Guardian of Domination

When Su Youzi, holding Kujo Ryuko's hand, returned to the entrance of the Assault Department's women's dormitory.

What she saw... was a girl with long orange hair, dressed thinly, hugging her knees and squatting at the dormitory entrance, shivering from the cold night wind.

Her crimson eyes were now completely red, even her eye sockets were flushed.

Although she was in the Assault Department.

Still... the physical fitness of Mental Ability Users was generally not very good.

Moreover, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi had just enrolled and hadn't been rigorously trained yet.

Her physical fitness was just that of an ordinary young lady.

Today, Su Youzi's single slash that slightly broke the sensitive skin on her chest almost made Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi cry. And now... she had been sitting on the cold steps from morning until late at night.

She didn't dare to return to the dormitory.

She was afraid that if she returned, she would miss Su Youzi coming back.

Her Father's command... was for her to wait here, to show her repentance and sincerity.

Even her lackeys had been taken back by their respective parents to reflect.

Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi felt incredibly wronged.

Hunger and cold tested the nerves of this young lady who had never suffered hardship in her life.

Grievance and anger accumulated in her heart, but in front of Su Youzi, she was much more obedient this time.

She didn't dare to show any hint of her resentment or anger.

Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi... had never seen her Father so furious.

So angry... it was as if she had committed some unforgivable crime.

From a distance, Su Youzi, holding Kujo Ryuko's hand, stopped.

She looked at the orange-haired girl, who was shivering and hugging her knees, clearly waiting for her, and was a little unclear about her intentions.

Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi shakily got up.

Under Su Youzi's strange gaze, she slowly approached, then suddenly bowed deeply to Su Youzi, her hands on her knees.

"I..."

"I'm sorry!"

"Sister Youzi."

"Today I deserve a thousand deaths... I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness..."

"I disturbed Sister Youzi's mood."

"Please... please, you must forgive me."

Her voice gradually became choked with sobs, and the grievances she had held in for a day erupted in an instant. Huge teardrops, one by one, fell to the ground.

Su Youzi froze.

She looked at Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi, who was bowing before her.

She wasn't a saint.

Nor was she a terrible villain.

Although she often took pleasure in bullying girls, not all girls were worth her trouble.

To Su Youzi, the girl in front of her was an insignificant minor character.

Seeing the girl crying her eyes out in front of her, she found it difficult to strike or scold her.

On the other hand, Kujo Ryuko, standing beside Su Youzi, sneered at Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.

She had seen enough of the backstabbing and infighting within powerful families for their own gain.

She knew that with the girl's personality, she would never have come to apologize unless she was instigated by someone.

But--

What did that have to do with her?

As for how Su Youzi chose to react... that was Su Youzi's family business.

Kujo Ryuko simply stood silently and obediently beside Su Youzi, her scarlet eyes silently exerting immense pressure on Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.

The girl, still bowing, trembled, on the verge of collapse.

It wasn't an act.

It was just that the young lady's physique was truly reaching its limit.

Tears streamed down her face as she bit her lip, staring at Su Youzi's toes.

If... if this apology wasn't sincere enough, she would really have no choice but to kneel before Su Youzi and prostrate herself.

Su Youzi looked at Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.

Then, she took Kujo Ryuko's hand and walked past the girl towards the dormitory.

Her lower lip bitten, the sobbing girl's fists clenched tightly.

Her trembling knees were already prepared… to bow in submission.

"Then let's stop here."

"It ends here."

The girl's cool, clear voice finally rang out.

Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi could no longer control her knees, and with a thud, she weakly knelt on the ground.

Without even glancing at her again, Su Youzi, with Kujo Ryuko in tow, stepped into the dormitory.

Su Youzi harbored no resentment or any such emotions towards her.

Looking at her one extra time that morning was purely because… at that time, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi, in Su Youzi's eyes, was just a walking treasure chest monster.

Briefly bidding farewell to Kujo Ryuko.

Su Youzi returned to her own dormitory.

She looked at the small, powder-blue night light by her bed and opened it with mixed feelings.

The room felt a little cozier.

While the water was running in the bathroom, the girl slowly unbuttoned her collar.

She opened the Operator panel.

The first thing she saw was Sakai Miho's adorable face in the assistant slot.

Her sailor-style school uniform fell to the floor.

Su Youzi curled up in the bathtub.

On the assistant interface.

Sakai Miho's avatar seemed to interact with Su Youzi, her small face and earlobes flushed a vibrant crimson.

Su Youzi checked her stats.

It was a pity—

There was no setting in the game for gaining experience after combat.

Even after defeating Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi, the experience bar for "Level.4-Reverse Logic Hand" showed no change.

Instead, the experience bar only moved slowly as she used her abilities to torment the little yellow duck floating on the water.

Using the four Combat Records for the day, the experience bar barely reached two-thirds of the way.

Without the tender experience like that of the little rabbit.

Su Youzi felt as if she could never fill the void in her chest… as if even breathing was being choked out.

She looked at her other gains.

The item reward for defeating Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.

[Ghost Crown]

[☆☆☆☆☆]

It looked like a small silver crown hair accessory, adorned with tiny gems that shimmered with a bright red light.

[An accessory that can slightly enhance mental abilities.]

[Charm +2 when worn.]

The reward obtained from a Mental Ability User was also equipment for a Mental Ability User.

This made sense.

Su Youzi looked at the Ghost Crown in her materials tab.

Forget it… I'll make it that guy's birthday present next month.

But—

She looked at her status panel.

Where the position behind [Level.0-Telekinetic Ability] had previously been blacked out ▇▇▇, new text appeared.

[Guardian of Domination (50%) (Visible/Hide)].

[You have gained the Guardian of Domination. Your mental resistance has been greatly strengthened. (Mental attacks from those with less than 50% of the Dominator's mental strength will not take effect on you).]

[...]

Su Youzi understood the value of the word "greatly" in this game.

The last time she saw the word "greatly" used as a descriptor.

It was in Sakai Miho's innate ability, [Abyss Return].

Biting her lower lip.

Su Youzi looked at the (Visible/Hide) text next to [Guardian of Domination].

Her fists slowly clenched.

"That… bastard."