Rizelotte, who had conjured light in the basement with magic, let out a light sigh as she looked down at Merlin, who was tightly bound by chains and couldn’t move an inch.
“Look at you. Pathetic.”
“Shut up—did I know this would happen?”
“As expected, without me, you’re just a helpless kid.”
Without delay, Rizelotte descended into the basement and realized that the chains binding Merlin’s entire body were made of a metal designed to interfere with the flow of magical power.
However, it wasn’t enough to disrupt the workings of a grand sorcerer. It was impossible for Merlin to be trapped by something like this.
“Did you drink poison? You probably gulped it down eagerly because a young girl gave it to you.”
“…I never said yes to drinking it.”
“Talking back, huh? Should I just leave?”
“Sorry, Boss.”
Upon seeing Merlin immediately bow his head, Rizelotte lightly stepped on his groin area. Just hard enough to cause pain but not damage him, since she needed him intact.
Kicked where it hurts most, Merlin groaned in agony and looked up at Rizelotte.
“Th-That’s enough…”
“And if you keep swinging your sword recklessly, you’ll end up like this again. I can’t deal with it—I think it’d be better to crush you here.”
“A-Ah, no! I admit I messed up!”
“For our baby’s sake too—it’s better if you just disappear, don’t you think?”
“…Baby?”
“Yes, baby.”
Hearing Rizelotte’s words, Merlin belatedly stared intently at her belly. Sure enough, her stomach was noticeably bulging outward.
There was no way a grand sorceress could have failed so badly at maintaining her figure, which meant it wasn’t fat—it was something else entirely.
And if her words were true, then it was their child.
“…H-Haha. A baby? What’s that.”
Suddenly becoming a daddy, Merlin gazed at Rizelotte in disbelief. Rizelotte, looking down at him tenderly, abruptly planted a kiss on his lips.
A passionate kiss followed between lovers, and Kail, watching from above, burst into a dry laugh.
‘Even in enemy territory, they’re going nuts…’
“A-Ah, no, nooo…!”
One more person. Aruki, standing beside Kail and peering into the basement, felt his brain shatter in pain and tears streamed down his face.
Kail clicked his tongue sympathetically as he watched Aruki.
“You should’ve found a man like me—a pure-hearted romantic.”
“—Shut up, ugly.”
“…Wait, I’m not that ugly, am I?”
No response came.
Kail awkwardly glanced up at the ceiling.
‘Ah, I miss Yuri.’
All he wanted was to return home as soon as possible.
* * *
The two lovebirds finally finished their antics after quite some time. If Kail hadn’t intervened while they were trying to make another baby despite the first one not even being born yet, it would’ve taken even longer.
“Ahem—sorry, did you wait long, kiddo?”
“Yes. I almost waited too long.”
“Sorry~ Since you’re also married, you must understand. There are times when passion burns hot between a man and a woman…”
As they grew older, such burning passion became harder to feel, and they didn’t want to let go of the emotions once they felt them, which led to their actions.
For young Kail, whose eyes met fire every time, it was an incomprehensible emotion. They weren’t even a couple in a rut…
“But more importantly—Merlin, why were you locked up here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I was kidnapped.”
“I mean, someone like you should’ve been able to easily defeat this woman, right?”
“I was poisoned. Isn’t it obvious?”
Merlin massaged his wrist, which still bore deep marks from the chains, as he looked down at Aruki.
Aruki, who had gone berserk watching the couple’s affectionate display, now stared blankly into space with empty eyes, like a broken doll.
Seeing Aruki, Merlin sighed deeply and spoke.
“I’ve said it over and over—I’m not Feyna. Feyna is my second personality.”
“…”
“My body may be identical to Feyna’s, but we’re completely different people. Do you understand?”
“…Give me back our leader.”
“What do you mean ‘give back’? He’s already dead.”
“Ahh, that guy isn’t dead.”
Interrupting suddenly, Kail’s words caused Aruki to start flailing wildly, like a freshly caught fish.
“Leader! Give me back our leader!”
“…Kail, didn’t you say you took care of that guy? So he’s not dead?”
“Nah—he’s resting peacefully inside my sword. Must be a demon thing; he handles nightmares pretty well.”
Kail recalled Feyna’s soul imprisoned within his Demon Sword, Apophis. At first, Feyna resisted and suffered, but after months of adaptation, he now seemed to enjoy Apophis’ nightmares like they were his living room.
“He’s a demon, after all.”
“I see. That guy…”
“Leadeeeer!”
“…Aruki, if you really want it, I can bring Feyna back to life.”
“You can bring Leader back?! Really!?”
“Yes. But not in this body. Bring me a vessel to contain him.”
Overjoyed at the prospect of reviving Feyna, Aruki quickly nodded without hesitation.
“Yes! Leader and I are connected by heart, not by this mere shell! It’s fine!”
“…Not a man either. We don’t know what’ll happen if he has kids.”
“A woman works too!”
Merlin snorted at Aruki’s desperate plea to revive Feyna. Honestly, he’d known since the kidnapping that Aruki wasn’t in his right mind.
But since Aruki was willing to go so far, he couldn’t refuse. Merlin turned to Kail and asked,
“Hey, you—where’s your sword?”
“I left it at home.”
“…What kind of swordsman leaves his sword behind?”
“Why do I need a sword? I can just summon one whenever.”
With that, Evan casually summoned an Aura Blade mid-air and shrugged, as if asking what the big deal was.
Watching this, Merlin sighed deeply and turned to Aruki.
“…I’ll go fetch it from this guy’s house. In the meantime, prepare the vessel. Can you do that?”
“I can do it!”
“Good. I’ll be back soon, so get it ready as fast as possible.”
As soon as Merlin finished speaking, Aruki dashed out of the house, desperate to hurry. Watching Aruki disappear, Kail turned to Merlin with a questioning look.
“Old man, why are you going so far for him?”
“What do you mean?”
“All that talk about reviving Feyna. Does he really mean that much to you?”
“Are you crazy? The one who kidnapped me and drugged me—how could I like her?”
“Then why?”
Looking at Merlin with confusion, Merlin smirked and replied.
“—Because seeing Feyna lounging around pisses me off more.”
“…Huh?”
“You said it yourself—after a while, Feyna started living comfortably inside the Demon Sword. I can’t let that slide. That demon bastard who once toyed with my body doesn’t deserve such a cushy life.”
It was low-key revenge.
“A life where he’s forced into servitude by a yandere woman he doesn’t love. That suits him perfectly.”
At the same time, it was an incredibly amusing story. After all, Kail didn’t harbor any warm feelings toward Feyna either.
He targeted Kail’s life, Arthur’s life, and even his fiancée’s life. Wasn’t he just trash?
Even hell would be lukewarm for him.
“—Let’s go, old man. Hurry and fetch it.”
With that, Kail and Merlin headed toward his house.
To retrieve Feyna from the Demon Sword, Apophis.
* * *
Inside Apophis’ dreamscape.
If the ability to create someone’s nightmare exists, it means any imagination can be reproduced.
Using this ability, Apophis and Feyna had created a sort of utopia. They were lounging on a sunny beach, sipping cocoa juice through straws.
“Ah—this is heaven.”
For evil beings like demons, concepts like heaven and sunlight usually elicited frowns.
But this place existed only for souls. Having lived in Merlin’s body for so long, Feyna had long grown indifferent to trivial things like the sun or heaven.
“Is this really so enjoyable? Hehe—glad I made it worthwhile.”
“Hell yeah! This is what camaraderie among demons is all about! Camaraderie!”
“Ahaha! Right! Camaraderie!”
Sharing the common fate of being trapped in a Demon Sword, Apophis and Feyna had become instant friends. Their bond was indescribably strong.
Since Kail seemed to have forgotten about them, perhaps living here forever was possi—
“Eh, eh?”
“Feyna!?”
Startled, Feyna suddenly felt something pulling at his soul. Why now? Considering only Kail, the sword’s master, could do something like this, it was strange.
What reason could Kail have to summon his soul?
Confused by the inexplicable situation, Feyna was startled when his body was suddenly pulled entirely out of the Demon Sword.
“What is th—”
Back in reality, Feyna noticed his voice sounded unusually soft and high-pitched, and his field of vision was strangely low.
“What the… what is this…”
“—Leader!”
“…Aruki?”
Suddenly embraced by a woman, Feyna blinked in shock upon seeing Aruki. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening.
But one undeniable fact stood out.
“Leader—I’ll never let you go again.”
He got screwed. No, he was utterly screwed.
