Leathered footsteps clicked toward her, each step tightening the knot in Mochi's throat.
The woman before her wore a loose jacket that slipped off one shoulder, the shirt beneath clinging to a slender waist. Mochi kept her gaze down—meeting those eyes felt dangerous.
"What's wrong, little thief?"
The woman's voice soothed like lullaby poison—until a finger hooked under Mochi's chin, forcing her to look up.
Golden eyes, hollow as abysses, pinned her in place. A single fingertip pressed to Mochi's neck—lighter than a needle, yet it sent a shudder through her.
"Afraid of me?" The nail traced her jaw like a child testing piano keys. Mochi swallowed. These were the same fingers that had halved her HP with a slap.
<...>
The System's thorns writhed across the text, obscuring words like a cornered animal. Before Mochi could speak, they erupted. No sound escaped—not even a vibration.
A new message flickered beside the Guildmaster's face:
A: "Can you lean closer, my Lady?" (Kill)
B: "I was going to enjoy killing that child. Why stop me?" (Lie)
C: "How would you prefer to die, my Lady?" (Threaten)
What's with you all of a sudden? Mochi almost laughed. Even trash-tier games offered better choices. It seems this system held a grudge far deeper than she thought.
Option B spilled from her lips unbidden: "I was going to enjoy killing the child. Why did you stop me?"
The Guildmaster's brows arched—more intrigued than offended. "Would you, though? Your hands shook."
Mochi shrugged. "Who knows?" She needed to test this woman's limits—see how far she could push before that slap became a beheading.
"Heh. Still infuriating as ever." The Guildmaster's thumb brushed dried blood from Mochi's lip, reigniting the sting.
Social anxiety coiled in her gut. How did one talk to a woman who could obliterate her with a backhand?
Then it hit her. "Still?" Mochi tilted her head. "This is our first conversation, no?"
The Guildmaster's chuckle died. Then—nails dug into Mochi's cheeks, tender yet threatening.
Mochi winced. The sting dragged her back to that first kill—the knife, the blood, the morbid fascination.
"In that mansion," the woman leaned close, "why kill instead of flee?"
Mochi's breath hitched. How did this woman know? How had she seen through the deliberate choice to stay and slaughter?
And how could she possibly answer? That she liked it? The knife, the blood, the...liberation?
Yet those golden eyes demanded truth. Mochi's thoughts scrambled worse than a failed speedrun glitch. "There's... nothing special about it."
Her pupils dilated. The pain anchored her—no keyboard here, no reset button.
"I was thrown into this world blind. Might as well embrace what it offered." A bitter chuckle escaped her. The realization washed over her like relief. "I couldn't deny it. I enjoyed it. Maybe I'm not as sane as I thought."
She'd killed a man. Simple as that.
Her parents' deaths hollowed her. Now, only this golden abyss smiled back.
"Very good, my Little Thief." The Guildmaster's breath warmed Mochi's chapped lips. That praise stung deeper than any pity from relatives, chipping at her lonely pride.
"A human's nature was too reliant, too lenient on cowardice, and I'm glad you didn't turn away from who you are."
The thumb then slipped into Mochi's lip as she gagged, the cold finger swiping saliva the roughened surface.
Mochi's teeth froze. One bite, and she was sure this finger would rip out her jaw.
"Vulnerability is not a sin, and it shan't be a folly to admit your madness, my little thief."
Yet, as the thumb coiled around her tongue, Mochi's thoughts raced. Madness? Vulnerability? The dead-cold finger made her feel too much, too fast.
The grip finally released with a plop, a string of wetness tickling down alongside her drumming heartbeats.
Mochi touched her abused mouth. "Damn," she muttered, flushing dark with equal parts humiliation and... something else, something worse.
This couldn't awaken whatever that heat in her gut meant. She glared at the smirking Guildmaster, who surveyed her like a prized specimen.
"Rational now, are we?"
A finger snap. Then, silence. No footsteps, just a creak as the door inched open.
Mochi stiffened, blinking. A single eye peered through the gap—too calm for a child's.
<...Target Found...>
"What the hell?"
The girl shuffled inside, head bowed—not in fear, but eerie calm. "Big Sister... can you help me find my family? That lady said you know where they are."
No tears. Not sniffles. Just an empty stare. Mochi's gaze snapped to the Guildmaster, who pressed a finger to smiling lips that mouthed words.
'I tweaked her mind a little.'
Mochi nearly choked. Who was the real monster here? Her feet itched to bolt.