Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

As the sound of footsteps gradually faded away—almost as if it had been muted entirely—it became clear that the fleeing man had completely escaped this space.

Only then could I let go of a bit of my burden and fully focus on this creature before me.

Succubus.

To describe the appearance of this being, it could simply be summed up with these four characters.

An outfit that was revealing enough to make one unsure where to look, horns protruding from her head, and an expression that oddly provoked human emotions.

According to Knight Commander, and I suspect Deputy Director influenced the interpretation quite a bit, there’s only one reason why an entity expected to be bizarre looks like this.

“Outsider.”

If it simply looked gross, it might be cute, but there’s no way it becomes a pretty girl like this.

The Super Coward Mode doesn’t lie.

An outsider managing the Dream Domain, huh?

Dreams are the deepest unconscious territory of a person’s psyche.

That means this outsider is definitely not an ordinary one.

Hearing my mumbling, the Succubus outsider looked down at me and let out a displeasing laugh.

“I thought someone with a weak human body would collapse just from facing me, but you’re a bit different, huh?”

Her condescending tone, the mocking expression, and the gesture of her hand to her mouth—it was as if she had taken all the traits of a character that started with ‘Me’ and ended with ‘Ki,’ which had once been popular before I got sucked into this game, and applied them right here.

…Seriously, where do they get the big data to twist things into such shapes?

Thinking back to my time with Dragon Slayer, the outsider’s personality was well reflected in that appearance, so I didn’t have much to say.

But at this point, could it be that this is actually the true form of the outsider?

“Pfft, so now you can play with me a little? If it weren’t for those incompetent eardrums, I would have wanted to hear your answer.”

“Yeah, sorry about the incompetent eardrums.”

“Right, like this… huh?”

I was trying to slowly assess my opponent and act accordingly.

However, this brazen fellow kept using words that irked me, which put me in a bad mood.

So, almost reflexively, I answered her, only for her to show clear signs of surprise.

“Can you understand what I’m saying?”

“Why? Did you think an incompetent human would be unable to understand?”

Her taunting words were enough to make me respond vigorously, yet rather than be bothered, she seemed to be genuinely delighted.

I really don’t get why these outsiders are so happy when someone understands them.

Right now, I don’t care about that.

“You’re that damned outsider who has been bothering people lately.”

Cracking my knuckles to create a rough sound, I loosened up my body.

Whether she liked it or not, what I had to do was already set in stone.

These brazen fellows deserve a lesson in Traditional Education.

Teaching proper manners from ancient times and engraving true knowledge on their heads using traditional methods.

That’s true Education.

“Come here; I need to give you a good beating.”

Sure, if she can manage dreams, then she must be a pretty powerful outsider, but the tier doesn’t change, whether she’s an ordinary outsider or an elite outsider.

If she’s an ordinary outsider, I’ll just suppress her with my pure physical ability, and if she’s an elite outsider, I can use the abilities of the elite outsiders that are sitting in my mind.

“Haha! What a fun thing to say! I never expected to hear such things from a dazed incompetent human.”

I thought she’d get annoyed at my words, but instead, she seemed even more excited, her face turning red with pleasure.

And look at her choice of words.

How does she pick only the most irritating words to use?

Thinking that way, I was suppressing my frustration internally when I felt a sensation that was several times greater than my annoyance at the back of my mind.

“That woman, how dare she! There’s nothing she can’t say to the Master!” (Dragon Slayer)

“Heh heh, this is getting interesting.” (Gardener)

“…Looks like she’s gotten quite bold.” (Bell)

…It seems the elite outsiders were getting heated by what the Succubus outsider was saying.

Around that time, for some reason, the Succubus outsider was pursing her lips and making an exaggerated gesture as if contemplating something.

I wondered what she was up to now.

“Hmm, should I start by cutting off the support that allows you to run wild?”

Saying this, she snapped her fingers.

A sound echoed, and about a second later…

“…?”

I suddenly felt the space in my head that should have been occupied by the outsiders vanish entirely.

Even when I called out the names of the elite outsiders in my mind, none of them replied.

The Succubus outsider was doubled over, laughing uproariously at my perplexed expression.

“Haha! Ah, look at that flustered expression. As expected, without those entities, your response is so weak human-like.”

“What the hell did you do…?!”

“What did I do, you ask?”

The Succubus outsider pointed at me and moved her finger in a way that felt like she was drawing a line.

“As I said, you were quite close with some impressive individuals, huh? But what now? No matter how impressive they are, if I hold your unconsciousness, the permission to connect with them is in my hands, right?”

With that statement, she kept her finger pointing at me, merely laughing.

As if she was relishing my predicament.

No matter how beautiful her looks were, if her character is awful, that’s end of the line.

I was furious to my very core and threw my body in the direction of the Succubus outsider, but by then, she had long disappeared.

“Aren’t you getting excited too easily? I thought your flesh was weak, but it seems your mental strength is incompetent too?”

I heard her voice from behind me, and when I turned my head, I found the outsider still mocking me in the same pose.

This vile woman…!

Standing up from my place, infuriated, the Succubus held up her palm to signify for me to stop.

“Wait just a moment. How about we play a game instead?”

“…What?”

“I’ll set an interesting condition. If you win, you can do whatever you want with me.”

With that, the Succubus outsider held onto those inappropriate parts of herself with both hands and gave them a little shake.

“‘Lustful things’ are fine too.”

…Upon hearing that, I exploded with anger.

Not because it was something trivial, but because I was genuinely enraged.

What does that even mean?

She’s essentially saying that I’m automatically going to lose!

It’s no different than saying, ‘Oh, you incompetent, weak bug!’

Does this girl really know how to play on a man’s competitive spirit?

“…What’s the game?”

“It’s simple. If you can endure the things I do for a minute, you win. But…”

Just then, the Succubus outsider suddenly raised her hand, and from it, a chain appeared that settled on her palm.

After licking the chain lightly with her tongue, she rubbed it against her cheek and spoke in a sultry voice.

“If you lose, you become my Loyal Slave.”

Oh great.

This is an unavoidable game.

This brazen fellow, who’s assaulting my pride as a man, will definitely get a lesson from me.

“I get it.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I replied.

“I accept the proposal.”

When it came to outsiders, I was overflowing with confidence.

With my reply, the Succubus outsider threw a piece of paper into the air, which then ignited and vanished.

And she laughed as if she were quite pleased.

“You made a mistake. I don’t know how you wrangled those entities, but I never thought you’d choose self-destruction here.”

At the snap of her fingers, chains wrapped around me.

It seemed like her intention was to make sure I couldn’t flee during the game.

Just as I hoped.

Focusing my gaze on the outsider with determination, she smirked satisfactorily and caressed my chin with her finger.

“Mmm, I really like your fighting spirit. I’m going to turn you into a slave and treat you with care.”

As she said this, the Succubus lifted her finger, and there it was—’01:00′ displayed above it.

“I’ll show you the time as a special treat. Though, I wonder if it will have any meaning, heh.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her eagerness to taunt me until the end.

With her words, she suddenly grabbed my cheeks with both hands, forcing me to maintain eye contact with her.

It was a forced eye contact session with the Succubus.

From her lovely visage, the light in her eyes began to radiate a soft pink hue, gradually intensifying.

Looks like she was about to use her powers.

“You’re going to fall for me now. For eternity. You’ll become a body that cannot survive without me.”

Was she trying to be enchanting?

She wore an even more attractive expression than before and shot that light from her eyes towards mine.

It was so dazzling that I instinctively shut my eyes tight, but she wouldn’t even allow me that—her hand that was on my cheek slid upwards, pinching my eyelids tight.

Ugh, my eyes!

Save me!

I’m going to go blind!

Though it was a dream, I felt a strangely agonizing sensation running through me.

It felt like she was putting in a lot of effort to shine brightly.

If I were a normal human, I’d probably have been knocked out here or died, just like the corpses laid out over a furnace.

But the outsider wouldn’t know this fact, evidently.

“What is this?!”

For the first time, an expression of confusion surfaced on the Succubus outsider’s face, and she began to glow even stronger than before.

But of course, that couldn’t work on me.

I have the Super Coward Mode, which grants me immunity to all mental manipulation powers from outsiders.

“Why isn’t it working!?”

The time had changed to ’00:10′, and when the Succubus outsider checked the clock, her look turned anxious.

“Stop resisting! It’s painful for you, too, right?”

She seemed to think I was countering her power somehow.

Well, letting her think whatever she wants would make for a fun observation point.

“Yes! If you become my slave, I’ll treat you with the utmost care, okay? I promise you… there will be no such horrible things as you might imagine!”

Oh wow.

Is this the moment I’m supposed to laugh?

But I didn’t want to become a copy of her, so I maintained a serious expression while facing the Succubus’ eyes.

Before I knew it, there were only 5 seconds left.

“Just surrender already!!!”

With that last shout from the outsider.

Click.

Time had run out.

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