The Punishment of Bearing as Many as You Have Slain
'As I thought, this one is no different from Iris.'
She was trembling in fear, as if she had just laid eyes on a taboo that should never be witnessed. Seeing Tie in such a state, Talia was reminded of a former comrade. She could still never forget the wretched end of Iris, a companion who had foolishly dared to challenge Grid without knowing her place, only to lose everything she held dear.
-W-who would ever become your lackey? I will kill you, no matter what!
Back when Talia had succumbed to threats disguised as invitations and was being worked to the bone as Grid's slave, Grid had invaded the territory ruled by Iris's family. Iris was a knight who had resisted that invasion with fierce tenacity.
In the end, the territory was turned into a sea of flames, the soldiers who fought alongside her were massacred, and Iris herself was captured. Even in such a situation, Iris did not abandon her resistance.
She swore she would never become a slave, no matter what happened.
She swore she would never bow her head to the devil who had stolen everything precious to her.
She screamed that she would one day make him pay the price for his invasion. To prove that those weren't just empty words, Iris constantly sought Grid's life whenever she found an opening.
Naturally, every single assassination attempt ended in failure, and—
-A-ah, no. Don't. Don't cum, don't cum, aaaaaah!
As the price for her defiance, Iris always received the punishment of being ravished. Grid’s pillar was always buried deep within her, obscene sounds never ceased, and she spent many days with a heavily pregnant belly.
-Aaaaaaah! I am not your subordinate. I won't be. I won't, I won't, I won't!
Even after suffering countless failures, being ravished daily as a consequence, and living through hellish days of constant, unwanted pregnancies, Iris never gave up. She tried every way she could to take Grid's life.
Eventually, Grid’s patience snapped at her persistent resistance, and he brainwashed her. Turning her into a puppet, Grid issued a command to Iris:
To break her family, her friends, and her people completely. To turn them into livestock that could think of nothing but serving their master. If anyone dared to draw a blade against him, she was to cut their throats, no matter who they were.
The brainwashed Iris faithfully followed Grid's orders.
She processed her own mother, her younger siblings, her older sisters, the maids who worked for her family, and the very people she had risked her life to protect, turning them all into livestock. No matter how much they screamed for her to come to her senses, it never reached her ears. She prioritized nothing but obedience to her master's commands.
And so, after she had shattered everything she held dear—
-T-this... this is what I have done?
Immediately after the brainwashing was lifted, she was engulfed in immense shock. It wasn't that she had broken the curse through her own will; Grid had deliberately lifted it so she could see with her own eyes the atrocities she had committed.
The high-spirited knight collapsed miserably at the reality that the precious people she was meant to protect had all become livestock, and at the fact that she was the one who had created that reality.
And, decisively...
-I, I, this man... Aah, aaaaaaah!
Her mind shattered upon realizing that not only had she personally cut the throat of the man she had promised to marry, but she had also dismembered his corpse and thrown it to the sharks as feed.
Grid ravished her right there on the spot—
-Aha, ahahaha! I don't know anymore. I don't know anything. Aha, ahahahaha!
Despairing at the reality that she had lost everything to her enemy and destroyed her precious ones with her own hands, Iris broke. The broken knight began to genuinely fear the devil, and she began to submit voluntarily to protect the few who remained.
Of course, she followed him out of fear, not out of sincere devotion. If it had been sincere, she wouldn't have agreed with the executives who attempted a rebellion when Grid fell into a coma.
Unfortunately, the rebellion failed, and the executives who had plotted it were, without exception, ravished by Grid. They all succumbed to the ravishing that began with the intent to pierce the very bottom of hell. Iris was no different.
Since that incident, Iris feared Grid even more, and she devolved into a knight who struggled desperately to show true loyalty just to avoid being targeted. It was truly ironic that a knight who had once struggled to fight to the bitter end was now putting in every effort to curry favor.
Talia utilized the very same vicious scheme of Grid that had helped break Iris.
'Sealing memories with brainwashing and letting them explode later. This really is a great method.'
Talia had deliberately sealed the horrific things Tie had endured over the past six days. She released the seals one by one by playing the voices stored on the metal plate in her hand. Each time a seal was released, Tie’s face sank into terror, and by the time they were all gone, she no longer burned with the rage she once had.
She only trembled in fear, terrified of what might be done to her next.
Seeing that, the corners of Talia’s mouth curled up on their own.
'Come to think of it, the assassination squad was the same.'
Following Kang-rim's orders, the brainwashing on the assassination squad had also been lifted. In its place, a command was implanted in their minds that could turn them back into dolls at any moment.
Though they had regained their original personalities through Kang-rim's mercy—
'They were all as terrified as Tie.'
Far from harboring hostility toward Kang-rim, they feared him. They were terrified that he might brainwash them again. Out of sheer fear, they bowed their heads, promising unconditional obedience. The captain leading the assassination squad was no different.
It was only natural for them to be afraid. How could they not be, when they were in a position where they could be used at any time, regardless of their own will? Even Talia herself would have trembled in terror if she were in their shoes. She would be afraid of being manipulated again, of being forced into strange acts, of dying for no reason in some place she didn't even know.
If being in that position was so terrifying, it would be natural to stop, but—
'Watching those expressions is actually quite fun.'
She wanted to do more.
'There are a few fox-folk acting tough; let's try it on them.'
Break them and make them submit. Make them submit and turn them into our comrades. Make them enjoy the happiness of living in a paradise—a fake one, but one that isn't entirely a lie. It wouldn't matter if the price was being a broodmare. Since everyone was destined to live that way once Grid conquered the world anyway. Talia didn't think it was unreasonable to submit to such a fate.
Talia herself had become a body that enjoyed being ravished by Grid. Therefore, even if she was afraid, she had no intention of stopping.
'Hehehe, what kind of expressions will they make? I’m already looking forward to it.'
She had lived holding her breath because of the monster called Grid, but she didn't have to anymore. She could do whatever she wanted to her heart's content. She no longer had to tremble in fear of failure.
Let's experiment to our heart's content. Let's break their spirits and turn them into our own kind. Then, they would be able to find happiness.
Talia revealed the madness she had been hiding. She pondered carefully what she would do to Tie, the victim of that madness.
'The body has been remodeled, the commands have been input, all her techniques have been erased, and I just need to finish with her sense of taste today...'
She felt like she was forgetting something. As Talia kept turning it over in her head, she finally remembered and slapped her fist into her palm.
"Ah, right. I forgot that."
“I have to make you ovulate every day. That’s the only way to use you as a broodmare for easy births.”
“Ugh?”
Ovulation? Easy birth? What was that supposed to mean? Seeing Tie express her confusion, Talia explained very kindly.
“Actually, we discussed how to dispose of you.”
By succeeding in becoming a monster and blocking Tie, Kang-rim had managed to narrowly prevent Fox Island from being turned into a ruin. However, the damage was too great.
“There were many opinions that we couldn't just let you go, considering you not only sent our precious ships to the bottom of the sea but also killed our soldiers.”
Two flagships and five escort ships. That was the number of ships Tie had sunk. In an instant, the number of ships in the fleet had dropped by more than half. On top of that, the number of soldiers sacrificed was over 700. Considering that the total available force was around 2,000, it was a massive loss.
Of course, the Empire wouldn't collapse just because it suffered this much damage. It could be restored immediately. The facilities to build ships were located in Grid's homeland. If they went there and restarted the facilities, they could restore their power right away.
The same went for their forces. The number of children Grid had sired through his "activities" was high. Among them, there were hundreds of soldiers who could be used as troops immediately. They were currently sleeping in Iris's homeland, and if necessary, they could be awakened right away. There were also many soldiers secured by taking in the Kumiho tribe as broodmares.
They could return to their original state at any time. The fatal problem was that the buried treasures could only be retrieved once Kang-rim woke up.
“Since you made our master unable to wake up, there were even more voices saying we shouldn't just let you be.”
Restarting the facilities and waking the sleeping soldiers were all things that could only be done if Kang-rim was present. With Kang-rim currently in a coma for the sixth day, they were stuck in a situation where they couldn't do anything.
The culprit who had caused this situation was Tie. Therefore, it was inevitable that she would be hated by everyone. They were already hearing rumors that the kingdom was gathering troops to subjugate them, and since they couldn't prepare for it, the executives couldn't forgive Tie.
Talia was of the same opinion as the executives.
“So, we all worried about what kind of punishment would be best to inflict on you.”
“....”
“There was even talk of tearing you limb from limb and throwing you to the sharks, just like our master used to do in the past.”
The Grid of the past was ruthless. He would slice anyone who angered him to the point of rage into tiny pieces so that not even their corpse could be recovered, and throw them into the sea. Considering the crimes Tie had committed, that would have been a fitting end.
“However, our current master does not wish for that.”
But the current master was not Grid; he was Jung Kang-rim.
“Our current master does not want unnecessary killing. He is someone who wants to let people live if possible.”
“....”
“Even if that person is a sinner like you.”
Once they had become villains, living a righteous life was impossible. They had no choice but to fight, win, and seize a comfortable life. They had no choice but to shed blood. However, there was no reason to commit more killing than necessary. So, if they could capture someone alive, they should. They should spare the women who could be used as resources, and spare the men if possible. Because for the sake of building a nation in the future, keeping people alive was more profitable than killing them.
That was the method of the current Grid, Kang-rim.
“So, we decided on a different punishment instead of beheading.”
Without going against that method, the executives decided on a policy for what kind of punishment to inflict on Tie.
“Bear as many as you have killed.”
Talia calmly proclaimed.
“You will give birth to the 700 people you killed. That is the punishment we are inflicting.”
“Ughhh…”
With a pale face, Tie stared at Talia.
'Are you crazy? Does that even make sense?'
700 people. How could she possibly give birth to that many? Even if she repeated pregnancy and childbirth until she died, it would be impossible. Considering the laws of nature, this couldn't be called a reasonable statement, but—
"It doesn't make sense? Don't make me laugh. You guys have long lifespans, don't you?"
Regrettably, in this world, it was naturally possible. When the word "impossible" came out, Talia snorted as if it were ridiculous.
"You beastmen have long lifespans, so you can give birth to that much, right?"
"Ughhh, ughhh!"
"If you're really that scared, should I distribute the quota to your kin? I'll do that if you want. We've already caught them all anyway."
"Ugh?"
Caught them all? What was that supposed to mean?
Seeing Tie express her confusion, Talia revealed one shocking fact.
"The Beastman Union has collapsed. You have lost the war."