Chapter 52

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“Do whatever you want.”

With that, Regina stepped back.

What Seri was doing was morally wrong, but as long as it wasn’t discovered, it didn’t really matter.

Drugs and hypnosis—those two tools were enough to bury today’s events quietly.

Besides, it should be fine since they were both women, right?

“Just don’t overdo it. Don’t cross the line.”

“Ehehe.”

Seri chuckled mischievously.

It didn’t seem like she understood at all. Regina rubbed her temples in frustration.

Whatever. At least I warned her, she thought. That should count as fulfilling her responsibility.

When the zipper was completely undone, the tracksuit spread open to the sides.

A sweet scent wafted from Lucia’s pale skin.

Seri slowly leaned forward, burying her face in Lucia’s collarbone.

“Haa…”

Seri inhaled deeply.

Does she not use body wash?

The natural scent of bare skin, untainted by artificial fragrances, tickled her nose.

As she moved up along the nape of Lucia’s neck, she came to her flushed cheeks.

Soft and elastic, the tender flesh of her cheeks was as smooth as a baby’s.

Lucia’s golden hair brushed against Seri’s fingertips. Gently, Seri tucked the silken strands behind her ear.

Unfocused pink eyes stared blankly ahead.

From slightly parted lips, a thin thread of saliva trickled down.

Seri placed her hand on Lucia’s chest.

The plain bra created a firm cleavage.

Carefully, she reached behind Lucia, lifting her slightly to find the clasp of her bra.

Lucia’s limp body sagged like a doll.

After fumbling along her back, Seri’s fingers finally found the clasp.

With a sly smile, her fingers worked the latch. With a soft click, the bra came undone.

Freed from its restraint, the bra slid down to reveal pristine, white skin.

The elegant curves of her chest seemed to assert their presence.

The sweet fragrance grew even stronger.

This moment was what Seri loved most.

Toying with someone completely defenseless under hypnosis.

She hadn’t always been like this, but ever since she was forced to wear the Red Fox Mask, her preferences had warped.

Engaging in this made her feel an indescribable sense of domination.

Ah, this person was born to be played with by me.

They exist to be ruled by me.

Their body, their mind… they’re all mine now.

The thought sent a thrilling jolt of pleasure through her.

Hypnosis. Once, she hated being born with such a power, but now she saw it as a blessing.

What should I do? Where should I start?

Anything was possible. Anything was forgivable.

Her power was the ability to dominate consciousness itself.

Seri savored the sensation, a sly smile on her lips, as her hand reached for a place on Lucia’s body no one else had ever touched.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, a knock echoed from the door.

Seri frowned.

The mood she had been building was shattered by the unexpected interruption.

Irritated, she looked up.

Knock, knock. 

Another knock came.

“Who is it?”

“Who knows?”

The two exchanged glances.

Whoever it was, they couldn’t be allowed to see the current scene.

Should we pretend no one’s here? Or just use hypnosis?

Without speaking, Regina and Seri exchanged thoughts through their eyes. For now, they decided to dress Lucia back up.

Regina picked Lucia up and laid her down on the bed before heading to the door.

Click. 

The locked door opened.

Regina slowly pushed it open.

The creak of the hinges gave way to the sight of the corridor outside.

A small girl stood there.

Her hair was a deep navy blue, like the ocean’s depths.

Heterochromatic eyes—one blue, one red—stared back.

Alice.

“…What are you doing here? This is Lucia’s room, isn’t it? Did I come to the wrong place?”

Also known by another name: Frey.

◈

Three days had passed since the harrowing field training.

During that time, Frey hadn’t slept a single moment.

The last time she’d slept was the day of the training itself.

She had pushed her abilities to the brink, bursting the blood vessels in her eyes until she wept blood, and collapsed as if fainting.

Even then, Frey had felt relief.

The masked girl of unknown origin.

The relentless assault of monsters that surged like a tidal wave.

The overwhelming might of high rank monsters she’d only heard about in stories.

Even someone as bold as Frey found herself overwhelmed by the cascade of harrowing events.

Her breath caught in her throat, weighed down by the suffocating anxiety. She could feel the threat to her life in her very skin.

Her senses froze. Overstimulated to the point of numbness.

I have to protect Alice.

I’m her shield. I must protect her.

With that singular resolve, she fought desperately.

Eventually, the chaos subsided.

With support from the 2nd Division, summoned by Si-ul, the assistant teacher, Frey was able to protect the person most precious to her.

When the tension finally broke, her consciousness slipped away.

Frey believed everything was resolved at last.

Though there were injuries, no one had died. Everyone was safe.

When she woke up, she thought Alice would surely have regained her senses by then.

She longed to see Alice again. She wanted to hear her voice.

Even though they shared the same body and voice, Alice was infinitely cuter and so much more lovable.

With a sense of relief and accomplishment, Frey closed her weary eyes.

When I wake up, Alice will praise me. She’ll smile and say I did well.

Just imagining Alice’s smile melted away all her struggles and exhaustion.

But,

When she opened her eyes the next day.

Frey was still alone.

At first, she didn’t think much of it.

Alice must have been deeply shocked. A little more time, and she would awaken.

Morning turned to afternoon.

Afternoon to evening.

Still, there was no sign of Alice’s voice.

Midnight came.

Dawn followed.

The dark sky grew faintly lighter.

Frey spoke to herself endlessly in her mind.

But there was no response from Alice.

Another day arrived.

Morning. Noon. Afternoon. Midnight. Dawn. Morning again. Afternoon again. Evening. Night.

Alice never appeared.

Within the small girl’s body, there was only Frey’s personality.

As if it were natural for a single body to have only one identity.

Frey bit her nails.

This body was also Alice’s.

Normally, she would have been horrified at even the smallest injury, but now she gnawed at her nails until they were ragged.

“Alice… Why aren’t you answering me…?”

Her chest felt cold.

The anxiety stabbed at her heart like needles.

Even when her life had been in danger, she had never felt such fear.

Alice… Where are you?

You’re still inside me, right? Aren’t you?

Why won’t you wake up?

This was the first time something like this had happened.

The first time she was truly “alone”.

Alice had always been there.

No matter where she went, even if no one else was around, Frey was never alone. She always had her precious counterpart.

She was never lonely. Frey didn’t even understand what loneliness was. She knew it in theory but had never felt it.

But now.

For the first time, Frey felt loneliness.

A searing, bitter coldness stole away all her warmth.

“Are you mad at me for something? I’m sorry. I’ll apologize for everything… Please, no. Alice, don’t leave me alone…”

Until now, she believed she had been protecting Alice.

That Alice needed her. That Alice couldn’t survive without her.

But only after Alice was gone did Frey realize the opposite was true all along.

I wasn’t the one protecting Alice.

It was Alice who was protecting me all along.

Frey wrapped her trembling hands around herself.

A searing pain raked through her insides like sandpaper on her organs, and hot tears welled up in her eyes.

I can’t live without Alice.

Without Alice, I’m nothing.

I’m supposed to be her shield, her sword.

But what meaning is there if the one I’m meant to protect isn’t here?

Crunch.

In the end, she bit down on her fingers, past the nails, all the way to her fingertips.

Her index and middle fingers, marked with teeth, throbbed with fiery pain as thick, sticky blood oozed out.

The metallic taste of blood spread in her mouth.

But Frey didn’t care.

The pain in her fingers was nothing compared to the pain in her heart—a pain that was tens, hundreds, thousands of times worse.

Frey only regained her senses when her palm was drenched in blood.

It wasn’t because of the pain. She simply realized that if Alice came back and saw her hands like this, it would hurt Alice.

And that, she couldn’t bear.

She didn’t want Alice to be in pain.

But Alice wasn’t here.

She’d left her behind.

Where did she go?

Could she have disappeared forever?

No. I don’t want that. I can’t accept that.

If someone has to disappear, it should be me.

This body belongs to Alice.

The personality known as Frey is nothing more than a secondary personality that developed later.

Everything about this body, from head to toe, belongs entirely to Alice.

Even the thermal rays—those are Alice’s supernatural ability.

They don’t belong to Frey. Everything Frey uses is merely borrowed from Alice.

──Wait.

Frey suddenly snapped to her senses.

It felt as if lightning had struck her mind.

“Supernatural ability… Right, supernatural ability!”

Supernatural abilities don’t reside in the body; they’re tied to the mind.

That means, if a person has two personalities…

It’s entirely possible for one body to possess two separate supernatural abilities.

“The thermal rays aren’t mine!”

The thermal rays are Alice’s ability.

Frey’s supernatural ability is entirely separate.

With bloodied hands, she flung the window open.

She leaned out and unleashed her supernatural ability toward the sky.

From her right eye, a crimson thermal ray shot forth.

It surged upward as if it could reach the edge of the heavens, and Frey cried out in joy as she watched the red light pierce the sky.

“Alice hasn’t disappeared! She’s still inside me!”

Frey collapsed to the floor, her legs giving out beneath her.

She had been wracked with anxiety until now.

What if Alice was gone forever?

The fear that Alice’s absence might not be temporary but permanent had been gnawing at her relentlessly.

But there was no problem with the supernatural ability.

Alice’s personality still existed.

She was simply silent.

“Then why…?”

Where did Alice go?

Did she retreat into the depths of their shared mind?

Into a place so deep that even Frey, as another personality, couldn’t reach her?

Having confirmed Alice’s existence, Frey regained a measure of composure and began treating her wounded hands with the emergency kit.

Even as she worked, her mind churned with thoughts.

‘What caused Alice to end up like this?’

Alice had collapsed, unable to endure the immense psychological shock.

It was as though her life had drained out of her body.

But why did it happen?

On the bus…

When the masked girl attacked…

After the teachers were subdued…

They’d been crushed by a suffocating weight, unable to breathe.

And in the end, Lucia had stepped forward───

“Lucia.”

Lucia had taken the lead to protect everyone.

And then her head was severed.

Her head had rolled across the ground to Alice’s feet.

Their gazes met.

Lucia’s severed head… and Alice.

“…Lucia is alive. She didn’t die.”

But Alice hadn’t believed that.

She thought Lucia had died.

Because, logically, it’s impossible for someone decapitated to still be alive.

The death of a friend.

Alice’s mind had been unable to bear it and shattered.

Frey staggered to her feet.

Having eaten little over the past three days, her strength was depleted.

She carelessly tossed the emergency kit aside and slipped on her shoes.

Frey narrowed her eyes, which reflected every ounce of her exhaustion.

Lucia.

If she’s the cause…

She must also be the solution.

She had to be.

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
I suddenly felt like there were more new works than usual, and then saw a reader left a recommendation in the community.

Thank you for reading and enjoying it.

I was really happy.

 

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
What’s consent? Never heard of it, heh.