episode_0086

It’s a story from the past.

I killed the Succubus Queen,

and slaughtered many other succubi along the way.

I hunted down every demon I laid eyes on.

I slew the guards protecting the treasury,

stuffed whatever I could into my bag, and fled.

My destination? The realm of humans.

A land where the power of other demons and monsters wanes—

but not mine.

In other words,

even if the Four Heavenly Kings came for me here, I could fight back.

…At least, that’s what I thought.

It’s better if they don’t know where I escaped to.

That way, I can kill them all.

The plan was simple:

1. Hide in human territory and wait for their defenses to loosen. 2. Once their guard is down, infiltrate the Demon King’s Castle and assassinate either the Four Heavenly Kings or high-ranking officers of the demon army. 3. Slip away unnoticed. 4. Hide in human territory again and wait. 5. Repeat the infiltration once their defenses weaken. 6. Continue this cycle endlessly until the demon army crumbles.

I’ll kill them all… every last one…

I thought that if I grew stronger, the demons’ attitudes toward me would change.

I believed I could make friends among them.

But.

Demons were nothing but trash.

All they ever wanted was my power—or my body.

So I gave up.

I abandoned the idea of ever befriending such filth.

That’s why.

I decided to slaughter them all.

I would’ve forgiven everything if I could’ve made even one friend… but they proved they weren’t worth befriending… so I’ll kill them all…

I had more than enough reasons.

If just one… just one had reached out to me… I might not have thought every demon was trash…

But not a single one did.

Not one demon extended a hand to me.

Every last one tormented me instead.

The stronger ones beat me, stepped on me, groped me—treated me like a toy.

The weaker ones trampled my home, my belongings, my food, then ran away laughing.

And once my body became more feminine as my chest grew, some even tried to rape me.

So I desperately grew stronger,

forcing myself to become powerful enough to crush them before they could violate me.

If I’d been even a little slower…

if I’d remained weaker than those lusting after my body…

I might’ve ended up as their wretched sex slave, meeting a miserable fate.

Even thinking about it pisses me off…

Still, I made sure to kill every last one who tried to assault me back then.

Felt so damn good.

I should’ve done this from the start.

Killing all the ones who tormented me would’ve solved everything.

Why couldn’t I do it sooner? Why did I suffer for so long?

If no matter how hard I tried, I could never befriend them… then I’ll just kill them all and take my revenge…

Plop.

“……”

Tears suddenly fell.

Why?

I knew killing them all would bring me satisfaction.

I had the power to take revenge.

So why… why were tears streaming down my face?

“Hic… huuuu…”

…Ah.

I see now.

It’s because the hope of ever having a friend was shattered.

Because I realized I’d be alone forever.

That’s why it hurt so much.

“Huuu… huuu…”

I’m alone.

I’ll be alone forever.

Succubi?

No succubus would want to befriend me—the one who killed even their Queen.

Demons?

No demon would want to befriend a murderer who slaughtered countless of their kind.

Humans?

Humans would never befriend someone from an enemy race they could never coexist with.

So.

I’m doomed to be alone forever.

To live a lonely life without ever knowing friendship… and to die just as lonely.

That thought was so unbearably sad that I cried.

I sobbed uncontrollably—

Grrroowl.

“……”

Sadness aside, hunger was hunger.

“Sigh… I should eat something…”

I searched half-heartedly.

‘Find food.’

Though I had almost no talent for magic,

this was one spell I’d managed to learn—thanks to the mother who abandoned me in the woods right after birth.

A spell born from sheer desperation, from the desire to find anything edible.

If it detected animals or monsters, I could eat meat.

If it found fish in rivers, I could have those.

Fruits, mushrooms,

even bugs—it could locate anything remotely edible.

‘Not that I need bugs, though.’

I adjusted the spell to only detect meat, fruits, mushrooms, and vegetables.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

“A boar?”

A large, boar-like lifeform pinged nearby.

An animal?

A monster?

Didn’t matter.

Regular boar tasted fine, but monster boar was even better.

…With that thought, I drew my sword.

‘One strike—that’s all it’ll take.’

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Slash!

I charged in and slit its throat in a single stroke.

The more wounds a carcass had, the worse the meat’s quality would be.

So a clean kill was best.

Thunk!

The moment the hunt ended, I drove my cursed sword into the body to drain its blood.

But then—

“Oh, thank you so much!”

“?”

An old man suddenly thanked me out of nowhere.

‘What?’

I glanced around.

A broken wooden fence.

An elderly human holding a long, fork-like pole (probably a farming tool).

‘Seems like this wild boar trespassed into his property…’

Was he thanking me for taking care of it for him?

‘No need to thank me.’

I didn’t kill it to help him.

I killed it because I was hungry.

Still.

It felt… nice.

‘This is a first.’

This was the first time anyone had ever thanked me.

Maybe that’s why?

I wanted to hear more gratitude, so I gave him some meat.

“Here.”

“You’re even sharing the meat with me?!”

“Mm.”

“Oh, thank you so much!”

Somehow, I ended up following the old man back to his home.

“Here you go.”

He even served me a meal.

“What’s this?”

“Cheese steak.”

A dish of grilled pork topped with something white and thick.

“Nom.”

I took a bite.

And then…

A new world unfolded in my mouth.

The juicy meat wrapped in something pleasantly chewy… Hmm… I didn’t know what it was, but… it was delicious.

The brown liquid (sauce) was amazing too.

It balanced out the richness of the meat and that thick white stuff, elevating the entire dish.

‘So this is cooking?…’

I’d heard about this before.

Humans were a weak race—so feeble they couldn’t even defeat goblins properly—

but they excelled at crafting things.

The art of cooking—taking something tasty and making it even better—was supposedly unparalleled.

…Or so I’d heard.

Now I believe it.

This is really good.

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Mm. So good.”

“Would you like another serving?”

“One more plate.”

“Understood.”

Over the meal, I learned that the old man was a dairy farmer who made cheese.

‘So that white, thick stuff is cheese.’

New knowledge acquired.

“This is my wife.”

His wife helped run the farm and researched cheese-based dishes.

She was the one who made this delicious meal.

“I’m…”

I couldn’t say I was a demon,

so I introduced myself as a human swordsman who trained alone in the woods before coming down.

I told them I lost my parents young

and had lived alone ever since, ignorant of many things.

In response,

the old couple patiently taught me common human knowledge.

“Do you have nowhere to go?”

“Nope.”

“Then how about staying here?”

“Are you sure?”

“We’d be more than happy to host someone as strong as you.”

Being a farm near the woods, they often got attacked by wild beasts or goblins.

When they were younger, they could handle it.

But now, age had weakened them too much to fight anymore.

So they welcomed someone capable.

That was why they offered.

‘Sounds perfect to me.’

I was planning to hide in a cave until the demon army’s vigilance died down.

But if a place like this existed,

why bother with cave life?

‘This is great…’

A roof to shield me from rain.

A soft bed to lie on.

Hot water prepared whenever I wanted to bathe.

Delicious meals served whenever I was hungry.

‘Living among demons, I could never dream of this…’

Because those trash creatures lived only to torment me.

They’d ambush me when I slept,

corner me when I bathed,

and ruin my meals.

With monsters like that always lurking,

I could never relax.

Always on alert.

Never at peace.

But now?

Such peace felt surreal.

‘I can laze around all day and still get three meals~ No one’s out to get me~ Ahh~ Bliss~’

The only “work” I had was hunting monsters—

killing wolves or goblins that preyed on the dairy cows,

or boars that raided the storehouse.

That’s it.

Swinging my sword once or twice a month guaranteed this easy life.

‘Now this is living~’

Plus, the old couple were decent people.

Sure, they secretly sold the monsters I hunted

and never gave me a single coin.

Sure, whenever heavy loads needed moving,

they’d call me over to do their work.

Sure, they’d lazily dump cow care duties on me.

But still.

They were pretty good people.

“‘Good people’?!”

“Yes.”

“They really were good people.”

“No way?!”

Sure, they spent the monster-sale money on vacations

while leaving me to guard the farm alone—

but they were good people.

“No! How is that ‘good’?! They’re clearly just exploiting you!”

“Why would they be trash?”

“Isn’t it obvious?! They’re just scummy bosses taking advantage of you!”

“No.”

“?”

“Real trash were the demons.”

“Well, sure, they were trash, but—”

“Grandpa and Grandma never tormented me. They always fed me delicious meals. So they were good people.”

“……Uh… Marianne?…”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t your standards for ‘good people’ way too low?”

“This is already top-tier for me. Besides…”

“Besides?”

“Their bedroom skills were so good, they even gave me nightly sex. Very grateful.”

“?”

“Sigh… The energy they emitted during sex… So delicious…”

“Energy?”

“Yes. Dairy cows release some energy when milked, but… human energy tastes much better. So I loved it.”

Energy.

A kind of life force emitted when experiencing pleasure.

Succubi crave it.

Not eating it won’t starve me,

but like an alcoholic craving liquor, I blindly desired it.

And they supplied it daily.

So.

Grandpa and Grandma were kind people.

…At least, that’s what Marianne believed.

“Wait… then what about Cain?…”

A man who served meals so delicious even the Goddess of Light, Serena, praised them.

A man who released energy nightly to charge the Chalice of Sacrifice.

By Marianne’s standards—

the ideal man.

“Sigh… Energy… Human energy after so long… Must be heavenly…”

No wonder she wanted to follow him.

To feast on Cain’s energy.

To siphon the energy he released while charging the Chalice.

That’s why she insisted on joining.