He still needed to keep Miss Mary around to gather information about Hirako Hanako.

After the protective barrier formed by the Resentment Power was shattered by Hikari, Miss Mary, who couldn't withstand his fierce assault, was quickly severely injured, her consciousness even beginning to scatter.

With her willpower weakened, the previously stubborn Miss Mary finally succumbed.

She even repeatedly begged Hikari for mercy.

However, Hikari still held a grudge over Miss Mary's repeated phone call harassment, threats, and even showing up at his doorstep, so he hardly held back.

Maintaining a high-intensity offensive rhythm, he relentlessly overpowered Miss Mary, whose natural talent was overshadowed by her lack of combat experience and less skilled use of Resentment Power compared to Hanako. She was beaten into retreat, begging for mercy nonstop, until she was even knocked unconscious.

After Miss Mary passed out, Hikari wasted no time. He fed her some specially crafted Pure Love-brand nutrient drink to help her recover, then continued targeting her weaknesses to torment her.

Once she regained some semblance of consciousness, Miss Mary naturally began resisting and talking tough again.

This time, Hikari didn't let her keep up the act for long. Soon enough, Miss Mary was begging for mercy again, then knocked out once more.

This cycle repeated countless times…

Though the process required continuously channeling the Vajra Demon Subduing Force and electric currents, which drained Hikari's stamina considerably, his physical prowess allowed him to endure.

Meanwhile, Miss Mary, whose weaknesses were relentlessly exploited, expended far more energy than Hikari.

As the balance shifted, the pressure on Hikari actually lessened compared to the initial phase where he had to suppress her without attacking.

And most crucially, during each assault and each infusion of positive energy into the urban legend that was the doll Mary, Hikari could activate the [Ability Drain] skill he had obtained from a previous mission.

This ability was quite different from the [Sharing] effect innate to the Pure Love aura.

Though functionally similar, its effects were far more potent.

Thus, after breaking through Miss Mary's barrier, Hikari only grew stronger the longer the battle went on.

Meanwhile, Miss Mary, subjected to Hikari's 'evil-purging thrusts,' became increasingly feeble.

By the end, she even accepted the bizarre title Hikari imposed on her.

She accepted the new role he assigned to her.

Glancing at Miss Mary, who had once again been beaten into unconscious slumber beside him, Hikari finally released his grip from her neck and limbs.

"This one… probably doesn't have the strength to run away anymore," Seeing Miss Mary's limbs occasionally twitching even in her sleep, Hikari relaxed and stretched his neck.

After absorbing part of Miss Mary's abilities through [Ability Drain], Hikari had gained some understanding of her powers.

He could clearly gauge the current level of her Resentment Power reserves.

Confirming that after having her abilities drained, she had been utterly exhausted and left extermely weak, incapable of retreating into her Resentful Domain or using similar abilities, Hikari bound her hands and feet before lying down on the bed to rest.

Today had been quite the busy day.

After school, he had brought Kurashiki Reina here to help exorcise her spirits.

Once that was done, Miss Mary had come knocking.

First, there was a battle of wits.

Then, a direct confrontation.

Admittedly, Miss Mary, wielding that massive red cleaver at the start, had given Hikari quite a bit of trouble.

After finally capturing her through quick thinking and on-the-spot judgment, he still couldn't fully subdue her.

She was stubbornly resistant to both sweet and hard tactics, seemingly fixated on the concept of "friends."

Left with no choice, Hikari resorted to his final method, completely breaking through her defenses.

However, thoroughly defeating and subduing a powerful urban legend like Miss Mary was no easy feat.

Though Hikari had previously clashed with the formidable urban legend Yukino, most of those encounters were consensual, more like sparring sessions.

So Miss Mary was truly a tough nut to crack.

Petite in stature but sharp-tongued.

Though her mouth was tough, her personality was closer to that of a little girl, quick to tear up, whimper, and beg for mercy.

Still, it took considerable effort for Hikari to fully subdue her.

By the time it was all over, the sky had long since darkened.

Hikari had originally planned to return to the Tsubakihara household tonight to have dinner with Mira.

But one look at the pitch-black night outside told him that wasn't happening today.

No Mira tonight, only Mary. No, wait, only Miss Mary.

Turning his head, he saw Miss Mary's delicate, adorable face, tear stains still visible at the corners of her eyes, yet her sleeping posture oddly serene.

Tucking her in with the blanket, Hikari closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

———

[The Next Morning]

The first light of dawn pierced the clouds, sunlight breaking through the darkness to blanket the earth once more.

Before the alarm could sound, Hikari was roused from sleep by a sharp, panicked shriek.

"My power! My Resentment Power! Why has so much of it disappeared?"

"Waaah… My power! My power's gone! Who stole it?"

Disturbed by the sudden outburst, Hikari rubbed his eyes and sat up on the plush mattress.

Turning his head, he saw a petite figure struggling fiercely.

It was none other than Miss Mary, her hands and feet bound.

As she writhed, her exquisitely cute face was a picture of stunned disbelief.

"Damn human! This is your doing, isn't it? You're the one behind this, right?"

Noticing Hikari stirring awake, Miss Mary's emerald-green eyes immediately locked onto him with a glare. She strained against her bonds as if trying to slap him a couple of times.

But with her slender, pale limbs tightly bound by the frilly fabric of her short dress and its lining, and her body too weak to break free, the furious Miss Mary could only resort to headbutting and nudging Hikari repeatedly.

"You, how dare you do such… such terrible things to me! Waaah!"

"I, Miss Mary, will never forgive you! You bastard human! Shameless human!"

"I'll kill you, kill you! I'll definitely kill you!"

"AAAAH, you jerk!"

The memories of yesterday's events flooded back, filling Miss Mary with agony.

After all, Hikari was her enemy.

She had come seeking revenge for her friend, Hanako.

Yet somehow, she had ended up suffering the same fate as Hanako, subdued by Hikari's 'evil-purging thrusts.'

The humiliation of being conquered by her foe was unbearable for the proud Miss Mary.

But something else troubled her even more.

"And my power? You, Hikari, was it? Did you steal my power? Give it back! Give it back right now, AAAAH!"

As she squirmed against Hikari, Miss Mary hurled insults at him.

Though her words were fierce, her voice was so child-like and adorable, and her tiny body wriggling in his arms was utterly harmless, making it seem less like a verbal assault and more like a tantrum.

A cute girl playfully roughhousing with you first thing in the morning would melt most people's hearts, filling them with warmth. But having been abruptly awakened, Hikari wasn't in the mood to appreciate her charm.

A seasoned connoisseur of women, he wouldn't overlook Miss Mary's bratty attitude and behavior just because she was cute.

For such a brat, the only solution was harsh discipline.

Watching the noisy Miss Mary, Hikari rolled over, raised his hand high, and brought it down sharply on her small, round rear.

SMACK!

A crisp, resounding slap echoed through the room.

"Quit making noise so early in the morning, Miss Cream-Pie," Hikari scolded irritably.

Miss Mary's delicate face instantly twisted in pain.

———

The sudden strike to her backside left Miss Mary's petite body stiffening momentarily in shock.

But upon hearing Hikari's words, especially that title, her eyes blazed with fury, as if triggered by PTSD.

Her face flushed crimson, her barely-there chest heaving with rage as she shrieked, "Who's Miss Cream-Pie? I'm Miss Mary!"

Hikari smirked, "Let me ask you again, what's your name?"

At this, the doll Mary's small frame trembled slightly, but she stubbornly insisted, "I'm… Miss Mary!"

"Miss Cream-Pie…"

"Miss Mary! I'm Miss Mary!"

"So feisty in the morning. Weren't so tough yesterday, were you, Miss Cream-Pie? Yesterday, you were kneeling before me, calling yourself Miss Cream-Pie. Changed your mind today?", Hikari teased, amused by her fierce expression.

"AAAAH, I'll bite you to death!", Enraged by his words, Miss Mary wished she could hang Hikari up and whip him.

But with her hands and feet bound by her own short dress, all she could move was her mouth.

So she bared her teeth and lunged at Hikari, determined to sink them into his flesh and vent her humiliation.

But if Hikari could catch the agile Miss Mary yesterday, today's weakened, bound version stood no chance.

A single finger pressed to her forehead kept her at bay, her snapping jaws unable to reach him.

Like Jerry outmaneuvering Tom in Tom and Jerry, Miss Mary could only gnash her teeth futilely, barred by that one finger.

And the indignity didn't end there.

Studying the small face straining toward him, Hikari reached out with his other hand and pinched her cheeks, forcing her mouth open.

After a cursory glance at the urban legend's little mouth and pearly whites, he remarked offhandedly, "Trying to bite people first thing in the morning, like some rabid dog. And so much drool, didn't see this much yesterday. If you'd drooled like this back then, it wouldn't have been so much work for me, and you wouldn't have hurt as much."

Being manhandled like this was humiliation enough for the proud urban legend, but Hikari's commentary pushed her past the brink.

"You, how dare you bring that up! You actually did that… that thing to me yesterday!"

"P*rvert! Mega-P*rvert! You damn mega-P*rvert! You'll die horribly! You're a creepy l**icon!"

"And 'like yesterday'? Like yesterday my foot! I almost… almost choked to death yesterday, you jerk!"

"Try doing that move again, I'll bite it clean off!"

Tears welled in Miss Mary's eyes as she recalled yesterday's shame, her voice cracking with each curse.

The sight of her weak body was undeniably pitiable, like a helpless kitten bullied by some delinquent.

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