"Hey, hey... let's talk this out," I stammered, my voice trembling as the light faded from my vision.
"No need to stick that in me!" I pleaded. I could feel my very essence being drained away, sucked out through the magical ropes held tight by a corrupted magical girls. They stood like jagged shadows, their eyes devoid of the sparkle they once held.
"Hsss... be quiet. It will be quick," the leader hissed. Without a shred of mercy, he drove the syringe deep into my leg.
"Agh!" A cold, oily sensation flooded my veins, twisting my mana into something unrecognizable. My vision blurred, and the world began to tilt. "Nux... please, save me," I thought desperately.
A sharp, digital chime echoed in the back of my mind. [Here. Do this, and we will survive,] Nux replied,
I read the instructions burned into my retinas. With a surge of sheer, defiant determination, I forced my remaining power to the surface.
"DOMAIN EXPANSION: IDLE DEATH GAMBLE!"
I screamed the words with everything I had left. The alleyway dissolved into a blinding white void. Suddenly, we were encased in a massive, shimmering barrier. Giant, spectral pinball machines manifested out of the ether, their neon lights flashing in a chaotic, deafening frenzy.
"What the—!?" the leader barked, stumbling back as the corrupted girls looked around in confusion.
"I am finally free," I whispered, the ropes binding my leg shattering into sparks. A manic bubble of laughter rose in my chest. "Hahaha! Today is really my lucky day, huh?"
The slot machines in the sky began to spin—a blur of symbols and light.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
They hit. 7-7-7.
"JACKPOT!"
The sheer force of the energy nearly tore me apart, but then I felt a shift. Nux took control of the right side of my body, her presence steadying my fractured mind.
"Let's go, partner," Nux said, my own mouth moving with her intent.
"Yeah... let's go," I echoed. A flintlock pistol materialized in my hand, and a gold coin appeared between my fingers.
"Hahaha! Today is my lucky day!" I shouted. I flipped the coin. Ping. I fired. The bullet whistled through the air, the monster blurring out of the way just in time. I kept the rhythm: flip, fire, dash.
He retaliated with a concentrated blast of magical energy, but I twisted in mid-air, closing the gap instantly. I buried my fist into his jaw with the weight of a falling star. The impact sent him cratering into the dirt, but the victory was short-lived.
"Hahaha! Such a lucky day for me!" I didn't stop, unleashing a barrage of lead. The bullets bit into his flesh, making him scream in agony.
"You... you feel different," he murmured, coughing up dark ichor. He signaled his followers. The corrupted magical girls moved as one, a blur of ruined ribbons and steel. One of them connected a heavy blow to my stomach. I felt the air leave my lungs, but a manic, toothy grin spread across my face.
"Hahaha! That tickles!" As soon as the words left my lips, the jackpot kicked in. The internal damage vanished. A surge of infinite magical energy erupted from my body, surrounding me in a violent, pulsating aura. "For five minutes, I am unkillable!"
"What!? You're lying!" the monster roared.
I lunged. A heavy halberd appeared in my hands, and I brought it down in a devastating arc. He drifted back, dodging the blade, and countered with a volley of magic lasers. They pierced straight through my chest, but I didn't even flinch. The wounds closed as quickly as they appeared, knit together by the endless tide of mana.
"Hahaha! You can't win!" I laughed, punching him square in the face. The force sent him hurtling toward the domain's boundaries. I teleported instantly behind him, catching him in mid-air and throwing the halberd with enough force to pin him into the ground with a thunderous thud.
"Everyone, attack her now!" he choked out, rising from the crater. They unleashed a wave of magical energy that would have vaporized a mountain. I tanked it head-on, the searing heat washing over my skin like a summer breeze.
"Jackpot!" I screamed again. Behind me, dozens of flintlock rifles materialized and fired them. We traded blows a frantic, high-speed battle of attrition where I simply refused to fall.
"What? Enough?" I asked, my breathing eerily steady.
"What are you?" he wheezed, his form flickering.
"It has already been four minutes," one of the corrupted girls whispered, terror creeping into her voice. "We have to wait until then..."
"I don't think we can hold for that long!" another cried.
[Rin, your mental state is collapsing,] Nux warned, her voice tight with concern.
[You have to calm down or retreat. If you keep this up, your mind won't handle the strain.]
"Hahaha! Not yet... I'll kill them... Yes, I will," I muttered, my eyes wide and bloodshot. The world was starting to look red.
[Rin, calm down now!]
"Why should I listen to you? You don't even exist!" I spat.
[If I don't exist, why can I do this?] Nux snapped. Suddenly, my own hand swung around and delivered a sharp slap across my face.
The sting brought a second of clarity. "You... you're just my imagination! Yes, that's it!" I ranted, failing to notice the girls closing in around me.
[Rin, they are surrounding you! You have to get out now!]
"They don't matter," I said, but my body began to twitch. The effects of the syringe were finally catching up, and even the infinite regeneration of the Jackpot couldn't flush the poison from my body.
"Ah... my body..." I staggered, my knees buckling before I regained a shaky balance.
"Get her now! While she's weakened!" the monster commanded. But the sudden surge of pain snapped my sanity back into place. Before they could touch me, I focused on the image of my bedroom and teleported.
I reappeared in the center of my apartment, gasping for air as the domain collapsed behind me.
"Take this... shit off me!" I wheezed, forcing the magical girl transformation to unravel. I reverted to my regular form, my legs giving out as I flopped onto my bed.
"I am sorry, Nux... I didn't mean..."
[No, don't apologize,] she whispered softly. [I should apologize. I... I hit you.]
My eyes felt like lead. I couldn't even reply before I drifted into a heavy, feverish sleep.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of the alleyway, the monster stood among his fractured subordinates.
"That crazy bitch," one of the girls spat, clutching her wounded arm.
"We will capture her next time," the leader said, his eyes glowing with a dark promise.
"The syringe was full of a specialized corruption catalyst. Those effects should be kicking in right about now." He waved a hand, opening a swirling dark portal. "Let's go."
Back at the apartment, Rin bolted upright.
"Shit... I feel... hot," i groaned, waking in a cold sweat. My skin felt like it was on fire. "Agh, I can't control this!"
I stood up, pacing the room with desperate, shaky steps.
"Come on... give me something..." I whimpered, my eyes darting around the room. In the corner of my vision, i saw a faint glow.
"Agh... fine!" I cried, grabbing it and retreating to the safety of in my blanket. "I shouldn't be doing this... but I can't take it anymore."
As the machine hummed to life, vibrating with an unnatural intensity, i let out a shattered breath. "Ah... that's... really good." I pushed it deeper, my mind hazing over as i pressed the high-intensity button.
"Ah~ I'm..." I hit the point of no return, the corruption feeding off the release.
"That... was refreshing," i sighed minutes later, laying limp on the bed, my eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
In a realm where the sky was a bruised black and the ground was nothing but scorched earth, an entity watched through a pool of dark water.
"She's being corrupted as we speak," the entity said, its voice a grating rasp. "And the gift I gave her will keep her quite busy."
"Good work," a larger shadow rumbled from the throne. "Another one joins our ranks soon. Now, continue. Bring me more good news."
"Understood," the entity bowed, disappearing into a cloud of black smoke.