When two lovers, blinded to each other at first sight, were swept into a daze and falling hard for one another—what could be the next step in their relationship beyond mere partnership? Boong- bong-!
Ah, you could hear the sounds of a holy bell ringing.
White petals drifted down like soft rain, a breeze filled with blessings whispered, as if asking them if they were ready to seal their love with a kiss.
It asked if their souls were prepared to intertwine, promising to gaze into each other’s eyes for all eternity.
Amidst the beautiful music of the ceremony⋯⋯ a creeping tragedy slowly approached them.
===============================================================
A wave of information, intermingled with white petals, radiated outward from the Queen’s core. I sent out an information fragment to probe it, but it passed right through, unaffected. This radial wave wasn’t something that could be blocked.
I had no idea what kind of fucked up ability this was.
I knew that it was a Sublimation ability inspired by a wedding ritual, but its specific function was a mystery. Until I got hit by it, there was no way I could predict its exact function.
Who would expect a wedding to devolve into a sword fight or an NTR scenario straight out of Queen’s imagination? Her mind was as malleable as clay, reshaped by her every whim.But there was one thing I knew.
Whatever this ability was—and whatever followed it—there would inevitably be a deadly attack aimed at the heads of those in love.
Because tragic endings made for the sweetest stories.
A crazy mind like hers could only be understood by another man who was just as crazy.
Woong-!
The wave brushed past me, and all my movements, amplified by True Desire Liberation, began to distort, rapidly transforming into feelings of affection. It was a kind of virus.
Since she wouldn’t be able to add more stuff to an already-full warehouse, her tactic was to fuck everything up, letting it rot to create space.
I knew this wave would get through. The simple truth was that while we had Metamorphosis, she had Sublimation. Without precisely countering the activation mechanism, we would obviously be outmatched.
My decision was instant. I would tank it.
“I’ll cover you—go get her!”
“Got it!”
Using my superior capacity to process information, I would buy time while Pink-Haired Lesbisn aimed for the Queen’s head.
Through our connected tails, I absorbed the portion that had hit Pink-Haired Lesbian. It accelerated; my emotions were warped, turning into affection. I found myself falling for the Queen.
Making me fall in love, huh? Alright, fine. If you think you can handle my love, let’s see how far you can take it.
I awakened my malignancy(惡性) and activated the obsessive-love module. This would be a wedding drenched in blood.
“Come here and give me your carotid artery, you fucker!”
“⋯⋯Oh my? Mima, was your taste always this aggressive⋯⋯?”
The Queen looked genuinely surprised. Pink-Haired Lesbian’s right hook shot towards her face.
I had heard that the Succubus Queen was a support class with no formal combat training. This should end quickly—
Thud.
But then, a shadowy figure emerged to block Pink-Haired Lesbian’s punch. A hairy, muscular, middle-aged man. The black shadow of the Heavenly Demon.
It wasn’t a full-fledged Heavenly Demon, but it had managed to steal some portion of his martial power. That alone wouldn’t be a problem. If it was just a copy of a skilled martial artist, my support should allow Yuri to win.
However⋯⋯ the Queen was compensating for the gaps in the incomplete shadow Heavenly Demon’s skills with psychological tactics.
“Eueung, it’s scary when you only aim for my face like that, Yuri⋯⋯ are you jealous? Afraid you’ll only be loved if you look like your younger self?”
“No. I just want to smash your face to pieces!”
The Queen, hiding behind the Heavenly Demon, flashed a radiant smile. Every movement she made was calculated to inflame Yuri’s emotions and provoke her reaction.
She was luring us, slowly setting a trap.
Bong.
With a chime of the bell, the Heavenly Demon’s low kick swept Yuri off balance.
The Queen wasted no time exploiting the opening, sending a Shadow Blade from the ground, aimed to slice into Yuri’s stomach—but I intercepted just in time.
Clang-!
I snapped my fingers, unleashing a burst of data to shatter the blade. The Queen’s gaze turned toward me
“Creating something this terrifying as your frontline guard—it’s truly impressive. Do you mind if I keep it? Forever?”
“⋯⋯Give it back, babe!”
“If you lick my toes and beg on your knees, I’ll consider it.”
“Shut your filthy mouth and die!”
Whoosh-!
Pink-Haired Lesbian’s fist tore through the air with a sound like ripping wind.
As she clashed in hand-to-hand combat with the shadow Heavenly Demon, the Queen continued to release pheromones, trying to distract me. Even though it was a two-on-one battle, we were evenly matched.
I felt dazed about one in every ten moves. Bluffs, meant to suggest Yuri’s demise occasionally made me hesitate. However…
Yuri’s relentless assault was turning the tide of the battle.
Even when her strikes were deflected or she took a brutal counter from the Heavenly Demon, she bore it head-on. With blood trickling down, she continued to attack ferociously.
Her sheer tenacity seemed to intimidate the Queen.
Throwing her entire body into each move, Yuri’s relentless offense began to push the shadow Heavenly Demon back.
This wasn’t reckless nor was it a suicide mission. It was rooted in trust—trust in me, connected through her tail⋯⋯.
“If you don’t want to watch me die, then repair me already!”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
She counted on my high-performance information repair module. I shaped data into a knife and hurled it at the Queen as I processed my corrupted, yandere-like feelings of love, all while repairing Yuri’s injuries from the Heavenly Demon Punch..
If I’d had a physical form, my head would have been burning up from the strain.
We had done it. The momentum was now on our side. And yet⋯ the fourth wave hadn’t come. Why hadn’t Queen made a move to turn things around?
Bong.
The faint ringing of the bell continued. Maybe?
『Wedding March』, the sublimation attack⋯⋯ was it still in effect? Wasn’t the feeling of love that filled me its only purpose?
Shiver. It felt like I was poured with bucket of ice water
The Queen seized this moment to intensify her assault, as if taunting, Focus on me, or Yuri might die .
That move confirmed my suspicions.
The bell’s ringing was like a ticking bomb. Whatever was about to happen, I sensed that it was tied to this overwhelming feeling of love within me. I needed to purge it, and quickly.
“『Hologram』!”
I hastily generated a gender-swapped clone of myself, offloading the excess love into it. Data loss was a necessary price. And my instincts were right.
Bloat
Bloat, bloat, bloat.
The clone’s chest swelled grotesquely, as if thousands of balloons were inflating inside it. An explosion was imminent—I’d been just a fraction too slow.
BOOOOM──!!
The excess love detonated, a blast fueled by internalized love. Although I had offloaded 80% of the emotions to minimize the damage taken…
I still had 20% of emotions still within me and the resulting explosion cost me my right arm and a little more. I spat up blood-like data as I rolled across the ground.
It hurt like hell.
“Mr. Wizard?!”
“Cough, cough⋯⋯ I’m, I’m fine, so focus on your side, damn it!”
If she was done casting, the fourth wave was coming!
My grim instincts proved right. The Queen, slightly fatigued from overusing her Sublimation, prepared her next power.
“Shall we, end this now⋯⋯? 『Heroine : Once Again in Afterlife』.”
The red string trembled.
My skin prickled, and my survival instincts screamed.
The Queen’s abilities grew deadlier with each use. If her last move caused her target to explode from within, this time it wouldn’t be surprising if she unleashed a conditional instant-kill ability.
Displaying a sliver of confidence, the Queen casually spoiled the outcome if she won.
“If, by some miracle, you survive this time as well⋯⋯ huhu. Then maybe I’ll push myself a bit more to capture you both alive. And how about having you embrace different lovers? What do you think?”
“You bastaaard⋯⋯.”
This was it—the moment to make our decisive move.
While the Queen was channeling a massive power to finally end this drawn-out battle.
She had no defenses up and was focused entirely on her attack.
She couldn’t pull any stunts since she was in the middle of casting.
I was badly wounded and her aggro wasn’t on me anymore.
And now…
Yuri and I were both fully committed.
I prepared myself to sacrifice something.
===============================================================
Did the Queen believe she could dodge or counter it? She tried to move the red string, summoning some unknown power. But the Wizard’s will was quicker.
As soon as the pitch-black arrow shot forth, it struck its target. It pierced through the Queen’s heart as if magnetically drawn, leaving a trail of darkness in its wake.
“Ah⋯⋯gek⋯⋯.”
The Queen’s face twisted. Yuri Lanster, forcing back the faltering Heavenly Demon with her shoulder and stepped forward toward that white nightmare.
It was close.
And then, a cold, stirring emotion snaked through her tail.
Crazy Wizard’s emotions enveloped her soul once more. A white light washed over her, so tranquil that it lulled her for a fleeting moment. But then—
A pitch-black surge of vicious emotion awakened her malice and fury. Her vision darkened, her heart ablaze with hatred, and everything seemed insignificant, even love.
A dark speck appeared in her eye.
Clatterrrr──.
The sound of violent chains filled the .
So this is the malignancy(惡性). She marveled that she hadn’t lost her mind completely. Yuri Lanster now understood the Wizard’s torment a little bit better.
Right now, she felt as though she could discard her love without a second thought, as easily as throwing out garbage.
But it couldn’t end that way.
Because it was a cherished feeling, she needed to let it go with regret, with sorrow, with a desperate reluctance. She had to face it fully.
The Wizard had managed to make up his mind, carrying a monstrous burden far bigger than this one. She couldn’t be overwhelmed by something so much smaller.
Chararararack──!
Black chains coiled from Yuri’s right arm, winding like a serpent. One chain stretched from her wrist and linked directly to the Queen’s heart.
Yuri could feel it. Both her own love and the love the Queen had stolen from her
The pulse of that shared mind.
Yuri Lanster drew in her arm, taking a steady breath, then smirked.
“I understand. He may be a bit eccentric but he is an interesting person. It’s no wonder a woman who’s been alone for centuries would fall for him.”
“⋯⋯Yu⋯⋯riii!”
“So, Queen⋯⋯ how does it feel to be struck by such⋯⋯ pitiful emotions?”
There was no answer. She probably couldn’t. She was hit by Stygian Arrow of Mind Destruction, and was drowning in the countless waves of emotions.
Yuri relaxed, her body steady, as if she were undisturbed waters.
It felt like she had come to the end of a long journey.
From losing her homeland and thrashing out like a wild dog, to finally finding a home beside the Wizard, so many emotions had risen and subsided.
A final mark was near.
She could be satisfied in her vengeance, mock and curse the Queen, insulting her as much as possible. Then she could decorate the end like that but.
No, She didn’t want to end it that way.
Charererereck──!!
Tick, tidick.
The chain sparked, igniting her love. The flames fed on her emotions, transforming into a vast blaze of mana that raced along the chain.
The chains around her fist burned with pink fire, as though her love itself was the fuel. The Queen’s expression while looking at that sight⋯⋯ it was envy.
So that’s how it was⋯⋯.
Yuri gathered her remaining strength, tightening every muscle fiber to its limit in preparation.
It was a pity. They’d been so close. Even if this love had been a mere imitation created by the Queen’s manipulations, it might have eventually become real. Such a hard-won expression, and yet it had to burn.
But, it was fine.
She knew the Wizard was a surprisingly tenacious man. He would fight to win her love again.
She trusted him.
Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little⋯⋯ insecure.
Yuri Lanster, the one who loved the Crazy Wizard, whispered a final message to her future lover.
“When we return, make me fall in love with you all over again—properly.”
“YURIIIIIIIIT-!!”
As the Queen screamed again, sensing her ending, Yuri’s fist surged forward, fueled by raw emotion. It accelerated with such force that it shattered the mental plane itself. With crackling, splintering sounds, crack, crack.
As the love the Queen had stolen erupted, her chest exploded with the flame.
『Black(黑) : True Desire Incineration(本望燒散)』.
Crunch. Cruuuuch.
BOOOOM──!!
The Queen’s upper body shattered in the explosion, engulfing the entire area. With the caster gone, the mental realm disintegrated, ending the long nightmare instantly.
As Yuri Lanster’s mind stabilized, her consciousness expelled every foreign presence in self-preservation.
Crazy Wizard was kicked out of her mind
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Afterwards, the situation was more or less resolved.
The 『Nest』 had been obliterated, with the succubus forces scattered, lost, or dead. Though the Queen seemed dead, it wasn’t confirmed. The Evil God’s Sculpture of Pleasure was safely in the Crazy Wizard’s possession.
Roughly 90% of the captured Extermination Squad members had been rescued.
The modern era’s most powerful Illusion Wizard, Yuna the Violet Magic Tower Master, was in an exceptionally bad mood.
Yuri Lanster, the Defense Bureau’s field agent, remained in a coma. However, she was expected to wake up within a week.
And today was the end of that week.
Crazy Wizard entered her hospital room with an overflowing bouquet, and luckily, Yuri Lanster was awake from her long sleep just in time.
With her hair untied and no glasses on, Yuri seemed refreshing. Wizard stared at her for a long time.
It was Yuri who spoke first. She stretched, yawned and then greeted him as usual.
“You’re here?”
“I am. How’s your body, any memory gaps?”
“Go back to sleep. Take another week off.”
So, no memory loss.
Crazy Wizard set the bouquet by her bed, studying her intently as he gently combed his fingers through her hair. Aside from the need to rebuild her mental barriers, she seemed fine.
Given that she had fought a Sublimation-level succubus in her mind, it was a miracle she hadn’t been reduced to a hollow shell and become an idiot.
Even after checking her physical state, he examined her thoroughly and noted “No significant issues” on her chart.
“⋯⋯Well, rest up. Don’t try to strain yourself for a week.”
“Understood. I’ll use this chance to laze around for a month.”
“Good thinking. And⋯⋯ no, actually, never mind. I’ll get going now babe; I need to comfort Yuna.”
“Ok, take care. Mr. husband.”
From that short exchange, the Crazy Wizard⋯⋯ had hoped for even a small hint of love in her expression. He studied Yuri Lanster’s eyes closely, but there was nothing.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Wizard left the hospital room depressingly and visibly disappointed.
Once he was gone⋯⋯.
Yuri Lanster pulled the blanket over her head, letting out a breath she’d been holding. Her ears were bright red.
There were still burnt remnants of love.
And that was enough for even a succubus to recognize love.