Night clung to the streets like a thin film, neon bleeding into puddles where rain had passed earlier. I walked with Tsukimi at my side, our shadows stretching long and uneven across the pavement. She didn't speak. She didn't even try to fill the silence with small talk. She just kept glancing at me, hands knotted around the strap of her bag like a rope.
Every step I heard her breath catch, shallow and fragile. She had been broken in the courtyard. Now she was following because that was easier than resisting.
And the system loved it.
[Target: Tsukimi Chifuyu — Innocence Index: High.]
[Objective 1: Acquire leverage — Completed.]
[Objective 2: Apply pressure — Completed.]
[Objective 3: Invite target to a hotel.]
[Reward Multiplier: Active.]
[Time Limit: 24:00:00]
[Failure Condition: Host Termination.]
I glanced at Tsukimi. She was keeping pace, her expression taut as a thread ready to snap. Not once did she ask where we were going. That was the most terrifying part.
When I finally spoke, my voice came out smoother than I felt. "There's a place nearby we can talk. Somewhere private."
Her knuckles whitened. "...Where?"
I looked at the glowing sign across the street: HOTEL. Red letters buzzing faintly, reflected in the wet asphalt. The system's pulse quickened as if sensing the choice.
"A hotel."
Tsukimi stopped dead. The world froze with her, traffic noise dulling, neon buzzing louder. Her breath trembled audibly in the cold night air.
I expected resistance. Tears. Panic. A shake of the head. But instead, after a long, shuddering pause, she nodded. Once. Mechanical.
[Compliance Threshold: 100%.]
[Objective 3: Invite target to a hotel — Completed.]
We crossed the street together, the sign above us flickering like a false star. My hand brushed the door first, pulling it open. Tsukimi followed wordlessly, like a marionette whose strings were threaded through my phone.
The lobby smelled faintly of disinfectant and roses, cheap attempts to disguise the fact that the place's purpose was nothing more than privacy for purchase. The woman at the desk gave me the same look I'd grown used to in this world: awe and disbelief stitched together.
An angel in a den of sinners.
I rented a room without hesitation, my voice carrying confidence that wasn't mine. The system had given me the mask, and now it wore me better than I wore myself.
We entered the room. The door clicked shut behind us with a finality that made my chest ache.
[Objective Chain Complete.]
[Target Status: Compromised.]
[Reward Multiplier Applied.]
[System Integration: Advancing.]
Tsukimi sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded tight in her lap, staring down at the carpet like a child waiting for punishment. She didn't ask why. She didn't try to run. She didn't even look at the door.
I told myself I would endure this mask for Saki. I told myself every step deeper into damnation was still on my terms.
But looking at Tsukimi, silent, compliant, broken before me, I wasn't sure anymore if the mask was coming off.
[New Objective Available: Establish permanent control.]
[Affinity Surge Detected.]
[Target: Tsukimi Chifuyu — Affection: 10%(Affected by Charm: 99(Broken))]
[Objective: Attain physical intimacy (consummation required).]
[Time Limit: Tonight.]
[Reward: (Locked).]
[Failure Condition: Death.]
My throat went dry.
Of course…
Two words, bitter and inevitable, dripping like poison. This was always where the road bent, wasn't it? Every quest narrowed down to the same end: intimacy as a transaction, innocence as currency. The system didn't just want obedience, it wanted a signature in flesh.
I glanced at Tsukimi again. Her small frame trembled on the bed, back rigid, hands still knotted in her lap. She looked like a bird waiting for the cage to close.
[Affection: 10% → 99% (Charm Override: Broken).]
Not love. Not even fear. Just a false devotion stapled onto her heart, courtesy of the parasite that lived in my skull.
"Permanent control," I whispered under my breath, the words tasting like rust.
The room seemed to hum with the system's anticipation. The air felt thinner, heavier, as though it were leaning in, waiting for me to move.
Tsukimi raised her eyes at last. Wide. Shiny. Hollow. "If this is… what you need," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
What I need, huh...
I wanted to scream at her, to shake her shoulders and tell her none of this was real, that she deserved better, that she was just a name in a ledger to something that didn't bleed. But my body didn't listen. My jaw locked. My hands clenched.
Because behind the hollow words was the noose:
[Failure Condition: Death.]
Death meant leaving Saki alone. Death meant the system would find another host, one who wouldn't hesitate, one who would devour her without pause.
The mask smiled for me, dragging my body toward the bed. I sat down beside Tsukimi, close enough to feel the heat radiating off her, the trembling of her hands.
[Objective Locked In.]
I pressed my palms against my knees, staring at the carpet instead of her face. My chest felt like it was splitting open, a war between the man who still believed in love and the weapon the system was carving me into.
"Of course…" I said again, softer this time, like a vow I didn't choose.
The words made Tsukimi flinch, but she didn't move away.
'He' smiled before I meant to let him. The smile that didn't belong to me, softer, sleeker, the kind of thing that made people mistake cruelty for confidence.
"You're pretty excited about this, aren't you?" the other voice said, velvet and sharp at once. It draped over the room like smoke.
Tsukimi flinched. Her fingers squeezed the strap of her bag until the knuckles whitened. "I..." she began, then swallowed.
"How far have you gone with Takagi?" the voice pressed, casual as a man asking a favor. "How long have you two been, doing things?"
Her eyes darted up, then down, as if hiding a secret would make it smaller. "We've only… kissed," she whispered, the words thin and brittle.
"For real?" the voice sighed, "Only kissed? If I'd been him? I'd be banging you every day." The sentence landed like a stone. The cadence was wrong, lewd and impossible in the same breath, and it pulled at something cold inside me that I hated.
Tsukimi's face burned. She pressed her palms flat to her knees, trying to plant herself against the tide. "P-please don't..." she began, voice breaking.
"Don't what?" the other voice continued, "Turn down mercy? Call someone? Run?" It tilted my head, mocking curiosity. "You do realize how few options you have tonight in a city that loves to look the other way, don't you? The bulletin board, the dean, a rumor whispered in the right ear, small things stack fast."
She swallowed, a wet, helpless sound. "I won't tell. I swear I won't tell anyone."
[Affinity Surge Detected.]
[Tsukimi Chifuyu — Affection: 94%]
[Objective: Attain physical intimacy - Time Limit: Tonight.]
I could feel my own pulse in my throat, the sound of that mechanical heart loud enough to drown reason. The mask's smile was a thing I could wear now: practiced, cold, convincing.
"Good," the other voice said. "Because you're going to help me with something. You'll keep your mouth shut. You'll do what's asked of you. Maybe, if you're very cooperative, I'll do a small thing for you. Maybe I'll delete something. Or maybe I'll pin it up where everyone can see." My hand lifted slightly, the phone an unspoken accusation between my fingers.
Tsukimi's breath came faster. "Please. Please don't—"
"Depending on how obedient you are," the voice continued, syrupy, "I might make your punishment private. Or public." It folded the two possibilities into a single threat. "Everyone loves a spectacle. The school loves rules. You could fall because they want to watch you fall."
She looked at me like I might still be the friend who'd once stepped between her and a cruel joke in a stairwell. "I don't want to hurt Takagi," she whispered. "He... he'd lose everything."
"You should have thought of that before you kissed in public," the voice said. There was no anger in it, only an almost academic disappointment. "Rules are neat things. They make breaking beautiful and punishable. That's why people like you are so useful."
She went still, the fight emptying out of her like air from a balloon.
I could have stopped. I could have pushed the phone back into my pocket, taken a breath, burned the entire ledger on the system with whatever small rebellion Resolve gave me. But the hush of the hotel room seemed to answer with a simpler calculation: comply, collect, protect Saki. If that meant I wore the villain's grin a while longer, then so be it.
"Tell me where Takagi will be tomorrow," I heard myself say, "Names. Times. Let me know who sees you. Don't lie."
Not 'it'. But me.
Tsukimi's chin trembled. "He goes to the riverside bar on weekends. He leaves after eleven. He—" Her voice faltered. "He always walks one street over so we don't get seen."
"Good." I made a note in my head, "If you're helpful, I'll consider deleting the photo. If you give me reason to think you'd go to the dean instead, I'll pin it up first."
The words left my mouth before I could stop them, slick and foreign, like oil sliding off a blade. My fingers twitched at my sides, my body moving on its own, guided by something that wasn't me anymore. Tsukimi's breath hitched as I stepped closer, her back pressing against the headboard as if she could melt into the wall.
Her eyes were wide, glassy, the kind of look a rabbit gives when it realizes the wolf isn't just passing through.
"You're my woman for today," I heard myself say. My hand lifted, fingers brushing the hem of her blouse. The fabric was cheap, thin, trembling with her pulse. "So I'll satisfy your sexual urges for now."
Her entire body flinched. "N-no, I...I don't- "
"Don't what?" The smile that spread across my face wasn't mine. It was too sharp, too knowing, the kind of grin that belonged on a face in a police sketch. "You don't want this?"
My fingers traced upward, skimming the fabric over her ribs. She recoiled, but there was nowhere to go. The bed creaked under her weight as she pressed back, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Isn't that great, Tsukimi-san? You get to keep your boyfriend." My thumb grazed the underside of her breast, and she let out a choked sound, her hands flying up to grab my wrist. Not to push me away, just to hold on, like she was drowning. "While sleeping with a guy like me."
Her fingers were ice cold. "P-please, I... I can't-"
"Can't?" I echoed, leaning in. My free hand cupped her chin, tilting her face up. Her skin was fever-hot, her pulse hammering against my palm. The system's text scrolled across my vision, gleeful:
[Affection: 12%(Charm Affected)]
[Physical Contact: Initiated]
I wanted to vomit.
Tsukimi's lips parted, but no sound came out. Tears welled in her eyes, spilling over as she shook her head. "I love him," she whispered, like that would matter. Like that would stop this.
The laugh that left me was hollow, performative.
"Love?" My hand slid higher, my thumb brushing over the peak of her breast through the fabric. She jerked, a broken sound escaping her. "What a funny word. You think that'll save you?" My grip on her chin tightened just enough to make her wince. "You're mine tonight."
"Isn't that right, Tsukimi-san?"
She didn't answer. She couldn't. Her body had gone rigid, her breath shallow, her fingers still clinging to my wrist like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely.
"Let's enjoy ourselves," I murmured, and the horror was that I almost meant it. My hand slid down, palming her breast through her blouse, and she let out a broken sob, her body arching away.
[Affection: 14%(Charm Affected)]
The numbers glowed in my vision, a sickening green, like the system was cheering me on.
Tsukimi's voice was a whisper, cracked and desperate. "Please... I'll do anything else. Just... just don't-"
My fingers curled, squeezing just enough to make her gasp. "Anything?"
Tsukimi's tears were silent now, tracking down her cheeks as she stared up at me, her body trembling. She didn't fight. She didn't scream. She just waited, like a sacrifice already laid on the altar.
The worst part was the way my body responded. The way my pulse quickened, the way my breath hitched, the way something dark and hungry uncoiled in my chest.
My hand tightened on her breast, my thumb circling, and she whimpered, her nails digging into my wrist. Not to stop me. Just to ground herself.
"You're going to be such a good girl for me, aren't you?" The words slipped out, smooth and poisonous.
Tsukimi's lips parted, but no sound came out. She just nodded, once, a tiny, broken motion, her eyes squeezed shut like that could make this disappear.
I leaned in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. "Good," I whispered, and my hand slid down, fingers finding the hem of her blouse.
My lips found hers before I could stop them. It was a kiss that started soft, almost mocking in its gentleness, my mouth pressing against the salt of her tears, tasting the fear and the fragile curve of her lips. Tsukimi froze beneath me, her body a statue carved from ice.
But then something shifted, a tremor, a softening, and her mouth parted under mine, not in surrender, but in a gasp that pulled me deeper. My tongue slipped past her lips, exploring the warmth of her, the faint sweetness of her breath, and she whimpered into it, a sound that vibrated through me like a live wire.
[Physical Contact: Deepened. Affection: 20%.(Charm Affected)]
Her body betrayed her first. I felt it in the way her hips jerked involuntarily, the way her thighs clenched together as if to trap the heat building there.
The kiss dragged on, my hand still cupping her chin, holding her steady as I tilted her head, deepening the angle, my teeth grazing her lower lip just enough to draw a soft, broken "nngh" from her throat. She was trembling now, full-body shudders that made her breasts press against my chest, her nipples hardening through the thin fabric of her blouse.
And then it hit, her climax, sudden and shattering, ripping through her without a single touch below the waist. Her pussy clenched on nothing, a flood of slick soaking her panties, her thighs, and she cried out into my mouth, the sound muffled but raw, her nails digging crescents into my skin as her body arched, then collapsed, limp and quivering.I pulled back, breaking the kiss with a wet sound, watching her through half-lidded eyes as she panted, cheeks flushed crimson, eyes glassy and unfocused.
A thin string of saliva connected our lips for a heartbeat before snapping.
"Look at you," I murmured, the words laced with that false velvet the system fed me, my thumb wiping a tear from her cheek only to smear it across her lips. "Cumming just from a kiss. Pathetic, isn't it? Takagi's never done that to you, has he? Bet he kisses like a boy playing pretend."
Tsukimi's breath hitched, her chest heaving as aftershocks rippled through her, but she didn't pull away. Couldn't. The system's charm had her pinned, a puppet with strings of false affection twisting her fear into something pliable.
"P-please... don't say that," she whispered, voice cracking, but her body leaned into me, traitorous and hot. I chuckled, low and cruel, my hand sliding down to trace the line of her jaw, then lower, teasing the collar of her blouse without undoing a button.
"Why not? It's true. You're dripping for me already, and he probably fumbles around like he's afraid to break you. But me? I know what you need, Tsukimi-san. A real man to make you shatter." The words burned in my throat, but they flowed easily.
Her eyes squeezed shut, another soft whimper escaping as my fingers danced along her collarbone, dipping just enough to graze the swell of her breast without mercy. Twenty minutes blurred by in that haze of torment, me toying with her like a cat with a half-dead mouse, the room thick with her ragged breaths and the faint, musky scent of her arousal.
I'd unbuttoned her blouse halfway, exposing the simple white lace of her bra, my hand cupping one small breast, thumb rolling over her nipple until it pebbled hard under the fabric. She squirmed, thighs rubbing together, but I pinned her with a knee between her legs, forcing her to feel the pressure without relief. My other hand had slipped under her skirt, fingers tracing the edge of her soaked panties, dipping just inside to brush her slick folds, circling her clit with feather-light strokes that made her hips buck desperately.
"See this?" I taunted, my voice a low growl against her ear, breath hot on her skin. "This is what Takagi's missing. Your little pussy's weeping for me, clenching around my fingers like it can't get enough. Does he even know how wet you get?" I plunged two fingers inside her suddenly, curling them against that spot that made her cry out, her walls fluttering around the intrusion, so tight and hot it made my cock throb painfully against my pants. She was a mess, slick coating my hand, her moans turning to sobs as I pumped slowly, teasing, never giving her the rhythm she chased.
"L-Lucien... ah... no, I... Takagi, he's-" Her words dissolved into a whine as I twisted my fingers, my thumb pressing her clit in firm circles, building her up again without mercy.
"Shh," I whispered, nipping at her earlobe, my mouth trailing down her neck to suck a mark just above her collarbone. "Think about him while I finger-fuck you. Imagine his face when he finds out how easy you came for me. Bet it'd break his heart." The cruelty twisted in my gut.
[Affection: 45%(Charm Affected) (Tease Amplification: Active). Physical Response: Heightened.]
Her body betrayed her words, hips grinding against my hand, chasing the friction as tears streaked her face. "Let me watch you cum," I commanded, voice rough, pulling my fingers free just as she teetered on the edge, leaving her whining and empty. "Show me how you fall apart for the guy who's gonna ruin your precious boyfriend. Cum for me, Tsukimi-san. Let it all out."
She shattered then, a keening wail tearing from her throat as her pussy spasmed, gushing slick over my hand, her thighs quaking, body bowing off the bed in a wave of ecstasy laced with shame.
"Ah... n-no, Takagi- I'm sorry- " she gasped, but the words only fueled the surge, her walls clenching on air, affection spiking unnaturally high. [AN: I am going to hell for this]
[Affection: 72% (Charm Affected) (Humiliation Bond: Formed).]
I didn't give her time to recover. With a growl that was half mine, half the monster's, I shoved her back fully onto the bed, the mattress dipping under her slight weight. She landed with a soft thud, blouse gaping open, skirt hiked up to expose the drenched mess of her panties clinging to her swollen folds. Her eyes widened as I stood, unbuckling my belt with deliberate slowness, the metallic clink echoing in the charged silence. My pants dropped, and I freed my cock, thick, veined, heavy with need, the head already glistening with pre-cum, far bigger than anything she'd likely seen.
Tsukimi's breath caught, her eyes going round with shock, a fresh wave of fear cutting through the haze. "Th-that... it won't fit," she stammered, scrambling back on her elbows, her voice small and trembling, legs pressing together instinctively. "It's too big... please, Lucien, I... I can't-"
My hand wrapped around my shaft, stroking once, twice, the sight of her, disheveled, terrified, yet glistening and ready, stoking the fire the curse had lit. Guilt clawed at me, a knife in my ribs, but Saki's face flashed in my mind, the promise I'd made to protect her, to endure this hell for one pure thing.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, the words cracking out raw and genuine, my eyes locking on hers for a heartbeat of truth amid the lie. "I'm so fucking sorry, Tsukimi."
And then, with a surge of motion I couldn't halt, I grabbed her ankles, yanking her toward me, spreading her thighs wide. Her panties tore with a sharp rip, exposing her fully, pink, slick, quivering. I lined up, the blunt head of my cock pressing against her entrance, stretching her just from the pressure. She gasped, hands fisting the sheets, but before she could beg again, I plunged deep, burying myself to the hilt in one merciless thrust.
Her cry echoed off the walls, sharp, broken, a mix of pain and unwilling pleasure as her tight pussy stretched around me, walls clamping down like a vice, so impossibly snug it nearly undid me. Blood roared in my ears, the system's triumph chiming faintly:
[Consummation Initiated. Affinity: 85%.(Affect by Charm & Humiliation)]
But all I could feel was her, hot, wet, yielding despite the tears streaming down her face, her body instinctively arching to take me deeper even as she sobbed my name like a curse.
Tsukimi's walls clenched around me like a fist, her body simultaneously rejecting and accepting the intrusion. Her nails dug crescents into my forearms where she gripped me, her back arching off the bed as if trying to escape her own skin. The system's text scrolled across my vision, gleeful and obscene:
[Consummation: Successful]
[Affinity: 85% → 92% (Charm Override: Critical)]
[Humiliation Bond: Strengthened]
[Reward Unlocked: Permanent Charm +3]
The numbers glowed green, but all I could see was the way Tsukimi's lips trembled, the way her breath came in ragged gasps that hitched when I pulled back slightly, only to slam home again. Her body betrayed her with a wet, obscene sound, the proof of her arousal slick between us.
"You're so tight," the voice that wasn't mine purred, my hips rolling in a slow, deliberate rhythm designed to break her. "Takagi never fucked you like this, did he? Never made you take it all?"
Tsukimi shook her head frantically, tears cutting tracks through the flush on her cheeks. "N-no, he... he wouldn't-"
"Of course he wouldn't," I sneered, the words dripping with the system's venom. "He's too busy playing at being a good boyfriend to realize what his girl really needs." My thrusts grew harder, more punishing, each snap of my hips driving a broken sound from her throat. The bed creaked beneath us, the headboard knocking against the wall in a rhythm that felt like a countdown.
[Physical Response: Peak]
[Affection: 95%]
[Suggested Action: "Tell me how much better this is than him."]
I ignored the prompt, but my body didn't. My hands found her hips, fingers bruising as I lifted her slightly, changing the angle. Tsukimi cried out, her back bowing as I hit something deep inside her, her walls fluttering around me.
[Pleasure Threshold: Exceeded]
[Humiliation Effect: Maximized]
"Look at you," I growled, the words torn from somewhere dark and hungry inside me. "Taking my cock like you were made for it. Your pussy's begging for this, isn't it?" I punctuated the words with a sharp thrust, and she sobbed, her body betraying her with a fresh gush of wetness. "You're going to cum again, and you're going to thank me for it."
Tsukimi's eyes flew open, horror and something worse, compliance, swirling in their depths. "N-no, I... I can't..."
"You can," I corrected, my voice a velvet blade. "And you will." My fingers found her clit, rubbing in tight, punishing circles as I fucked her with deep, measured strokes. Her body tensed, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps as I pushed her toward the edge.
[Affection: 97%]
[Orgasm Imminent: 88%]
[Humiliation Bond: Critical]
Tsukimi's walls fluttered, her body trembling as she teetered on the brink. I could feel it, the way her muscles tensed, the way her breath hitched, the way her fingers clawed at the sheets like she was trying to anchor herself to something, anything. And then she shattered, her back arching off the bed as a broken cry tore from her throat. Her pussy clenched around me, so tight it nearly stole my own control, her body shuddering as wave after wave of forced pleasure wrecked her.
[Objective Complete: Consummation Achieved]
[Affection: 100% (Bound)]
[Reward Granted: Strength +3, Charm +2, Resolve +1 (Permanent)]
[New Title Unlocked: "Corruptor of Innocence"]
The words burned into my vision, but all I could focus on was the way Tsukimi's body went limp beneath me, her chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath. Her tears had stopped, but her eyes were empty, hollow, like something inside her had been scooped out.
I should have stopped. I should have pulled out, should have done something, anything, to make this right.
[New Objective: Deepen Psychological Control]
[Method: Force Target to Verbalize Betrayal]
[Reward: (Locked)]
[Time Limit: 10:00]
My stomach twisted, but my body moved on its own, my hips rolling again as I bottomed out inside her. Tsukimi whimpered, her body tensing as I ground against her, my cock hitting that same deep spot that had made her cum before.
"Tell me," I demanded, my voice a low growl. "Tell me how good this feels. Tell me how much better I am than Takagi."
Tsukimi's lips pressed together, her eyes squeezing shut like that could block out the truth. But the system's influence was a tide, and she was drowning in it. Her body arched as I thrust again, her nails digging into my shoulders as another broken sound escaped her.
"I—I..." she gasped, her voice cracking.
"Say it," I snarled, my fingers tightening on her hips. "Or I'll make sure Takagi sees the photos. I'll make sure everyone sees how his precious girlfriend begged for my cock. How it took you're first time."
Tsukimi's breath hitched, her body trembling beneath me.
And then, in a voice so small it barely existed, she whispered:
"It... it feels good."
[Psychological Control: Established]
[Affinity: Locked (Bound)]
[Reward Granted: Mana Perception (Upgraded)]
I should have felt victorious. I should have felt something. But all I felt was the way Tsukimi's body went slack beneath me, her tears starting again as she turned her face away, her voice a broken whisper:
"I'm sorry... Takagi... I'm so sorry..."
The system pulsed, satisfied. Its work here was done.
But mine wasn't.
Because as I looked down at Tsukimi, broken, bound, ruined, I realized the worst truth of all:
I wasn't just the knife.
I was the hand holding it.