“Earlier, you were going on about how merciful you were or something, but where exactly is this so-called mercy?”
The boy clapped his hands together as if he had suddenly remembered. “Ah, that’s what you mean! Your vitality is guaranteed to be exceptional. A month should put you right on the razor’s edge between life and death, don’t you think? Well, as one who reigns supreme among demons, I do have to set an example for the others, so I must punish you.”
“What’s your point?”
“I make it my principle to show respect to capable women. What I want is for you to demonstrate your strength.”
“Strength? What do you mean?”
“You could call it a trial rather than a punishment. And if you don’t break under that trial, I’ll guarantee your survival.”
“Guarantee our survival?”
“If you can prove the superiority of your genetic stock, I’ll grant you special permission to survive as breeding tools for producing half-human, half-demon offspring. Though you’ll spend day and night servicing lustful young demons until you go insane…”
“So even if we endure the salt-pickling trial… No, only after going through all that do we get promoted to playthings.”
I see, so that’s the punchline, Cordelia thought as she shrugged her shoulders.
“Hmm? You look like you have something to say.”
Cordelia spat at the boy, and Lilith raised her middle finger at the same time.
“You’re the lowest kind of scum,” Cordelia hissed, her voice sharp enough to cut glass.
The boy tilted his head, barely flinching as he sidestepped the spit she launched at him, his high, mirthless laughter ringing out to chill the bone.
“Haha! Oh, that’s rich!”
“What the hell’s so funny?” she snapped, glowering.
“‘Scum,’ is it? Say whatever you like. Now’s the time for it, after all. Soon enough, you’ll be the one begging—no, pleading—for me to save you. Over and over again.”
Cordelia’s brow creased, her expression tightening into a snarl. “Beg you? Me? Don’t make me laugh. I’m Cordelia Allston, the Hero of the North. I am the sword of humanity, and I’d sooner die than bow to filth like you.”
The boy sighed, as if disappointed by her answer. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve got half of it right. You’ll beg for help. That much is certain. But it won’t be ‘please stop.’” His grin widened, fangs glinting beneath his childlike face. “It’ll be, ‘Please, just end it. Kill me. Let me die.’”
Cordelia stiffened. A cold, crawling dread spread down her spine, wrapping around her like chains of ice.
“That’s right,” the boy whispered, eyes gleaming. “In the place I’m going to send you, death is the only mercy left. It’s the only escape you’ll ever dream of.”
Behind her, Lilith remained stone-faced, but a single bead of sweat trailed down from her temple to her collarbone, betraying the storm within. She didn’t need to say it. Neither of them did.
He means every word.
Cordelia’s grip tightened around her sword. The ring of steel sang in the air as she drew the blade with practiced ease. Beside her, Lilith raised her staff, her stance low, precise.
The boy blinked at them, tilting his head with mock confusion. “Hmm? What’s this? You’re still planning to fight? That’s strange. You understand the gap between us, don’t you? And yet you still want to fight? Well, no matter. I suppose I’ll just have to increase the severity of your punishment. Seems the idea of being pickled in salt didn’t appeal to you.”
“Increase the severity?” Cordelia echoed, her voice tight with disbelief. “What does that even mean?”
A bright, cheerful grin tugged at the corners of the boy’s lips, utterly deranged. “Let’s say I pulverize every bone in your arms and legs. Then, I hang you upside down for a month. And for food and water? Well, we’ll handle that via rectal infusion.”
Cordelia stared blankly. “I’m sorry… What?”
“Confused? Which part didn’t make sense?”
“The part about food and water,” she snapped, her stomach churning.
“Ah, yes. Well, you see, the human body really doesn’t handle being hung upside down very well. Blood pools in the skull, pressure rises, consciousness fades, death follows. But I won’t let you die. Not right away.”
He raised a finger as if delivering a lecture. “I’ll keep you alive with nutrient infusions. Liquids, broths, yogurts—pumped directly into your intestines. Efficient, isn’t it?”
A heavy silence fell. Even Cordelia, hardened by battle, turned pale. Lilith pressed a hand to her lips, struggling against the rising wave of nausea. The two women exchanged a fierce, silent glance.
Cordelia’s eyes burned crimson.
“You really think I’d lie down and let someone like you turn me into a toy?”
Lilith stepped forward, her staff already crackling with raw, golden light. Her voice dropped to a low whisper as she chanted, the air around her beginning to tremble.
“Five seconds,” she murmured. “Buy me five seconds. If I disable every limiter Ryuto placed on me and unleash Golden Roar: Dragus Genocide at full power. Just maybe, we’ll have a shot.”
But the moment the words left her lips, the boy was gone without a sound or shift in the wind. Only a whisper of air passed before he stood smiling behind Cordelia, delivering a knife-hand strike to her spinal column that crumpled her where she stood.
“You’re truly out of touch with reality. To begin with, this incomplete Hero, still in the midst of her growth, couldn’t even delay me for five seconds. And,” the boy continued, “that Golden Roar: Dragus Genocide of yours, that ultimate magic you fired today? It certainly had tremendous power, but do you think that it could deal effective damage to me? I am, after all, the apex of the demon race. I’m quite confident in my toughness and durability.”
“What you saw was an incomplete roar. That wasn’t truly golden,” Lilith managed to say.
Upon hearing Lilith’s words, the boy picked up a fist-sized stone that had fallen at his feet.
“Oh, is that so? Well, doesn’t matter either way.” With a sinister grin, he casually threw the small stone.
The stone curved through the air at an exquisite angle, grazing Lilith’s jaw. Her brain rattled from the impact, forcibly severing her consciousness as she collapsed on the spot.
“Originally, I was told to devastate this city before retreating, but things have deviated quite significantly from expectations. Well, I did capture two A-rank equivalent adventurers as prisoners, so let’s call it quits for today.” The boy hoisted Cordelia over his shoulder, then walked toward the fallen Lilith.
Without ceremony, he slung Lilith over the same shoulder, layering her atop Cordelia. The boy turned on his heel, shifting direction from the city toward the forest. He began walking briskly with both women slung over his shoulder.
“Hey, you! Are you just going to ignore me?” Koharu called out.
The boy replied with laughter. “Ah, I have no use for small fry.”
Koharu’s face went blank with shock. “Small fry? Small fry, you said? Who exactly?”