Chapter 6: It ended up failing

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The first thing I felt when I came to was dryness.

Maybe it was because my magic relied on water, but I was especially sensitive to the absence of moisture.

My throat was so parched that even trying to breathe made it feel like it was cracking.

The thirst was unbearable.

Even a single drop of water would be enough—just a single drop on my tongue.

But as more of my senses returned, the pain overtook my thirst.

My body—broken, twisted, barely holding together—was cursing me.

Every slight movement sent a fresh wave of agony through me.

It was enough to momentarily forget about thirst entirely.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Another sensation settled in—sound.

A rhythmic beeping, quiet but constant, drilled into my head.

It wasn’t loud enough to rupture my eardrums, but the fact that it never stopped made it worse.

A sound that should have faded into the background instead made every other pain feel more real.

Thirst, wounds, aching bones—everything intensified under the steady, mocking pulse.

It was relentless.

It kept me awake.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, only that the beeping had gone on for what felt like hundreds of repetitions before my eyes finally opened.

My vision was blurred, but I forced my gaze to move, scanning my surroundings.

It was barren.

A room, if it could even be called that—around 20 pyeong (66 square meters).

Completely empty.

No windows.

Walls with peeling wallpaper, revealing rotting material underneath.

The concrete had visible cracks, with exposed pipes running along the edges.

There wasn’t even dust in the air, though my senses were too overwhelmed to tell if that was a blessing or not.

If breathing here had made me cough, I might have lost my mind entirely.

And yet, there was something wrong about all of this.

It wasn’t just the emptiness.

It was the absence of something that should have been there.

There was no door.

Even after moving my gaze all around the room, I couldn’t find one.

At first, I thought maybe it was just because I couldn’t move my head yet.

Once I gathered enough strength to shift my body, I’d see a door behind me.

That was the logical assumption.

That was what I expected.

Then, an unsettling feeling settled deep in my chest.

Why did I assume there was a door?

What reason did I have to believe I had an exit?

Had I already forgotten what happened before I blacked out?

I had.

I had completely forgotten.

How pathetic.

Then, let me remind you.

You were caught by Happy.

You’re going to be loved by her—

For the rest of your life.

Congratulations.

It’s far from the normal life you wanted.

But at least—

You won’t die.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A shudder ran through my body as everything came rushing back.

The hazy, drugged fog in my head lifted.

And with it—

The pain returned at full force.

Now I could feel it all.

I was seated.

A chair beneath me, cold and hard.

I tried to stand up.

…!

The moment I moved my hands, a sharp sting ran through my fingertips.

I tried to turn my head—but it wouldn’t budge.

Not because I was too weak—but because I was bound.

My eyes darted downward, and I finally saw it.

My body was strapped to the chair with duct tape.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound from earlier suddenly sped up, breaking its steady rhythm.

It turned into a panicked frenzy.

That’s when I saw it.

A patient monitoring device sat beside me.

The type found in hospitals.

Its screen displayed my heartbeat, temperature, oxygen levels—all shifting in real time.

It was tracking me.

A sticky note was attached to the upper right corner of the screen.

It read:

“My beloved Yeres.”

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The beeping fluctuated wildly,

Perfectly matching my emotional state.

Two thoughts filled my mind.

I needed to escape.

But—how?

“Ngh…!”

Pain exploded through my fingers.

I had moved too soon.

The agony drowned out my thirst and exhaustion.

The scream I let out wasn’t even human.

It sounded wrong, like something forcing its way out of a throat that shouldn’t be speaking.

Something was blocking my mouth.

I tried to close my lips,

Only for my teeth to slam against something hard.

The impact was so strong, I nearly shattered them.

Although my vision was still blurry, I was certain—it was a gag.

And when I finally realized the source of the pain in my fingers… it felt as if my mind was shattering under the horrific reality.

No—hadn’t it already broken once when I lost consciousness?

And yet, this situation was so grotesque that I felt like I needed an even more desperate expression to describe it.

Both my hands were bound by a device filled with pure malice.

Each time I moved my fingers, sharp wires dug into my knuckles, piercing my skin like a torture tool.

What made it even more vicious was that, unlike the other restraints, my hands could still move—but doing so would only drive the wires deeper.

For a moment, I was silent.

Not because of the gag in my mouth.

But because the overwhelming grotesqueness of my situation left me hollow.

It wasn’t hard to guess who had done this to me.

Happy.

Because of her obsessive love, I had been reduced to someone who couldn’t move or speak.

As reality set in, fear overtook the pain.

My mind felt empty, but my thoughts were still racing with one goal—I needed to get out of here.

The more I realized my situation, the more that desire grew.

I forced my gaze to search for anything that could help me escape.

All I could see was the monitoring equipment, the crumbling walls, and the exposed pipes…

That was it.

The pipes.

I should break them.

They looked like plastic.

No—they were definitely plastic.

If I could shatter them, I could use the water inside.

But how would I break them?

There were chunks of concrete on the ground.

I could bash the pipes with those.

And how was I going to grab the concrete?

I’d walk over and pick them up.

And how was I going to walk?

I’d free myself.

And how was I going to do that?

…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I had to calm down.

Just endure the pain for a moment.

It wouldn’t be worse than having a spear driven through my chest.

…Alright.

Start.

“1100000…..!!!!!”

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

The moment I moved my fingers,

The sharp wires dug even deeper into my knuckles.

I swallowed my scream, forcing myself to untangle my hands from the restraints.

Blood dripped down my fingers as I ripped away the duct tape binding my body.

Finally, I yanked the gag out of my mouth.

The monitoring device let out an earsplitting alarm as I tore off the electrodes attached to my body.

I tried to run toward the pipes,

But my legs gave out the moment I took a step.

I collapsed to the floor.

I tried to stand again—and failed.

Tried again—and failed.

Each time, I pressed against the ground with my hands—

Only for the wires to sink deeper into my fingers.

“Kh…!!”

I had no time to scream.

Because the realization hit me—

Happy had broken my ankles.

I forced my bleeding hands to drag me forward.

I didn’t care about the pain anymore.

I had to survive.

The wires had now pierced straight through my knuckles—

Blood smeared the floor behind me.

But I ignored it all.

I had to get to the pipes.

At least the pipes were plastic.

I grabbed a concrete chunk and smashed it against them.

I didn’t care if the noise attracted Happy.

Even if she showed up,

As long as I had water, I could escape.

After a few hits, a crack appeared.

Just a little more.

BANG!

“Sis!”

A door—one I hadn’t seen before—

Burst open.

And I heard Happy’s voice.

I clenched my teeth,

Summoning every ounce of strength I had—

And slammed the concrete into the pipe one last time.

CRACK.

The pipe finally shattered.

But—

There was no water.

If there had been, it would have spilled out the moment the first crack appeared.

Why…

Why am I so stupid?

I fell for false hope again.

The despair weighed down on me, so heavy I couldn’t even lift my head.

“I knew you’d do this, Yeres.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

I slowly turned my head.

And there she was.

Happy.

Her twisted smile and darkened eyes looked nothing like a Magical Girl.

“Are you ready for your punishment?”