Such a Reward
Such a reward!Pow!
"Urghhhheeeek!!"
Acturus started vomiting on just the second hit. Maybe she hadn't eaten anything since dinner last night—mostly just saliva and clear gastric juices, so at least it didn't stink.
Good thing.
I flashed a light smile and planted a few more loads of my love deep in Acturus's womb.
Thud!
Pow!!
"Kyak… St-stop… hngk… I'm… br-breaking…."
Clutching her belly desperately to protect the woman's most precious place, Acturus curled up on the floor.
"No, you can't. Let's take a few more, okay? Be a good girl?"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"N-no, I hate it, cough cough! Stop hitting… urgh!"
It felt good, but I'd probably gone too hard in the heat of the moment. Time to cool it down. Acturus would give birth to my child someday, after all—no good if her womb got totally wrecked.
"Haaah… Acturus. Sorry about that. So don't do that kind of shit anymore, got it? I don't wanna swing more violence than necessary either."
"Urk… hngh… huh-euk…."
A solid hit to the liver sends massive shock straight to the nerves—pain so intense you can't endure it with willpower alone. I wouldn't know as a guy, but getting punched in the womb's gotta be similar for a woman.
After convulsing like that for several minutes, Acturus seemed to calm a bit. Head bowed, hair draped like a curtain, she ground her teeth.
Grind!
Still unbroken, huh.
Memories flooded back fresh as ever. Acturus must've been in a spot like this that day, right?
Looking down indifferently at some heavy casualty wriggling like a bug.
I squatted in front of Acturus, met her gaze, and gently stroked her hair.
Pat pat.
"Acturus, I love you."
"Shut up… don't spout bullshit."
At my tone, like soothing a child, she glared at me with visible chills.
"I get the feisty personality. But that glare? Not a fan."
Ptoo!
Acturus spat blood-mixed saliva at my face, her expression pure hatred.
Oh, such a reward!
Lick.
"Mm. Kinda fishy with the blood."
As I licked the saliva dripping down my face, her eyes twitched in horrified spasms.
"Y-you… crazy disgusting bastard."
"Hey now. Gonna keep using those nasty words? Like I said, this is today's first lesson. From now on, keep those eyes wide and sweet, and speak pretty. Got it?"
"Fuck off, you psycho!"
An overly arrogant cat needs discipline.
No matter how much I love Acturus, I don't wanna repeat the same shit over and over. Conversations gotta land somewhat for the relationship to improve, right?
I pulled something from my jacket's inner pocket.
◈ For personal protection
Acturus gave a puzzled look at the sudden item. I shook the spray to mix the solution well.
"Guys like me, normal folks, don't have your superhuman strength. Gotta carry shit like this for self-defense. World's got shitty security, y'know."
Pop!
I popped the cap and thrust it toward her eyes. She flinched hard, whipping her face away.
"Huh? You were glaring daggers when I told you to look down before, but now you're averting?"
"Sh-shut… up…."
Still wouldn't meet my eyes. Probably thought I'd spray the second she looked up.
Her face flushed beet red with shame.
"You've always turned red up to your ears when embarrassed. Cute. But no mercy. Now, look right here nice and sweet. Gotta pay for glaring at your future husband."
"Ugh…."
Humiliation and shame twisted her face, but she kept those eyes squeezed shut.
"Open 'em. Bad girls get punished."
Acturus refused to the end.
"Aw, can't be helped then. This ain't venting—it's love's discipline. Five more to the lower belly, and we're square."
Twitch.
Definite reaction. For a guy, it's like capsaicin in the eyes or a kick to the balls—a hellish balance game….
My pick was the eyes, but for Acturus, her baby-maker seemed more precious.
"I'll open! I'll open, so stop hitting there, you son of—…!"
She cut off her curse mid-word, clamping her mouth shut. Smart—knew more swears meant trouble. Excellent.
Finally, some progress.
Pat pat.
"That's my girl~ Trying to speak pretty, huh? Makes me happy."
Tremble tremble.
Her head must be a whirlwind of dozens of thoughts. Instinctively, viciously calculating which was deadlier: more belly hits or spray in the eyes. Humans evolved that way.
"Good listener now. Scared? Don't look straight at the spray—gaze at the ceiling."
Trembling at the impending agony, Acturus forced her eyes open anyway. Pupils rolled up to the ceiling, whites exposed. Proper training was finally on track.
Crush pride with overwhelming violence, terror, pain—then coax and soothe to make her submit willingly. Classic whip-and-carrot, but damn effective.
Sure, just 1cm of submission right now—eyes rolled up—but that crack would widen uncontrollably.
"Good girl! See? You can do it if you try! Here we go?"
I pressed the button without hesitation.
Psst!!
Tear gas mercilessly sprayed into those pretty eyes.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
A scream that tore at my eardrums. But no dares to curse this time—just thrashing about, which pleased me.
"What'd we learn today, Acturus?"
"Aaaah!"
No parroting back, which wrinkled my brow a bit, but I'd let it slide. Just watching her suffer was reward enough.
"Better not make me repeat myself two, three times…."
"E-eyes… nice and… open."
"Good girl."
I patted her head once.
Her shoulders shook at the touch of the man who'd kidnapped, beaten, and gassed her eyes—but no resistance.
No matter how defiant, she had learning capacity. By now, she'd fully grasped the power dynamic between us.
And someday, when my touch no longer disgusted or creeped her out, the training would end.
"And the second thing?"
"Words… grind, pretty…."
"Grinding those molars ain't good for your teeth, Acturus."
"None of your busi—…!"
Grind grind.
Couldn't spit the full "shut up," just dropped her head with bloodshot eyes.
"Oho~kay~."
Pat pat pat.
This time, a rougher stroke.
Slap!
She irritably swatted my hand away and fixed her hair herself.
"Haa… haa… I don't know who the hell you are, but if you think you can toy with me however you want, you're dead wrong. Think you can touch a Magical Girl and walk away!?"
Even with puffy eyes streaming tears, her spirit held.
"Huh? Never thought that for a second."
"…"
Her gaze dodged mine, staring into space—weaker than before, but a spark of hope lingered.
Probably banking on the Magical Girl Association coming to rescue her.
But tough luck. No rescue squad's coming.
Knock knock.
"Lady Acturus."
Knock knock knock.
"Lady Acturus, coming in. Time for morning prayers."
No reply. Normally, an irritated "don't wake me" or the crash of an empty bottle against the door.
Sensing something off, Sister Lucia cautiously opened the door.
Creeeak—
Cigarette smoke and cheap booze stench hit her nose first thing.
Dubbed the "Madonna's Prayer Room."
Publicly a noble ascetic space, but really just Acturus's drunken lounge.
Floor littered not with pricey liquor bottles, but cheap soju ones from the industrial complex convenience store—affordable for her perpetual broke ass.
"Lady Acturus?"
Lucia's face hardened. Air too cold for a simple outing. Acturus was willful, but never slipped their watch completely.
"…Gone?"
Her eyes swept the room, landing on the silver cigarette case on the table.
"Just took the dispenser? Last suppressant was before the Park Hoe-jang meeting yesterday evening… should've restocked by now."
This was not normal.
Without the Magical Girl Association's insanely pricey inhaler Star Power Suppressants, Acturus couldn't survive a day.
Sister Lucia pulled her ever-present Star Power scanner and tracked the signal—but astonishingly, no trace of Acturus anywhere in greater Seoul.
A chill ran down her spine. She bolted from the room toward somewhere.