The Demon King's Most Vile Method
Even she hated doing something this cruel. The sight of her own liege, the Demon King, appearing before her eyes left Elisa with an intense feeling of doubt she couldn’t suppress. Why…? Even if it makes sense for the hero, Her Majesty has no reason to come here herself.
The Demon King rarely left the Demon King’s Castle under normal circumstances. There were simply too many duties to attend to, not to mention safety concerns, and various other minor reasons that made it advisable for her to remain within the castle walls as much as possible. This was something the Royal Guard Elisa—who was literally in charge of her liege’s protection—knew better than anyone.
Feeling a strong sense of unease about the situation, Elisa looked at her sovereign standing before her and spoke with utmost respect.
“Ah… I see. So that’s why.”
Elisa forced a smile at the Demon King’s words. Yet beneath that outward appearance, she couldn’t help but grow increasingly suspicious of her liege’s unusual behavior. What on earth is going on…? Something feels off… It’s disloyal of me to think this, but I have a feeling I absolutely need to uncover the truth behind this…
Still, as a subject, she could hardly interrogate her sovereign. Deciding to set aside her unanswered questions for now, Elisa chose to focus on the situation at hand.
Meanwhile, seemingly unaware of Elisa’s inner turmoil, the Demon King surveyed her surroundings and spoke in her characteristically calm voice.
With those words, the hero removed the masks of the assassins, clearly revealing their identities once more—the faces of elves. Watching this, Octavia’s expression hardened like stone.
“Th-this… how could this be…? Why would the Elf Theocracy… try to kill me?”
The fact that it was her own kin—elves, not humans or anyone else—who had come to assassinate her struck Octavia with tremendous shock. Seeing her reaction, Elisa’s face grew cold as she lifted the face of the collapsed leader of the group—Antonius—and spoke in an icy tone.
*
“Kill me already!”
Deep within the underground prison, the elf Antonius was bound in chains. Octavia stared at him with a rigid expression and asked,
“I have nothing to say to a traitor who’s sided with the demons! Kill me at once!”
“Th-that’s not true! I… I only did it to protect the World Tree…”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses! You filthy wretch who sold out your own country!”
Even now, Octavia could hardly believe the situation. From her perspective, it was impossible to accept that a close friend who had always been by her side had come to murder her. Yet Antonius only spat curses at her and refused to give any other answer.
Watching the two of them, both Elisa and I frowned slightly, realizing the situation was not going to be easily resolved.
“I thought that if we let him face Octavia, something might come out… but it seems even that won’t be simple.”
“The torturers have been working quite diligently, but it appears they’ve gotten no results. Moreover, this guy and his subordinates… they cast a spell on themselves before coming here. If we attempt to turn them into dark elves, their hearts will burst and they’ll die instantly.”
The assassins endured merciless torture yet not a single one opened their mouths about who was behind them or what their true objective was. All that came from their lips were shouts of “Kill me!” Elisa and I both felt rather frustrated by their stubbornness.
In the end, even Octavia failed. With that, we left the prison behind.
“We’ve more or less secured enough circumstantial evidence, but there are still far too many parts that don’t make sense.”
“I agree. At the very least, I understand that they harbor an unusually strong hatred toward demons, and that’s why they tried to assassinate Octavia to sabotage the negotiations. However…”
However, there were simply too many suspicious points to conclude they had acted purely out of hatred for demons. The Elf Theocracy was already in a precarious state. The losses they would suffer by acting on mere emotion were far too great. And the fact that they had mobilized Antonius, one of the Theocracy’s strongest warriors, only deepened my sense of unease.
“On top of that, the fact that they’re keeping their mouths shut even under torture like this suggests there’s definitely something more… but we have no way of finding out what it is.”
I hated pain more than anything. Yet these elves didn’t even flinch under torture that would have made me spill everything long ago. The sheer tenacity of it was almost sickening. As my questions about what secret they were willing to protect at all costs grew stronger, Elisa suddenly let out a sigh.
“Haa… It can’t be helped. At this point, there’s only one method left.”
“Pardon?”
Elisa wore an expression that suggested she truly loathed what she was about to do. It was so unlike her usual enthusiasm for torture that I automatically began to worry she was considering something truly heinous.
“Wh-what exactly are you planning to do?”
I asked out of a sudden surge of anxious curiosity. Elisa gave me a slightly awkward smile and answered my question.
It was…
*
“Kuh…”
Even under the relentless, merciless torture, Antonius refused to speak. Having already resolved himself to die before coming here, he remained silent no matter how horrific the pain became. Everything is for the sake of the world… for the sake of His world… I will never yield.
Steel himself once more with that thought, Antonius finished mentally preparing for the torture that would continue today.
But then…
“…Who are you?”
A young demon girl appeared before him. It wasn’t the torturer he had grown utterly sick of seeing. The fact that she had come out here instead caused a faint spark of hope to rise in Antonius’s heart.
“Have you finally given up? Kill me already. Dragging this out changes nothing.”
“…”
Antonius’s words were resolute. In response, the demon girl silently gathered magical power in one hand. It was different from before—a soft, pink-tinged mana. He didn’t know exactly what it was, but Antonius inwardly smiled, thinking she must be here to grant him death.
Then… I shall return to Your embrace now… my God. Incarnation of light who will save the world, please make this ignorant world Yours…
Offering one final prayer to “Him,” Antonius awaited the end.
And then—
-Thud!
“Guh!”
The demon girl drove the pink mana gathered in her hand straight into his abdomen.
But then…
“!? Wh… what… is this?”
In the next instant, an utterly unexpected sensation seized Antonius with intense bewilderment. Immediately afterward, he realized his body was changing at a terrifying speed.
S-surely this isn’t turning me into a dark elf? N-no, that can’t be! The protection magic didn’t activate. But… but what is this feeling…?
An excruciating pain spread throughout his entire body. It felt as if his flesh were being burned alive, yet the sensation was so alien and merciless that Antonius was overcome by a fear unlike anything he had felt during the previous torture.
And within that bizarre agony, Antonius realized one horrifying truth. His expression froze solid.
! Wh… what? What is this? This… this is… disappearing? It’s disappearing? My… that place… th-this can’t… it can’t be…!!
The sensation of something precious being erased. Overwhelmed by an intense sense of loss and emptiness he had never felt before, Antonius began to writhe violently.
By the time he realized the transformation was complete, Antonius finally understood what had been done to him—how his body had been altered.
“Ah… aah…”
A stiff voice leaked from his throat amid the horrific sensation. But at that moment, his voice was no longer the same. The deep, masculine tone that had belonged to Antonius was gone. Now, not only his voice but his very existence… could no longer be called male. He had become a woman.
“Y-you… what the hell… what have you done…?”
“You’ve become quite the pretty lady, haven’t you? Honestly, I didn’t expect you to turn out this cute.”
“H-how… how could you do something like this…?”
The overwhelming sense of wrongness coming from his transformed body made something inside Antonius feel like it had snapped. Trembling, he looked up at the demon girl who had committed this monstrous act.
And as she looked down at him, the demon girl gave a genuinely rotten smile and said,
“!”
With those words, the demon girl clapped her hands lightly. Immediately afterward, Antonius saw the figures of her subordinates who had been tortured alongside him—or rather, what had clearly become two male subordinates now completely dominated by the girl’s shadow.
And…