Bad End: The Mage (4)

There are people who go through most of their lives hearing nothing but praise. People born with heavenly talent, surrounded by mentors from the moment they could walk, constantly affirmed and celebrated. That person’s name was Lily.

Born into a noble house, a child prodigy whose talent bloomed early. Sharpening that talent had been grueling, but rewarding. She hadn’t had much free time, yet the environment itself was luxurious. If someone had asked her what her childhood looked like, she would have answered with kind teachers, extravagant feasts, sincere compliments, and flowers blooming in the garden.

It had been a beautiful, sheltered life. Unfortunately, none of it prepared her for a blood-soaked battlefield.

That was probably why her body froze the instant her comrade met death.

Slice!

With a single sword strike, the hero’s head flew from his shoulders. Even though he had been regenerating frantically throughout the battle, a severed neck was something even he could not recover from. Blood sprayed like an erupting volcano, and at the same moment, the hero’s life was extinguished.

Thud.

The body that had already been reduced to rags collapsed to the ground in an instant. Even though he had been a deeply suspicious comrade, it was the first time she had ever witnessed a party member’s death. While she was momentarily stunned by the shock, the heads of the other comrades had already rolled away as well.

“What a difficult fight! But now only the two of us remain!”

Heads rolled everywhere across the ground. The only survivor was Lily. Just her.

She desperately tried to raise her mana, but her body refused to move. The enemy’s ability had already reached her.

Her own arm moved as if it no longer belonged to her, twisting in unnatural directions. Lily found it terrifying. Just what kind of ability was this? How could it be so overwhelmingly powerful?

She hadn’t even seen the flow of his mana, nor had there been any particular warning signs. While the main body’s strength was certainly formidable, this ability was on a completely absurd level. It was too alien, too bizarre. It truly deserved to be called —an otherworldly power.

Before long, her entire body had been completely overtaken.

“Do you know why I spared you?”

Net approached her. A faint, elegant smile carried a hint of madness.

“Lately I’ve run out of ‘toys,’ so life has become rather dull.”

Lily felt a jolt of pure terror.

“So I decided to make a new one while I had the chance.”

His face was strikingly handsome, yet Lily felt nothing but goosebumps. It was an unnatural smile, as if something inhuman was merely pretending to be human. In that moment, Lily instinctively understood her fate.

“I hope you’ll entertain me well.”

Ah, my life is fucking over.

Luke hated the Puppeteer more than any of the Four Heavenly Kings. It wasn’t just the annoyance of his ability—there was also a deeply personal revulsion.

The other Heavenly Kings all had at least some minimal reason for tormenting the heroines. The Insect King had been obsessed with creating his inventions. Some acted out of necessity, others out of revenge. Twisted as they were, each had their own circumstances and goals.

“My ability can be broadly divided into two types. One is brainwashing the mind, and the other is controlling the body.”

But the Puppeteer was different.

“Normally I mix the two when using my power. Even applying a simple status effect like Stun leaves the opponent completely defenseless. However, with you, I intend to use only body control as much as possible. Why?”

Pure enjoyment.

“Because it’s fun.”

A being born sadistic and cruel. Someone who treated people like puppets and took pleasure in it—an existence close to absolute evil. That was why people feared him most.

After saying this, Net slowly raised his power. Lily’s own hand began to bend her middle finger back.

Her slender, elegant middle finger slowly curved backward. Lily desperately tried to stop it, but her body no longer obeyed her. The finger continued bending further and further until—

Crack!

“Ugh…!”

A pained groan escaped Lily’s throat. Her middle finger had bent past the limits of human anatomy into a grotesque angle. Seeing this, the Puppeteer smiled brightly and continued.

“You see, I believe humans are musical instruments. Heavenly instruments capable of producing a vast array of sounds.”

Crunch!

“Depending on how you play them, the sounds change dramatically. Sometimes they scream as if they can’t bear it, other times they pant madly in pleasure. Each and every one of those sounds—”

Snap!

“Kgh…!”

“—I find absolutely delightful.”

He smiled in ecstasy. Lily tried her best to remain silent, refusing to give him any reaction, but she couldn’t stop the pain from leaking through.

“Ah, and don’t worry about running out of fingers. While I can’t use them myself, there are plenty of high-grade potions that work wonderfully on humans.”

Net opened his subspace. Countless sacred-looking potions poured out. Each one was a high-grade or top-grade potion painstakingly crafted by priests. They were useless to the Demon King’s army, but for humans they were priceless recovery medicines capable of regenerating even severed limbs.

Under normal circumstances, seeing such a quantity would have brought comfort. Now, they only filled her with horror. Each bottle was a torture device that would prolong her suffering dozens of times over. Her body trembled violently.

“You look so frightened. Then I’ll give you one chance.”

At that moment, Net snapped his fingers.

Snap.

Freedom returned to her body. Her frozen arms could move again, and the crushing pressure that had felt like being pressed under a boulder vanished. Caught off guard by the sudden liberty, she tilted her head in confusion.

Net spoke again.

“Take off your clothes. All of them.”

It was an utterly repulsive command.

“I’ll decide how to treat you based on how you behave. Whether you scream in agony or gasp in pleasure—it’s your choice.”

In other words, he intended to train her. Not through brainwashing or body control, but through genuine rewards and punishments, like a slave.

Of course, Lily had no intention of obeying. Her response was already decided.

“…Fuck you.”

She spat at him. Since she wasn’t a warrior, the spit didn’t travel far before hitting the floor, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the intent was conveyed clearly enough.

The Puppeteer shrugged.

“…Well, I suppose there’s no helping it.”

Crack! Crack! Snap!

For a long while afterward, the only sounds echoing through his lair were the noises of breaking bones and fragile groans.

How many days had passed? By the time the number of fingers Lily had broken with her own hands exceeded three digits, his torture finally stopped. It wasn’t because he had run out of mana or mental strength. He had simply ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grown bored.

“Hm, let’s stop here.”

Snap!

When Net flicked his finger, freedom returned to her body once more. Even so, Lily couldn’t move a single finger. Both her body and mind were utterly exhausted.

The sensation of breaking her own fingers with her own hands still remained vividly clear, sending shivers down her spine. Her right hand moving on its own despite knowing it shouldn’t. Her left fingers bursting past their physical limits. The helplessness of being forced to watch the horrific results… They were all things far too cruel for a mage who had been raised in luxury.

As Lily lay sprawled on the floor, panting, he spoke.

“Haa… haa…”

“I’ll admit it. You’re tougher than I expected. No wonder you were qualified to be part of the hero’s party. Continuing would just be a waste of potions.”

“……”

“Can’t be helped. I’ll have to try a different method.”

Lily looked up with a face full of dread. He was going to use something even worse? She was already on the verge of breaking—how could it possibly get worse? She couldn’t even imagine.

“Ah, that’s right. This should work nicely.”

After pondering for a long time, he clapped his hands together. The smile on that handsome face looked nothing but sinister.

Then he said,

“There must be a memory that remains as the absolute worst in your life, yes?”

“……?”

“It doesn’t matter what it is. Being severely scolded by someone. Losing a precious person. Or perhaps feeling that everything around you is suddenly unfamiliar, like right now… I’ll make you relive those emotions. After all, emotions are just one type of brain stimulus, so I can manipulate them too!”

“…Huh?”

Up until that point, Lily hadn’t understood. Or perhaps she simply hadn’t wanted to understand.

But whether she wished for it or not, the situation unfolded regardless.

Snap!

When he flicked his finger, countless emotions flooded into Lily’s mind. Along with the emotions came horrific memories that replayed in her head.

The time she had been severely scolded by her mentor for becoming too obsessed with her talent. The time her beloved family had passed away. The moment her comrades had been killed by the Puppeteer. And even the hero’s empty eye sockets after he had rescued her from the underground prison…

“Kyaaaaaah—!”

Fear, self-loathing, grief—they all crashed over her at once, and she screamed. It was a kind of panic attack. Seeing this, he smiled with satisfaction.

“As expected, it works well.”

It seemed her torment for the foreseeable future had been decided.

…To be honest, purely mental attacks were less painful than having her fingers broken. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠At most, it just made her head a little noisy. They were all illusions. Things that had already passed. She had overcome all of them, and she no longer wavered at such negative words.

When she thought about it that way, she could at least claim a small mental victory for a while.

But as one day passed, then two, then several more, her thoughts began to change.

Whenever she closed her eyes, the emotions and memories from that day returned with vivid clarity. The auditory hallucinations that continued day and night made her wish he would just break her fingers instead.

“Please… please stop…”

When she stayed still, various memories would surface. The first time she had been scolded by her mentor. The death of her precious parents. The time she had acted selfishly and received harsh criticism from those around her. However, because she had been raised rather sheltered, there weren’t actually that many bad memories.

Therefore, if there was one person who made her feel the most negative emotions, it could only be that man.

The hero. The person she had fought with the most, suspected the most, and hated the most—yet the one who had still saved her in the end. Because they had fought so often, he appeared frequently in her memories.

But ironically, she no longer felt the same hatred as before. The emotion that remained in the corner of her memory was guilt.

Looking back now, she couldn’t understand why she had been so angry. He had been suspicious and had learned black magic, but in the end, he had never once harmed his comrades. He had died protecting the party members until the very last moment.

She should have trusted him at least once… The fact that she couldn’t was something Lily deeply regretted.

“I’m sorry…”

For a long time, Lily repeated her apologies.

Snap!

…At some point, it began. The voices ringing inside her head suddenly stopped. The act of breaking her own fingers, along with all the other torments, ceased completely. The Puppeteer had stopped.

When the pain that had seemed like it would never end finally did, Lily looked up with puzzled eyes. She was glad to have a moment to breathe, but she couldn’t understand his intentions.

His bizarre behavior didn’t end there. He ordered servants to wash her filthy body and called in maids to dress her beautifully. It didn’t take long for the beggar-like girl to transform into someone who looked like a noble lady. On the surface, it seemed less like torment and more like she was being cherished.

As Lily continued to tilt her head in confusion, he finally gave her an answer.

“Soon, I’ll be holding an important event.”

His words carried an ominous feeling. Until then, Lily hadn’t understood what he was planning. But that question was naturally resolved the next day—in a rather unpleasant way.

The next day, Lily and the Puppeteer headed to a city where humans lived. Perhaps because news of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hero party’s defeat had already spread, the city was in complete chaos. Despair, sadness, fear, and rage overflowed everywhere. As a member of the party, Lily felt as if it was all her fault and couldn’t raise her head.

Although one of the Four Heavenly Kings had entered the city, the polymorph magic prevented anyone from noticing. Thanks to that, they easily reached the center of the city.

In the city center stood a platform. It was used when nobles made announcements, when criminals’ charges were read, or when important official documents were delivered. As such, it was always crowded with people.

Lily and the Puppeteer climbed onto the platform. Even then, Lily still didn’t fully understand what he was about to do.

Soon, the Puppeteer took several items out of his subspace. Four large wooden skewers, each as tall as Lily. And then—the hero’s head. Adel’s head. Camilla’s head. Yulise’s head.

The heads of her dead party members, eyes still open, were impaled one by one onto the skewers. The grotesque heads were displayed in a row on the platform. Each time a skewer was planted, the eyes of the surrounding citizens gathered. The gazes that had first been filled with confusion gradually turned to shock.

“What is that?”

“Heads…?”

“Who would display something so hideous these days…!”

“Wait, look! Isn’t that the hero’s head?!”

“What?!”

Lily wanted to run away immediately. But by then, the Puppeteer’s ability had already bound her body, making it impossible.

Her heart pounded wildly. Her mind spun so violently she felt like vomiting. In that state, the Puppeteer spoke.

“Everyone, look! Your hope, your final lifeline—the hero has finally died!! Your lives will now fall into the abyss!”

“What?”

“What the hell is that bastard saying?!”

“Get down here, you son of a bitch!!”

Angry voices erupted from various places. However, the Puppeteer continued without concern.

“Of course, the hero was strong! We might have been defeated. If not for the help of the woman standing here, we might have lost!”

“What?”

She asked reflexively. The Puppeteer looked at Lily with an affectionate voice.

“Thank you, Lily. The Demon King’s army was only able to win thanks to you.”

Lily wanted to immediately deny it. She wanted to scream that it was nonsense. But her mouth wouldn’t move, as if it had been sewn shut. It was because of the Puppeteer’s ability.

Perhaps because he had shifted his attention, the hatred and rage that had been swirling among the crowd began to turn toward her.

“You traitor bitch!”

Lily denied it inwardly.

“You devil woman!”

She denied that she had done any such thing.

“You’re the one who killed the hero!”

She made excuses that she had never intended any of it. Like a falsely accused criminal, she screamed and begged inside her mind dozens of times. She desperately wished for her true feelings to escape her lips even once.

But what came out of her mouth was…

“Why? Why is that my fault?”

Words completely unrelated to her will—controlled speech.

“Either way, the hero was simply too weak to win, right? Rather than suffering through vague false hope, it’s better to surrender quickly. So in a way, I helped all of you.”

With utmost arrogance. With utmost shamelessness.

“So you should be thanking me, you trash.”

She spat out absurd nonsense. While Lily was crying tears of blood inside, on the surface she only fueled the crowd’s fury. Raw hatred and rage flew toward her. The fact that everyone hated her felt painfully real.

Having been raised in luxury, she had no immunity to such direct condemnation. Then, at some point, she realized.

Ah.

Although she hadn’t experienced it herself, the scene felt somehow familiar. Yes, this was—

This is the sight the hero had been looking at.

This was the landscape he had faced, with no one to rely on.

After a long time had passed, the Puppeteer, who had simply been watching, opened his mouth with a playful expression.

“I can’t listen to this any longer. Don’t you agree, Lily?”

“That’s right, that’s right. They all need to be punished.”

Continuing to speak words she didn’t want to say made her feel like a ventriloquist’s doll. At her words, he gave a light bow.

“If that is what you wish, then by all means.”

Then his ability activated. The bodies of the crowd that had been cursing them from the platform began moving on their own.

“Huh? Wait, why is my body—?”

“My body is moving by itself…!”

They found bladed weapons somewhere and began stabbing each other.

“Kyaaaah!”

“W-wait! I didn’t mean to—!”

“No, stop! Stop!!”

Blood and screams erupted everywhere. On the platform, the Puppeteer and Lily laughed madly. In that bizarre scene where countless people fought, where Lily cried inside while laughing on the outside…

Suddenly, time stopped.