The World Didn't End
The ceiling looked familiar. Kran Araxis, head of House Araxis, unconsciously thought so the moment he opened his eyes. Under normal circumstances, he would have been sitting in his chair, sipping the coffee his wife had personally prepared, while reviewing the affairs of the territory. But that peaceful daily life had already been shattered.
“...Have you awakened, Your Lordship?”
The question came from the owner of the severed head lying before his eyes—the Witch of Lust. Kran stared for a moment at the cleanly sliced cross-section, then turned his gaze to the man who had cut off the witch’s head.
“You are...”
“I cannot know whether Your Lordship ordered it yourself or if the witch made the purchase on your behalf. I am simply the transport supervisor for the special express delivery you requested.”
“...Yes, it was me. I threatened to kill her entire family if she didn’t buy the Goddess’s Tear.”
Even though his body had fallen into the witch’s hands, the count’s memories still held fragments of what had happened. The elixir on that table was something the witch had purchased as an offering for her demon. Though he hadn’t fully believed it, when the demon promised to leave the family alone if it received the elixir, Kran had placed a special express delivery order with Beatrice’s merchant company so the Goddess’s Tear would arrive within three days of the auction.
“A special express courier. The fact that you cut off the witch’s head means the company president...”
“Yes, it appears things turned out exactly as Your Lordship intended. Though I myself was never informed of the details.”
Damn Beatrice. Watching the man casually speak the name of the client who had hired him, Kran became certain his gamble had succeeded. Special express delivery—unlike ordinary shipping, it entrusted goods to a single mercenary and demanded arrival within a strict deadline. It was practically throwing money away unless the situation was truly urgent. Because of that, arranging a special delivery involved more complicated procedures than a standard one.
Of course, given his status, Kran could have skipped most of the steps, but there was no way the witch—who only knew of the service’s existence—would be aware of such details. He had exploited that blind spot to secretly request help from Beatrice’s company without the witch noticing. To most people, however, it would simply look like another noble wasting gold. Kran himself would never have tried this if he hadn’t personally met Beatrice, the woman known as the Spider that Collects Gold Coins. But after seeing her in person, he had thrown the dice on the slim chance that she might notice his subtle plea for help.
“Judging by your expression, I don’t need to explain the situation. Is there anything you wish to ask?”
“My—my wife and daughter? What happened to them?”
Kran urgently asked about their fates. Thanks to his request for aid, he had survived, but if his wife and only daughter had been sent to the afterlife, what reason would he have to keep living?
“I don’t know. That is also why I woke you, Your Lordship. Do you perhaps know where your daughter and wife are being held?”
At the man’s answer, Kran grabbed his weakening legs. It wasn’t the worst outcome he had imagined, but he still couldn’t relax. Not knowing whether they were alive didn’t mean they were dead.
“I don’t know the exact location. The witch kept my daughter and wife as hostages and never showed them to me even once.”
“I see.”
“However, I have a rough idea of where they might be. It’s a place the witch visited regularly.”
“Where is that?”
“A tavern run by a man named Rick. I believe she used the basement as her hideout.”
“Let’s verify that.”
When Kran looked puzzled at the word “verify,” the man left the room without answering and soon returned dragging the bound head butler. The butler’s entire body was covered in bruises, as if he had already suffered every kind of torture before the count woke up.
“...Alec.”
“Hehe, Your Lordship. So you’ve awakened. After killing my fiancée.”
Kran’s heart grew heavy as he looked at the butler. Unlike the witch, whom he had never met before, Alec had served his family for over twenty years. The man had been a butler since before Kran had even become count; it would have been strange not to feel anything. Yet the fact that he had been bewitched by the witch and nearly destroyed this household remained an unchangeable truth.
Kran steadied his heart and asked the butler a question.
“Alec, where did the witch hide my daughter and wife?”
“Hehe, you want an answer after killing my fiancée? Don’t make me laugh!”
The butler’s resistance was fierce. Even after the man had beaten him into such a wretched state, he refused to speak. It seemed only natural. His mouth looked as solid as an iron wall that would never open.
However—
“Then don’t answer.”
“Wh-what?”
“I said, don’t answer. We’ve already located the wife and daughter.”
At the man’s blatant bluff, the butler’s eyes wavered.
“That’s impossible. How?”
“Among the spells mages learn is one that reads the memories of the living. We used it to read the witch’s memories. She frequented a tavern run by someone named Rick, didn’t she?”
Such a spell didn’t exist, as far as Kran knew. But the butler, ignorant of magic, seemed to swallow the words completely.
“That can’t be... You even found out that the basement of the place where Rick regularly receives alcohol shipments from outside is her hideout?”
That was why he had unwittingly given them the correct answer they hadn’t even considered. After hearing the butler, Kran and the man exchanged nods. Then Kran patted the butler’s shoulder and said,
“We only knew about the tavern.”
“...What?”
“Thank you for telling us.”
After those words, the butler never spoke again. The last expression on his face was one of utter despair.
The place where Rick regularly received alcohol shipments from outside. Beneath the checkpoint installed within the territory governed by House Araxis lay an artificially dug cave. There, the count’s wife and his daughter, Stella Araxis, were imprisoned.
“Just shut up and stay still already, you bitch!”
“Cough!”
Stella spat out saliva after taking a kick from the demon contractor, who stood a full head taller than her. The difference in size was overwhelming, and the contract with the demon had strengthened his muscles. No matter how much she had trained, she couldn’t withstand that kind of power. As she fought back the rising nausea and dry-heaved, the demon contractor clicked his tongue and stepped out of the prison.
“Huff... huff...”
“Stella...”
After the guard watching the cell left, the countess looked at her daughter with worried eyes.
“You know words don’t work on them. No matter how much knight training you’ve had, doing something so pointless...”
“...It wasn’t pointless.”
Panting as she caught her breath, Stella pulled out a small key from inside her clothes. It was the key to this cell—the one the prison guard had been carrying at his waist just moments ago. The countess’s eyes widened at the sight of her daughter secretly stealing the key even while being beaten.
“You...”
“Let’s get out first. No matter what happens, I can’t stay here any longer.”
The bars were enchanted with special dark magic that burned anyone who touched them. Shackles bound both arms so they could barely move. The food was nothing like normal meals—bread as hard as stone and a green soup whose ingredients were impossible to guess. This was no longer a place for people to stay.
She knew demon contractors were standing guard outside, but she had no desire to remain in this place any longer. Stella carefully took the key, stretched her arm so it wouldn’t touch the bars, and inserted it into the keyhole.
Click.
Fortunately, she had grabbed the right key. The door opened without resistance. Once she confirmed the cell was unlocked, Stella immediately gathered the belongings that had been confiscated from her: the sword and scabbard she had never removed from her body since becoming a knight aspirant, shoulder armor that protected her chest and arms, and a small potion capable of healing wounds.
After quickly arming herself, Stella called her mother over.
“Stay behind me.”
“...Alright.”
The countess didn’t suggest waiting for the count. She was a noble as well. Since Stella had come from her womb, it was only natural that mother and daughter shared the same temperament.
The two who had escaped the cell adjusted their eyes to the darkness and slowly advanced. The cave that should have been filled with demon contractors was strangely empty, and the passage leading outside was the same. After exchanging glances, the countess and Stella decided to head straight for the passage. They didn’t know what had happened, but they judged this was their best chance.
Relying on the single sword in her hand, Stella advanced through the passage and spotted someone in the darkness.
“You—both of you!?”
It was the prison guard who had been watching to prevent their escape. He looked utterly shocked to see the two who had broken out of their cell.
He’s injured.
While the guard remained frozen in confusion, Stella quickly assessed the situation. She didn’t know what had happened, but the guard was clearly wounded. His ragged breathing suggested a rather fierce battle had taken place. That was probably why the demon contractors were nowhere to be seen.
After thinking alone and reaching a conclusion, Stella whispered softly to the countess.
“We’re breaking through.”
“What? That’s...”
“We have to break through anyway if we want to get out. We can’t just retreat now.”
At Stella’s logical explanation, the countess nodded.
“Why are you two outside... Heh. Actually, this is perfect. I’ll just take you as hostages.”
The guard’s words also gave Stella the motivation to move. She gripped the sword tightly and stared at the guard before her.
“Kwaaaah—!”
As if he had no time to waste, the guard charged at Stella with his massive body, intending to grab and subdue her with those thick hands. But Stella had not trained so hard just to fall for such an obvious move. Ever since that incident, she had devoted herself to becoming a knight. She easily dodged the guard’s tackle.
At the same time, she thought, I only have one chance. I must drive it straight into the heart.
If she stabbed somewhere else clumsily and got caught by that hulking body, she didn’t have the strength to pull the sword back out. Therefore, she had to aim for the heart—the only place that could kill him instantly.
Whether or not the guard knew her plan, he prepared for another tackle using his enhanced body. If it hit, it would be devastating; if she dodged, that was the end of it. Stella focused entirely on his movements.
Thud!
She kicked off the ground, twisted her body sideways to avoid the tackle, and at the same time—
Stab.
—drove her sword into his heart.
However, there was one thing she didn’t know. Something her training alone had never taught her.
“...Got you.”
Demon contractors did not die even if their hearts were pierced. Only destroying the brain, which remained connected to the demon, could kill them. Because she didn’t know that, Stella’s leg was grabbed by the hand of the guard she thought had fallen.
“What—!”
“You insolent little bitch!”
The guard immediately moved both hands to subdue her, as if he would never let go of prey once caught. After pinning Stella down, he began brutally beating her while panting. The pain was unbearable. Blood burst from her mouth, and the sensation of broken bones dominated her entire body.
Even then, the guard looked down at the subdued Stella as if he still couldn’t contain his rage.
“I was going to use you moderately as a hostage and hand you over, but no more. One hostage is enough!”
“Ugh...”
“If I’m going to face that monstrous bastard anyway, at least as a final act...!”
The guard’s hand moved. Once again, it reached for Stella’s body.
But then—
“Who are you calling a monster?”
At the softly heard voice in the next instant, Stella opened her eyes through the pain. It was a familiar voice. One she could never forget even if she tried. The voice of the hero who had ended that incident.
At the same time, what entered Stella’s vision as she opened her eyes was the guard’s head being kicked away with a single blow and slamming into the wall—
“Are you alright?”
—and the man with an unrecognizable face reaching out his hand toward her.
The way he extended his hand looked so much like the savior she could never forget that Stella unconsciously spoke the name of that savior.
“Kyle... Amyran?”