The Ascent of Wrath: Broken echoes of the past

"It's impossible!"

My name is Mayuri. Until just a few weeks ago, I was part of the elite group that dominated Rank S missions in this city.

"Raina would never lose. She is a 'winner'."

Our leader, Raina, was the living symbol of success; a woman overflowing with money, legendary gear, and a confidence that bordered on the divine.

"Hey... Did you see the 'Invincible' one today?"

But overnight, that symbol shattered into pieces.

"She was near the slave market. She was wearing less clothes than a brothel dancer and saying she was 'fine' because she had already made up her mind!"

I was walking down the main avenue, trying to ignore the laughter coming from the nearby bar.

"Ha! Who would've thought..."

A group of Rank C users—guys who previously wouldn't have even dared to meet Raina's gaze—were drinking rowdily.

"All that rare gear just to end up selling herself for a few copper coins. The world sure goes in circles."

Hearing their words, I grit my teeth.

(They're just idiots who don't know anything...)

My hand instinctively reached for the handle of my staff, but I held back, thinking it wasn't worth the effort.

"Well, well, if it isn't the great Mayuri."

However, as I turned the corner toward the lower district, I ran into an old guild contact, an informant named Kael.

"Are you looking for your boss? I'll give you a free piece of advice: don't bother. That woman isn't Raina anymore. She's... something more pathetic. Yesterday, I saw her giving away her spider-silk cape to a beggar for no reason."

He kept saying words I didn't want to hear with a smile that made my stomach churn, using a sarcastic tone as if he were mocking my friend.

"Shut up, Kael!"

Because of that, I couldn't help but explode.

"You know Raina isn't like that!"

Raina has a plan. She would never lose like this. That's what I told myself over and over, trying to convince myself.

[Enter the alley to rescue your friend]

[Enter the alley to mock that pathetic woman's fall]

But as I stepped into the gloom of the alley where Kael had pointed, the air in front of my face vibrated with a mechanical hum.

"What is this...?"

Two sharp, floating black rectangles blocked my path.

"Mock her? Mock Raina?"

Seeing what was written on one of those screens, my heart skipped a beat.

"Is this some kind of joke...?"

I felt my emotions grow cold as I spoke those words, while my thoughts turned toward making whoever was responsible pay.

"... Huh?"

But then, to my horror, my right arm began to tremble, moving against my own will.

"What...?"

And so, my fingers, which should have reached for the rescue option, were pulled toward the second window as if they were metal and it were a magnet.

☆【Enter the alley to mock that pathetic woman's fall】

Thus, my fate was sealed as the Option window vanished with the sound of shattering glass.

"....."

In that moment, I felt a cold pressure in my brain, a whisper that wasn't mine but that I accepted as my own.

"Hey, Mayuri..."

Kael called out to me from behind, puzzled by my silence.

"Are you okay? You just froze up."

At his words, I turned halfway, and to my own horror, my face wore a smug smile—an expression filled with a venom I had never possessed before.

"You're right, Kael."

In that moment, I replied, my voice sounding strangely melodic...

"It's a waste of time trying to save someone who fell so low on her own. I'm going in... but only to see the look on her face when she realizes I'm still at the top and she is nothing."

And in a way I never imagined I would act, I uttered those ruthless words with a smirk.

"That's the spirit, babe! Bring back details on just how pathetic she looks!"

I felt nauseous, but my legs were already walking toward the darkness.

"Well, since it's already decided, there's nothing else I can do about it, right?"

Thus, I moved forward, muttering to myself as I entered the alley.

"...Sniff-sniff."

Upon entering, the smell in the alley was an unbearable mix of trash and dampness; a place where someone like me, wearing young dragon-hide boots, should never have set foot.

"It stinks..."

But despite that, I moved forward, ignoring it to achieve my goal, until I found the person I had come for a few meters ahead.

"Raina?"

There was Raina.

"....."

Back then, she was sitting on a rotting wooden crate. Her silver plate armor, the kind that shone like the sun on the battlefield, was gone. In its place, she wore mere rags that left little to the imagination; a garment so thin and short that it seemed a gust of wind would strip her of everything. Her eyes, once sharp as swords, were lost in the void, fixed on a point in the air that only she could see.

"Look at you... You're pathetic. Where did the great group leader go?"

Therefore, when I saw her, the first thing that came out of my mouth was a tone of superiority that disgusted me, but I couldn't help it...

"Ah, Mayuri..."

In response, Raina blinked slowly and looked at me.

"You've come. I'm sorry, but... it has already been decided. There's nothing to be done, right?"

Then, with a small, almost apologetic smile forming on her tired face, she spoke to me in a soft voice, devoid of any trace of pride or hostility.

"You...!"

Seeing that, just as I was about to scream at her to react, to get up and get her gear back, the mechanical hum returned to my ears.

[Give her your dragon-hide boots so she doesn't walk barefoot]

[Force her to kiss your boots to demonstrate your superiority]

A black window, larger than the previous one, appeared between the two of us; one that only I was capable of seeing.

(No!)

Having a bad feeling, I tried to move my hand toward the option to help her, but my fingers felt like lead.

(I came to see her, not to humiliate her further!)

My muscles contracted with painful force, pulling my arm toward the second option.

☆【Force her to kiss your boots to demonstrate your superiority】

... But once again, the option was chosen against my will.

"Hey, Raina."

Suddenly, my Elite Mage staff began to glow with an erratic light.

"If you want me to pay you any attention, first prove you know your place now. Kiss my boots."

Without a trace of mercy, I spoke, my voice sounding cruelly amused as I extended my right foot toward her.

"Yes... if it has been so decided..."

In response, Raina showed no surprise and simply replied with total submission.

(Lick... lick...)

While she humiliated herself before me, back then I heard mocking laughter coming from the alley entrance.

"Look at that!"

It was two other low-rank users who had followed us, drawn by Kael's gossip.

"The great Mayuri is making the ex-leader clean her footwear! This is better than any fight in the arena!"

I felt a sudden chill run down my shoulders.

"Hey, Mayuri! That silk cape you're wearing is worth a fortune! Why don't you throw it in the trash? A 'winner' like you doesn't need such luxury to stand out over this trash!"

I wanted to insult them, I wanted to cast a spell to make them leave, but in that instant, another window appeared in front of me, responding directly to the provocation of those guys.

[Ignore the adventurers and take Raina with you]

[Throw your Spider-Silk Cape into the mud to prove you don't care about money]

The color of reality washed out, and two new black windows materialized before my eyes, vibrating with an electric hum.

(No... not my cape...)

It was an epic-grade item, woven with threads of abyssal spider silk. I tried with all my might to direct my will toward the first option: to save Raina and get out of there.

☆【Throw your Spider-Silk Cape into the mud to demonstrate your status】

But once again, as soon as the star shined over the option, my resistance vanished.

"You're right."

A frozen void filled my mind, replacing my anguish with a cold, twisted logic.

"Such a mundane object only distracts from my true greatness."

My hands moved to my neck with mechanical elegance and unbuckled the golden brooch, letting the valuable cape fall into a puddle of mud and stagnant water with a fluid motion.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Look at that!"

"I can't believe it...!"

"The Great Mage just threw away the equivalent of ten years of our salary just to prove us right!"

I wanted to cry, but a crystalline and ruthless laugh erupted from my throat without my consent.

"It’s nothing more than a simple rag."

Hearing the laughter and jeers at the situation, I was only able to smile... Because... after all... it had already been decided... there was nothing that could be done...

"Step on it, Mayuri! Prove that for a Rank S, that is just trash!"

I wanted to scream at them to get out, but the mechanical hum returned with a force that made my teeth vibrate.

[Pick up the cape and try to clean it with magic]

[Trample the cape while laughing at how pathetic your own loss is]

A new window appeared, overlaying my vision of the soiled cape.

☆【Trample the cape while laughing at how pathetic your own loss is】

And again, without even giving me time to think, a new choice was made...

"Ha, ha, ha! You're right."

So, as soon as the star shined, my foot came down hard on the abyssal spider silk, sinking it into the mire.

"Look at this rag! It's as insignificant as the woman I came looking for! How ridiculous for someone of my level to carry something that ends up so easily in the mud!"

At the same time, I laughed cruelly because, after all, it had already been decided, so there was nothing to be done.

"""AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"""

The adventurers joined in my laughter, celebrating my "spectacle," while I felt the tears wanting to well up, but my eyes remained open and bright, fixed on the destruction of my own gear.

"Well, well..."

Back then, perhaps one of those users was drunk as he approached me, causing the others—maybe intoxicated by the atmosphere—to close in as well, surrounding Raina and me while staring at my gear.

"A Rank S staff. They say you could buy half the city with this. Why does such a 'generous' woman want something so heavy? You should give it to us so we can pawn it... or better yet, use it to entertain us a bit."

I still remember the smell of cheap alcohol and sweat mixing with the mud of my trampled cape.

"Get your filthy hands off my weapon!"

I tried to resist; however, the mechanical hum returned once more...

[Use a lightning spell to incinerate the adventurers]

[Break your staff against the ground to prove you don't need magic to be superior]

It was ridiculous... Breaking a high-grade item would be a waste of both resources and a one-of-a-kind tool; therefore, the natural choice was to incinerate them.

☆【Break your staff against the ground to prove you don't need magic to be superior】

... But as soon as the star shined, a raw force took over my shoulders and, without hesitating, I raised the legendary weapon above my head and, with a hysterical laugh that tore through my throat, I smashed it against the edge of the crate where Raina was sitting.

(CRACK!)

Thus, the mana crystal shattered into a thousand useless fragments that flew across the alley.

"Incredible! The Great Mage Mayuri has just destroyed her own staff!"

The adventurers recoiled for a second from the impact, only to then erupt into wild jubilation.

"Now you're really on our level, gorgeous!"

At that point, I felt my mana reserve vanish, leaving a sensation of emptiness and weakness in my legs.

☆【Use the sharp fragments of the staff to tear your own clothes】

But it was from there that the choices became more radical.

"Ha, ha, ha! Look!"

As it had already been decided, I crouched down with a shrill laugh, picked up a fragment of the mana crystal that was still vibrating with energy residual and, before the stunned and excited gaze of the men, I ran it through the center of my dragon-hide breastplate.

"Such expensive gear only serves to hide who I truly am! What a nuisance!"

The adventurers roared with pleasure as they saw the armor fall into the mud, leaving my nearly transparent silk under-tunic in full view of everyone.

"That's it, Mayuri! Show us why Rank S women are better than those from the brothel!"

The circle of adventurers closed in so tightly that I could feel the heat of their bodies and the smell of rusty metal.

☆【Kneel before the Rank C warrior and offer your body as a public toy】

There was no longer any room for dignity.

"Please enjoy my body as a toy for your amusement~!"

With a mechanical grace that made me let out an unfitting moan of pleasure, I dropped to my knees in the mud, right where my abyssal spider-silk cape was being trampled.

"Look at this!"

But since it has been decided, there is nothing that can be done...

"The Great Mage Mayuri is begging for something other than magic!"

A new window appeared instantly.

☆【Use your mouth to clean the dirt from his boots before serving him sexually】

With no other option since it had already been decided, I began to perform all kinds of services.

"Ha, ha, ha! Yes, just like that!"

I felt the bitter taste of earth and old leather on my tongue, but instead of nausea, my brain received a surge of endorphins that made me arch my back.

"Look at how the Rank S tastes the mud of a third-rate adventurer!"

"It's incredible!"

"She's enjoying being treated like trash!"

From then on, they played with me for days without rest until, once satisfied, they left.

"... A-aah~"

And once alone in the alley, I noticed that even Raina had gone, leaving me lying there, stained with all kinds of fluids.

☆【Accept that you are now communal property of the alley and smile for the audience】

In that way, my fate was sealed...

"Ahaha... I guess... since it has been decided... it can't be helped..."

Since then, I have been nothing more than mere communal property that everyone has the right to use, spending my days as a mere tool of pleasure.

"Welcome! Please enjoy playing with me today~!"

Since then, I never saw Raina again...

"... Mayuri."

.... Until today.