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Chapter 188 — The Terrifying Geass
🕑 Added 2025-07-19 15:56:11 +0000 UTCNaturally, no one raised their hand.
After the first terrified soldier fled the battlefield, the rest of the artificial magicians wearing mass-produced manifestation devices scattered like panicked birds, as if responding to some unseen signal.
By standard military protocol, deserters should be court-martialed.
And while DEM's magicians weren’t technically soldiers, the organization’s rules were just as strict—perhaps even harsher.
Yet neither Ellen, the supreme commander, nor Takamiya Mana, the squad captain, made any effort to stop them.
Because there’s a clear difference between dying a heroic death… and throwing your life away in vain.
“Why didn’t you kill me?”
There was no defiance in Ellen’s voice—no resentment.
Just pure, raw acknowledgment of the overwhelming gap in power.
She frowned as she looked at Nagami, and the girls who were now gathering at his side.
“Nightmare… the nun… and another new Spirit…”
“Heh. If anyone deserves the name ‘Apocalypse,’ it’s her.”
Nagami gently took the delicate hand of the pink-haired girl beside him.
Despite her pouty and aggrieved expression, he coaxed her back into her subconscious, returning the body to Inori.
“You’re supposed to be the world’s strongest magician, right?” he teased.
The taunt after victory stung more than any blade.
Even Kurumi and Nia gave him a look—part amused, part exasperated.
"Poor souls, having to go up against our dear Nagami-sama..."
Nagami turned back to Ellen, gaze calm, almost detached.
“If Westcott sent two entire warships just to save you, that means you must still matter to him, at least a little. I wonder… could I use you to threaten him?”
He showed no hint of chivalry or kindness.
Even with Ellen’s battle-worn outfit and shattered manifestation gear barely hanging on her, Nagami didn't so much as flinch.
Blood streaked across her pale skin.
Her curvaceous body, violet eyes, and battle-wrought appearance carried a strange, dangerous beauty.
Yes, she was beautiful—but this wasn’t a story where the protagonist falls for every pretty face.
“It’s pointless. He can’t be threatened,” Ellen replied coldly, her gaze filled with bitter irony. “He’d never give in to anyone.”
“Yeah, I figured as much,” Nagami said with a faint smile. “Especially since he had those ships fire their magic cannon at that ridiculous angle.”
The kind of angle that would cause the maximum damage to the surface if Nagami hadn’t intercepted it.
“So you’re saying… you’re completely useless, huh?”
His expression turned cold.
The amusement faded.
His voice sharpened like ice.
“In that case… you can die now.”
With a casual flick of his hand, he summoned a simple katana.
The blade gleamed with a chilling light.
As the icy glint swept toward her, Ellen’s eyes widened in shock.
“Stop!!”
Takamiya Mana had already sprung into motion the moment the katana appeared.
She snatched up her fallen weapon hilt, and with a burst of magic, the radiant golden blade reformed.
Steel wings—jet black and razor sharp—unfurled from her back as her specialized manifestation device, Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, activated.
She rocketed toward Nagami at full speed.
‘CLANG!’
Sparks flew as something collided with the blade.
It was the sound of a fast-moving object being deflected at the last second.
Mana stopped in her tracks, holding her massive magic blade defensively.
Her chestnut eyes were filled with tension.
“Easy there, little miss. Be good, and I’ll take you to see your big brother.” Nagami said playfully.
Mana froze.
“Wait... you know where my brother is?”
Ever since she was thawed out, she’d been alone—her only family missing.
She’d searched high and low using her position, but every trail led to a dead end.
“Takamiya Shido... or should I say, Itsuka Shido.”
Nagami’s smirk deepened as the girls beside him exchanged subtle looks.
“Yup. I don’t just know where he is—I’m actually really good friends with your big sister too.”
“...Sister?”
Mana blinked, tilting her head, a giant question mark practically floating above it.
‘Since when do I have a sister?’
As the petite, blue-haired girl stood there questioning her entire worldview, Nagami turned back to Ellen, whose eyes were wide, her forehead beaded with sweat.
Her chest rose and fell in rapid, uneven breaths—like a drowning victim pulled from the depths.
Sunlight bathed her pale, shaken face.
Her golden hair clung to her forehead in damp strands.
“Well, well. Looks like the so-called ‘world’s strongest magician’ isn’t completely fearless after all.”
“……”
Ellen bit her lip hard, a flicker of despair flashing through her violet eyes.
The fear of death isn’t so easily hidden—not for any intelligent creature.
With a casual motion, Nagami summoned another katana, running a finger down its cold edge.
The polished steel glinted ominously as it caught the sunlight—its reflection shimmering on Ellen’s ashen face.
“Relax. You think death is going to come easy after what you did to my personal artist? Years of torment… You really believe I’d let you off that easily?”
Nagami’s eyes narrowed, a chilling gleam flickering within.
His hand moved slowly, brushing along Ellen’s pale cheek before settling heavily on her shoulder.
His posture loomed, overpowering and in control.
“Nagami…”
With her hands clasped in front of her chest, Nia Honjou gazed at Nagami.
Her long, curled lashes lowered slightly, casting shadows over the emotion pooling in her brilliant eyes.
The memories of her suffering had been erased by the display device—but that didn’t mean Nia had forgiven anyone from DEM.
Far from it.
She had long since lost faith in humanity, and being an introvert, she never sought vengeance.
Fighting was never her thing.
But that didn’t mean the pain just disappeared.
“You think I’d just let it slide after what they did to you?” Nagami raised his hand, ruffling the soft silver-gray hair atop the girl’s head with firm affection.
“You gotta get revenge! That’s how you clear your heart and draw with passion!”
“Oh my, are we doing something special now?” Kurumi’s voice was playful, almost sinister.
Her crimson eyes glowed with blood-red light.
She wasn’t particularly fond of torture—but this kind of killing wasn’t really Nagami’s style, so it was probably better she handle it.
After all, her hands were already soaked in the blood of thousands.
What’s a little more?
“No, no, we’re not letting her off with just death.”
Nagami gave a light chuckle, shaking his head at the stunned faces around him.
He stared at the strongest magician—Ellen—whose shoulders had curled in on themselves.
Her pale face grew even whiter, and the fear swimming in her violet eyes made her look like a trembling kitten caught in a storm.
“I don’t like using this… but for you, I’ll make an exception.”
A crimson bird took flight within the depths of Nagami’s ink-black eyes—wings spread, rising.
“Fall in love with me.”
The words left his lips gently, like a lover’s whisper.
A crisp cry echoed in the air, like a bird’s call—soft but piercing.
The fear in Ellen’s eyes faded, slowly replaced by something far more intense: adoration.
“Yes! I love you, Nagami-sama!” Her gaze glazed slightly, lips curling as she sensually licked them.
“W-What… What the heck just happened?” Nia blinked in disbelief, staring at Ellen now nearly glued to Nagami’s side.
“It’s just a simple mind-control ability—though a bit crude. It rewrites someone’s subconscious and forces them to fall in love with you.”
‘Hiss!’
Nia sucked in a sharp breath.
He called that simple?
No, wait. That’s not even the issue here—
“Nagami… Are you secretly the protagonist of some adult manga or something?” She reached out and poked Ellen, who ignored her like she was invisible.
That power… it was straight out of a lewd comic book!
“If I was, you’d all have been ravished by now.” Nagami rolled his eyes dramatically. Then, turning to Ellen, he met her adoring gaze. “Hey, can you do me a favor, dear Miss Ellen?”
“Of course!” She answered with bright-eyed fervor, her expression brimming with enthusiasm.
“Take care of Nia for me, will you? Do whatever she says—anything. Even if she tells you to die. Got it?”
His voice turned tender, like he was whispering sweet nothings to a lover.
“Yes, Nagami-sama! Leave it to me—I’ll do everything I can to help Miss Nia!”
Though regret lingered in her eyes—wishing she could stay close to Nagami—Ellen still couldn’t refuse a single word he said.
That… is love.
“Wait… this is a thing?!”
Nia’s stunned expression now added a touch of confusion as Ellen quietly stood behind her like a loyal bodyguard.
At first, she was touched by Nagami’s gesture.
But as a great artist, she quickly saw a different opportunity.
After only a few commands, she discovered the true, glorious potential of the "Being Loved" Geass.
Scenes from dozens of doujinshi flashed through her mind.
She now had a living, breathing model—for poses, references… anything she wanted.
For someone who was once the strongest magician in the world, this was undoubtedly a fate worse than death.
The anger, the resentment that once festered deep in Nia’s heart had now morphed into pure joy.
“Thanks, Nagami…”
She raised a delicate hand, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she gazed at him.
There was a light in her eyes—something soft, something deep.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
Nagami replied without hesitation, speaking words that raised affection levels without even trying. He glanced around.
“Well, since things have escalated this far… Why don’t we just go ahead and destroy Westcott?”
