"Hey, why are you making that face?"

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if the blood splattered everywhere was making it hard to see. But the figure was still there.

I touched my ear, thinking maybe it was clogged with blood. But my ear was clean—no blood at all. And yet, I could still hear that voice.

"Shit!"

I couldn’t stop the curse from escaping my lips.

A person who doesn't die even when their neck is cut? What is this, some kind of mythical Dullahan?

Salome quickly scanned the room to assess the situation.

Is there anyone still... normal?

The two who had just returned, the one who had been talking to me, and the others who had been hanging around—all of them had abnormally dilated pupils. I didn’t know what was going on, but it was definitely that guy’s doing.

Salome drew his dagger once more and this time aimed for the figure’s arms and legs.

But instead of hearing the flesh being cut and a scream of agony, the figure simply shook his head as if it was pointless.

"That won't work. You should just give up—oh?"

"Hah! You think I’m going to fight you?"

Fighting something you don’t understand is the worst strategy.

Salome had learned that painfully during the war a decade ago.

In a battlefield where the situation could change every second, whenever Salome couldn’t grasp what was happening, he would always flee.

That’s why he had survived when other soldiers became crippled or lost their lives in those horrid places.

He felt a little guilty about leaving his subordinates behind, but it was better to inform headquarters than to die fighting some unknown threat. That would be more beneficial to the organization.

Without a second thought, Salome smashed through the window and leaped out of the room.

The hotel was high up, and he might get injured, but that was better than dying.

Even if he got hurt, the priority was to escape this place.

Having made his decision, Salome braced himself for the impact of the fall, and ended up in a rather undignified tumble.

"Whatever you do, it won’t matter."

"W-What the hell...?"

The sound of footsteps approached from behind.

A shiver ran down his spine, and his mouth went dry.

"Shit, shit! I just escaped! The window was definitely the outside of the hotel! So what the hell is this?"

What lay before his eyes was an all-too-familiar scene.

Despite having smashed through the window and leaped from the 13th floor, Salome hadn’t fallen.

The reason was simple.

Though the view outside the window had indeed been of the hotel exterior, beyond that, there was another room.

"Damn it!"

Salome ignored the sight of his subordinates staring into nothingness with vacant eyes, and moved towards the now-broken window that had just been letting in the night breeze.

But again, the same thing happened. When he gathered his senses, he was still in the room on the 13th floor.

Whether it was smashing through the door, breaking down walls, or even trying to dig through the floor, the result was always the same.

No matter where he tried to go, he ended up back in the room on the 13th floor.

The severed head watching him with a smile, his mind-broken subordinates...

"Headquarters, respond! We’ve been attacked! Unknown assailant! I think our location's been compromised! Headquarters!"

-Static noise-

"Fuck!"

No matter how many times he tried to contact headquarters, it was useless.

All he could hear was the noise of static.

There was no way to tell if the transmission was even getting through or if there was just no response.

"Trying to escape won’t help."

"Y-You... What the hell did you do? Tell me!"

As if the figure would ever explain.

Who would reveal their trap after springing it on their opponent?

Despite understanding that, Salome couldn't help but shout at this incomprehensible being in front of him.

If he didn’t, he felt like he’d lose his mind. He felt like he’d be consumed by this indescribable fear.

But contrary to his expectations, the figure spoke clearly.

"It’s hypnosis."

"H-Hypnosis...?"

"Yes, hypnosis. That’s why you can’t escape."

The figure said, as if it was no big deal.

"You didn’t actually smash through the window, you didn’t really cut my throat, you didn’t throw that dagger into my arm, you didn’t break the wall, you didn’t dig through the floor, and you didn’t contact headquarters... because none of that ever happened."

"No... no way, such advanced illusion magic can’t possibly—"

Salome knew that illusion magic existed.

Magic that deceives the senses, making something that isn’t there seem real.

But this level of illusion would require an enormous amount of magical power.

Even a grand mage would find it impossible.

"It’s not an illusion, it’s hypnosis. ...Looks like I’ll have to show you."

As those murmured words ended, the world flipped upside down.

Everything around him looked the same as before, the same hotel room.

The shattered window, the holes in the walls—none of it existed. It was just a peaceful place.

"Amazing, isn’t it?"

...I couldn’t move.

There was no sense of pressure, no feeling that someone was controlling my body, and yet I couldn’t budge.

"Wh-when... when did I fall under this hypnosis...?"

"Hmm?"

"When did I... get hypnotized?"

"I’m not sure."

Suddenly, the hotel-like scenery shifted to that of a scorching desert.

The blazing sun, the sand blowing against my skin, the shimmering heat haze.

As I struggled to comprehend the sudden change in environment, it transformed again into a snowy field covered in ice.

The sensation of my skin burning from the intense heat was replaced by a cold that threatened to freeze my hands.

Before I could even get used to seeing my breath in the cold air, the scenery changed again.

A city, a countryside, a desert, a volcano, outer space, glaciers, snowy plains, a mine...

As the landscapes began to change rapidly, Salome could no longer tell what was real and what was an illusion.

"Where do you think we are right now? Drifting on a raft in the open sea? In a jungle? Or maybe in the middle of a battlefield?"

"A-ah, aaah..."

"What’s real and what’s fake? Care to take a guess?"

"The hotel... We’re definitely in the hotel."

"Oh?"

"You can’t alter my memories, can you? Hahaha... I’m sure! My subordinates and I were in the hotel!"

Salome shouted in desperation.

He never had a chance of winning from the start. He couldn’t even guess when he had fallen into this trap.

At the very least, he wouldn’t play along with whatever this creature wanted.

With that resolve, Salome heard Ophelia’s question.

"Why do you think so?"

"I have no reason to tell you! Even if you kill me, I won’t answer that question! For the sake of the organization!"

"Oh... That’s admirable. Your loyalty to the organization is impressive."

In battle, whenever he was in danger, he had always fled.

Because of that, others saw him as a traitor, a coward, and he was left in disgrace.

But that wasn’t it. He just wanted to escape unwinnable fights and prepare for the next one.

The organization was the only one that accepted and understood him when he was overwhelmed with betrayal and despair.

So he would do anything for the organization.

Even if it cost him his life.

"So, why were you staying at the hotel?"

"Even if you ask the same question, it’s useless! I won’t answer!"

"You don’t need to. Just thinking about it is enough. ...Why were you staying at the hotel?"

Looking at the smiling face of the woman before him, Salome thought.

This is a trap. She must have done something. I must not think about it.

But the more you try not to think about something, the more it comes to mind.

Naturally, Salome started to think about why he and his subordinates had come to this place.

I’m sure it was... What was it?

...?

Something was wrong.

They were supposed to be waiting at the hotel under the organization’s orders, but he couldn’t remember what those orders were.

It was as if that part of his memory had been neatly cut out.

"Can’t remember?"

"You... What did you do?"

"Nothing. Just answering your earlier question about whether memories can be manipulated. Try again. Why were you waiting here on orders from the organization?"

To assist Lady Ophelia, obviously.

...?!

What... What did I just think?

This woman before me is the enemy. The reason we were ordered to wait here was to assist Lady Ophelia when she arrived with whatever she needed...

"You... you!"

"Don’t worry, I won’t kill you."

A horrifying thought swirled in his mind.

Could it be that this woman...!

"Your loyalty will be useful elsewhere."

"Sh-shut up! Stop it! Stop it right now!"

You can’t insult Lady Ophelia. What nonsense am I thinking? This woman is the benefactor who saved me!

...Ah.

He felt his emotions shifting in his mind.

Hostility turned to loyalty. Fear transformed into admiration.

He began to feel a growing affection for the being before him, and despair washed over him.

"Don’t worry. There’s no need to feel guilty about betraying the organization."

Lady Ophelia said to him.

"After all, you’ve been working for me from the beginning, haven’t you?"

"Yes, Lady Ophelia."

Salome smiled as he answered his benefactor.