“Get away from Jiina!”
The blindfolded woman rushed forward, swinging her sword. It was a long, pointed sword, like a fencing foil.
“Whoa!”
I was startled and stepped back.
Succumea stepped forward and extended her arm.
Then, a pattern resembling a magic circle appeared in the air, blocking the sword.
“Ugh…!”
“Meah.”
Succumea spoke as if giving Meah an order.
Soon, the vulva tattooed on Meah's lower abdomen glowed ominously.
Meah trembled, biting her lip, then smiled alluringly.
“Hoo-eut…♥ Yes, Mama.”
Meah spoke in an incomprehensible language, as if singing.
It seemed she was using the Ark's power.
“Ugh…! Stop it, Jiina…! You’re being controlled…!”
The blindfolded woman groaned in pain, clutching her head, then knelt on the spot.
“At least, give you peace…!”
The woman desperately squeezed out strength and extended her sword towards Jiina.
But she couldn't reach, and dropped it.
“Ugh…! My head…!”
The blindfolded woman clutched her head, her teeth chattering in agony, before she unnaturally slumped down.
She looked like a puppet with its strings cut.
It seemed safe to assume she was in roughly that state.
Her eyes stared blankly into space, unfocused, and drool trickled from her half-open lips.
Seeing her once cool and bold beauty so tragically ruined, I felt aroused.
“What should we do? Papa, Mama. Should I just smash her brain like this?”
Meah said something chillingly nonchalant.
“No. There’s still a lot of information we need to get from her. Just make her docile.”
“Understood, Mama.”
Receiving the instruction, Meah began to speak as if singing.
“Ugh… Ah…♥”
Then, the blindfolded woman, who had been sitting dazed, began to twitch and tremble, showing a reaction.
Drip.
The crotch of her jeans became damp, and arousal fluid beaded up.
“Hee-heuh…♥ Heu-euh…♥ Heu-euh…♥ Hoo-hee…♥”
The woman knelt and spread her legs, then eagerly fondled her nipples, which were clearly erect even through her clothes, and her soaked crotch, which was leaving a prominent camel toe in her pants.
“Jiina…♥ Jiina…♥ Don’t suck my ear hole…♥ It’s a dirty place…♥ Jiina’s tongue is so long…♥ It feels like it reaches my brain♥ Don’t lick my brain♥ My head will go weird…♥ Ee-heet♥”
She rambled incoherently, her eyes half-lidded.
It seemed she, too, had been dragged into that white space I'd visited before, and was diligently having 'affection' injected into her.
The illusion I experienced had its power somewhat controlled, but for her, it was probably being applied at full power, making it difficult to escape.
“Mm… I’ll do anything for you♥ Because we’re friends…♥ Just say anything♥ I’ll obey♥ Ah-heet♥”
Pshhh.
Juice sprayed through her jeans.
Meah stopped singing, approached the woman, and said with a faint smile.
“Hand.”
The woman, with a half-crazed look, grinned widely and extended her hand to Meah.
“Hey, wouldn’t it have been better to brainwash her with your power? She’s really being put through the wringer without mercy.”
I approached Succumea and said.
“It’s impossible with my power. Even though she looks like that, that woman is quite strong.”
She doesn’t look like it at all.
The woman who attacked us the moment she saw us was named Maxina.
She is the commander of the heroes within the Ark.
Except in special cases, she takes on the role of leader when combat occurs.
I heard that Maxina was originally a very outstanding commander even in her own world, that is, within the creative work she belonged to.
The Meah of the past, who needed Maxina's abilities—that is, the Manager of the Ark—made an offer, and so they began to work together.
Her combat ability is strong enough to be counted among the strongest even within the group of heroes, which consists only of the most powerful individuals from countless creative works.
However, what's more dangerous than that is her keen sense for combat; Succumea explained that in a multi-on-multi battle, it's safe to say there's no hero on the battlefield who could defeat Maxina.
“How do you know so much?”
“I happened to come across information about her while restoring the Manager of the Ark’s data.”
Anyway, that remarkable individual is now leading the way, guiding us.
With Meah riding on her back.
“Giddy up, giddy up!”
“Hee-hee-hee-hing! Ha-euk♥”
Yustia was a pig, and Maxina seemed to be a horse.
The blindfolded, black-haired commander let out lewd moans and whinnies every time Meah slapped her rear, telling her to crawl faster.
Judging by the situation, it seemed she was being tormented, but seeing her utterly blissful face gave a different impression.
A golden glow shimmered in Maxina’s eyes.
This was a sign that Meah’s brainwashing ability was taking effect.
I had already sensed it, but seeing it again, it was even more incredible than I imagined.
The power of the Ark.
The one who was burning with hostility just moments ago had completely changed her attitude and was now on our side.
In truth, both Succumea and I had done similar things several times, but Meah’s power was far superior to ours.
That's precisely what it means to control a target freely, without any restrictions.
“It’s not without any restrictions.”
Succumea spoke as if reading my thoughts.
“What? How did you know?”
“I get a sense from your expression. The Manager of the Ark’s brainwashing ability isn’t very effective on hostile targets. At most, it only affects moods or emotions. The reason that woman was easily brainwashed by Meah is because she was definitely an ally.”
“So… Meah’s power is much stronger on the Ark’s pawns?”
“That’s right.”
“We’ve arrived, Jiina.”
Maxina stopped, then looked up and spoke to Meah.
“I told you to call me Meah.”
Meah slapped her rear reprovingly, and Maxina let out a wet “Ha-euk♥” before apologizing.
“Sorry. Me, Meah…♥”
“I’ll forgive you just this once.”
After saying that, Meah dismounted from her personal ride.
“Meah. Your hand.”
Succumea stood before the door and said.
“Yes, Mama.”
Meah walked forward and placed her hand on the tightly shut, massive door.
The enormous stone door, easily 10 meters high, began to open with a thud as Meah’s hand touched it, and streaks of light spread out in a tree-like pattern.
Inside was dark.
I cautiously followed the others inside.
“It has taken a very long time to return here.”
Succumea said in a nostalgic voice, as if recalling old memories.
“How long did it take?”
“Well, about a thousand years?”
“You’re lying. There weren’t even cell phones back then.”
“Our time isn’t linear.”
Just then, the room suddenly brightened.
I turned to see Meah extending her hand towards the air.
“The Ark is reacting to the Manager of the Ark.”
Succumea explained.
Above our heads, countless points of light twinkled like stars in the night sky.
“Those are the Ark’s records.”
“Those?”
“That’s right. Each one of those tiny specks of light is a collected creative work. They are also what we need to acquire from now on.”
“Acquire?”
At Succumea’s sudden words, I looked at her with a 'what are you talking about' expression and asked.
“To perfectly control the Ark, one needs the qualification. However, the Manager of the Ark who possessed that qualification is already effectively dead.”
Succumea seemed to be talking about the self-destruction that happened previously.
The woman who used the unfamiliar name Jiina, before she was Meah.
Now, it wouldn't be wrong to say she is definitely dead.
No, more precisely, it should be that way.
Otherwise, Meah’s existence would be denied.
“That said, we cannot allow a new Manager of the Ark to appear. So, the only remaining method is to take it.”
“Take it?”
“The Manager of the Ark scattered her power across various worlds. So that it could be used as full power in an emergency. And those who were entrusted with that power were named heroes.”
Hearing that, I thought of Hayes.
Come to think of it, that guy also used the Ark’s power.
Even though he was fired for dereliction of duty.
“So, you’re saying we should take their power and make it ours?”
“That’s right.”
“Do we really have to go that far? It’s tiring. Can’t we just leave them be and live peacefully? The Manager is on our side now, and we’ve brainwashed the middle management below her, so what’s the problem?”
“They are a very minor issue compared to the Ark. If the Ark perceives us as enemies, a much fiercer attack will be launched than now. Without sufficient countermeasures, we would be helpless.”
“You said the Ark is a system. How can a system attack?”
“The Ark is a unified will. Simply put, it’s like Collector-nim’s body. We are the cancer cells growing within that body. And the Ark has thousands of ways to properly remove cancer cells.”
“That’s amazing.”
If medical technology is that advanced, I definitely want to see it.
“What if we show that we are docile and harmless cancer?”
“It would try to remove us before we grow. I regret to say this, but Collector-nim, you must know. Nothing can be received without a price.”
Right.
I regret it very much.
That those words came from your mouth.
It’s obvious this guy already knew everything.
Because she was the former Manager of the Ark.
In other words, in terms of a company, she was roughly in the position of a CEO. The Ark, meanwhile, was like the board of directors or the chairman, a higher position anyway.
Yet, it wasn't announced anywhere.
That if you use this app, you'll have to live a life like war forever.
“Are you angry?”
“No, I’m not.”
“You seem to be.”
“I said I’m not.”
I just thought I’d get my revenge someday.
You swindler.