The Hypnotic Ambush

"A bead that shows locations?"

"That's right, nyang." Cookie, who had followed behind, handed me a strange glowing bead. Actually, a whole bunch of them.

"Can't just stand around waiting every time a girl to rescue shows up, nyang."

"......."

"Why are you looking at me with such suspicious eyes, nyang!"

"Ah, no... sorry... Yeah, thanks." How kind. This fairy being kind is what's suspicious. Feels gross...!

I apologized to the indignant Cookie and we pressed forward again. What was that feeling just now? That strange sensation when I tried to chase the fleeing monsters earlier... Maybe it was just my imagination. I have no idea.

The place the monsters had fled to was a staircase leading underground. Before descending, we checked every nearby door just in case, but not a single rat was to be found.

They all ran at once... That means they figured out we were here, right? The enemy must have recalled all their soldiers in response to the magical girls' intrusion.

"Let's go down. That okay?"

"Yes, it doesn't matter how many there are."

Not only Yura, who spoke with absolute confidence, but Alpha also looked overflowing with self-assurance. Following their lead, we decided to head underground.

The passage downward felt... eerie. Not just the passage—the entire interior had grown darker. The walls and floor were made of stone, and sparsely placed torches lit the narrow corridor. From deep inside, faint voices drifted on the wind.

"......An underground prison?" The words slipped out unconsciously. Underground prison, dungeon, labyrinth... any of them fit. The passage ahead certainly gave off that kind of atmosphere.

"I've been waiting, magical girls...!"

At one bend in the passage stood a single figure staring at us. He looked like an ordinary man, his only notable feature an eyepatch over one eye. He wasn't a Normal—there was that distinct unpleasant aura unique to monsters. His appearance was human, but he was clearly a monster.

"Welcome to Mera Studio! I'm Peter, one of the Three Generals. I'm also the video editor-in-chief here at Mera Studio."

"...An enemy?!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, magical girls. I'm not here to fight."

The monster who introduced himself as Peter shrugged.

"I just came to deliver a welcoming greeting. Your sudden raid caught us off guard, but from now on we'll treat you properly. This fortress was built with the assumption we'd be dealing with magical girls, you know? The personnel stationed here are the same. We even captured one magical girl recently. I'd advise you not to underestimate us."

The monster tapped his eyepatch and smiled.

"Well then, I'll be breaking that arrogance of yours and violating you to my heart's content, so prepare yourselves. I'll be taking my leave now—the rest is up to the on-site staff and—"

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Huh?"

Yura's body seemed to vanish like a mirage, and before we knew it she was right beside the editor monster. She grabbed his shoulder tightly.

"Ah, no, wait a second. I was just here to deliver a message, and maybe set the mood a little—"

"Hiyaaaaaaaah!"

"Kuhk?!"

Yura's fist drove mercilessly into the monster's abdomen. His waist folded like a folding ruler.

"Hup."

"Pu, puhek?!"

Whoosh—! Thud! Crunch.

Yura grabbed the monster by the collar, slammed him to the floor, and mounted him. Thud! She tossed aside the iron club she'd been holding and clenched her now-empty fists.

"W-wait... wait! I'm not a combatant...!"

"You're the leader, aren't you? I'll smash you before you can pull any weird tricks! Without you, the rest of the enemies will just be a disorganized rabble anyway!"

"K-Kraaaaaaaaah!"

Thud, thud, wham! Crack!

Terrifying impact sounds rang out in succession. Yura beat the monster without mercy. That's right—striking first always wins.

"S-stop... kgh......!"

"This much isn't nearly enough to repay the grudges of the women you captured! Kei-unni! Help me!"

"Yeah! Yura, turn his ass this way!"

We could have killed him instantly with Yura's iron club, but that might actually be too good for these bastards. I didn't think a single moment of pain was sufficient for monsters who kidnapped and tormented women. So I decided to join in.

I picked up a toy I'd found in a nearby room earlier, approached the monster Yura had pinned, and declared:

"You atrocious monster bastard! You definitely did all sorts of things to the women you captured, right? Then you have no right to complain about what I'm about to do!"

"W-wait! What are you trying to... stop... why are you pulling down my pants... no, don't......!"

What I held was a massive dildo. Aiming at the exposed, filthy anus of the editor monster, I shouted:

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Stooooooooooop!"

With monstrous strength infused with magic power, I drove the dildo straight in.

"Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Not yet, not yet!"

With ruthless hand movements that showed no consideration for the recipient, I pistoned the dildo back and forth. The filthy anus was repeatedly violated. Blood seeped out, but so what. Let him know the pain of the women he tormented! Half of this was just me venting anyway!

"You're doing great, Kei-unni!"

"No, it's still not enough. Both of you."

"What?!"

Alpha cut in. She had picked up the iron club Yura dropped earlier.

"Hoo, it's heavy."

"W-wait... you people... what are you planning to do with that...!"

"Maybe I'll burst your useless balls...."

"?!"

Alpha smiled sweetly and shook her head.

"I won't go that far. I know what kind of pain it is, so I'll spare you that much."

The editor monster let out a sigh of relief. But then Alpha's lips curled into a devilish smile.

"So instead, I'll torment your anus with this♪."

"!"

"Now, Kei! Yura! I'll hold this steady...!"

"Got it! We just need to drop him vertically from the air, right?"

"Leave it to me!"

With the dildo still deeply embedded in the monster's anus, I wrapped my arms around him from behind and held tight.

"Hup!"

Then I leaped straight up toward the ceiling and dropped precisely onto the iron club Alpha had set up.

"Go! Anal impalement blaaaaast! Hiyaaaaaaaaah!"

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

My battle cry overlapped with the monster's scream. Then—crash! The monster's filthy rear and the dildo stuck in it collided perfectly with the upright iron club.

"Kuaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The monster's horrifying scream. I savored it like the melody of fine music, feeling satisfied. But the next moment—

"Huh......?"

A sudden floating sensation. My arms, which had been tightly holding the monster, grasped only empty air. The monster who had been in my arms just moments ago had vanished like a mirage.

He disappeared?!

"H-hey."

"Ah......."

With the monster gone, I—who had been lightly perched on top—fell onto the iron club instead....

"Hiyiiiiiiiiiiit?!"

The tip of the iron club drove straight into my vagina. Ah, aaaaaaaaah......?! Shock and a tingling pleasure raced through my entire body at once.

"A-are you okay...?"

Alpha approached in a panic as I slid down to the floor, clutching my crotch and trembling.

"Hahaha! You stupid bitches! How dare you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠underestimate me!"

"Peter...!"

The monster who had vanished like a mirage earlier now reappeared like one at the far end of the passage. What... some kind of skill...? Or Mekrak's new technology...?

"What you fought was a fake! Did you really think this body would fall for such a shallow trick... ow ow... I'm bleeding from my anus... you trash magical girl sow bitches...! I'll definitely get my revenge on you all!!!!!"

With that shout, the monster limped away down the passage. Yura considered chasing him but gave up and patted me instead.

"I-I'm feeling a bit better now...."

"Whew. That was surprising."

"Idiots...... Well, I guess I'm a little sorry too. Good thing you're not a man anymore."

Just like Alpha said, if I'd still been male, it would've been disastrous. My precious place would've been crushed beyond repair.

Anyway, the enemy seemed determined to capture us. They must have prepared personnel and traps capable of catching us further inside. But turning back now was out of the question. When I checked with the other two, they both insisted the monsters were nothing and we should push forward. Honestly, seeing that apparent executive-level monster get taken down so easily had also taken the wind out of my sails. If there were three generals like that... this would be an easy clear. I'd more or less reached that conclusion.

I had underestimated the enemy. And I knew far too little about my own condition. That would prove to be a fatal mistake... but there was no way to know that in this situation.

"Then let's keep going."

After unifying our opinions, we headed deeper into the passage. The rooms we passed and the spaces that looked like cells with iron bars were all empty. There were traces that people had been there until recently, though. They must have all fled or been moved deeper inside in preparation for our arrival....

Clunk—! Creak—!

"Huh?!"

Behind us, the passage we'd come through was blocked by a door that had dropped from the ceiling.

"Hah... they're trying to trap us?"

"Should we break it?"

Yura tapped the lowered door with her iron club. Then she twisted her waist and swung hard at it.

Thud! The floor trembled slightly from the impact, but the door didn't budge.

"It's sturdy... No, it's not just sturdy... This must be Mekrak technology too."

"Seems like it. Maybe we shouldn't touch it carelessly. If it explodes the moment it breaks... that'd be dangerous."

"You're right. That was reckless of me."

Yura nodded in understanding. For now, we decided to go deeper. We continued along the passage. After discovering a few more empty rooms, we arrived at a massive, open hall-like room. And then....

"Hey there. I've been waiting so long my neck hurts, magical girls."

"........"

The room was packed with a considerable number of monsters—enough to fill nearly half of it. They had apparently gathered all their forces here to settle things with sheer numbers.

"Hah, even the ones who ran away with their tails between their legs earlier are here. You all wanted to die that badly? You should've just kept running and hiding."

"E-even if you bitches are as strong as dokkaebi, with this many gathered you're nothing! Don't underestimate us!"

The gorilla-headed monster at the front of the pack shouted indignantly. I glanced at the monsters and shrugged.

"Pathetic...."

"――! Everyone, attack!"

Provoked by my words, the gorilla monster thrust his arm forward and signaled the start of combat. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first to charge were monsters with animal-like limbs and heads—wolves, rabbits, even lions. We easily swatted them away with fists and clubs. Alpha sniped the ones diving from the air like hawks with her guns. At this level, all I could do was scoff. I thought so, but the gorilla monster had apparently expected this much and smoothly moved to his next command.

"Now! All of you with debuff and curse-type abilities, fire immediately!"

Following the gorilla monster's order, quite a few monsters' hands lit up simultaneously. Light and mist-like things flew toward us.

Oh, ooh?!

Yura and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Alpha's panicked voices rang out, along with the gorilla monster continuing to command his forces.

The fortunate thing was that nothing stimulating my Lewd Body trait had been used. If some kind of aphrodisiac had been sprayed, I would've been forced to retire without being able to do anything. My body felt heavy, my vision was blurry and hard to see. My fingertips were numb. Strength wouldn't come. My head was spinning so badly I felt like I'd collapse if I staggered.

"Both of you, stay close to me!"

After shouting to Alpha and Yura, I calmly closed my eyes and—

"H...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

—exploded the breath and magic power I'd drawn up from my stomach all at once.

Along with that system announcement, the darkness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠obscuring my vision cleared along with a feeling like something had burst inside my body. My body moved freely again.

"Huh......? It got better...?"

"It's my new skill. I bought it last time after getting pissed off at being hit by a monster."

It was a skill I'd purchased with points. Of course, what skill you'd get was random, but I'd been happy that something pretty useful had come out.

"K-gh......?! It didn't weaken at all...?!"

Enjoying the flustered expressions of the monsters, we continued wiping them out.

Thud—! Crack! Whoosh! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of violence rang out in succession. Monsters shattered like broken statues, scattering bodily fluids. The monsters charged desperately, but they were all pathetic weaklings who couldn't compare to a magical girl's strength, and their numbers steadily dwindled.

"I-impossible......."

When the monsters had been reduced to about a tenth of their original number, the gorilla monster backed away in shock.

"Now, surrender, you pathetic monsters. If you surrender and release the women, I'll let the rest of you go with just a single punch. You don't want to die painfully for no reason, right?"

"Kgh...!"

The gorilla monster backed away resentfully. It was obvious at a glance that the enemy had lost their will to fight. Continuing to fight would be meaningless, so they'd either run or beg for their lives. Even if they could revive, I'd heard that dying once would drastically lower their stats.

"Now. Quickly decide——"

I was about to shout a warning at the monsters still hesitating at a distance when a whooshing sound and a chilling sensation made me reflexively jump to the side.

Crash—!

The spot where I'd been standing just moments ago had its floor shattered to pieces.

".......Yura?"

Yura's iron club had been swung at me.

"......"

Yura's condition was strange. She'd suddenly swung her club at me, then abruptly showed a mechanical face like a doll whose soul had been sucked out. The light had vanished from her eyes. Ah, I knew those eyes.

"Witch Girl Season 4 Episode 6...."

"The face of an ally being controlled by the enemy...."

My voice and Alpha's overlapped perfectly. That's right. This face was just like the ally Witch Girl when she was being controlled by the enemy...!

"Hoo, hoo, hoo. You've done well, monster soldiers. After reviving, I'll permit you to violate those magical girls as your top priority."

"Oh my~, we gathered all our personnel and still got hit this hard... Magical girls really are terrifying~."

"Ch-chief cameraman! And the camera director too!"

"Waaaaah! The executives are here!! The magical girls are finished!!!"

Two new figures appeared at the end of the room. One was a man in hanbok with a cunning appearance and a eunuch-like beard, while the other was a pitch-black doll holding a camera, with no face or anything else. Both were clearly monsters just from the feeling they gave off.

"The executive bastards... ugh?! Yura! Snap out of it! Why are you suddenly like this?!"

At Yura's monstrous club swing, Alpha and I backed away in panic. Just what the hell was happening?! The one who explained the incomprehensible situation was the newly appeared bearded monster.

"It's the editor's hypnosis ability. The conditions are strict, and magical girls have strong resistance so it takes time to take effect, but... hoo, hoo, hoo. It seems to have worked well."

"Hypnosis......?!"

As expected! I'd had a vague suspicion! What do we do? In Witch Girl, you couldn't break hypnosis without defeating the enemy who cast it. The controlled ally had been tormented as the enemy's sex toy and plaything for a full four episodes... Anyway, we had to strike the main body. In that case, we don't have time to worry about Yura. I turned my gaze from Yura and decided to target the executives. If I kept dealing with Yura, there'd be no end to it. If I accidentally injured her, I'd lose our fighting strength, and I wasn't even sure I could properly hold back. So for now, I'd ignore Yura and.... I need to take out those guys and find the editor...! That pathetic bastard showed up in front of us for some trivial reason and then pulled this kind of trick? I'll kill him. This time, I'll definitely catch him and turn his anus into a complete mess.

While making that resolution and looking for the right timing to accelerate toward the executives while dodging Yura's attacks, something—twitched. Something moved inside my clothes.