"Ahhh! Get away! Get away from me, you pervert, you piece of trash, you ugly freak!!" Ignoring the searing pain of her hair being pulled, the girl thrust her slender arms through the iron cage and slapped the village chief's face fiercely.
At the words "ugly freak," the village chief's expression darkened. The hand gripping her hair paused, then jerked violently. Clang! A tremendous crash rang out, but he did not stop there, continuing to slam her against the cage over and over.
"Ah! No! Aah! Get away from me!"
The girl's agonized screams echoed through the basement.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
"I was wrong! I was wrong! Please, spare me..."
After an unknown amount of time, the girl's screams gradually weakened until she stopped making any sound at all. Her head covered in blood, she slumped against the iron cage. The hands that had been slapping the village chief now hung limply at her sides, utterly senseless.
The village chief let go, and she fell to the ground with a thud, making no further sound.
"Hmph. Ungrateful little thing." Panting, the village chief dusted off his hands and turned to the others, utterly unconcerned, as though he had merely crushed an ant.
The others' minds were still blank. Everything that had just happened remained vivid before their eyes, and they were terrified they would be next. Their earlier defiance had long since vanished. Every one of them wished she could bury her head in the ground, not daring to breathe loudly for fear of attracting the man's attention.
Making an example of her? the girl in uniform thought. She surveyed the reactions of everyone around her and fell somewhat silent inwardly. It worked all too well. Looks like escaping anytime soon is impossible. In that case, there's no other choice.
After a moment's thought, the girl seemed to make up her mind. Under cover of the dim firelight, she stepped back against the edge of the cage, raised both hands, and dug viciously into her beautiful face without hesitation.
Her brows drew tightly together as she felt hot blood flow down her face. With no time to grieve, she pressed her hands against the floor and repeatedly rubbed them in the dust until they turned black. Then she smeared the dust over her face, neck, arms, legs, and every other exposed part of her body. After this bout of self-mutilation, she had successfully made herself into a woman whose appearance would make people recoil.
With the surroundings so dimly lit, the village chief, who was only an ordinary man, noticed none of this.
"If you don't want to die, show me those faces properly. Maybe I'll even treat you a little better. Otherwise... heh heh." With that, he began moving his bloated body among the dozen or so iron cages.
Throughout this, he seemed quite satisfied, clicking his tongue in admiration and occasionally saying things like how they were worth the hefty price.
Then he reached the cage holding the girl in uniform. Seeing her covering her face tightly, his smile vanished, and he kicked the iron cage.
Clang!
"Hey, didn't I tell you to lift your face? Do you want to die?" The village chief's vicious curses made the other girls' hearts tremble, but unable to suppress their curiosity, they all looked over.
The girl in uniform trembled, and an unpleasant voice emerged. "S-sir, I'm ugly... I'm afraid I'll frighten you."
The village chief frowned at her voice. How did she sound even worse than the women in his village? He picked up a nearby candle and slowly extended it into the iron cage. "Show me your face. Let me have a look. Nothing's ever scared me in my life." The village chief was somewhat skeptical. How could there be an ugly one among the top-quality goods he had spent so much money buying?
After hearing this, the girl in uniform feigned hesitation before speaking again. "Perhaps not, sir. I'm really afraid I'll frighten you."
Clang!
"Cut the fucking crap. Hurry up." For some reason, the village chief began to grow impatient. He brought his face and the candle closer, staring fixedly at the girl's head.
This time, she said nothing. Instead, she lifted her head without hesitation, then quickly lowered it again.
But even in that single instant, everyone saw her face clearly.
"Ah! What the fuck is that thing?" Perhaps it was the dim surroundings and the blood, or perhaps it was the guilty conscience from murdering and brutalizing countless girls over the years. Even the village chief, who killed without blinking, cried out at the sight. His hand jerked, and the candle fell straight to the floor.
The other girls' breath caught at the sight as well. How could anyone have a face like that? She looked just like a female ghost from a movie, wrongfully killed and returning to claim lives.
The several bloody gashes were hideous beyond measure, and with the layer of dust beside them, she was worlds apart from these pretty young girls, whose tear-streaked faces made anyone who saw them want to protect them.
The fallen candle had already been inadvertently crushed under the ugly girl's foot in her fright and could no longer provide light.
The frightened village chief caught his breath. Seemingly feeling embarrassed, he kicked the cage hard again, muttered about rotten luck, then turned and left.
He walked over to the cage holding two beautiful girls, took a ring of keys from his trouser pocket, and began trying them one by one.
Watching this, the two girls in the cage did not know whether to feel happy or sad. Filled with apprehension, they both clasped their hands in prayer, tears beginning to spill involuntarily from their eyes.
Clang!
The iron door opened. The village chief strode inside and, without a word, pulled out two syringes and plunged them into the girls' arms.
Their lovely voices kept begging him to spare them, but it did no good.
They gritted their teeth, broke free of the village chief's hands, and ran outside. Watching it all, the village chief did not stop them, letting them run.
Several seconds later, just as they reached the end, a thud sounded as they fell.
The village chief gave a mocking laugh. "Saves me plenty of effort every time. Idiots." Then he glanced back at the dazed others and said, "Stay put. Don't try to escape, or you should know what will happen to you."
He walked up to the two girls lying motionless on the floor, grabbed one slender leg in each hand, and roughly dragged them outside.
Clang! Only when the sound of the door shutting rang out did everyone come back to their senses.
In the other basement, Igarashi Amaha knew nothing of what had happened over there. He was chatting idly with Aoki Akawa.
"Hey, Aoki, do you know about Jujutsu High?" Igarashi Amaha asked.
"Huh? Are you kidding? I'm a Jujutsu Sorcerer. How could I not know about Jujutsu High?" Aoki said incredulously.
"What, you want to go to Jujutsu High?"
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