Splash, splash.

The sound of footsteps echoes through the darkness.

Shivering, I look up towards the direction of the sound.

There stands a one-armed woman with half of her face marred by burn scars.

Strangely beautiful, unnaturally beautiful…

I can’t help but think that by my standards, she might honestly be a bit ugly, but no, no, thinking that would be irreverent, so I must think she’s beautiful, yes, I must think she’s beautiful—ah, she’s beautiful, so beautiful.

She was a beautiful woman.

Without realizing it, I felt compelled to praise her beauty.

The beautiful woman standing in the darkness spoke to me as if giving a command.

“What are you doing? Kneel.”

As soon as I heard her command, a response slipped from my lips.

“Y-yes, my… m’lady…”

Before I knew it, I found myself naturally kneeling on the floor as I replied, puzzled, “Huh? Why am I obediently kneeling to her?”

Why did I call her m’lady?

It should have been perfectly normal, yet I felt an unsettling discomfort creeping in.

I slowly gazed at my mistress’s face as she approached me.

Indeed, she was beautiful, so beautiful that my eyes felt as if they would be blinded by her splendor.

But it was strange.

Seeing the beautiful lady’s face should naturally bring joy.

Curiously, while looking at her face, feelings other than happiness surged up within me.

It made my body heat up and my breath quicken like when I felt pleasure, but it was an unmistakable emotion.

Anger.

That which is the driving force of my power boiled up from deep within my heart.

I shouted at the melted state of my reason, which had become a mush.

Look again, how is that person your mistress?

Upon hearing that cry, I focused my eyes again and directly stared at my mistress’s face.

And…

“Ugh…!”

I gasped, startled.

It was because I realized.

I recognized my own irrational behavior.

That there was a significant problem with my thinking.

Once I realized it, I felt absurd for naturally accepting such a nonsense as normal.

Wasn’t it true that, just by looking at my mistress’s face, such anger and hostility were boiling over?

To think of such a person as my mistress was undeniably strange.

At that moment of realization, I grasped tightly the fraying thread of my reason and muttered.

I must resist; that woman is not my mistress.

Look! Isn’t it your heart, not your head, that keeps spouting hostility?

That person is not someone I should obey and serve.

She is something I must kill, without fail, seek revenge upon.

When I finally recalled that fact, I bit my lips and silently repeated the words to myself.

She is the enemy.

That woman is my enemy.

As I mumbled this, the woman approached me.

“Hmph, you don’t crumble easily for a witch, do you? You must be thinking of resisting my abilities like before.”

Ignoring the woman who spoke to me as she knelt before me, I muttered.

“Remember this. Don’t forget.”

This woman is my…

“Ha! You’ll absolutely crumble, won’t you?”

But then, as she lightly slapped my cheek.

“Ugh?!!!”

Again, the heat of pleasure surged from within.

“Back then, it was just that the barrier was an obstacle that caused failure! Come on, try to resist! I’ll shower you with pleasure until your brain melts!”

I thought I heard something spoken, but I didn’t really listen.

I was already drowning in the heat of pleasure.

With an intensity and heat greater than before, I began to feel a sense of crisis and mentally shouted.

No, I must not lose the last shred of reason I’ve clung onto.

But, but.

It felt too hot.

So hot and pleasurable.

As the heat and pleasure stirred my mind…

The reason I had barely held on to began to melt like warm toffee.

Flowing down through my fingers.

“Ha?! H-Huh─?!”

In the end, all that escaped my lips were mindless gasps instead of cries against it.

“Haha! Your face is quite a sight! Where did that defiant girl go?”

I heard someone pointing and remarking on my state.

Dazed, I pondered.

Resist…? What was I thinking of resisting…?

I don’t know.

With everything gushing from my eyes, nose, and mouth, it felt like the thoughts in my head were melting away.

“What do you think? Do you feel like obeying now?”

Through the blurry vision filled with fluid, someone reached out and said that.

Seeing the face of the one who spoke made me vaguely recall what I had been murmuring just moments ago.

What was I saying again?

Ah, right.

This woman in front of me… I think I was about to refer to her as my… m’lady.

So I rubbed my cheek against the outstretched hand of my mistress and said.

“Y-yes… yes, m’lady…”

“Mm…”

At my response, my mistress appeared to hold back a laugh, then burst out.

“Haha! Oh, that really cleanses my heart!”

After tossing me, who was clinging to her hand, onto the ground, she laughed heartily.

After a while of laughter, my mistress mumbled as she looked down at me, who was staring up at her.

“Kneel and prostrate yourself.”

Upon hearing those words, I quickly knelt and lay flat on the floor.

My mistress then began to stomp on my head with her foot as she continued speaking.

“Yes, since it was going to end up like this anyway, why did you trouble me? Isn’t that right? Huh?”

“Y-yes… h-huh…”

In response to my mistress’s question, I shivered in pleasure as her foot pressed down and somehow managed to answer.

Each time pressure was applied to my head, waves of pleasure caused tears of joy to run down my face, making it hard to see.

However, my mistress didn’t stop there.

“Thinking about what I’ve suffered because of you!”

It seemed my mistress had many pent-up emotions, for she continued her punishment by kicking my body around.

What we call punishment was not punishment for me at all.

I should feel pain from being stomped on or kicked, yet all I felt from my mistress was pleasure without any pain.

When she kicked my head hard, it felt so good that I almost lost my consciousness.

I never knew submitting to my mistress would feel this pleasurable.

If I had known, I would have ended up like this much sooner.

After a while, as the punishment came to an end, I was gasping from the lingering pleasure when I heard my mistress’s voice.

“Huff, thinking about how I suffered, I could kill you on the spot, but I’ll let you off this time. You are now my loyal servant who will do anything I command. Right?”

“Y-yes…! I’ll do whatever you command, m’lady! I’ll do everything you ask…!”

I nodded eagerly without a second thought at my mistress’s words.

Submitting is a pleasurable thing.

There’s no reason not to do it.

In fact, isn’t it only natural for me to submit to my mistress?

As I thought this, my mistress seemed satisfied and stroked my head, speaking.

“Hehe, it’s only natural. Well then, first, go and take care of the pests that dare set foot in my land.”

“Yes! I’ll take care of anyone who dares threaten my mistress…”

As I eagerly responded, the faces of those who came with me flashed through my mind.

The faces of friends included in the hunting squad.

The moment that popped into my head, I could do nothing but pause my response.

“Uh, uh…?”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

When I hesitated while responding, my mistress looked at me inquiringly.

I asked her.

“Uh, so, um… does ‘take care of’ mean kill?”

“Why are you asking the obvious? Yes, kill.”

At my mistress’s firm statement, I stammered before replying.

“Uh, but… I can’t let them… die…”

“What?”

At my words, my mistress’s expression hardened.

I realized that I had upset her, so I hurriedly added.

“Ah, no… I mean, can’t we just make them like me and serve you instead?”

“If possible, I’d like that too, but the ear-loving one is the problem. My power won’t work on her at all. So, kill her.”

My mistress spoke firmly.

But even so, I couldn’t nod my head in agreement.

“Ah, no. I can’t… kill them.”

“…Hey.”

My mistress’s expression darkened.

I realized she was angry, but I couldn’t help myself.

Making them serve was fine.

That’s a pleasurable thing, and I would allow it as long as everyone became servants.

But killing my friends is out of the question.

No matter how much my mistress commanded it.

Even if her command takes precedence over everything else.

My friends are valuable to me, beyond compare.

As I looked at my mistress, hesitant about defying her order, she appeared flushed with anger as she spoke to me.

“…How dare you, you mere doll, refuse my command? So you still have that much spirit left, huh? Well then, let’s see how far that goes. Come here and kneel.”

I hurriedly went to kneel beneath my mistress.

My mistress grasped a black jewel hanging around her neck and opened her mouth.

And as the holy relic amplifying her abilities emitted a black light, a thick liquid began to drip from her lips.

The moment I saw that, instinctively I felt.

Ah, this is something absolutely dangerous.

But knowing that, I opened my mouth and, with a long tongue, licked up the liquid she provided.

And at that moment,

“──────────?!!!!”

Fireworks exploded in my head as a scream-like sound erupted from my mouth.

W-What is this? No, this can’t be… it feels good! It’s too good!

This is too pleasurable; I can’t take it anymore! I’m scared the pleasure will overwhelm me; help!

My senses felt like they were being obliterated.

It was a pleasure so overwhelming that it crossed into the realm of fear.

I writhed like a frog struck by lightning, twitching as if my limbs were going to spasm uncontrollably.

Saliva, mucus, tears, all kinds of liquids burst forth from every orifice, overflowing like a gushing faucet.

Then, I collapsed.

“…So what did you just say?”

My mistress looked down at me, who had sagged like a squeezed rag.

As if to say, “Let’s see how you can refuse my commands after this.”

Then, I stammered out to my mistress like a broken robot.

“…N-no. Friends, can’t… die…”

My thoughts were bleached by pleasure.

Yet, something maintained its shape in the completely blank confines of my mind.

My mistress and my friends continued to clash in my heart for prominence in priority.

At that moment, I looked into my mistress’s eyes.

Her eyes showed dissatisfaction at not achieving what she wanted.

A small spark flared up in my heart.

If she ordered me to kneel, I would kneel.

If she ordered me to die, I would die.

But I would never allow her to touch my friends, no matter what.

If she were to try and harm them, even if it was you—

With hostility burning in my heart, I glared at my mistress.

Upon seeing this, my mistress smiled as if to say she was amused.

“Ha, it’s impressive you can harbor hostility towards me at this stage. Those eyes remind me of that former man. You, too, don’t waver when it comes to your precious ones, do you? Well, that’s fine. Even so, I have my ways.”

My mistress said this and brought her hand to my head.

“You can’t hold hostility towards the most precious person in your heart.”

And with those words, her appearance began to change slowly.

First, she transformed into the figures of my parents.

Then into the faces of my old friends and juniors.

Her form shifted to Mei, Jessie, Dwight, Marin, Florene.

Then, it became Sylvia’s face.

Finally, it settled into the form of a single person.

“Ah…”

And that was—

The one who sacrificed themselves for me.

The one I owe the greatest emotional debt.

“Yoon, Si-woo…”

The face of my most precious friend.