Darkness was like a terrifying beast.

Whenever Mirena found herself in the dark, fear of this beast gripped her.

Yet, in her current state, she couldn’t resist that girl at all.

—What should she do?

Mirena felt the utter helplessness of being a slave deep in her bones.

No matter how she struggled—

the chains on her wrists and ankles would clink softly.

Mirena desperately wanted to escape this place.

If only she could get out, she’d agree to anything asked of her.

She simply couldn’t bear staying in this cramped, pitch-black space any longer.

Her enemy—

Mirena had already made up her mind.

She’d obey any command from that Vampire.

As long as she could escape, no humiliation was too great to endure.

“Mmm…”

Mirena sighed deeply through the soft cloth gagging her mouth.

But with her sharp hearing, she caught a sound nearby.

Something seemed to be rustling close by.

Blindfolded, Mirena could only rely on her long Elf ears to gather clues.

—Was something over there?

No, that couldn’t be real!

Mirena’s body shrank back, trembling violently.

But the chains reached their limit at the corner—she couldn’t retreat further.

W-why?

Why did nothing she did ever succeed?

Tears welled in the corners of Mirena’s eyes.

It had always been this way; her parents had branded her a failure.

No matter how hard she tried, success forever slipped away.

—Even in her original world, or this one she’d created herself.

She felt that crushing powerlessness again—

the moment her [Mother] collapsed in a pool of blood.

Mirena Barlit had known this deep helplessness then.

Now, she had not even a shred of freedom.

—Nothing had changed.

Mirena thought bitterly; she’d always been a young woman trapped without freedom.

Studies, work, her sister’s medical bills—

they’d weighed on her like a crushing mountain.

That’s why she’d become so timid, so cautious.

One misstep—

and she’d be eliminated from society’s cruel game.

A shitty game she had to play, even knowing victory was impossible.

Just then, Mirena felt something fluffy press against her cheek.

Terrified, she shuddered and forced herself upright from the floor.

She scrambled backward with her bound legs, yanking the wall-mounted Collar.

But the strong pull of the neck Collar snapped her back to the wall instantly.

Thick chains locked her in place like a prisoner.

Her slender frame curled into the corner.

Praying—

praying the thing with claws on her face wouldn’t come closer.

Mirena clenched her thighs tightly again.

Fear made her bladder unbearable—

the urge she’d held since morning overwhelmed her.

Suddenly, the blindfold slipped off her eyes and fell to the floor.

Whether it was tied too loosely or not, she didn’t know.

Her vision returned—

yet Mirena wished it hadn’t.

Without the blindfold, the darkness remained absolute, swallowing all light.

She could only make out the iron chain pinning her to the corner.

“Hah…”

Mirena sighed deeply, the cloth still muffling her mouth.

A creaking sound echoed again through the empty room, bouncing off the walls.

Mirena’s terrified gaze shot into the darkness.

Ahead—

in the blackness, a pair of blood-red eyes glowed faintly, staring straight at her.

Fear made Mirena’s legs tremble uncontrollably.

At the same time, her panties grew damp and wet.

Clearly, Mirena had shamefully wet herself from fright.

—This moment became a deep psychological scar for her.

One she’d struggle to forget for a very long time.

The blood-red eyes drifted slowly toward Mirena.

Her fear intensified; she no longer cared about the shame of wetting herself.

Only terror remained in her heart.

—Because those blood-red eyes

multiplied into dozens, glaring at her from the dark.

And the bodies behind them loomed taller than Mirena herself.

Finally, Mirena couldn’t take it anymore—she collapsed unconscious against the wall.

But as those dozens of eyes approached her, their true form was revealed.

—Hestia Alia.

Mirena’s most hated enemy.

“So easily scared into fainting? And you even wet yourself…”

Indeed, Hestia hadn’t left at all.

She’d been teasing Mirena, watching her amusing reactions from the shadows.

The fluffy sensation on Mirena’s face? Just Hestia’s plush rabbit toy rubbing against her cheek.

And the blindfold? Hestia had deliberately loosened it.

All to scare her, to plant a psychological shadow.

A threat: if Mirena disobeyed again, she’d be locked here once more.

This method worked perfectly.

“Look—you’ve leaked all over!”

Hestia looked down at Mirena from above.

Vampires and Elves adapted differently to darkness; Hestia could see Mirena clearly, while Mirena inherited no night vision and saw nothing.

At the start of the training, Hestia had ordered Luce to leave and locked the door.

She didn’t want Mirena spotting anyone else in this dungeon—

that would ruin the whole point of the training.

But Hestia couldn’t just abandon her here.

So she’d blindfolded Mirena,

creating the illusion of complete solitude.

Then, she’d stayed nearby to play her little pranks.