Chapter 123 (1/2)

Volume 2

Chapter 102

「AaAAah, stop, please stop, noooo!!!」

The four colored castle of fortune that I earned and built up sinks down the hole.

「AAaaa, AaAAAAAA…」

My money in the truest sense really turned into nothing.

And white-silver coin from a pouch on my neck surely will be taken away as well.

Just how long will it take to assemble such fortune again.

「Now then, let’s move on to the last penalty game.」

「Are, are you saying there is still more!」

I reflexively lift my head.

But the Hero without giving it any attention started the worst possible chant.

「―――「I cannot forgive you. I cannot forgive everything about you.」―――」

「What!? Tha, That is…!?」

That loud female singing voice.

I recognized what the hero was reenacting.

「―――「My right hand shall freeze you.

My left hand shall wither you.

Unreachable you, shall turn into remains.」」

「Sto, stop… No, Noo! Why! The Curse of the Holy Maiden, no, shit, shit, shit, shiiiiit!!! 」

Just once, but I saw that spirit sword. I have seen it.

I still remember that. No, I just remembered that.

That sensation of every inch of my body crumbling away, even though it is not pointed at me, even though I am merely looking at it.

「―――「O, precious flower, you are in my hands.

Charmed by no one.

Exposed to no one.

Be resharpen into eternal sludge.」」

I was shown the form of a soul and how it rots away.

Abominable memory. Like a ship that had a huge hole opened in it, my heart is being filled with cold dread.

「―――「All of you belongs to me.」」

It fills my whole body without any obstruction.

Bearing a soul-killing coldness it gradually gets closer.

And then it revealed its form.

「―――「Sword of Mortal Sin・Madwoman from the Castle of Envy」」

One moment, for one moment, all sound has disappeared.

「『「KieeEeEeeEAAEeAEaaeEeeAAeAeAaea?!」』」

「Hii, aaAA…!」

It did not look like a sword or even a weapon for that matter.

It had an appearance of a woman with sickening black hair, having a blindfold with the color of blackened blood, ash-colored skin and with rusty chains wrapped over her whole body.

Instead of a blade, from the hilt that Hero was holding, came the rusty chains that kept the woman at bay as they coiled around her.

「『Aah, Aah, how envious, how jealous, how hateful. Though I was called for the first time in a while, to think that I won’t even see the light of the sun, everyone should just disappear.』」

「You never change, Envy.」

To that thing that fills a heart with terror after just one glance upon it, the hero was smiling with an unchanging attitude.

「『Cruel, so cruel. Even though I am your sword, why you won’t use me at all?』」

「I have no choice. Your demerits by themselves are making you hard to use and on top of them due to the Curse of the Holy Maiden, there are ever harsher side effects. 」

「『I can’t tell if that’s the case. I can sense that others are being used. There is even a strange seal as if to mock me.』」

「No, as I said it is not my fault. If you have complaints then give them to the Goddess.」

「『I don’t care about such things. It’s unfair, unfair, unfair, unfair. All others should just disappear. 』」

Black Aura visible to a naked eye starts leaking out from the woman’s body.

「Well, I won’t ask you not to be jealous. It is your very existence and you are part of myself after all. So, submit to my bidding.」

「『…You are really unfair.』」

Withdrawing the aura, the woman says sullenly.

Then the Hero turned his gaze my way.

「Now, I don’t think it is necessary to explain her ability to you?」

That’s right, I know her, I know the effects of her power.

An evil dragon that once provoked the Hero’s wrath. By her power, the hero had the dragon’s whole body destroyed from the inside and died in agony.

It is absolute physical control over the target.

It can transform flesh into metal, turn blood into vapor and freely change the shape of bones.

With that power, he instantly killed the evil dragon that had magic resistance on par with the Demon Lord.

Moreover, he did not simply kill it.

One dominated by that power will have his soul bound by it even after death.

That evil dragon, after his body decayed was left there in the form of a pale blue transparent spirit, and in the end…

「N-no, no… No, no.」

All I could do was spectate that scene from the shadows while trembling in fear.

With one hand bitten off and smeared in blood, the hero calmly gazed at the dragon’s decaying form.

And just quietly smiled.

It was eerie and scary beyond control.

Simply the nature of that power was terrifying beyond measure.

And now that power was about to be used on me.

「Ye, Yes, This is just an empty threat! This power can only affect those that ingested your blood!」

「Didn’t you desperately drink exactly that until now? Water with my blood mixed in it, plenty of it.」

「Wha… What?」

I could feel my blood freeze.

No matter where I look, I saw no way to escape it.

「Why, why, why, didn’t you say that you will forgive me after sinking all of that gold!!!」

Panicking I screamed, but those words had no effect at all.

「Haa, damn, you really are an idiot. Agreements depend upon trust. Do you think I trust you?」

「Ah, Aa, AaAaaah…」

Those words had no ridicule or contempt to them, only uninterested apathy.

「Please, I beg you, I apologize, I will change my ways. I will stop all illegal activities, I won’t get involved with orphans anymore. This time I really will invest in…?!」

「Like I said, who is going to believe you. Didn’t you say so yourself? Until now, your worth was warranted by your money. Which means, now there is nothing that supports your credibility.」

「That!!」

「I told you, I will make you dance in the same way that you made me. Tell me, did you really think that I will forgive that? Those kids died all tattered. What made you think that you will be able to survive?」

「…Ah, Aaa, no, no, I don’t want to die. This, I don’t want to die having nothing, please don’t, please, the children that you mentioned are still alive, aren’t they, I still haven’t done a thing!!! I still haven’t…」

「Hey, close your mouth. Stop spewing dumb crap.」

I was almost crushed by the intimidating pressure that was so strong that it was almost audible.

「Hii, Ah, Ah, Ah…」

I understood, I was forced to.

I won’t survive. Nothing can be done anymore.

「Grond, I had enough talk with you. I won’t even give you a chance to beg for your life. So let’s start by crushing that voice.」

「『Uhyaaaaa!!!!!』」

「Kuhah?!」

My throat suddenly stiffens.

When I touched my neck in panic, I felt a cold, metal sensation.

When I try to say something, it only comes as a breath without making any sound.

「At last, we came this far. Now, it is your turn. Just like the kids, die in agony without being able to raise a single voice. ―――Sing, Envy.『Ice Image of Rosenkristall』」

And then Hero chimed the chains.

「『Hyeaaaa, HooOoOo!!!』」

「———-!!! Fhueh, hahue?!」

The pain started to spread from my limbs.

It felt like numberless needles were piercing me.

When I instinctively looked there, I saw that a small red crystallization was spreading from my hands and feet .

I have already seen this. The evil dragon, in the same way, had his blood changed into blades of ice and was turned into a pincushion.

「『HoOoooh, HeuueeEeAAAAAAh』」

「ーー!! ～－－～～,ー!!」

With every scream-like note she makes, from blood vessels, piercing the flesh, pop up new bloody crystals.

Hand, feet, shoulder, waist, shoulder.

Like a piece of art that was meant to be this way, my body gets concealed in bloody ice.

（Aah, why, why did it became like this…?）

That was the last question that came to my mind that has been bleached by pain and anguish.

「Kaah, fuuー～, Fuufufu~~」

I found the current situation very curious as I still could think even though I cannot move even an inch of my body.

「I wonder why. Ice made of blood is dazzlingly and sparklingly illuminated by fire, surely this is a very beautiful view.」

Pain assaulting me at irregular intervals would not allow me to lose consciousness.

The throat that was turned into a metal cannot produce even a single scream and only the whistling sounds of breathing comes out of my mouth.

「But you know what! I cannot see any significance in it no matter how I try! Why are you even living! Tell me, what was the point of killing the kids!! Why do those kids that were just trying so hard to survive had to taste such suffering!」

In my blurring sight, the Hero’s figure couldn’t be seen.

All I could see there was the Demon Lord with his face stained by wrath and hatred.

「You still haven’t done anything in this second circle? Then what about kids from the first one!! Are you gonna say since it all got re-winded just to forget about it? Don’t fuck with me, even if everything got reverted, as the one who remembers it all I won’t forgive you. I won’t allow it to go like it never happened.」

（Aah, I see, this is the Demon Lord what have I-no… what have we created, damn monster, shit, shit, shiiiit.）

「That is why you are going to die. Return to dust along with everything that you held dear.」

And then came the cold final announcement from that Demon Lord.

「――――Sing, Envy.『Obstinate Cinderella』」

「『LAAAAA, LAAAAAA, LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!』」

It’s unbelievable that such metallic voice can be produced by a living being.

High-pitched voice that was close to a scream mysteriously had some hymnal holiness to it.

I can feel how my body changes into metal bit by bit.

Flesh, bones and blood ice as well.

（No, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die. Someone, someone, anyone, please save me…!!)