The air was still. Tense. Electric.
Eiji stood in the middle of the Research Clubroom, arms folded, wearing a cocky grin that betrayed his utter lack of awareness of the storm about to befall him. Across from him stood Ayaka Ryuzen, Vice Devil President and club enforcer, widely feared as the school's most merciless disciplinarian.
Everyone else had wisely cleared out, leaving the two alone. Even Seraphina hadn't stayed behind to meditate. That fact alone should've been his warning.
Ayaka's eyes narrowed. "Are you ready for your punishment?"
Eiji smirked with mock bravado. "Of course, Vice Prez. I'm always ready for a little... discipline."
Inwardly, however, his mind was a swirling mess of dirty thoughts and wild fantasies. Ayaka's sharp tongue, her high ponytail, her lithe body wrapped in black tights—his imagination had gone into dangerous territory.
Ayaka's thighs, her glare... mmm, punish me more~
Then she smiled.
No, not the gentle smile of someone amused. It was the kind of smile you saw just before the guillotine fell.
Goosebumps raced down Eiji's spine.
Why do I feel like I will be devoured alive today... and not in a good way?
"Follow me."
He obeyed without hesitation, unaware that he was marching into hell itself.
The golden hue of the afternoon sun seeped into the club president's chamber, cascading across Seraphina Falcor's desk like liquid gold. She sat, her posture perfect, reviewing a thick bundle of papers with gloved hands.
The door creaked open.
Miya Tsukihiro stepped in, her expression unreadable. Her arms folded tightly under her bust, but her voice was smooth and calm as ever.
"President. I don't object to that pervert being punished… but why Ayaka? Why her of all people?"
Seraphina didn't even glance up. "I don't see the problem."
"You know her methods. And you know she hates men. Eiji might not die from her... training, but he could be seriously injured. Why go so far for a simple detention?"
Seraphina finally looked up, her eyes calm, calculating.
"You remember what happened in the Holy Dimension."
Miya's expression shifted just slightly.
Seraphina continued. "He awakened an Espiria Gear. Not just any gear. Arkanexus."
The air tightened.
"One of only six in the world. A relic that should have been lost to time. Those gears don't simply grant power—they test the soul. They crush the unworthy. They destroy the indecisive."
Miya's arms dropped to her sides.
"And if he's to wield it… he has to be worthy of shouldering the burden. Of surviving it."
Silence settled between them like a fog. Miya's mouth opened, but no words came. A rare flicker of concern passed through her usually unshakable demeanor.
She said nothing more.
Vice Devil President's Discipline Chamber
Boom. The heavy door slammed shut behind Eiji.
He blinked.
"What the hell...?"
The chamber looked like it had been borrowed from a medieval torture archive. Reinforced walls hummed with arcane glyphs. Iron chains hung from the ceiling. A pit of bubbling lava simmered in one corner, though Eiji prayed it was a magical illusion. Probably aesthetic. Probably.
Ayaka stood at the far end.
She wore a black training uniform that hugged her frame in all the right ways. Her long silver ponytail was tied with military precision, and her violet eyes shimmered with an unreadable fire.
In her hand spun a baton, lazily yet precisely, like a predator toying with its prey.
"Welcome to hell," she said flatly. "I'll be your guide."
Eiji gulped, but his pride wouldn't let him falter. "Wow, I knew you were kinky, but this is next level."
She ignored the comment and gestured to him. "Strip."
His brain exploded.
"W-W-What?!"
"You're wearing your uniform wrong."
He blinked. "Wait, you mean—"
"Your jacket, moron."
She turned around, already done with his nonsense. "And do it before I make you."
He muttered, "This is going to be a long day..."
The Torment Begins
Gravity Pushups. The room's gravity increased tenfold with a snap of Ayaka's fingers. Eiji's body collapsed like a bag of cement.
"Keep going," she ordered. "Fifty pushups."
His arms shook with each motion. Sweat poured from his forehead. By the twentieth, he looked like he was ready to die.
"You look like a slug. Is that your natural form?" she taunted.
He grunted. "Only when I'm trying to impress beautiful women."
Zap.
She shocked him with a jolt from her baton.
Next came the Focus Test.
The room is distorted. A dozen illusionary Ayakas surrounded him—some in uniform, some in swimsuits, and one very dominatrix-like variant.
"Eiji-kun~" they all cooed.
He nearly choked on his blood.
"You fail if you break eye contact," the real Ayaka warned.
A second later, he was fried by a shockwave of lightning.
Wordplay Punishment.
"Thanks, Ayaka—"
Zap!
"It's Vice President Ayaka."
"Sorry, Ayaka—"
Zap!
By the third time, he was twitching like a dying fish.
Then: Mop Duty.
An enchanted floor. Every time he cleaned it, it reset.
Ayaka sat nearby, sipping tea and watching without sympathy.
"Still dirty. Try harder."
"Still evil. Try therapy," he muttered.
Zap.
Quiz Time.
"What's the molecular core of Blacksteel?"
"Uh... Sexium-69?"
Zap!
"…FeX3."
"Hm. Beginner's luck."
And the worst part? Every time he cracked a joke, the room punished him. An illusion of Ayaka kicking him into a magical pit. Explosions from nowhere. Static shocks to unspeakable places.
But he endured.
He grumbled. He whined. He flirted. But he never stopped.
Turning Point
It had been hours.
Eiji was barely standing. His face was smeared with soot and blood. His knees wobbled.
Ayaka stood silently, observing.
"…You keep complaining, but you still obey. Why?"
He stopped. He turned his head to her. There was no grin now—just tired honesty.
"Because if I don't laugh, I'll break."
She didn't speak.
"If I don't complain, all this will sit in my head. Eat at me. And... It's my punishment. I deserve it. So I'll do it. No matter how stupid it is."
She looked at him for a long moment.
"…You talk too much, idiot."
Gravity surged again.
Then came the final test.
With a flick of her hand, a massive wolf appeared, twice Eiji's size, crackling with lightning, its fangs bared.
"Three attacks. Don't use your powers. Survive, and you're free."
His jaw dropped. "THAT thing's your idea of a detention?!"
"Begin."
The first hit came faster than sound. He was sent flying.
Ayaka sighed. "I knew I was expecting too much."
But then, he stood.
Blood trickled from his lip. His ribs ached. But he stood.
The second hit knocked him down. Hard. His vision blurred.
She turned away—
But then I heard him gasp. He was on one knee.
"…Why aren't you giving up?"
The third attack surged—until she canceled it.
"Why didn't you use your Espiria Gear?" she asked.
"…Because you told me not to."
"If I told you to die, would you?!"
He smiled weakly. "It's my punishment. The president said to follow your orders."
He coughed. "And honestly... I don't mind dying for a beautiful woman like you."
She blinked. A slow, deep flush rose to her cheeks.
"…Idiot."
Small Respect
She threw him a towel.
He caught it weakly.
"You lasted longer than expected... for a moron."
He grinned. "So I'm off probation?"
"You didn't survive all three attacks."
"But I stood up after two."
She looked away. "Fine. One point. But don't get cocky. One wrong move, and I'll throw you into a volcano."
"Aww~ So you do care about me, Vice Prez~"
"Just die, idiot."
But her voice held no malice.
As he staggered out of the room, she stood alone. She put her hand to her chest.
That day, Ayaka didn't say it aloud. But somewhere deep beneath her icy exterior… a spark of respect had been born.
Later that night…
Eiji yawned, dragging his aching limbs toward the club's private bath.
"Whew… that torture chamber broke me. Time to soak… finally."
He slid the door open.
Steam billowed out. Soft candlelight glimmered.
"Ayaka?"
She stood inside, towel wrapped around her bare body, water glistening on her skin.
Their eyes locked.
Time froze.
"...Wrong door?" he squeaked.
Her cheeks turned crimson.
Then—
"EEEEEEEIIIIIIIIJIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!"
CRACK! A bolt of lightning launched him into the atmosphere.
"WORTH IIIIIIIIIIIIT—!!"
Chapter Ends...