Black Twilight Infiltrates the City (4)
Through the rearview mirror, she spots two monster soldiers approaching from behind.
These aren't ordinary ones. At a glance, they're combat-model monster soldiers.
Even against one, Liliza is confident she couldn't resist even once out of a hundred times—she'd be subdued every single time.
Have they figured me out? My true identity?
...Let's think. In two seconds or less.
Liliza remains seated in the driver's seat, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist as she ponders.
This bracelet is a magic tool from Cookie, inducing "hallucination" and "perception inhibition" so others see her as someone completely different.
A faint light glows within the bracelet.
If Cookie's explanation holds, the magic is functioning perfectly.
The magic is fine.
Right now, she must look like nothing more than an ordinary male monster soldier researcher to them.
She's kept this magic tool active nonstop, never deactivating it.
There are streets she's passed and cameras here and there, but she's already confirmed it fools cameras too.
I didn't slip up and reveal myself carelessly.
Or maybe they haven't uncovered her identity at all.
It could be something else entirely—something she can talk her way out of.
...No way.
Peering through the car window and side cameras at the monster soldiers' faces, it's clear negotiation isn't on the table.
Two seconds pass.
In that time, her car is fully surrounded, and one of the rough-looking monster soldiers reaches out to forcibly yank open the door of her vehicle.
With that—
Liliza kicks the car door open with her foot, then aims the gun in her hand at the monster soldier who reels back, slamming face-first into the door.
Deep inside the Hypnosis Factory, in the hypnosis modification room.
The chamber brims with intricate machinery whose purposes and operations baffle ordinary folk. Researchers bustle about frantically.
All are members of this Hypnosis Factory, and like clockwork, none are Earthlings—their bizarre forms scream alien.
One sports a lizard-like head, another boasts six arms, some have tails or wings.
Compared to frontline combat monster soldiers, though, these are relatively compact and subdued in build.
Into this frenzy of researchers enters a newcomer.
"Working late—good effort. Everything prepared?"
"Greetings, Factory Manager!"
It's Moku Factory Manager, mayor of 5th Factory City and head of this factory.
Today, as always, he waddles in with his bulging gut jiggling, personally double-checking the equipment the researchers are prepping.
"Hm... Gear looks ready... Program not quite yet?"
"The program's wrapping up soon. Once the test subject arrives, we can activate in under thirteen minutes."
The on-site lead researcher responds to Moku Factory Manager.
He nods in satisfaction.
"Well done. I'll handle the rest myself. You're all dismissed. No need to clock in tomorrow for those who pitched in—you can use test subjects from ■ to ■■ if you like."
"Understood. Thank you, Factory Manager."
—Alright, that's it, everyone!!
At the lead researcher's command, the other monster soldier researchers finish up, tidy briefly, and file out.
Left alone, Moku Factory Manager gives the prepared equipment a final once-over, tweaking it to his specs.
He became factory manager for various reasons, but the biggest is his expertise.
He knows every facility, setup, and device in this Hypnosis Factory inside out—his knowledge of hypnosis tech surpasses anyone here.
Of course, with such capable staff, he rarely operates hands-on...
Feels good to be back at it...
As factory manager and city mayor, he can't hole up here forever.
But he misses these moments. Far preferable to heavy responsibilities or climbing ranks—just tinkering as a researcher and scientist suits him best...
> Ding-dong—
> [Visitor request.]
> [Code number is ■■■■■...]
Absorbed in nostalgia and brimming with enthusiasm as he fine-tunes the program—
The lab's call bell chimes, followed by the AI program's flat voice.
Moku Factory Manager grants entry. Soon, the door slides open, admitting a hulking monster soldier.
His suit bears scorch marks and tears, but he strides in unfazed, saluting Moku Factory Manager.
"Mission complete. Please confirm the target's identity."
With that, he dumps the shoulder-slung burden onto the floor like so much luggage.
Ugh...
The figure hitting the ground is white-coated scientist Liliza.
She should have appeared as a standard male monster soldier, but now her true form is exposed.
Cookie's magic no longer conceals her. The bracelet on her wrist sparks erratically.
It broke in the parking lot skirmish moments ago.
"Kuh... Th-this... bastard..."
Liliza groans in frustration.
But bound in restraints, she can't rise—electrified into spasms, her body paralyzed.
"You alright? She put up more fight than expected?"
"Her counters were slick. Who'd guess the car packed heat like that? Thought two'd suffice, but we all had to pile on to nab her."
"She roughed up the factory's elite guards?"
"You ordered capture without injury, sir."
Moku Factory Manager nods.
"Fair enough. Good work. Send the wounded to medical right away. Rewards later."
Rewards mean the factory's "products"—hypnosis-modified magical girls.
For them, sex with females, especially mana-rich magical girls, isn't mere fun; it's sustenance.
They replenish mana through intercourse.
Beyond that, for these lust-driven male monster soldiers, monopolizing beautiful, obedient hypnotized slave magical girls is pure bliss.
Satisfied with the boon, the monster soldier who brought Liliza salutes once more and departs.
With other researchers gone, only Moku Factory Manager and Liliza remain.
"Untie... me..."
"As if. Idiot."
Liliza writhes worm-like on the floor, grunting.
Moku Factory Manager eyes her.
Her form flickers hazily, shifting between male and female.
He grabs her hair, yanking her head up.
With misty-eyed sentiment, he gazes at her face.
"Just as I thought—Senior Liliza."
"Kuh...! Researcher Moku...!"
He knows that face.
Same mentor, top researcher who vanished for some reason despite her rank.
Senior to Moku Factory Manager; he knows her well, even why she fled.
And those incompetent seniors of theirs too.
"Tsk, what a shame, Senior. From head researcher to this."
"...Shut up."
"Heh, life's full of surprises."
He'd always admired her.
A peer with talent matching or exceeding his own—he'd even harbored feelings.
The difference? He grasped the higher-ups' incompetence and hid his gifts.
Blissfully unaware, Liliza flaunted hers and became a fugitive.
The unremarkable researcher rose to command the prime Hypnosis Factory and city.
From the same roots, such divergent paths.
Even setting aside male-female differences, it provokes thought.
"How... did you... know..."
"Had my ways. Bit of luck."
Moku Factory Manager shrugs.
Pure fortune, really.
An unregistered magical girl's data had slipped into the logs—falsified, no less.
Only his obsessive memorization of every magical girl list caught it. And that recent Pure White incident...
From that tiny clue, backtracking investigations led him to her identity.
Confirmed her shady magical girl contacts, even the fairy's presence. Pure White link still eludes him, sadly.
"Well then... Shall we begin?"
"Guh... Don't touch me...!! You scum...!!"
"Relax. Just sleep a bit. When you wake, it'll all be done."
Even restrained, Liliza snarls and resists.
Moku Factory Manager injects a sedative.
It hits fast; soon, she slumps unconscious.
He strips the sleeping Liliza bare, then moves her nude form to the central apparatus.
Now, she'll undergo a week of hypnosis modification inside.
Easier than magic girls with mental shields.
"I liked you plenty, Senior Liliza."
"Let's get along from here on out. Like old times."
Moku Factory Manager strokes her cheek atop the device, then activates it.
Clanks and whirs—mechanical arms engulf her body, a dome lid seals her in...
Thus begins Liliza's reprogramming.