"Back then, Killian's first target was me. The non-superpowered men did not dare approach, though they lusted after my body – even still do now. I rejected Killian many times until he eventually settled for Luo Yue," Aisha stated with a hint of pride, pushing her voluptuous body out, which even someone with absurdly high standards like Dante could appreciate – much more these fellows.
Then, she retracted her proud stance and seemed to deflate once more. "I don't know if the fact that I was chosen first and she was 'settled for' after triggered her, but Luo Yue did not resist much and gave her virginity to Killian. He was about as shocked as I was. She seemed to do it to spite me."
She shook her head with lament. "Then she descended further and further when she saw my lack of care, eventually taking on the other burly guy. I can assure you that if Luo Yue could, she would lock the other two girls in a cage and take all the men herself – not necessarily because she likes it, but to push farther and farther till she can get a reaction from me."
Dante listened up to this point and became speechless. It was truly crazy how the mind worked, especially in a high-stress environment like this, where there was little shelter, no guarantee of safety, and a difficult life.
Well, no. Dante was finding excuses. There were many people out there, men and women, who thought like this even in a normal and well-to-do society, much less one like this.
"You still haven't really answered my question," Dante pointed out.
Aisha paused. "Well, there are two reasons. The first is that, to be honest, I don't think we are going to stay on this island much longer."
"Oh? You know why I've returned then? To end you all?" Dante stated with a cold tone, smiling a bit malevolently.
Aisha glanced at him for a while and then covered her mouth as she stifled a laugh. Dante's killing intent faltered as he was surprised by her reaction since, in order to make it look real, he had truly considered ending their lives at that moment.
Yet she laughed?
"Pfff… hahaha!" Aisha couldn't hold it in anymore and giggled a little while waving her hand at Dante apologetically.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just that you look cute when you do that." Aisha revealed with a grin.
Dante's eyebrows furrowed. What? Cute? How was such a train of thought toward someone wanting to kill you normal? Did Aisha, despite her seeming lucidity, suffer from some mental illness?
"Right, like I said, I don't think we'll be on this island much longer. I've thought about your actions, your power, and your goal, and I guess you'd either enslave us to work for you or just send us back because we are not really a threat anymore." Aisha explained.
Dante was startled. Both of her assumptions were sort of correct and were why he came here. He was finally going to decide whether to enslave them or wipe their memories using tech and send them back to society.
But how did Aisha know that?
"Because I know that we won't die, why should I succumb to short-term pleasure I will regret when I'm freed? The infiltration girl would not care much, but the assassin girl might be both bothered by her choices while Luo Yue might genuinely kill herself."
Aisha's eyes flickered with sadness. "I know this because at the time I made those choices to rise up the ladder, I didn't regret my actions as much at the time. I felt it was natural to climb this way and a testament to my mettle."
"It was only after reaching a place of comfort, where eyes on me were filled with respect and fear, that I began to feel the mental backlash. Moving from a place of suffering and difficulty to a place of comfort changes your entire mentality."
Aisha used her chin to gesture at the lively tents. "Right now, they are assuming that they are in a place of difficulty, which isn't entirely wrong. However, they will soon be entering a place of relative comfort now that you're here, so I wonder how they will react to their actions now?"
Dante was silent. Aisha had pretty much spoken from a wealth of experience, having gone through it before, so Dante was certain that her words, while some part might not apply, will definitely come true.
"And? The second reason?" Dante pressed as he turned to Aisha.
Aisha's eyes flashed with a deep light full of many different meanings. She trembled slightly and lowered her head, trying to make sure that Dante could not see her face… and would not be disgusted.
"I… it's complicated." She stuttered slightly weakly.
Dante frowned. Aisha thought she hid it from him, but not even taking his spirit sense, spiritual core, or psychic abilities from his SDI, just his perception alone told him the meaning of all her body language as well as her expression.
Her face was full of struggle, as if she was trying to suppress something that she didn't want to show. Her body language was full of mixed meaning, but the most primary thing Dante could get was that she was… inviting?
[Preliminary scans of her body in terms of expression, language, speech, tone, gaze, and even breathing suggest that this person is deeply sexually repressed and can barely hold back her desires.]
The AI chip made a conclusion to which Dante nodded. He felt bad for Aisha, but it couldn't be helped that this would happen. No matter how tough you were, having people you knew have sex within hearing range every day would cause even the most asexual person to squirm.
Humans could get aroused just by THINKING of sex, much less watching it or hearing it within literal physical range. Otherwise, like Aisha said, the assassin woman might not have fallen at all, and probably neither would have Luo Yue.
'Is there any way to help her?' Dante asked his AI chip as he was not an expert on such things.
[Yes, an easy solution is to provide her with the sexual relief she desires.]
Dante frowned. 'That is not really an easy solution since no one on this island fits her criteria, not to mention her trauma.'
[There is a candidate.]
Dante paused and then his expression changed slightly. 'Don't tell me… myself?'
[That is correct.]
'And why, pray tell, would this arrogant woman desire her captor over her part… oh.' Dante stopped as it finally clicked.
Aisha raised her head with much difficulty, a bit of sweat on her brow, and a strange light in her eyes that made Dante shiver deep down.
"Do you know about…" She began.
[The current reason for her dilemma is you. She is undergoing late stage…]
"…Stockholm syndrome?"
[…Stockholm syndrome.]
Dante's heart sank.
[Stockholm Syndrome is a psychological phenomenon characterized by a captive's development of positive feelings and empathy toward their captor, often resulting from prolonged isolation and a limited range of external stimuli.]
Dante silenced the AI chip as he knew what Stockholm syndrome was. However, he had only ever seen it in fiction or heard about it in the news, so he did not know how to feel when he saw the target of it or what to do about it.
The worst part was that Stockholm syndrome was one of the various initial forms of romantic obsession. In simpler terms that the youth of today who browsed the internet would understand, Aisha was a half-step yandere.
That was why she could easily resist the temptations of what was going on before her and even explain it so casually, but now that the target of her obsession was around, the reason she could even resist in the first place, she was barely able to keep herself from attacking him.
The only reason for her wanting to suppress herself is that very same obsession, specifically the fear that showing her obsession would scare Dante off or make him hate her.
This… was a very delicate situation. It would be easy to just toss her to the side with cold indifference and let her deal with her problem, but Dante did not necessarily hate Aisha anyway.
Not to mention she reminded him a lot of Valeria, as both were sexy caramel-skinned women with strong ambition. While Valeria was generally cool and mature, Aisha was like the opposite, fiery and arrogant.
Dante wisely decided to consult Beatrice on this.
For now, he put this drama to the side and focused on what he came here to do.
"I know about it. As for what it entails, we can talk about that later. Right now though, I need you to interrupt that lot and gather them here, preferably fully clothed. It's time to deal with you guys," Dante stated while looking away from Aisha, whose eyes were burning with an intense light.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel