Time for Punishment

I held my breath, shrouded in darkness, until the kidnapper's footsteps had completely faded away. Only after the heavy basement door slammed shut with a bang did the breath I'd been holding burst forth.

Now was the time. If not now, while that madman was away, there would never be another chance.

But my body refused to obey my will. A sweet heat bloomed deep in my lower abdomen, spreading through my entire body.

"Ahk…!"

Especially when I tried to step forward—the vibration from the ground traveled up my legs, stimulating my womb, bringing back those shameful sensations from yesterday as if they were happening all over again.

Get it together. I didn't know what that bastard had done to my body, but I had to get out of here fast.

At first, I'd thought he was just some ordinary kidnapper. But as time passed, it became clear he was something else entirely. If I stayed here much longer, I'd lose my mind too.

I bit my lip until it bled, forcing myself to focus.

I twisted my wrists against the restraints. The pain of bones grinding out of place was almost a relief.

"Ugh…!"

Finally, my bruised and battered wrists slipped free from the cuffs.

The moment I reached the living room on the first floor from the bottom of the stairs, I froze, breath catching in my throat. An even more suffocating pressure bore down on me than in the basement.

Grotesque patterns flickered faintly on the walls throughout the house.

I bolted desperately for the front door. My trembling hands seized the knob and twisted with all my might.

Click.

The door didn't budge an inch.

That much I'd expected.

The image of that red door from yesterday flashed in my mind. Honestly, there was no real evidence, but it had given off an unmistakably ominous vibe just by looking at it.

Let's go.

There has to be some clue in that room.

Squish♡ Squish♡

"Ugh, ah…♡"

As I climbed the stairs, the mark deep in my lower abdomen throbbed wildly again. The insides of my thighs burned, my breath grew hot. My core grew slick, aching as if craving something. Swallowing my moans, I gripped the wall and pressed on.

At last, I stood before the red door. Even the doorknob felt damp, as if soaked in blood. I closed my eyes and pushed it open.

Creeeak—

"What the… fuck…."

The room was bathed in crimson light. The walls were plastered with cinnabar powder that stung my nose, and thousands of talismans ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the ceiling undulated like the scales of some living beast.

But what seized my gaze was the eerie ripple hovering in the center of the room.

It was invisible to the eye—no form, no mass. Yet my instincts as a Magical Girl screamed through every cell in my body.

Something was here. Something vast and malevolent, existing since time immemorial, beyond human words.

It wasn't like a Monster with a physical body. It felt more like the formless presence I'd sensed when the stars first chose me.

Cut off from my star connection now, my senses couldn't grasp it fully, but it radiated profound dread.

"Wh-what the hell… what does that guy do in here?"

At first, I'd pegged him as a petty criminal. Then a pervert driven mad by lust. Then a full-blown psycho. And finally… confusion.

Now, I was curious. What kind of person was this lunatic? What powers did he have? What was he plotting?

What did he want with me?

It was the kind of curiosity you shouldn't have about things best left unknown—unsettling, anxiety-inducing. And yet, I couldn't help wanting to know.

As I stepped closer to examine the strange script etched on a skull in the red room, a chilling voice whispered directly into my ear.

N-no…?

…Ah……?

It wasn't a voice. It was a vibration, like sharp nails scraping the inside of my skull. A chilling cold raced down my spine, briefly cooling the heat in my abdomen. I shuddered at the illusion of an invisible presence licking my ear as it whispered.

"Who are you!?"

What the hell was this? Some kind of mental manipulation? Or had I finally lost it?

I pinched my cheek—it hurt, and my mind felt perfectly clear. Was I dreaming…?

I responded to the incomprehensible phenomenon with reckless abandon.

"Fine… tell me. Why the fuck did I end up trapped in this hellhole? Why is that guy doing this to me? Tell me!"

The moment the words left my mouth, the heat writhing in my womb surged, pushing my consciousness into a haze. The talismans in the red room fluttered wildly.

With that final chilling whisper, my vision was sucked into a blood-red abyss beyond.

My vision flipped, space twisting around me. Isara was gone; now I saw the world through the eyes of a boy collapsed in a back alley years ago.

The metallic tang of blood stung my nose. Beyond the shattered concrete loomed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the shadow of an insectoid Monster, and before it lay a woman impaled on its blade, gasping her last.

She was Mun Tae-seong's mother, the woman he'd kidnapped me for. Clutching her spilling guts with one hand, she clawed at the ground with the other, crawling toward someone.

At the end of her gaze stood Acturus, the 'Madonna of Humanity,' radiating brilliant life-star light.

Her voice was a scream. With her last strength, she seized Acturus's white shoe.

The desperation of a mother fighting for her child's life even as her own ebbed—a sight that would move anyone with a heart to tears.

Yet Acturus's response was ice-cold. She kicked away the pleading woman's hand without mercy.

Acturus didn't even twitch an eyebrow, staring down at her shoe as if it'd been soiled by filth.

Her eyes held no pity, no sorrow—only a freakish sense of superiority and mechanical detachment.

I'm chosen by the stars. I'm a Magical Girl. One of the Supreme 4. A superhuman beyond humanity. I'm the protector of mankind.

Her gaze at the crawling human was like looking at a roadside insect.

Thwack!

Finally, she kicked away the dying mother's hand.

Tears blurred my vision as it darkened.

. . .

Now I recognized it—a memory lingering faintly in the corner of my mind. Not crystal clear, but one I could recall if I tried.

Forced into this bizarre flashback by whatever this phenomenon was, I finally understood why that psycho Mun Tae-seong had kidnapped me.

"…."

So what?

So fucking what? I'm a Magical Girl. I protect humanity—do I have to save every single side casualty too?

…That was the line I should have spat. The old me, before being captured here, would have lit up a Star Power Suppressant and snarled it out of habit.

There were plenty of people I hadn't saved, and acknowledging that didn't mean I could save everyone anyway.

"Urk…."

But my stomach churned. I clamped my mouth shut to stifle the rising nausea.

My own image—that emotionless, chilling gaze, trampling a dying woman like a bug. It all suddenly felt utterly alien.

Like a Gestalt collapse, where a familiar word turns grotesque—the casual memory of my past self now struck me as profoundly wrong.

It felt like blood rushing into a numbed limb, sensation flooding back violently.

"Haa…! Haa…!"

No, what am I supposed to do about it?

It couldn't be helped. I'm a Magical Girl guarding millions. I can't fuss over every civilian on-site. I'm not a god—how could I?

Hell, if I stopped to heal that auntie and her kid, only for another Monster to ambush me from behind? That'd be a loss for all humanity.

I whispered excuses to myself. The blood on my shoe pissed me off, sure—but kicking her hand away was just maintaining my dignity as a Magical Girl. Her grabbing my ankle was disrupting the operation anyway.

But no matter how I rationalized it in my head, the twisting in my gut wouldn't settle. As I staggered, trying to calm my roiling insides, that eerie chuckle echoed from empty air again.

Price?

I don't know. Never heard of it.

I'm a chosen child. Chosen and loved by the stars—a special Magical Girl. That's why I wield this power.

"Shut… up…."

The mocking voice swirled through the red room. I bolted from it, fleeing the room.

This was all a hallucination.

This half-baked guilt over my past actions? Just the fucked-up influence of this cursed mansion!

Bang!

I slammed the red door shut with a thunderous crash and bolted down the stairs, clutching my head.

That instant—

Clack.

The front door on the floor below swung open, echoing through the house.

He was back.

"…!"

My heart pounded like it would burst. Instinct drove me down the stairs. Back to the basement. That was all I could think. But midway down, my eyes met Mun Tae-seong's—he stood there with grocery bags from shopping.

He tilted his head, looking up at me.

His eyes weren't the mad, ravaging gaze from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the basement.

"…Acturus? How'd you get down here? I know I locked those cuffs tight."

"I-I… had to pee so bad… I forced them off. I swear."

I stammered the lie with a trembling voice. He frowned, cocking his head like he didn't buy it. A guy who knew so much about me would've noticed I wasn't acting normal.

Was I in for more mind-melting 'good'… no, awful sexual torture? But Mun Tae-seong's reaction was nothing like I'd expected.

"Your wrist—what happened?"

He flung the bags to the floor. Ingredients spilled and rolled, but he ignored them completely.

He snatched my wrist, then his face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠twisted at the vivid purple bruises and raw scrapes.

"I told you not to do that… I said just wait a little, so why?!"

His voice shook. The man who'd crushed my pride and tortured me sexually just yesterday now looked like he'd lost the world's most precious treasure. He cradled my wrist gently, pressing his face to the wound as he pleaded.

"I told you I love you. Don't hurt yourself like this… no self-harm, Acturus."

His lips brushed my bruised wrist. A touch so tenderly creepy, so desperately affectionate.

In that moment, massive confusion engulfed me.

Just minutes ago in the red room, I'd seen it. Why he hated me so much. What I'd done to his mother. I'd kicked her away like a bug, mocked her—I was the enemy who'd ruined his life.

So why?

Why look at me like this? Why crumble at his enemy's wounds? Wasn't breaking me his revenge?

"Mun… Tae-seong?"

I murmured his name for the first time. His breath on the back of my hand burned hot. The more I felt his genuine 'love,' the more viciously my insides twisted.

"Huh? How'd you know my name?"

The dying woman's screams from that past memory overlapped with this man's sobs against my wound. An incomprehensible chain of emotions.

Before his gaze—revenge and affection, hatred and obsession intertwined—I even shivered in thrill. This man was so like that mysterious entity in the red room.

An unknowable, alien terror.

Thwack!

Overwhelmed by his madness, I smacked his hand away on reflex.

He stared back—hurt by the rejection, angry that I'd dared strike him.

. . .

"I'll forgive you slapping my hand away. But sneaking upstairs after just a few hours? Can't let that slide."

Perfect timing—I'd been dying to try out today's purchase.

"Time for your punishment, Acturus."

I took her hand with a faint smile and led her back to the basement.