"What...?! Ngh!"
Yugo managed to block the attack, his face twisted in shock as he processed Setsuna's scream.
But the assault from Setsuna—renowned for her lethal precision and speed—only grew more ferocious. He was barely holding his own against the relentless barrage.
"What's happening?! Setsuna... No, was Melt under the same spell just a moment ago?!"
"What have you done to them?!"
"Heh... Hehehe... 'Those two,' is it?" Dogma sneered, her voice dripping with sadistic glee as she addressed the faculty and students of Luminous Academy. "You talk as if you've been spared. Haven't you noticed? Not a single one of you has been able to lift a finger to help Yugo-san, even as he bleeds under your friends' blades!"
"!!"
Marcos and the others recoiled. It was true. They stood frozen, unable to move to Yugo's aid despite his clear distress.
"W-Why? My body won't move...!"
"It’s no use...! I can't even tap into my magic power, let alone use a Magic Item...!"
"It is futile," Hypno said, adjusting his glasses with a condescending smirk. "You have already been ensnared by my ability. Everything is proceeding according to my design. You are nothing more than marionettes. You cannot defy me."
He mocked their desperate struggles. As the realization that they were utterly powerless sank in, the group’s faces contorted with helpless rage. Marcos let out a low growl.
"When did we fall into his trap...? To place this many people under a spell simultaneously... it shouldn't be possible!"
"...I've got it! It was that flame!"
Dozens, perhaps over a hundred students were currently gathered in the schoolyard. Marcos had been reeling at the impossibility of hexing such a crowd without warning, but Professor Castle suddenly cried out in horror as the pieces fell into place.
"The Magic Item they had us use yesterday—the Flame of Judgment! Its purpose wasn't just the Selection of Reincarnators. Its true function was to plant a subconscious hypnotic suggestion in everyone who saw the fire, turning them into puppets!"
"A gold star for you. You certainly live up to your reputation as one of Luminous Academy's elite instructors. However, you're a little late to the party."
Dogma gave a mocking round of applause, her smile filled with arrogance.
She snapped her fingers. Melt's arms jerked unnaturally, moving of their own accord. She began hurling freshly manifested magic swords at Yugo once again.
"No! Yugo, run!"
"Guh! Argh!"
Yugo couldn't dodge the swords flying in perfect synchronization with Setsuna’s sniping. He took the brunt of the hits and collapsed to one knee.
He stared at them, stunned. Their coordination was flawless—exactly as it was when they fought as allies. Dogma signaled Hypno to pause the assault before speaking again.
"Hehehe... Well? Is it not magnificent? I went to a great deal of trouble to prepare this stage, you know. But looking at this delightful scene, I’d say the effort was well worth it."
"B-Brother...!"
Fee squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't bear to watch his brother suffer at the hands of the friends he trusted most.
Yugo stood paralyzed by the realization that everyone—not just Melt and Setsuna, but every student and teacher present—was under Hypno's control. Dogma didn't stop there.
"As Professor Castle noted, the true power of the Flame of Judgment is to hypnotize anyone who gazes upon it for a set duration. You were all so agitated by the talk of Reincarnators that your focus was shattered. You walked right into our trap."
"The fact that those Reincarnators were making such a pathetic scene was the key," Hypno added. "It made you believe in the flame's legitimacy. You stopped questioning its nature entirely."
"Even useless trash like Reincarnators can be made valuable if you recycle them right! Hyahahaha!"
"Damn you...! What are you after...?! Why... why didn't you just control Fee and me from the start?!"
"Our goal? Heh... To see you suffer, I suppose!"
With another snap of Dogma's fingers, Hypno gave the signal.
The frozen figures of Marcos and the others suddenly blurred into motion. They summoned their Magic Items and took up aggressive combat stances in unison.
"This is bad...! Run, Yugo!"
"We can't stop! Our bodies... they won't listen!"
The very comrades who should have been guarding his back—the friends he had trusted with his life—now formed a tightening circle of steel around him.
Standing just outside that ring, Dogma tightened her grip on Fee. She looked down at Yugo with a sneer of pure, unadulterated malice.
"You want to save your precious little brother. But the ones standing in your way are your equally precious friends. Tell me, hero... what will you do now?"
Dogma's lips curled into a twisted grin, clearly savoring the sight of Yugo's despair.
As he looked at the agonized faces of his friends, their freedom stolen, she delivered her desperate two choices.
"You have only two choices. To save your brother, you must kill your dear friends with your own hands. Or, to save your friends, you must stand by and watch your precious brother be slaughtered. Come now... choose the death that suits you best."