“Heyo Pink-Haired Lesbian, I’ve come to visit you.”
I walked into the hospital room carrying a box of fruit. A lightly-dressed Pink-Haired Lesbian was lying on the bed pushed against the wall, with a bored expression on her face.
Both of her arms were wrapped tightly in casts.
Our eyes met. There was no verbal greeting, but in her otherwise emotionless eyes, I sensed a faint hint of delight. It was as if she was greeting me without even saying a word.
I lowered my gaze slightly.
She was wearing a half see-through cotton outfit, which she hadn’t even bothered to button properly. The sunlight sparkled on her exposed breasts.
I mentally placed a mosaic over my retinas.
Pink-Haired Lesbian spoke without even thinking of covering herself up. She even grabbed the ends of her shirt and shook it. It fluttered, almost revealing what was within, but I couldn’t see it because of the mosaic.
“Succubi have aphrodisiacs in their bodily fluids. Since I’m not wearing my suit that represses my charm, you’re on your own.”
“Should I just come back with a mask?”“Or just rub one out and then come back.”
Rather bold today, are we
I suppose she must have been bored to death just waiting in the hospital, since she was a lot more daring than usual. To get mad and call it a contract violation, I felt a twinge of guilt seeing her wounded arms.
It’s not like I stabbed her myself, but she did get hurt while trying to protect me. I took an apple from the basket.
“If I cut up an apple, would you eat it?”
“Would you feed me with your mouth?”
“Why would I use my mouth when my hands work fine?”
“Men’s hands tend to be rough.”
Fuck this.
I focused on slicing the apple, hoping that would shut her up. By conjuring a Mana-Knife and twirling it once, I peeled off all the skin.
I picked up a slice and placed it in Pink-Haired Lesbian’s potty mouth.
Crunch Crunch . She quietly munched on the apple. I was ready to smack her in the mouth if she tried sticking out her tongue while I was feeding her….
I guess the apple must have been good even though I had just picked one out randomly without much thought. Since she seemed to be enjoying it, I tried a piece myself.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
There was a crunch, but it wasn’t sweet. Is her hobby eating flavorless food or something?
“Were you bored?”
“Yes I was. Normally there would have been at least one person taking care of me, but it looks like something happened in the Defence Bureau today. They all had to leave, saying they were busy.
“Ah…. I think that’s because they caught the Tower Master.”
“No wonder.”
Pink-Haired Lesbian nodded in understanding. I fed her a few more pieces and then asked about her condition.
“Are you badly hurt?”
“Normally, this level of injury is nothing, but the opponent was a Black Wizard… It will take a few more days to purge the corrupted mana.
I’ve heard that Black Wizards, who crush others' souls to replenish their own mana, end up tainting their own soul and mana.
It looks like if that twisted mana affects an injury, it slows down the healing process. An enemy with a passive ability to reduce healing… Quite annoying.
“I guess you’ll be bored for a few more days. It doesn’t hurt, right?”
“That’s well…. Fine. There’s a bigger issue than the pain.”
“What is it?”
“There are no nurses nearby, and I can’t use either arm.”
“.....Yeah?”
Pink-Haired Lesbian quietly turned her head. Following her gaze, I noticed a gourd on a table. Was it a water bottle?
“Do you want water?”
“I need to use the washroom.”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
Succubi were half-cerebrate, so I thought they didn’t need to use the washroom.
After Pink-Haired Lesbian revealed, ‘I’m actually a Dream Demon’, I read even the ancient texts to research Succubi.
You need to understand the nature of your friend’s race to be comfortable with each other. Even among human cultures, customs vary, so the differences are even more significant between races.
I even learned that Succubi have tails. These appear when they use their Dream Demon powers but are a vulnerability in several ways, so they have to be becareful.
That means, her claiming she needs to use the bathroom was a lie designed to mess with me.
It couldn't be more outrageous than this. She had betrayed my kindness. I’m certain that if I asked while panicking, “How could I do such a thing?” she’d guilt-trip me by complaining about the pain in her arms.
Fine, let's play this game of chicken again, Pink-Haired Lesbian.
“So, which way is the bathroom? Let’s go together.”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
Pink-Haired Lesbian’s eyes briefly flashed with embarrassment, but it quickly faded.
Oh, you’re embarrassed too? Then I’ll press on even more.
Until you admit with your own mouth that you lied, I’ll keep going….!
“Let’s go. If you take off my panties I’ll do the rest on my own.”
“Do you need me to help you bathe? If you coat both arms, they won’t get wet.”
“I won’t decline if you’re offering. You’ll wash me thoroughly without missing a single spot, right?”
“I’ll even clean you on the inside, so just don’t run away midway….”
I walked shoulder to shoulder with Pink-Haired Lesbian down the hallway. We both knew the other was lying. However, there were times in life where a man can’t back down.
My feet felt like lead. But I needed to knock Pink-Haired Lesbian down a peg. Haven’t I been losing lately? Maintaining control is crucial.
The best defense is a good offense. I needed to teach her that if you come in too deep with a threatening dribble, the tables might turn on her.
We’d soon arrive at our destination, and if neither of us pussied out…..
“W-What are you guys doing?”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
Pink-Haired Lesbian and I ran into Yuna, who had just got out of the bathroom.
“Ah, hm, well.”
“It was hard for me to move, so I just got a bit of help walking. You can go back now, Crazy Magician.”
“Oh,oh yeah. Tower Master, I’m going to head out first. Don’t forget that we’re supposed to meet later today, alright? See you then. Pink-Haired Lesbian, get well soon.”
Whoosh.
Pink-Haired Lesbian and I fled at lightning speed. I was scared as fuck, but the Tower Master saved me. There was no clear winner, but I was relieved not to have lost.
“But she only injured her arms though….?”
The voice of the Tower Master, who was now left all alone, faintly echoed in the hallway.
===============================================================
It would take a few days for Pink-Haired Lesbian to recover fully.
Also, if you asked me where Pink-Haired Lesbian belonged, I’d say it was the Defence Bureau. She was helping me under the pretext of guarding me, but her original allegiance was to a different organization.
The Second Prince offered to provide additional agents, but if we stumbled upon a sensitive 'secret' during this process, it could become quite troublesome.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
More than anything, it seemed the Tower Master didn’t want it.
Therefore, the task of gathering evidence and destroying the Black Wizards’ hideouts fell to me and the Tower Master. Any information we gathered would be shared with the Second Prince.
From the information we extracted from the Black Wizard’s brain, we chose the sewer location. Usually, sewers had the highest likelihood of being genuine hideouts, and the Defence Bureau seemed eager for us to pick this one as well.
Think about it. Demolishing a building wasn’t a big problem, but if the sewer is destroyed, it had to be repaired as soon as possible. It was a core part of the city’s sanitation system.
Considering the time and money required for repairs, they couldn’t use any powerful techniques.
If you threw out a fireball causing a chain explosion, the issue would extend beyond the Black Wizards. They’d have to call the Gold Tower and start extensive reconstruction.
But who were we? The masters of Illusion Magic.
Of all the people in the world, we were the best suited to handle this discreetly without causing material destruction.
“Would you like a flower scent?”
“Hm…. How about lavender?”
“Lavender? How’s this?”
“It’s a bit too strong. Please make it slightly lighter.”
The Tower Master and I discussed various things as we walked through the sewer. We got rid of the sewage smell with Illusion Magic.
We silenced our footsteps and camouflaged our bodies by manipulating light and perception.
“『Hologram : Sewer Rat』”
We scouted for enemies using illusion mice.
Crownhall’s sewers had two types. Inside and outside: inner and outer. We were navigating the outer sewers, which meant it wasn’t a facility built for the nobility.
Even so, it wasn’t bad. I wouldn’t call it clean, but it seemed to be regularly maintained.
I coated my hand with mana and touched the wall. Beneath the grime, I felt traces of magic—Golden Tower magic, reinforcing the passage.
“Tower Master, if there was a Black Wizard hidden here, they’d either use an existing space or they would create a new one right?”
“If they used existing space…… They would have already been found. It looks like it’s maintained often….”
“That means they must have dug a new hole or something.”
“Th-Then…. They either erased the Golden Tower’s reinforcement magic or tricked it.”
We just had to find where there was no magic. The Tower Master and I nodded at each other, and stealthily sent out a mana wave. Then read and analyzed the findings of the reflected wave.
‘Golden Tower Wizard Riary was here’...... Not this
They messed up the magic construction here, it wasn’t erased.
Here….
“Oh, Tower Master, here.”
“Th-There?”
It’s here.
I found where they awkwardly wrote over the Golden Tower’s reinforcement magic. There’s probably Black Wizards hiding behind here.
My specialization has always been Illusion Magic, so I lacked research in how to destroy reinforcement magic without getting caught. I tapped the wall and asked the Tower Master.
“Can you break this Tower Master?”
“E-Eung. I can do it. I-I’ll…. Break it as I enter. Follow me carefully.”
“Yep.”
This was the first time I fought alongside her.
I’ve barely seen her fight to begin with. The most I’ve seen is her shooting Yuna Death Beam at the mansion. Maybe that’s why, but I was a little excited.
I prepared several different support magic and got ready to open ‘Step into a Door, Ascend into a World’. I planned on taking care of the peons. Well, in that case.
The Purple Tower Master. An Illusion Wizard at the Sublimation Realm.
Just how is Yuna Yurensto Violetiris going to fight?
“Haa.”
BAM!!
The Tower Master hit the wall with a clump of mana and instantly destroyed it. The Black Wizards swarming together beyond the wall came into sight.
Beep.
The pendant from the Goddess’ Church, which I received from the Second Prince, shined brightly. Since it detected tainted souls, they must be Black Wizards. I nodded at the Tower Master.
“Wh-Who goes there?!”
"Metamorphosis(羽化) -『Subtraction』."
One group of Black Wizards became lifeless husks. Mere chunks of meat.
Recognizing the intruders, another batch of Black Wizards emerged from inside. I prepared Step into a Door, Ascend into a World……
"Metamorphosis(羽化) -『Subtraction』."
“GAAAHHHH!!”
With the frontline decimated, the Black Wizards realized the emergency and prepared to use their magic. Some of them crushed souls to generate mana, while others fled deeper inside.
First, I’m going to cast Mind Control….
"『Subtraction』."
“UUAAAKK!!”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
“What do you think this place is…. Who dares to invade our territory!”
Finally!
Finally, someone who looked somewhat strong. Was this a Black Wizard who had reached Metamorphosis? He had a pitch-black force field around himself. On the surface of the force field, there were images of souls screaming.
I prepared Step into a Door, Ascend into a World……
"『Subtraction』, 『Subtraction』, 『Subtraction』."
“Gaaaahh!!”
He somehow tanked the first hit but couldn’t withstand three in a row. The Black Wizard was reduced to just a head, and lost all his senses.
I glanced anxiously at the Tower Master.
“Are you sure it’s okay to use that so many times in a row…..?!”
“Ah, Eung. There’s no problem.
“You aren’t overexerting yourself….”
“Y-You don’t have to worry…..”
The Tower Master looked as if she was gonna say I was worrying about nothing, then went, "Oh, you don’t know much about Metamorphosis…" before launching into an explanation.
“Metamorphosis involves imbuing emotion into your soul to harness its special mana, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But Sublimation….. Is where the soul has completely changed shape because of the imbuing, right?”
Yeah.
“Then…. if one achieves Sublimation, does that mean they’re constantly maintaining Metamorphosis?”
I thought about it. And the Tower Mastered nodded as if to confirm it. Yuna Death Beam was just an auto attack.
That day, Black Wizards received 23 counts of complete paralysis.
===============================================================
[Circle of Magical Poison 蠱毒圓陣]
The human soul can channel mana akin to the emotions it experiences. Hence, wizards that research souls focus on how to sustain heightened emotional states.....(Omitted).
The following research aimed to enhance emotional stability and endurance. It connected the emotions of over ten sacrifices via a neural network, intending to generate a Dragon-Heart class energy output.
⋯⋯⋯⋯.
Rip.
The Tower Master tore the paper detailing the ritual to shreds and incinerated it with mana.
We identified our next target: the site where Black Wizards were conducting their ritual, just within the patrol range of the Capital’s Knight Order—the abandoned cottage of Duke Red Flavor.
***
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