29-156

EP.156 Akane – The Room Where You Can’t Save Without Having Sex 

“The room where… I can’t save without having sex?” 

Akane blinked several times, staring at the words engraved above the door, but no matter how many times she read them, her mind refused to accept them. 

It was as if her brain itself was rejecting the meaning. 

She would have preferred something as childish but straightforward as “Room of Death” over this nonsense. 

In the end, abandoning any attempt to make sense of it, her reddish-brown eyes turned instead toward the most obvious cause of this spectacle. 

Through the glass, she glared at the two people she had believed to be her comrades just hours ago, the ones who had clearly played the most important role in staging all of this. 

“So it was all an act since the academy days…” 

At last, the pieces clicked into place. Hikari, returning perfectly fine from deep in enemy territory. 

The subtly twisted flow of conversations. 

It was all just groundwork to lure her here. 

“Sorry for deceiving you, Akane-san.” 

Though her lips formed the words, there was not a trace of regret in her eyes. If anything, there was a faint glimmer of relish dancing there. 

“You were the ones who kidnapped Haruto too?” 

“Using Haruto to lure you in was the easiest, simplest method.” 

Mizuki replied with a bored-sounding yawn, in a voice as devoid of emotion as if she were briefing a tactical plan. 

“Of course, we didn’t grab him ourselves. Curious who did?” 

“No.” 

It didn’t matter anymore who had physically taken him. 

What mattered was that these two standing before her were at the center of it all. 

“And really, haven’t you gone to an awful lot of trouble for some cheap little drama?” 

“Bluffing won’t do you any good. You were caught in this trap the moment you walked in here.” 

Mizuki’s cold smirk poured fuel onto Akane’s already raging fury. 

“Bluff? You think just having me trapped means you’ve won?” 

Akane lowered her stance, gripping her sword hilt tightly. 

Her body radiated a red aura so hot it seemed to scorch the very air. 

The plush carpet at her feet couldn’t withstand the heat, blackening and smoking. 

“Seeing that stupid line over the door, I guess you plan to keep up this farce but if you think I’ll play along willingly, you’re dead wrong!” 

Even if it meant fighting both Hikari and Mizuki at once  

So long as she could shatter that glass wall, cause some chaos, and create even the smallest chance to save Haruto  

Just as she kicked off the ground  

“No need to get so worked up, Akane-san.” 

The cool, gentle voice stopped her cold. 

Hikari now held her light whip lightly aimed at Haruto’s throat where he sat bound to a chair. 

Once a weapon of holy justice, the light now menaced the life of the most vulnerable hostage. 

“…You’d point a weapon at Haruto?” 

“I don’t want to hurt him either. We have… ‘old ties,’ don’t we?” 

Old ties. 

The words stabbed her heart like a blade. 

All the time they’d spent laughing together, fighting side-by-side, protecting the same things all fouled in an instant by those two words. 

They had crossed a line they could never come back from. 

Completely gone to the other side. 

“Don’t glare at me like that. I told you, I don’t want to hurt him. This is… for your sake, Akane-san.” 

“For my sake?” 

The words were so absurd she couldn’t even laugh but they made her notice the strange devices connected to Haruto’s body. 

Binding cuffs on his wrists and ankles glowed faintly with magic. 

Thin lines of light webbed between them, tangling his body like a spider’s web. 

“If you so much as try to break the glass or damage this room, those devices will trigger and stop Haruto’s heart.” 

Her shoulder twitched at the words. 

If that was true, then had she smashed the glass in her rescue attempt… 

She didn’t want to imagine it. 

“Now you see what I mean, right? You don’t want to be the one who kills Haruto.” 

“Gh…” 

“We never planned to restrain you by force. If nothing else, you’re the one of us with the most raw firepower.” 

So they’d turned that strength against her. 

Her power, unparalleled in defending the weak and striking down injustice, was useless here. 

“So it’s not the ‘room you can’t escape’ it’s the ‘room where you can’t save anyone’ ♪” 

She could leave anytime. 

But she couldn’t. 

From behind Kai’s back, Lumina’s voice confirmed the cruel truth. 

The goddess who’d once saved the world from evil now spoke in the sweetest, most innocent tone. 

“On the other hand, if you don’t use your strength and just follow the rules quietly, you can save Haruto.” 

“…And why should I believe you’d give him back?” 

“Pfft.” 

Mizuki couldn’t help laughing at Akane’s strained question. 

There was contempt and pity in that laugh, and Akane’s eyebrow twitched. 

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just I said something similar once. ‘How can we trust you?’ In that way, we’re really a lot alike, aren’t we?” 

Akane had no retort. She knew she had no other choice. 

Her eyes turned toward Haruto beyond the glass, moaning faintly in pain. 

If it was to save him… 

She would do anything. 

“Besides, Haruto’s not the only one you need to save.” 

Before she could make sense of Mizuki’s cryptic words, a heavy thunk came from the corner of the room. 

She turned reflexively and saw a limp body on the floor. 

“Kai!” 

She’d forgotten about him for the moment. Lumina’s tentacles loosened their hold and he slumped to the ground. 

She ran quickly to catch him. 

“You okay?!” 

One look told her it was serious. His face was red with fever, his body drenched in sweat. 

“Don’t worry, it’s not fatal poison.” 

“Just… makes the body hot and brimming with energy.” 

“Brimming with… energy?” 

She frowned at Hikari’s oh-so-helpful explanation. 

“Yes. The poison forcibly converts the host’s life energy into sexual desire. Leave it long enough and it’ll drain him to a husk like a dried-up mummy.” 

“…Sexual desire?” 

“Originally it was meant for you, Akane. But with Kai taking it instead… the situation’s gotten more fun.” 

The two traded lines, smiling to each other, and it made Akane’s stomach churn. 

“There’s only one way to cure it. That overflowing energy… has to be drawn out artificially.” 

“You see where this is going, right?” 

Drawn out…? No… 

“Yes. By expelling it through semen. Which means making Kai’s cock feel good until he ejaculates.” 

Ejaculate. 

“How the hell is that anything but insane?!” 

The obscene word lodged in her head, her voice rising reflexively. 

“Don’t you see? For Akane-san, it’s not bad. Saving Kai also means saving Haruto.” 

“What are you ” 

Hikari’s smile widened as if she’d been waiting for the question. 

She snapped her fingers. 

“Okay. Since you seem interested in our little play, let’s explain the rules. Lumina?” 

“Yes~!” 

Before Akane could react, Lumina extended grotesque flesh-tentacles from behind to lift Kai off the floor. 

“Wait, what are you doing ?!” 

“You might want to stay calm, Akane-san. This little one’s just born, doesn’t have good control yet.” 

Just born ? 

Did she mean the tentacle? The way Lumina spoke to it like a child made the disconnect in her head worse. 

The tentacle deposited Kai on the bed in the center of the room. 

A mechanical chime sounded, and blue lines extended from under the sheets to connect to his body. 

[Biometric sync complete. Subject ‘Kai’ status: ‘Full Moon Poison’ infection. Life force rapidly declining.] 

At the same time, the enormous glass wall lit up with Kai’s vitals and next to them, Haruto in his chair, alongside six closed padlock icons. 

“Right now Haruto has six magical restraints on him.” 

One on each wrist and ankle, one on his heart  

and one she’d missed before: his groin. 

“Each time Kai ‘ejaculates,’ one will unlock. Six releases should just about clear the poison too. However ” 

Mizuki picked up where Hikari left off. 

“Just letting you get him off by hand every time would be boring. Each lock is tied to a different ‘release method.’ You can check which on the console by the bed.” 

Her voice was full of playful malice, explaining it like a game. 

“As for the time limit… let’s say two hours before the poison kills him.” 

[Time limit 02:00:00.] 

“Now then…” 

“Let’s begin The Room Where You Can’t Save Without Sex!” 

Beep ! 

Red numbers began counting down remorselessly on the glass wall. 

The ticking machine-sound in Akane’s ears felt like the ticking toward an execution. 

What do I do? 

Another way. 

There had to be another… 

Some brilliant way to save Haruto without playing this joke of a game. 

But the more she searched her mind, the more the hopeless truth loomed this was the only way. 

“Akane… You don’t have to do this…” 

Kai’s voice from the bed broke her thoughts. 

“…What are you saying.” 

“The one you like is Haruto. Doing this with someone like me… There has to be another wa ghk?!” 

“Big talk for someone too hurt to stand.” 

She cut him off coldly. 

There’s no other way. 

Shaky legs forced forward step by ste  

Standing by the bed, she looked down at his pained face. 

His idiotic smile earlier when Hikari and Mizuki fooled him. 

The way he floundered in their false flattery. 

“You really… have terrible taste in women.” 

“Akane…” 

She shook her head to clear it. 

This wasn’t the time for pity. 

“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not because I like you. If I save you… I can save Haruto.” 

She turned her eyes away from Haruto beyond the glass. 

One look at his expression and her fragile resolve might crumble. 

“Heh, look well, Haruto-kun. Your Akane’s climbing into bed with another man just to ” 

“Don’t blame her. It’s all to save you.” 

“Mmph! Mmmph!!” 

Haruto shook his head violently, but his muffled voice couldn’t reach her. 

Climbing into bed, Akane knelt beside Kai and looked at the console. 

Displayed alongside Haruto’s body were the conditions for each lock. 

They’d even been written out with absurd care: 

[Left hand: Handjob] 

[Right hand: Footjob] 

[Left leg: Fellatio] 

… 

Handjob. Footjob. Fellatio. 

The shameful words made her grit her teeth. 

“Akane~ Think it over if you want, but don’t forget the time limit!” 

Annoying in tone or not, it was true. 

“F-fine… I’ll start with my hand…” 

She spoke barely above a whisper, and Hikari smiled. 

“Oh my, starting with the safest? How cautious of you.” 

“She’s a virgin what do you expect.” 

“You two shut up…!” 

Snapping at Mizuki’s final jab, Akane reached for the console. 

Her unpracticed hands hovered over Kai’s belt buckle. 

But there was no going back. 

Eyes squeezed shut, she yanked his pants off roughly. 

And  

Throb♥ 

His shaft sprang up, hot, red, and ominously pulsing from the venom. 

He…wants me to touch this? 

Still flustered, she heard his breathless voice. 

“G-grab the shaft lightly. Like you’re gripping… your sword hilt.” 

“What kind of comparison is that?!” 

“Ugh!” 

“F-fine!” 

As he clutched his chest in pain, she reluctantly wrapped her hand around the burning hardness. 

It was heavy like iron and twitched as if alive. 

Feels… gross…! 

Not knowing what else to do, she just held on tightly like gripping a hilt. 

“Now…?” 

“Move it up and down…” 

“Like this?” 

Squelch♥ squelch♥ 

She moved her wrist awkwardly and felt it jolt in her palm. 

“What the ?! Did I do something wrong?!” 

She forced herself not to let go. 

Then, at the tip, a slick bead of clear fluid emerged. 

“Eeek! What’s this?!” 

“That’s… a sign it feels good… you’re… doing fine… hah!” 

Doing fine? 

For a moment, she felt reassured  

 before cursing herself for it. 

“Nngh, haah… A-Akane…!” 

“And you stop making weird noises! I can’t concentrate!” 

But the poison made him so sensitive, even her clumsy strokes overwhelmed him. 

Wanting to end this hell sooner, she gripped harder. 

Squelch♥ squelch♥ squelch♥ squelch♥ 

“A-Akane! If you do that ! I’m gonna !” 

“What?” 

A moment later, hot fluid burst out like an uncapped valve. 

Splurt-!♥♥ 

“Huuh?!” 

It spattered onto her face and combat suit with wet smacks. 

The fishy smell hit her nose, the sticky flow down her cheek made her skin crawl. 

She had to wipe it off  

Get all this filth off her  

But strangely… 

Though it disgusted her to nausea, heat bloomed in her skin beneath the spots where it touched. 

It slithered in under her skin like a snake, coursing her veins and exploring inside her. 

Her heart raced wildly; her lower belly clenched inexplicably. 

“Haa… haa…” 

More flushed than before, she stared at the slick mess on her. 

This was… a man’s semen… 

What was in its scent that made her body react so strangely? 

Her hand rose toward her nose, almost mesmerized  

Until she caught sight of herself in the glass. 

A vulgar woman with semen on her face and clothes, trying to smell it. 

…!!! 

Horror and shame slammed into her, making her whole body burn. 

“You you could at least warn me when you’re about to!” 

Her scarlet face yelled at him. 

“S-sorry… your hand… felt too good… I couldn’t think…” 

As he panted in his afterglow  

Ding. 

The restraint on Haruto’s left hand clicked open beyond the glass. 

“Oh. You’ve already done one.” 

“Was the poison just that strong? Good for Akane, but… whether the rest will go this easily remains to be seen. Heh.” 

She didn’t hear their mild disappointment. 

Only the strange sensations in her body, and the console awaiting the next humiliation. 

Without her knowing, the seed of corruption planted within began to germinate, responding to the host’s rising heat, setting its roots deep.