In the pitch-black space, the two of us sat crouched side by side, a fist’s distance apart. Everywhere I looked, black tar flowed, and it was hard to distinguish up from down in this unsettling space.

Breathing didn’t feel like breathing. It’s natural since we’re melting in real-time.

This black substance, it loosens tightly bound information for absorption. It’s accurate to say that defense is reduced and dot damage comes in real-time.

From noble mtl dot come

I was deflecting useless information with my skin, performing cosmic defense. So, what about Pinkbalez?

Pinkbalez, senior in being devoured, was soft like well-fermented kimchi, her information squishy. When I first saw her, she couldn’t maintain her form and was missing two legs.

So, I reshaped her, even if only in appearance. I bunched up her information nicely, crafted legs, and optimized her.

In reality, manipulating someone else’s information at will is nearly impossible. But this is the world of the mind, and Pinkbalez was malleable enough to make it possible.

Now, even forcing a transformation on Pinkbalez wouldn’t be a dream.

As I entertained such pointless thoughts, Pinkbalez blurted out.

“Why did you come to save me? Foolishly.”

“⋯⋯If someone comes to save you, you should be grateful, not add a foolish afterthought.”

“It would be cool if you saved me, but you got caught trying. Besides, you’ve shown all sorts of disgraceful behavior… You know, I never knew what love was.”

“If you use that line one more time, I’ll unleash a confession attack on you-!!”

Triggered, I rolled around, firing off warning shots.

I know. Giving a big reaction to a teaser only excites them more. I should let it slide nonchalantly without feeding them, that’s the real defense.

But that long speech was an embarrassment I couldn’t suppress or dodge. I must be crazy.

Fortunately, at the declaration of a confession attack, Pinkbalez took a sharp breath and turned her head. A ceasefire.

Normally, talk of a confession attack would be met with a scoff, but now, it was serving its role as the ultimate weapon against Pinkbalez.

Because it’s interconnected.

The emotions Pinkbalez stole from the queen also affect their original owner. She’s in love with me. And so am I.

That fact fills me with immense joy. The moment our eyes meet, I can feel our emotions connected by a red thread. With every heartbeat, excitement bursts forth──

I can’t do that, you know.

Slap, slap. I slapped my own cheek. The romantic poet within me keeps leaping out.

Pingballez watched with a slimy smile.

“Your eyes seem to be begging to write a poem for me, you mad magician. Or perhaps a lengthy love letter.”

“Ah, cut it out!”

“But… ‘Mima’, isn’t it? Right now, shouldn’t you be begging me to tease you instead?”

What are you talking about?

Twisting my body in embarrassment from the ‘Mima’ attack, I looked up at Pingballez, and his, expression. How should I put it? It’s like a bubbling pink volcano.

Disguised in playfulness, barely suppressed by conviction. This is a face that’s seriously fired up. He growled.

“You’re trapped in a room with a succubus who’s fallen for you, unable to leave until it melts, just waiting for the day to die.”

And any beast, when close to death, tends to have a surge in reproductive instincts. I briefly thought, wouldn’t it be beneficial to do it before dying?

But spending time on such thoughts could actually lead to dying right here, a harsh reality I reminded myself of, and promptly declared surrender.

“Please tease me, Lord Pingballez.”

“What a good child. Be mindful of your attitude going forward… Do you have a plan?”

“I’ll have to hold out a bit longer. You see, this black tar. If I hack it right, I might be able to use it to my advantage? They move in a direction that devours information. So, by leading them with information, drawing a magic circle with these things…”

Drip, drip, splat!

“Plop.”

A bucketful of sticky black stuff poured over my head.

The refilled black tar, which I hadn’t even ordered, was a version that eerily fixed the part I had just mentioned. I looked up at the sky with a grimace.

That b*tch queen, she’s listening.

“It’s the queen’s stomach, after all. If the prey mumbles, she can feel it.”

“So what, we can’t even have a strategy meeting now? Hey, if that b*tch is watching us. Let’s just have a deep kiss.”

“Excuse me?”

Pingballez asked with a subtle expression.

Are you crazy, or I don’t want to. It wasn’t that kind of expression. It was pure concern, wondering if you could handle it if this started.

But there was something I wanted to confirm.

When I fell from the queen’s back, surprised by a sudden blow, I clearly saw sorrow and pain from her. Isn’t that strange?

I suppressed the series of thoughts that branched from that clue. I stopped thinking for a moment, not even voicing it. Because it’s inside the queen’s stomach. If information leaks out, she’ll know too.

So I speak without thinking as much as possible.

“How does a dream demon feel watching another dream demon’s meal?”

“Does it taste good?”

“Yes, and the queen enjoyed a fake romantic game with me just now. I’ll encourage her hunger and lead her outside to buy some snacks. Then, her weakness will be exposed.”

“Just before I died, I wanted to kiss her honestly, you crazy magician. What’s wrong with that?”

I acted like a crazy magician trying to find a way to escape, scratching the wall as if I was “making a move”.

Has it been spread?

I didn’t do anything, but I did a bit of exaggeration to confirm something… Did Pinabelle notice?

“Breathe, breathe.”

“What does that mean?”

Pinabelle grabbed my shoulders with both hands, holding me tightly. It’s a bit painful. Our faces are close.

You’ve noticed, haven’t you…?

We’re so close that our breaths are mixing. My heart is racing like a madman. I should have used a different method. But it seems like this is the only way to confirm it.

“Wait, cancel…!”

So I did.

The art of kendo is divided into two movements: thrusting and cutting. Depending on how these movements are combined and executed, it separates into three styles: Sanjiaogong, Changgongmu, and Qiuxi.

Even the fundamental particles of this world, composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons, change depending on how they are combined. That’s how it was. All techniques start from basics.

And, by combining three simple movements: poking, sucking, and licking… I never thought it would be so colorful.

At first, my awkward butterfly movements became habitual, and then it became a storm.

Pinabelle was pretending to practice and tied up a cherry blossom knot, so it seemed like her efforts weren’t in vain. It was a good job.

And, when we kiss, I don’t close my eyes. Every time I check, they’re open.

I’m looking at you with eyes like a rabbit that’s frozen in place, as if I’m staring into the abyss.

And, below, I’ll omit the rest for the sake of my dignity.

The 5-minute deep kiss, which seemed like an hour, ended with a refill of tar that the jealous queen poured. Ah, jealousy. It’s clear. I wanted to confirm it.

The queen still has a lingering sentiment for Yu Li.

I gained a small key to victory here, but at the same time, I lost something pure and innocent. I’m broken.

Pinabelle, with her lips stained with tar, wiped them clean with her jacket sleeve. Then, with an extremely flirtatious gaze, she asked me, “Did you enjoy it? The meal was interrupted by rain, but since the main dish is ready, can we resume?”

“⋯⋯ Yeah! You’re making fun of people like that and then acting like a pervert!”

“Since you asked me to do it yourself. How was it? Did you like it?”

“It’s not like that! You’re just asking without any mood!”

Stumbling backward in disarray, he watched me quietly before Pinvalles jumped to his own conclusion.

“It means you liked it. Understood. I’ll do it again once we’re outside.”

“……..”

I couldn’t deny it. Nor could I refuse.

“I’d like to move on to the next step, but it’s about time.”

“What time?”

“The time for this disguise. Besides the black, there’s another digestive system. It brings back nightmares of the past.”

Pinvalles’ eyes, which had been buoyant until now, settled down. Nightmares.

When a lively prey enters the stomach, it requires an active ‘digestion’ rather than a slow melt. Watching Pinvalles prepare for battle, I too struggled to rise with my sluggish, creaking body.

Ever since I was hit by that “key,” my condition hasn’t been great.

It feels like my stats have been halved. It’s fortunate I didn’t die from that unexpected blow, but the taste is still bitter.

Bubble, bubble, bubble.

Bubbles froth up from the black tar, swelling and rising. Then, one by one, shadows resembling people began to pour out.

An old man, a child, a young man holding a hoe – their attire and tools gave the impression of villagers from some mountain hamlet.

With a nostalgic smile, Pinvalles introduced the stained shadows.

“These are people from my hometown.”

“…Your hometown.”

The place that was erased by the Queen.

“Yes. The succubus faction opposing the Queen left her kingdom and stepped into the world of humans. My mother said that at first, they had to wander a lot.”

Even if the succubus group said, ‘We want to coexist with you,’ it wasn’t easy to be accepted. And even if they were, it wouldn’t have been out of pure goodwill.

Eventually, they reached a quiet rural village.

“It was a small, nameless village. Self-sufficient, located in the highlands, with very few passersby.”

At first, both the villagers and the succubi were wary of each other, the succubi tired of long persecution and the humans slow to trust.

But when one of the succubi fell in love at first sight with the village chief’s son, somehow, they ended up coexisting.

“Romeo and Juliet… was it? It was just like that, they say. But our ending was different from that story. Overwhelmed by the intense love of the two, humans and succubi came to live together.”

And it worked out quite well. The succubi didn’t see humans as prey, and the humans stopped seeing the succubi as monsters.

“I still remember that place. The gentleman who handed me an apple when I was young, the friends I played with. In all those memories, I was affirmed.”

That was until the Queen came… It was like that.

Gurgle. Splish. Splash.

Roused from the reverie by the ominous noise, I returned to reality. The blackened villagers manifested and staggered towards us.

There’s no malice, but it’s hostile. It’s a sort of informational necromancy, using the data gleaned from disassembling Pingballez to resurrect and employ as soldiers.

Pingballez, as if having experienced this dozens of times, swung his fist without showing much emotional change, shattering the people of his hometown.

“Hmm, hiding branches was a popular game. Nicole, Elliot, Senia. These three especially often gathered to play.”

He kicks children who barely reach his waist, looking about ten years old, shattering them. With a squelch, heads are torn off.

“That person ran a forge, but he was clumsy at sharpening blades. He got scolded a lot.”

A middle-aged man with a scruffy beard swings a dull scythe. Pingballez dodges and shatters.

“……..”

She pretends to be okay, but she can’t be. The experience of having to kill the family, friends, and neighbors in her memories over and over again… must be terribly unpleasant.

Perhaps she hesitated the first few times.

While I was enchanted by young Yuri above, Pingballez was constantly fighting his resurrecting memories in this dark disguise.

It’s inevitable to fight and eliminate them. The data in their form is attacking us.

But at least, the fact that Pingballez is the one doing this work… is too sad. I clapped my hands and stepped forward.

“Step back.”

“……..”

“I’ll take over this battle. Leave the nuisances to the genius wizard and take a break.”

“You don’t look well. Are you sure you can handle it?”

Of course. Who do you think I am? I dove into the battle with confidence.

—

“Huff…”

I barely shattered the last shadow person. I almost died…!

The drop in my abilities is greater than I thought. Above all, this space itself is greatly disadvantageous to me. I lack the resources I could pick up and use.

If I process my information and shoot magic, it gets consumed faster, so it’s a loss.

If I handle this black tar well and shoot magic, the queen will apply a bug fix sharply, so it’s a loss.

So, this is the result of struggling not to lose out too much. It was a series of battles with the villagers using pure martial arts.

It’s natural that a wizard fighting like a warrior almost died. I panted and muttered.

“I should have… done more exercise…?”

“I’ll help you with a full-body workout when we get out. In bed.”

“Please, in the training grounds. In the training grounds…”

Exhausted, Pingballez placed a hand on my crown. That was enough. I’m grateful for the concern, but there’s no need to fuss over me anymore. I felt that thought.

“No, it was manageable. I’ll take care of the villagers from now on.”

“Men always seem to put on airs in front of the girls they like. Is it some unknown power of love?”

“Yeah. Rather than seeing you hurt, I’d prefer to suffer a bit more.”

Thump. Pingballez hit me squarely on the back. It seems my counterattack worked.

“Now’s not the time to be pretentious. The next wave is coming.”

“No, I can handle three… no, two… no. I can easily take on this wave.”

“It’s not the villagers, you mad magician. Now there are two victims swallowed by the ‘Disguise,’ not just one.”

“……..”

Yes, that’s right. If the villagers emerged from the information Pingballez sucked out, then the information taken from me will also be processed and turned against us.

Bubble, bubble, bubble.

The bubbles swelled up, larger and larger. Then pop, they burst.

Bennett, the twin-blade swordsman, emerged, his figure stained pitch black.

“….Why, why is he holding twin swords?”

“Well, I was wondering if I could use it for the session, so I tweaked Bennett’s data a bit… made him like he had trained for another 10 years. Just a slight custom job I inserted.”

From noble mtl dot come

Pingballez, with veins bulging slightly on his neck, raised his voice.

“Why did you bring that data when you came to save me!”

“I was going to fold it into magical bullets! Hey, watch out for the flying sword. The first attack comes in a flurry pattern, so duck!!”

My karma sent the sword flying.