Should We Go Easy on Hypnotic Brainwashing?

Rick suddenly shoved some weird screen in front of me and started chanting a spell. Watching him, Piece spoke directly into my mind.

'That son of a bitch has a hypnosis app all to himself?'

Strangely enough, I wasn't affected at all. My thoughts were clear, and my body felt completely normal. Still, hope is always best crushed at the very end. I deliberately put on a dazed, hypnotized expression as I listened to Rick's commands.

Rick, seeing my face, urgently barked an order at me.

Disgusting right up to the bitter end. In that case, I'd prepare a little gift just for Rick. I circulated as much mana as possible into my right foot and reinforced it. Far stronger than anything I'd done before. Yeah. Strong enough to shatter Rick's steel panties.

The moment my right foot was fully reinforced, I slowly opened my mouth. Rick, seeing me like that, began laughing like a madman. He had no idea what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was about to happen. It was almost too pathetic.

Then Piece spoke to me with firm conviction.

'Obviously.'

I cheered inwardly as I slowly spoke the words I truly wanted to say.

"Huh?"

Rick's face shifted from manic glee to confusion. Before he could process what was happening, I swiftly kicked him right in the groin.

- CRUNCH!!!!!!!!

This time I definitely felt it. The unmistakable sensation of Rick's steel panties crumpling inward. Rick stared silently at my foot for a moment, then—

He clutched his crotch and screamed at the top of his lungs.

Only then did Jung Ayeon rush over to me in a panic.

"I'm fine."

I picked up the phone Rick had dropped and showed it to Jung Ayeon.

"Looks like this is what he used to control your father."

"...Is that true?"

A murderous glint entered Jung Ayeon's eyes. But the real killing intent came from behind us.

The source of that aura was none other than Lilith. The atmosphere around her was incomparably more terrifying than before.

Hye-ji and Elsia, sensing the disturbance, hurried over as well.

I quickly explained the situation to Hye-ji and Elsia. Without a word, Hye-ji started shooting Rick in the thighs with her pistol. Elsia quietly poured potions to heal the wounds, only for Hye-ji to open fire again.

Once Hye-ji and Elsia's little execution paused, I grabbed the writhing Rick by the hair and said,

"Hahaha!!! I'll never undo it!!!"

Rick spat blood as he stubbornly refused to cooperate. So I simply said,

Rick's face twisted in despair at those words. But Jeong Siyun simply stared at him with an expressionless face and stated,

"Ugh!!!"

Still clutching his groin with one hand, Rick's other hand trembled violently as he manipulated the phone. He activated the app, held it up in front of Jeong Siyun, and spat out the words in agony.

"The oath has been fulfilled."

The moment Jeong Siyun emotionlessly announced the completion of the oath, he suddenly clutched his head. He screamed in far greater pain than when the hypnosis had briefly broken before.

"Darling!!!"

While Lilith supported the suffering Jeong Siyun, I grinned at Rick. But Rick, still not fully conscious, tried using the hypnosis app on me again.

Once again, I put on a blank expression. Rick laughed even more maniacally than before.

His eyes swam with sticky, filthy desire. However—

- CRUNCH!!!!!!!!!!

That desire instantly turned into pure agony. This time I definitely felt something like a marble shattering. Rick screamed with bloody tears streaming down his face, sounding utterly wronged.

"Ah, the abyss?"

The abyss, huh. I'd basically become the abyss itself—what use was hypnosis against me?

"Kuhuuuuk!!!"

"I'll show you. The real abyss."

As I started fiddling with the phone, Jung Ayeon urgently ushered everyone away.

"What is it?"

"What's going on?"

"Just get back, quickly!!!!"

Meanwhile, Caersi trembled as she shouted at me.

"Ah. Account sync."

"Y-you crazy bastard!!!! Why would you keep something like that linked to your account, nya!!!!"

I finally finished preparing. An enormous library of photos and videos. Everything was ready.

I knocked Rick down and straddled him. I pinned his head between my knees, forcibly pried his eyelids open, and held them apart.

"Bullshit."

I fixed the phone screen directly in front of Rick's eyes. Then, grinning viciously, I repeated the exact line he'd used on me.

This would be both your battlefield and your apocalypse.

Face it.

The effect was immediate. The moment Rick stared into the abyss, he began writhing in unimaginable agony. He foamed at the mouth. He screamed incomprehensible nonsense. Bloody tears streamed down his face once more. His mind was pathetically weak.

Everyone else watched with puzzled expressions but kept their distance. They'd all learned what happened to those who gazed into the abyss.

Looking at Rick, whose sanity was almost completely gone, I said calmly,

"Everyone, get ready."

The moment I spoke, Hye-ji and Elsia forcibly pried Rick's hands away from his groin and spread them wide. Only then did Rick, clinging to the last fragments of his mind, try to resist in order to protect his crotch. But—

- BANG!

- SQUELCH!

A bullet and Elsia's thorned vines instantly neutralized his resistance. Rick tried to get up, but that failed too. By then, one of the wolves Jung Ayeon had summoned and Caersi's cat paws were pinning his legs apart.

I began reinforcing my right foot once again. Seeing this, Rick screamed in utter despair.

"Why? You fucking idiot."

I pulled my foot back, taking the stance of a soccer player about to take a penalty kick.

"S-so what about it?!"

"I told you already."

I grinned at Rick. Then I charged forward and kicked him in the groin with every ounce of strength I had.

With a crisp, satisfying crunch, Rick flew straight toward his companions. Spencer and the rest of his group rushed over in panic. Seeing Rick's mangled state, Spencer let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"L-little... sister..."

Rick reached out a trembling hand toward Spencer, but—

Everyone began stomping on Rick without mercy. Spencer. The rest of the group. Even the Black Dragon. They all took turns kicking every inch of Rick's body with perfect equality.

Then someone asked Spencer,

And so, with one heart and one mind, they began giving Rick a full-body massage. It was truly a beautiful sight.

Meanwhile, Jung Ayeon stood facing the now-conscious Jeong Siyun. Her gaze was ice-cold, while Jeong Siyun wore a guilty, pained expression.

"......"

Jung Ayeon said nothing and simply glared at him. Jeong Siyun continued confessing his sins.

"......"

"......"

It was a one-sided conversation—one person endlessly apologizing while the other simply listened. In any case, this wasn't something I could fix. I could only hope it worked out.

Jung Ayeon didn't do anything to Jeong Siyun. She simply turned around and started walking toward me. At that, Jeong Siyun spoke in a gloomy, desperate voice.

"......"

After a brief silence, Jung Ayeon turned only her gaze toward him and said coldly,

"......I see."

Jung Ayeon closed her eyes for a moment. Then, as she walked toward me, she smiled faintly and spoke clearly to Jeong Siyun.

It was a refreshing yet warm statement. At those words, Jeong Siyun began to sob. Lilith held him tightly, watching him with warm, gentle eyes.

Broken, torn, and wounded. But slowly, the family was beginning to heal. Just like the journey Jeong Siyun and Lilith had once shared long ago.

By then, Jung Ayeon had reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my side. With eyes full of mixed emotions, she looked at me and asked,

"You did more than enough."

"T-then..."

Jung Ayeon's face suddenly turned bright red. She leaned her head toward me and spoke in a tiny, shy voice.

"As much as you want."

I gently stroked Jung Ayeon's head. She closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed the touch, looking utterly content.

Meanwhile, Piece, who had been watching Jeong Siyun, asked me with curiosity.

'Were you one of those Dragon Ball fans? Go tell Tony Stark exactly that.'

Instead of the Cheonma Repulsor, he'd probably get hit with the real repulsor beam.