"Why keep her around? Don't tell me you've taken a liking to her?"
Looking at Psykos, who was forced to kneel before Zuke, Tatsumaki's expression was visibly displeased. She scrutinized Psykos with a look of disdain.
"Her figure is good, but Fubuki's isn't bad either. Is having Fubuki not enough for you?"
"There's nothing between me and your sister."
Zuke gave Tatsumaki a helpless glance—this woman seemed to have misunderstood his relationship with Fubuki because of their private conversation earlier.
But he had only met Fubuki twice, and their interactions had been minimal. How could anything have developed so quickly?
If anything, his relationship with Tatsumaki was far more intimate—after all, they had already had the experience of a spanking, which counted as close physical contact.
Meanwhile, Psykos listened to their exchange with an ugly expression.
—If you two want to flirt or play around with sisters, do it at home! Don't bring your little games to my turf!
But she didn't dare interrupt. Zuke had already made her experience true torment.
"Black Bird: Lover" had already penetrated deep into her brain. Now, if Zuke willed it, Psykos would suffer the agony of her mind being ravaged at any moment.
As an esper, Psykos had initially tried to use her psychic powers to remove the foreign object from her brain.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't detect anything abnormal in her mind—as if the thing tormenting her was something only Zuke could perceive.
"So, from now on, the Monster Association will follow my orders. Any objections?"
After placating Tatsumaki, Zuke turned his attention to Psykos's curvaceous figure and spoke to her.
"...I understand."
Psykos let out a resigned sigh and had no choice but to accept Zuke's demand.
What else could she do? Refusing would only prolong her suffering. There was no need to torture herself to death over this.
Moreover, she could sense that if she disobeyed, Zuke truly wouldn't hesitate to use that strange thing to ravage her brain until she was brain-dead.
Though Zuke had an interest in women, if someone stood in his way, he wouldn't hold back. He would absolutely resort to ruthless measures.
Psykos had no intention of dying before achieving her ambitions, so she could only suppress her resentment and submit to Zuke for now.
"Tch, she's getting off easy."
Seeing that Psykos no longer seemed inclined to resist, Tatsumaki appeared somewhat dissatisfied.
Clearly, she still harbored a great deal of hostility toward Psykos. But since Zuke had decided to keep her, Tatsumaki couldn't interfere with his decision.
Ten minutes later, Tatsumaki left Psykos's laboratory, flying upward through the 1,500-meter-deep pit Zuke had punched into the ground earlier.
Following Zuke's instructions, she was to retrieve Homeless Emperor.
According to Psykos, Phoenix Man would bring Homeless Emperor within an hour at most, so someone needed to go "greet" him.
Zuke assigned Tatsumaki to the task—with her strength, subduing Homeless Emperor wouldn't be an issue.
Though Homeless Emperor was indeed a Dragon-level threat, Tatsumaki at full power could overwhelm the vast majority of Dragon-level monsters. Zuke wasn't worried about her running into trouble.
Meanwhile, Zuke remained in Psykos's laboratory, attempting to integrate the Monster Association into his "King's Army."
Since the Monster Association was fundamentally an organization built around Psykos alone, its leadership strictly consisted of only her.
The cadres of the Monster Association would also follow Psykos's orders—provided their goals aligned.
Thus, conquering Psykos should equate to conquering the Monster Association.
"...Seems like nothing's happening."
But after trying, Zuke found that he couldn't incorporate the Monster Association into his "King's Army."
This puzzled him. Did forcibly controlling Psykos with "Black Bird: Lover" not count as gaining true authority over the Monster Association?
Or was Psykos still secretly plotting a counterattack, refusing to fully submit even under the threat of "Black Bird: Lover"?
The condition for integrating a territory into "King's Army" was for its people to acknowledge him as their "King," but the requirement was relatively lenient.
For instance, when Zuke absorbed Planet Vegeta into his domain, there were still some who hadn't recognized him as their king at the time.
It was only later, after his deeds spread across the planet, that those who had initially refused eventually joined his faction.
In other words, as long as he essentially became the "de facto ruler" of the territory or organization, it was sufficient.
Psykos was the true mastermind behind the Monster Association—meaning Zuke might not have fully secured control over her yet.
"Is there still a problem?"
Psykos stood behind Zuke, watching as he turned to look at her. Her lips twitched as she reluctantly spoke up.
Just minutes ago, she had been the shadow leader of the Monster Association. Now, she had been forced to become Zuke's subordinate. The stark contrast left her deeply frustrated.
But since her body was still human, she couldn't escape the control of "Black Bird: Lover."
"...Come here for a second."
Zuke's eyes swept over Psykos's body, as if realizing something, before he issued the command.
Though confused, Psykos complied and approached him.
Then she saw Zuke reach out, grab her arm, and forcefully pin her to the ground.
Psykos, being a mature woman, immediately understood what was happening and panicked.
Ever since founding the Monster Association, she had hidden her true body in a place no one could find, having had no contact with others for a long time.
Though her body was fully developed, in every other aspect, she was still inexperienced—so being pinned down by Zuke triggered an instinctive urge to resist.
"So you're still thinking of resisting, huh?"
Seeing her reaction, Zuke nodded—this situation wasn't unexpected.
If she still wanted to fight back, then he would strip her of the ability to do so. Perhaps then, the conditions for "King's Army" would be met.
With Tatsumaki gone, Zuke decided to make good use of this time to see if he could break Psykos's will to resist.
To be continued…