Releasing Hypnosis with a Kiss (4)

My body felt like it was burning up.

It had only been a single kiss, but my senses sharpened as if I'd smeared an aphrodisiac all over myself.

Hayeon's sweet warmth lingered in my mouth.

Even rolling it around like candy only made the ache worse.

My trembling legs gave out, and I collapsed right there.

I grabbed Hayeon's sleeve and clung to her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠desperately.

Shame was the last thing on my mind.

"Hayeon-ah, please... give me some mana... please?"

The heat stabbing at my lower belly climbed up through my chest, tickling all the way to my throat.

I couldn't hold onto my sanity anymore.

"Ugh, Eunha? Snap out of it. I didn't plan on going this far..."

Hayeon looked utterly flustered, but honestly, I was the most shocked one here.

Why are you tormenting me like this...?

I'd shared my mana freely, but she'd slammed the channel shut.

And she was the one who'd suggested resonance first. Injustice welled up, tears spinning in my eyes.

But she was the only one who could save me now, so I grabbed her leg.

If she'd just let a little mana flow, I could escape this vicious thirst.

"Get a grip! You said resonance without mixed mana feels like nothing!"

"Sorry for lying... I was wrong, so..."

"It was a lie?!"

Hayeon looked down at me with a complicated expression.

Fluster, sadness, and a steely resolve flashed in her eyes.

Her trembling hand gently cupped my cheek.

"...Fine. This'll snap you out of it, right?"

"Yeah, yeah! So please..."

I panted like a dog waiting for a treat, unable to hide the anticipation pouring from every inch of me.

Hayeon closed her eyes for a moment, then gave a small nod.

The second I got the signal, I lunged in for the kiss.

No—pounced is more accurate.

Like a beast craving mana, I ravaged her mouth roughly.

Then, like a dam bursting, Hayeon's mana flooded into me.

"Mmm! Mmmph—♡"

Sparks exploded in my head.

Even without intense contact, overwhelming pleasure slammed into my brain.

The sensation of misaligned pieces finally clicking into place.

The empty void filling with hot mana. That fullness made me unleash the climax I'd been holding back.

"Haaah♡ Slurp, smack...♡"

My whole body went limp as I squirted with a spuuurt. The familiar soak of my panties was routine now.

I let my quivering hips shake on their own and dove back in for another deep kiss.

I savored her tongue like sweet candy, sticky saliva carrying mana that erased any thought of stopping.

Kissing feels so good...♡

My hypersensitive nerves zeroed in on her mouth.

The afterglow of climax mixed with her slowly trickling saliva brought a different kind of soothing bliss.

Lost in the haze for what felt like forever, I finally pulled back at the nudge of her gentle hand.

All strength drained from me, and I slid bonelessly to the floor.

With lingering regret, I gazed up at her through hazy eyes.

"Haa, haa... haa...♡"

"..."

Hayeon pitied the mess I'd become.

Not understanding her look, I just opened my mouth wide like a puppy, hoping she'd be happy too.

"Pant— Hayeon-ah, look... it's your mana..."

Her warm mana pooled thickly in my mouth. I rolled it on my tongue before slowly swallowing it down.

Gulp.

To prove I'd taken it all, I opened wide again.

"Hehe... thanks for the meal...♡"

The hot mana sliding down my throat felt amazing.

Hayeon's mana blended smoothly with mine, like I'd absorbed part of her—a profound oneness.

I stroked my tingling lower belly.

Grinning like an idiot, I nuzzled my face against her leg.

How much time had passed?

The cool warehouse air hit my skin, slowly bringing reason back.

Mortified, I scratched my cheek and avoided Hayeon's gaze.

"Haha..."

Hayeon stared off into the distance, her ears beet red, the awkwardness thick.

What the hell did I just do?

My head had been a mess, but the memories lingered.

Too vividly.

Begging Hayeon for a kiss—no, for mana. Climaxing while gulping it down and showing off like a fool.

I want to die. For real...

Biting my tongue and dropping dead seemed the only way to save face.

"Feeling better now?"

Her subdued voice made my shoulders twitch.

She'd already straightened her clothes and held her smartphone.

"Look at this. What you—no, what we just did."

The screen played back our shameful act in stark detail.

There I was, clinging to her with a bitch-in-heat expression.

Eyes unfocused, cheeks flushed. At the end, panting with my tongue out like a dog.

Anybody could see it: a woman whose brain had melted from pleasure.

"Eunha. At first, I didn't mix any mana. You felt that, right?"

"...Yeah."

"You said it feels bad without mana. But even cut off, you wouldn't stop. You got more desperate and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clung to me."

It hit me like a punch to the head.

I'd thought resonance was for efficiency, mana replenishment, growth.

But video-me chased pure pleasure, mana be damned.

"Is this the resonance you imagined?"

"That... must've been the drug's effect..."

"Drug?! You don't do drugs, do you? Oh god..."

"No, no! I'd never!"

Panicking, nonsense spilled out.

Drug? What am I even saying?

But subconsciously, that's what it felt like—unreal, intoxicating.

Body burning out of control, mind foggy, craving only pleasure.

It mirrored the aphrodisiac from Park Dusik or the dungeon fights.

"Anyway! Now you see how messed up you are?"

Something felt off.

For the first time, this whole situation screamed wrong.

Does a normal person lose it from just a kiss?

No way. Lips and tongue aren't erogenous zones that intense.

Yet I'd melted. And until now, I hadn't questioned it.

Even now, instinct ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't flag it—just logic said it didn't add up.

"Eunha. Listen. You're under hypnosis right now."

"...Hypnosis?"

The forbidden word from her lips dropped my heart.

Hypnosis.

The game's core keyword. The city's ruling force.

And something hypnotized Hayeon would never say.

"I was under it too, until recently. A horrific curse making shameful acts feel normal."

She even knew the details. No denying her hypnosis was broken.

Was I hypnotized too, like she said?

Then she held out the glass vial again.

"This is a potion to release hypnosis. I drank it when I noticed something off."

I took it with shaking hands.

Was I really hypnotized?

Would this change anything?

What if my whole worldview crumbled?

Fear surged, but I couldn't ignore her pleading eyes.

I squeezed my eyes shut and chugged the potion.

Gulp, gulp.

As it slid down my throat, my whole body boiled with mana.

Same taste as this morning's. But doubting myself triggered the real effect.

[Insight] went berserk.

Vision warped. Mana particles floating in the air etched into my eyes.

The once-clear sky stained an eerie pink.

A status window unlike any before appeared.

"...Fuck."

I let out a hollow laugh.