Rooftop Ambush and the Dream of Defeat
A streak of purple light hurtles toward me at tremendous speed, grazing right past. "Whoa, holy crap…!" The purple beam shoots straight ahead, slamming into the shopping mall's outer wall—KABOOM!—and exploding with a deafening roar.
"That one was on purpose, junior." Vega flashes a sweet smile, twirling her magic wand before aiming it at me again. "Come quietly, and you won't get hurt."
As soon as she finishes, the two figures flanking her lunge into motion. Hidden in the shadows before, but now I see—they look just like those people eroded by the rift. Whatever they are, first things first… run.
The monsters—no, corrupted humans? Anyway, I leap into the air to dodge the pair charging at me. Escape comes first right now. If she's a magical girl too, she can probably fly.
Sure enough, with a graceful wave of her hand, Vega lifts herself and her two corrupted humans into the air alongside me. "I've given you plenty of warnings, haven't I?"
Her smile is gorgeous, but the magic wand trained on me glints with menace. Before another beam can fire, I veer off in the opposite direction and pull out my phone to call Sirius.
Ring… ring… C'mon, pick up, quick… Sis, I'm in big, BIG trouble…!
Something coils around my ankle. No way. I glance down— one of the corrupted humans has caught up mid-air and grabbed me.
"Kyaaah! S-Starlight Burst!"
Ziiing— My wand responds to the incantation, erupting in blinding light. A spherical orb of radiance launches straight at the one gripping my ankle—direct hit. BOOM!
The explosion rocks the air, and it lets go, plummeting away. But then—
"Got you." Vega materializes right in front of me. "Huh?"
Her serene, beautiful smile clashes with the rough grip of her hand as she seizes my clothes and hurls me downward.
"Kyaa—kyaack!" Straight down to the rooftop of the building below. I don't have the skill to recover mid-air and keep flying yet.
CRASH! "Ow… owwie… ugh… nngh…"
It hurts. So much. But that's not the problem. My body, which slammed into the rooftop at full speed, refuses to obey me. The phone I'd clutched till the end lies beside me, still ringing away…
Timing is such a mysterious thing. "S-Sirius…"
If only you'd picked up a little sooner, sis. "I… g-got caught. Sorry…"
Where are you? Here… where is here? I rack my brain for the last signboard I glimpsed while dangling from Vega's grasp.
"XX Building… rooftop."
"Oh my."
Vega's voice echoes from above my head. A humming builds—BOOM!—a purple beam strikes my phone, exploding it.
"You should've come quietly, junior."
"H-ha… y-yeah, guess I should've…"
I try to play it cool, but it does nothing. The two black corrupted humans reappear behind Vega, slowly advancing on me.
"Handle her carefully."
The hands of the corrupted humans seize my arms one by one, forcing me to my feet. My whole body is still numb and tingling. No strength left… I can't resist at all. Then, in my vision… a blue light.
A blue streak slicing through the dark night sky, its end drawing closer and closer. Faster than the light that cleaved the sky during the day—several times over.
"Ah…"
Sirius. Vega beside me is staring at it too… but she shows no sign of fleeing or panic.
"……"
She simply gazes up at the sky with a quiet smile. The blue light finally reaches the rooftop, descending to the surface and speaking.
"Let go with those filthy hands."
The corrupted humans gripping me, of course, don't budge or respond.
"Filthy? That's harsh, Sirius."
Vega answers instead. They know each other…? The atmosphere is super tense. What do I even do here? Uh… stay quiet?
"You've always cherished your juniors more than anyone, haven't you, Sirius? Hehe… still the same."
"Nonsense."
Crystalline blue ice spears materialize around Sirius. Purple light ripples heavily from Vega's body too… This isn't a fight for me to jump into.
Sirius raises her hand. The spear tips flash once with a chilling shring.
"The one who cherished juniors more than anyone… was you."
With those words, Sirius swings her arm. The ice spears launch on cue—not at Vega, but at the black corrupted humans holding me, hurtling at tremendous speed.
Which is, naturally, my direction too.
"Eek…!"
Terrified, I squeeze my eyes shut tight… but no sound follows. I cautiously peek. Not a peep. Yet the corrupted humans who held me lie collapsed on the ground, surrounded only by glittering ice shards.
"Whoa… a-amazing."
"Go home. Now."
Sirius snaps at me as I stand there gaping in awe. C-can I really go? But the fight's not over yet.
"I-I wanna fight too!"
I muster my courage to say it.
"Shut up."
Sirius's wand glows blue, firing a beam of light that strikes me— "Eh…? Huh? Wha—?"
Enveloped in blue light, my body floats upward weightlessly. Vega beside us doesn't even try to grab me. Instead, she smiles brightly and gives a little wave.
"See you next time, my lovely junior~?"
"Wait, no, h-hold on!"
Those are my last words. Wrapped in blue light, against my will, I'm soaring toward home. All I can do… is watch the flashes of blue and purple light erupting from the rooftop where I stood moments ago.
"Wh-what do I do, what do I do."
I made it home like a returned package… but I'm worried. Will Sirius be okay? She's strong, but Vega was insanely powerful too.
…So what can I even do? Going back after Sirius sent me home would be stupid even by my standards. Phone's smashed, options are limited.
The textbooks neatly stacked on my desk? You're out… Guess that leaves one choice.
"Hoo… Abyss Eye, just you wait."
Yeah. The only shard I got today was from that slime. But if I talk my way into it… since the fight after connects, maybe it'll count as losing there? Corrupted humans are way stronger than slime, so the power boost should be bigger too.
Ugh… whatever, I'll find out when I try.
"Abyss Eye, I'm here to make a deal."
What did I just say? Didn't hear it.
"…No. Ignore that, I just wanted to try saying it."
The black shards spilling from the gem don't look like much. Guess I only fought easy prey today.
"Yeah, but… remember those weird people you mentioned last time? I fought them too. Doesn't that count?"
The Eye pauses at my words, slowly closing its massive lid. Then, after a moment.
Hmmm… Regardless, you clashed with my power. Good. I'll leave the choice to you.
The simple initial fight's defeat, or the potential loss in the later battle?
It's making me choose? Hm, hm…
…I've gotten pretty strong, but losing to a black slime would be kinda pathetic, right? If I tell Sirius I dreamed of losing to a slime after she sent me home, she'd think I'm lame.
"I'll take… the latter. The later fight."
Good. Then the dream's price will match accordingly.
Ugh… did I pick the hard one for no reason? No. This isn't the first time. It's the same monster I've faced over and over, Yuseong. Don't tense up.
Darkness surges in. Vision fades naturally. My eyes, already closed, snap open—meaning the dream has begun.
"…Starting here, huh?"
Right after crashing on the rooftop and Vega smashing my phone. Arms seized by the corrupted humans, forced to stand—the scene begins.
Nothing's happened yet, but I'm already having second thoughts, just a tiny bit…?
"Well then, everyone?"
I figured no one would be here since it's a dream, but suddenly Vega's voice rings out.
"Vega…?"
But she ignores me like I'm not even there and keeps talking. "Make our lovely junior nice and ready to take home. Shower her with affection."
With that, purple light flashes… and Vega vanishes.
"Sh-she just bailed. Is this what would've happened without Sirius…?"
Now it's just me, and, uh…
…two corrupted humans about to fuck me senseless?
Uh… should've picked the slime. I've ended up sandwiched between their rock-hard bodies, pressed front and back.
And something's been poking me for a bit now. Super hard and hotly erect… cocks, that's what these are.
The cock of the corrupted human in front presses against my stomach. Through the thin fabric, it grinds hard, so hard… sticky precum soaks through, smearing onto my skin. And my ass too… the one behind is mashing his dick right there.
…Should've just gone with the slime.