Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Why Did You Do It?
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*Thud!*
The inside of the behemoth shook violently.
The impact from the outside must have reverberated within.
The Adventurer's Guild and the Imperial Family must have quickly formed an extermination squad, dealt with the monsters that had poured out, and started focusing their fire on the behemoth.
*Slice!*
A monster was cut down by a faded sword.
Even so, many monsters still remained.
"My babies~ Quickly offer their heads to me~"
Behind them, mounds of flesh were piled up like mountains. Atop them, a woman holding a whip cracked it against the ground.
The woman’s purple skin and the dark red glow in her eyes where the whites should have been proved she was not human.
"Just die already...!"
There were so many monsters to begin with that even with Arthur and the heroines fighting together, the battle seemed endless.
Still, it didn't feel as difficult as they had expected.
The monsters were numerous, but none of them were particularly strong.
And as it was a large-scale event, Arthur could feel himself growing rapidly.
It was an opportunity not just for Arthur, but for everyone inside to grow quickly.
The best way to clear the event was to seize the opportunity and target the demon, but he hadn't done so because this way, the heroines could also grow.
Just as Arthur slaughtered the monster before him and was about to move on to the next one...
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
"What?!"
Projectiles came flying from somewhere in all directions.
They were so fast it was hard to follow them with the naked eye. To make matters worse, the projectiles exploded upon hitting the walls.
"Arthur?! What's happening?!"
"I-I don't know either!"
He really had no idea what was going on.
He had never seen anything like this happen during the Behemoth event.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
"Aah!?"
"Everyone! Come to me!"
Stella shouted.
She was better at defense than offense, so she gathered everyone even in a situation like this.
Stella quickly erected a rock wall, and thankfully, Arthur and the heroines were able to hide behind it.
The other monsters were caught in the indiscriminate bombing.
Even the demon was flustered. So flustered, in fact, that when seen through a small peephole in the wall, the demon was standing there with its mouth agape.
The bombardment wasn't very accurate, but its sheer volume ensured that all the monsters Arthur's party had been fighting were caught in the explosions.
And the explosions brought one person to Arthur's mind.
'That madman...?!"
He was the one who had tried to bury everyone in the dungeon alive before.
Furthermore, since he was inside the behemoth, it was highly likely that this was his doing as well.
No, it was definitely him.
When the continuous sound of explosions finally ceased and the thick dust began to settle, they were able to emerge from behind the rock wall.
Afterward, an awkward lull ensued. Taking advantage of the gap, a chilling voice echoed from the passage leading to the entrance.
"Why did you do it?"
Where were the women he always seemed to be with? He had come alone.
Now dressed not in a student uniform but in a black one, he walked out of the darkness, his eyes flashing with a ghastly red light.
'...A bowl?'
In one hand, he held an empty wooden bowl.
"You...! How dare you! How dare you do something so cruel?!"
The demon was enraged.
Most of the monsters she controlled had been blown to smithereens.
Many monsters were still alive, but they were nothing compared to their initial impressive numbers.
When the demon cracked her whip once more, the monsters charged at Luke.
Although they were being controlled, they seemed to possess a will of their own.
As if they were seeking revenge for the bombardment.
"What you did was the cruel thing."
The monster leading the charge was split in half.
In the hand that hadn't been holding the bowl, there was now a greatsword, so large one couldn't imagine it being wielded by a human.
Arthur himself had enjoyed games in his past life, so he knew what kind of weapon it was, but after being reincarnated, he had never even dared to try using one.
Yet he swung that heavy greatsword around as if it were a mere stick.
With a few swings, as if a child were playing with a toy sword, the monsters were mercilessly torn apart.
After staring blankly at the wondrous sight, he finally came to his senses, only to find that there were no monsters left to be seen.
Only one thing was visible.
The whip-wielding demon and the black-haired man standing before her.
"Hic!"
***
I am sad right now.
Because I killed all these monsters and didn't level up once?
No.
Because I regret wasting the shells I threw indiscriminately in a fit of anger?
No.
The feeling of my sky-high expectations crashing to the ground in an instant...
I never knew it would feel this empty.
I had hoped such a tragedy would never happen again.
But as they say, humans repeat the same mistakes, and it ended up happening again.
Though I'm not human, it's a fact that I repeated the same mistake.
"Hic!"
The demon before me hiccuped.
It's strange that even demons get scared.
I have no intention of forgiving her, even if she begs for it now.
I have no intention of letting her go, even if she's scared and has lost her will to fight.
I have no intention of letting her go just because she's a woman.
No, if she's a woman, I have even less intention of letting her go.
Some women are cunning creatures who know how to use their assets, and the moment you hesitate, you fall into their trap.
That's why I'll kill her first, before I fall into any trap.
My creed is that if you've done wrong, you deserve to die.
"Gender Equality Punch."
*Thwack!*
"Aack!"
The demon's face crumpled as her body flew through the air and slammed into the wall.
I held nothing back, so a few of her teeth went flying.
Even if I'm going to kill her, I have to soothe my sorrow, don't I?
The sorrow over my stew, which had just gone cold.
"Ah... watch over me. I will avenge you."
Before coming here, I had set up a stake in front of the pot to make a simple grave.
I swore before that grave. I would send this damn demon bitch to hell.
I walked toward the demon embedded in the wall.
"Wh-what are you! You-you monster!"
Look who's calling who a monster.
I wish she'd take a look in a mirror.
She shakily stood up, whip in hand, but a demon without her innate abilities is no different from a corpse. Her resistance was meaningless.
A whip swung with some force might injure and inflict pain on an ordinary person, but to a superhuman, it's just child's play.
I approached the demon and grabbed her by the hair.
"Hey, you. Do you have any idea how many people starve to death because they have nothing to eat?"
It was something adults often said to picky children.
*Do you know how many kids in Africa die because they can't even eat this?*
In this world, unlike on Earth, people starving to death was a daily occurrence.
Just beneath the dazzling lights of the Empire, the back alleys were teeming with kids who did nothing but steal.
"I don't know! How would I know something like that!?"
Well, well... look how brazen this one is.
Is this what they call turning the tables?
As expected of a demon, her way of thinking is different from a human's.
The concept of empathy doesn't exist for her.
"If you had just driven properly, none of this would have happened!"
*Crack!*
My fist dug into the demon's face.
"Kuaargh!"
If you're going to trespass onto someone's property with your vehicle, you should at least drive properly!
In reality, the impact of the behemoth came from outside, but does the homeowner get blamed when they have the trespassing car towed?
Of course, the driver is to blame.
"Huh? You bastard!"
*Crack!*
"You son of a bitch!"
*Crack!*
"Did you do wrong, or not!"
*Crack!*
"Just because you don't have a mouth, does that mean other people don't either?!"
Just because she can live without eating, she must think other people don't need to eat.
Is there no technique to rehabilitate someone with such a selfish disposition?
As I pondered deeply, a lightbulb appeared above my head.
"Rehabilitation Punch! Altruism Punch! Respect Punch! Empathy Punch! ISFJ Punch!"
"St... *Gack!* op...! Aack!"
Stop this bullshit.
"In a world with no food, do you know what people eat to survive?!"
I took a flask filled with mosquitoes and cockroaches from my inventory, shoved it into the demon's mouth, and slammed her head down.
With a crash, the flask shattered inside her mouth, and the insects within were chewed to a pulp.
"They eat bugs, and they eat mud cookies, you brat!"
If you're born with a blessed body that doesn't feel hunger, you should know how to be charitable to others.
Instead of helping the starving poor! Huh?!
All you know how to do is mock and deceive them, saying it's not your problem since you're not hungry!
"Therefore, I will teach you the pain of hunger."
"Wh-what are you going to do!?"
"Nothing much. I'm just going to teach you the value of food. So."
Get down.
***
"On one, we cherish food. On two, we hold it precious."
One.
"Food...!"
Two.
"We cherish...!"
"Ahem, you bastard, your arms are dropping. Won't you straighten them?"
I was currently sitting cross-legged on the back of the prostrate demon.
The demon beneath me was doing push-ups with me on her back.
All while shouting out the cadence call on one and two.
"St-stop..."
"A creature that doesn't even feel hunger is going to whine after just this much?"
I called out "one" again.
But this time, the demon's arms trembled, and she collapsed flat on her face.
At that insolent display, I stabbed the back of her hand with my knife.
"Not getting up?"
"Kyaaaaah!?"
She shot back up immediately.
Why am I doing this? Because she's never felt hunger, of course.
What's a quick and easy way to make someone feel hungry?
Exercise.
The food we eat is stored in the body as energy and is consumed in certain amounts according to physical activity.
And when all that energy is used up, the body demands that we eat.
In that sense, exercise is the best way to rapidly consume energy.
Can't feel hunger? Then I just have to teach her how.
Besides, anyone watching would think I'd made her do thousands of reps, but it has only been about ten.
She was as slender as she looked, with no physical strength to speak of.
I'll take this opportunity to train her as well.
"One."
"Food...!!"
"Two."
"We cherish...!!"
Afterward, whenever she was about to collapse, I'd pour acidic liquid on her back or stab her legs and back with my knife multiple times.
And then.
[You have defeated the demon Dorothy! You have acquired the skill Iron Body!]
[Level Up! Check your status!]
[Level Up! Check your status!]
[Level Up! Check your status!]
[Level Up! Check your sta...]
She died.
"Sir Luke? Are you finished?"
As if on cue, Luna, who had been nowhere in sight, casually strolled over with Yui just as it ended.
"Tsk. For now."
As Luna said, it was over.
And that pissed me off even more.
I don't know why she died when I barely did anything.
I had hoped it would never end.
Why did she have to go and die on her own?
I just wanted to give her a pain that would never end.
Yes. I wanted to create an endless hell for her.
But my opponent's body was too frail for that.
Her mental fortitude was weak, too.
In the end, I never got to hear that damn bitch say she was hungry.
I'll have to remember her, so if I die later, I can follow her to hell and torment her.
As I turned with a deep scowl to go clean up the pot...
"And what the hell are you?"
Arthur blocked our path.
"I almost died because of you again! I'm not letting it slide this time! I demand an apology!"
He was spouting nonsense.
An apology?
The only 'apology' I know is the kind you eat.
'Come to think of it, isn't this all because this bastard failed to clear the event quickly?'
Shouldn't I be the one getting an apology?
My eyes narrowed.
"Wh-what's with that look?!"
Arthur's shoulders flinched.
"Ah... right. You asked me to save you a bite earlier, didn't you?"
I took a chunk of meat from my inventory and handed it to Arthur.
"A token of my apology. Enjoy it with your heroines."
"Uh, uh...? Right! Since you've apologized, I'll graciously forgive you!"
What a pushover. Look at him, happy over a single piece of meat.
We passed Arthur and headed for the entrance we came through.
Now that the demon was dead, the behemoth, freed from her control, would soon leave the Empire.
"By the way, Sir Luke. What kind of monster meat was that?"
Ah. It's nothing special.
"Sea Serpent."