Enduring
"So what do we do?"
I sank deep into the chair and asked. The air in the room hung heavy and still. Only the steady patter of rain outside drummed against the windowpane. Each raindrop left a translucent trail as it slid down the glass.
"We need to prepare more first. We need more ways to capture Berial. When she shows up, I'll cast my blessing on you. You should be able to withstand her hypnosis."
Tia's voice was clear. It came from the small box on the desk. I cracked open the lid and peeked inside. Tia gazed up at me, curled up on a bed of cotton batting.
"Hmm, alright, I'll hold out a bit longer. But hey, you're not moaning anymore?"
When I asked, Tia hesitated for a moment before replying.
"The corruption show finally ended... They're transferring me to a prison now."
She rubbed her tiny chest with her small hand.
"Good thing. Get some real sleep, at least."
I closed the lid again. Her form vanishing into the darkness tugged at my heart.
The next morning, in the Correction Facility lobby.
The familiar click of heels echoed. Click-clack. Click-clack.Berial had returned. This time, she wore a deep navy dress. A scarf draped elegantly around her neck swayed with her movements. She stood in the center of the lobby, waiting for me—like a movie replaying the exact same scene from yesterday.
"Kang Jinwoo."
She called my name. I approached her. Drawn in naturally. I couldn't resist. With each step, my heart pounded irregularly. A stronger wave of perfume hit me than yesterday—rose mingled with something sweetly intoxicating. I want to breathe it in more.
"Shall we have another cup of coffee today?"
She smiled as she asked. It was perfect. Too perfect, almost unreal. I nodded. An offer I couldn't refuse.
We sat in the same spot in the break room. She tapped the table with her fingers. Tap. Tap. Tap. The rhythmic sound drummed against my eardrums. At the same time, her voice filled the air.
"You're a truly fascinating person. I want to hear even more stories today than yesterday."
Her pupils deepened. The purple vortex began swirling again—deeper and faster than before. My vision shook. All surrounding sounds faded away. Only her voice lingered in my ears.
"Show me everything in your heart. No need to hide."
Her voice was sweet. Like a honey-coated blade slicing into my mind. My lips twitched. I wanted to speak. To spill everything. All my secrets. Makkokji... Prism Pink, Magical Pure, and even Tia in my pocket.
'No! Snap out of it!'
Makkokji's voice rang out desperately. But it grew fainter, drowned by Berial's voice.
"Come on, tell me. Who is your real master?"
Berial leaned forward. Her eyes filled my entire field of vision. I gaped blankly.
"My master is—"
That's when it hit—a twisting pain in my gut. Makkokji. The bastard was squeezing my intestines. Much harder than yesterday. I was about to lose it...
'Ugh.'
I clutched my stomach. Cold sweat poured down. I desperately needed the bathroom. Now. The primal urge shattered the hypnotic hold. Instinctively, I clenched. At the same moment, my ears dulled. Tia's blessing activated. Sounds muffled like I was underwater. Berial's clicking heels and tapping fingers faded. Her voice turned to buzzing noise, stripped of meaning.
But the hypnosis's power lingered. The purple vortex before my eyes didn't vanish. Half my mind remained under her sway.
I can hold out. I have to.
I gritted my teeth.
"Kang Jinwoo. Can you hear me?"
Berial's voice sharpened again. She tilted her head curiously.
"Ah... yes, I can hear you... My master is solely the Demon King."
I answered laboriously, modulating my voice to tremble just right—struggling, yet confessing. I had to pretend I was hypnotized. So she wouldn't suspect. I unfocused my eyes, going slack-jawed and vacant.
"So you'll obey my words well?"
She asked again. Her hand covered the back of mine. Demonic energy seeped in.
'I'll eat it all up.'
Makkokji absorbed the energy.
"Of course."
I replied mechanically.
"Good. Then tell this code to Emerald."
She brought her lips to my ear.
"Shin Sea is eternal slave."
Her breath tickled my earlobe.
"And this word too."
"Eternal Sleep."
Her voice dropped low and eerie.
"Then she'll sleep well. Very deep and peacefully."
A suicide command code... and the master code, no doubt. The spell to stop Emerald's heart. Berial gazed at me with a cruel smile.
"Yes, understood."
I nodded.
"Hehe. Good boy."
Berial stroked my head like praising a pet.
"Then I'm counting on you. I'll be expecting results."
She stood. Click-clack. Click-clack. Her heels receded. I watched her back and exhaled shakily. My shirt clung wet with sweat.
"Hoo."
I slumped over the table. I'd endured. Again.
"Whoa... Makkokji, you pulled it off once more. But is that master code for real?"
My relieved question echoed inwardly. Makkokji inside me whooped.
'The demon hypnosis textbook does say to make a master code for hypnosis. We can use this! Haha.'
The bastard cackled. He was already buzzing to reverse-engineer it.
'Thank goodness.'
Tia's voice came too, laced with relief.
A can of coffee sat untouched on the break room table, condensation beading on its surface. I lay slumped with arms crossed on the table.
Now what?
"So, Makkokji. How do we catch Berial?"
I asked inwardly, eyes closed. No quick reply. After a long silence, he spoke heavily.
"Hmm."
His short sigh rang in my ears. No sharp plan.
Even with a high-grade mana restraint, subduing a high demon like Berial needed a flawless scheme and perfect venue.
"Is there no powerful prison or something? Where I'm trapped has ten barriers slapped all over it. Maybe this facility has..."
Tia's voice came from the small box in my pocket.
"There's a room with even stronger barriers..."
A place from memory surfaced. B5 floor, room 505. At the end of that hall stood another massive iron door, sealed tight.
[Special Isolation Zone - Zero]
Zero... 500... The prison from the old mage-demon war. Supposedly unused now, but rumors said its walls were embedded with mana-blocking stone and layered with seals.
"They say it's not in use now. Not sure if a mid-level trainer like me can access it..."
I bit my lip. Using it required Director Camilla's approval. But I couldn't just say it was to trap Berial. Telling her about Berial would sandwich me between two whales—I'd be crushed.
"And... luring Berial there."
I stood. The chair scraped back with a screech. Decision made. It was all or nothing. To lure Berial, I needed fitting bait—and to cage that bait, a perfect prison. And Camilla held the key.
I took the elevator straight to the director's floor. A janitor mopped nearby. I straightened my clothes, took a deep breath, and knocked on the director's door.
"Come in."
Camilla's voice was languid. I entered to find her at her desk, painting her nails red. Sunlight from the window lit her crimson hair, bathing the room in red.
"What's up? You look serious."
She blew on her nails and eyed me.
"I have something to report, Director."
I bowed politely.
"I'd like to transfer Pure and Emerald to Special Isolation Zone 500 on B5."
"Special Isolation Zone 500?"
Camilla raised an eyebrow.
"The Zero Zone on B5."
Her hand paused. The manicure bottle clinked as she set it down. She leaned back, arms crossed.
"Zero Zone's been shut down forever. It's a pain to manage, and there's no reason to use it."
"There is a reason."
I stepped forward, voice firm with conviction.
"Even with the mana restraint on Pure, her blessing seems to be reviving bit by bit."
"Oh?"
Camilla's eyes sharpened.
"Even after we broke her hymen and raised her corruption level?"
"Yes. It was suppressed temporarily, but her holy power is so strong it's leaking through the restraint's gaps. If we leave her like this, she might shatter it and escape someday."
Not a total lie. Pure's blessing was broken, but her holy power and mana lived on beneath the restraint. It wasn't neutralized, though. Of course, Camilla couldn't know Pure's exact state. She relied on reports and my word.