Escape Under Subjugation

"Seong Yujin! Ju Seo-hyeon! Subdue the Thorn Rose Legion Master!!"

Ju Seo-hyeon moved first. She kicked off the floor, vaulting over the scattered sofa to aim straight for Federica's throat.

"Seong Yujin, stop her!!"

Federica shouted at me. My heart throbbed with sharp pain.

I was going to step in anyway. There's no way I can just let Federica die here. Charna.

I moved a beat late, yet still appeared in front of Federica before Ju Seo-hyeon and deflected her blade with Hwaryeonbido. Ju Seo-hyeon's body was forced back.

"...You. What the hell do you think you're doing."

Ju Seo-hyeon clenched her teeth. Her eyes trembled violently.

"There's a reason for this."

I lifted my sword with a bitter smile, playing up the helpless atmosphere. It was an act. Inside my head I was already calculating how to keep Federica alive and take her with me.

"It's a Subjugation skill! Ju Seo-hyeon, don't force it—just buy time!"

Kang Myeong-jin diagnosed my condition instantly. With Dragon Eyes (S) it would have been stranger if he hadn't noticed.

Ju Seo-hyeon recovered her composure in a flash and charged me. I parried the sharp thrust coming from my left and unleashed lightning. She flipped backward in a clean backflip to dodge the bolt. That light footwork drew a dry laugh out of me.

She's gotten faster. Grown already in that short time?

A single sword came flying through the air—Ju Seo-hyeon's Flying Sword Technique. Its target wasn't me; it was Federica. I scrambled to knock it aside.

Having to protect Federica while fighting makes this twice as hard.

Federica's survival came first. That meant I had to keep intercepting the flying swords. I kept scattering lightning so Ju Seo-hyeon couldn't focus on controlling them.

"Kraaaaaah! You fucking bastard!!"

Santanu screamed. I confirmed his right arm had been severed. Enraged, he charged Kang Myeong-jin head-on. At a glance it looked like Kang Myeong-jin was being pushed back, yet he was blocking every single one of Santanu's attacks.

Santanu winning is already out of the question.

Federica seemed to have reached the same conclusion; her face darkened.

"Seong Yujin! Drink this!"

Federica tossed a vial at me. Inside the blue liquid something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glittered.

An extreme potion. The effect was useful, but the side effect was brutal. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't have even called this a potion.

If I want to overwhelm Ju Seo-hyeon and Kang Myeong-jin, I have to use something this extreme.

I gulped it down. It was tasteless. The sensation of something catching in my throat as it went down was unpleasant.

Still, the effect was outstanding.

My current Mana was 121. The potion pushed it to 242.

Crackling electricity flooded outward. The space filled with my mana. Kang Myeong-jin and Ju Seo-hyeon sucked in their breath and stepped back.

"Astrape."

The scattered mana condensed into lightning in my grip, taking the shape of a spear. Holding the spear of thunder, I swung once toward Ju Seo-hyeon. A shockwave erupted and shattered everything around us.

"Kh...!"

Ju Seo-hyeon's body was blasted backward. Kang Myeong-jin stepped forward, driving his spear into the floor to weather the blast. I sent current racing toward him. He was forced to focus on blocking the electricity and couldn't move freely.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"What the fuck are you doing?! Kill those bastards right now!!"

Santanu bellowed at me. I ignored him and looked at Federica. Her expression was vicious.

"What are you waiting for, Seong Yujin? Kill them. Or do you want to die in their place?"

My heart was crushed. It stung as if thorns were piercing it. I expelled a long breath as if shaking off the pain and spoke.

"Federica. Think coldly. Even if I overwhelm them for a moment, at this rate it ends with you dying."

I only had ten minutes to dominate Kang Myeong-jin and Ju Seo-hyeon. Wiping out the legion and mercenaries he had brought in those ten minutes was impossible even with Mana at 242.

In the end, Federica had only one best option left.

"...Seong Yujin. Open a path. We're abandoning the mansion."

"Where are we going?"

"...That way. You need to open the way for me."

Federica pointed at the wall. Understanding immediately, I hurled Astrape. The wall collapsed, revealing the rose garden beyond. Battles were already raging throughout the garden.

"Federica! You're just going to pull back like this?! We have to kill them here!!"

"Think coldly, Santanu! We can't lose everything like this. Even if the Rose City is forcibly occupied for now... as long as we're alive we can take it back. Right now retreating is the correct call."

Santanu's face twisted, then he charged Kang Myeong-jin again.

"No. This bastard dies here."

"Santanu!!"

Kang Myeong-jin briefly exploded with power. A dragon-head silhouette flickered around his body and vanished. The short shockwave staggered Santanu backward. A flash of fear crossed his eyes.

Dragon Roar. Santanu in werewolf form got properly scared. His unique trait is Wildness, so the effect must have hit harder.

Trembling as he stared at Kang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Myeong-jin, Santanu bolted straight out through the broken wall.

"Santanu! Stay calm, please...! Seong Yujin, you hurry after us too!"

Federica raced out after Santanu.

Before leaving I looked back at Kang Myeong-jin and Ju Seo-hyeon.

"Sorry. This was out of my hands too. Since things turned out this way... if you want to treat it as betrayal and kill me, I won't complain."

"I know the responsibility lies with Federica, not you. Subjugation skills are usually like that. There is a way to release it. So just don't die—hold on."

"...Our next spar isn't far off. Don't even think about running from it."

"I appreciate the words... but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠take it slow. Slow."

I spoke with genuine feeling, then followed Federica.

A mercenary charged at Federica. I threw Astrape. Lightning flashed and the mercenary's head was pierced clean through. Killing those who rushed us, we fled the mansion grounds.

Whether Kang Myeong-jin had given the order or not, no pursuers clung to us. Even so we couldn't relax, so Santanu and Federica kept running even after leaving the city.

Even without mana I still had my other stats.

"Federica. You okay?"

"Hah... hah... No. I boosted my stats with potions but... even running is hitting its limit."

"Looks like you need my help."

I scooped Federica up in a princess carry. Sweat-soaked, she stared at me in surprise. Ignoring her gaze I faced forward and ran.

Santanu, back in human form, scowled at me.

"Carrying someone else's woman and running so damn well. Anyone watching would think you were Federica's lover."

"Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?"

"Put Federica down right now."

"Federica's exhausted."

"I'll carry Federica. Put her down."

Santanu growled. Federica sighed and spoke.

"Put me down, Yujin."

I had no choice but to set her down. Santanu took her into his arms as if it were only natural. His body swayed heavily. He was missing one arm, and whether from the aftereffects of the werewolf transformation or not, he was sweating far too much.

"Santanu. Don't push yourself."

"Sh-shut up, Federica. I can handle this much."

Santanu ran while carrying Federica. Watching his unsteady body made me uneasy. My prediction hit the mark. Not even three minutes later he collapsed to the ground with her still in his arms.

"Kyaaaaah!"

"Fuck...!!"

I helped Federica up. Aside from a little scraped skin on her shoulder she was fine. Santanu, on the other hand, was too exhausted even to run. Blood dripped steadily from the stump of his arm. Federica poured potions over it. The effect didn't seem large, but his face looked more at ease than before.

"I'll carry Federica. You just follow on your own. You can manage that much, right?"

"You little shit... Who the hell are you to carry Federica?"

"Read the situation properly. Right now you're the one holding Federica back. Your pathetic jealousy is only making things worse."

"Goddamn it..."

I picked Federica up again. She glanced at Santanu and spoke.

"...Put me down. I can run now too."

"Stay still. This is the best option right now. With your stamina you'd collapse soon enough. Santanu can barely keep up if he's running alone. But you already know running like this is meaningless, right? Do you have a plan?"

"...There's a legion we allied with. We'll join forces with them and rebuild our foundation."

Federica spoke in a gloomy tone. I simply nodded. I wasn't exactly in a position to call myself her comrade.

I ran in the direction she indicated, Santanu panting as he followed.

We stopped running around sunrise and settled into a nearby cave. The moment Santanu sat on the cave floor he held out his hand to Federica.

"Fe-Federica. Hey, give me the drug."

"Santanu. You should rest properly right now. Let's treat that arm first."

"Drug, drug! Give me the drug!! The arm can wait! What matters now is the drug! The drug!"

Federica shook her head and handed him the Rose Drug. Santanu's face brightened instantly and he swallowed it. His mouth hung open slackly. High on the drug, he fidgeted restlessly.

Federica examined the stump of Santanu's arm. She poured several potions over the cut surface and wrapped it in bandages. I eyed the pouch she was holding with interest. It looked like a bag enchanted with spatial expansion magic.

"...Whew. It's not critical, so that's a relief. If we take him to a professional healer the arm can be restored."

"Regenerating an arm is going to cost a fortune."

"Still better than living as an arm cripple."

Only an outstanding alchemist like her could say that so casually. Talentless exiles whose arms were cut off simply lived as cripples afterward. They didn't have the money for treatment. Regenerating a severed arm rather than merely reattaching it meant preparing to spend at least 150,000 AP.

I approached Federica from behind and wrapped my arms around her. A faint scent of sweat rose from her, yet even that smelled sweet to me. I buried my face in her red hair and kneaded her full breasts with my hands.

"...You want to do this in this situation?"

"I betrayed my legion because of you. This much is fine. If you decided to have me, take responsibility."

"...You've got some nerve with Santanu right there."

"The junkie's just high on his drug. What's there to be scared of?"

Santanu's eyes were open, but he wasn't looking at us. High on the drug, he was seeing something else entirely.

Rustle. Her dress slipped down, revealing her voluptuous naked body. I seized one of her breasts in my hand.

"Auh... Are you really going to act like this? You haven't forgotten that your life is in my hands, have you?"

My heart stabbed with sharp pain. In response I squeezed her breast harder. The soft flesh bulging between my fingers looked ready to burst.

"If you want to kill me, kill me. My life is already ruined because of someone anyway."

"...Haa. Just take responsibility then."

Federica raised her arms, looped them around my neck, turned her head, and pressed her lips to mine. A hot, sticky kiss followed. Thrust. My cock sank into her pussy.

"Hng, haaang..."

The atmosphere inside the cave grew steamy and heated.