Translated by Syxphis
Edited by Syxphis
TW: Mentions of Rape, Suicide, Torture and Gore
“Did I kill him?”
Jens mutters to himself in the hallway.
It was ten seconds ago.
I was pacing back and forth in my room, wondering where the Abyssal Box and special armor, a gift from Demon Lord Adreas, was.
The intruder that I caught yesterday didn’t give up anything no matter how much I tortured her. I wondered, “Is she even related to the person who stole the cargo?” As the possibilities grew in my mind, I left the room, frustrated with anxiety and impatience.
I wasn’t in a good state of mind, so I tried to calm myself down thinking, “Let’s have a light meal…” The moment I turn the corner, feeling a little better—
—The golden armor is standing right in front of me.
No one under my command uses that color armor.
In other words,—the contents of this armor in front of me is an enemy
I immediately hit them with the third most powerful fire magic I have.
It’s a direct hit.
There’s no chance for them to evade or defend, so the enemy in the golden armor is just blown away, rolling across the burning carpet.
Just before firing the spell, I thought the house might be shattered if I fired it seriously, so I held back a little bit. Even with my restriction, it was powerful enough to kill almost any human being, even if they were wearing armor.
In fact, the enemy that I hit isn’t moving a single muscle after hitting the floor.
The golden armor has slight scorch marks on it. I notice immediately that this armor wasn’t completely shattered by a direct hit from magic by a senior demon like me.
“Hmm? No way, Orichalcum…!?”
I’ve heard that the armor given to me by my master, the Demon Lord, had a certain golden glow.
As I examine the armor closely, I can see the decorations on the golden armor lying on the floor match the description of said gift perfectly, but that armor is in the hands of the thief.
In other words—the thief is inside this armor. Even if it isn’t the thief himself, it’s definitely one of his companions.
“Hmm, you finally decided to show up?”
The thoughts swirling around in Jens’ mind melted away.
All the troubles that have been tormenting him could be resolved by stripping the contents of this armor.
Even the anger that he feels at this enemy feels comfortable for him right now.
“You’re being cautious, but you’re not being very careful, are you?”
He might still be breathing—or at least he should be. He still has to tell me the whereabouts of the Abyssal Box.
It is certain that the magic I cast was strong enough to incapacitate the enemy, but weak enough that I have to approach cautiously, being wary of unexpected counterattacks.
I hold one hand loosely so it can handle anything that happens, and prepare restraint magic for the other hand.
“Now, let’s see your face, shall we?”
I kick the helmet, which looks like it won’t move at all.
Contrary to what I thought was a slight shift, the helmet just rolls sideways with no resistance.
“What!?”
I’m surprised.
Any face that would have appeared wouldn’t have been against my expectations. Yet, what surprises me is under the helmet, no…in the armor…
There isn’t anyone at all.
“Empty…?”
I grab the armor with one hand and try to lift it.
The unfastened gauntlets and greaves roll across the floor.
I look into the armor and it is indeed empty. As far as I can detect, there are no signs of wear and tear or body odor.
If it isn’t for the scorch marks from my magic, it would have been a brand new set, freshly unloaded.
(Did he escape…? No, there wasn’t any time for that. If that’s the case, was that empty armor standing here the whole time? Why though…?
“Jens-sama!” “What is it!!?”
After a little time, the demons gather, coming from the rooms and the stairs, having heard all the commotion.
When they see the half-destroyed hallway, they’re all horrified.
“What the fuck is this…?” “Is it an enemy attack!?”
His thoughts are interrupted by his men’s words, so he lifts the helmet up to show to the assembled demons.
“Is that it!?” “The Orichalcum helmet…!?” “Then, that’s the gift from the Demon Lord, isn’t it!?”
“Looks like it.”
The armor that was supposed to be stolen is lying on the floor, and the corridor is in a horrible state. With that, his men vaguely understand the situation.
As Jens is about to continue pondering the circumstances, he is interrupted by a voice from outside.
“What’s going on!!?”
When I look out the window, I see the gatekeeper demons standing in the garden, looking up at the devastation.
They heard the explosion and rushed back to the mansion as quickly as possible.
(Everyone is too noisy…)
I let out a sigh of relief. —Then it hit me.
If the gatekeepers are here, then who is watching the gate right now?
I jump on the crumbling window frame and turn my gaze to the gate.
A brown and white kitten is running through the half-opened gate entryway.
(There’s a large enough gap in security for a cat to get through—is that what they are after!!!?)
The kitten notices Jens’ gaze and turns around.
It’s unusual for a cat to have eyes that don’t have a hint of wilderness to them. Eyes that lack a sense of dominance…and even feel somewhat human.
As their gazes connect with one another, the kitten jumps once and then runs into town.
Jens doesn’t care about the cat.
(What kind of idiot leaves his post when he’s watching the gate!!)
I want to incinerate the gatekeeper and all of the others in the yard looking up at me, but I manage to resist the urge.
Now we have something to do before we impose sanctions.
“Idiots!!! Get back to your post and close the gate, now!!”
After being yelled at, the guards quickly run back to their post, turning around.
(Is the enemy—already outside…? No, it’s still possible that they are inside while pretending to be outside.)
Even if the intruders are outside the mansion, they won’t be able to leave town.
If that’s the case, the first thing to do is to search the mansion.
After looking at the faces of all my subordinates waiting for my instructions, I think about what I want to say for a moment and then say them out loud.
“Check the mansion for anything unusual immediately! The enemy is possibly still lurking around here somewhere. I don’t think you’re in danger, but be careful.”
“”HA!””
After that, I divide up who is going where and give them instructions.
I watch my men scatter throughout the mansion and wait for the report to come in.
(The enemy’s goal must be…to use the key to open the Abyssal Box…)
It is only natural to think that if the intruder came all the way to the third floor where my private room is. However, I always keep the key with me, so there was no way they could take it from me.
But, there’s one more thing that the enemy is after.
The other intruder they are currently holding. A woman that has been hurt so badly that she can’t even walk properly. I still don’t know who the enemy is, but I don’t think they can manage to run away with a girl who can’t even move.
(Well, I guess I’ll have to wait and see.)
I exhale slowly and calm down, carefully picking up the Orichalcum armor at my feet.
Even though it was stolen, it was given to me by the Demon Lord for my hard work. It’s not something that should be handled carelessly… even if it has already been burned by magic.
(The reason the armor was left here was probably to cause a commotion and create a security gap to escape…)
Jens played right into the enemy’s plan and caused the commotion himself.
“Tsk…I guess I’m an idiot—in this case…”
He manages to push back the urge to slit his own throat, but he can’t stop the simmering discomfort building up inside him.
At that moment, a voice calls out from below.
“Jens-sama!”
Regret and remorse will have to wait. The priority right now is capturing the enemy and getting the Abyssal Box, with the Divine Weapon inside it, back.
I shake my head once to get back my focus, tell my nearby men to take the Orichalcum armor to my private quarters, then jump out the window toward the garden where the voice called out from.
If I were a human being, the impact of the fall would kill me…or at best fracture both legs. With the overwhelming physical strength that comes with being a demon, though, this is something I can accomplish with ease and head quickly to the subordinate that’s calling out to me.
The subordinates are waiting in front of a bush along the wall.
The garden is in a terrible state because it isn’t maintained well. Demons don’t really have the sensitivity to appreciate nature. It doesn’t make much difference to them whether the flowers are blooming and beautiful or the land is withered and dead.
I arrive at a half-dead bush.
“This way.”
My subordinate’s voice is heavy with tension.
I peer into the bush and immediately understand why.
—There are two naked demons laying on top of each other.
I don’t have to check, they’re both definitely dead. It is only natural since their heads have been pierced.
Both have familiar faces.
One was the guard to the basement.
The other one was the guard for the intruder woman that we’re holding.
The intruder who left the armor behind killed them both.
(If these two have been taken out, then the goal was to rescue the woman and not the key?)
The voice of Jens’ subordinate cuts his thoughts short.
“Did the enemy kill them?”
“There’s no other logical reason for this.”
“…Why are they naked?”
Because the enemy took their—Why would they take their armor?
(Does this mean that they put on their armor and went out pretending to be one of my men…?)
It’s true that wearing armor can disguise one’s appearance a little better than going out of the gate as a human. If the patrolling demons see you, it would be difficult to determine whether you are a human or a demon at a glance as long as they don’t see your face.
Another thing I have to worry about are these corpses.
Both of them have no signs of having fought at all and the wound is in their heads.
If we were to judge only by the condition of the bodies, we would say that they were killed in a single blow without being able to do anything…
The demon who guarded the door to the basement was a fairly strong man among Demon Lord Adreas’ subordinates. If I counted from the top, I’d put him in fifteenth place.
He was a warrior-like man who never showed any carelessness or laziness, which isn’t typical of the demon race.
The fact that he was killed without being able to do anything just doesn’t add up.
(If he’s that good, he should have detected the enemy’s approach and taken precautions before it happened…If he was killed before he was alerted…it means he was taken by surprise. The enemy specializes in covert actions…? In addition, if you’re able to kill a demon with a single blow, then you definitely have a formidable attack ability…right?)
The unseen enemy in Jens’ mind takes on a vague form with the word “assassin”.
“Tsk…”
The enemy’s strength is higher than expected.
High-end stealth ability and first-class combat power.
It is clear that they possess abilities that are several levels above those of normal humans. They also seem to be slyly wise.
(Is the reason he left the corpses the same reason he left the armor on the third floor? In order to create a distraction, it would be good if the commotion occurred either upstairs or downstairs, but even better if it occurred at both simultaneously…)
I clench my teeth.
I’m being led around by an invisible enemy and it doesn’t look good. Frustration sinks deep into my heart because I can’t even catch their trail.
At that moment, one of my subordinates rushes out of the mansion.
“Jens-sama!!”
His gaze wanders around the yard for a moment, then he spots Jens by the wall and rushes over.
“What’s…?”
“The two men who had been watching the basement and the intruder are nowhere to be s—!”
Before he can finish, I prompt him to look past the bushes.
He looks and sees the two dead bodies.
“Whoa!”
“Where is the woman?”
“Ah…uh, in the basement!”
It seems that the “assassin” wasn’t that versatile.
He might’ve done something to the woman that we’re holding. I should check with my own eyes.
“Alright. You guys stay here and keep an eye on the bodies. I’m going to the basement.”
“”Yes Sir!””
………
……
Two minutes later, Jens is in the basement.
He exchanges a few words with the new guards before approaching the intruder woman, who is still in chains.
“[Detection]”
I cast a low-grade spell to check for magical or celestial arts effects.
The only two spells present are the [Blind Barrier] covering the house and the [Alarm] on the woman. There is no magic or heavenly art in effect or on standby in the surrounding 100 meters.
(Is there anything on the woman?)
It’s only when I get closer that I notice.
The smell of something mixed in with the smell of rotting flesh and blood.
I clear my nose.
I can smell it coming from the woman.
I grab the woman by the hair and lift her head. She’s still unconscious.
Her face is wet…no, I thought the faint wetness all over her body was sweat, but it’s not. There is no way human sweat could be green.
“A recovery potion…?”
He turns his attention to the chain as he holds up the woman’s head…his vision travels all the way to the wall.
The chain is nearly shattered in the middle.
The report this morning didn’t say anything about this. In other words, the “assassin” tried to pull the chain out of the wall and gave up halfway.
(If he tried to take the chain with him instead of removing it from the woman’s wrists…he must’ve noticed the [Alarm]. This guy pisses me off…!)
[Alarm] activates when a condition is met and sends a signal cracking like thunder all around. The condition I set this time is “When the chain is removed from the woman’s hands”.
If they were trying to rescue the woman, they were right to leave the chains tied.
(But still—It’s naive!)
The fact that they were able to get past the guards and walk around as they pleased was infuriating to say the least, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t get something out of it.
One, I confirmed that the woman was one of the people involved in the cargo theft.
Two, we have a rough idea of the assassin’s strength.
Three—the thief seems to be trying to save his friend even if it means sacrificing what he stole.
“Hahahahaha…”
If you know where the enemy is going, you know how to move.
“Jens-sama, how can I help you?”
“I’m going to execute this woman.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Don’t worry.”
The first thing I need to do is send out a notice to the whole town.
Naturally, it would cause a big commotion and the Demon Lord would hear about it, but the “thinning out” of livestock has been left to Jens’ discretion.
When asked why he is executing her, he could say he is making an example out of rebels and it would be a good excuse.
Jens is convinced the “assassin” would surely show himself.
(Rats, I will rip you from your den…!)
＊ ＊ ＊
Yuri was awake.
She’s chained, stripped of her clothes, beaten, kicked, raped, beaten again, raped over and over again and knocked unconscious.
Before she knew it she was conscious again, waking up to more pain each time.
It was hellish torture.
The only thing that kept her mind from going crazy was thinking about how to get out of this hell.
The demons ask.
“Where is the stolen cargo?”
There’s no way I can answer.
It was true that I was trying to steal something, but before I could, I was caught as soon as I tried to enter the mansion. I don’t understand why people think I stole something.
I answer honestly.
“I don’t know…”
He hits me over and over again.
“Where’s the shit you stole?”
Same question.
No matter how many times he asks, I can’t answer. If I tell him the truth, though, he’ll just hit me again. I’ll just keep quiet.
If I will just be beaten up in the end, it seems like a waste of energy to talk.
Before I knew it, I was asleep—No, I’ve passed out again.
It was a sleep of death, as if I was sinking into the depths from the pain.
I’m awakened from that sleep by a cold drop of…
(Rain…?)
There is no way that it is raining in the basement. I can’t tell because my consciousness is still shifting back and forth between reality and my dreams.
The chains holding me creak and shake, and my wounds are hurting from being rubbed by the movement.
The new pain brings my consciousness back to reality a little.
The scenery is no different from before I passed out.
There is no guard.
I see a golden back…disappearing through the door.
(…Who…?)
My eyes are so swollen that I can’t see the figure clearly, but the shimmering gold is burned into my mind.
The fantasy that someone came to save me—plays out in my head.
I know the reality, though. No one is coming to save me.
All of the Rebellions would be so angry that they’ve abandoned me. If that were the case, there would be no one to come to my rescue.
Yet—Someone comes to mind.
A book I used to read all the time.
The person who bravely raises their sword is drawn on the cover.
(…Hero…sama…)
Then Yuri loses consciousness again.
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