Morning.
A sliver of gentle, warm sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, scattering shimmering golden patches across the girl's room and onto her face.
Her brows furrowed slightly, and her pale, delicate fingertips trembled.
Her beautiful crimson eyes, still hazy with sleep, slowly opened.
Su Youzi blinked.
Hugging the bedding, she slowly sat up.
Her body seemed to still be drifting through the remnants of last night's dream, and the maiden's expression gradually turned strange.
She had had a rather sensual dream last night.
In the dream, the girl had been bullied by her... pitifully, like a cat with its tail pinned down.
But—
What Su Youzi couldn't understand no matter how hard she tried was that the dream's heroine hadn't been Soga Toyura, Little Rabbit, Teacher Unohana Chiyo, Yamabuki Nanako, or even Kujo Ryuko.
It had been... Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi, who had looked down on her with an arrogant expression yesterday morning, only to shiver outside the dormitory late at night while hugging her knees, waiting to apologize to her.
That was too strange.
Could it be that she had some sort of twisted habit... of bullying anyone who annoyed her during the day until they cried in her dreams, then bullying them until they couldn't cry anymore?
But... she had never dreamed about Soga Toyura that many times.
Besides.
Su Youzi hadn't really taken Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi seriously yesterday.
To Su Youzi, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi had merely been a walking treasure chest monster.
A treasure chest monster with a rather unimpressive figure, at that.
Still... that dream had been far too real.
So real that it felt like a lucid dream from legend.
Even now, when Su Youzi stretched out her hand, she could seemingly still feel... Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi's helpless struggling and trembling.
Su Youzi fell into deep thought.
Then... she realized an even more serious problem.
Her ability had improved.
It wasn't an illusion.
If, back when she had twisted apart the body wash in the bathroom, her "Reverse Logic Hand" could only be used once within a short period, and its range had been limited to an area roughly a meter around her and no larger than a palm—
Then now—
Su Youzi felt that there would be no problem even if she used "Reverse Logic Hand" repeatedly.
The range she could distort also seemed to have grown a little.
To verify her guess, she tilted her head toward the curtains.
The maiden's crimson eyes lit up.
The next second... Riiip—
With a harsh tearing sound, the curtains twisted together and ripped apart. The blinding sunlight made Su Youzi instinctively raise a hand to shield her eyes as the bedding slipped down.
"Crap..."
Sure enough, it was easy to do stupid things right after waking up.
"I ruined the curtains... Replacing them will probably cost a lot."
But fortunately, Su Youzi hugged the bedding again and began counting on her fingers.
She seemed to have quite a few "cash princesses" now.
At the very least, she didn't have to be as "hard up" as before.
Worst-case scenario, for the next week, she could treat Little Rabbit to four Strawberry Cream Crepes every day and buy Kujo Ryuko forty skewers of Spicy Chicken Wings.
She would earn all that money back in no time.
She could even get herself some equipment.
But... Su Youzi hugged the bedding and stared at the torn curtains.
It wasn't an illusion—
Her ability really had improved.
She summoned her game interface.
"Good morning, Senpai~"
"How was last night's dream?"
"Ah... were you thinking about me?"
"In the dream... was I very obedient?"
It was clearly a wonderful morning greeting, but... Su Youzi somehow felt that Sakai Miho's voice from the assistant slot carried a hint of grievance.
Wasn't this assistant a little too intelligent?
She was actually the Pure Love War God.
If she could choose, Su Youzi would definitely choose an obedient junior over Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.
But that dream...
Even now, Su Youzi couldn't understand why Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi had appeared in her dream. She had even been dressed so seductively, in a Black Koi Skirt and black stockings that practically invited crime.
Just like an Altered User.
Thump—
Her heart stopped.
In the "Operator Compendium," the girl with short black hair reaching her shoulders raised her crimson eyes and gazed lazily at her.
[Su Youzi]
[Level.7—Reverse Logic Hand Ability User]
[...]
When... had this happened?
Su Youzi checked the logs.
Then, looking at the message stating that the Second Sequence Altered User, Nightmare Singer, had launched an attack on her, she gradually understood what had happened.
Last night's dream... had not been merely a dream.
Although she didn't know exactly what had happened to Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.
After apologizing to her last night, she had probably fallen into corruption and become an Altered User.
And she had become a Nightmare Type Altered User, an especially rare and troublesome kind even among Altered Users.
Through entering an Anomalous state, her ability had successfully broken through to the Second Sequence, and she had attacked Su Youzi.
It was just a pity—
Su Youzi had Soga Tuyura's Blessing upon her.
Any mental attack with less than half of Soga Toyura's mental strength would have no effect on her.
And Soga Toyura's true strength... was not the Second Sequence widely rumored outside.
She was... a Level.39 Mind Control Ability User, one of the best even within the Third Sequence.
The gap between every Sequence was like a leap.
And the difference... was far more than twofold.
Before the Guardian of Domination, even Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi, who had already entered an Anomalous state, could only pitifully become a toy.
Su Youzi only remembered Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi struggling... like a cat.
Her voice had been the same.
Su Youzi's fist suddenly clenched tight.
She recalled the black-purple eye-shaped totem drawn over the lower abdomen of the girl in the Black Koi Skirt, and her expression gradually darkened.
"Eye of Insight."
No matter what.
She had already forgiven Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi last night.
And... the fact that "Eye of Insight" had still dared to attack Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi was something Su Youzi could neither forgive nor pardon.
An Altered User who had entered the Second Sequence was completely different from a First Sequence Altered User like Sakai Miho.
An Altered User who had entered the Second Sequence... could practically be called "beyond saving."
There was no chance of recovery.
At least—
Aside from the Rule-based Ability of Kiriye Hana, the lover of the Seat of Evil—
"Erasure."
Su Youzi knew of no way to save her.
"Eye of Insight" was targeting her.
In other words, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi had practically died because of her, and had even died at her hands.
Even if... her death had been rather sensual.
Su Youzi didn't care about Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi, but... she couldn't not care about a girl dying because of her.
Gritting her teeth.
In her heart, Su Youzi had already sentenced "Eye of Insight" to death.
Feeling rather depressed, Su Youzi got up, washed up, changed into a dress, and pushed open the door.
Then... she froze.
Someone was waiting outside Su Youzi's door.
It wasn't Kujo Ryuko.
It was the young female police superintendent from the Fourth Action Department from that day.
The woman stood quietly outside her door, as though she had been waiting for her all along.
"Soga..."
"Miss Su." She saluted Su Youzi.
"Lord Kujo went to deal with last night's 'Eye of Insight' attack case. She should be at the hospital now."
"She asked me to wait for you here."
"To follow your arrangements."
"The... hospital...?" Su Youzi caught the keyword.
"Yes." The woman nodded lightly. "The victim attacked last night is still receiving treatment at the hospital."
"You..."
"Know her, I suppose."
"Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi?" Su Youzi answered instinctively.
"Yes." The woman nodded in surprise.
"How is that possible?"
Su Youzi also stood there in stunned surprise.
Wasn't an Ability User transformed into a Second Sequence Altered User beyond saving?
Before you continue