Chapter 140: Collapse
Chapter 140: Collapse
Sein and Annie of the Hero’s party had awakened in separate hospital rooms. Sein was still suffering from the aftereffects of a massive back wound and excessive blood loss, while Annie remained in critical condition due to broken ribs and internal organ ruptures.
Though they soon realized they were confined in what were essentially prison cells disguised as infirmary rooms, they had no choice but to accept the treatment provided.
They spent their days eating the provided meals and receiving checkups from a nun who visited occasionally to monitor their status. Before long, a demon arrived, having heard the news that the two had finally opened their eyes.
It was Veled, a warrior of the Jaun tribe, possessing both immense strength and beautiful purple skin. After stopping by Sein’s room first, she brought Sein along to visit Annie.
"Oh, the little mage is awake too. I was starting to wonder if you’d ever get up. Well, I suppose it can’t be helped since you were at death’s door."
Annie glared at Veled for a moment before immediately dropping her hostility. This was the demon’s territory, and they were both wearing collars that restricted the flow of their mana.
Furthermore, it was a purely rational decision; there was no need to provoke someone who, for reasons unknown, had gone as far as to provide them with medical treatment.
"Why... did you bring us here? Aren't you a warrior of the Demon Race? Besides, you’re supposed to be that ferocious blade... I don't understand."
"Well, if you really want to know. First, I might have a nasty temper, but I don't make a habit of finishing off opponents I've already beaten. Second, I’ve gone a bit soft because of a certain pervert. And..."
Sein watched in shock as Veled answered Annie’s questions so compliantly. Annie, who hadn't faced Veled in the previous war, likely didn't realize just how terrifying this woman was, which was why she could ask such blunt questions.
But Sein knew. Even if one might surpass her in pure skill, the purple demon was the absolute worst opponent to encounter in a real fight.
Sein had assumed Veled was keeping them alive for some idle amusement, but to see her listing actual reasons in response was a fresh shock.
"I want you two to make a bet with me. Think of it as an 'odd or even' game regarding a little prank I’m playing on your Hero."
Veled looked at Annie’s puzzled face. Sein, who had already heard the terms of the bet directly, remained silent, finding the whole thing too absurd to even put into words.
Immediately after the two had confirmed the Hero’s condition and the terms of the bet, Veled called them together again to propose a new wager.
She designated the day they woke up and met the Hero as Day 1. The new condition was simple: if Bill did not surrender to Veled within ten days, it would be the Hero party’s victory.
"Why? Isn't that condition far too disadvantageous for you? I don't see why you’d propose that."
"That’s because I hate fights I’m guaranteed to win. Especially when the opponent hasn't done anything to actually piss me off."
"A guaranteed win? Don't underestimate the Hero...!"
The two women found it impossible to discern the true intentions of this demon, who had set a condition like the '5-Minute Handjob Endurance Challenge' and then secretly added a victory condition without telling Bill.
"I told you, didn't I? That’s a match I’m guaranteed to win. Once you’re already charmed, holding out for five minutes isn't as easy as you think. I hate boring matches like that."
"So, you’re giving up a guaranteed win just for amusement and choosing a bet where you’re at high risk of losing?"
Veled nodded, confirming that was exactly the case. They say a tiger gives its all even when hunting a rabbit, but even a tiger enjoys play and entertainment once in a while.
"Why don't you watch and see for yourselves? Whether this is really in your favor, or mine."
And so, the bet with the added victory condition began, with the two women watching everything from the adjacent cell.
The wall appeared normal, but in reality, it was transparent from their side. Two pairs of eyes followed every move as each round of the bet commenced.
Far from reaching five minutes, the time until ejaculation dropped to four minutes, then three. The two women watched vividly as Bill’s endurance crumbled and he fell further under Veled’s enchantment.
Watching the man they had once respected—the man they were involved with—being so easily toyed with by another woman’s hand, they felt an indescribable surge of emotion.
It was close to disappointment and a sense of betrayal; it was close to disgust; and it was also closely related to a certain realization.
Even Bill, who had been so strong and resilient, collapsed without being able to overcome a single finger of a demon.
Yes, a human male could not defeat a demon female. Men were creatures destined to lose to women. They had evolved that way from the very beginning.
The proof was the sight of their Hero, being masturbated in a shameful position, yet declaring surrender while ejaculating with more pleasure than he had ever shown before.
Eight days out of ten. Excluding the first day’s 'taste,' the bet had lasted a week—one could say he held out for a long time.
However, during that period, the two women, having the miserable sight of their beloved lover seared into their eyes, were gradually succumbing to the dark desires within them.
The crystallization of their lewd desires grew by feeding on their dark emotions. Before they knew it, they were filled to the brim, reaching the brink of a dramatic transformation.
To deliver the final blow, Veled beckoned the two watching from behind the wall and called them into Bill’s cell, which was now thick with the scent of lust.
The sight of the Hero pinned beneath the demon, finally having the Mark of Subjugation engraved upon him, now felt only revolting.
"I should have known... Even though Ms. Veled gave you such an advantageous condition, for you to fall so completely... I’m disappointed."
"I guess all men are like that. Monkeys that can't do anything but pant the moment a woman grabs their cock. Disgusting."
The sense of betrayal they felt from seeing the man to whom they had offered their cherished virginity utterly broken had turned into loathing.
Their minds, already filled with dark emotions, spat out insults they would never have uttered under normal circumstances, verbally abusing Bill.
And those insults provided Bill, pinned beneath Veled, with a sense of shame and humiliation even greater than before, which he in turn converted into pleasure.
The fully settled Mark of Subjugation. It was the worst kind of Lust Crest a Hero should never have. Being insulted by his comrades caused his cognitive system to shift so much that he let out a thick, heavy spray of semen. Splurt, splurt.
"Ahaha! Ejaculating just because your comrades are insulting you? You’re not just hopeless, you’re completely broken, Hero♡"
Slap! Veled struck the Hero’s buttocks as he lay beneath her. With a crisp sound, semen sprayed downward. Their perfectly synchronized rhythm, almost like a rehearsed play, was the final result for the Hero who had been utterly defeated by Veled.
"Hero, I believed in you. I thought if it was you, you’d overcome a trial like this and leave this place with us. But... but to see you acting so pathetically, fawning over a demon..."
Annie was a tender-hearted girl. She was a devout believer in the Divine Cult and possessed a kind heart that sought to reform the wicked and avoid conflict.
However, the Brand reacting to the Hero’s corruption over the past week had fanned her dark desires, gradually leading her toward her own fall. Even as Annie felt something was wrong, she did not deny the nausea rising within her.
"I liked you. That’s why I stayed with you on the battlefield, and why I recognized you as someone worth dying for. I even gave my purity to you. How could someone like you... betray me like this?"
The same went for Sein. As a powerful warrior and a Weapon Master capable of wielding all sorts of arms, she had sufficient resistance against a demon’s Brand.
She revered martial prowess and admired the strong. It was only natural for her to be drawn to the Hero, the greatest warrior of the United Kingdom among the unwed.
But the Bill who repeatedly lost to a demon and became a slave to pleasure was not the Bill she had loved.
That was merely a shell of the Hero—some piece of trash that looked like him. Trash that had surrendered to desire and abandoned its dignity.
The feelings of loathing that surged within her, even without relying on the Brand, were amplified by it, causing even her memories and cherished moments of love to wither away.
Veled, witnessing the Hero’s party completely fracture and fall, wore a blooming smile. She had realized there were things just as enjoyable as battle and was savoring every moment.
And finally, she watched as the shells cracked. A change in values caused by the Brand, followed by a contract to be reborn. While a contract is usually considered a mandatory condition, there are always exceptions.
Just as Jaejin could turn others into succubi without a Brand or a contract, if those with a well-developed inner world had their values twisted by a Brand, a contract to bind and restrict their actions became meaningless.
"Annie... Sein...? What’s wrong with you two all of a sudden..."
Even fallen, he was still the Hero. Bill quickly sensed the change in the two. Even within his crumbling reason, a sense of crisis that something terrible was happening washed over him, but it was already too late.
The aura emanating from their bodies was already the low-settling mana characteristic of the Demon Race—the energy they called Demonic Energy.
"All of a sudden? No, Bill. We were waiting for you all this time. You were the one who betrayed us."
"But what should we do, Bill? We actually quite like how we look now."
Standing before Bill, who was sprawled on the bed, were no longer the quiet, thoughtful mage and the elegant, refined swordsman he once knew.
Their prisoner uniforms, altered by their own desires, had transformed into highly revealing outfits that left their underboobs completely exposed. Thanks to that, their strikingly prominent breasts were a different size than he remembered.
The once-flat Sein now had a substantial bust, and Annie, who had some volume before, had grown to a size nearly as large as her head.
Furthermore, following down their abdomens, Lust Crests were etched into place, and the lines of their panties, hanging off their hips to the left and right of the crests, poked out above their extremely short shorts.
It was the attire of a lewd woman, with no trace of the chastity or purity they once valued. To top it off, Annie’s skin had been tanned to a deep bronze.
"Do you like this skin? I’ve always wondered... how many eyes would follow someone walking down the street with skin like this♡"
Likely, if she were to walk around now in clothes that accentuated her figure, there wouldn't be a man alive who wouldn't turn his head.
"A life faithful to desire. If that’s what you want, I’ll follow along too♡ After all, we’re lovers, aren't we?"
Lovers. Could there be a word less fitting for them now? The faces of the two women were completely different from the ones Bill had known.
"Well then, have fun, you 'lovers.'"
Having achieved all her goals, Veled had no reason to stay. She gave a casual wave to the three and left the room.
Left behind were one man and two women who were once comrades. The man who had once led the party was no longer the dependable Hero, but had fallen into being a demon’s plaything.
The two women who had trusted and followed him were also no longer members of the Hero’s party, but had become faithful followers and acolytes of the demon.
And so, without a sound or a rumor, the Hero’s party walked the path of total ruin.