# 53. The Hero Party's First Demon King Subjugation (3)
"...Are you done crying, Luna?"
"*Sniff*... I, I didn't cry. I never cried..."
Sniffling, Luna pretended she hadn't cried.
Then what are these snot stains on my clothes?
When I showed them to Luna, she turned her head away and brushed it off vaguely.
"I-it must have rained...! I only cried when I was born...! There's no way that's my snot!"
So she doesn't want to admit she cried.
I guess she's still just a young child.
I decided to let it slide for Luna's pride.
Then I turned my head toward the piercing gazes I felt from behind.
Three pairs of eyes were staring intently at me.
"Do you have something to say, kids?"
"...No. It's just, I was watching because I thought you were holding her too long... wondering if Luna might suffocate..."
Though her eyes definitely didn't look worried.
That's how Hare explained it to me.
"Not really, nothing to say. But I just thought of something I want to experiment with later."
"...I see."
Saten spoke expressionlessly.
For some reason, I had a feeling I might be the test subject.
And finally, Estia...
"Oppa, let's go quickly. I hate it here."
She grabbed my hand, urging me to escape from the dream quickly.
Estia must have been very stressed in this unsettling space.
It seemed she still had significant aftereffects from the laboratory.
*'As Estia says, we need to get out of here quickly. The poison continues to spread through Saten's body... No matter how much I've temporarily blocked it, the fact is we don't have much time.'*
Estia, who had been on my back until just moments ago.
I asked her in a somewhat warmer tone.
"You can walk now, right, Estia?"
"Yeah! I can walk! Let's go quickly!"
"Alright, and Estia. After we escape from here, there's something we need to do outside, so I'd like you to stay as alert as possible. Can you do that?"
"Hmm, hmmm... If you give me holy water, maybe I can..."
This holy water-addicted saint.
To try to make a deal with holy water in this situation...
Since Estia was a crucial key, I had no choice but to nod.
Once the deal was made, Estia smiled brightly.
"H-holy water! You have to give me holy water when we get out! Let's go, oppa! Let's get out!"
Then, still holding my hand, she led me toward the door.
Does she really like holy water that much?
Estia hurried toward the exit.
Seeing this, Hare seemed to feel a sense of urgency and quickly approached, grabbing my remaining left hand and speaking anxiously.
"I-I'm coming too... Mister... Don't abandon me..."
"...Alright, let's all go together."
Right, they're all anxious from having nightmares.
Since all the children saw deep despair, it's natural they'd want to rely on something.
However.
*'...This is a bit heavy.'*
Is this what it feels like to raise children?
Being restricted in freedom, having to constantly pay attention.
It's quite bothersome.
Thinking this, I turned my head back to check if Saten and Luna were following properly.
"..."
Her gaze was fixed on my hands, but Saten walked expressionlessly, making it impossible to know what she was thinking.
However, Luna was grumbling to herself.
"...Always, it's only the other kids first! I'm totally hurt...! I'm the one who works the hardest...! As I thought, mister definitely hates me!"
"I can hear everything, Luna. For the record, I don't hate you."
"Wh-what...!? Th-then that means you, you like me...!?"
"..."
My head hurts.
Children seem to have incomprehensible thought processes.
Ignoring Luna's grumbling, who would soon face a harsh time.
I walked toward the exit of this dream.
*'...I'll make sure you pay the proper price.'*
Thinking of revenge against Lust.
And so, the Hero Party opened the door and was able to awaken from the terrible nightmare.
When I opened my eyes.
What I saw before me was a transparent barrier.
It was the defensive magic that had protected us while we were trapped in the nightmare.
If I hadn't deployed this, the heads of the Hero Party and myself would be rolling on the ground.
"Seeing that our heads are still attached, you must have just been twiddling your thumbs. I can see right through you, Lust."
"Oppa's barrier was sooo~ strong. I want to check if other parts are hard too~ Can I~?"
"If you want to eat my fist, I'll gladly give it to you."
"Oh my, oppa has a sense of humor too~? I'm starting to want you even more."
*Slurp—*
The Demon King of Lust, Lust, vulgarly rolled her tongue and smacked her lips.
Seeing this, Hare and Saten cried out in disgust.
"G-get away...! M-mister hates women like you...!"
"A low-level demonic being, a succubus. If you gained that much power with that body, I'm curious how much life force you obtained and how much you sold your body. Can I ask how many times?"
One spoke with malice.
One spoke with pure curiosity.
Of course, the one that dealt more damage was the one from pure curiosity.
"...These trashy little chicks. Insulting me, the Queen of the Night, the Demon King of Lust...? Useless bitches who can't even produce life force...?"
Lust spat threats at the Hero Party who had just awakened from the nightmare.
The coquettish behavior she'd shown me moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
It was a threatening appearance close to that of a true Demon King.
"...Don't provoke her unnecessarily. Despite how she looks, she's a Demon King."
"Eh, that was real...? Like when you call me a hero, I thought it was a lie..."
"Hallucinations and auditory hallucinations. She's strong enough to create an entire dream world. She absorbed our negative emotions, so she's probably in good condition."
At my words to Luna, Lust chuckled and answered.
"Correct~ The negative emotions from the dream world become my power~ All of you being abandoned, hurt, and sad becomes my joy~ Well, eating one man is still the most efficient though."
Lust looked at me with eyes filled with deep desire.
Blatant and unpleasant eyes.
Lust, with horns on her head, imitating Aina's appearance.
Though she took Aina's form, I didn't feel even the slightest inclination to show her mercy.
"...Everyone, stay still inside the barrier. Take good care of Estia."
"Heh, hehe...?"
In the dream, Estia had been normal without her holy water addiction.
But in reality, I'd given her holy water.
She just needs to be alert at the crucial moment.
So.
"Lust. Today will be the most humiliating day since you became a Demon King."
"Ooh, I hope so, oppa~ I'm already getting thrills~!"
Now the time for revenge has come.
I'll make her pay dearly for everything that's happened.
"M-mister..."
"D-don't die, mister...!"
Leaving behind the Hero Party looking at me with worried eyes.
I stepped outside the barrier.
Taking out Aina's staff from subspace.
"You finally came out, oppa. Should I take this as a good sign~?"
"..."
There's no need to talk anymore with someone I'm about to kill.
Without a word, I struck the staff into the ground.
*Thud—!*
*'What's the most efficient way to make that creature suffer painfully and then eliminate her?'*
The Demon King of Greed, Greed.
Compared to him, the Demon King of Lust, Lust, specializes in mental abilities.
In terms of physical force, she's below him.
*'...I won't die if I fight. But she must pay the price.'*
Not knowing my true abilities.
The moment when Lust is most off guard.
What magic could exploit that opening?
After much deliberation, only one method came to mind.
*'Bind her. And inflict pain.'*
Infinite Hell (無限地獄)
A hell with no end.
And a time where only pain exists.
Aina's explanation of this non-elemental magic was as follows:
*'...It's magic I wish you'd never use... but well, I'll teach you. Just never use it on me, okay? First, Infinite Hell doesn't use mana. Instead, it uses the caster's body as payment. If there's someone really strong you really want to kill, you can use this magic. But don't use it twice. Each time you use it, you pay double the price. Got it?'*
At the time, I nodded, saying I'd never use it.
Aina wasn't satisfied with my response and even made me pinky promise.
But now, since Aina doesn't even exist in this world, there's no reason to keep the promise.
"...It doesn't matter. I'll return one part of my body to nothingness. So show that creature hell."
"Huh? What are you talking about, oppa~? Have you lost your mind—"
*Flinch—*
Seeing me with blood flowing from one eye.
Lust's expression hardened.
At this sight, the children cried out in shock.
"M-mister...! B-blood from your eye...! D-don't die, mister...!"
"W-wait, wasn't mister supposed to be super strong?! Wh-what are you doing?! D-don't die!!"
I won't die.
I've simply paid the price.
Because there's no such thing as free magic.
Clutching my eye dripping with blood, I shouted to the Hero Party.
"Watch closely how an ordinary person, not a hero, must act to defeat a Demon King alone when they're off guard."
Countless thorn-like shapes extending from the ground.
What seemed like over a thousand needles began to surround Lust.
"W-wait, oppa—!! M-my life force—!! I didn't gather it to defend—!!"
"If you were going to attack, you should have expected to be attacked. Don't you know that?"
"O-oppa...? Wait, let's talk...? I-I'll fix that eye with my life force. So remove this—"
"Too late."
You started it first, Demon King of Lust.
Infinite Hell has already been deployed, and unless time is reversed, it cannot be stopped.
*'...I'm fortunate it was my left eye that disappeared, not my heart.'*
I used it because the answer key didn't mention my heart disappearing anyway.
Though losing my left eye might affect my swordsmanship a bit.
Ignoring the voices of the children shouting something from the barrier.
I watched Lust falling into Infinite Hell with my remaining eye.
"W-wait—!! I-if I get stabbed by all these thorns at once, even a Demon King like me will hurt—!! O-oppa?! I-I'll service you, oppa—!!"
"Shut up, don't speak with that voice."
"Kyaaaaaah—!!!"
Lust's tearing screams echoed through the dungeon.
A thousand needles pierced through her body, so naturally it would be painful.
But even after inflicting such pain, I still felt it wasn't enough.
The price for trampling on my memories cannot be satisfied by such trash's suffering.
"S-save me—!! Kyaaaah—!!"
"This much isn't enough, Lust."
However.
I'll spare her life.
If I kill her like this, she'll just revive again.
I covered my dripping eye with my hand.
And approached the children in that barrier.
The Hero Party members were covering their ears, not wanting to hear the screams.
Among them, Hare, looking at my eye with a worried gaze, asked.
"M-mister... Your eye... Are you... okay...?"
"I'm fine, I won't die. Don't worry."
"Y-yes... Mister..."
She said she understood.
But it seems she can't erase her worry.
Hearing Hare's concern.
I approached Luna and Estia who were gathered together.
"I-I'm fine...! I've heard lots of screams...! I'm fine...!"
"Heh, hehe... Heuk..."
A sacrifice, perhaps.
Luna was covering Estia's ears for her, as she was lost in holy water.
Approaching such Luna.
I spoke firmly.
"Luna. Draw the Holy Sword."
"Mister...? A-are you okay with your eye...!?"
"I'm fine. So draw the Holy Sword."
"Th-the Holy Sword...?"
"Yes, the Holy Sword. Estia will imbue your sword with divine power. With that, you can eliminate the Demon King. Because you're the hero."
*Pat—*
I grabbed Luna's shoulder and spoke to her.
Luna looked at me with slightly frightened eyes.
"M-mister...?"
"Luna. Draw the Holy Sword right now and stab it into that demonic being's heart."
"M-me...?"
Is she hesitating?
Well, it might still be too much for her.
Though Lust is a demonic being, she has a human form.
Luna trembled slightly as she answered, perhaps having seen Lust pierced by thorns.
"R-right now... Are you telling me to... commit murder...?"
"It's not murder, Luna. If you stab the Holy Sword into that creature's heart, you can save the world."
Because you're the hero.
You must eliminate the Demon King.
You've been given that responsibility, so you must fulfill it.
"I-I... I can't, mister... Even if it's what you say, I can't... K-killing a person..."
"...It's not a person. That creature is a demonic being that only kills humans."
As expected, is Luna hesitating just like in the answer key?
I didn't want to use this method, but...
I have no choice but to act as it appeared in the answer key.
Because that's the only way to eliminate the Demon King.
I roughly grabbed Luna's hand and led her toward where Lust was.
"M-mister...!?"
"Luna, if you won't do it, I have no choice. I didn't want to force you, but... I can't help it."
I positioned Luna in front of Lust, who was pierced by needles and begging for her life.
And I said to her.
"Draw the Holy Sword, Luna. And close your eyes."
I'll hold your hand.
And kill Lust myself.
Since only Luna can use the Holy Sword.
I'll hold her hand and forcibly stab the Holy Sword into Lust's heart.
"Luna, you're not yet ready to bear the weight of being a hero."
So.
Just this once, I'll help you carry that weight.
Though I couldn't see properly with one eye gone.
"..."
I could still clearly tell.
That Luna was frightened.