episode_0180

* * *

Squeak, squeak, a sound was heard.

From within a consciousness that felt heavy enough to ache, Apple slowly woke up to the nerve-wracking noise.

“…Where…?”

Even with her eyes open, all she could see was darkness.

Something was covering her eyes.

Moreover, both arms were restrained by something, rendering her completely immobile.

She could feel something soft enveloping her back and beneath her buttocks.

‘…I’m sitting on a chair… Where is this…?’

‘…My hideout…?’

Her head throbbed.

The inside of her head throbbed painfully, a disgusting sensation like insects crawling beneath her skull surged up.

She had probably been asleep for a long time, induced by some kind of drug.

Even with drug resistance training and being an Awakened, Apple couldn’t help but feel the distress of her human body.

Where was this place?

What had happened to her?

As she wondered and lifted her head, she heard the squeaking noise again, just like before.

“You seem to be awake, Hero. …Or should I call you a Villain?”

The voice that reached her ears was an unfamiliar, thin tone.

It wasn’t from a member of Squad 7, nor was it Number 13’s voice, causing Apple to tense up.

‘Who is it…?’ she wondered inwardly, and fortunately, the other party answered her question.

“This is the 『Abyss』’s hideout. I am Number 13’s subordinate, you can call me a strategist.”

Strategist, strategist, strategist…

She had certainly heard that name before.

A colleague that the villain Number 13 often relied on, said to be very clever and skilled in strategy.

And around this time, Apple’s consciousness fully returned.

The frozen thoughts unfroze, and she could finally recall how she had come to be in this situation.

As if sensing that Apple was now able to converse, the strategist smiled and continued speaking in front of her.

“Shall we have a little chat, then?”

* * *

The squeaking sound from earlier seemed to be coming from the chair the strategist was sitting on.

Whether intentional or not, Apple felt her nerves constantly being frayed by the noise that occasionally interrupted the conversation.

Her eyes were still covered with an eye mask as a countermeasure against hypnosis, which only heightened the stress as she became more sensitive to the sounds her ears picked up.

“Number 13 is a little busy. But we couldn’t just leave you unattended. So, I volunteered to monitor you.”

“……”

“We’ve taken countermeasures against hypnosis, so don’t even think about anything useless. If anything seems off, the gun next to you will pierce your forehead. For your information, our scientist is watching and controlling it from afar with a camera.”

“…Heh heh, you’re thorough. Is it still not enough even after tying me up so I can’t move a muscle?”

“……”

“Say something, at least.”

“Well, that’s fine. I didn’t take on monitoring you just to do some petty surveillance.”

The strategist’s voice was thin and didn’t seem particularly intimidating.

But for some reason, Apple felt her body tensing up at the strategist’s voice.

Something had been strange since a while ago.

The insects in her head seemed to have multiplied, crawling inside her skull.

Her head felt heavy as if something was covering it, and even when she tried to turn her head, her neck wouldn’t move as she wanted.

Just as Apple was feeling extremely frustrated with her unfreedom.

Suddenly, a *thud* sound was heard.

It was the sound of the leg of the strategist’s chair, which had been tilted, touching the floor.

“Apple, Apple. A Hero of Squad 7, but actually a villain, and the boss of the villain organization 『Lesserat』.”

“Seems to be a master of ‘psychological manipulation’ such as brainwashing and hypnosis, and also possesses an ability of a much higher level than what was originally known to the Association.”

“Your career records and letters of recommendation, most of them seem to be fabricated. No matter how powerful your ability is, it’s still far beyond what an individual can do.”

The sound of paper rustling. Then, with the sound of the stack of papers being thrown roughly on the floor, the strategist stood up from the chair.

As Apple tensed up at the approaching presence of the strategist,

The strategist whispered in her ear.

“You——what country’s spy are you?”

“…….”

Apple didn’t react to the strategist’s words.

Her expression was as calm as before, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

“Well, what are you talking about?”

“You’re probably not from the American ability-user association. Our relationship with them is relatively good, so doing something like this would only be a risk. So, are you from the Hong Kong mafia or a Chinese secret society?”

The strategist’s words seemed to be pointing out each suspicious point.

Even to those questions, Apple’s reaction remained unchanged.

“It’s Europe, isn’t it? Right? I’ve heard that something has been strange about them lately.”

The strategist’s questioning continued.

Even if she stayed like this, the strategist would not be able to obtain any information.

Even if she was tortured. She had already received torture resistance training. It would be impossible to extract information from her.

Even if they used the brainwashing drug… she was already used to it. She knew how to deal with it.

She could resist them. At least, she could prevent information from being leaked.

She was sure she could.

Suddenly, Apple let out a small sigh, breaking the silence.

“I’m an agent of 『Ius』.”

She answered. As if giving up.

The strategist froze for a moment in surprise, then began to write something on a piece of paper while observing Apple’s reaction.

“Ius, is that… from Europe?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s that 『Ius』.”

The strategist’s expression was dubious.

However, she wasn’t lying this time.

“Why are you answering so readily? If you lie, I have ways to find out.”

“I’m not lying. I don’t think there’s any point in resisting now, so I’ll answer everything you want. I’ve lost so badly, so what can I do?”

“Instead,” Apple added.

“You might get retaliated against, so I’d like this organization to protect me.”

“That’s all you want?”

“And if possible, some water… I’m a little thirsty.”

Apple repeated in a firm voice that she would answer all questions honestly if they protected her.

She had been defeated and captured by Number 13, and all her plans had failed.

She felt there was no point in hiding anything now, so she decided to give up and accept everything.

…Was she originally this straightforward?

But she felt relieved. The more secrets she revealed, the lighter her heart felt.

“I’ll get you some water right away. After you drink the water, you’ll tell me everything, right?”

Apple was about to answer immediately that she would.

But she stopped herself.

“…Strange…”

“What’s strange?”

“You… did something to me…? Something… something…”

“I can’t understand anything if you don’t tell me clearly.”

“This… this shouldn’t be… I… I…!”

Apple began to ramble.

A moment ago, she had felt insects crawling in her head, but now it felt as if those insects had multiplied into all sorts of creatures, covering her head and trying to drill holes in it.

“Ah~ I wish you were more cooperative.”

The strategist said with a sigh.

Apple began to make a hissing sound.

Toward her face, gas was sprayed from the device that was restraining her.

Apple’s consciousness began to fade quickly as she inhaled the gas.

Meanwhile, the devices surrounding Apple began to move, whirring. A helmet covered her head, and the injection of drugs, which had been paused, resumed.

“Dorothy, Dorothy. Please manipulate it again. It seems it’s still not enough. You can increase the intensity a little more.”

[Okay.]

When the strategist spoke to Dorothy on the radio, the machine behind Apple was turned on again with a voice that sounded annoyed.

*Whoosh whoosh*, the machine activated with a noise.

Apple’s eyes were covered with a strange visor.

The headset, which had been removed for the conversation, covered her ears again.

Then, the ends of the hoses that were spraying the brainwashing drug were forced over Apple’s mouth and nose.

Needles connected to the hoses were inserted into various parts of Apple’s body, and the drugs were injected through the hoses again as the machine activated.

“…I thought it would be easy, but she’s tougher than I thought. How annoying.”

The strategist leaned back in the chair and muttered as if bored.

In front of the strategist, Apple was still trembling while restrained by the prototype brainwashing device made by Dorothy… Whether the brain-massaging felt good or not, her nipples, exposed as she was stripped naked, were perked up, and erotic nectar was constantly flowing from her pussy….