“Ack! The doctor really is a demon lord? What kind of sick joke is this!”
Trishil pulled her blade from its scabbard and slashed at Dito, but they evaded the strike with ease, their movements clearly superhuman. Then they countered.
Both Dito’s hands had morphed into talons, and their eyes glowed crimson. With the speed of a wild animal, they whirled their steely claws around frantically, clashing with Trishil’s blade. Even Trishil, formidable as she was, was forced to go on the defensive.
“Wh-what’s going on?! What are you doing, Doctor Dito?!” shouted the man in the next bed over as other patients desperately fled the room. Their bodies collided as they all scrambled toward the door. Dotta and the man with the injured leg were left behind, trapped in the chaos as the deadly duel unfolded at their feet.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Dotta held his head in his hands. I was letting a demon lord treat my injuries?!
“Quite the lively one, aren’t you? My favorite kind of prey.”
Rhyno wore a sinister grin as he pointed his right arm at Dito. At first, Dotta couldn’t make sense of what was happening, but his gaze soon locked on to the silver gauntlet on Rhyno’s hand. It was the same one his teammate had worn the night he’d broken his arm in that ambush.
It’s that white gauntlet from before!
Rhyno raised his left hand as if in greeting. “My apologies, Lady Trishil, but you should move.”
“Damn artilleryman…!”
Trishil leaped back mid-protest, distancing herself from Dito as a blinding flash of light erupted, followed by a deafening roar.
Rhyno had fired a cannon, obliterating the entire right half of Dito’s body and shattering the ward’s window and wall. Trishil would have been caught in the blast as well if it weren’t for Rhyno’s warning and her godlike reflexes. Nevertheless, it had singed the tips of her crimson hair.
“How about warning me a little earlier next time?” she barked. “…Anyway, it’s over for you, Demon Blight.”
“W-wait!” Dito shouted, despite only having half their body remaining. This unnatural display of life force left little doubt about their true identity. “Hostages…! I have hostages! Thirty-five in the First Capital alone! You’re aware of my ability, right? I can both create and cure illnesses! And if I have to, I’ll—”
“Ha-ha.” Rhyno didn’t even bother listening. He punched Dito right across the room, without even removing his still-steaming gauntlet. “Do you really believe you’re in any position to negotiate? For that matter, do I look like someone who negotiates?”
He followed up the punch with a vicious kick, plunging the toe of his boot right into Dito’s gut.
“I’m very pleased you thought so. Thinking of those hostages breaks my heart. Unfortunately, my desire to kill you is even stronger.”
Despite his smile, Rhyno showed absolutely no mercy. Even Trishil didn’t seem to know what to make of him. Yet Dito refused to give up. They rolled across the floor to the bed next to Dotta’s, where the man with the injured leg was still lying.
“I—I…!” Dito grabbed the man’s neck. “I will kill this man!”
“Wow. You’re thorough.” Rhyno seemed almost impressed, while Trishil grimaced. “It seems your primary strategy for survival is to take hostages. What a pitiful existence, but I suppose you don’t have much of a choice, given your lack of combat skills. I see, I see. I suppose that man makes for a good meat shield.”
“Hmph.” With a contemptuous snort, Trishil lowered herself into a fighting stance, her sword poised and ready. “Planning on taking him out along with the hostage, artilleryman? Or is that thing only good for one shot?”
“Unfortunately, you are correct. Perhaps you could slice both of them in half with your sword? I can save the man as long as the blow doesn’t instantly kill him.”
“…I can do it in theory, but I’m not sure my sword will hold up.”
“Enough! Get out of my way!”
Expression had finally returned to Dito’s face. They snarled like a cornered animal, now trying to drag the hostage out of the room.
“What the…?! Hey!” cried the man. “What’s going on? Dammit! Damn it all!”
His legs wobbled beneath him, unable to support his weight. His cheeks were hollow, and his arms hung limply at his sides. He was much frailer than he’d been when Dotta first checked into the hospital a few days earlier. It wasn’t just his injured leg—there was something else at play, something insidious, slowly draining his strength. That was when Dotta realized: This was the work of Demon Lord Dito.
“What did I do to deserve this?!” the man screamed, his voice raw with pain. Dotta felt a strange familiarity in that cry, something akin to empathy.
He sounds just like me.
Before Dotta could give it a second thought, he was already moving. He lunged at Dito in a single fluid motion—an attack so sudden, it was almost instinctive. He had always been confident in his reflexes, and in that split second, he’d undoubtedly caught Dito off guard.
What am I doing?
Even Dotta wanted to sigh at his own stupidity. This was way too dangerous.
It’s just…whenever I see someone weaker than me, I feel like somebody needs to…
His thoughts might not have caught up, but his body was already moving again.
Dito hissed and slashed, tearing into Dotta’s right arm. The pain was excruciating, a fiery agony that seared his flesh. His right arm was now useless, but he still had his left; it had already healed, thanks to the Goddess of Blood’s sprites he’d stolen from the repair shop. He’d been keeping that fact a secret so he wouldn’t have to train with Trishil. His injury still hurt, but it wasn’t enough to stop him.
Wrapped tightly under his bandages, in place of a splint, he’d hidden the dagger he’d stolen during his and Rhyno’s failed ambush before the tournament. He now held it tightly in a reverse grip.
“Burn!”
He activated the sacred seal, emitting a burst of flames and searing Dito’s neck. The doctor tried to scream, but no sound came out. The demon lord released their hostage and turned their back in an attempt to flee. That moment of negligence was all Trishil needed.
“Unbelievable, Hanged Fox…” She plunged her blade deep into Dito’s back, felling them with a sickening thud. “So your left arm is already better?”
Rhyno joined in. “Wow, Comrade Dotta… Simply incredible. I have the utmost respect for you. I can see why Comrade Jayce always speaks so highly of you.”
He grabbed Dotta’s sword and pushed it even farther into Dito’s throat. The flames engulfed the doctor in a fiery inferno until they were burned away to nothing.
“Truly incredible. You risked your life to save a stranger, without even giving it a second thought… Interesting… That must be why you became a penal hero…” Rhyno crushed Dito’s skull with his boot, then took Dotta’s hand. “You are a truly wonderful man. I will never forget what you did today for the rest of my life!”
“Huh? No, uh… That was just… Like…”
In a way, Dotta had simply saved himself. At least, that was how he felt about it. So being praised, especially by Rhyno, made him terribly uncomfortable. However, before Dotta could say another word, Trishil grabbed his left arm.
“You don’t have to explain yourself, Hanged Fox. What’s important is that you eliminated the threat and are healthy enough to work.”
“Huh? Hold on. I…” Dotta grabbed his right arm. It had taken a moment to set in, but the pain was now sharp and intense. “Look at this wound.”
“I’ll stop the bleeding for you,” said Trishil. “We have to hurry, though. You still have a job to do. Right, artilleryman?”
“Yes.” Rhyno nodded cheerfully, his smile as bright as the winter sun. “According to Comrade Venetim, there is no time to waste. And I now see why he has such high hopes for you.”
Dotta wished Rhyno hadn’t seen anything and that everyone would stop expecting so much from him.
In fact, right now, all he wanted to do was cry.