Chapter 16: Lights Out, No Escape

“Ouch… my back…”

As the lights came on, all the vines, including the eerie old man, retreated back into the darkness.

Bubble Shadow, who had narrowly escaped death, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Completely drained, she could barely stand, let alone fight back with any kind of curse.

“Can’t you show a little mercy, you bastard…”

Bubble Shadow held her back, legs squeezed together, trembling uncontrollably.

And with her face looking a bit flushed under the light, anyone would think something had happened.

But before she could steady herself, Duya grabbed her in a hold and slammed her face-down onto the floor.

He pinned her arms behind her back, leaving her lying flat on the ground.

“Unlock my game logout permission, or else…”

There was a hint of mockery in Duya’s voice.

If Bubble Shadow dared to say no, he’d make sure she learned why flowers are so red.

He’d spank her ass until it was black and blue.

“Well… um…”

Though pinned to the ground, Bubble Shadow didn’t look panicked.

She giggled and put on an innocent face as she spoke to Duya.

“The thing is… I don’t actually know how to unlock it.”

The moment she finished speaking, Bubble Shadow, having regained just a bit of her curse power, instantly dissolved into a pile of foam.

Then, a short distance from Duya, she reformed into her human shape, a mocking grin on her face.

“Thanks for the help, Mr. Investigator. In my next life, I’ll repay you by serving as your beast of burden. See ya~”

With that, she turned to leave.

But she hadn’t gone far when Duya calmly switched off the lamp on the table.

“Ah!”

The living room plunged into darkness again.

The vines, waiting in the shadows, struck instantly, tying Bubble Shadow up tight.

Did Duya not see through Bubble Shadow’s little scheme?

Of course he did.

“You old geezer, why are you only going after me?!”

Bubble Shadow clearly hadn’t expected that even though the old man was closer to Duya, he’d come straight for her.

“That’s not fair!”

“I don’t care if it’s fair.”

Actually, the old man wasn’t targeting only Bubble Shadow.

After the lights went out, some vines tried to grab Duya as well.

But this man’s speed was eerily fast, and his strength was astonishing.

Even he himself didn’t know why he was so strong.

But he had no time to think about it.

Grabbing the kitchen knife from the table, Duya leaped up, cut the vines binding Bubble Shadow, and turned the light back on.

The vines retreated from the light once more, while Bubble Shadow was still tightly bound by the remaining section of vine, writhing on the ground like a shrimp, completely unable to move.

Watching the man walk toward her, Bubble Shadow couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

“Um…”

“What if I said I just felt a little hot and wanted to go out for some fresh air… would you believe me?”

“Do you think I would?”

Duya pulled the tightly bound Bubble Shadow up and laid her across his lap.

“Now, unlock my logout permission.”

Unlock it?

Was he joking?

Of course she couldn’t unlock it.

If this man left…

Then who knows, the brain-machine interface and her body might both end up in containment.

What would she have left to play?

She was already in his hands anyway.

She could just abandon this body.

It was already ruined anyway.

Who was afraid of whom?

So, Bubble Shadow put on a look of preferring death to submission.

She bit her lip and said defiantly, “Just kill me if you dare.”

“Kill you?”

Duya had read Bubble Shadow’s file.

He knew this Aberration didn’t have just one body.

If he killed her, she might slip away just like three years ago.

“You’re a monster. You probably don’t understand what your body means to a man, do you?”

“Huh? Wait—”

Bubble Shadow finally realized something, a very serious something.

Maybe this man wasn’t as upright as she thought!

He might lock her up in the basement with the vines, and then…

Imprisonment… bondage… rocking horse… torture devices…

Thinking of that future, Bubble Shadow couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

And just as she hesitated, the man mercilessly raised his large hand high, as if it could come down at any moment.

Her untied skirt slipped slightly, revealing her blue-and-white striped panties, and she felt a little chill.

“Talk, or not?”

Despite the humiliation, Bubble Shadow refused to give in.

She bit her lip stubbornly.

“I’m not telling you anything.”

Duya thought he could make her yield, but Bubble Shadow didn’t budge.

What’s more, she really was different from those mindless Aberrations.

She seemed very much like an ordinary human.

But a monster is still a monster.

No matter how human-like, it’s still a monster.

“Fine. You refused the toast, so now you get the penalty.”

Just as Duya was about to throw Bubble Shadow into the old man’s hands, a young voice came from behind.

“Big brother… what are you doing?”

They both turned to see Bulanni, clutching her teddy bear, standing behind them in confusion.

Bubble Shadow’s blue-and-white striped panties were facing the innocent child.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Bulanni, who hadn’t yet grasped the situation, looked at Duya, then at Bubble Shadow with her skirt halfway down.

The scene reminded her of her own parents.

It was a dark, windy night.

Her parents had been in the same position.

Her father’s laughter, the crisp sound of slaps, and her mother’s cries (?) were etched in her memory.

So Bulanni ran out, shouting “Don’t bully Mom!”… but both of them had looked embarrassed and shocked.

Then her father said something she’d never forget.

“Ahem, Bulanni, Daddy is doing… doing ‘lovemaking’ with Mommy.”

Bulanni stared blankly at her mother, who awkwardly pulled up her skirt and added, “That’s right, Daddy isn’t bullying Mommy.”

The memory ended there.

Bulanni compared that memory with the current situation.

Then the innocent, inexperienced girl tilted her head and voiced a big question.

“Big brother, are you… doing ‘lovemaking’ with this big sister?”

“What?”

Duya hadn’t expected Bulanni to appear just then.

He was about to explain when Bubble Shadow suddenly bit him hard.

The bite made him loosen his grip in pain, allowing Bubble Shadow to break free from the vines.

She fled outside at top speed, shouting with a mix of humiliation and defiance,”Just you wait! I’ll be back!!”