enchants. A chance encounter, a fleeting comma, a few seconds in time, and love takes root.

Somehow, my heart flutters, unsure of what to say, my gaze keeps drifting, and thus, fate intertwines.

Somehow, the birds chirp joyfully, the sunlight blesses, the breeze is refreshing. As if a filter has been placed over the cornea, the world appears only beautiful.

All such staging is contained in this cogwheel. It was… the sublimation ability to create someone’s heroine.

The stage is set. Characters appear, roles are assigned. The playwright who dominates this play has cast themselves as the heroine. Repeatedly justifying their right through all sorts of direction.

Thus, it cannot be attacked.

Moving the world, enchanting, it is indeed the ultimate “Fascination”!

Yes, you may not understand. I would feel the same. Allegory and sublimation, after all, are random. With the soul’s form being so diverse, it’s impossible to precisely target and create a specific ability.

Even the “Snare of Despair,” which the great sorcerer-assassin worked so hard to create, wasn’t precisely targeted to bloom with the ability of ‘materialization of magic.’

So, it’s impossible…

Such a precise and definite collection of abilities, neatly aligned for a single purpose, is impossible to come into existence. That’s the only conclusion one can draw.

The queen recalled the words of the “Lamb” she once overheard in passing.

– The evil deity of this era, who vanished without a trace at some point, is said to have had the power to control fate without anyone noticing. He played, creating heroes, disasters, tragedies, comedies.

An unfathomable tale beyond common sense… To move the world, to create a puppet show with so many people and enjoy it?

Blurring cognition, immersing the protagonist, preparing plausible trials, timing, introducing characters, deciding their success or failure, making them laugh and cry, concluding the story.

How many allegories must overlap to wield such power?

Therefore, the power of the evil deity that we black magicians pursue must not be one great entity but a collection of intricate ones. If we must name it.

– We shall call it ‘God’s Toolbox’…

Aha.

Indeed—this is the veritable ‘God’s Toolbox.’

“Don’t make me laugh—!!”

Creak. Yuri Lancer binds herself once again. The tightly drawn chains crush her skin, and blood trickles down. She moves slightly. Creak, creak.

Thud. Yuri Lancer’s fist touches the queen’s left eyelid.

“…Aha, oh. You’re resisting…? You couldn’t possibly stand against this great power, so I must have been a bit… clumsy.”

“Uh, that, aah…!!”

“I’m sorry, Yuri. I’ll make it comfortable for you soon.”

The queen acknowledged her own incompetence. To utilize all the functions of the “Heroine,” her abilities were far too lacking.

So, let’s humbly admit it. Let’s use just one tool. If used narrowly, if it’s the only one, she could surely handle it.

Its name is.

“Heroine: The Poison that Melts the Heart.”

Ah, has it started? Yes… it has begun. It’s been activated.

Listen carefully. Yes.

You were unleashing a barrage of attacks on the enemy before you, fueled by a flame of hatred. But it was to no avail. Not because the adversary was too strong.

It was because you were too weak, that it didn’t work.

We once lived together in harmony and happiness. You followed me, calling me ‘sister’. Could it be that the affection from those days still lingers in a corner of your heart?

Again and again, memories of the past vividly resurface… Even as you feel hatred towards the queen before you, an undeniable affection blurs your vision.

Thud. Thud.

Your fist, carrying such immense power, became as feeble as a newborn babe. With every punch thrown, it was just a thud. Thud.

You were merely painting the pure white queen with your own blood.

It wasn’t a proper strike.

Even as you calmed your heart, over and over, the love that kept welling up pulled you in the opposite direction. Yes… it’s what you desire too. How wonderful it would be to return to that day.

Could there have been a misunderstanding?

Was I mistaken…? After all, why would the kind white sister who treated me so gently… have wreaked havoc on the village?

Isn’t that a reasonable question?

“Don’t talk nonsense…!!”

Then why? Why doesn’t that fist show any sign of strength?

Even with closed eyes, the ‘gaze’ gravitates. You feel me with all your senses, and everything else seems blurry. As if smitten with a first love.

Uncontrollable emotions surge. With each punch, my eyelashes flutter, and with every joint movement, you deeply inhale my scent.

“No, this isn’t my feeling. I hate you…”

Tears of blood are shed.

I’ve never denied the hatred, Yuri. I just overlaid it with love.

There’s a word in the world called ‘love-hate’.

Yuri. In fact… you could have killed me. Isn’t that strange?

I thought the sublimation of the evil deity would be a more direct power. Firing massive beams or bestowing an absolute curse of death upon others.

But the power granted to me by the deity of pleasure was more maniac than I expected. In the end, it’s a power that ‘very well’ stirs up others’ emotions. No physical force, no absoluteness.

If your heart had truly been firm, it might not have worked.

Yes, it was all your shortcomings that were the problem. Your resolve, your efforts, your heart were lacking, and that’s why you failed.

You said you had discarded it, had thrown it away.

But that’s not true. You didn’t want to discard it, so you just hid it deep within your heart. Your emotions. That shallowness has tripped you up.

If your fable had been ‘to erase emotions.’

If there had been no hatred, no anger. If your heart had truly been empty. I would have met death at your hands.

But you… Even as you tried to suppress your emotions, they never disappeared, shimmering blue at the bottom of the lake, because you ignored them.

I drew them out and amplified them, and caught them.

“……”

You’ve run out of strength. It seems the duration of the fable has reached its limit.

Now, you sink.

You finally sink. Into the lake of your heart, where you’ve weighed down all emotions. The time has come for you to dip your feet in.

Slowly you enter. The tips of your toes splash, and you may be startled by the chill that runs up your spine.

But it’s okay.

You sink.

You sink.

……

You have sunk. It is so comfortable.

You become a drowned corpse, slowly swaying in regret with all the emotions you’ve drowned and killed. Sway. Sway.

Forever.

—

Knees buckle, and thud. Yuri Lancer falls forward like a puppet with its strings cut.

The Succubus Queen, holding the evil god statue, quietly observes, as if looking at the carcass of a beast. Realizing she is incapacitated.

“Hu, huhu…”

She laughs.

“Hu, haha… Ahahahahat, hat, ahahaha…!!”

It’s delightful. So very delightful.

If asked where and how it was delightful… The process of manipulating Yuri Lancer like a puppet was truly thrilling. To see Yuri, who had been spewing anger, now confused and overwhelmed by surging affection!

Now, the skill level is low, and the power of the evil god statue cannot be unleashed indefinitely. It was used to bide time until she was bound by the backlash of the fable…

Next time, it might be used in a more amusing way. A few ideas come to mind.

This time, it was about stealing the affection Yuri Lancer had for someone else… and projecting it onto herself.

With time, Yuri Lancer would have truly come to love the Queen. Then she could be made into a loyal knight, serving her.

Every night, boiling with hatred wanting to kill the Queen, yet tormented because of the love held in her heart.

Or perhaps, make her fall in love with a pig wallowing in the mud?

It will surely be fun. Despite not understanding why one would feel affection for such a beast, and feeling disgust, in the end, one cannot deny it… Ridiculously, they will love!

Oh my. How far can I go? There was so much I could do.

I could torment more.

I could break and toy with more people, in more escalated ways!

The Succubus Queen summoned her underlings from “The Nest.” She took the surviving annihilation troops, engraved hypnosis into their heads, and turned them into magic batteries.

In the meantime, the Queen, while providing a knee pillow to the unconscious Yuri Lancer, stroked her head and extracted information.

How did they find the entrance to “The Nest,” how did they burrow in here? It must be thoroughly checked.

“…Oh my?”

There was interesting information in her memories. That there exists a Purple Tower Master in the academy, or that there are already more than three academy students who have achieved metamorphosis.

And.

About the Illusion Magician of the Purple Tower staying at the academy.

The curious Queen looked a little deeper. And she learned about a game called TRPG. It was an indirect memory, so she couldn’t learn everything.

…The complete form was there.

She shuddered. This was it, this was how to do it.

The story spun by the mad magician seemed like a perfect manual for using the sublimation of evil gods. To decorate life without the victim even noticing… Such craftsmanship!

She became greedy.

If she could open up that magician’s head and drink in that information? Then. She had a hunch that she could handle the sublimation of evil gods more naturally than anyone else.

From noble mtl dot come

The Queen gently patted Yuri Lancer’s head and whispered.

“Yuri, I was going to… use you as a test subject. To see if I could make even inanimate objects feel love, to see if I could change your nature. I wanted to torment you in various ways.”

They were close. The magician and Yuri Lancer.

Let’s dig a trap. Carefully dig a trap in Yuri’s mind, and present it to the magician. Kindly.

And then catch the magician’s mind, which delved deep to save a friend… Catch it, enchant it, wring it out. Make all the knowledge mine.

Let’s set a trap.

Since he seems to like spinning stories, it would be good to prepare the trap in the same format.

Yes. It’s a strange word, but that’s what it should be called.

“This is the session… I’ve prepared. Ufufufu.”

The Succubus Queen was ready to master.

—

“…Pingballez?”

The girl he saw after several days was sound asleep. As if she would never wake up.