Limit
"Save me."
"Oh my, what are you saying?"
I'm tied up right now. On the bed. What the hell...!
I'm getting toyed with by a maid while my hands and feet are bound tight!!!
"I'm telling Mom."
"Lady Lilith ordered it."
"What...?"
Mom tied me up and told her to knead me like dough...?
"She just said to tie you up so you couldn't run off again."
"Then what's that hand on my stomach right now?"
"Just my little hobby..."
Who gave you permission?
"More importantly, stay still. You're being punished right now, Miss."
"Then stop stroking my stomach..."
I'm still a patient, you know? My stomach hurts like hell right now!
"I'm replenishing the Lena energy you didn't fill for a whole month."
"How dare you call your master's name so casually?"
Here, I have no choice but to show my authority as the master!
"Miss."
"Y-yeah...?"
Don't call me in that cold voice? I'm scared...!
"You admit you ran away for a month without a word, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Then, shouldn't you take your punishment?"
"Punishment...?"
I'm the master here...?
"I've decided. What punishment to give you, Miss."
"W-what is it?"
Bella didn't answer with words. Instead, she acted immediately.
She buried her face right into my stomach and started blowing raspberries...!
"Gaaah...! Bella, you damn maid...!"
This feels awful!
"Ahh, I missed that contempt from you, Miss Lena."
"Get off...!"
"But this is your punishment?"
I wanted to push her away, but I couldn't. Ropes like these would've been easy to snap on a normal day, but...
"You can't snap them, Miss. Not on your own...!"
Is it the aftermath of fighting Honcheon Noeje? My body wouldn't respond properly. So, rather than overpowering her with strength, this was the moment to assert my authority with words.
"I'm the master, and you're the maid...!"
"Oh my oh my, saying such provocative things."
"Grrraaah...!"
The raspberries went on nonstop for about fifteen minutes. Bella, looking out of breath from blowing so much into my stomach, said she'd get some water and dashed out.
...Wait. Normally, when a patient wakes up, don't you check on their food, water, or condition first before punishment?
"...Haa. Whatever."
I was too tired to think more. Everything ached, and just keeping my eyes open felt exhausting.
How long was I out?
I didn't know exactly, but it had clearly been no short time. Even for demons with faster recovery than humans, my condition had improved quite a bit.
Of course, moving freely is still tough...
My head felt strangely clear. Come to think of it, how long had it been since I had 'real sleep' like this? I'd always used Hwallansegye whenever I slept... At least a few years, probably.
It's been so long since I slept this deeply.
Maybe that's why my head was clear. My mind hadn't rested for years, so it must've been overloaded without me realizing.
While I'm at it, I should rest until my body's fully healed.
Rest is important. Ever since I realized I was possessed into Dust Saga, I'd been running nonstop.
Yeah. Time to rest. I just resolved a big incident, so... Huh?
Come to think of it, what happened to Honcheon Noeje? I lost consciousness at the last moment, so I don't know how it ended. From the start, that mongrel avatar seemed to be coming to kill me... Huh? For some reason, it's like fog in my head—I can't remember what came next. I vaguely recall hearing Bella's laughter, but...
"Eh, doesn't matter."
That's what I thought. My mind seemed to refuse dwelling on it. It must've worked out fine since I'm here, right? Anyway...
"Hmm...?"
What was I just thinking about?
* * *
Two months.
"Is that quick recovery?"
To be precise, I finished healing in about a month and two weeks. But I could only move freely after two full months, thanks to Bella overreacting and insisting I rest more.
For some reason, it's hard to go against Bella.
Not hard, exactly—more like I don't even feel like resisting. Probably because she's been by my side since I was too young to remember. To me, Bella's like family.
During those two months, Mom chewed me out big time, so I had to act all better to save face.
Standing up after so long, moving my body around, my joints felt stiff. That's why I wanted to get up sooner. At least demons don't lose muscle from inactivity, thanks to our racial traits.
As long as magi is intact, the body stays maintained.
For two months, I avoided Hwallansegye and focused on recovery and rest. But I didn't just idle—I delved deeper into understanding my own body.
Fighting Honcheon Noeje made it clear: unlike in Hwallansegye, my body couldn't keep up with my power.
Good that I realized it now.
At least next time, I won't be in mortal danger so easily. Anyway, long story short, there was nothing wrong with my body itself. The issue was my soul... or rather, my magi core.
"I never thought it'd grow on its own without me knowing."
Scary, my talent...!
This world has something called 'rank' for existences. It rises only through achievements or sub-achievements called 'feats,' and even one step's difference creates a massive gap in actual combat power.
When rank rises, humans' souls change form, and demons' magi cores—the vessels holding their souls—change too. That's where the problem arose this time.
"I thought it was just more magi..."
If it'd only been more magi from growth, my body would've adapted gradually without issue. But rank increase is different. The existence's rank jumps several stages at once, skyrocketing power instantly.
A body that should grow step-by-step with magi needs significant time to catch up when rank surges ahead.
Like swallowing several grand spirit pills in a wuxia tale?
Just like eating a spirit pill full of energy doesn't make it yours instantly—you need time to refine and assimilate it.
Or like hwan'gol-tal-tae—shedding bones and exchanging marrow.
Rank rises, so the body transforms to match. That's the concept. Naturally, it doesn't happen overnight; you wait for the body to grow. If you overuse power beyond limits before it's ready...
You end up bedridden for at least two months, like this time.
An unwanted constraint. But not all loss.
Maybe from forcibly drawing dormant magi, but all my meridians were shredded. Severe internal injuries.
It hurt like hell, but during recovery, they widened.
Forcibly widened, more like.
My small, fragile meridians were like, 'This won't fit... No way, no way...!' but magi forced it open like, 'It fits after all?!'
"Nice...!"
Anyway, it ended well this time, but not something to repeat. I got lucky; a bit more strain, and the meridians might've been ruined permanently. Depending on the overexertion, the backlash could've been worse than this.
As I assessed, the gap between my body and soul is huge—enormous, even. I don't know why my rank jumped so much, but my body hasn't caught half of half.
No clue how long it'll take to catch up...
Maybe strength training would speed it? Nah, probably not.
"Still better than nothing..."
I don't even know my true power level, and now shackles too. No battles right now since I repelled Honcheon Noeje once, but...
Tricky.
I can't be tossed powerless into this dark fantasy world. Nor stop training in the dream world.
For now, keep training in Hwallansegye, and test my real-world limits.
An unwanted constraint, but I wasn't in a bad mood. No clue why, but higher rank means much higher growth ceiling. My limits might've been way lower originally.
I'd be dead to Honcheon Noeje already.
Even as a succubus practicing martial arts, moving this fiercely was surprising from the start. Must've achieved feats unknowingly.
Most likely two reasons I can think of.
Demon King's bloodline buffing me way beyond normal succubus potential. Or some transmigrator perk I didn't know about. Maybe both.
Either way, it's a boon.
No need to complain. Short-term loss, but long-term, I can surpass original Regina. Stronger than hidden route Regina...
As long as I don't face outer gods directly or go berserk, no dying.
Plans sorted. Now, rough future outline.
First, impose some self-limits on my body.
Call it 'sandbag training since it's come to this!'
Assume total power is 100, but due to rank gap, safe output is 20. So, use only 10 or 15.
Reasons for this plan: Comics often have sealed-power protagonists refining technique with scraps of strength, emerging far stronger when seals break. Precision skyrockets, efficiency maxes.
Part of that training mindset.
Wuxia says hide 30% power.
Common trope for a reason? Not just for the 'He was hiding his power...!' reveal.
"Cool."
Sounds pretty badass imagining it.