"Due to the rapid changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature, coupled with the G-force... the nitrogen in your blood is expanding into bubbles."
Yuuya's voice was calm, almost clinical, contrasting with the roaring wind.
"It's called Decompression Sickness. The 'Bends.' Large-scale cell necrosis is already starting. Imagine your whole body turning blue and purple. Tsk tsk... I don't even want to imagine it."
His mischievous tone amplified Mugino's terror.
WHOOSH!
They hit the cloud layer.
The temperature instantly dropped below zero. Mugino's skin was bombarded by tiny ice crystals and freezing water droplets. Her clothes were soaked instantly, then began to freeze stiff.
Her body temperature plummeted. If she weren't a high-level Esper with bio-electricity coursing through her, her heart would have already stopped.
"Even if I die..."
Mugino's teeth chattered violently. Her limbs were stiffening.
"I won't let you be so smug... you bastard!"
"Don't look at me like I'm a guinea pig!"
With the last of her strength, she summoned an orb of Meltdowner energy and fired it at Yuuya's face.
Zzzt.
It dissipated harmlessly against his hand.
"Tsk tsk. Let's continue."
Yuuya ignored her stubbornness.
"It looks like you won't die even in the minus-thirty degree cold. We still have six minutes left."
He smiled like a demon.
"I don't need to tell you about the last step, right?"
"From the Troposphere to the ground... I can accelerate us. We'll break the sound barrier. The air resistance alone will tear your muscles apart before you even touch the concrete."
"And the landing? You'll be a mixture of bone fragments and red mud."
Yuuya clapped his hands, looking at Mugino's face, which was turning a sickly shade of blue.
In Mugino's eyes, he was the devil.
He was someone who enjoyed toying with lives. She knew his type. She was the same way. She enjoyed watching her prey realize there was no escape.
But now, she was the prey.
Her self-esteem shattered. Even if she wanted to kill him, she was powerless.
"Oh dear. Another minute has passed."
Yuuya held the pocket watch in front of her frozen face.
"Hurry up and consider it. Become my subordinate. Call me 'Master.' And you live."
"Living is better than dying, Mugino. Once you die, you can't do anything. You can't take revenge."
Revenge.
That word struck a chord in her frozen heart.
They plummeted below the cloud layer. The city lights were getting closer. Mugino's hair was covered in frost. She looked like a corpse dredged from the Arctic.
"Next is the second stage," Yuuya warned playfully, leaning back in mid-air as if lounging on a sofa. "Your blood vessels will explode~"
Mugino's body convulsed. The pressure was rising. Her lungs burned.
She began to think about living.
I have to live. I have to kill him.
She looked down at the city. Her pale lips trembled.
"Okay..." she rasped, her voice filled with hatred. "I... I surrender..."
"Tsk tsk tsk. Not just 'surrender.'"
Yuuya wagged his finger.
"Become my subordinate. And call me 'Master.' Affectionately. Understood?"
He cupped his ear.
"Come on. Call me Master. I'm listening."
Mugino's face twisted. Her teeth clenched so tightly they threatened to crack.
She admitted defeat. Meltdowner was useless against him. But she would not let this end here. She would survive, bide her time, and repay this humiliation tenfold.
"M... Master..."
She spat the shameful word through gritted teeth.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Yuuya frowned, disappointed.
"What's with that vicious tone? Be gentle. Be sweet. Understand? Do it again."
"Ugh...!"
Mugino wanted to scream in rage, but a wave of nausea hit her.
Blergh!
Nitrogen bubbles expanded in her bloodstream. She vomited stomach acid into the wind. Her brain throbbed as if thousands of needles were piercing it.
"Ahhh...!"
"Oh dear. Look, the second stage has begun," Yuuya said unsympathetically. "Call me 'Master' nicely, and I'll save you. Otherwise... pop goes the blood vessel."
He wouldn't let her die—Heaven Canceller could fix anything as long as the brain was intact—but he wouldn't hesitate to let her suffer.
Mugino's vision went black. Fear overwhelmed her pride.
I'm going to die. I'm going to die right now.
"M... Master..."
She whispered the word. It wasn't malicious this time. It was a desperate plea for life.
Ding!
[System Notification]
* Unlock Condition 1 Met.
* Next Stage: "The Maid must wear a Maid Outfit. Make Mugino Shizuri a real maid."
Yuuya nodded in satisfaction.
"Good girl."
He looked down at the panoramic view of Tokyo Bay and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
[Move Point: Teleport]
A wave of vertigo washed over them—the "spatial sickness" caused by rapid pressure change.
Thud.
They slammed onto the concrete floor of the Abandoned Factory.
Mugino collapsed, shivering violently from hypothermia. She dry-heaved, coughing up bile, looking utterly broken and exhausted.
"All's well that ends well."
Yuuya stood over her.
"Now, you are my Number One Maid. You can stay here for now."
A silver metal collar appeared in his hand.
Click.
He teleported it around Mugino's neck.
"Don't even think about destroying this collar."
He tapped the metal band.
"If it's damaged or removed without my permission, it will trigger a magical feedback loop. You'll be frozen into a human statue instantly."
It was a Magical Binding Collar from a Bronze Treasure Chest, designed to control familiars.
Mugino touched the cold metal, her eyes hollow. She didn't have the strength to argue.
"Now..."
Yuuya turned away, stroking his chin. A holographic map appeared in his vision.
"Time to chase down the other three little maids."
He grinned.
"Think you can escape? Too naive."
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