Chapter 35: Rogue
The steel-paneled chamber dimmed, its crimson glow swallowed by a surge of pink-white energy, the air crackling with a tense, electric hum as the calibration trial ignited.
Each raised platform pulsed in sync, their runes flaring beneath the restrained girls, a rhythmic throb echoing through the cold metal walls.
Miki, Reina, Yuri, and Aika trembled or moaned in cadence, their bodies guided by Kota’s earlier tool assignments—wand, oil, plug, visor—beads of light trailing from their leather-lined cuffs into the central crystal above, weaving a circuit of heat and sound that pulsed with the trial’s unyielding demand.
Then Hina screamed—a raw, defiant roar that shattered the harmony, her Obedience Collar flaring a furious red, its jagged pulses clashing with the chamber’s rhythm.
Her bindings vibrated wildly, the enchanted cuffs at her wrists straining, then snapping with a sharp crack.
With a guttural grunt, Hina twisted free, tearing the remaining ankle restraints apart, collapsing forward onto the polished stone floor, her chest heaving, sweat dripping from her brow, her lacy shorts askew from the struggle.
Everyone froze, the chamber’s hum faltering, the air thickening with tension.
"Don’t—" Kota started, stepping forward, his voice sharp, sweat beading on his brow as the interface plinth flickered erratically behind him.
Hina was already standing, her chest rising and falling like a furnace, her eyes blazing with unbowed fury, refusing to meet the others’ gazes.
"You don’t see it, do you?" she shouted, spinning to face the restrained girls, her voice a fiery lash.