Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Public Show (3)
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'Useless at the crucial moment.'
I swallowed a curse.
If things continued like this, the show would be a total disaster.
If she pulled off some completely unexpected act of defiance, not only would I be in danger, but her life wouldn't be guaranteed either.
I had to find a way. A way to convey my true feelings to her.
I stepped up onto the stage.
I approached the fallen Han Yeri.
She looked up at me with a pained expression.
Her eyes were filled with resentment, anger, and deep despair.
"You little Pink bitch! How dare you rebel?"
I deliberately shouted obscenities at the top of my lungs and grabbed her by the hair.
It was an act, conscious of the demons listening around us.
But my touch wasn't rough.
I didn't grip her hair tightly; instead, I gently cradled it.
"Looks like your training was insufficient. I'll make you feel it right down to your bones."
I brought my face close to her ear.
It must have looked like I was about to bite her earlobe.
But my lips merely brushed ever so lightly against the edge of her ear as they moved.
Trust me.
I made no sound.
I conveyed the message solely through the movement of my lips and my breath.
You can sing of hope again.
Han Yeri's body twitched.
Her pupils trembled.
She was focusing intently on the sensation of my lips.
A tiny seed of doubt seemed to sprout in her heart, filled with betrayal and resentment.
What the hell is this guy?
I nipped lightly at her earlobe.
And once more, I whispered solely with the shape of my mouth.
Wait.
Han Yeri's breath hitched, as if frozen.
That single short word seemed to embed itself in her mind.
Wait.
For what?
Another despair? Or...?
I released her.
Prism Pink sat slumped on the floor, staring up at me in a daze.
Her hand cupped her ear.
As if the warmth of my lips from moments ago still lingered there.
"Alright, let's start over! You Pink bitch! Get it right this time!"
I yelled as I stepped down from the stage.
The rehearsal continued.
Han Yeri no longer resisted.
She moved mechanically.
Transforming, pretending to attack, collapsing at my signal, assuming humiliating poses.
But her eyes had changed.
No longer filled with anger and despair, but with a gaze lost in deep thought.
It was as if she were endlessly questioning herself.
Can I trust this man?
After the rehearsal ended, I escorted her back to Room 404.
The moment we entered the room, she retreated to the corner.
I didn't approach her. I stood by the door.
Silence flowed between us.
"Dinner time."
I spoke up.
My voice was calm. Not the acting tone.
Of course, this room was bugged, but at this moment, I was willing to take the risk.
"Get some rest."
I said briefly and left the room.
The heavy clang of the iron door echoed as it closed.
Standing in the corridor, I let out a sigh.
The dice had been cast.
Once the evening show began, there would be no turning back.
I hoped she understood my message.
And that she would trust me.
Nipple whispered quietly.
"Hey, but when you were talking to her ear just with your lips earlier, it was kinda sexy? Did you see Pinky's face turn red?"
"Shut up."
"For real. I checked her heart rate, and it spiked when you put your lips there. Didn't seem like just fear."
His words made a corner of my chest tingle.
Maybe, just maybe.
Our hearts had connected.
That evening.
Just before the Public Training Show was set to begin.
"Even Lady Catriana is coming?"
My voice trembled slightly.
Catriana, ranked 7th in the demon hierarchy, known as the 'Desire Queen.' The highest-ranking demon overseeing our training facility.
For her to come in person meant the scale of this show was far bigger than I'd imagined.
Camilla nodded indifferently while applying lipstick in front of the mirror.
Her eyes in the reflection gleamed coldly.
"Yes. So don't mess up. It's not just your life on the line—my reputation is too."
She pursed her reddened lips with a soft smack.
"Don't worry. I won't disappoint you."
I bowed at the waist.
Camilla hummed contentedly and left the waiting room. Once the door closed, silence returned to the room.
I sank deep into the sofa. Looking up at the ceiling, I watched dust dance around the fluorescent lights.
Catriana's coming...
It wouldn't just be to gawk at a corrupted magical girl. Demons were a race that calculated benefits meticulously.
A 100% completed magical girl.
Typically, fully corrupted magical girls became the demons' loyal hunting dogs.
Hunting their former comrades, subjugating the Resistance Army, solidifying demon rule—their most powerful weapon.
To humanity, they had become the worst nightmare and symbol of despair.
And humanity had ultimately been defeated.
But the truth Nipple had told me was slightly different.
Hey, Nipple. Explain it one more time.
I closed my eyes and called to him.
"Ugh, so annoying. How many times do I have to say it?"
Nipple grumbled.
"The Goddess corruption show isn't just for the demons' entertainment. It's a ritual to weaken the Goddess. But the Goddess's divine power is so strong that even after ten years of relentless humiliation broadcast worldwide, her corruption level barely hit the 30% mark. Just maintaining the status quo with all that shame and depravity."
His voice buzzed in my ear.
"But when a magical girl gets captured and fully corrupted? That's a whole different story. Magical girls are beings who received a share of the Goddess's power—like terminals. When one terminal gets completely infected with the virus, it damages the main server. Numerically, it's about 0.1%, but accumulated, it can punch holes in the Goddess's barrier."
So? What happens if we make Prism Pink 100%?
I swallowed hard.
"The numbers go up, obviously. The demon system will show 'Goddess Corruption +0.1%.' That's probably why Catriana's coming—to verify that 0.1% achievement personally and bask in the glory of contributing to the Goddess's downfall. Your training facility falls under her jurisdiction, after all."
"But..."
He cackled.
"Our 100% is fake, right? Just the shell corrupted, core intact. The system shows the numbers rising, but in reality, no damage to the Goddess. In fact..."
He paused dramatically.
"It might even send a 'false signal' to the Goddess. A signal that 'hope still exists.' That gives her the strength to endure. Like a vaccine. And only if the Goddess survives can we overthrow the demon world and restore me!"
I could almost feel the invisible Nipple clenching his fist.
I clenched mine too.
This wasn't just saving one person.
It was a grand con changing humanity's fate.
The waiting room door opened, and a human staff member poked his head in.
"Trainer, standby five minutes. Please bring Prism Pink to backstage."
"Got it."
I stood up.
Glanced in the mirror, straightened my clothes.
Let's go.
To complete the con of the century.
I headed to the solitary room where Prism Pink waited.
She sat on the bed, wearing the dress I'd given her yesterday, staring blankly at the wall.
She turned her head at the sound of me entering.
It felt different from under the stage lights. Her pale skin, slender neckline, deeply hollowed collarbone.
She slowly rose from the bed.
"Ready?"
I asked.
She glared at me wordlessly.
Her gaze was hot and sharp.
The betrayal from days of training, torture, and false hope.
She didn't trust me.
But had the brief lip message I'd left at her ear that morning gotten through?
Trust me.
Was she mulling it over? Or grinding her teeth, dismissing it as another deception?
Either way, what mattered now was her following my script on stage.
I led Han Yeri to the central stage curtain.
Sensing the audience, cheers erupted from beyond the curtain like an explosion.
"Waaaaah!"
The roar of thousands of demons threatened to burst my eardrums.
The sound reeked of blood, desire, and madness.
I took a deep breath and parted the curtain.
Dazzling lights poured down.
A massive hall.
The shapes of demons filling the seats shimmered hazily.
Orcs, goblins, succubi, and high demons in human form.
Their eyes gleamed toward the stage center.
Among them, in the highest VIP seat, one woman caught my eye.
A woman in a red dress, legs crossed, holding a wine glass.
Catriana.
The moment her gaze locked onto us, a chill ran down my spine.
Like a giant serpent eyeing its prey.
I released Han Yeri's hand and walked to the center of the stage.
"Ladies, gentlemen! And great demons!"
I grabbed the mic and shouted. The cheers died down.
"Tonight's show is the final fall of a corrupted hero! And a new beginning!"