Inside a restaurant in the Seventh School District, various diners sat at their tables with different expressions on their faces. Their clothing varied, but they all shared the same dazed look, as if they had witnessed something extraordinary.
Su Xiao sat at one of the tables, chewing his food while contemplating his next steps. He casually forked a piece of steak, taking a large bite.
"Woof!" Bubu suddenly barked, snapping Su Xiao out of his thoughts.
"What's wrong?" Su Xiao asked, puzzled. He looked at the table before him, noticing it was now piled high with stacks of plates, some reaching half a meter tall.
Bubu jumped from the chair, grabbing Su Xiao's arm with its mouth, clearly indicating that he should stop eating.
Su Xiao realized something was amiss. He glanced at the restaurant's clock; it had been about two hours since he entered, yet it felt like only a short while had passed. Even though he had been deep in thought, spending two hours like this seemed excessive.
Su Xiao rubbed his chin, replaying the events in his mind. Since entering the restaurant, he had ordered food multiple times, consuming six to eight times his usual amount. Strangely, he hadn't noticed until now.
"Have I been acting strangely recently, Bubu?" Su Xiao asked as he had used the Reincarnation Mark to check his status. In a world dominated by magic like this one, it wasn't surprising to fall under someone's spell unknowingly.
Bubu sat beside him, thinking for a moment before grabbing an orange juice bottle and pretending to pour it over its head while covering itself with a napkin.
Seeing this, Su Xiao chuckled. "Using water torture on that woman? That's not unusual for me..." He paused, his pupils contracting as he realized something. Normally, he preferred psychological manipulation over physical torture to break an enemy's will. This method usually yielded more accurate information. But this time, he had resorted to physical torture without considering other methods. The information he obtained was not as reliable as it could have been.
"That was impulsive," Su Xiao muttered. "No, I wasn't even thinking." Reflecting on his state during the interrogation, he recalled his sole focus had been killing the enemy to gain freedom of movement in Academy City, ignoring everything else.
"Bubu, punch me," Su Xiao said suddenly.
Bubu looked bewildered, its expression seeming to ask, "Did I hear that right?"
"Don't just stand there, do it..." Su Xiao began.
Thud! Bubu punched Su Xiao's leg with its paw, somehow managing to make a fist.
"My head..." Su Xiao tried to correct, but another punch landed on his chin.
"Harder..."
Thud! The third punch hit him squarely. Bubu looked utterly dejected, silently questioning Su Xiao's newfound "attribute" and wondering if the medication was needed.
"Stupid dog, I told you to hit my head full force..." Su Xiao's sentence trailed off as the red light in his eyes faded. He had experienced this red light before, once while staring at Awaki Musujime from a dark building.
"Getting hit causes my mind to clear. My thoughts become single-minded, fixated," Su Xiao realized. He left a stack of large bills on the table and left the restaurant with Bubu, feeling very full.
As he strolled down the street, digesting his meal, Su Xiao considered his situation. He might be under the influence of someone's ability, perhaps marked by magic or a skill affecting his emotions. The duration of the skill seemed long-lasting.
A young, attractive female student walked by, her light perfume catching Su Xiao's attention. He turned to look at her, and she smiled politely in return.
Bubu sensed something was wrong and bit Su Xiao's leg. The mild pain snapped him back to reality. He had been considering an absurd thought—taking the girl and assaulting her.
"This is getting stronger," Su Xiao thought, quickening his pace. He found a hotel, rented a room, and locked himself inside. Sitting cross-legged on the bed with Dragon Flash across his lap, he began to meditate. Meditation always helped stabilize his emotions.
As Su Xiao entered a meditative state, he felt seven symbols on his arm: 々, ㄍ, ㄘ, ㄞ, ㄣ, ㄨ, and ㄋ.
He used a carbon pen to trace these invisible symbols onto his arm, keeping their positions and sizes identical. Afterward, he took out a magnifying glass from his storage space.
[Euphesus Magnifying Glass]
Quality: Blue
Type: Special Equipment
Effect: Emotion Amplification (Active): Targets a designated individual for a Willpower check. If the check fails, their most intense emotion is amplified by 100% for 5 minutes.
Su Xiao had kept this magnifying glass in his storage for emergencies; now it was time to use it. Activating its ability on himself, he felt an intense greed, desiring everything in the world.
Five minutes later, Su Xiao understood the meanings of the seven symbols:
'々' represents anger.
'ㄍ' represents arrogance.
'ㄘ' represents gluttony.
'ㄞ' represents sloth.
'ㄣ' represents envy.
'ㄨ' represents lust.
'ㄋ' represents greed.
These emotions were amplified based on Su Xiao's environment, interacting in extreme ways. During the water torture, his anger and arrogance were heightened.
Worse yet, Su Xiao had no idea when he was marked or who was responsible. Aleister? Unlikely. Heaven Canceller? Even less likely.