A Beautiful Corpse
I almost died. If the closet rod hadn't broken, I'd still be dangling there right now. Yes, it was a truly fruitful experience. I discovered a weakness of Super Regeneration, didn't I? No matter how quickly any wound heals, strangulation renders me completely helpless. Because I can't breathe—or more accurately, because blood flow to the brain is cut off—my consciousness just snaps. Still, thanks to Super Regeneration, brain death didn't occur. Normally, the brain would die within minutes, but even though my feet didn't touch the ground for several hours and I lost consciousness, I was perfectly fine. I just couldn't regain consciousness because the pressure on my neck was constant. I'm still so inexperienced. I overestimated myself. The current Lucia is weak. Compared to the future, fully-grown Lucia, who could casually reattach her own severed head after being decapitated, my Super Regeneration is still weak. That's why I fainted so helplessly. If I were decapitated right now, wouldn't I just become a living corpse until someone put my head back on? Or maybe a new head would just grow? I really want to test it out... He-het, but that's impossible for now.
"I need to work harder." I realized my shortcomings. Then shouldn't I put in even more effort to overcome this weakness? Judging by how long I had been hanging there, it was now the crack of dawn. I wasn't sleepy at all. I cleaned up the messy floor, stripped off all my clothes, and tossed them into the washing machine. Eu-he, wetting my pants... no, my skirt, at this age is a bit embarrassing. Since I'd sweated so much, I stepped into the shower room for a quick wash, but then stopped, figuring I'd just get drenched in sweat again soon anyway. I walked back out stark naked. In the full-length mirror in the corner, Lucia's curvaceous body was on full display. Hmm... Honestly, I don't feel a thing looking at it. Lucia is incredibly beautiful, right? Her toned body lines are lovely and plenty erotic. Her breasts are reasonably large, and her flawless white skin is definitely sexy. But why isn't there a single shred of sexual arousal? My inner masculinity, what are you doing? When I first became Lucia, it bothered me, but after just a few days, I quickly became numb to it. I guess I'm not the kind of pervert who gets turned on by their own body. Well, it's not important right now, so let's move on.
I picked up the whip I had set aside. Since the closet rod was broken, there was nowhere left to hang it, so I had already untied the knot. I had discovered a fatal weakness in the Super Regeneration I thought was omnipotent. Thank you, Aris. It's all thanks to the book you recommended that I learned this. I pulled the whip taut and wrapped it around my neck. Phew, preparation complete. I took a deep breath. Since I wouldn't be able to breathe freely anymore. I slowly applied force to both hands holding the whip. At first, I pulled with only enough strength to lift a pair of chopsticks, then gradually increased the pressure. Then, in an instant, I pulled with all my might.
"Hrgh?!" An immense pressure squeezed my neck. As my airway was blocked, my breath was cut off. The blood that should have flowed up the blood vessels to my brain pooled uselessly around my neck.
"Kh, ah, keff... ah, ack..." My face flushed red. Lucia's face reflected in the mirror had turned into a well-ripened apple. It hurts. It was different from when I hung myself. Unlike then, when only my body weight compressed my neck, now my own hands were directly strangling me. It felt like my neck bones were going to snap. My legs trembled violently. The leather whip grew slick with the sweat pooling in my palms. Thump. The sound of my heartbeat. Ah, this is so familiar. My vision spun. My wide-open eyes were bloodshot and red. He, he-het... Lucia. That face looks so ridiculous. The Lucia in the mirror collapses, sinking to the floor. Yet, the strength in my two hands pulling the whip taut remained unchanged. My neck hurts. It hurts. Once again, the skin tore roughly, staining the whip red. My flushed face gradually turned pale. A face completely drained of blood. It felt hot below my neck, but everything above it was turning cold.
"Ah, ack... keff..." I had tried this in front of the mirror out of curiosity about what I'd look like while being strangled, and this is honestly a masterpiece. It completely ruins such a pretty face. The veins on my forehead bulge, and my complexion turns corpse-like. Making a face a girl should never make, letting out groans she should never utter, my arms and legs shuddered as if electrocuted. Lucia, you look hilarious. Like a frog. Such a pretty face, yet so hideous. What is this? It's pathetic. And yet.
"He... he-het... ah... he..." It's so erotic. I think this is the first time I've actually felt aroused by Lucia's body. Show me more. Show me more of your filthy, degraded self. Do you like this? You love this, don't you? More strength poured into my arms. My consciousness began to fade. It felt like fireworks were exploding inside my head. Crack. I heard an ominous sound, but I ignored it. The whip trembled. It pressed hard against the back of my neck, digging in bit by bit. Bit by bit. Slowly. Gradually.
"Ah..." I couldn't even groan anymore. The world turned black and white. The edges of my vision began to flicker. Crunch. I heard the sound of grinding bones. Though blood couldn't flow up, the excruciating pain reached my brain instantly. The whip dug into my neck. Tearing through the skin, entering inside. Deeper. Even deeper.
"Hi... hit..." Ah, this is bad. I think I'm getting addicted. And then—snap. My neck snapped. Yes, Lucia. That expression. It's absolutely beautiful.
Streams of water flowed along the curves of her body. The hot water spraying from the showerhead caressed her entire body, starting from her golden hair. Ever since becoming Lucia, she had started showering frequently. Ah, don't misunderstand. It wasn't for any insidious purpose. She just liked hot water. After washing, she felt refreshed and pleasantly drowsy. Steam rose. The shower room was already so filled with steam that it was hard to see even an inch ahead. Turning the faucet all the way to the left, she bathed in the hot water. Since she had sweated a lot during the dawn, she made sure to wash thoroughly. By the time she finished showering until her body turned flushed and red and stepped outside, the window was already brightly lit. In the end, she had pulled another all-nighter. Still, since she had been knocked out for quite a long time, wasn't that basically the same as sleeping? At any rate, she wasn't sleepy. Today was the weekend. There was no need to go to the Academy. She thought about taking a quick nap now but shook her head. She wasn't sleepy, and her stamina was overflowing, so there was no need to force herself to sleep. Time is precious. She had to use it without wasting any.
Wrapped only in a white towel over her naked body, she sat on a chair. On the desk lay the blood-stained leather whip. It had served her well. But whips weren't meant for that kind of use. She coiled it up and stuffed it into a drawer. Next time, she would definitely use the whip for its original purpose. Come to think of it, they say the cracking sound a whip makes when swung is the sound of its tip breaking the speed of sound. If hit incorrectly, it wouldn't just end with a bruise; flesh would be torn right off. "...I should definitely try using it next time." Since her room was cramped, she'd have to go somewhere spacious. Somewhere deserted would be best. After all, she wouldn't want to accidentally hit someone else, right?
Her very first weekend since becoming Lucia. What she would do had already been decided a long time ago. She was going outside the Academy, into the city. Since she had to live here as long as she attended the Academy as Lucia, it was best to get familiar with the local geography. Plus, there were some items she needed. First, she had to find a hardware store, and there were various other things she needed for her future daily life. Hmm? Did she have money? Well, of course. Although Lucia was an orphan with no guardian, she didn't have to worry about money. All students at the Academy received financial support. This was a flat-rate allowance distributed by the Academy to every student. It wasn't enough to live in luxury, but it was plenty to get by. On top of that, Supernatural Ability Users could receive government subsidies just by applying. They didn't just hand it out to anyone, though; certain conditions had to be met to qualify. Like being a minor orphan with no guardian like Lucia, or being unable to engage in social activities for some reason and having no income. It was a sort of investment. Since Supernatural Ability Users were obligated to fight the monsters from the other world, it was a form of welfare provided to them.
As time passed, the importance of Supernatural Ability Users grew day by day. The invasions of interdimensional monsters continued, and only Supernatural Ability Users could stand against them. No matter how much weapons or technology advanced over the past three hundred years, that fact remained unchanged. Ordinary humans found it overwhelming just to face a monster. Of course, it wasn't completely impossible. Quite a long time ago, when a Rift in Space opened in the deep sea and interdimensional monsters invaded, a passing sailor steered his steamship straight into a monster, sinking it. That incident proved that a human with strong mental fortitude could resist the Mental Pollution of interdimensional monsters even without a Supernatural Ability. But how many humans like that actually existed? In the end, fighting the monsters from the other world was the duty of Supernatural Ability Users.
She dried her hair and tossed the white towel wrapped around her body into the washing machine. After pondering in front of the closet about what to wear, she just pulled out her school uniform. She didn't really want to wear her uniform on the weekend, but Lucia had no interest in fashion, so she barely had any clothes to wear. At most, a white dress with frills or some plain, characterless T-shirts. She'd have to buy a few clothes when she went into the city. Hmm? Was there any discomfort in wearing women's clothes? It's not like I'm wearing them on my original body, so what does it matter? Think about it. The ultimate completion of fashion is the face. And Lucia is incredibly pretty. She's the heroine, after all. Don't you want to see her wearing this and that at least once? Not that I have any intention of putting on a fashion show, though. Buying a few casual outfits will be more than enough. Standing in front of the mirror, she checked to see if anything was out of place. Great, no problems. Wallet packed, preparations complete. Shall we head out? It's still early in the morning, but there's nothing wrong with being diligent. Well then, I'm off.