“Raqahela is much more, her dear,” she says, caressing her face.
The professor is shaken by tremors of pleasure she can't control.

“Have you ever had a god, like Chand, appear before you in flesh and bone?” Raqahela asks her, as if to imply that she is comparable to a deity. The succubus can read my mind, and she is behaving exactly as I wished her to.

Kanna's eyes widen as she observes the demonic presence before her.
Fear and curiosity fight within her, making her heart beat faster.
She looks at Bicrista, still trapped by my eldritch tentacle, and sees her writhing in terror.

Then the professor turns towards me. "Is this all true?" Kanna whispers, barely audible.
I nod, with a sinister smile on my lips as I watch her struggle with her conflicting emotions.

Kanna's breath halts, her gaze fixed on the seductive succubus before her.
Despite her hesitation, her curiosity overcomes her fear.
"Is... is it possible... to experience such pleasures with a single touch?" she asks, her voice trembling.

Raqahela chuckles seductively, her voice dripping with a sensual tone.
"Oh, her dear Kanna Merfal, cleric of Chand, the pleasures she can offer you go beyond your wildest imagination."
She runs a finger along Kanna's jawline, sending a shiver down her spine.
Raqahela, sensing the professor's vulnerability, moves a step closer to her.

Now she is very close to her.
"Do you desire power?" purrs the succubus, her voice like silk wrapped in honey.
"Do you want to experience pleasures beyond your wildest dreams?"
Kanna hesitates for a moment before slowly nodding.

"Then embrace the darkness within you," continues Raqahela, reaching out a hand towards Kanna's trembling form.
"Let it consume you and set you free."

"But first," Raqahela turns to me with an evil smile, "the Master-Servant contract must be sealed."
I nod, satisfied with Raqahela's performance.

The contract is a binding link between the Master and the Servant.
With each level increase of the contract, the connection becomes deeper.
Since I first made it with Rero and then with Luysia, it has changed me.
With the contract in effect, I can better understand Bicrista, delve into her past, protect her from herself, and guide her towards healing.

"Kanna," I address the professor, "do you trust me? Together, we can help Bicrista overcome her trauma."
Kanna takes a deep breath and nods decisively. "I trust you."

“I don’t need any help! Let me go!” shouts the crazy girl still gripped by my tentacle.

“Then why are you still here? You could easily escape with [SHADOW STEP],” I point out.

Caught in her lie, Bicrista is speechless.
She could have escaped at any time if she really wanted to.
But she didn’t. She doesn’t want to flee from me. She wants to flee from something else.
Behind the mask, there is another mask, and behind that mask, yet another.
Like a Matryoshka doll.

Lies upon lies, hiding her traumatic past.

No longer needing the tentacle charade, I make the mace disappear and release my grip on the silver-haired girl.

“Now you are free,” I lie.
She is only free physically. I will never let her escape.

“Uh… Y-you could have blocked me like you did that time…” she tries to find justifications.