Conditioning Log [Ronin & Aria & Nermaraud] (3)
For starters, I now understood that Priest Ronin had never intended to offer me any actual food. Of course he hadn't. He had rattled on about delicacies and grand banquets, yet the place he brought me to had nothing to do with dining. The basement was damp, its air thick with a stale, moldering stench. If mold could bloom in the atmosphere itself, wouldn't it smell exactly like this? I wondered what his purpose could be in dragging someone down to a place like this.
He looks like he wants to show me something.
As I walked on, lost in thought, I occasionally caught what sounded like the labored panting of a beast. A raw, visceral noise. My throat tightened on instinct. What kind of place was this, really? Were they raising monsters here?
When I glanced at Ronin, his expression was strangely complex. Pleasure and torment seemed to coexist on his face. It felt contradictory, yet that was the impression I received.
After we had walked for some time, Ronin finally spoke.
"Here we are."
It was a statement that marked the end of the painful warning bells ringing in my head. I tapped my aching legs, sore from the forced march, and looked in the direction he indicated. An iron door stood there, heavy and solid, the kind one might find on a solitary cell meant for the most vicious criminals or uncontrollable beasts.
Hmm. Are you raising man-eating monsters, by any chance? Is the long-awaited feast actually me becoming the monster's meal? Most clichéd horror stories did tend to end that way, after all.
Nah, surely not. I shook my head. That was too far-fetched. No matter what else, this was the headquarters of the Sex Cult. They wouldn't commit such insanely dangerous acts. Not if they possessed even a shred of common sense.
Priest Ronin pulled out a keyring and scratched at the side of his head.
"Ah, could you wait just a moment? I need to unlock the door."
Then why is it locked? Is the feast inside? I wouldn't have believed it even if a random passerby had told me. If the door was locked, how had they prepared the food? Surely they hadn't taken the idea that meat tastes best right before it rots and prepared something foul and stinking on purpose.
If that really was the case, I would drive my fist straight into that smiling bastard's face. How could that be a delicacy? It was just rotten meat.
Though I hurled every curse I could think of inside my head, on the surface I answered calmly.
"Yes, that's fine."
Oblivious to the way my insides were rotting, Priest Ronin casually fitted the key into the lock.
Click.Creeeeak.
The moment the locked iron door swung open, the panting I had heard earlier poured out through the gap. A scream that sounded like someone dying, or perhaps writhing in agony. It was so chilling my hair stood on end.
Ronin muttered something incomprehensible—"Hmm, the situation isn't bad"—then looked at me.
"Shall we go in?"
He was telling me to enter after I'd heard that? I shot Ronin a dubious glance. Was this the moment I had to make a life-or-death decision?
"Or I can go first."
With those words, Ronin stepped inside without hesitation.
...There were no monsters, right?
My worries dissolved the instant I entered the room. What waited inside was not some formless, mysterious monster or beast. It was men with their lower bodies exposed and a woman who had been partially stripped bare.
If asked which was more shocking, I would choose the latter without hesitation. The former was something I had vaguely anticipated. This, however, was so unexpected it felt as if my skull had been shattered by a blunt weapon. Not that I had ever actually had my head smashed by a blunt weapon. It was simply how it felt.
Setting that aside, the woman was surrounded by the men. Was she being gang-raped? Or was she a prostitute? Now that I looked closer, her face seemed quite familiar. I studied her carefully. Just like paint bleeding in water, bewilderment spread through me.
"Saintess?"
There was a person here who should not be. As if recognizing my voice, she flinched and curled inward. I also realized who the ones restraining Aria were. They were bishops of the Sex Cult. Upon noticing the arrival of myself and Priest Ronin, they let out low laughs. Their smiles were vulgar, utterly unbecoming of their exalted positions.
"Oh, we were just speaking of you, Priest Ronin. What a coincidence. But the person beside you is a new visitor? Come now, Saintess. What are you doing not looking this way... Hmm? Why do you hang your head like some modest young lady? Won't you cry out in pleasure like before?"
He lifted Aria's legs and persistently thrust his hips. Squish. Squelch. Squelch. Obscene wet sounds accompanied his movements.
"Hic, no, stop it. D-don't! D-don't look!"
The Saintess wailed as if screaming for her life. Yet the bishop had no intention of granting her any physical freedom. He spread her legs wide open, exposing the place where their genitals joined. It was as if he were showing her off, or perhaps forcing her to feel the shame of it.
From the connected point, semen and love juices bubbled out together. Aria seemed unable to even draw a proper breath as she let out twisted, broken sobs.
"Huuu, hueee, stop, stop it, don't look, don't looook."
What could one possibly say about this grotesque, abnormal scene? Chaos that defied description flooded my mind.
"Priest Nermaraud, you don't look well?"
Ronin's tone was utterly casual. I looked at him. His eyes remained calm as a still lake, completely unchanged. I wondered what kind of stone I would need to throw to create even a single ripple in this man's gaze.
"Is this the delicacy you spoke of, Priest Ronin?"
"Indeed. Doesn't the Saintess look quite appetizing?"
I doubted he was speaking of literal cannibalism like some primitive tribes. He most likely meant it in the sexual sense of "eating" her. Even so, it was an utterly insane statement. What kind of deranged religion would conceive of gang-raping their own Saintess?
My eyes reflexively darted toward the Saintess—Aria—before I quickly turned away, unable to bear the sight. This could not possibly be something she desired. Her expression alone proved it, filled with despair and lamentation like a person being buried alive by the earth and sand of a landslide.
Finding the horrific scene too painful to witness, I looked back at Priest Ronin. Noticing my gaze, he asked.
"Would you care to enjoy her as well, Priest Nermaraud?"
Enjoy? The sight of that fragile woman being destroyed? You fucking lunatic. He's completely insane.
I forced a smile.
"Ah, I'm a bit..."
"A bit what?"
The atmosphere shifted. It was no exaggeration to call it a complete transformation. His voice cut like freezing wind. A chill ran down my spine. I'd touched the wrong nerve. How could I get out of this? I needed a perfect excuse. Suddenly, one idea flashed through my mind.
"Well, it's because I suffer from erectile dysfunction."
I answered with a deliberately hollow smile. There. If I say my cock doesn't get hard, he can't very well order me to rape the Saintess, can he?
"....Ah, I see."
It must have been truly unexpected, because Ronin looked momentarily stunned. He glanced at my lower abdomen with an expression of pity. It's perfectly functional, so stop looking at me with those sympathetic eyes.
"Have you tried healing it with holy spells?"
It was a strangely priestly question. Of course, knowing full well it was a leading inquiry, I shamelessly played dumb.
"...For some reason, it doesn't respond well."
"...My apologies for bringing up something unnecessary."
"No, it's quite all right."
While I stalled with meaningless conversation, my mind finished its calculations. The fact that the Saintess was being gang-raped by the bishops was not public knowledge. That meant information was being strictly controlled. Yet I had now learned of it. I hadn't intended to, but I had. From here, the other side had only two choices: win me over, or dispose of me.
"Priest Nermaraud."
Ronin's voice echoed. The man with wavy brown hair whose gentle smile usually suited him so well. That soft impression no longer appeared soft at all. It felt utterly cold and barren.
"Yes, Priest Ronin."
I focused every ounce of my attention on him so as not to miss a single word. Whatever he was about to say, whatever threat he might make.
"Still, one never knows. After receiving the Saintess's service, your member might return to its original state."
......? There was no greater nonsense. It was the kind of delusion only a madman would entertain. The unexpected suggestion made me tense. After all, the erectile dysfunction had been a hastily fabricated lie. My cock rose without issue every single morning.
"Ah, no matter what, how could I possibly do such a thing to the Saintess..."
"Do not think of it that way. The Saintess is one who looks down upon all from the lowest place."
I knew that phrase as well. It was a noble teaching that the most exalted and sacred being watches over the welfare of the faithful. Since when had such a meaningful, instructive saying been twisted into the image of her writhing and moaning beneath a man?
"B-but the other bishops are waiting their turn. How could I dare to go first..."
The bishop who had been thrusting into Aria paused his hips and lifted the corners of his mouth in a grotesque smile.
"Ah, think nothing of it. Watching the Saintess cry out in the arms of young Priest Nermaraud would be quite the pleasurable stimulus. Ah, you mentioned erectile dysfunction? Well, that in itself would make for quite an interesting spectacle, would it not?"
Were these truly the clergy of the Sex Cult I thought I knew? I pressed a hand to my forehead, which felt ready to split from the headache. Just what the hell was this situation? It looked as though I would be forced to shove my erect cock at the Saintess. Goddess of Sex. How can you simply watch these half-formed humans who claim to be your followers? For what possible reason does the flame of judgment not descend upon this place?
I had been betrayed. Though calling it betrayal felt strange. It was because I had been the only one believing from the very beginning. I had thought this person was different. That he would show me consideration. That he would offer encouragement when I was exhausted and in pain. That was what I had believed.
What a ridiculous story. I had thought of him as a trustworthy teacher, but in the end, he had been in league with Ronin all along.
Another stake drove itself into my chest. Give up. This is your fate. I forced my trembling body upright. Because I had just been violently fucked, my limbs refused to obey properly.
"...A-Aria's filthy, dirty p-pussy... p-please f-fuck it..."
Say it. I have to say it. Because Ronin is right there. If he finds fault with me, he'll torment me again. I hate it. That's terrifying. So say it.
Hot streams ran down my cheeks. I had thought there was no water left to cry, yet tears still remained.
"P-please give it to me. This worthless Saintess who can only suck cock... torment me..."
Every word that left my mouth chipped away at my dignity. My self-respect crumbled like sand. How much did they have to scrape away, and scrape again, and keep scraping before they would be satisfied? Until I was completely hollow? Or had there never been an end to begin with?
Ashtain. I can't endure any longer...
Huh? Who is Ashtain? Something. It feels like I'm missing something. My consciousness grew hazy. It dissolved like powder in water. It vanished. But none of that mattered anymore. I reached for the hem of Priest Nermaraud's pants and began to pull them down.
He recoiled in genuine shock. Unlike the others, it was a normal, human reaction. Seeing it, Ronin beside him fixed me with an icy glare.
"Is that truly all the pathetic temptation the Saintess Aria can muster, enough to make Priest Nermaraud recoil?"
He's blaming me again. Fine. Pinning everything on me must be convenient for them. I clung desperately to Priest Nermaraud. The moment I pulled his pants down, a thick, dark, hideous cock sprang free. Erectile dysfunction? Then what the hell is this rock-hard thing?
"I'm sorry, Saintess."
He spoke as if truly sorrowful. Why apologize? I'm nothing but a breeding bitch. Their toy. Without hesitation, I took his cock into my mouth. My tongue moved, licking around the head. Slurp. Slurp. Crude, animalistic sounds filled the air.
I am a coward. Terrified of the violence Ronin and the bishops could inflict. A coward whose will to resist has been completely broken. A rotten lump sits in my chest, filled with pus. I need to burst it and be rid of it, but it refuses to disappear. I want to die. I...