Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Counterattack, Poor Yokai
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Exorcists inherently possess resistance to hypnosis induced by spells.
Not only do they have a certain level of innate resistance, but it's also basic protocol for exorcists to maintain spell-based defenses at all times, preparing for external magical attacks.
However, during her 'training' at that mansion, Ryeong had dismantled each of those spell defenses herself, one by one.
Her resistance to hypnosis had been forcibly lowered, and rather than resisting spells like hypnosis, her body had been conditioned to accept them without any fight.
As a result, Ryeong was now little more than a pathetic, hypnosis-vulnerable bitch. A easy mark for any yokai's hypnosis—just a light seduction, and she'd fall right into it.
'But then, she could fall for some other bastard's tricks.'
Dom, who had overseen it all and turned Ryeong into this hypnosis-weak slut, pondered what came next.
After all the effort she'd put into preparing this delicious meal, what if some interloper swooped in and stole her away?
To prevent that, she'd taken additional measures.
Over the month-long training period, she'd imprinted on Ryeong exactly who her true master was.
Ryeong was still a hypnosis-weak slut.
But no matter what hypnosis she fell under, no matter the situation, the deep-rooted recognition of her 'true master' would never change.
It took precedence over any hypnosis imprinted afterward and could never be erased.
No matter what hypnosis ensnared her, Ryeong would forever belong to the Chairman and Dom. That fact was absolute.
The moment I came to, I didn't fully grasp the situation.
But I instantly knew I'd been tricked somehow, and that the man in front of me was the enemy. That was enough to act.
"Ryeong~ You okay?"
"...No problems..."
I took a quick look at myself, then at Dom.
We were both naked. Plenty of traces suggested we'd just had sex. The guy I'd flung away moments ago had even been balls-deep inside me.
...Nothing weird about that. A guy shoving his dick into a pussy is perfectly natural. Not that I'm a girl.
Anyway, that's what the training at the mansion had been like. So it wasn't strange.
'The problem is, he's the enemy.'
Sex between a man and a woman isn't weird. But if the partner's an enemy you need to take down, then fucking them is. Or something like that.
『────!!』
As that thought crossed my mind, a hideous roar echoed from the direction I'd hurled the man—the ruined wall and beyond.
Not so much a groan of pain as pure agony.
This voice, this aura—it wasn't human. Nor was it a mere beast's.
"...What the hell is that?"
"Beats me."
"Why's a yokai──here?"
Through the crumbled wall and rising dust, its form came into view.
The man who'd flown back was covered in blood, his body twisted grotesquely in places... but those wounds were self-repairing. His muscles swelled massively, expanding.
His skin tone shifted. Fangs protruded, claws lengthened from his fingers. Muscles bulged like they might burst, his body doubling in size in an instant.
No way to mistake it for anything but a yokai. The blatant yokai power and stench wafting from him at this close range confirmed it.
"Could be a yokai in disguise as a human, or maybe he turned from human into one. That 'blessing' was suspicious... So, Ryeong, what'll you do? He might still be human."
The answer was obvious. No need to hesitate.
With a casual flick of spiritual power, something materialized in my hand like it was sucked in.
A foot-long wooden stick carved from a thousand-year-old peach tree branch.
Gripping it, I charged at the enemy mid-transformation.
"It hurts, so much pain...! I won't forgive you! Won't forgive──"
"And what if you don't?"
No mercy. No holding back.
The only thought in my head was to avoid damaging the house or building—as I quietly swung the wooden stick down at an angle.
That was it.
The yokai's body split apart. Not in one line, but shattered into multiple pieces at once.
The cut surfaces burned white-hot with my spiritual flames—flames that consumed only demonic essence, nothing else.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah...!!"
The yokai screamed in torment but was soon completely incinerated and gone.
All that remained on the floor was the necklace he'd clung to—the one he'd called his 'blessing'.
After dealing with the yokai, Dom filled me in.
Apparently, she'd fallen for the same trick as me but 'happened' to snap out of it.
"Looks like they used some special drug. Knocked us out cold, so we got gang-raped without a fight☆"
She said "gang-raped" so casually. And I accepted it just as easily.
It wasn't strange at all. Males with dicks get the urge to rape attractive women. No need to take it seriously—that's what I'd learned. Or something.
Not that I'm a woman. Anyway.
"...? Something feels off..."
"What's off?"
"......Nah, nothing."
A vague unease lingered. But looking into Dom's eyes, it faded fast.
Right, must've been the drug. Can't be helped. Even exorcists are helpless against purely physical drugs, not spells.
Sure, there are spells to detect poison and build tolerance, but some drugs you just can't resist.
And this one sounded like an aphrodisiac, not a deadly toxin. No threat to life, so an exorcist's powers were useless.
Anyway, Dom waking first saved us.
Hearing her voice snapped me out of it too.
And thanks to that, we gathered some intel.
Lucky, or just things falling into place.
'Sacrifices... Kidnapping women, dosing them with suspicious drugs...'
The same crap that happened to Dom and me probably happened to the other women here.
I didn't catch the bit about the 'blessing' or whatever.
But words like 'sacrifice' and 'that one' stuck clear. And what they implied.
"They mentioned other exorcists too, right?"
Dom filled in the gaps. Yeah, I'd heard that.
—Your comrades are probably there too, the ones you're looking for.
The Chairman had said that when we took the job.
That lent credibility to his words.
Lots to sort out. For day one of the investigation, we'd scored way more info than expected.
But it wasn't over. More intel to squeeze out.
And the means to get it was right here.
"H-Hiiiik...!!"
The terrified whimper came from the last surviving cultist male.
Not the one I'd taken down, but the bastard who'd fucked Dom.
She'd knocked him out without a scratch somehow, and now that he was awake, seeing the trashed room and his buddy's remains had broken his will completely.
I'd sealed his movements with a spell, but terror had half-transformed him into yokai form anyway.
So he was a yokai too.
Dom and I stared him down. She grinned sweetly; I didn't smile. But I felt endlessly cheerful.
"Shall we interrogate him, then? You got this, Ryeong? Or is the half-human state a problem?"
"As if. Leave it to me."
Human laws don't apply to yokai.
Torture's fair game. All the cruel methods forbidden in the human world—you can unleash them freely. And there are ways to maximize pain unique to yokai.
"I'd appreciate quick answers, but not too quick. Let me have some fun too... Got it?"
As I picked up a few tools and approached, the bound half-human, half-yokai cultist screamed like he was about to cry.
But with the soundproof barrier up, he could scream all he wanted. Hell, I hoped he would.
Yokai screams of agony are horrific to hear... but they make your heart race in the best way.
It was a very productive time.
Not just fun—I steadily gathered info through the interrogation.
Best of both worlds: eat the pheasant, eat the egg, clear the ditch, catch the crawfish, sister's happy, brother-in-law's happy... Wait, last one's off? Doesn't matter.
"We can't just crash here as is, though."
By the time we wrapped up, dawn was breaking. A faint blue light seeped through outside.
Hard to tell if it was real sunrise through the fog, though.
Just as we finished and started cleaning up, Dom glanced around the mess and said that.
I followed her gaze around the room.
Yeah, the wall I'd smashed, the cultists' party remnants and trash, the blood and flesh splatters from interrogation—for this hour, it was too much to tidy fully.
And sleeping soundly in a trashed house like this? No thanks. Exorcists don't fuss over beds, but this base was compromised anyway—bad for security.
"I've scouted a spot nearby. We're probably being watched, but if we play dumb, we can use it no problem... What do you think?"
"......Sounds good."
No better options. Plus, there's a spell to disguise us—low-level yokai and folks won't recognize us.
With that, we packed light, tidied minimally, gave the interrogated yokai a final once-over, and left the rundown villa.
The cheap inn we headed to with Dom wasn't far.