Interlude
***
"Lady Masty, may we come in?"
"Enter."
The moment the massive door swung open, Masty was gazing out at the void of space beyond the window like a sea of stars. When our footsteps stopped, she settled into her chair, crossed her legs, and looked down at us.
"So that was your first achievement?"
"Yes. Both of you, pay your respects. This is my superior — the one who granted me permission to make you mine, so mind your manners."
Angelica and Deviluke dropped to one knee and bowed. It was deference carried to its absolute limit.
"So it appears they have become subservient not to Benelov, but to you."
"That is correct."
"While I regret the direction of it, so long as you remain within Benelov, I suppose there is no problem. You two — raise your heads."
The two women lifted their faces.
"Will you obey my commands?"
""We will obey, so long as it does not harm our Master.""
At this unexpected answer, I stole a glance at Masty's expression. Surely she wouldn't order me to remake them from scratch? She could have demanded I re-educate them into loyalty toward Benelov. A shame, having to wipe all this and start over — the instant that thought crossed my mind, a question came instead of a reprimand.
"I have a question, Vendetta."
"Yes."
"Breaking the hearts of humans and bending them to loyalty was well done. But why make them subservient to you?"
"...It is my taste."
"I will ask again."
"It's my taste."
Masty tilted her head.
"What manner of taste is that?"
"Taking women who hunger after justice, love, power, or faith, and dyeing them in pleasure until they become mine. Without restraint or scruple, of course."
"A talent for disaster, hm?"
"Call it a talent, if you would."
"Hmm." Masty swayed her head from side to side, regarding me with eyes utterly empty of emotion.
"I will ask again, Vendetta."
Her eyes flushed crimson.
Chilling eyes. A sensation as though my very heart was being read.
"Right. As you know, you can pierce through any lie, so I'll answer carefully. Will you work for Benelov?"
"Yes."
Why would anyone throw away a job this sweet? The food's good, the women become mine, and where else could I find a position like this?
"You do not appear to work for Benelov's sake, but for your own."
"But it is Benelov that allows me to exist at all."
"Is that so."
Masty studied me for a long moment, then tilted her head.
"Very well."
"...Yes?"
"I will not order you to place them under Benelov's dominion. However — only for as long as you continue to feel belonging within Benelov."
"And if I should ever develop other intentions?"
"Nothing much. Provided you can survive me."
"...That will not happen."
"From what I have learned, the human heart is like a reed. You might yet have your heart stolen away by a being from another dimension. You sound remarkably certain of that."
"Because there is a reason."
"...I see. Understood."
She didn't even ask what the reason was — Masty simply nodded, apparently intending to send me on my way. I moved first.
"Might I ask a question of my own?"
"Send those two out first."
At my glance, Angelica and Deviluke bowed low once more, then looked back up at me and smiled. As if asking whether they'd done well — and yet somehow it seemed more like they were showing off their looks.
Then the two of them withdrew with heads bowed, leaving only Masty and me in the chamber.
"Speak."
"Why do you take a female form, my lady?"
"Because the male form is for conquest."
"And why choose a human body among all others?"
"I thought there might come along a human who caught my fancy, so I reshaped this vessel into as alluring a form as possible."
"...A person who catches your fancy, you say?"
"Yes. I found myself wishing to bear the child of one who is strong, alluring, and overwhelming."
Puhup—! Cough, cough...!!
"Why are you flustered? Do you mean to disgrace this body's sincere wishes?"
"From a human standpoint, those are words one absolutely cannot take lightly..."
"Ho... so it was genuine. The union of genes between this supreme body and the strongest, most alluring of beings. Surely it is worth waiting to see what that child might become."
"Then perhaps you should descend yourself and search for one who pleases you..."
"First — I am bound by rules. Second — there was no human I wished to find badly enough to bother."
"What of the matter of sex?"
"If they are strong and alluring, a woman would do fine. Lacking male parts merely means I would have one grown."
What a terrifying person.
"And... one more thing."
She fixed her gaze upon me.
"You are aware, too, that you look upon me with eyes full of desire. Tell me — what manner of desire is it?"
I hesitated for a moment, but her eyes could see through hearts anyway. There was no reason to lie.
"...Lust, and a hunger to dominate."
"Fufu, I thought as much. You want me, do you?"
"Yes. Desperately."
Far from taking offense, Masty gave a smirk of apparent approval.
"Then you must simply strive for it. Earn recognition of your mind and your ability, and grow strong. Who knows — perhaps I might come to want your child myself."
"I expected you to call it blasphemy. You will not take my life for it?"
"Why would I? For a man to desire a woman is the most natural of appetites. If anything, such ambition would only make Benelov flourish all the more."
"I see. ...Then did you also see through my ambition?"
"You wish to bring me to my knees, and to hear my lips speak your name, do you not? Fufu. How audacious. I do not hate a man with ambition."
"They say a man should dream big, after all."
"I do hope you won't drown in that ocean of a dream. Although — I look forward to the day you bring me to my knees as well."
Masty's golden eyes pierced straight through me. She was, unmistakably, smiling.
"Go on. Leave."
When I returned, a familiar face greeted me. Calling it a face was a stretch — it was Dexter, with his writhing tentacle head.
"Ah, you. My apologies. I went ahead and gained consent for your belongings without asking. That is acceptable, yes?"
"As long as the two of them were willing, I have no objection."
"I have been measuring just how attuned they are to you, and it is near flawless. Splendid. That one called Angelica registers one hundred percent corruption, and that combatant you handed over... Deviluke, is at ninety-seven percent. I must learn from you when it comes to handling humans. Hahaha!"
The two of them squealed, kyaa~, in enthusiastic agreement.
"Now then, look at this."
Hyunwoo was staring blankly at us, his expression gone somewhere entirely wrong.
"Hyunwoo, wasn't it? Answer me."
"...I-I'm Hyunwoo."
"You see? Perfectly intact."
"Wait, that's it?"
"He can still answer, can he not. Evidently only what you call the 'heart' has been broken. By rights, he should have collapsed utterly, unable even to speak. Like Deviluke."
Deviluke — Soyoung, in other words — had indeed been abducted, but her consciousness had been damaged in transit across dimensions, and she had been put to use as a combatant ever since. Strictly speaking, the Han Soyoung standing here now was not 'Han Soyoung.' She was something extremely close to 'Han Soyoung,' reconstructed from memories that Angelica had donated.
The fact that she was neither a magical girl nor a properly intact human consciousness made breaking her that much easier. Her mind had, after all, been calibrated from the start to fall with minimal resistance.
"Hyunwoo was brought here wrapped in mana by Deviluke and me. Is he of any use?"
"Of use? He is remarkable, truly. I had no idea a magical girl's mana was this good. You could haul cargo across dimensions with it, quite literally. In any case — you."
Dexter's tentacle head pointed at me.
"You took the human called Soyoung and remade her into the combatant Deviluke. When you crossed the dimensions, was there anything unusual?"
"There was pressure, certainly, but nothing like her mind cracking or anything of the sort."
"Hmm... it appears you are the unusual one, then. Every one of the humans we brought in simply broke apart. Well, no matter. So what do you intend to do now?"
"Get stronger."
"Stronger? Hmm... I did take the liberty of checking once. For your sex, you were already above the male average."
"The problem is that 'above average' is all it amounts to. To achieve my grand design, I must surpass even these two."
"Hmm... is that the sort of play you enjoy?"
From a tentacle head, no less.
"Well, whatever. Expanding Benelov's roster of combatants is a good thing, is it not?"
"Hypothetically speaking. Would you be willing to help me?"
"...With what, exactly?"
"Researching the human body together with me — testing how one might grow stronger."
"No."
An instant refusal.
"Why... not?"
"I am busy with tentacle research. Your body finished analysis ages ago. I joined this Benelov of yours not merely for funding and loyalty, but for the freedom of research as well. Devoting my precious hours to a mere human is—"
"A mere human, you say."
"...Then what?"
"I'll put those two to use and run a little experiment. The tentacles you built, Dexter — wouldn't you love to test them on a human from beyond the dimensional wall?"
"Th-that is..."
The tentacle head twitched rapidly. This bastard. I've got him.
"You were the one who made that aphrodisiac they used on Angelica, after all. Aren't you curious just how much a tentacle must dispense before it turns a human mind hazy?"
"Well..."
"How much massaging with tentacles, how much prodding, does it take to develop a human's pleasure centers — there's a vast mountain of research data on that from beyond the dimensions, and you're telling me you aren't the least bit curious?!"
"...!"
I clenched my fist, as if to anchor my own resolve.
"I know this much: with a tentacle, you could slip into a human's ear and overwrite the brain's information instantly. But humans are fragile, so you can't manage it easily — it would take endless trial and error. Yet with a single stroke of your tentacle, a human would moan and spill every secret they hold. Aren't you eager to find out how much information you could extract in one go?
"Aren't you truly dying to know just how far inside a human body your tentacles can reach?! Your magnificent tentacle traps would be more than worth the research—"
"Enough, enough, ENOUGH."
The tentacle head spun at high speed.
"Stop. Do not stimulate my researcher's soul."
"Then help me."
"...Hmm."
"If you're undecided, consider it a fair trade — I'll have a tentacle trap or two relocated for you."
"Truly?!"
Like a pair of exclamation points, the tentacle head stiffened straight up.
"In exchange, might I request something along these lines?"
"Just say the word."
I grinned wide.
"Aphrodisiacs as standard equipment — plus brainwashing, hypnosis, suggestion, anything capable of interfering with the human mind. Not just magical girls. I need to see whether it works on ordinary humans, too."
***
"Uwaaagh—!! Hiiieek!!"
There they are, kyu!
"You did it, Ggyu! We're almost there!"
My wand, Ggyu, was telling me. That there was someone here.
"I'll be right there! Just hold on a little longer!"
I flew with everything I had. Arriving in an instant, I skidded to a halt and peered into the depths of a back alley.
There was a person there. A man, at that...!
He looked terrified, and yet somehow... excited? He must have fled so hard he couldn't even form a proper thought!
I planted myself in front of him.
"Don't worry! Magical Girl Mana is here! Now, where's the enemy—"
In that instant, a sting shot through my leg.
"Ha, hahaha... It's over. Now, to Rica—"
When I glanced down... the man had stabbed something into my leg. The moment that registered, my leg went utterly limp.
A paralytic...?! But ordinary drugs don't work on magical girls...?!
Something beyond all common sense was happening. A trap built for magical girls, using an ordinary civilian...! I had to fly away at once and report to my seniors—
"No."
In that instant, purplish-black mana slammed into me like a lightning strike! I hadn't perceived it at all — the shock knocked the wand right out of my hand.
"Guh, ah...!? You... I've seen you somewhere before..."
"Oh my, so you saw me once before. But I'd like you to forget that. You see, I've been reborn..."
"What are you going to do with me...!?"
"Hmm, let me think... an experiment?"
"...What?"
In that instant, something went tap against my shoulder, and dropped. A prelude to rain...? No — the sky had been perfectly clear....
I looked up.
...Tentacles.
Countless tentacles were — were dripping — pink mucous from the ceiling.
And they stretched out toward me.
"N-no...! Let go of this...!! Let me go...! What are you going to do to me! Let go, I said, let go!! I don't want to be eaten, noooo!! Kyaaaaaagh—!!"
And so I was hauled up into the air by the tentacles.
Like a carnivorous plant swallowing its prey, they consumed me whole with a wet, decisive — gulp.