220. Snap out of it, buddy.
220. Snap out of it, buddy.
"............."
Perhaps they were simply exhausted with each other.
Exhausted by the looping life. Exhausted by the time that returned every single day.
Even if they wanted to endure, they no longer had the strength left to do so.
Even the faint hope they had left was shattered.
They lacked the firewood to ignite their will once more.
Neither hope nor a future was in sight.
And then one choice presented itself before them in that state.
Do it.
Just do it and I'll let you go.
It was the real-life version of the commonly known 'room you can't escape without having sex.'
It wasn't a case of drifting into it subtly under a shared melancholic atmosphere, but an act of overlapping bodies after falling into a half-panicked, half-resigned state, overcome by the pressure of being unable to leave.
It was an act that the usual me would absolutely deny, something I could never condone.
And if Agape had read my state and stepped in to block this, then this was definitely a divine warning.
However,
"This is this, and that is that."
—Jiiiiing....!!
Agape trembled violently.
Don't worry. At least I didn't stab you in the back, so I'm not going to do anything too harsh, alright?
"I'm just going to dunk you in the toilet for a bit."
—Jiiiiiiing!!!
Agape shook its entire body in denial.
Fine. I know what was in your heart when you did that.
I was in a pretty dangerous state too, and if you hadn't stopped me, I might have really gone all the way.
'But the method was way too cruel.'
Not turning into a condom, but making me a half-eunuch with a penis ring?
I just went through a crisis where the most precious part of a man nearly got wrecked, so don't think I'm just going to laugh it off as a simple happening.
—Jiiiing....
"....That's not it?"
It's not that I'm resentful because we absolutely could have done it but got cut off halfway,
or that I'm annoyed because I could have ended the loop but couldn't,
or that I'm taking it out on you because I don't know how to face Theia now.
—........
"Damn."
Actually, it was exactly that.
I was annoyed because we could have done it but got cut off halfway,
I was furious because I could have ended this tiresome loop but got interrupted and couldn't,
and the reality was that it was hopeless when I thought about what kind of expression Theia must be wearing beyond that door right now.
—Jiiiing.....
"Haaaa...."
I was exhausted.
It was hard and I was worn out.
Just what was I supposed to put effort into and how far?
Honestly, I just wanted to turn my brain off, pounce on her, then smash my head on the floor and say I'm sorry, and be done with it.
I'm human too, human.
A mental breakdown should end after once or twice; when it repeats three or four times, it's just plain irritating.
"Fine... what sin is there for you to bear?"
I let go of Agape.
Plop. Agape fell into the toilet bowl.
—Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!
"Ah."
Mistake.
I guess I was a bit tired.
....
..
.
""...............""
I sat on the living room sofa.
I sat still and stared at the wall.
The TV was off.
Only the reflections of two people were cast on the black screen.
"...Is your body feeling a bit better?"
"I'm fine."
"I see. Is that so."
"............"
"............"
Silence fell once more.
Theia continued to ask.
"Can you do it again?"
"............."
A blunt remark.
I turned my head toward Theia.
At some point, Theia had taken her top off.
"I won't do it."
"Chrono, it seems that you're the one who's not fine."
"............."
Theia was saying she was fine.
But I was refusing it.
Then I guess that meant I was the one who wasn't fine.
"Theia... would you be fine with that?"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
If she were the kind of person who would be fine with that, she would have been fine from the start.
As I tried to get up from my seat again, Theia grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back.
"Yeah. I'm not fine. But..."
...There's no other way left, is there...?
".............."
She wasn't fine.
She only had to brush it off as being fine because she had to be fine.
'The remaining ways...'
There were some.
But I couldn't bring myself to answer.
It was a plan I couldn't even bear to say out loud, a plan to go out again, fight, win, and come back.
The resolve I had made alone when Theia wasn't around.
"Haaaa...."
I couldn't say it.
Because I couldn't even be sure of it myself.
Just to get to this point, I had already gone through dozens of loops.
Then how much time would it take this time?
Unlike me, Rhea had the power to manipulate time freely and skills that were on a different level from the start in terms of proficiency.
I had to fight such a Rhea without Squite, relying solely on my own skill.
The question of whether I could win was meaningless.
I had to win.
It wasn't a matter of whether I could win or not, I simply had to win.
Even if it took tens, or hundreds of loops, I had to defeat Rhea.
"..............."
I was starting to feel sick.
My head felt dizzy and swam nauseatingly.
A single defeat. But it was an overwhelming defeat.
The feeling of facing a wall I could never easily overcome.
Even just daring to resolve to leap over it again was a tremendous hardship.
'...Should I just.'
Do it?
Just follow Theia's words.
If I did it, it would all be over.
A weakening heart.
A heart about to grow feeble.
—Jiiiiing....
"...Huh."
Agape appeared and was clutched in my hand.
When I let go due to its slightly moist grip, it vibrated even harder.
I said I was sorry, so there it goes.
"It's fine. I'll try something somehow."
I grasped Agape in my hand again.
A strangely moist grip. Should I dry it with a hairdryer later?
'Well, I have to at least try until I've done everything I can.'
I switched Agape into a dagger.
Soon, I opened the door and stepped outside.
"...Theia."
"No."
I was trying to leave.
But Theia grabbed me and pulled me back.
"It's fine. Rhea, that girl can't kill me anyway."
"Even so, no."
"I said it's fine? Getting cut or beaten up is something I'm pretty used to by now—"
"—You're going to your death."
"..........."
I lost my words.
Going to my death, she said.
'Me?'
To whom? Rhea?
Going to my death?
For whose benefit?
"I won't die."
"...So I wasn't the only one exhausted."
"I'm a bit tired, sure, but it's an everyday occurrence, so it's fine."
"Chrono."
I was blocked by both her hands again.
As I tried to muster a little strength to shake them off, she now pulled me in with both arms and held me tight.
"I won't tell you to do it. So... let's just rest a little more and then go."
"No. Since I'm already up, I'll just go now. It might take a while, but I won't get killed—"
"—I'm sorry."
".........."
A sudden apology.
"I’m sorry."
"...Why are you apologizing."
The one who should be sorry is me.
But why was Theia apologizing to me?
"I'll apologize... so just stay a little longer before you go."
"You don't need to apologize. And I'm going right now—"
"—Stay here."
".........."
A strange sense of pressure.
This time, I obediently followed without resistance.
I was sat down on the sofa again, and Theia opened the fridge, poured some juice, and brought it over.
"Drink it slowly."
I wasn't sure who the owner of the house was anymore.
I took the juice Theia handed me and drank it down slowly.
"Hwaaa....."
I felt slightly better.
Theia gazed at me quietly and opened her mouth.
"Chrono, why don’t you want to do it with me?"
"....Well, that's."
It was an obvious question.
"Because if we do it like this, things will go the way Rhea wants."
"What's so bad about that?"
"....It's my conviction that sex is something done between people who like each other."
"Don't lie like that."
"..........."
It wasn't a lie.
But I couldn't bring myself to say it wasn't a lie either.
Considering all the things I'd gotten involved in up to now...
"...Still, I don't want to force myself on a woman who has no feelings for me."
"I have feelings."
"That's not what that means."
Saying you developed a desire to have sex after being trapped in a room you can't leave without having sex is practically the same as being coerced by force.
Doing it reluctantly because you're threatened.
I didn't want that kind of coupling.
"No. I absolutely won't resent you, Chrono."
You've shown me how hard you've worked all this time.
I know how much you tried to prevent things from turning out this way.
So I won't resent you. I promise I absolutely won't resent you.
"..............."
It sounded like the whisper of a demon.
Telling me to just be at ease. Telling me that I had already been given permission anyway.
So what was the problem, despite all that?
If I just let go of what I was holding in my hand, wouldn't I be able to find comfort?
A voice that kept whispering to me.
I didn't want to hear it. I mustn't listen.
I denied it with all my might and blocked my ears.
"Is it that you don't want to do it with someone who has no feelings for you?"
"Then... fine. This is what you needed."
But I couldn't endure it.
Because I was exhausted.
Because now, I was exhausted too.
"I love you."
"Just for this moment, right now, I'll love you."
"I'll forget my husband, forget my child, and love only you."
"So... okay?"
"—Ah!"
The demon came into my arms.
She quietly burrowed between my clothes.
It was warm. So warm. I wanted to just surrender my body to it.
"Shall we... do something that feels good together...?"
"..............."
She met my eyes.
Literally, there was no feeling of denial.
As if her words that she would love me, even just for a moment, weren't a lie, her pupils held only me.
'She's pretty.'
She was lovable.
I wanted to hold her in my arms and just pounce on her.
'It's fine now, anyway.'
The other party had consented.
There was nothing bad about it for either of us.
We had also reached an agreement, and there would be no resentment.
So... wouldn't it be fine now?
Any further effort would only be tiring.
It would only repeat with me getting exhausted and collapsing.
So now,
since I'd already tried this hard,
'Even if I just... get a little comfortable....'
Wouldn't it be okay?
I embraced Theia, who was in my arms.
And then,
—Pajijijik!
"Urk....?!"
"Kyaak...?!!"
Blue electric current bloomed across my whole body as if burning into me.
It was an agony that forced a groan out of me, and I hurriedly flung my right hand away.
—Pajik.... Pajijik...!
"This little bastard, seriously."
Agape sparked with current where it had fallen on the floor.
I thought it had barely come to its senses after falling into the toilet water, but the thing still hadn't snapped out of it.
I clicked my tongue and tried to dunk it into the toilet water again, but Agape began to change its form on its own.
Not into a sharp dagger, but into a harp with beautiful strings strung across it.
—Ttiring.....♪
'...What's this.'
Agape resonated on its own.
I didn't know what it was doing. I didn't know what it wanted to convey.
Holding Agape in my hand, I stared at it blankly.
"Ugh.... my head....."
"!, Theia!"
Theia complained of a headache and shook her head wildly.
I hurriedly approached her and asked about her condition.
"Are you still hurt anywhere?"
"I'm not hurt... but...
...Huh? Ah.... Uht, Hiyaaaak?!"
"Huh?"
Theia was startled and covered her body.
At the same time, she stood up and stepped back a few paces.
"That’s... wait, I think I was crazy!"
"What?"
"I'll go inside the room!"
"No, what..."
Theia dashed into the room.
What was that.
The mood was good just a moment ago.
If we had just gone all the way like this, it would have ended cleanly—ended? What the hell would end, you crazy bastard!
"Urp... Urrrp...!"
I felt nauseous.
The feeling of continuously kicking at empty air.
I rushed straight to the bathroom, gagged, and emptied my stomach.
"What on earth is going on."
What was it.
Agape. What exactly were you trying to tell me?
Leaning against the bathroom wall, I looked at Agape.
—Ttiring... ttiriring...♪
"..........."
The sound of the harp resonated in the bathroom.
I felt a power, a wave, that was somehow stabilizing my mind.
A sound with power. A chord with a sense of rhythm.
Power. Sound. Power. Chord.
'...No way.'
I'm just throwing this out there.
"You want me to play?"
—Ttiriring♪
Correct!
Agape plucked its strings.
Why was Agape telling me to play?
Why did Theia suddenly get embarrassed and run into her room?
And why was I—feeling regret that I hadn't done it with Theia?
".....No way."
It wasn't me.
It wasn't Theia either.
If that was the case, then only one person remained: Rhea.
And,
"Ah, fuck."
Rhea was the Succubus Queen.