Evan’s hand gripped Lucia’s slender neck.
It was an instinctive action that surged forth before the hatred could dictate his actions.
“Hah…!”
Lucia, with her neck in a tight grasp, let out a pained whimper as she was suspended in the air.
“Damn you.”
Evan stared at her with eyes filled with an unexplainable hatred, tightening his grip around her throat.
In response, Lucia conjured a sword using her magical power, trying to cut him and break free, but Evan quickly sensed her move and slammed her down to the ground.
Boom—!
The impact was strong enough to crack the stone floor beneath them.
Unable to withstand the shock, Lucia lost her grip on the sword.
“Gah…!”
She struggled to regain control over her breath, which had gone erratic from the pain.
Taking advantage of the moment, Evan pulled out handcuffs from the void that could suppress her magical power and clasped them around her wrists.
If she were the Demon King of the past, the cuffs wouldn’t have been able to contain her magic, shattering instead, but now, with the loss of her horns, she was in a weakened state.
The handcuffs were secured without a hitch, sealing her ability to use magic.
“Now that’s a little more comfortable.”
Evan silently stared at the fully restrained Lucia before again grabbing her neck.
His grip was infused with deep malice.
“Lucia von Astraea.”
Evan called her name in a subdued voice.
“This time, I shall punish you for your wicked deeds.”
Crunch—.
His grip tightened, squeezing her throat.
Lucia’s expression twisted slightly as she felt her airways constrict.
“Let’s end this twisted fate.”
His grip tightened further.
Lucia gasped and wheezed for breath.
Yet, there was no significant resistance from her.
She merely looked up at Evan with vacant eyes, as if she wouldn’t mind dying right there.
Evan recognized that look well.
It was one he had seen in the mirror every morning.
“Damn it.”
In the end, Evan released his hold on Lucia’s neck.
“It was naïve of me to think I could grant you a peaceful death. I forgot that you were someone who would willingly face death in pursuit of revenge.”
Then he pulled out a dagger from his pocket and stabbed her leg.
“Ah, aaah…!”
Lucia let out a scream mixed with pain, twisting her body.
Blood poured from the wound, staining her pale skin crimson.
“You can’t even protect yourself without magic. This is going to hurt.”
Thrusting the dagger from her leg, he plunged it into her shoulder next.
Once again, screams echoed from her leg.
“Gah, heh…!”
“What you did to the Saintess. I’m merely returning the favor.”
This time, Evan twisted the dagger to widen the wound.
The pain was enough to make Lucia feel as if her head would go blank, and she desperately tried to hold onto the injury with her cuffed hands.
Blood streamed from her bitten lips, trying to stifle the screams that wanted to escape.
Even in that state, there were no pleas for mercy from her.
No stop it, no significant resistance.
“Hah.”
Evan snorted.
Any normal being would instinctively seek survival when faced with such pain, yet she showed no such signs.
“Has she really broken so completely that she feels no fear of pain…?”
He had intended to torture her painfully until she begged for her life before delivering the fatal blow, but…
Seeing Lucia unchanged from before, he pulled the dagger from her shoulder.
As the blade was withdrawn, blood splattered on the stone floor.
“What a shame. I wanted to see you scream and beg for your life, but looking at you now, I can’t imagine you would.”
Evan took out some herbs and treated her wounds just enough to prevent her from bleeding out completely, then lifted her by the nape of her neck to continue speaking.
“However, I have plenty of time. I will summon the empire’s best healer to torture you while keeping you alive, never allowing you to lose consciousness. I will show you what hellish days await, as I delight in watching you deteriorate even further.”
His words carried a threat of a future filled with nothing but suffering.
“Hah.”
Lucia let out a laugh.
It was a clear sneer.
“Do you truly think such threats can instill fear in me?”
“Even if that’s not my intention, I would still be satisfied just to see your pained expression.”
At his words, Lucia wore a sardonic smile.
“Just wait until you mention the comrades I killed during your torture, and let’s see if you can remain so composed.”
Bang!
Lucia’s body, held suspended in Evan’s grip, was slammed down to the ground again with a loud crash.
She coughed out blood this time.
“Gah…!”
“You filthy woman. Those words do not deserve to come from your dirty mouth.”
“Is it not obvious? They are the ones I killed with my own hands, and saying it out loud won’t magically change the fact that you can kill me.”
“Do you truly think I can’t kill you?”
“Then go ahead and do it as you wish. You can do whatever you like, just like I did to your comrades.”
Evan momentarily held back the urge to stab her heart.
His flushed face was ready to explode with rage.
‘I have to hold back…’
It was the first time he felt his insides twist with the reality that he couldn’t kill her.
Evan reluctantly released his grip on the dagger and spat out curses at her.
“Damn bitch.”
“Those are comparatively mild words for the amount of revenge you’re feeling.”
“One day, you will beg for your life.”
“That will never happen. I desire death.”
“I will use every trick in the book to make you want to live.”
Evan looked directly into Lucia’s eyes.
The orbs, which had lost their light for a while, began glowing fiercely like the sun.
“And when you finally say you want to live, that’s when I will grant you the most painful death.”
“…Suddenly, I feel like I want to live.”
“Hah. What nonsense.”
Evan brought the dagger to her neck.
The blade pressed into her skin, a trickle of blood streaming down, yet Lucia stared back at him unflinching.
“Do you think I would believe someone who doesn’t even fear death can suddenly want to live?”
“Maybe if the person is a complete fool.”
“Do I look like such a fool to you?”
“Perhaps just a bit. If you think I would have no doubts, looking at you this way right now.”
“What are you referring to? Are you talking about the part where you want to live?”
“I need to clarify. It’s not just a little; it’s quite evident that you do.”
In that moment.
Evan, unable to suppress his emotions, yanked her hair and threw her.
Her head collided with the railing, causing blood to spill from her nose.
“Answer me.”
“Tsk, so foolish. Surely you know violence is not the solution to seek answers.”
“It seems violence is the only method to handle you.”
“Ha, that just makes you all the more foolish. You’re keenly aware in your mind that this is wrong, yet you still say it’s right and act on it.”
“…Damn bitch.”
Evan, gritting his teeth, lifted Lucia’s body to take her home.
“I feel stupid for trying to have a conversation with someone like you.”
“Yet, I’m glad you at least know your place.”
“Shut up before I pull your tongue out and feed it to the wild dogs.”
“Well, I would just die from not being able to eat at all, so that sounds like a good method. Why not give it a try?”
At her words, Evan mumbled “crazy bitch” under his breath but ultimately fell silent.
In any case, once the torture begins, she wouldn’t have anything else to say but scream.
With that thought in mind, Evan walked in silence toward home.
*
“Welcome back, Master.”
When Evan returned home, Bephyr greeted him at the front gate.
“I had a bit of trouble.”
“I figured as much. By the way, who is this beautiful woman beside you…?”
“Not a guest, so don’t mind her. It would only bring you harm to know.”
Bephyr glanced back and forth between the two, then nodded in silence.
The severed horn, the magic-suppressing cuffs around her wrists, and even their master’s twisted expression, which was usually close to emotionless.
Any servant here would easily deduce who the woman beside him was just from these signs.
“Then, shall we go inside and rest? The sun has already set.”
“Let’s do that.”
Evan said curtly and took Lucia into the mansion.
He immediately climbed the stairs down into the basement.
“…I didn’t expect this place to be used like this.”
As he opened the door in front of him, a dark, cold space void of light was revealed.
A place that had been left empty, as they hadn’t put anything in it when they bought the mansion.
Evan tossed Lucia into that space.
“This will be the space where you will live from now on.”
“It’s actually nicer than I thought for a prisoner’s space.”
“In a week, you will realize just how foolish that thought was.”
Ending his words, Evan slammed the door shut with a bang and left.
Inside the cold basement, only Lucia remained.
*
After exiting the basement, Evan placed his hand on his chest.
His heart was beating fiercely.
After all the journeys had come to an end, it felt more alive than ever.
Was it because he could finally achieve what he had longed for?
A smile naturally appeared on his face.
Despite trying to maintain his composure, a smile lingered on his lips.
Just then, amidst Evan’s revelry,
“Master, are you that happy?”
Bephyr’s voice came from behind him.
“Oh, did it seem that way?”
Evan turned his head.
His expression was the same as usual, but the corners of his lips had indeed curled up just a bit.
“Yes. It was the first time I saw that expression on you since I began working here.”
“…That makes sense.”
He gazed down at the firmly locked door below the stairs.
“I don’t think I’ll have any nightmares tonight.”
