Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Skewering the Beast (2)
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Rick.
Nadia.
The moment I called their names, my hand unconsciously tightened around the arrowhead, sticky blood—or maybe sand—seeping between my index and middle fingers. Either way, it felt like gritty, fishy grains would burst if I put it in my mouth.
I'd thought I'd have a ton to say when we finally met. But staring into their eyes, all the prepared words sank into my throat. This was the moment I'd waited for so long, yet I just gawked at them like a mute fool.
"Luca..."
A stranger's voice rang out. Who? Someone else in the room? I glanced around, but no one had opened their mouth. With a hunch, I turned to her.
"Ah..."
The voice belonged to Nadia.
No, it couldn't be. She called my name in a voice far weaker and more frail than I remembered. Measuring strength by voice alone might be iffy, but even so, she sounded like a bedridden elder. If anything, the old man whose face I'd worn had more resolve in his tone.
"Da...mn... Luca..."
Next came Rick's voice. Thankfully, he hadn't changed much. Useless trinkets dangled from his body, and he wore clothes too fancy for him, but he was still a third-rate thug at heart. Yeah. Thankfully, he remained trash—a sewer rat gnawing at the world.
But how much they'd changed didn't matter. What mattered was that they were Rick and Nadia. I'd crossed demon territory alone, staining this sword with so much pointless blood. If lives could be bought, their scales would need at least a hundred demon heads to balance.
Of course, there was plenty more to settle.
I'd come here to buy their lives. I'd pay in full—for all the years I'd waited. Slowly. Very slowly.
"The world... Wi... Will..."
As I stepped toward them, voices cried out. I turned to see terrified eyes fixed on us—people unrelated to me.
"Will died of illness three days ago. And handed over his face skin to me."
The professor stared, torn between belief and doubt. But with my hand on the sword, he had no choice.
"Outsiders, leave."
At his words, everyone except Rick and Nadia bolted. The flustered professor, his wife scrambling for clothes, and the redheaded girl sauntering out last shut the door. Finally, only my old party members remained.
"Lu... Luca..."
Rick spoke first, surprisingly. His voice was awkwardly gentle.
"You're alive. We... We had no idea. We were dead certain you were gone..."
"Y... Yeah. If you'd just said something, we could've come looking..."
Nadia hastily backed him up. I watched them silently before speaking.
"You've changed your speech a lot, Nadia."
"Ha... Have I? Yeah, I guess. 'Cause I'm not a knight anymore... I gave up the title after the Demon King fell."
"I thought you took pride in being a knight."
"I did, but... I felt I didn't deserve it. I couldn't even save you... The guilt..."
"Couldn't save me."
I rolled her lie around in my mouth. It crumbled like cheap candy with one chew.
"More like you didn't bother."
"What are you saying, Luca? We tried our best. We just..."
"Looked like you tried your best to erase my name from the world."
She clamped her mouth shut. I approached the table and turned to Rick.
"No, to be precise, Eli's and my names. From the moment I set foot in imperial lands, I heard countless songs praising the hero's party. But not one mentioned us."
"Luca, that's... a misunderstanding. You were out of it, so you wouldn't know, but we really..."
"You think I saw nothing, Rick."
"We really tried our be—What?"
Rick's jaw dropped in shock. It almost made me laugh.
"I saw everything. From one to ten. Starting with you trying to break my fingers, to mercilessly raping Nadia. And... all the pain you inflicted on Eli. I saw it all."
His face twisted dramatically with each listed sin. Shock. Regret. Terror. Rick's lips flapped soundlessly before sealing shut.
"Nothing to say, Rick? I saw it all."
"I... I..."
"I don't have much to say either. No words needed here."
"Lu... Luca..."
Only then did he sense his fate, hands trembling. I leaned on the table, watching him, then spoke.
"Draw."
"Huh?"
"Draw an arrow."
His gaze fell to the scattered arrows on the floor. Rusted with age, but still sharp.
"Let's play a game. Like the one you did before."
"Wh... What game..."
"The one with Eli. Betting where you'd cum on her body. Remember?"
"Ah... That... Yeah..."
The table was lined with utensils. Not many, but enough.
"Targets are you and me. First one's the eye. Sound good?"
"Lu... Luca. I..."
"Nadia can give the start signal. She sucked you off back then too."
At her name, Nadia flinched. Rick stammered, hesitating.
"Luca, do we have to—"
"Don't worry."
No more words needed. I reached for the table.
"I won't use my index finger either."
Rick glanced at Nadia, lost. She avoided my eyes.
"Th... Then, get ready..."
Rick glared at her sharply, then gritted his teeth and gripped his bow. Nadia watched him, finally squeaking out:
"Go... Go!"
Before she finished, Rick snatched an arrow with blinding speed, aiming at me. My hand still on the table. The tip locked on my eye.
"Raaagh!"
Before I could grab anything, the arrow flew. Rick's eyes lit with hope.
Crack!
But as my teeth clamped the tip, his glee died instantly. Crunch—the shaft snapped, the sharp head dropping into my mouth. Before he reacted, I spat it at his eye.
"Aaaagh!"
Rick clutched his bleeding eye. Grateful it hadn't pierced to his brain, I smashed a plate on the table.
"Get up, Rick. It never ended after one back then."
"Agh! Aaaaagh!"
"Second target's where you aimed first: nipple. Let's do that, Rick."
"You fucking bastard... You goddamn shit!"
"Ready? Shoot."
"Fuck... There's a limit to disrespecting people!"
He screamed in rage, nocking an arrow. But before he drew, I hurled a shard first.
"Aaaaagh! Uwaaagh!"
It didn't pierce through. He toppled backward from the impact. I grabbed more shards and advanced.
"One side only would be unfair, right?"
"You... You fuck... Aaaaagh!"
Another shard hit the other nipple. Probably lodged right in the hole.
No need to ask anymore. Silently, I began excising his useless body parts. Wrist tendons, Achilles tendon, shoulder muscle... As shards slipped between his fingers, his body turned to rags.
When shards ran out and his screams dulled, I reached his feet. Rick ground his teeth, kicking futilely to escape.
"Ugh... Uuugh...!"
I seized his pant leg and ripped. Gaudy ornaments flew, revealing his grotesque nakedness.
As expected, shards were embedded precisely in both nipple holes. Ugly fluids mixed with blood oozed out. Not a pretty sight. I twisted them slowly to extract.
"Gr... Gruuuagh!"
The twisted shards gaped what shouldn't gape. I painstakingly pulled them free. Rick passed out in agony, only to wake screaming, leaking fluids from every orifice.
"Ugh... Aaah... Sp... Spare me..."
He turned away, chin scraping the floor in desperate crawl. His loose pants snagged the carpet and slid down. Without looking, I called to Nadia.
"Nadia. Bring the box by the door."
"Huh? Uh... Y-Yeah. O... Okay..."
She crawled to the door, trembling. She could've run, but her crushed spirit lacked even that spark.
Soon, she dragged the box over, panting, looking up like a dog awaiting praise—as if it'd save her.
"Here, Luca. H... Here."
Even that effort winded her. Careful with the glass inside. I heard clinking, opened it, and pulled out a red potion sloshing inside.
"Rick."
"Ugh.. Uuuugh!"
"Professor Hyde said you demanded this."
"Fuck... Fuuuuck..."
No reply. But he heard.
"You thought it was some aphrodisiac. Strictly speaking, it's a stamina potion. Famous Hyde's brew—guaranteed effects. Hemostasis, recovery boost, everything you need."
"Luca... You fucking fuck..."
"But too late to drink and wait. Better inject straight into headquarters."
"Wha... What?"
Rick whipped around, spotting the contents.
His black pupils reflected the red liquid—and dozens of nails rattling madly inside, shattering against the glass.
"Damn it all! Lu... Luca!"
Realizing too late, he thrashed. I slowly pressed the corked bottle against his exposed rear.
"Lu... Lucaaa... Aa... Aagh...!"
Just the neck in, and he twisted with muffled screams. The tight resistance vibrated up my arms. Each cry made Nadia flinch further back.
"Ugh... Aa.. Aaaagh!"
I pushed indifferently, eyeing his gaping, moaning face. Fluids poured from eyes and mouth—pure agony, yet a flicker of unwanted pleasure betrayed him. Prostate stimulation kicking in instinctively.
Seeing it, my lips moved on their own.
"Your face looks like a total slut right now, Rick."
"Ugh... Ugh..."
"Pathetic. All that swagger."
"A... Aaaagh...!"
Words spilled unconsciously, rote lines from memory, not thought.
"Really hitting the spot, huh?"
"Haaaagh...! Aaaaaagh!"
Before I knew, the bottle's end vanished inside. Just the final curve left. Then another unintended line slipped out.
"Finally found your true role. The hero party's..."
Hero party's. Public toilet.
...
Then I realized the source. Yeah. You're at the root of this revenge after all.
Eli's face flashed—nights of torment from Rick and Bobby. Feeling pleasure against her will, then pain from that fact. These were her words back then.
"Clench tight, Rick."
I shoved the last bit in. Blood flowed with the resistance as he flailed.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!"
Seeing it fully inside, I raised my fist. I'd fantasized this dozens of times—stone-still, sword and bare knuckles through demon lands. But now, my body froze. Deep breath. I shielded Eli's eyes in my mind.
Don't look, Eli.
Then I crushed the bottle inside him.
Shatter!
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!"
The scream was dizzying even to hear—raw throat-tearing agony shredding the air. Nails burst inside, glass shards shredding fragile flesh.
Yet no blood spilled. The potion soaked wounds instantly, cauterizing and healing. Flesh knit shut—only to rip again from shards, pain renewing.
"A...! A... Aaaah!!! A... Aaaagh!"
Pain. Heal. Wound. Regenerate. Dozens of cycles per second. Rick screamed like a brain-dead madman, cheers mixed with wails. Red potion splashed, sticking to my eyes, trickling down my cheek.
"Rick."
I wiped my eyes and called. Lost in delirium, instinct responded.
"Uh... Uhh...?"
"Three more boxes outside."
"A... Aa... Aaaah!!!"
Just a fact, but he wailed excessively, staring. Neck craning like it'd snap, desperate plea:
"Lucaaa! I... I'm sorry! This is enough... Enough, right? Please... Please stop!"
"Eli didn't beg like this, so you kept going?"
"Th... That was... Gruuuh!"
Pain pierced mid-sentence from nails and glass. I stared until the image etched in memory, then nodded coolly.
"Fine, I'll cut it down a bit."
"Uh... Huh?"
Surprised, he craned toward me with hope. Meeting his eyes, I grabbed a bottle and said:
"Nadia."
"Huh? M... Me?"
She flailed like stabbed. I gave her a simple order.
"You put it in and break it instead."