Why Does This Actually Work?

Following Frey's words, I lay quietly on the bed. Halfway through, I realized her intention and pretended to be asleep. I closed my eyes tightly, making regular breathing sounds without the slightest movement. It was a simple act, but my butt was throbbing, making it surprisingly difficult. Besides, lying naked on the bed without a single stitch of clothing... how should I put it? The sensation of the fluffy blanket brushing against my bare skin felt incredibly vivid. My, well, my nipples... anyway, they were stimulated, making me twitch and shiver...

My beaten butt was burning as if scorched by fire. Just touching the sheets made me sting so much that tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't see it, but it was definitely bruised black and blue. My once white, smooth butt must be stained a dark, messy purple.

Healing it with Super Regeneration would be a piece of cake, but...

Ehehe, but that'd be a waste. It's a wound that Frey went through the trouble of carving into me.

"Go back. Don't wake Lucia for no reason."

"But..."

"Go."

After exchanging a few words with Yujin, Frey closed the door, practically throwing him out. Personally, I wanted the two of them to chat amicably and build some rapport, but the timing was terrible. Of all times, he had to interrupt right when Frey's sadism was reaching its peak.

Frey stood in front of the door for a moment. She seemed to be checking if Yujin had really left. It was only after about a minute of staring blankly at the closed door that Frey finally turned around.

"..."

Frey approached me without a word. Her face was completely expressionless, but somehow, I felt like I knew. I knew exactly what kind of emotions were swirling behind that expressionless mask.

Hehe, she must be really mad. Was she that annoyed by the interruption? Then again, if I were cutting my wrists and someone suddenly interrupted me... wait, wouldn't that actually feel pretty good in its own way...?

...Lucia is a pervert. A masochistic pervert doggy who enjoys the thrill of almost getting caught. Disqualified from being human... I have lived a shameful life...

But Frey is different from me. Normal people get angry when they're interrupted. Yes, yes, my job right now is to cheer her up and blow away her gloomy mood.

What should I do? Should I crawl on all fours and bark like earlier? Or should I shamelessly wag my unnecessarily plump butt and lick Frey's hand? Whatever it is, as long as it satisfies Frey's sadism, it'll work.

I cast my eyes down, pretending to be terrified, and let my shoulders tremble. I pushed myself up, clutching the blanket that was sliding down my chest.

Hehe, anyone would think I'm scared out of my wits. This ought to light a fire under Frey's sadism—

"Kh?!"

Frey strode over without hesitation and climbed onto the bed. Without a moment's delay, she grabbed my throat and pinned me down. Her legs pressed down on my forearms, instantly crushing any chance of resistance.

Frey flashed a chillingly cold smile.

"Were you expecting something?"

Yes, y-yes. I was expecting it. For you to break Lucia like this, like this. So, so much. I was really looking forward to it.

"Ke, h-heck, ah, ugh..."

I wanted to answer her, but my throat was choked tight, and no sound came out. Her grip was insane. Saliva welled up and spilled past my lips.

"Were you expecting Yujin to save you?"

Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden? I was excited, but not for that reason. What is Frey even saying right now?

"Did you think you could hide it? If you wanted to keep it a secret, you should have controlled your facial expression better."

Ah.

Only then did I understand what Frey meant.

When Yujin knocked on the door, I had struggled to keep my lips from twitching. It wasn't because I wanted Yujin to save me. It was just that my heart was pounding at the thought of getting caught. I felt like I was going to burst into a silly grin, so I was trying to hold it back.

But to Frey, that struggle must have looked entirely different.

"You were the one who asked first, wasn't I, Lucia?"

"Ugh, cough, kh-heck..."

Oxygen rapidly depleted. Because of the pressure on my neck, the fundamental act of breathing—essential for survival—was completely blocked.

"Why are you making me the bad guy?"

"N-No, wait..."

"I was going to apologize. I was going to hold back. But you egged me on. You held onto me so I couldn't run, and you whispered to me."

"Huguu... haguu..."

It hurt. My neck hurt. It felt like it was going to break.

She squeezed my windpipe, compressing the blood vessels as if to crush them. My heart beat frantically to pump blood to my brain, but my vision only grew whiter. My mind began to turn cold.

"Why? Now that we're actually doing it, you can't take it? Do you want to run? Did you want to stop?"

"Haak, hik..."

"Then you should have said so. Instead of whimpering like a dog caught in the rain."

The corners of my eyes grew hot. Welling tears spilled over, trickling down to wet the bedsheets. It felt less like she was choking me and more like she was trying to rip my throat out. Her fingernails tore into my skin, adding a sharp, stinging pain to the pressure.

Even as I tried to writhe in agony, Frey, who had mounted me, pinned down my every movement. In the end, all I could do was flail my legs uselessly.

"That's right, Lucia. It's just as you said. I like hitting people. I like tormenting them."

"Uup, ugh...!"

"If you knew that, you should have run. Why did you come to me? Did you really not know it would turn out like this?"

As if determined to suffocate me to death, Frey didn't loosen her grip on my neck. A high-pitched ringing buzzed in my ears. Starbursts flashed in my eyes like exploding fireworks. My consciousness gradually drifted. I felt lightheaded, as if falling into a dream.

My choked, pain-filled gasps grew fainter. My meaningless struggles lost their strength. My thoughts began to fracture. Only the disjointed shards of my mind proved that I was still conscious.

I'm going to die. It hurts. It's hard. Breath. Air. Save me. Frey. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. No. It hurts. I hate it. It hurts.

But it feels so good. I feel like I'm dying, but it feels so incredibly good. So good. So good. More. Do it more. Choke me. Rip it off. Let my headless body twitch ugly while pissing itself.

Creak. Cre-e-eak.

A sound that should never come from a neck echoed. The sound of bones fracturing.

My vision plunged into darkness. Even the ringing in my ears fell silent. In the quiet stillness, I felt my body floating away.

Ah, ahh, aaaaa... I'm really... dying—

"You're really stupid."

Something dripped onto my face. It was hot. Judging by how it ran down, it was a liquid. It trickled down my cheek and reached my earlobe.

I felt the grip on my neck loosen slightly. No, it wasn't an illusion; it was real.

"Ke-heck, cough, cough, kh-heck!"

I let out a decidedly unmaidenly gasp of agony, sucking in air through my faint windpipe. Thanks to that, a dim light pierced the dark shroud that had been draping over my vision.

"You're so stupid it's not even funny."

Through her blue hair, I could see Frey's face. Contrary to her words, she still wore a sadistically distorted smile. It was an expression that screamed she wanted to grab my neck and twist it off this very instant.

"To think of someone like me as a friend, you're really an idiot."

But her heterochromatic eyes were bloodshot and red. Tears streamed down her face, pooling at her chin before dropping weakly onto me. Because her sadistic expression remained, she looked all the more pitiful.

Frey was smiling, but she was crying.

Ah, I thought instinctively.

Frey is broken.

Waking up from a dream isn't hard. All it takes is a break in the flow. Just a brief glimpse of the reality one has been ignoring.

The reason swallowed by excitement reclaimed its place.

Frey had seen it.

The expression Lucia wore when Yujin came.

The way she wanted to smile brightly, yet desperately tried to hold it back.

Why? Why?

You were the one who wanted this. You were the one who asked me to help. To torment you. To give me an excuse. You did all of that.

So why did you look like you wanted to be saved?

Even as she thought this, Frey already knew the answer. There was no way she didn't. It was a truth she had realized from the very beginning. She had simply pretended not to know, turning her head away to ignore it.

She hadn't wanted Yujin and Lucia to meet. She had lied that Lucia was asleep and chased Yujin away. Forcefully, she had done everything to keep Yujin from entering the hospital room.

What followed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was even more of a spectacle.

Lucia looked terrified, as if the lifeline she had finally found had been severed. Shivering, she covered herself with the blanket and curled up as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tightly as possible. She couldn't even meet her eyes, casting her gaze downward.

A truly pleasing sight / A truly sickening sight.

I wanted to torment her more / I wanted to run away immediately.

She was so hot I couldn't help but choke her / This isn't what I wanted to do.

I did nothing wrong / It's my fault.

Because Lucia brought this on herself / Did Lucia really want this?

Even if I break her, she'll just regenerate anyway, right? / I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me.

The pure white neck was fragile and thin. Just a little force would snap it.

Knowing this, Frey still applied strength. With a grip that could tear through steel, she squeezed Lucia's neck.

Lucia's face gradually turned pale. Yet, even drained of blood, her face was still beautiful.

She had asked to be hit, so she was tormenting her. That was all. Choking her, humiliating her—it was all what she had wanted.

But was this really right?

She had realized long ago that it wasn't. There was a limit to playing dumb. Blinded by pleasure, she had ignored the obvious truth.

Why had Lucia made such a request? Was it really to train her ability? Or to satisfy Frey's desires?

Maybe. Yes, she surely had those intentions too. Because Lucia was kind.

But her true heart.

What Lucia had really wanted...

Wasn't it for Frey to reject that request?

To prove that she wasn't dangerous. To show that she wouldn't wield violence, blinded by desire.

Because she wanted to trust her, because she wanted to believe in her.

Wasn't that why she had made a request whose true meaning anyone could see?

And yet, I...

Defeated by desire, she had turned away from the correct answer.

She had beaten Lucia. Stripped her naked and humiliated her. Made her crawl on all fours and bark like a dog. Smiled joyfully while choking her.

...How pathetic, truly.

She had been given a chance, not once, but multiple times.

And she had kicked every single one of them away.

"You're really stupid."

Yes, indeed. The stupidest person in the world.

If she wielded violence against another to satisfy her own pleasure, how was she any different from the wretched stepmother who had abused Aris?

"You're so stupid it's not even funny."

Her vision blurred. She couldn't see Lucia's face clearly. Lucia's suffocating figure, even her own hands squeezing her neck... everything was just a blur.

Then, suddenly, her vision cleared.

Only then did Frey realize she was crying. As her tears spilled over, her sight had returned to normal.

"To think of someone like me as a friend, you're really an idiot."

This time, the self-derisive sneer wasn't directed at herself. It was a sneer aimed at the naive girl.

She was so ignorant of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the world, so foolish.

Frey couldn't help but laugh at her.

...This was enough. She would wake Aris.

And she would show her everything. Even Aris would be furious. She would make sure Aris never met Lucia again. That would be enough.

She couldn't go on like this; she was terrified of herself. Even now, while feeling this guilty, she secretly wanted to keep doing it. She wanted to choke Lucia. She wanted to tear her limbs apart. She wanted to pull out her teeth and gouge out her eyes.

Lucia was far too good of a friend for a monster like her.

She might suit Aris, but not her.

A pervert who derived pleasure from hurting others deserved to disappear.

Frey tried to hold back her tears, but it wasn't easy. She had no choice but to wake Aris like this.

As she slowly released the strength in her hands choking Lucia's neck, just as she was about to tear down the wall she had built in her mind—

"..."

Lucia's hand touched Frey's cheek.

Though her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠face was pale from being choked, a faint smile hung on her lips.

Her twitching fingers reached the corners of Frey's eyes.

Wiping away the tears with her fingertips, Lucia said:

"It's... okay."

Frey didn't understand what was okay. She couldn't even speak properly because her neck had been squeezed so hard.

Wiping the tears away, Lucia gently pulled Frey's cheek.

Resisting would have been effortless, but Frey allowed herself to be pulled by that weak strength.

Her face was buried in Lucia's bare chest, which didn't even have underwear on.

Lucia hugged Frey tightly and stroked the back of her head. Patting her back, she whispered warmly into Frey's ear.

"It's okay."

"..."

"So don't cry."

"..."

"Your pretty face will be ruined, you know? Frey looks best when she's smiling."

"...Idiot."

Her face was a mess of tears, snot, and saliva.

She was completely naked, and her butt was a bruised mess of handprints.

Don't speak so gently to the one who did this to you.

"I like Frey. Because you're my most precious friend. My most precious friend in the whole world. I don't care what you do to me. My feelings won't change over something like this. So it's okay. No problem at all. Ehehe, I really love both Aris and Frey!"

Liar. She didn't even have the energy to argue. She didn't have the will to say that she couldn't forget the terrified face Lucia had made.

Frey collapsed into Lucia's embrace, utterly exhausted.

She didn't deserve this kind of warmth.

And yet, she didn't reject the warm hug.

Pat, pat.

Lucia's hand tapped her back in a steady rhythm.

Frey curled up like a kitten.

I'm sorry.

Leaving only that single whisper, Frey cried herself to sleep, drifting deep into the land of dreams.

I picked up the patient gown thrown under the bed and slipped it on. I pulled the blanket up to the chest of the soundly sleeping Frey.

Frey's eyes were swollen. It was because she had fallen asleep after crying so much.

Maybe I went too far.

I had egged on and triggered Frey when she had only come to apologize. What on earth did I do to a girl who genuinely came to say sorry?

I got excited all on my own, got disappointed all on my own, and then egged her on as if to get back at her. In the end, I made her cry.

Yes, it's all Lucia's fault. I knew exactly what her tendencies were, yet I didn't consider them at all.

She was a sadist. She derived pleasure from hitting and tormenting others. The exact opposite of Lucia. A born sadist.

But Frey was also Aris. Even if their outward traits differed, their core was ultimately the same.

Which meant she was incredibly kind.

When swallowed by desire and excitement, she would unleash her sadism, but once her reason returned, she was bound to regret it.

Knowing that, I still egged her on and made her lose control... Lucia, you need to reflect on this.

I spun around in front of the mirror.

After striking a pose that emphasized my butt, I poked my head out to check its condition.

Wow, my butt is bright red. Handprints were clustered all over it like flower petals.

I look like a total monkey. Is Lucia a monkey?

Just like I did on top of Frey's lap, I wiggled my hips.

I bounced my pelvis this way and that, swaying my butt.

How lewd. How degenerate. It's the posture of a female beast tempting a male.

Should I try this on Yujin next time? Fufu, just kidding.

Since I couldn't leave it like this forever, I activated Super Regeneration.

My lips, which had been torn from her rough handling, my flushed cheeks, and my bruised butt cheeks were restored to their original state in an instant.

"Huh?"

I tilted my head in confusion.

Wait, I was planning to do it slowly to enjoy the lingering pain.

But the regeneration speed was much faster than I expected.

What is this? Why did it regenerate so quickly?

I stared intently at my smooth butt in the mirror. The red handprints were completely gone.

It was a minor injury anyway, and the regeneration itself was no big deal, but... the speed of the regeneration was on a whole different level.

"Could it be...?"

I immediately bit the back of my hand.

My fangs tore through the skin, and a sickening crunch echoed from the bone.

My thighs trembled from the pain, but I focused on something else.

I activated Super Regeneration on the wound on the back of my hand.

Watching the wound close at an incredible speed, I muttered in a dazed voice.

"My ability... it grew..."

...Frey was right. Why does this actually work?