Chapter 85 A Whimper
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
One might but reach out a hand, and the very lips that snarled a warning, the bosom that heaved with ragged breath—all seemed within one’s grasp. Yet, even though she was sealed within this narrow coffin of flesh with her Master, the jet-black, nubutama eyes glowed with fighting spirit, betraying not a tremor of surrender.
Had he tried to forcibly seize her now, Suzuri would surely twist and dart away through the smallest gap in his arms. During such a scuffle, the Master would not be harmed by a servant under forced constraint. However, there was a great risk that the violently struggling Suzuri would injure herself.
”…Prithee, Suzuri. Doth it not seem time to descend?” he urged.
”We are not, we are not undone yet, I say!” she spat, her archaic cadence sharp with defiance.
He had intended to subtly impress upon her that further resistance was pointless, but the stubborn servant would not yield even in a situation that was clearly a checkmate.
A moment’s thought should have made it clear that if this coffin of flesh were contracted further, there would be no escape at all. Yet, Suzuri boasted that the match would not be settled until she was physically captured by her Master’s own hands.
”…I could make this space so tight that we are pressed intimately together whether you like it or not, chickadee. But then, would there not be insufficient room for the delight to come?” he asked, a suggestive smirk in his tone.
”What? To insult me thus! Surely you may enlarge the chamber after the fact! If so, why not but do so from the very beginning, then!” she railed, theatrical fury burning in her eyes.
It was precisely as he had expected; the mere hint of carnal pleasures to follow incited Suzuri to righteous rage. That anger was, in a sense, justified, and he could accept her words as a timely warning against his own overconfidence.
But before that, she needed to realize that her self-willed stubbornness was not an admirable trait in the middle of a labyrinth. In this particular contest, Suzuri’s only path to victory was to ‘keep escaping until the Master gives up.’ If that was no longer possible, then refusing to acknowledge defeat was merely clinging to a bankrupt strategy. Such a rigid mindset, in the context of a dungeon campaign, would mean endangering her companions, making her far too risky to send out as a scout.
”Tch, found me out, have you? …But listen, Suzuri. I’m hoping you’ll come down on your own, see? Unless, of course, you’ve got some secret weapon—a stroke of genius like My own—that can break this stalemate right now,” he challenged.
”T-That is to say…”
If there truly existed a technique to overturn this situation, this was the moment to play that hand. Since she could not, it already meant Suzuri was at her wit’s end.
A Shinobi should be capable of deception within the bounds of strategy, but at least this, the youngest of his servants, never sought to gain advantage by habitually lying. As proof, the now-muttering Suzuri showed no further signs of action.
”…In this instance, you were simply outplayed by me. If you do not learn from this and curb your recklessness, the next time you are sent scouting, your escape route might be sealed off just like this, leaving you helpless. —Halt! I will hear no talk of state-ailment resistance or simply returning to the Workshop to escape. In the Labyrinth, the careless are the first to fall. …Do not forget. It was the result of thinking ‘it will be fine’ that you became a captive for eighty years,” he finished, his voice cutting the air.
”—Hmph!“
At the one phrase he had endeavored to avoid bringing up, the shoulder supporting her lithe body twitched violently. He knew it was a mental scar Suzuri dearly wished to avoid touching.
However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this, precisely, was what had driven her recent outburst. Therefore, unless they confronted this openly now, someone in the party—or all of them—would surely lose their lives in the future.
”Suzuri. I’m not angry that you are the reason your Master became this monster,” he said gently.
”Eh?”
He had yet to tell Suzuri about the specifications of the Individual Realm, but if the formation of this space was permitted by a servant’s desire, then perhaps his transformation into a monster was but one part of Shelm’s machinations. That being the case, while he was bewildered by the fact that he could manipulate hideous tentacles as if they were his own limbs, at least it would not frustrate the Goddesses’ earnest hope of dungeon conquest.
”While it is true that my Familial Workshop growing ever more inhuman does give me a bit of a headache… even so, I intend to grant your requests whenever possible. That is why I am not angry that you summoned me here and made me a tentacle wielder. …What I am angry about is your tendency to cling to a plan even after it’s failed and adamantly refuse to heed warnings,” he stated, his tone firm.
At first, his My own brain transforming terrified him. But now, the troublesome headache was completely gone.
The tentacle operation, setting aside its visual hideousness, was a convenient ability that allowed him to perceive more clearly and process information faster—albeit limited to this space. All things considered, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks, making it a valid use of the Individual Realm. However, the fragility in Suzuri exposed during the process was something he absolutely could not overlook.
”Your primary requirement is to sometimes judge a situation alone and always return to me alive. If you cannot do that, I cannot send you out as a scout. If you won’t come down from there, then, as you wish, I shall narrow this space—and entomb you within the wall of flesh,” he threatened.
”W-What did you say!?”
To what extent should he permit his servant freedom? In a natural situation, they should respect each other as human beings, but he had already remade their bodies so they could not disobey.
Furthermore, the hearts that remained their only realm of freedom varied wildly among the three servants; he could not gauge them with a single measure. Therefore, his duty as their Master was to respect their individuality as much as possible so they could be themselves, to bear the burden of that effort, to admonish anyone who strayed beyond the bounds of his non-omnipotent ability, and, if necessary, to resort to physical force.
To convey this resolve to Suzuri, he manifested various tentacles from the wall of flesh. Suzuri did not scream, but her cheeks definitely tensed.
”Do not misunderstand me. If you cannot fulfill your role, even as the tool you once wished to be, I will simply put you away in the vault lest you be lost. …Rest assured. I will never let you die. From feeding you to handling your personal needs, I will do everything with my tentacles, exactly as you wished,” he stated, his voice a promise and a threat.
”Hnn…!“
As a threat—no, as a statement of fact, as a menace—he dangled the tentacles, manifestations of his will to strip away human freedom and dignity.
There were those for restraining a body, those for extracting pleasure, and even those prepared for life-sustaining medical procedures. By showing her that everything was already prepared, the face of Suzuri, which had been brimming with fighting spirit, rapidly transformed into the trembling expression of a maiden in terror.
”Your disloyalty was not in egging me on to synchronize with the tentacles. It was in endangering your own person through your rigid way of thinking. —Come to me, Suzuri. Come of your own will and throw yourself into my arms.”
Suzuri was now silent, having lost even the spirit to impose her will. As he retracted the mass of tentacles back into the wall of flesh and called her name, the wanton servant relaxed the tension in the limbs bracing against the meat-wall, and slowly settled into his outstretched arms.
”—My, I am vanquished,” she whispered, the archaic words now brittle with true defeat.
”Good. I can finally touch you,” he murmured back.
This entire episode was, in retrospect, an extension of their nuptials, where he had been forced to merely gaze upon her, despite them both being naked. No matter how much his tentacles could understand the feel of a woman’s body, nothing could stir the deepest emotions like embracing with human flesh.
He confirmed the supple body, rich with muscular elasticity, with the palms of his hands. Suzuri’s body, kept away for so long, was now slicked with tentacle mucus, allowing his fingers to slide as if lubricated, letting him enjoy its continuous softness. He struggled to keep the girl’s body, which threatened to slip away, contained within his arms, holding her by her hips and shoulders.
”Suzuri.”
”Ah, ungh!“
The disloyal maiden was now utterly subdued. As he extended his tongue to ease her guilt, she actively pressed her lips against his, as if begging for forgiveness.
”Hah, hff! Yuuri, I am so sorry, so very, very sorry! I was too willful, too selfish!” she apologized repeatedly in a thick, breathless voice, even as she entwined her tongue with his, making this requested kiss an act of atonement. Simultaneously, she desperately writhed, her toned thighs clamped around his now-re-erected member, actively seeking to excite her Master.
”Woah, hmph! W-Wait, Suzuri. The discussion is not over yet,” he chuckled, restraining her.
”Hah? Oh, yes, Master! Forgive me!” she gasped, instantly penitent.
The maiden’s body had finally become obedient. He longed to pin her down with countless tentacles and let loose his desires, but he could not.
Unless he relieved Suzuri’s anxiety, the same problem would surface again. He gripped her tight buttocks, stopping her hip-wriggle, and then, parting her long hair, cupped his hand over her scalp and kissed her cheek repeatedly, somehow managing to soothe the aroused girl. He vaguely understood the reason Suzuri was once again trying to avert her eyes from the core issue and escape into pleasure.
”Tell me, am I truly so untrustworthy?”
”—Eh?“
Suzuri’s eyes widened at the question, asked just before they were about to couple and press their skin together. From her stunned expression, Suzuri herself had been completely unaware of this feeling. Though she possessed a formidable mental fortitude, she had spent eighty years with her senses blocked, and her release had been a forced physical submission through a pleasure-inducing skill.
Furthermore, she was immediately claimed as a Master’s servant by the first man she met and thrust into the dungeon conquest without even confirming the world that had changed. No matter how staunchly loyal Suzuri was as a Shinobi, and precisely because she was a talented woman who wouldn’t simply be confined to the role of a readily obedient pawn, a massive wound had been inflicted on the heart that had gazed into the abyss of a slow death after being abandoned. Given that, it was no wonder she defined herself as the entity that would be discarded first in a crisis by a new Master she had known for only three days.
”T-That is not true! Yuuri wields immense power and granted me a new body—”
”I don’t want to hear flattery. I’m asking if you suspect I will abandon you this time, too,” he demanded, cutting her off.
It was an accusation of distrust slammed down by her Master. Since she could no longer escape his dominion, she should have immediately denied it, yet Suzuri merely fell silent, her expression empty of emotion. —Most likely, the outwardly courteous, educated, and deeply loyal demeanor he had first seen was the genuine Suzuri. For a person of that caliber to aim for the deepest part of the Labyrinth without assurance of return, the trust she had in her former companions must have been truly invaluable.
Perhaps if she had merely passed away on the spot after being abandoned, she could have resigned herself to fate. However, through her innate willpower and the Goddess’s scheme, Suzuri had, for better or worse, clung to life. How could he blame her for being caught between her former conviction—which held devotion as a virtue—and the prudence of doubting a second time after such a brutal experience? Yet, this wavering of resolve, which she herself hadn’t noticed, would lead to an irreversible tragedy if left untreated.
Therefore, he had to point it out now, even knowing it would wound Suzuri further.
”Ah, ahhh! I’m (Watashi), I’m such a shameless wretch…!”
Suzuri’s face, which had been mask-like and vacant, was swiftly consumed by despair. It was an ugly mix of anger, sorrow, pity, and hatred—the dark emotions she had once shunned and likely vowed to control—that twisted her refined features.
Not once had he heard Suzuri utter a word of hatred toward her former companions. She must have genuinely believed she had come to terms with the fact that it was unavoidable. But the fallout was deep-rooted, and Suzuri herself had realized that her pure convictions had been, somehow, distorted into something self-serving…!
”This is not your fault.”
”Ah, no! I can’t, I can’t be like this! Let me go, Yuuri! Let me, hiee!“
He knew all too well how a person behaves the moment they realize the world they believed in was a lie. While Suzuri’s consciousness was turned inward, he stealthily deployed restraining tentacles.
With no need for technique now, he wrapped them in multiple layers around her flailing limbs. He switched their positions, laying her on her back, and then forced a bent finger into her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue.
”You may cry as much as you like. But do not, for any reason, saddle me or the other girls with grief,” he commanded, his voice a low, gravelly sound.
”Hff, ugh, uuuuuuhhh…“
Perhaps generating a tentacle to act as a gag would have been the safest course of action, but given Suzuri’s convictions, he wished to stop her with a part of a human body.
After that, he maintained eye contact and kept his finger in place, following the movements of her head as she shook it in desperate refusal, all to prevent injury. He remained by her side, never leaving, until the initial shock passed and Suzuri’s sobs finally subsided.
Notes:
• Suzuri – A scout who braved the labyrinth and lured a petrifying monster to protect her friends, she endured long isolation while frozen in stone and relied on inner magic to preserve her sense of self.
• Shelm – Wicked Goddess, reincarnated Yuuri, manipulative, wants him to use his power.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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