Irene as a Human Being - Part 2
The sight before her was one of absolute, ethereal beauty—hair cascading like liquid gold to her waist, a face that rivaled the very essence of all beauty in this world, with every curve of her body sculpted in flawless grace.
“Ah… Irene?”
It was Irene herself.
“Long time no see.”
Irene greeted her with a bright, radiant smile.
“Did you really… rescue me so quickly?”
Her voice trembled with lingering pain, yet Lucretia could not tear her eyes away from the woman standing right in front of her.
“It was nothing at all.”
And as Irene stepped aside, Kim Jae-hyun slid his arm around her slender waist, pulling her protectively into his embrace and speaking softly.
With Jae-hyun’s arrival, Baros and the entire legion of dark forces dropped to their knees in unison, heads bowed low, their voices echoing in perfect sync: “Your Majesty the Demon King!”
Jae-hyun lifted one hand slightly, silencing them all without a word.
“Nothing at all, you say…”
Lucretia knew exactly where Irene had been taken—to the palace. Jae-hyun’s calm reply sent a fresh wave of dread through her. There was no longer any hope left in this world. Only despair remained. Even the palace had been breached in an instant. What hope could possibly exist?
Moreover, seeing Irene nestled so contentedly in Jae-hyun’s arms twisted her heart with even deeper agony.
Irene’s outfit was simple yet devastatingly revealing: a white tank top that clung to her generous curves, exposing her midriff, paired with blue hot pants. The fabric looked as if it might tear at any moment beneath the weight of her breasts, while the hot pants themselves were a novel, vibrant shade that only hinted at the hypnotic lines of her hips. Beneath those shorts, her legs stretched endlessly—flawless alabaster skin, slender yet powerfully toned, the kind of beauty that made one forget how to breathe.
It was Irene, of all people, wearing such clothing. The sheer sensuality was almost overwhelming.
Lucretia had seen this outfit before. It was one Irene had chosen with deliberate intent.
During war, Irene usually favored practical, movement-friendly battle attire. But she had always desired to look beautiful in Jae-hyun’s eyes. Even in peacetime, she would experiment with different garments just to earn that praise. When he called her beautiful, she would smile with pure happiness.
She still wanted that. So she had picked a casual style reminiscent of the one she wore on the battlefield, hoping to please him once more.
The material was unfamiliar to Lucretia, but the style itself was not. To Jae-hyun or Irene, armor was merely an obstacle—nothing more. Their aura barriers far surpassed any material, even orichalcum, in sheer durability and strength.
Out of combat, Irene wore flowing dresses or elegant gowns. In battle, she favored crop tops and leather hot pants, because they allowed complete freedom for her signature graceful movements.
As the Flash Magic Swordswoman, she needed absolute freedom to unleash lightning-fast attacks and magic. Her combat style demanded perfect mobility, and she had proven it countless times—defeating the strongest demon lords under Laylana’s command without a scratch.
Even after the brutal fighting left her exhausted, the betrayal orchestrated by Ferdinand had only stripped her of her freedom. But she had never sustained any serious injuries.
Powerful strikes had tried to pierce her aura barrier, yet she evaded them with lightning speed and flawless flexibility. At worst, she suffered minor cuts, which she healed instantly with her own demonic energy, closing every wound without a trace.
Because of that relentless training, Irene had always preferred shorts. Long, flowing skirts were simply too restrictive.
Still the same woman… yet the sensuality feels deeper, more intense.
Once, when she was eighteen, her body had been pure and untouched, radiating innocence and affection. Now she was a fully mature woman radiating raw, unfiltered sensuality.
“Hahaha… is this mockery now?”
Lucretia asked from her pitifully crumpled position on the floor, staring up at Irene and Jae-hyun with broken eyes.
She had already endured countless torments. Any resistance only brought worse pain. The fear of suffering had paralyzed her mind; she no longer had the will to fight back. She was simply waiting for the end, envying the dead.
If not for Jae-hyun’s meddling, she might have gone insane long ago. But now she had to endure every second of agony while alive.
For ten years, Irene had been brainwashed into a sex toy and combat weapon, forced to live that nightmare. Lucretia, meanwhile, had ruled as the highest authority of the Holy Astraea Kingdom, worshipped by all as a saint.
Now the tables had turned completely.
Irene was once again in Jae-hyun’s arms, while Lucretia lay naked and broken on the floor, having been subjected to endless, indiscriminate torments and degradations.
“Hehe… mockery, is it?”
Irene laughed dismissively from within Jae-hyun’s embrace. Then her long, slender legs shifted, and she lifted her foot, casually kicking Lucretia’s head like a soccer ball.
“Aaaah!”
Lucretia’s scream of agony echoed as her head slammed against the floor.
“It may look like mockery to you, but to me it was hell. I was a saint, ruling the kingdom, standing at the Emperor’s side. You were nothing but a broken doll, lacking even the freedom of a slave. You are truly the worst woman alive.”
Irene looked down at Lucretia, her eyes cold. This world had no more value for pity. Her precious people were either dead or crushed beneath the same fate. The only one who mattered—Jae-hyun—had become the Demon King solely for revenge.
There was no reason to stop now.
If Jae-hyun had not become the Demon King, she would have chosen that path herself.
“Not a shred of regret, not a moment of remorse. You never expected anything, yet you’re furious, aren’t you?”
Irene’s beautiful face twisted with icy malice as she spoke. This cold, detached tone was new to everyone—Jae-hyun included. It was the first time Irene had ever spoken this way.
To her, the next person she loathed after Ferdinand was none other than Griffith, who had brainwashed her, and Lucretia, the saint who had betrayed him.
Lucretia had betrayed Jae-hyun out of jealousy after he rejected her marriage proposal. For Jae-hyun, that hurt more than any other betrayal because he had once felt affection—perhaps not love—for her.
Irene had once thought of Lucretia as a dear friend. She had never wanted to give him to someone else, but if it was merely to become his second wife… well, she could accept that.
Lucretia had been kind to her, treating her like a beloved sister. They had shared baths, cooked together, and enjoyed each other’s meals. The bond between the two women had been warm and genuine.
Yet Lucretia had betrayed him. The pain of that betrayal felt even sharper because Irene had trusted her so completely.
She also knew that one of the conditions under which Lucretia had allied with the crown prince, Ferdinand, had been to ensure Irene herself would be forced to bear a child.
Recalling how Lucretia had once savored her suffering, Irene had countless questions she wanted to ask.
Why did you treat me so cruelly?
Why did you hate me so much?
What wrong did I commit to deserve this?
But those questions no longer mattered. Irene had already seen the lowest depths of Lucretia’s soul. There was nothing left to expect from her—only pure, burning vengeance and a raging fury that threatened to consume everything.
“Jae-hyun, can you treat Lucretia and wash her properly?”
Irene called him “oppa” with complete ease. Baros and the other demons flinched visibly. Baros, in particular, had not yet withdrawn his penis from Lucretia’s body, and he remembered every single moment of the last ten years under Jae-hyun’s rule.
The previous Demon Kings had been tyrannical, but Jae-hyun was especially merciless. He had always demanded that even his most beloved women treat him like a god.
The mere fact that a woman was addressing him so casually was shocking. And that he accepted it… was even more astonishing.
“Do as you wish.”
Jae-hyun granted her request and covered Irene’s eyes with his hand.
Baros swiftly withdrew. Jae-hyun’s sword flashed once. With a wet, tearing sound, Lucretia’s head was severed clean from her body.
“Aaaah!”
Even as her head fell, Lucretia screamed in agony. Yet her body below the neck regenerated at terrifying speed, sprouting new limbs and flesh until nothing remained of the original form.
“Now go and cook and eat to your heart’s content.”
The body below the neck, which was now useless, was tossed to Baros. The demon king bowed deeply. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The moment Baros pulled up his pants, Jae-hyun removed his hand from Irene’s eyes.
Though her vision was covered, her other senses remained intact. She could see everything—the severed neck, the miraculous regeneration of the lower body, the complete rebirth of every part that had once been Lucretia.
“The ability to regenerate such a perfect lower body… it’s truly astonishing.”
Irene gazed at the regenerating form with genuine curiosity. Even as a high-ranking swordswoman, she had never witnessed anything like this—someone whose entire torso below the neck had been completely sliced away, only to regrow perfectly while the head remained untouched.
“But… what does it mean to cook and eat it?”
Irene asked again, eyes wide with curiosity. The lower body of Lucretia’s former form still lay on the floor, perfectly preserved and warm, except for the missing head.
The question of what to do with the entire torso and how to “cook” and “eat” it was both strange and strangely intriguing. She did not want to experience it herself, but she wanted to know.
“I mean it literally.”
“Eh?”
Irene’s mind short-circuited for a moment. Or perhaps she was desperately trying to deny what she thought she had heard.
“Do not make me repeat myself. Literally means to cook it and eat it. Demons consider human female flesh a delicacy.”
“…”