Chapter 52. Huff, Kill It!
Chapter 52. Huff, Kill It!
"......It would be best not to make this public."
After learning the shocking truth, Arhen pressed a hand over his mouth to hide his grave expression and forced out the conclusion.
Divine Archer Melia.
Even among the long-lived elves, she was renowned for her matchless archery. Her skills were so highly regarded that she had been entrusted with the role of aiding the Hero a century ago.
Having vanquished the Demon King at the end of that journey, she was expected to be a tremendous help in defeating this generation's Demon King as well.
Because she had been named one of the Ten Strongest of Humanity in recognition of such feats, if word of her disappearance were to spread, the danger to the peace would be considerable.
"The elves, as soon as they learned of it, convened a council to elect a replacement, so filling the roster will not be a problem."
"Yes, maintaining the party itself is one thing."
Everyone could accept that a change of personnel might be inevitable, but even so, one of the Ten Strongest going over to the Demon King's Army was by no means a welcome development.
Strength brings victory on the battlefield, but renown pacifies the populace and suppresses would-be rebels.
If either Berdia or Darkan, who stood right before him now, were to fall, it would hardly be surprising if a riot erupted somewhere on the continent.
'The only consolation is that the Demon King's Army's internal affairs are in such a sorry state that infighting among officers is spilling into the open.'
It seems things are equally dire on both sides. Having reached that conclusion, Arhen let out a deep breath and gestured toward her.
"This report should suffice. I need time to organize my thoughts, so you may withdraw. Once I've sorted things out, I will issue you further instructions."
"Yes, understood. Then......."
Berdia bowed as she finished her report.
As the holy knight turned her back, Arhen's eyes took on a satisfied gleam.
'Never a hair out of place, no matter when I see her. Berdia.'
A nobility that inspired longing even in himself, who had risen to the throne.
That image of her ever being shaken was something Arhen, the leader of the alliance, could not even fathom.
***
Late at night, within the royal castle.
Berdia, staying in her assigned room, handed a letter she had written to a servant waiting by the entrance, then bolted the door firmly shut.
The letter stated that she intended to remain at the castle for the time being and carry out necessary duties.
It would be delivered to Serika, who was arriving in the city ahead of her, and its contents would then be shared with the other party members.
'I've also written down plans for what they should do in my absence, so it should be fine for the moment.'
The inexperienced Serika and the antisocial Yumir.
Leaving only the two of them behind made her a little uneasy, but since the remaining one was with them, they would surely manage.
Her trust thus settled, Berdia changed into light casual clothes, lay down on the bed in her room, and prepared to sleep.
But......
'The Orc King Balmash, and the Succubus Queen Garbonia.'
Though her head rested on the pillow, her mind remained troubled.
The events that surfaced in her head were sabotaging what should have been a restful slumber.
'That battle was effectively a three-way fight. A battle that clearly regarded both factions as worthy targets of elimination......'
As such, not only Garbonia, whose objective was to burn the World Tree, but also Balmash, who directly opposed her, had inevitably clashed with Berdia as well.
She had already defeated one officer, and now she was facing another directly.......
Most people would likely have expected it to be a fierce fight. Yet Balmash's side did not even regard her as a worthy opponent.
'Do not interfere with my killing this whore. Annoying human.'
He left only those words before charging at Garbonia, who sought to set the World Tree ablaze.
During the battle, he also clashed with the elf and Human Alliance warriors, but all of them were swept aside by Balmash's power, unable to offer any meaningful resistance.
'I knew he was the strongest in individual combat within the Demon King's Army, but I never imagined the power gap would be this vast.'
If he had fought at full strength, she would have been no match for him whatsoever.
A terrifying might so overwhelming that even she, who had a record of killing one officer, was reduced to a mere "afterthought."
He was more than sufficient to make her realize that not all officers were equal, despite sharing the same rank.
'If things had gone further than that, it means I could have been the one to go missing instead of Melia.'
Yes, the only reason she was able to return to the royal castle was sheer luck and nothing else.
Recalling that battle, Berdia felt her body flush with heat and began to put strength into her hand.
'If it had really come to that....... I would surely have been violated at their hands.'
If.
Imagining what would have become of her if she had been defeated in that fight by even a one-in-a-thousand chance.
***
Orcs
Due to their unique racial trait, females are never born among them. Instead, their genetic ability, which does not discriminate by the mother's species, allows them to sire offspring on any female of any race.
The endless wars they wage against other species are, in effect, a means of preserving the orc race.
Thus, women kidnapped by them are reduced to mere "seedbeds," their bodies and dignity thoroughly trampled.
Without the armor and shield that once protected her body, unable even to grip the sword she used to fight, bound instead by chains on wrists and ankles.
The only resistance she could offer would be glaring at the horde of orcs preparing to reach their demonic hands toward her.
'Squee! This woman! This is the woman who killed our kin!'
'We will not forgive the enemy of our comrades! Squee!'
'Violate her! Violate her!'
Having slain so many of their kind, she would be regarded as an object of hatred.
Of course, being as stubborn as she was, she would refuse to break even while bound, answering them with unyielding defiance.
'Kuh, kill me! Rather than be violated by the likes of you......!'
'Shut up, human. What your mouth should be doing is not talking, but sucking our cocks!'
'Mmph, mmph!!'
But from a savage collective that had no concept of respect for prisoners.
Even the mouth meant for speaking would be silenced as their massive rods were rammed into it. The orcs who followed would take their turns stuffing their members into whatever holes she had left.
Even the chastity she had preserved without ever once embracing a man would be regarded by them as nothing but a hole for breeding.
'I will never surrender....... Ngh!!'
'Squee!! Shut up and move your hips!'
'Your body is nothing but a calf-bearing tool, squee!'
'Ha, haah! D-don't put any more inside me... Nghyaa!!'
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack.
Only the sound of flesh slapping would echo through the prison, and the fluids seeping from their bodies would cruelly defile her body, rendering her will meaningless.
The time it would take for her body, pure until she faced them, to be ruined would be a mere few hours.......
No, perhaps even less than one.
Because the number of orcs was vast, and their lust would surge endlessly as long as they lived.
'Th-this is the end...'
'There is no rest, squee!'
'You alone must service everyone here.'
'Ev-everyone here... all by myself...?'
'That's right. You'll bear as many as the kin you killed, human!'
'Ah, hyaah, ngh!!'
The orcs would continue violating her body without pause, as though rest itself were a luxury.
Even her trained body would struggle to receive all of the hundreds of orcs. All that would remain would be to endure their desire unbroken through sheer will alone.
But no matter how firm one's will, it shines only when there is an end to the trial.
If not even the hope that adversity will end exists, the will of a person driven into a corner crumbles into nothing.
'Squee! This woman who resisted so fiercely is now completely blank, squee!'
'Her mind's broken, squee. She no longer spits harsh words.'
'But she can still bear calves. Squee. She still has far to go to birth as many as the kin she killed, squee!'
Yes, even the most desperate resolve would, in the end, only be temporary.
Having abandoned everything, she would simply pray for this hellish moment to end. And afterward, her soulless, rag-like body would be violated by them as they pleased.
Without end, at the hands of the endless tide of orcs. Again, and again.
Until the very moment her breath ceased.
Serving as a factory that produced new life.
***
"Hnn, nghh!"
Carried away by such horrific fantasies as she pleasured herself, Berdia squeezed her eyes shut, unable to endure the pleasure that had been building before she knew it.
The moment she reached the pinnacle as a woman.
As the lingering aftermath drained the strength from her body, she became aware that she was soaked beneath the covers.
'......I've done it again.'
Yes, she had done it again.
Imagining herself being violated.
And what's more, in the guest quarters of the royal castle where the king and his vassals resided.
'Fortunately, there are no prying eyes nearby....... No, is that what makes it all the worse?'
Yes, the very fact that she could not confess this to anyone meant that she was keenly aware of what a shameful act it was.
But to whom on earth could she possibly entrust such a confession?
If it were discovered that someone who served as a spiritual pillar for the people as one of the Ten Strongest of Humanity was, in truth, secretly pleasuring herself every night while fantasizing about being forcibly violated...... the hearts of those who learned the truth would surely be shattered.
'Strange. I wasn't like this before.......'
As the afterglow of climax slowly subsided, Berdia looked down at her body and let out a deep breath.
It wasn't that she had no sexual desire, but until now she had always managed to endure and suppress it.
Yes, at least until the time before she headed to the Great Forest.
'Was it after I parted ways with Dave?'
Come to think of it, that was the first time she had openly shown her naked body to a man.
Her heart had fluttered at the thought that something might happen with him, and she had expended considerable effort to quell that heat by comforting herself.
Imagining what might have happened if he had not left that place...... and then continuing to replay that fantasy over and over again afterward.
"......Ngh!"
Just by imagining it, she realized her hand was unconsciously moving toward her sex.
As if, even though she had quelled the heat once, her desire remained unsatisfied.
'I know I shouldn't do this, but.......'
She needed to withdraw her hand.
Her mind understood that, but in the end, Berdia chose to repeat the act of masturbation to soothe the heat of her body.
"Da......."
Unable to suppress the lust that grew fiercer with each passing day.
"Dave......."
With the name of the man who had awakened her desire upon her lips.
"...Hnngh♥"
Tonight as well, imagining the shameful spectacle of herself being violated by him back then.
***
......And then.
"Alright, we've arrived, miss."
"Thank you, Mister Coachman!"
A city located at the very edge of the Arhen Kingdom.
At the place commonly called the Adventurers' Rest, a silver-haired woman with short hair who had leaped down from the stopped carriage adjusted the strap of her bag and prepared to set foot in the city.
"I finally get to see Dave!!"
Smiling brightly at the thought of the moment she had been looking forward to all along.