The Devil's 15,924 Executions
The final entry in Anne's diary read like this.
Yosef Kramer. An overwhelmingly powerful dark mage and the director of the research facility that ran Bergen-Belsen. Based on the results of his chimera experiments, he achieved broad advancements in dark magic and was a heavyweight who earned significant recognition even within Baob. At the same time, he was a renowned master of slaughter.
"The trial will now begin."
Who could have guessed? That the end of the man called the Devil would be this pathetic.
"Defendant."
"······."
Following the call that rang in his ears, Yosef lifted his head. What appeared in his blurry vision was an alien landscape. It was a space that strangely resembled a courtroom.
What on earth was happening? The Devil looked around in a daze. Just moments ago he had been walking between iron bars, yet the moment he opened his eyes, an entirely different background filled his sight. He couldn't help but feel confused.
"What is this···?"
A short question slipped out. He tried to move his body, but it wouldn't budge. The Devil was tightly bound with ropes and fixed to a chair.
Then a voice continued.
"The defendant has no right to refuse to testify during the upcoming trial proceedings or to refuse to answer questions related to the individual, and on the other hand, cannot state facts that would benefit himself."
"······?"
The one sitting at the judge's bench was none other than a snake. The boy, dressed in judicial robes, looked down at the Devil from the highest seat. He recited the sentence clearly.
"The defendant cannot defend himself and can only submit to the unreasonable verdict of the court. Do you understand?"
A chilling atmosphere lingered. The playful demeanor from before was nowhere to be found; only cold winter remained on the boy's face. Eyes that seemed to view the subject not as a human. Yosef felt an inexplicable shiver run down his spine.
"What kind of trick is this···?"
The muttering Devil. He squirmed to break free of his restraints, but the more he struggled, the tighter the ropes constricted him. Even the dark magic he trusted wouldn't activate. Perhaps it was only natural. This was an illusory world built upon the snake's Lie.
There was no way the laws set by another could apply here.
"I can't hear His whispers... What the hell kind of dogshit is this······."
"Silence."
Snap-!
When the boy flicked his finger, the man's mouth snapped shut. While he was flustered by his jaw muscles that refused to obey his will—
"Mmph, mmphh···?!"
"The defendant is not permitted to speak. The only things that may come from the defendant's mouth are screams, pleas, and wails."
The Devil froze like ice. Only then did the previously arrogant Yosef slowly realize that the flow was strange. Something was wrong. A horrifying tension pierced his lungs. His shoulders were already trembling. The man quietly swallowed dryly.
If he let his guard down even for a moment, it felt like his neck would be severed on the spot.
"······."
"The trial will proceed."
Regardless, the boy acting as the presiding judge continued his lines calmly.
"Defendant, Yosef Kramer."
"······."
"The defendant, as a high-ranking executive of the dark magic organization 'Baob' and as the director of the research facility 'Bergen-Belsen,' has threatened the peace of the continent. Do you admit to this?"
"······."
"Silence will be interpreted as affirmation."
The trial was one-sided. The judge asked about the crimes, and the defendant could not offer any defense.
"Furthermore, you committed all sorts of unethical acts based on forbidden magic, and in particular showed obsession with chimera research using humans as subjects. In the process, you drove tens of thousands of innocent people to their deaths. Do you admit to this?"
"······."
"A few days ago, you ordered an attack on Galimard Academy and even attempted to kidnap students. Do you admit to this?"
It was a dry, emotionless voice. A chilling terror came rushing in. Cold sweat dripped from the man's forehead. It was a despicable fear. The judge looked upon it with contempt.
"I will now pronounce the verdict."
A single solemn sentence rang out over the courtroom.
"The evil deeds committed by the defendant as a member of the cult are crimes that can never be forgiven. In particular, the fact that he oversaw the experiments and massacres at Belsen leads me to judge the severity of his crimes as extremely grave."
The exact number of victims who perished in Bergen-Belsen was 15,924. Among them, the number of children who had not yet reached adulthood was 3,642.
Was it to comfort their grudges? He wanted the Devil to experience the despair of the victims as well.
"Therefore, this judge hereby sentences the defendant to a total of 15,924 executions—the number of victims who were unjustly sacrificed."
Bang, bang, bang-!
Leaving behind the clear sound of the gavel, Yosef wore a puzzled expression. Not just a single execution... but fifteen thousand executions? He was bewildered by the bizarre verdict.
Of course, it didn't take him very long to fully comprehend the meaning of that sentence.
The judge snapped his fingers.
Snap-!
The next instant, the Devil was standing on an execution ground. What he saw before his eyes was a single gallows. While Yosef stared at it blankly, a thick rope flew in from somewhere and wrapped around his neck. Immediately after, his body was lifted into the air.
"······Kuhk?!"
The Devil let out a short groan. He thrashed while hanging in the air. His windpipe was painfully constricted. Just as his breathing was gradually being crushed, the platform he had barely been standing on gave way. The rope began to fall right after.
Crack-!
The man's neck, suspended in the air, snapped. It was instant death. The Devil hung there with his eyes rolled back.
The snake, who had been watching the scene, muttered to himself and snapped his fingers once more.
"That's one."
Snap-!
A clear snapping sound rang out. The world was reconstructed. Yosef, now completely unharmed, opened his eyes once again in front of the gallows. His gaze was filled with shock.
"Haa, haa···!"
The death he had just experienced. The sensation of his neck bone breaking was still vivid. As the Devil gasped violently for breath, an eerie voice brushed past his ear. It was the golden snake.
"15,923 executions remain."
A meaningful remark. Before he could even grasp its meaning, the boy snapped his fingers again.
Snap-!
"Shall we do this step by step?"
Crack-!
The Devil's neck broke limply.
"That's two."
Snap-!
He was revived. The gallows did not miss the moment Yosef faltered. His neck broke once more.
"That's three."
Snap-!
Only then did the Devil realize the snake's intention. This was an infinite prison. Until the exact number the boy had mentioned was fulfilled, the man would endlessly have his neck hung on the gallows.
His mind went completely white, and an abyssal terror came over him. However—
"15,921 executions remain."
There was no mercy.
Snap-!
It was time for punishment.
The Devil's deaths were varied. Since there were a full 15,924 executions, the methods were constantly changed so that he wouldn't grow tired of them. Hanging, beheading, burning at the stake, drawing and quartering... It seemed every possible kind had been used.
The Devil screamed as he was torn apart.
"Kuhk, kuhuuuuhk···!"
"12,084 executions remain."
Snap-!
"N-no···! No!! D-don't do it!!!"
"10,834 executions remain."
Snap-!
"S-spare me, spare me···! P-please, please···!!"
"9,999 executions remain."
Snap-!
The endlessly repeating deaths. By the time the remaining count entered the five-thousands, Yosef had already lost his mind. He could only scream, having lost the ability to form words.
"Kwaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Of course, this side wasn't completely fine either. Even though it was an illusion, unbearably cruel scenes were playing out before his eyes. It felt like a heavy burden on his mind.
"4,273 executions remain."
Even so, he did not stop. Because it was something that had to be done. He wanted to comfort the tens of thousands of grudges who had died unjustly, even if only in this way.
He snapped his fingers.
Why.
Too many people had died. Although they hadn't appeared on the screen, their stories were no different from Anne's. How much sorrow must there have been? The victims who were torn apart by experiments. People who had surely lived with their own dreams had died in a place where not even a single flower could bloom. Stars that should have shone brightly had set far too early.
I stand here as the agent of countless tragedies.
"N-no, no, no, don't tear it off!!"
The final 1,000 executions were chimera experiments. He returned them exactly as Yosef had done to his test subjects, without missing a single detail. The Devil begged on the operating table.
"Something's growing in my stomach!! Something is eating through my stomach!!"
I watched silently. The indifferent eyes reflected in the mirror were truly those of a trash villain.
How predictable.
I had never once thought of myself as noble. If asked whether I was a good person or a bad person, I would always answer that I was closer to the latter. The only difference was who I was bad to. I wanted to be a bad person to bad people.
I wanted to protect them.
There were already so many good people in the world who helped bad people. Sometimes, it was okay to have a bad person who stood up for the good ones. That was the thought I held.
I slowly raised my head.
"······."
Before I knew it, the punishment was nearing its end. It was time to wake from the nightmare. Yosef stood there in a daze. The Devil seemed to have finally suffered a complete mental breakdown; he was drooling heavily.
I quietly approached him.
"This is the last one."
Thud.
I grabbed the Devil by the throat. His body came along without resistance. I gathered the last remaining Lie at my fingertips. Shadows flickered.
Please... I hope I have been a sufficient punishment for this man.
A brief, wayward prayer. Then I chanted the spell.
"Myeongjeon."
Crash-!
At the same time, a huge crack formed in the air. The world made of lies shook unsteadily, then shattered into pieces like glass fragments.
Amid the collapsing scenery, I put strength into my hand one last time.
Crack-!
The Devil's neck broke. Following the scattering remnants of the Lie, his body collapsed powerlessly to the floor. This time, he did not come back to life. He had finally reached the death he thought he would never obtain.
"Haa···."
I let out a short breath. The surrounding scenery had returned to normal. I was at the lowest floor of Belsen. As I massaged my slightly stiff wrist, a dumbfounded voice came from behind. It was none other than Irene.
"W-what···? Is it really over just like that···?"
It was a bewildered reaction. Since not even a moment had passed in reality, it was only natural for the fox to be surprised. From her perspective, it must have looked like I simply walked over and snapped the neck of the blankly standing Yosef.
I asked softly.
"Did you perhaps wish for something more to remain?"
"Of course not, but it was so sudden······."
"Hehe."
Irene answered hesitantly. I gently reached out and lightly stroked the girl's head.
"It's fine."
The warmth was especially tender.
"It's truly over now."
"If you say so... then it must be."
The fox muttered and nodded. As if the tension had finally released, her crimson tail drooped. She must have been exhausted for a while now. I let out a small chuckle.
"You've done well."
A simple, sincere remark. I lightly embraced the girl. A soft warmth filled my arms. I left a quiet whisper in her ear.
"Miss Irene."
"······."
"You really worked hard."
"······."
The fox remained silent for a moment.
"Let's go back now. A warm dormitory is waiting for us."
"······Yeah."
The answer that finally came. As if the emotions she had barely suppressed were rising again, the girl's voice was wet with moisture. Irene buried her face in my chest. As if she didn't want me to see the tears flowing down.
"It's all over now."
I patted her slender back. For a long time, we stood there in place, savoring the fact that everything had truly ended.
The fierce operation to recapture the fox.
[EP6. Bergen-Belsen]
— The Lost Girl, The Monsters Who Could Not Cry —
It was the moment the episode came to a close.