Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Mental Labyrinth -2
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The city was built like a labyrinth, twisted and complex.
Opening a window led to the sky, and pushing open a shopping mall door dumped you into the sewers. This fluidity reflected the mutable nature of the mind—visually apparent spaces held little meaning.
Succubus Isabella ran on instinct, whipping around corners and bracing against walls to flee, but no amount of wandering would get her out of the labyrinth.
She was just dancing in the clutches of the mental modules.
Suddenly, an old man's face protruded from the wall, coaxing Isabella.
"Dream demon, poor dream demon... I can sell you a map of this city right now. Give me your data. I don't need much—just the data from your left pinky finger..."
"G-get lost!"
ZZZzt. This time, a billboard flickered on, displaying a gentleman in a sharp suit. He stared straight at Isabella, spouting gibberish.
"We have an insurance product just for you. Sign up now, and we'll guarantee full principal data refund in 100 years. Terms may vary based on the applicant's species, however."
"Quit babbling nonsense—!!"
As Isabella bolted in a frenzy, hands sprouted from the ground and seized her ankle. She jerked away in terror, but her delicate skin scraped against nails, leaving scratches.
These were the "devouring" modules. They tore apart invasive malware, shipping remnants to containment facilities.
The hands savored the fleck of flesh under their nails, analyzing it. A highly advanced succubus—her dream-infiltration ability outstripped even Pingbalrez's, judging purely by that trait.
Of course, comparing her to Pingbalrez, who'd forsaken succubus traits for raw physical prowess, was a bit unfair...
The fact she'd endured this long in a space that would've dismembered limbs against ordinary mental magic proved Isabella's strength.
Not that it mattered. She was still a rat in a trap.
Temptations and threats rained down from all sides. Surrender your data or die. Surrender it and live. Surrender it and...
Isabella shook her head, screaming.
All traps. She knew it. No matter how sweetly they lured her, it led to ruin. She'd used the same tricks plenty of times herself.
This was hell. She had to escape, fast.
Right, right!
No need to wander. Just break out of this mad wizard's mind—
"No no no you can't escape from here think about it he's definitely blocked every exit look the doors are sealed you need to find the key find the exit"
—Right, she couldn't escape. First, find the key. The key.
Enthralled by the module whispering endlessly in her ear from around her neck, Isabella was drawn deeper into the city.
The city laughed.
Unlike Succubus Isabella savoring cosmic horror, the modules relished the hunt. When was the last time they'd had real work?
Usually, they teamed with the external "Libido Suppression" department to smack down surging lust. Processing malware like this was a rare treat.
Faced with extreme stress and mortal peril, Isabella began unearthing hidden potential. Instinct drew her toward the most vital core: the black dome.
Yet the modules lounged leisurely. Let the dream demon flail—the city was impregnable.
The modules exchanged info amiably.
Fleeting signals of 0s and 1s laced with mana, but humanized, it'd look like this:
The "Whatever" module—formally, the Psychopath Module.
Designed for when the user suffered severe mental trauma, activating at the cost of side effects for immediate action.
When a loved one died or overwhelming negative emotions surged from high-level illusion magic. It imposed a powerful self-suggestion: "Nothing has value except me."
An emergency measure, it stayed dormant normally and conflicted with other modules.
In short: it slacked off.
Thanks to the Whatever Module's stellar goalie play, Succubus Isabella beelined for the city's trapped heart: the black dome. The modules sighed.
"Told you not to break her."
"If we'd caught her, we could've preserved the core data..."
The black dome's vicinity was "unknown" territory for modules and mad wizard alike. No one knew what happened inside. Only that something in his head was bound there.
But empirically?
Any data heading there got wrecked.
The atmosphere shifted.
"........."
The city ended, giving way to a silent wasteland cradling a massive black egg at its center. Even the devilish whispers of modules cut off.
Silent... and peaceful.
Step. Step.
Succubus Isabella crept toward the center.
The closer she got, the black dome warped perspective with its colossal presence. What was that thing?
The mad wizard's most precious memory, stored away?
Or the heart underpinning his very soul?
Either way, guarded this heavily, it had to be vital. Isabella harbored faint hope. Seize the mind's core, and escape would be simple.
Escape? She could enslave the mad wizard completely. And if so, repay every humiliation...
Step. Step. Thud.
How long had she walked?
The black dome now loomed like a vision-filling wall. Her heart pounded. Thump. Thump. Not excitement or thrill—yet it raced.
Perplexed by the inexplicable pounding, Isabella felt confused. Like her heart was malfunctioning. Yet her mind stayed serene.
A sensation of mind and body severed. Her spirit calm, but flesh trembling at some felt terror.
Beyond the black wall: pitch darkness, impenetrable... But peering intently, something gleamed.
Scales...?
As if entranced, the moment she reached for the black mass—
"You really shouldn't do that... Seriously. This is sincere advice, thinking of you. Can't you reconsider, just once?"
"...?!?"
A gentle boy's voice rang out.
Turning to empty air where nothing had stood, Isabella found a boy with flowing jet-black hair.
He smiled like warm sunlight. His features strikingly resembled the mad wizard's.
Succubus Isabella tensed warily, but soon softened.
"...Wh-who are you."
"My name... Circumstances prevent me from saying it. If you must call me something, use 'Promise'."
"........."
Gazing silently, he continued softly.
"I get you're being chased and desperate... Sorry. But not here. This isn't an escape route—it'll just endanger you."
"B-but I need a breakthrough. I have to get out!"
"I'd love to free you... but I lack the power. All my strength goes to guarding this."
The boy seemed genuinely apologetic, eyeing Isabella like a pitiful creature. He swept his hand left to right.
Isabella felt a sensation like a rotten tooth finally yanked free. Something vanished—but what?
"...What did you do?"
"I believe everyone deserves a second chance. You've harmed countless souls in pleasure's thrall, but if you'd had good encounters and experiences... You'd have lived better."
"What're you even saying..."
"I erased the wedge in your mind. You won't sacrifice your whole life for another hit of pleasure. The rest... is up to you. I hope you repent."
What the hell did you do to my head—
...
Blink.
Eyes shut, then open—Isabella stood in the city's heart before she knew it.
Felt like she'd met someone, but maybe not. Like dozing off briefly.
Chasing the fading dream tail through memory yielded fog-shrouded nothing. Gone.
Isabella realized she'd never recall those moments.
Then, commotion erupted around her.
"Dream demon over there!!"
"Dream demon! Dream demon!"
"...!!"
Right. She was being hunted.
Succubus Isabella bolted desperately. But she didn't glance toward the black dome. Modules pursued.
"Grab the dream demon!!"
"Once caught, straight to—"
Grief welled in Isabella. Punishment for her sins! Academy, queen's orders—be damned. She wanted out. Why'd she even start this?
That pleasure? Who cared if she had it. Not worth this ordeal. Tears brimming, she screamed skyward.
"Get me... get me out of here... I was wrong...!!"
Pingbalrez, peering into my mental barrier via magic screen, let out an exclamation before asking:
"This crap always going on in your head?"
"No way. Resource waste. Trick's like answer inheritance—someone's belief escalates the situation."
Module comms were ultra-condensed 0s and 1s, closer to cells divvying food than chit-chat.
The succubus, midway between illusion and reality, perceived it more vividly. Plus, I'd spiced it up.
Pingbalrez gazed fondly at the trapped, starved succubus.
"Can I take her? Got some questions."
"Sure, take her. I'll even wrap her up."
"Thanks."
Pingbalrez nodded, satisfied—but her eyes seemed fiercer than usual. Not dakimakura fodder; proper interrogation awaited.
I shook the mind-succubus violently and yanked her out. Thwump—she tumbled from midair, safely unconscious.
Pingbalrez and I bound her in a turtle-shell tie while chatting.
"Payment in body?"
"Who wouldn't want that. Tempting, but..."
"I'll sneak in tomorrow night in pajamas. Warm the sheets."
I mentally checked my schedule, shaking my head.
"Ah, busy then. Got plans."
"...Plans?"
A question mark popped over Pingbalrez's head. You make plans? Fair—she knew I'd holed up in the lab most academy days.
Even I got the occasional appointment.
"Yeah, dinner party's set."
"With that girl?"
"Not a 'girl'..."
A bearded one-eyed Viking hoisted a brimming beer mug overhead.
"Thanks for joining the 21st Academy Faculty Dinner! Everyone, down a pint and let's start!"
"Hmph, genius wizard or not, bet I outdrink you. No brag, but this Alejandro, honed by extreme elemental magic, trusts his liver. And my beer-chugging method cuts intoxication odds by 30%..."
I dazedly raised my mug, asking:
"Whole faculty dinner, but only three of us?"
"Lady profs too stuffy, they said. Guys-only bonding's fine! Looser talk, right? Hahaha!"
Alexon, Everything About Close Combat instructor.
Sleazy silver ponytail mage, Basic Elements Primer instructor.
Me, mad wizard handling Illusion Magic Countermeasures.
Six eyes total for this drab dinner kickoff.