Alternative Title: Absolute Submission: The King's Decree
"Tch, I hope you're not all talk!?"
Mugino Shizuri snorted with disdain. Green light spheres burst around her, firing intense beams straight at Tsukasa.
Tilting his head slightly, Tsukasa dodged several energy beams in succession. He spoke flatly.
"Too slow."
Along with the sound of explosions from the beams behind him, the dazzling light lit up Tsukasa's cold face.
Frenda felt her heart sink for some reason. Her legs couldn't stop shaking. Her mouth remained open in surprise. She couldn't believe it.
"No way! That was Mugino's attack!"
"That guy isn't someone simple." Kinuhata Saiai had already pushed her Level 4 Nitrogen Armor to the limit. Wind swirled around her as she went into full alert.
"..."
Takitsubo Rikou, usually lazy and indifferent, felt cold sweat sliding down her forehead.
"Hah, you're pretty good. But did you think my attacks would end here!?" Mugino Shizuri let out a twisted smile. The green light spheres quickly merged into a massive one, gathering terrifying energy.
Boom! A giant beam blasted forward. The wide-range attack completely shattered the floor where Tsukasa stood. Another violent explosion rang out. The smoke and dust from the blast made Tsukasa's figure vanish.
The group of four stood back-to-back in the smoke, guarding against a sneak attack.
"Takitsubo," Mugino called out.
However, the response she got was Takitsubo's panicked voice.
"No, Mugino... the target has no AIM diffusion field."
"What!?"
The three of them cried out together, staring at Takitsubo in shock.
"Are you kidding me? With those moves, you're telling me he's not an esper!?" Frenda shouted in panic.
"..."
The air went still. Suddenly, a terrifying pressure came from ahead. A bloodthirsty aura, like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, hit them. The aura was filled with pure malice. Even though the four members of ITEM had seen their share of darkness, they couldn't help but feel a fear they had never known before.
This pressure made it hard for them to even breathe. The overwhelming evil pressed down on their fragile nerves.
"Breathe... I can't..." Kinuhata Saiai couldn't even maintain her ability. Her Nitrogen Armor faded away, leaving the girl drenched in cold sweat.
"I can breathe, right? I'm not going to be killed like this, am I?" Frenda felt as if a giant hand was squeezing her heart. Her face went pale and she gasped for air.
"..."
Takitsubo Rikou didn't say a word, but her trembling body showed her terror.
Mugino Shizuri bit her lower lip so hard it bled. Blood flowed down slowly.
'Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, damn it! I'm Academy City's Fourth Rank!?'
Even as she roared in her heart, the feeling of her heart skipping a beat didn't fade. Instead, it grew worse. In the silence, Mugino could even hear her own racing heart and those heavy, approaching footsteps. As they got closer, the four girls began to shake even more violently.
"Your heads are held too high."
At that exact moment, the four of them felt the danger and instinctively crouched down together.
An invisible slash flew right over their heads, slamming into the wall behind them and carving a deep crack.
The dust cleared, revealing Tsukasa. Black markings had appeared on his face, making him look even more demonic and cruel.
"Submit? Or die? Choose."
As those flat words fell, the four girls, who already had their heads pressed to the ground, all let out a sigh of relief. If submission meant they wouldn't die, they wouldn't fight to the end. The weak obey the strong. Wasn't that the truth of the world?
"We... we submit. We choose to submit."
Mugino Shizuri raised her hands in surrender. Her face was covered in sweat. Even as someone who was usually a bit crazy, she knew that if she showed her usual arrogant attitude to the man in front of her, she would definitely die. She was crazy, not stupid. The pure malice from before had destroyed any thought of resisting.
"Very well. Your first mission: find information on the First Rank, Accelerator. His daily routine and the experimental projects he's in. The reward is ten million yen."
Tsukasa ordered. The pressure around him slowly faded. The four girls finally relaxed and collapsed to the ground.
Although he could have forced them to work for free, Tsukasa didn't mind paying. To him, money was just a string of numbers now.
"I... I understand."
Mugino Shizuri nodded, not daring to ask more. Tsukasa threw a slip with a phone number to them and vanished from the spot.
"Phew... I'm... I'm alive. Thank god! Waaaah!"
Frenda couldn't hold back her tears. She felt hurt, but since everyone around her was female, they ignored her crying.
"Who exactly is that guy? I didn't even feel this kind of terrifying pressure from the First Rank," Kinuhata Saiai said, her heart still pounding.
"I don't know. But he's definitely not an esper. That's for sure." Takitsubo Rikou answered with a trembling voice, her arms wrapped around herself.
"..."
Mugino Shizuri remained silent for a long time.
"Mugino..." Frenda looked at her worriedly, afraid of upsetting her. Frenda knew how proud Mugino was, but now Mugino had bowed her head and chosen to submit.
"Alright, you heard him. ITEM's new mission is to find info on the First Rank. Tell the subordinates to move out."
Mugino's face was hidden by her bangs. Her voice was low, and the three girls couldn't see her expression.
"Yes!"
The three agreed and turned to start making calls.
However, in the shadows where the others couldn't see, Mugino's face was flushed bright red. Her eyes stared toward the spot where Tsukasa had vanished with an intense, lingering gaze.
Mugino muttered to herself.
"So this is submission... it's actually so exciting."
It seemed Tsukasa had accidentally awakened a certain side of the girl. After all, characters with "sadistic" traits often hide "masochistic" ones.