episode_0104

“Don’t push yourself any further. It’s already over.”

Holy City Alkenia—a sacred land for all priests, overflowing with divine power under the protection of the goddess.

The Hero, the Swordmaster, the High Priestess, the Guardian of the Holy Kingdom, the Unlimited. All fought to defend humanity’s last line of defense, but in the end, it crumbled.

Once the defenses were shattered and the army retreated, only two people remained conscious in that place: Cecil and Arina.

“Cecil, stay still. I can at least spare you.”

“Don’t make me laugh. Spare me? And then what? In a world ruled by demons, humans are nothing but walking livestock, aren’t they?”

“That won’t happen to you.”

Arina reached into her pocket and pulled out a badge, holding it out.

A badge engraved with the symbol of the Demon King and written in demonic script.

It was a mark indicating that the bearer was an important figure—one not to be harmed carelessly.

A tool she had devised for those she despised yet could not bear to hurt—those who had once saved her.

A blacksmith and a magical tower that had once aided her had been protected by these badges even during the war, but Cecil roughly batted it away.

“Put that thing away!”

Clatter. Without even using magical force, Cecil’s strike cleanly split the badge in two.

“…That was the last one I had.”

“I don’t need it. I have absolutely no intention of living in this insane world you’ve created.”

“Cecil, I swear it. The world I’ll lead will be far better to live in than before.”

Though the one who had once been her teacher harshly berated and pushed her away, Arina remained composed as she explained.

Because she was one of the few people in this world to whom Arina owed a debt.

“I can’t just stand by and watch others die so that I alone can live. A better world? One where you’ll constantly tremble in fear, never knowing when a demon might devour you?”

That was why she couldn’t accept Arina’s kindness.

Taking the badge would be no different than condoning everything she had done.

“Only criminals. Besides, corpses are lying around everywhere—for a while, at least, no living person would be eaten.”

“You’re trying to justify this with that bullshit? So people who commit crimes deserve to be eaten? What about those who froze to death in the winter you brought upon us? You killed countless civilians.”

If it had been the boy from her memories—if it had been Liel Frost—he would never have said such things.

Cecil desperately strained to find traces of the boy in the woman before her—someone who had changed so much, even her gender had been altered.

“Great change requires small sacrifices. That’s just how it is.”

“These aren’t small sacrifices! Over a hundred thousand people have died since this endless winter began!”

“It doesn’t matter. Whether it’s thousands, tens of thousands, or millions—compared to the changed world and the future ahead, those numbers are insignificant.”

But there was no trace left of Liel Frost in Demon Queen Arina.

Just as her body had changed, her heart had fully transformed as well. And now, like her pitch-black hair, only darkness remained in her eyes.

“Fine. I get it.”

Gripping her sword tighter, her legs trembling, Cecil forced herself to stand.

“That ‘I get it’ doesn’t sound like acceptance.”

“No. It means I finally understand one thing for certain—you’re far beyond saving. So… let’s end this here.”

“What a shame. I truly didn’t want it to come to this.”

Arina gathered her magical power with sorrowful eyes—looking almost like the goddess’s ancient nemesis, the dark deity, from the holy texts.

Pure strength tainted by madness, the crystallization of evil itself.

Cecil braced for death, her eyes wide—but before the two could collide, a third party intervened faster.

“Oh Goddess…! Please protect the future of humankind…!”

A radiant golden aura enveloped Cecil’s body.

Bathed in divine energy, her form gradually blurred—until finally, she vanished.

“What a pointless interruption.”

“She is our last hope.”

The priest who had sent Cecil Astoria—the one who had resisted Arina until the end—away to another location died moments later.

“She ran away with death. Whatever—fine.”

Arina didn’t mind. She hadn’t wanted to kill Cecil directly anyway.

‘But last hope…? There’s no way Cecil could ever be that.’

The one who could have been humanity’s true savior was now frozen stiff right before her.

Yuria Railani. The Hero of this era, and—just as Arina had once been—far stronger than any previous Hero.

Yet even she had fallen pitifully before Arina, empowered by demonic energy.

“Yuria…”

Arina gently touched Yuria’s frozen face.

A lover she had once adored. Simultaneously, the woman she now resented.

She had met her end without ever reconciling these tangled emotions—love and hate intertwined.

They would never meet again. Soon, Yuria would be sealed away forever in an eternal ritual alongside the Demon King.

“Now then. Why don’t you come out already?”

Arina spoke, her gaze shifting toward the rubble of the collapsed temple.

“…You knew?”

“Honestly, what else could you do besides hiding behind Yuria?”

A pathetic man whose only talent was seducing women.

The thought that someone so insignificant had once taken everything from her made Arina’s mood even fouler.

But now, the time had come to sever this worst of bonds—to exact her final vengeance.

“So, what’s your plan? How do you expect to escape me when all you can do is hide behind a woman’s skirt?”

Pinning the Porter against the wall, Arina wrapped her fingers around his throat.

“Ghk—!”

“Or will you just accept death quietly?”

Even though there was no way he could resist, the Porter forced out a strained laugh, sweat dripping down his face.

“Keh… Keh…! You’ve gone too far, but… I still have one last trick left.”

“Oh? You think you can turn this around? How? You really think a bug like you can even squirm before being crushed?”

The national heroes of every country, the Hero’s party, even the Guardians—none had been able to stop her.

No matter how many times she turned it over in her head, there was no way the Porter could escape this situation.

‘Is he bluffing?’

That, too, was just like him.

His specialty was dressing himself up with flashy words to manipulate women—not that it would save him from her now.

“No. Like you said, this is all I can do.”

“…What the hell are you doing? Is this your last desperate struggle before death?”

Disgusted beyond anger, Arina glared at him with utter contempt.

And for good reason—even as the world crumbled and his own life hung by a thread, all he did was grope her chest.

Was this his last attempt to enjoy some sensation before dying?

To think that even now, his mind was still filled with nothing but this.

“Disgusting.”

A man like this wasn’t even worth despairing over.

Just as her hand came down to crush his skull—a voice unlike any before whispered in her ear.

“Liel. [Stop.]”

She had no intention of listening.

Yet Arina’s hand froze just above his head.

“[Let go.]”

Even the hand gripping his throat went slack.

She tried to resist—but couldn’t even attempt it.

The slave crest should no longer have any effect on her.

Yet something far more powerful was now controlling her body.

“H-How…?”

“Lucky me. The conditioning stacks haven’t completely reset yet.”

“What… are you talking about?”

“Physical contact made your body start obeying me again. You’re the one who came close, Liel.”

When the Porter shoved her away, Arina collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

“I’ll recondition you—make you submit to me completely. Then, I’ll drive out the demon army. With your power now, it’s more than possible. Once I get Leonora, Erwin, and Marika back, I won’t have lost anything. I can still fix everything.”

“Bullshit…! Fuck! Don’t fuck with me! Not like this… Not this fucking way…!”

She had sacrificed everything for this moment.

Abandoned her past, her pride as a man, and become the Demon King’s woman.

Yet after all that effort, to lose so easily—

As the Porter began stripping off her clothes, Arina couldn’t even muster the simplest resistance to cover herself.

“Fuck…! Fuck you…! Let go…! Let go, you cowardly bastard…!”

Am I… really incapable of beating this piece of shit?

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Arina was swallowed by crushing defeat.

Before she knew it, her naked body was fully exposed—her most intimate part laid bare before the very thing that had once taken her virginity.

“Even after all this time, your body is still the best. But this isn’t for pleasure—it’s for the world’s sake, so let’s hurry—”

“N-No…! Stop…! Please, no more…! I’m begging you…!”

Consumed by trauma, Arina reverted to the helpless girl she had once been—forgetting all pride, reduced to pleading.

“Pfft…! Where’s all that bravado from earlier? But this time, I really can’t stop. You brought this on your—”

“Who do you think you’re laying hands on?”

Splurt!

Blood sprayed.

A long rod and two round objects went flying through the air.

“—Eh? Aaah! AAAAAAAH!”

As the Porter clutched his mangled groin, howling in agony, the voice spoke again.

“Answer me. Do you have any idea whose woman you were trying to touch? Human.”

Snow-white hair, tanned skin, a handsome face adorned with two horns.

Her true master—her husband, the Demon King—stood in his original form, glaring down at her enemy with fury.