The Heat of Surrender
It’s a bit cliché to say, but I have a high tolerance for heat. What I mean is, back when I was under Forneus, I once built a sauna as part of my weight-loss regimen. All I did was sit in a stone room, light a fire outside, and endure it for as long as possible. Clearly, that kind of heat was never a problem for me.
WHOOSH!
But this? This was something else. They say that of all the ways to lose your life, burning to death is the most painful—and they weren't wrong. It was a good idea to coat myself in "fire"—the most effective weapon against a tentacle monster—and charge in, but I didn't think I could hold out much longer. If I was struggling this much, imagine how Gremory felt.
“AAAAAAAGH!”
Gremory shrieked, thrashing about wildly. The tentacles danced in a frenzy in response, and the more she moved, the tighter I held her. The flames clinging to the outside of my robe made direct contact with her skin, and her entire body began to sear. At this rate, we’d both be roasted to a crisp. But neither Gremory nor I were weak enough to be burned to death by mere flames. I had the thick, natural hide of an Orc, and Gremory was protecting her skin with mana.
“Y-you fat pig…!”
With her hair half-singed, Gremory glared at me with eyes full of bitter resentment. She clawed at my neck, digging her nails in, trying to strangle me. I pressed down firmly on her shoulders, pinning her so she couldn't escape.
SKREEEEEE!
The flames spread onto the tentacle monster. The hair-like protrusions acted as perfect conduits for the fire, and the creature wrapped its tentacles around me, trying to shake me off. Even if it meant engulfing itself in flames, it clearly wanted me off its body. But that wasn't enough to break me.
I was fighting in close quarters alone, but I wasn't the only one attacking.
THWIP—!
THWACK.
Andras’s claw-arrows sniped the tentacles trying to wrap around my neck. Another arrow severed the tentacles connecting the monster to the women positioned along the walls. Lime was at the center of it all, and Meari’s Fireballs helped, too.
“KREEEEEE!”
The tentacle monster began to writhe violently. Its pipeline to the women—its energy source—had been cut, so it had to scramble to repair its tentacles. But every time it tried, Meari fired a flaming arrow at the severed ends.
ZZZT.
The tips of the tentacles caught fire. The monster spun its severed limbs, scattering sparks in every direction. The entire room began to heat up, and I held Gremory tight and declared, “Ah, this is what we call a Jwi-bul-nori (fire-twirling game).”
“Shut your insane, bullshit mouth! AAAAAAAAGH!”
Gremory’s skin was turning a bright, angry red, but she twisted her body and endured the agony. She was using mana as a shield to block the flames, but she couldn't stop her silky hair from burning away. And our hot little game of fire wasn't going to end here.
“Ugh!”
I forced Gremory to bend over, almost folding her in half, and pushed her inside my robe. The inside was damp with my sweat, and Gremory turned her head away in disgust.
“Heh, hot, isn't it?! Feeling like you're gonna die?!”
“You’re going to burn to death too, you idiot!”
“Surrender! Then I’ll stop!”
I grabbed Gremory’s face and slammed my forehead into hers. If she surrendered, I’d pull back, but if she wanted to keep fighting, we’d both meet our end in the fire. It was a gamble. Even if we both died, Gremory would go first, and I’d be left to survive with full-body burns.
“You’re really going to die!”
“Heh! Will you surrender, or will you burn to death?!”
I grabbed the back of Gremory’s head. The flames on my sleeves scorched her back. Whether she struggled to put out the fire or not, the flames kept licking at us. Whoosh, whoosh! Meari’s fire arrows grazed the flames burning around me. The fire grew even more intense, and the more it did, the tighter I hugged Gremory.
Now, Gremory had two choices: surrender and live, or die and become ash. My reckless negotiation was based on one thing: Gremory would never choose to die. I might be lacking in other areas, but my eye for people is impeccable. Even without the System’s help, I could read her true feelings in her wavering pupils. She didn't want to die.
“Let’s burn brightly! Hahaha! If I go down, you’re coming with me!”
And as if she had read my will, Gremory’s face was filled with confusion, resignation, and pain.
“…I lost! I lost, okay?! So please!”
Finally.
Gremory could no longer endure the pain of the Orc’s mad, burning hug. She admitted her immediate defeat, but a shred of pride remained—she couldn't stand the thought of entering a master-servant relationship with such a madman. A master-servant relationship, huh? The System seemed to be telling the truth. Gremory was a being who stood above others; she wasn't the type to be pinned under me or anyone else, even in death.
Rustle.
I threw off my robe. The robe, tossed onto the tentacle monster, burned furiously, its flaming surface crisping the monster's skin. Kreeee... And the tentacle protrusions that had been gripping Gremory fell away one by one. As expected, the monster had anchored itself into Gremory’s private parts, but it couldn't withstand the heat of her burning body and pulled away.
I pulled Gremory up and stood on top of the monster. Pshhhhh— My senses, heightened by Berserk, began to return to normal. It had been less than three minutes, but that brief moment felt like an eternity.
I grabbed Gremory and leaped high off the monster.
“AAAAAAAGH!”
I jumped toward my subordinates in a wide arc. I swiped at the flames on my pants and Gremory’s clothes with my hands, and when I realized I couldn't put them out, I just ripped the burning fabric away. Both Gremory and I were left completely naked, our skin flushed red. Gremory’s hair had burned down to a short bob.
THUD!
I landed on my back. Gremory fell on top of me, using my body as a cushion. I was the one who hit the ground, but Gremory had passed out from the agony of her burns.
Kkeureureuk!
The Slime Dragons vomited their fluids all over me. The cold slime sizzled on my skin, and steam erupted from between the layers. I took a bite of the slime covering my face.
“Haa.”
I felt alive. I never could have done this if not for the sensory overload of Berserk. If Gremory had surrendered even ten seconds later, my exposed skin would have been charred crisp, and the inside would have been steamed moist by my own sweat. I wasn't electrocuted, but coating myself in fire to attack was just as reckless.
I stared blankly at the ceiling, drained of all strength.
“Hey, we won.”
“………”
Ryun, Eila, Lime, Andras, and Meari—who had set me on fire—were looking down at me with complicated expressions. They looked relieved, bewildered, and angry all at once.
“Alright, you can scold me later, but let’s finish what we started.”
I pointed to where Gremory and I were lying. The tentacle monster was still ablaze, thrashing about. Rumble. A massive earthquake shook the entire dungeon. The monster swung its tentacles wildly, and sand began to fall from the ceiling.
“We have to catch that thing.”
“…Yes. Master, please rest. We will handle it.”
Eila was the first to show initiative, drawing her sword. But I barely managed to push myself up and stop her. I tossed the unconscious Gremory to Arthur and pointed to the corridor we were standing in.
“Eila. Does it look like that thing can put out its own fire?”
“……It does not look like it at all.”
The tentacle monster had the intelligence to distinguish between men and women, but it lacked the intellect to extinguish the fire on its own body. I pointed to the corridor for my subordinates, and Eila, quick on the uptake, immediately gave the order.
“RETREAT—!!”
My subordinates pulled back into the corridor in their formation. I walked with great difficulty, supported by Ryun and Eila.
SKREEEEE!
The tentacle monster stretched its tentacles out long and thin, swinging them in every direction. But its reach was too short; it couldn't even touch us, let alone the corridor.
“Ryun. You know, I originally planned to just leave it like this?”
I pointed to the ones looking at us with trembling eyes. The others were the same, but the Dark Elf, in particular, was looking at me with eyes full of fear, trying to say something. I wanted to die, but I don't want to burn to death—!!
It was too late to save them. There was no one left to save, and the moment we went to help, we’d be wrapped in the monster's tentacles and dragged to the afterlife. But if we left them like this, they’d all burn to death.
“Ryun.”
“………”
Ryun squeezed her eyes shut and raised her bow.
“Master.”
“Yeah.”
“…Can I tidy this up and return them to nature later?”
“Of course.”
I could grant her at least that much. With my permission, Ryun raised her bow toward the Dark Elf first. They all nodded at Ryun, expressing their gratitude.
“They don't want to live…”
Ryun felt it too. The women who had been violated by the tentacle monster had lost the will to live. Our job was to make their final moments a little more comfortable so they could start a new life as they wished.
“…I’m sorry.”
Ryun drew the string with a hardened face. Aiming at the Dark Elf—who had once been her kin, even if corrupted—meant Ryun had steeled her resolve. She released the string.
My heart grew heavy at her grim determination.
“I’ll send you off peacefully…!”
Thwip—
Ryun’s arrow crossed the air. The Dark Elf closed her eyes with a faint smile.
Thwack.
Ryun’s arrow grazed the Dark Elf’s earlobe.
“………”
“………”
Thwip-thwip-thwip.
In the end, the hunters and Ryun worked together to snipe the women, and they all closed their eyes with peaceful smiles.
Gremory: Unconscious.
Tentacle Monster: Burned to death.
* * *
The four camel monsters did not return through the portal. Even though I had created a passage in the ceiling with the Slime Dragons to keep a close watch, the monsters were nowhere to be seen—perhaps they sensed their master's defeat, or perhaps they had fallen into the crude trap I’d set, thinking I wouldn't dare.
In the end, we spent the remaining time exploring Gremory’s dungeon one by one. The path facing the portal we entered was a mirror image, leading to an exit. Gremory’s dungeon structure was incredibly simple yet efficient.
The entrance passage (▽) led to the human world. I didn't know where it was, but the area outside the entrance was littered with human corpses and skulls. And we had entered Gremory’s dungeon through the portal (△) on the opposite side. The central passage held the troops, while the left and right sides contained the traps with the tentacle monster and the pits leading underground. Gremory’s dungeon was simple in structure, but it was much larger and wider than my own. In reality, it was probably three times the size.
'Anyway, it's my house now.'
I tapped the cheek of Gremory, who was tied to the bed. Even with her hair singed into a bob, she was quite beautiful. It felt as if her body, having been scorched by the fire, had been disinfected of the filth left by the tentacle monster.
“Hey. Wake up.”
“……Ah.”
Gremory opened her eyes immediately. She looked at me hazily for a moment, then stared at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh.
“Life is a bitch, losing to a guy like you in such a way…”
“Heh. Winning by any means necessary is all that matters, right?”
“That’s true.”
Gremory was the type to use any means necessary, even taking on subordinates she couldn't control. She could complain that my fighting style lacked refinement, but she had committed acts just as bad.
“Surprise portal installation, three-choice traps, tentacle fusion. I might have set myself on fire to charge at you, but you’re in no position to talk.”
“True. In the end, your madness was stronger. …I admit it. Kill me. It’s my defeat.”
“…? Why would I kill you?”
I couldn't understand why she was already giving up on life. Gremory tilted her head and looked up at me.
“D-don't tell me! You intend to ravage me and then kill me?!”
“I won't kill you, though I will ravage you.”
I climbed on top of Gremory and grabbed her face.
“From now on, it’s Burning Wrath!”