episode_0121

＊

A devil’s body differs in many ways from that of a human.

They often have skin colors different from humans, and it’s very common for them to have bodily organs that humans don’t, such as wings and tails.

Among these, the most prominent difference is undoubtedly their horns.

Some devils have skin colors like humans, and some don’t have wings or tails, but there are no devils without horns.

Unlike the horns of beasts or human fingernails and toenails, a devil’s horns are sensory organs, and they have the property of growing back even if they are cut or damaged.

Perhaps that’s why,

the interpretation that a devil’s horns symbolize the infinite evil inherent in them is widely accepted among theologians.

The method of torturing a devil is simpler than you might think.

It’s just a matter of breaking, crushing, stabbing, cutting, and bursting those horns.

With a certain level of Holy Power, some practice to gain skill, and a fairly strong stomach, it’s a simple task that anyone can do.

Of course, devils aren’t stupid.

Knowing that their horns can be a weakness, devils hiding among humans, especially in front of me, often hide their horns.

Even Kunat rarely revealed his horns in front of me, except when he first revealed himself to me.

The Demon King lying under me now was the same.

But I actually know how to forcibly drag out those horns and tails from devils.

This is where the aforementioned skill and practice are needed.

“Kkeuaek,”

I straddled Sola, or rather, the devil in Sola’s form, and forcibly opened his mouth.

Then, I put my fingers into his open mouth, shoving them in as deeply as possible.

I had to stab deeper than his uvula, deep enough to cause him to gag, and preventing him from biting me while firmly holding his mouth open with my other hand required quite some skill.

From the fingertips that reached the appropriate depth, I unleashed Holy Power as if exploding it.

The point to note here is not to shoot Holy Power with too much output.

Shooting with too much output could harm even the body inhabited by the devil.

The reason for torturing the horns specifically was also to avoid harming the body as much as possible.

The guy thrashes.

I press down on his body even more forcefully with my knees, holding his mouth firmly shut.

Half of my thick hand was inside his mouth, and my index and middle fingers were tightly embedded in his throat.

In an instant, the inside of the devil’s mouth was filled with a black liquid emitting a disgusting stench.

My hand was completely covered in the sticky, disgusting liquid.

But I didn’t stop and continued to spew out Holy Power.

And soon, small protrusions began to slowly grow out of his head, parting the red hair.

Watching that scene, I muttered.

“You can’t hold out much either. Don’t struggle. You and I both know what’s going to happen anyway, so there’s no need to make each other tired. Right?”

“Kiiiik.”

To a devil, Holy Power is no different from poison.

And, if Holy Power enters a devil’s body directly, it cannot hide its form as a devil.

No matter how much it tries to hide, its horns will be revealed.

Isn’t it a similar principle to how, when a weak disease or poison enters a human body, the body generates heat to overcome it?

Well, I don’t know anything about the physiology of devils, so it’s just speculation.

All I know is how to inflict pain on them.

“Well, let’s begin.”

I said, looking at the large horns that had already grown significantly above Sola’s head.

Unlike Lilith, who had two thin, sharp horns, or Kunat, who had two thick, curved, crimson horns,

the Demon King had three green horns, split into several branches, like those of a male deer.

One from the center of his forehead, and one on each side of his head.

I chuckled and said.

“So many, and so many branches too, this is an unexpected bonus.”

“Keuaek, hek,”

“It’s good that there are so many to break.”

I pulled my fingers out of his throat.

As if it were his last struggle, he tried to bite the fingers that were coming out, but I quickly pulled my hand back, as if I had anticipated it.

“Predictable. Other devils all try to bite my fingers too, you know? You’re no different from the others, even if you’re a King.”

“How dare you… Theo…do…”

“Shut up.”

I pressed his neck down with my knee, fixing him firmly in place.

Then, with one hand I grabbed one of his horns, and with the other hand I grabbed a branch that had grown out from that horn.

The texture was softer than I thought, and at the same time, it had fine hairs, so it was very smooth.

If there were a handle on a club made of high-quality carpet, perhaps that’s what it would feel like.

That’s the kind of feeling it gave.

“From now on, you will only answer the questions I ask, and you will not dare open your mouth before I ask.”

“Who do you think I am, you human…”

“Ah, I’ve heard it all before.”

I broke the horn.

A horrifying scream echoed throughout the entire village, gradually scattering into the night sky.

“They all say the same thing, and in the end, they piss themselves and beg with tears in their eyes. The fastest record for a devil so far was probably… twelve horns?”

“Keuaaaaaaaak, you bastard!”

“But you have to last longer than the average devil, right? You’re a King.”

It’s a lie.

So far, the fastest record for a devil to surrender after receiving this torture was just two horns.

The devil who lasted the longest had twelve.

This was just a threat to intimidate the Demon King.

“Kkeuek,”

“Well, let’s try to hold out until I break twelve, okay?”

Sola’s face was contorted in a way I had never seen before.

Apparently, my threat, along with the pain, had worked properly on him.

An expression that clearly revealed fear, shock, anxiety, and impatience.

If she hadn’t gotten involved with a devil, Sola would never have made such an expression.

Looking down at that expression that she would never make, I erased the last hesitation in my heart.

The thing lying under me is not Sola.

It’s a devil.

I steeled my mind and gripped the horn in my hand even more firmly.

I could hear the devil’s trembling breaths, roughly inhaling.

＊

How much time had passed?

I was sitting on top of Sola’s body, who was lying on the floor with her eyes rolled back and her body trembling.

Looking around, I saw over dozens of fragments of horns scattered on the floor, brutally damaged, bent and broken.

It’s not that I broke dozens of horns, it’s just that there were many branches to break.

I tapped the cheek of the unconscious devil and said.

“Wake up. We have to do it again.”

“Ah, aaa… no. Stop,”

“Oh, you can talk? You’re tough. As expected, the fancy name of King isn’t just for show.”

“You… insane… bastard.”

Sola’s face was covered in the black blood that had flowed from the broken horns.

Due to the Holy Power that had been poured into her throat several times, hazy steam flowed out between her lips.

I teased him in a mocking tone.

“Steam’s coming out of your mouth.”

“Why… why, questions… without asking… anything… keep…”

“Just because.”

“Re… venge?”

“Revenge? Do you think I’m just a crazy guy who tortures devils because of my emotions?”

The guy trembled all over and glared at me.

“Look at you now… that look,”

“What about me?”

“Even in a night filled with mud-like… thick darkness… your eyes shine as if ignited…”

“Do my eyes shine that much?”

“…Shining like an excited child, like a carnivore about to eat…”

“Stop, you’re going to confess. It’s disgusting.”

I lightly slapped her face.

The guy couldn’t hold his head up and slammed his face into the floor with a thud, breathing heavily.

“You’re insane… you’re not fighting for faith or a mission… you just like killing devils.”

“I don’t care what you think.”

My thick fingers grabbed ahold of Sola’s thin hair and forcibly lifted her head up straight.

I opened my mouth in a low voice.

“It’s true that I enjoy tormenting you, but I actually have a lot of questions to ask. There’s something I really want to know.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to answer, just quietly open your mouth again. If I take out your horns again and break a few more, you’ll feel like answering.”

“…”

“Will you talk? Or not? If you tell me the truth, I’ll stop this torture that hurts my heart.”

“… Kkeuk,”

The devil frowned.

An expression full of humiliation and disgust, as if he were forcibly swallowing a horrible bug.

The fact that those emotions were felt more strongly than anger meant that his will was virtually broken.

The guy answered very slowly, gritting his teeth.

I couldn’t tell if it was to suppress his anger, or if he was afraid that I would put my fingers in his mouth if he opened it even a little.

“What… do you want to know.”

I said briefly.

“Sola.”

“…”

“Where is Sola?”

“She’s in Hell…”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

I slapped his cheek.

It wasn’t so much to inflict pain as it was an act of warning to let him know that I was in control.

“I know that there’s no way to stop you from parasitizing on Sola’s body. If there was, I would have already taken the devils out of Anna and Lucia’s bodies.”

“…”

“Sola’s mind, her soul, is stuck somewhere inside you. How do I get it out?”

“…Heu, heuheuh,”

“…”

The guy smiled ominously.

It was a terrible and disgusting smile, completely different from Sola’s sunny smile.

The jet-black blood stuck between his teeth glistened ominously.

“Am I the same as any other devil?”

“…”

“Do you think I would ‘share’ a body with anyone?”

“…”

“She is dead, and humans who accept devils go to Hell when they die. Isn’t that obvious?”

“… You,”

I was about to put my fingers back into his open mouth.

That’s when it happened.

“Isn’t torture ultimately… to get information?”

“What?”

“Alright, I’ll give you information. Although it may not be the information you wanted…”

“…”

The guy continued.

An ominous premonition enveloped my whole body.

I was completely overpowering him, and I could give him terrible pain again if I wanted to,

I was clearly the one threatening, and he was the one being threatened.

What is this ominous feeling?

That question crawled up my spine and sent a shiver down the back of my head.

“Let me tell you one thing about monsters.”

“…”

“Many monsters are born. It’s not just one monster that’s born from one corpse.”

“… What?”

At that moment, something suddenly rose up from next to Sola’s head, lying on the floor.

A snow-white, sharp finger.

It flew straight towards me and pierced my side as it was.