The Red Mask and the Sun Sword
Ugh, nauseating. A fishy stench reeked from the lump of flesh. It clung tightly to my face, wriggling and squirming. Anyone with a weak stomach would have vomited on the spot. Honestly, even my own stomach was churning, bile rising up my throat. The only reason I couldn't throw up was because my mouth was completely blocked. The inside of the Red Fox Mask was packed with a grotesque mass of flesh.
The moment Astaroth forced the mask onto my face, the blood-red mass began to move in bizarre, unnatural ways. It squirmed like a slime, forcing its way past my lips and sliding down my throat. If it had stopped there, it would have been a mercy. Instead, tentacles began boring into my nostrils and digging deep into my ear canals. I couldn't breathe, and the sheer, unprecedented agony made my eyes roll back into my head.
"Ah... aaagh..."
Tentacle play is a bit too niche, even for me... Not that I completely hate it, though.
My groans of pain were swallowed by the mass of flesh. The strength drained from my legs, and before I knew it, I was thrashing on the floor. Unable to stand—no, not even conceiving the thought of standing—my limbs convulsed as if I were being electrocuted. My head throbbed. It burned. My blacked-out vision flashed white, then quickly decayed into a sickly yellow. My heart hammered wildly. It felt as though poison had been injected directly into my bloodstream. A sensation like snakes slithering through my veins wracked my body. My legs tangled together. I thrashed, pounding the ground. My back arched like a bow. I clawed at the floor, not caring even as my fingernails began to tear away.
"Ugh, urgh... ha, aaagh..."
I gasped for air like someone undergoing water torture. Because the flesh-mass blocked both my mouth and nose, the sounds escaping me were bizarre and muffled. It felt as though a power drill was boring into my skull. Like a drill bit pressed against my forehead, spinning and grinding away the bone, scrambling my brain. No matter how much I thrashed, the mask remained fused to my face, refusing to budge. The agony of having my head split open and my body shattered persisted. This was. Truly.
'It's... it's the best...!'
My brain was being violated. The neural pathways inside my skull felt like they were being roasted golden-brown, turning soft and mushy like dough. An imprint was being forcibly injected into me. The more I resisted, the more intense the agony became. Slowly, like ink bleeding into water, it was staining and warping the existence known as Lucia. Ah... this is getting a little dangerous... I might actually get addicted to this...
"Ahahaha! You wanted this yourself, didn't you? Why are you resisting so much? Just accept it. Then it won't hurt anymore."
Which meant, of course, that if I kept resisting, the pain would continue. It was a completely different flavor of pain. In the month since I became Lucia, I had done plenty of self-harm. I had severed limbs. I had pulled out my own teeth and fingernails. I had carved up my flesh with daggers, snapped my bones, gouged out my eyes, and cracked my own skull. I had twisted my arms in directions they were never meant to bend, and I had hung myself, thrashing in the air as I suffocated. But this was a first. It felt like... 'I' was being erased. My consciousness, my subjectivity. The will of the character named Lucia was being chipped away at their whim. They were smashing it with a hammer and chisel, forcing it into whatever shape they desired. It was agonizing. Terrifying. Painful...
With hands slick with blood and missing fingernails, I clutched at my face. The cold texture of the mask seeped through my fingertips. The strength slowly drained from my legs, which had been thrashing pathetically like an electrocuted frog. My muscles felt entirely melted, devoid of any power. Having read the novel, I had a decent idea of what stage this was. The preparations were complete. Up until now, it was just the phase of breaking down my physical and mental barriers. Now that they had crushed everything standing in their way, they were beginning the process of erasing my ego in earnest.
"Ugh... urgh... aaah..."
This is... bad... I was too optimistic, thinking it wouldn't be a big deal since I'm used to pain... I thought I could endure it, that I could just laugh off the mask's brainwashing and enjoy it... But this isn't something that can be overcome by sheer willpower. There's a reason the only countermeasure was described as 'transcendent' mental strength. At this rate, I'm going to end up as a brainless slave... I have to resist for now. But how long can I hold out...? Yeah, I have no idea... Still, I won't become a slave without a fight. Lucia has incredibly strong convictions! She's destined to become a magnificent hero in the future! I will endure for even a second longer and overcome this horrific pain!
Squish.
"Ugh, keff, ha, haah, aaagh... AAAAAAAAGH—!"
Impossible! It's impossible! I'm sorry! I won't act cocky anymore...! But mind control (physical) is cheating! My brain! That's my brain! My precious brain! I'm sorry! Don't stab it! Hieeeek! It's breaking! It's breaking! It's not a metaphor, the tentacles are literally scrambling my brain, uaaah-eeeh-aaah-oooh-aaah!
"Ahahahahahahat! How pathetic. Lucia, this isn't a restroom, you know?"
Drip. Squish. It's wet—!
My skirt? My skirt is hot! Hot? What is hot? And what was a skirt again? Ugh, I feel like throwing up. Throw up? Throwing... up? What was that? What is this? Huh? What? Me? Me? Meee? Whuuut? Wh-what... is...?
"Your regenerative ability is certainly impressive. I'll give you that. Usually, whether it's a human or a monster, they die instantly when I poke holes in their brain like this. Hmm, you'll be quite useful. Your combat power is lacking, but... well, that's a problem we can easily solve by fusing you with a suitable subject..."
"...Stop. Stop this, please."
"Oh? Is that how someone begging for a favor is supposed to speak?"
Th-this... th-this voice... Te-teacher... Angelica...
"I beg of you... please... stop this... Do it to me instead..."
"Haaah!"
I-I did it! I regenerated the brain tissue scrambled by the tentacles, uwoooogh-aaah-eeeh—!! It's break-breaking... ngh! My brain, my brain is melting...! Ah... At this rate, I'm really... going to become an idiot, a total idiot... No... Lucia isn't an idiot. Don't make me an idiot. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay, I get it. I-I'll stop... I'll stop being human... I'll become Lady Astaroth's slave—
Right then, a sudden wave of intense heat swept over my face. The surface of my skin flared hot.
Whoosh!
The disgusting stench of something burning assaulted my nose. Nosebleeds dripped down, wetting my lips. Through a vision blurred with tears, I saw something. A black, burning mass of flesh. The shattered mask was covered in ash. I blinked a few times, trying to focus my blurry eyes. A shadow was looming over me. What is it? A person? Crimson flames flickered in the dark.
"Cut it out."
Someone spoke, their voice sharp and cutting. It was the voice of a boy whose voice had already cracked. It sounded familiar... but I couldn't quite place it.
"What's so funny? Why are you laughing? Do you find this situation amusing?"
I saw his back. Hair as pitch-black as Astaroth's. Orange flames blazed fiercely along a blood-red blade.
"People are not your toys. They are not things you can trample and mock at your whim. What is so damn enjoyable about this? Is pain, is the screaming of others... really that amusing to you?"
His voice was low and heavy, as if he were barely suppressing a boiling rage.
"Hi, Oppa. Is your forehead okay? I thought you'd be knocked out, but you're surprisingly sturdy."
Astaroth waved her hand, giggling. Slowly, my consciousness cleared. I was finally able to recognize the figure standing before me.
Yujin.
Why is he here...? Did he follow me? Was he worried because I just recklessly ran off? I'm grateful he broke the mask, but... why did you come here of all places? You don't even have Super Regeneration. What are you going to do if you get hurt? Think about your position. You're the protagonist. If something happens to you, this world is finished. Well, I suppose you don't know what kind of existence you are, do you? You're far more important than Angelica or me. Astaroth probably won't kill Yujin outright, but she'll definitely toy with him like she did with me. If his brain gets scrambled like mine... Ah, no, absolutely not!
"R-run... away..."
My lips, smeared with saliva and blood, refused to move as I wanted. They felt paralyzed. Seeing how even my Super Regeneration wasn't easily fixing this, it seemed to be a mental issue rather than a physical one. With great effort, I reached out. Grabbing the hem of Yujin's pants, I squeezed out whatever voice I had left.
"Take... Te-teacher... and go... quickly..."
To be honest, I didn't know if Astaroth would just let them go... but running away still had a better chance of survival than fighting her head-on.
"...No, I'm not running."
Yujin spoke firmly. No, don't be so stubborn! Just carry Angelica on your back and run! I'll buy us some time somehow. Since I can't do it with raw power... uh, maybe a naked dogeza? I'll do whatever it takes to tie Astaroth down, so hurry!
"Running away once is enough."
What are you talking about?! When did you ever run away?!
Yujin leveled his sword. The Red Sword, blazing like the sun. As if to show he didn't have a single shred of intention to flee, the blade glowed redder than ever before.
...Well, sure. Standing his ground against an overwhelmingly powerful foe is certainly fitting for a protagonist. He doesn't enjoy pain like Lucia does, and he won't heal instantly if he gets hurt, yet he still stands against a transcendent being far beyond human comprehension. I can certainly admire that courage, but... this isn't courage, it's just reckless bravado...
"To think you'd break the very last mask I had left..."
Astaroth let out a deep sigh. Then, she spoke with utter disdain.
"Oppa, I guess a flick to the forehead wasn't enough. This time, I'll have to hit you a little harder—"
She couldn't finish her sentence.
Yujin's figure vanished like a shimmering haze. Dust exploded into the air as he instantly traversed the space between them.
Slash.
A hairline crack appeared on Astaroth's Red Fox Mask. Her puffy black dress tore open. A few droplets of blood drifted through the air before instantly vaporizing into nothingness.
"Huh?"
Astaroth let out a dumbfounded sound. And I was doing the exact same.
He cut her? Astaroth? Yujin did?! Even Angelica, who is practically a god, couldn't leave a single scratch on her? Uh... what?