Did I beat Karina?

Katamuta tapped his pen on the table, his gaze filled with rage.

"I need a plan to make this woman stop causing trouble," he growled through his teeth.

Karina... just the name sounded like poison dripping from her.

From where I was, hidden under the sofa, I watched in silence.

“If I help Karina, I’ll continue to be blackmailed. But if I help Katamuta … I can eliminate Karina and still keep him and Hiroshi in my hands.”

I've decided.

I slowly crawled out from under the sofa. Katamuta turned around, startled to see me there.

"Who are you?!" Katamuta asked.

"Someone who can help you," I replied.

He narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

So I told them everything about Karina's plan, omitting only the part about the Time Freeze.

When I finished, Katamuta was pale with rage.

"Delete the video now!" he ordered , slamming his fist on the table.

I crossed my arms.

"Can we negotiate?" I asked.

He took a deep breath, assessing the situation.

"It depends on the proposal," he said . Katamuta .

Smile.

"Call Hiroshi here. Now," I ordered.

Katamuta hesitated, but seemed to understand that he had no choice.

He picked up his cell phone and sent a short message.

Two minutes later, Hiroshi entered the room.

"My father already explained the situation to me," he said, adjusting his uniform.

I feigned a cold smile.

"I've heard of this Karina... they say she's terrible," I said, pretending I didn't know Karina.

Katamuta snorted.

"So you want me to accept her deal?!" he asked. Katamuta .

— No. — I took a step forward.

"I think I can avoid that. But I need you to promise me one thing, Hiroshi," I said.

He looked at me in surprise.

"What?" Hiroshi asked .

"From today onwards, you will no longer intimidate anyone," I replied.

Hiroshi sighed, crossing his arms.

"If this is to prevent our image from becoming public, I accept," Hiroshi agreed.

Katamuta leaned over the table.

"And how are we going to capture Karina?" he asked. Katamuta .

"The only person who could catch her by surprise would never agree to do it willingly," I replied .

Katamuta frowned.

— And who would that be? — he asked. Katamuta .

— Fujimoto . — I replied.

He gave a wry smile.

— Oh, he will. — he said . Katamuta confident.

My eyes widened.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused.

Katamuta opened a drawer and took out a small metal device.

"This is Mentletter . It transmits my words directly to the mind of the person connected to the receiver." His voice was filled with pride.

I swallowed hard.

"You mean Fujimoto ...?" I said, shocked.

"Yes. Before Karina arrived, I instructed him: 'If I offer you a glass of water, come here.'" Katamuta smiled coldly.

My stomach churned. Then he planned everything.

But that also meant I could turn the tables.

"Then I know how to make Fujimoto obey," I said confidently.

I leaned in and whispered my plan. Katamuta nodded, impressed.

Hiroshi, curious, opened his father's laptop.

"How about we watch it on the cameras? That way we don't have to call security," said Hiroshi.

Katamuta activated Mentletter .

I took a deep breath.

— Showtime . — he said Katamuta .

On screen, we saw Fujimoto and Karina sitting on a bench in the courtyard. The boy was trembling, and Karina was trying to calm him down.

Katamuta 's voice echoed through the device:

" Fujimoto , throw some water on her dress. I need to see something."

Fujimoto hesitated, but obeyed. The glass tipped over, soaking some of Karina's clothes. The entire courtyard fell silent.

Karina blinked, confused. Then she stood up slowly, her gaze cold and restrained. An accidental tear formed in the wet fabric, and her murmurs turned into nervous laughter.

She looked around, and for a brief moment, her gaze met the camera lens.

I felt a chill.

She knows.

"Impressive. She lost control," Hiroshi whispered .

But I knew that wasn't true.

"That restrained smile... Karina never loses control. That's a warning."

"Dad, what if we send a message to the students asking them to pressure her? A 'prank'?" Hiroshi said .

Katamuta nodded, but before he could type, the image on the screen changed.

Karina walked across the courtyard, wet, but with an upright, almost regal posture.

The students were now completely silent.

Her presence seemed to distort the air, as if fear and fascination were mingling.

"That woman is... half human, half succubus," I murmured .

Even Katamuta and Hiroshi were tense, unsure if what they felt was fear, guilt, or… attraction.

Karina raised her head, and through the camera it seemed she was looking directly at us.

She smiled serenely, a smile that said:

"You think you control me, but I'm the one who makes the rules."

The monitor blinked.

The connection dropped.

We remained silent.

Nobody dared to say anything.

Hiroshi was still sending messages.

"Answer me, come on..." he growled, looking at his contact list.

I shook my head.

"It won't do any good. They were caught by her succubus-like power," I said.

Hiroshi and Katamuta stared at me as if I had spoken a forbidden language.

"Power? That doesn't exist." Hiroshi laughed nervously.

"Yes, it does exist. And you've only seen half of it," I replied .

To cut the argument short, I made a miniature clone of myself, a lilac glow condensing my silhouette in the palm of my hand before dissolving into thin air.

They both fell silent.

" Okay . Let's trust you. So... how does a succubus 's power work?" Hiroshi sighed.

"It's a magic of connection. Seduction, yes, but energetic: gaze, presence, channeled touch. If she wants, she can bend someone's will in seconds. If she doesn't want to, nothing happens," I explained.

"And how do we stop someone like that?" Katamuta stepped forward.

"Do you have contact lenses and gloves here?" I asked .

"I have both." He opened a drawer.

"For now, just the lenses," I instructed .

They put the lenses on in a hurry.

A loud bang on the door cut through the air.

"It's Karina. Katamuta , put this pill under your tongue. If there's any attempt at bonding, you 'return' the energy," I whispered .

"What does it do?" he asked.

"It returns the magic pulse to its origin: any use of power ricochets back to it," I explained.

— Understood. Yumi , hide. — ordered the director.

I slid back under the sofa. The wood vibrated when he opened the door.

Karina crossed the threshold as if the hallway were a stage.

"Why are you... like this?" Katamuta hesitated.

She looked him up and down, her amber eyes cold.

"The lenses... he's not seeing the glamour."

"And your son?" she asked with calculated sweetness.

"I called. We need to discuss your 'proposal'," Hiroshi replied.

Karina assessed the situation. It was clear she had noticed something.

"She felt the lenses. And the gloves. She's going to try another way."

In one step, he shortened the distance to Katamuta .

The air crackled.

"Don't touch me," he murmured, swallowing hard.

"I don't need to touch it," her voice lowered slightly.

The atmosphere shifted. A crimson ring of energy formed between the two, like heat rippling across asphalt.

Karina raised her hand to his chest, without touching it, guiding his hand to the point of energy radiating from him, a warm, magnetic aura, not carnal, but alive.

"Feel the pulse," she whispered.

Katamuta hesitated. The crimson glow pulled at his will, like a tide.

Then, with a minimal gesture of his tongue, he released the pill—an invisible snap reversed the current.

The bond creaked and broke.

Karina blinked in surprise, her pulse ricocheting and hitting her for an instant. It was only a second, but enough to make her mask tremble.

Hiroshi gasped, relieved.

"It worked," Hiroshi said .

"It's not over yet," I warned .

"Karina doesn't lose control twice ."

She turned to Hiroshi, smiling without showing her teeth, a smile of someone who had already taken down kings.

She raised her hand, and threads of fine energy enveloped the boy's arm, guiding his fingers to the field radiating from her, near his heart, where the succubus's presence vibrates most strongly.

"Let's see if you can resist this." The voice was almost a chant.

Hiroshi recoiled, tense, his fingers trembling .

— Pa … pare…

The field pulsed, trying to bend his will.

For a moment, I felt he would give in, but the pill that had ricocheted off her still numbed the bond.

Hiroshi gasped firmly and pulled his hand away with effort.

"Is that all there is?" Hiroshi asked .

Karina's gaze darkened.

"So that was it," Karina said .

I felt the danger change color.

— (No!) — I tried to crawl out from under the sofa, but the air was already sizzling.

Karina raised both hands.

The energy condensed, intense, like blades made of light and shadow.

"They toyed with the power of a succubus ," the voice echoed.

Two beams cut across the room.

Hiroshi and Katamuta were thrown backward, the impact opening wounds in both of their chests.

The world fell silent for a millisecond before the sound of the crash.

— S-stop… — my voice died in my throat.

"Is it... blood?"

Karina crouched down in front of the sofa and found me in the shadows.

I was trembling, unable to control my hands.

Karina pulled me forcefully from under the sofa.

Her touch was cold, almost unnatural; I felt the hairs on my arm stand on end.

"Did you really think you could fool me and get away with it?" she asked , her gaze piercing.

Her words were like ice.

Behind her, I saw the motionless bodies of Hiroshi and Katamuta . The blood was dry, dark, and traced lines on the ground.

I was breathless.

"They... are dead..."

I tried to breathe, but panic overwhelmed me. The only thing I had left was power.

Time Freeze: Go Back!

The lilac light exploded between my fingers—and dissipated like smoke.

Nothing.

— (Why... didn't it work?) — I thought , desperately.

Karina crossed her arms, serene, almost amused.

"Certain powers don't work against God's Guardian, Yumi ," Karina said .

" Guardian of God...?" I said , confused.

"Beings chosen in each world to seal the divine entities and maintain the balance of chaos," she explained, her tone calm but heavy.

She placed her hand on her chest.

"I am the Guardian of God of World Two," Karina revealed .

I felt the ground spin.

"She 's... a guardian? How could someone like her be chosen?"

Karina tilted her head, assessing my terror.

"You saw what you caused ... but, being so generous, I'll let you fix things. You can use your power to go back in time, but only to the moment I was in the hallway, heading to the principal's office," Karina said .

I swallowed hard.

— W- why... this moment? — I asked.

"Because that's where you discover me, confront me, and give me clues on how to stop me. I want to see what you do differently this time. Now stop hesitating and use it." Her eyes gleamed.

I closed my eyes.

The whole body vibrated with the spell.

Time Freeze: Go back ten minutes!

The world was torn apart in light.

I opened my eyes again.

The atmosphere was the same: Hiroshi trying to connect with the students, Katamuta impatiently glancing at his watch.

"So I returned just before the attack."

But I noticed something strange, the anti-succubus pill was in the same place, but… empty.

"This means... that its effect hasn't reset ."

"If I'm right, the magic poison is still in her body, and now the bond will completely reverse."

Hiroshi nudged me.

"What is it? Karina is knocking on the door! What now?!" Hiroshi said.

Katamuta grumbled.

"You've shown your power, but you still haven't said how to defeat a succubus . Don't tell me you don't know!" Katamuta said.

I ignored it.

"Wait... why were you calling, Hiroshi?" I asked.

"Because you weren't answering and... I thought I could wake them up," Hiroshi replied .

"Then this is the right moment. I have to act differently."

Katamuta picked up the empty pill.

"Was this... supposed to defeat a succubus?" he asked. Katamuta .

"Yes," I replied curtly.

The two looked at each other, desperate.

Karina knocked again; the sound was like thunder.

"We're going to die," Hiroshi murmured.

"Open the door. If I'm right, this will be our victory," I ordered .

They hesitated, but obeyed.

I hid under the sofa again.

The door opened.

Karina entered, imposing. Her footsteps made no sound.

"What a coincidence. The trio reunited," she said with a wry smile.

In a swift movement, she approached Katamuta and enveloped him in a crimson glow.

Her kiss was more of an exchange of energy than affection , a mystical discharge, a pact of souls.

Two and a half minutes.

The air was trembling.

Karina stepped back, satisfied.

But Katamuta just blinked, confused.

"Is it over already?" he asked. Katamuta .

"What? Did you like the kiss?" she frowned.

"It was... strange," he replied . Katamuta .

"So, are you going to accept the deal? Are you going to make your son kneel before mine?" Karina asked .

He crossed his arms.

— And why would I do that? — he replied. Katamuta .

Karina's gaze broke. Her body swayed.

She put her hand to her head.

A purple glow emanated from her skin, the same glow as the pill.

— (The effect... continued ... Even going back in time... the spell didn't reset because... I am the Guardian.) — she murmured .

Katamuta took a step forward.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Katamuta .

I held back a laugh while tucked under the sofa.

"I was right. The spell backfired on her."

"The man most affected by her power becomes the center of the reversal, and now she is trapped in her own bond."

"Are you cold?" he asked. Katamuta , innocent.

Karina blushed uncontrollably for the first time.

"What... what do you think of me?" Karina asked .

"I think you're... fascinating," he replied with a carefree smile.

Karina turned pale.

I took a step off the sofa.

Hiroshi's eyes widened.

— Yumi ?! What have you done?! — asked Hiroshi.

Karina turned to me, staggering.

— Y… Yumi … you'll pay for this. — said Karina.

"She's under her own spell. And given the pattern of inversion, she'll stay like this for about twenty minutes," I explained .

Katamuta let out a laugh, a nervous sound, almost one of relief.

"So now she's the one who obeys?" he asked. Katamuta .

I crossed my arms, my gaze fixed on Karina, who was struggling against her own power.

"For now. But when the spell wears off... hell will return with her," I replied.

The room filled with a heavy silence, like the air before a storm.

And inside me, a bitter certainty grew.

"Saving time is never the same as winning."