I surrender

It was simply too much.

The psychological torment of dying over and over finally got to me. I couldn't find a way out and I just wanted this to end.

“I surrender.”, I cried out.

“Mari has surrendered! The winner is the witch of miracles, Beatrice!”

In a flash I was back in the arena and I felt my body healing before I was transported somewhere. My mind was a haze and unable to comprehend most of what was happening.

Beatrice was talking with someone but...

I fell ****.

…

..

.

When my mind awoke again, I felt dizzy.

“Oh my, are you awake?” I tried to move but I wasn't able to. My head was encased in some sort of bowl. All I could do is look up to where Beatrice was standing with a satisfied smile on her face.

“I am afraid you won't be able to move for a while”, she cackled. “But there is no need to worry. I make sure you get pleeeeeenty of food and water.”

That was impossible! That couldn't be happening! I tried to move but beyond the muscles in my face nothing was working!

“As it happens, I have something tasty for you right now. Open wide.”

Aaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I jolted upwards in a panic. My entire face was drenched in sweat.

“Oh my, are you awake?”

Huh? Once again I looked in the face of Beatrice. But this time I was...on her lap?

“T-toilet...” I stammered out.

“Oh please, are you serious?” The witch cackled. “That was obviously a joke! For how disgusting do you take me for? Honestly!”

Was this all just a dream? What was going on here? I looked around. We where in the open again. It was a surprisingly peaceful locale, some sort of park perhaps? The rain was still falling loudly but none of it hit us. I could spot the soft shine of a faint blue barrier above us.

“Are you feeling better? I probably overdid it a bit, sorry.” The witch gently stroke my hair. “Just rest for now. Your body needs about an hour to be fully functional again.”

Ok.

Who is this person?

The witch, seemingly noticing my confusion, cackled first, then showed me a surprisingly genuine smile. “Do you think I yearn for a brain damaged ****? This was a nice test about how much you can handle mentally.”

The haze in my mind finally cleared up enough that I could put the pieces together. “So...I gave up.”

“Indeed. You made it way harder then it needed to be, too.” Beatrice sighed. “This was always meant to happen, Mari.”

N-No way. “The girls”, I stammered out. “What did you…”

“Your slaves are fine”, the witch stated. “I heard Femto did a number on them yesterday, though.”

That reminded me. Should I tell her about Femto betrayal? Thinking about it, this was a pretty risky gamble from the devil. If Beatrice where to ask me about what happened yesterday, I had to tell her the truth right?

Beatrice, seemingly reading my thoughts, smirked. “Oh, might as well let the cat out of the bag. That stuff yesterday? That was just Femto playing with you.”

I was dumbfounded. “What?”

Beatrice gave me a smug grin. “We just wanted to give you more of an incentive to actually fight me. It wouldn't do if you did something stupid like running away, after all. And I must say, it worked like a charm.”

“N-No”, I replied. “She just told you that, so you didn't get suspicious.”

Beatrice cackled once more. “Oh, how delightful it is when a plan comes together! But, I will be the better person and allow you to wallow in your delusions.”

Was this the truth? Or just something that Femto told Beatrice to cover her bases? I had no idea what was true or false anymore

“Anyways”, Beatrice continued. “Time to wrap up some loose ends, I suppose.”

And one of those was running towards us at high speed.

“Mari! Mari!” Aiju screamed.

And just like that, the crushing guilt of what I did assaulted me. “Beatrice, I beg you...Aiju has nothing to do with all of this. Please release her. I will do whatever you want. Please!”

The witch seemed very pleased with my reaction. “Well, your groveling is quite pleasant, so I allow it. Feel free to do with the cat and the rest of the slaves what you want.”

That was unexpected, but I wasn't about to let this opportunity pass me by. I steeled myself and gave Aiju the order to pick up Fisti and do what we already discussed. Finally, she was to forget all about me once these orders are carried out.

Aiju cried and protested but went all the same.

“That's for the best”, Beatrice nodded in approval. “That leaves one more person to deal with, right?”

I didn't want to encounter Aiju again, so we took the scenic route back to the dorms. Once we arrived, Cassandra was indeed the last person there.

“Good fucking job losing” the huntress growled. “Could have freed me as well, Daddy.”

“Daddy?”, Beatrice asked with a raised eyebrow.

“uuh...long story.”

“Whatever.” Beatrice confidently strutted over to the former slaver. “What do you want to do with her? We can have her life the rest of her life as a whore. Or as a toilet, you seem to be weirdly fixated on that.”

“First. I am not.” I took a deep breath. “Second: Why are you giving me these choices? Why are you so...so...nice?”

“Why not?”, Beatrice shrugged. “What? You mean just because you are my **** I have to constantly treat you like dirt? Act all haughty all the time? Do you have any idea how exhausting that is? I believe I told you I would treat you relatively well, didn’t I?”

“I...I see.”

“Hey, If you don't care about me, feel free to free me. Totally learned my lesson.” Cassandra’s completely insincere smile made me somewhat doubt that.

“Can we keep her with us for now?”, I asked. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with Cassandra. But preventing her from ever enslaving somebody ever again seems like a good start.

“Very well”, Beatrice looked her up and down. “I hardly care for her, but Femto seems to have taken a liking."

I was allowed to gather up my belongings before we would move rooms over to Beatrice's lodgings.

“Finalists gets a room upgrade”, the witch explained. “It is apparently quite luxurious. I am very much looking forward to that.”

“You seem confident.”, I stated as I packed my things. There wasn’t really much of them in the first place so that went fast.

“Oh definitely. The rest of Bracket A is a joke.”

“I wouldn't underestimate Feena, if I where you”, Cassandra chipped in gathering some of her bombs. “The girl’s pretty skilled.”

Beatrice blatantly ignored that. “Getting into the finals will be a cakewalk. But even I admit that things will get harder beyond that. There are some frightening monsters in this tournament. You where quite fortunate that you ended up facing me.”

I took another deep breath. Ever since I became Beatrice's ****, things took a turn for the weird. She got to such great lengths ensuring her insane plan would succeed, that I feared the absolute worst. And yet, now that she actually won she seemed almost reasonable? “Why exactly...can you tell me what is about to happen now?”

“You mean now that you are my ****?”, Beatrice grinned at me. “To be honest, I really just needed a male human specimen for my experiments.”

“E-experiments?”

“Quite, you are a young, healthy male and guaranteed cooperative. The fact that this is all legal is an added benefit.”

“Fuck me”, Cassandra muttered under her breath. “You plan on cutting him up or something?”

Beatrice answered with an eye roll. “Why are you still here? Kindly move into the closet and edge yourself or something.”

Cassandra technically did not have to obey Beatrice but went all the same while I tried to process this information.

“As I was already saying, I have no desire to treat you needlessly harsh”, Beatrice continued. “And while some of my research may be taxing on you, I don't have the intention of simply wasting you. I won't subject you to stuff that is too dangerous. Some of it will even be fun.”

That was very comforting.

“But before anything else”, Beatrice smiled and sat herself down on the bed. “I need you to say it properly.”

I wasn't quite sure I followed. “Say what?”

“That I bested you and you submit to me.”

Ok. Weird.

“You bested me. I submit to you.”

Beatrice let out an extremely obnoxious groan. “Oh, please! Have you no care for decorum? Look here...”

This will be very annoying