Chapter 13: I ended up rebelling

Pain wouldn’t stop at my right hand.

I wished it would.

But the rage-filled look in Happy’s darkened eyes crushed that hope.

Her fingers, which had been gripping my right hand,

slowly crawled toward my left.

I clenched my eyes shut.

The pain was coming.

And inside, I told myself—

At least I hadn’t screamed the first time.

It was a strange thought.

What was so fortunate about that?

Even I didn’t understand.

Was it because I had finally found hope,

so I refused to break again?

Or had my hatred for Happy finally exploded,

after 131 losses?

Or maybe…

I had already given in—

and just knew worse pain was coming.

“Are you used to it now, Sis?”

If that’s why I thought it was fortunate…

Then I never should have.

Happy…

wasn’t thinking the same way I was.

“Don’t do that.”

Her voice was low.

“If I’m in pain… then you have to be in pain too.”

She didn’t want me to hold in my screams.

She didn’t want me to endure.

She wanted me to suffer.

She wanted me to scream.

She wanted me to flinch, cry, and beg her to stop.

“This time…”

Her grip tightened on my left hand.

“…Be ready, Sis.”

I hadn’t screamed the first time.

So she was going to make sure I did this time.

Her fingers traced along my left hand,

gentle.

Almost loving.

Even though she was about to break it.

I felt my stomach twist in disgust.

The pain hadn’t even started yet,

but my body already knew what was coming.

My head was spinning,

my lungs begging for air,

even though I hadn’t moved.

“Are you ready?”

What was I supposed to be ready for?

How loudly was I supposed to scream?

“You…”

“Hm?”

“How long do you plan to keep breaking me?”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

And for the first time—

I didn’t feel afraid of saying them.

I didn’t even regret it.

Even if it meant she’d hurt me more.

Even if it meant worse pain was coming.

I just…

wanted to know the answer.

“Breaking you?”

She blinked.

“That’s not it, Sis.”

“Then…?”

“I’m helping you be reborn.”

A cold chill spread through my body.

I lost whatever pride I had left.

My hands trembled in her grip.

My breath came out in short, broken gasps.

And Happy…

smiled.

She held my left hand even tighter,

as if I was something precious to her.

“Until you forget you were ever the Queen of Darkmoon…”

“Until you love me.”

“Until then… I’ll train you.”

She kissed the back of my hand.

And this time—

I felt nothing.

No nausea.

No disgust.

Not even anger.

I had been so broken in just two days—

That I could barely feel anything anymore.

Even the 131 times she had killed me…

Hadn’t ruined me this badly.

And the worst part?

Happy knew it.

And she was happy about it.

“Train me?”

My voice cracked.

“Yes, Sis.

To fix your bad habits.”

“…Oh.”

“I didn’t hear you. Say it properly.”

“I don’t want this!”

That moment—

Fear won.

I thrashed in her grip.

Pride? Gone.

Dignity? Gone.

Everything— gone.

I just wanted to get away from her.

My left hand moved—

Trying to push myself off the bed.

“Ngh…!”

I couldn’t move.

A glowing whip of light had wrapped around my wrist,

tightening like a burning shackle.

I fell back onto the floor,

vision blurring from the pain.

All around me,

I could see her magic glowing in the dark.

It wasn’t like the curses she used in the bathroom.

It didn’t attack me.

It was just there.

Soundproofing.

A barrier.

A prison.

“What are you so afraid of, Sis?”

Happy’s soft voice drifted over me.

I flinched.

I tried to move.

The magic wouldn’t let me.

The killing intent coming from Happy’s body suffocated me.

She was slowly approaching.

Like a predator, closing in on its prey.

“I told you before.”

She smiled.

But her eyes…

Her eyes were drowning in darkness.

“I will never let you go.”

She had lost her mind long ago.

I had to get out of here.

But I couldn’t move.

Happy had me completely trapped.

Then, suddenly—

“I’ve told you again and again, Happy.”

A voice cut through the silence.

Happy stopped.

Her gaze flickered to the side.

Lunt.

I had forgotten he was even here.

But at this moment—

I had never been more grateful.

“What?”

“You’re wasting your time.”

Lunt sighed.

“Yeres will never love you.”

And just like that—

I had a chance.

A single moment of hope.

Because Lunt…

was the only person here who could save me.

And I prayed—

That he would.

I’m really sorry. But it’s already beyond the point of no return.

What are you going to do?

I’m going to make sure Happy only looks at me.

Are you going to accept her love?

No.

…You’re insane.

I know. So don’t try to stop me.

“…I did it.”

The saying that a person feels at peace once they give up everything was true.

With a forced sigh of relief, all negative emotions disappeared.

Instead, I smiled faintly at the rare positive feeling—the realization that as long as I had hope, nothing else mattered.

“Unnie?”

Even though Happy was glaring at me with sharp eyes.

I accepted her gaze as if I had completely forgotten the fact that I had been killed 131 times and endured two days of torture.

“What did you just say?”

I had already thought of plenty of words that would catch her interest.

All I had to do was let out the words I had wanted to say but had forcibly swallowed.

“Ah… I didn’t say anything!”

“Don’t lie. You said you did it. What did you do… No way.”

My act was so convincing that even Happy was fooled.

She stared at me, covering her mouth in shock, then let out a deep sigh and turned to Lunt to apologize.

“I’m sorry, Lunt.”

“…I knew it. Happy, you’ve fallen too deep for that woman.”

“I’m sorry for that too. But there’s one thing I can promise you.”

“What is it?”

“I won’t ever doubt you again.”

“…For now, that’s enough.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Lunt let out a sigh he couldn’t hide.

Unlike me, however, he understood exactly what kind of decision Yeres had made.

So he covered his eyes with his front paw.

Because soon, something that didn’t suit a magical girl at all—something absolutely horrific—was about to begin.

“You really did try to drive a wedge between us. I almost fell for it.”

“Urk…!”

Happy immediately approached me and twisted the fingers on my left hand more than those on my right.

Contrary to my expectation that the pain would be the same, I nearly failed to hold back a scream from the sheer agony in my left hand.

“Why? Didn’t you listen to my explanation properly?”

Seeing that, Happy’s face twisted in disappointment—she had wanted to hear me scream.

Her eyes, scanning every inch of my body as if searching for something to twist beyond my fingers, were filled with both love and madness.

“Do I have to say it again?”

“…No.”

“Why did you endure the pain? And why did you try to turn Lunt against me?”

But I was no longer afraid of Happy.

I convinced myself that I only had to endure this one last time, and finally, I said the words I had wanted to say over the past two days.

“I hate you. So no matter what it takes, I’m going to escape from here.”

The effect was dramatic.

So dramatic that it was actually a problem, but I had no intention of trying to undo what was already done.

Instead, I had to destroy everything.

That was the only way to make Happy forget what happened with Lunt.

Smack!

“Unnie.”

The usual abuse began.

It was more bearable than I had expected.

Smack!

“Yeres Unnie.”

She barely even flinched.

Her slap was weaker than before—I nearly laughed at how ridiculous it was.

“Apologize.”

No matter how insane she had become, that was something she had to endure.

If she refused, I had no idea what I might do to her.

“Say you’re sorry to me. Now.”

At most, she’d lose an eye, like I had threatened before.

“Now.”

If that was all I did, maybe she’d forget about today’s events entirely.

“Now!!”

“No.”

“What?”

“Do you really think I’ll love you just because you do this?”

Her hand stopped midair.

She must have been thinking the same thing as I was.

Frantically searching her mind for an even crueler form of torture.

“Yeres.”

When she finally spoke again, she no longer used formal speech.

“What did I do wrong?”

Instead, she grabbed me by the collar, her eyes brimming with tears, hoping I would feel the same sorrow she did.

“You wanted to forget that you were once the Queen of the Darkmoon organization, so I made that happen.

I even prepared everything you needed to live an ordinary life!”

“You did.”

“‘You did’?! That should’ve been enough! What more do you want from me?

I’ll do anything. Anything you want, just look at me.

Love me.

Think only of me.

That’s all I ask.”

The problem was that her emotions were too old and worn out.

I couldn’t understand the sorrow Happy was feeling.

Even if I could, I had no intention of shedding tears for her.

“Do you really hate it that much?”

“…I do.”

So I continued to resist.

Like a child rebelling against their parents.

“Why?”

“Why was I ever afraid of you?”

“…What did you say?”

“You…”

Ah, right.

There was that.

“Seeing you tremble in fear before your mother… it made you seem pathetic.”

Now, I braced myself for the inevitable torture until her rage subsided.

“Lunt.”

Even though she had anticipated it, I saw Yeres tremble slightly.

“Open the basement.”

Still, compared to the fear she’d endured over the past two days, this was nothing.

“Right now.”