Is This a Hero Party or a Rape Party?
Bugs love dark places. Maybe because they're damp, and easy to hide in?
Just look at the inn our party is currently staying in—the tendency is unmistakable. Lift a mattress and the things come pouring out in a writhing mass.
"What the hell are those bastards?"
So of course bug-like creatures would gather in the back alleys. That much was only natural.
"Looks like you've got the wrong district, boys. This one's already ours. Clear out, or I'll carve your bodies into little cubes of cheese."
"Nah… since you already wandered in, we might as well lighten those pockets for you. Empty everything you've got."
Women like this exist no matter where you go. I drew my dagger. Even if Elisa had me by the ass these days, I could still kill trash like them in five seconds flat.
I quietly closed my fingers around the blade even as Elisa's hand kneaded and pinched my backside. The second any of them so much as twitched, I was going to put it through a forehead.
"Hah. Unbelievable… what kind of bitches are these?"
"Oh, the one in the back—is that a guy? Leave him too."
"Kihihihi… look at that. He's holding a little toy."
I hadn't drawn it to swing. It was for throwing. The moment I shifted into a throwing stance, confusion flickered across their eyes.
But I never got the chance to act. Elisa rolled up her sleeves. The lean muscle etched into those slender arms looked carved from marble.
"Four of you, huh…? Kill two and the cleanup stays manageable."
"What?"
"Actually, I could probably handle it alone."
Elisa shot one long, devastating kick straight forward. Thud! It buried itself in the lead thug's face.
"Guh-bek?!"
Half the thug's face—swallowed by the dark—simply caved in with a wet crunch. More than a dozen teeth clattered free and scattered across the ground.
Instant death, no question. The fact his neck hadn't snapped meant Elisa had held back. A limp, flopping corpse is a pain to dispose of.
"Urgh…"
"Aaaaah!"
Thugs don't do loyalty. The remaining three scattered like cockroaches. Elisa could have ended them in a heartbeat if she'd wanted—but she didn't.
"I said take the body with you."
She picked up a loose stone from the ground and hurled it into the darkness.
A choked keck rang out, followed by the heavy sound of something collapsing. In the span of a few seconds she had casually killed one more. They were a robbery crew, of course. Killing them was a public service. Even Sloan would have torn them apart.
She grabbed my arm and pulled me deeper in. Darkness wrapped around my entire body. Ah… the familiar scent of home washed over me.
Reminds me of the day I was born from the Greatest Mother. Those were good times.
The memory of first emerging from the dark is still vivid. Haa… I really shouldn't have left the Demon Realm. The weakest of us coming out here was never going to help anyone… so why did I leave?
If I'd just stayed… I wouldn't be suffering this humiliation. What a life.
Anxiety flooded through me. Was Elisa actually going to have sex with me?
Maybe she was only trying to scare me. She'd already given me a blowjob in that labyrinth. Maybe tonight she'd just suck me off and call it done?
The thought sparked a useless little hope. I knew it wouldn't help, but still.
I have to stop her from finishing inside. No matter what.
If a new Demon King were born—especially from a woman as strong as Elisa—it would be an absolute catastrophe.
She'd tear me apart first, for starters. The current Rank 1 is a monster you can't even casually speak to. Less a living creature and more some kind of concept or phenomenon.
Even Sloan… honestly, I don't think she could win. Can that thing even be killed?
I'd seen it once from a distance. Even as a fellow Demon King, my body had trembled. It annihilates every living thing along any path it takes, and just looking at it can bring down a mountain.
It's like the word "death" given physical form. It would kill its own kin without hesitation if the need arose.
One of those is already more than enough. If another one gets made… conquest, territory, all of it becomes meaningless. We all die.
There was a reason the stronger ones among my kin never moved. Start conquering and the land itself disappears. And you have to keep Rank 1 from moving, too. The moment it stirs, the world's destruction is guaranteed.
"We're here."
We stepped out of the filthy alley into the darkest face of the city.
The filthiest corner of the slums. Every crime this city produced could be said to start right here.
"I scouted this place when we first arrived. Gathering intel is a scout's job, after all."
"I see…"
"Meaning I'm the only one in the party who knows about this spot. Don't expect any help."
She stroked my shoulder as she murmured. It sounded like a devil's whisper. Right now this woman felt closer to my own kin than to a human…
"Go into that inn."
"Y-yes…"
"And don't even think about running."
I had no choice but to obey. Submitting to a female stronger than myself. If it were the Hero, maybe—but one of her party members?!
"That room. We won't be coming out for the next two hours. Don't come in."
"Y-yes, ma'am! Um, guests, what about meals, then—?"
"…Did you not hear what I just said? Looks like two earholes aren't enough for you. Should I punch a third one open?"
Elisa secured the room with a crude threat and a few gold coins. Simple as that.
And now I was going to get raped in there. Locked in a room I couldn't leave until we'd had sex.
Only then did reality hit me. "I have to stop her from finishing inside"? That was nothing more than a wish.
"It's not too late to turn this around. I won't tell anyone what happened here…"
"Shut up."
She seized my throat in one hand. My neck was so thin her fingers wrapped all the way around it.
That dizzying sensation of handing someone else the power of life and death over you. If she felt like it, she could kill me right now.
What if I revealed I was a Demon King right here?
Would she kill me? Or would she light up with joy and rape me anyway? Maybe she'd rape me and then kill me.
"Get on the bed."
"I'll lie down…"
"Strip."
"W-wait a second. You're not actually going to do this, right? Even so, I'm part of the party for—!"
"Shut up."
Elisa stripped in one smooth motion. The beautiful naked body I'd seen in the labyrinth spread out before my eyes again.
Maybe it was because she was a forest elf. Her skin was pure white—so pale the blue veins stood out clearly across her breasts.
Any man would swallow hard at the sight. In this world where the positions of men and women had flipped, I wasn't sure what the standard reaction was supposed to be.
At least I swallowed. Perfectly natural! The humans these days were the weird ones. At least I…
"Why are you swallowing like that? Don't tell me it's because of my body."
"I never—"
"Use that mouth to take your clothes off instead! Or do you want me to strip you myself?"
Absolutely not. One wrong move and she'd take my fingers off with a dagger. I had no choice but to remove my own pants of my own free will.
Shhhrrrk… Thud. Nearly five kilos of leather trousers hit the floor. The top followed.
I folded the discarded clothes neatly. No one had told me to… it just felt wrong to leave them in a heap.
"What's with that? Why are you folding your clothes?"
"It just felt like something I should do."
"Hmm. That so? How adorable…"
Elisa's expression shifted into something strange. What the hell was that look?
"Is he actually doing that without realizing…? That's talent. Real talent. He's seducing me on pure instinct."
"Huh?"
"Shut up and lift your chin. Good. Now on your knees… perfect! That exact expression."
I was only doing what she told me. Elisa twisted her own body in delight, letting out one admiring sound after another. What was she even doing?
If I played along with this meaningless nonsense, I might end up accepting her without even noticing.
This was dangerous. I hurriedly raised both hands toward her and shouted.
"Don't do this! Stop! Please don't!"
"What?"
"No rape! Stop! We can solve everything by talking!"
Did that work? Honestly, if someone refuses this hard and you still go through with it, you're just a bad person.
All I can do now is rely on Elisa's sense of morality. How did I end up like this?
The evil overlord who climbed to the surface to conquer the world… begging an ordinary elf for mercy.
Humiliating. Even if the principle of "I must not get raped" was still valid!
"You… are you doing that on purpose?"
"Huh?"
"Are you deliberately flirting with me?"
"W-wait a second. I think there's a misunderstanding. I've never tried to seduce anyone!"
Shut your mouth. She murmured it against her lips and lunged at me. The movement was so fast I couldn't even react.
How did it come to this?
All I'd wanted was to slip into the Hero Party and freeload off the glory.
Was that really such a terrible crime?!
"From now on I'm going to fill that head of yours with nothing but me. So you can't even think about anyone else…"
Our bodies slowly overlapped. The distinctive warm body heat of an elf wrapped around me completely.
Creak, creak. The old bed kept screaming in protest, but Elisa paid it no mind at all. She looked ready to break me completely.
"Elves are obsessive. If we don't get what we want… we go insane. Can a little thing who's only lived twenty-odd years endure the obsession of someone who's lived for centuries? So just accept it quietly… ah, don't worry."
Stare at the stains on the ceiling and it'll be over before you know it.
Or just close your eyes.
Elisa dragged her tongue across my face. Slow. Sticky.