Chapter 33: Thanks For Your Cooperation

“This bi-, I am trying to be nice, and that is your reaction? Tch, whatever. Let us just go. The car has cooled down.”

She grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the car, and Jolly was wincing in pain. She clawed at Kana’s hand, but she did not feel anything and just continued. She threw her in the car, and she slammed against the car window.

’Ugh, at this rate, she is going to end up killing me before we find Vell. Just what is she after? Who is Vell to her-, hold on, Vell… Vell… Vell? Could it be?’

She stared at Kana, and took a deep gulp, and she slowly opened her mouth. “Could he be the one… that ki-” Before she could finish, Kana grabbed her by the mouth and drove her head through the window. This caused her face to get pierced by glass, and it ruined her beautiful face.

She screamed out in pain, and tried her hardest to escape her grip, but it was useless. Her body was too weak. The glass was digging deeper into her flesh, and soon, she could lose her eyes.

Kana stared at her, seeing red. She wanted to kill her, but she controlled herself, and she pulled her back into the car.

“I will only say this once. Never bring that up again. Next time, I will silence you, permanently.”

Jolly was crying, and was lightly touching the deep wounds on her face. “I-I am sorry.” She got up, and she moved to the back seat and lay down. Her body was shaking from fear and pain. Kana eyed her through the mirror, and a part of her was feeling sad.

’Did I take it too far? …I really need to learn to control myself, or else I will end up killing her.’

She drove off into the night. Jolly’s tears slowly dried, and the pain numbed, which allowed her to sleep once more. It was the same dream. She came out of a rundown building, and she was buttoning her shirt. She looked older. Years had passed, years of her being used like a toy.

Her dark brown hair was now a mess, and her eyes, which were once full of hope and joy, were now hollow and distant. She was now a business. Men would come, pay, and have fun with her, and the only thing she got out of all this was a measly 100 credits each time.

She once thought of reporting them, but they had warned her by showing up at her family’s house. This was a warning not to go running her mouth.

Her mind collapsed.

It was getting to be too much, and she wrote a note, apologizing to her family for what she was about to do. When everyone was asleep, she got onto the roof and jumped.

In her last moments, she thought of her friends, and how she wished she had stood up to those men like they did. Maybe then she would have been at peace instead of this suffering.

She closed her eyes and bid farewell to the world, but fate had other plans. Her body twisted instinctively, and she landed elegantly. She was in shock, and her eyes were wide open. There could have been only one explanation: awakening.

It was an overwhelming feeling, and she could not help but break down and cry. She cried for a long time. This was her sign not to give up on life, and she was planning not to waste it.

The very next day, she went to the association to get registered. Everything went smoothly, and she got her license. But the moment she stepped foot outside the building, the look in her eyes shifted, and they seemed to fill with something darker, more insidious.

Her lips curled into a faint, bitter smile, and her posture straightened as if a burden had been lifted, or perhaps replaced by something else entirely.

Each step she took sent a rush of pleasure throughout her body. She felt good, too good. It was intoxicating, like the first gulp of air after drowning. But with it came an unfamiliar hunger, a gnawing desire she did not understand, one that urged her toward the very things she once hated.

She began seeking out the men who had wronged her, not to report them, not to punish them, but to offer herself willingly. Her actions were robotic, as if she were acting out some predetermined script.

Yet, there was a sinister glee beneath her surface, a spark of enjoyment that she did not recognize as her own. But this was not all. She manipulated them, offering her body in exchange for something.

This shift did not go unnoticed. Her family, who were distant yet concerned, tried to intervene, but she pushed them away, claiming an independence she had never truly sought before.

There was no helping her. It was as if her brain had been reset and filled with new commands.

Then her dream suddenly shifted to a house. Inside was Jolly, and she was lying on her bed, busy scrolling on player forums. She searched the web for anyone who had heard any suspicions about the association, but she found nothing.

“Dammit, another dead end. Was he lying? No, I can tell that something is going on here, but I cannot seem to find anything about it. Should I directly ask people? No, that is too risky. Then-”

Her doorbell rang, and she answered it. Waiting for her was Kell. She wore an eerie smile, and the air around her looked dangerous.

“S-Section chief, what are you-” Her eyes shifted once more, and she went back to her usual personality.

“Sorry to disturb you, Jolly. I have something I want to ask.”

Jolly made way to allow the section chief to come in, but she declined.

“Tell me, all the other groups came in to give their report on the mission, but your group was not present. Can I know why?”

Jolly listened, and her eyes were looking empty, as if she was not the one in control.

“We located the target, but after talking to him, we decided it would be in our best interest to help him.”

“Oh? What did he tell you exactly?” Her eyes were now sharper, and she knew full well what he had told them.

“Some nonsense about corrupted mana. It is all silly, really, but I wanted to entertain his delusions a bit.”

“And where is he now?”

“He is staying with Yenna. We were planning to go and meet with him tomorrow-”

She snapped her fingers, and Jolly went silent.

“Enough. Thank you for your cooperation. Have a good night.”

“Same to you.”

Jolly sharply woke up from the dream, and her body was sweaty and shaking.

’What the hell was that dream? Is that real? No, it cannot be. That is not how that went down. There were-’

Suddenly, her mind was becoming clear, and the missing pieces were finally connecting.

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