Chapter 32: Chapter 11 — No mercy
Although the dream about Norn, the one and only true ally to the mauled martyr in the first world, was quite a nice change of pace, so much so that he even recalled that one moment when the tortured soul almost accepted to give up on his ultimate plan.
With all the girls pursuing deranged slavers all across Ranalitta, Keyaruga still had to exact revenge for the destruction of his birthplace and the brutal death of his foster parents. For this exact reason, the man lured out Leonard.
The healer once again assumed the face of the deceased deserter, Murta. He was like a spider, waiting for his prey near a half-derelict bar for the poor in a barely habitable corner of the City of Strong, almost near the outer wall. The lad never doubted that the knight would come. After all, he didn't write much about Keyaru, instead giving hints about Flare's whereabouts. That bastard's feelings toward the witch were much more than just admiration toward a suzerain. During his escape, the hero had no choice but to glance through his memories to find out just how wild and atrocious his "love" was. It was so twisted and baleful, that Flare's last moments looked like a romantic first wedding night in comparison.
"Murta" watched the door from the outside. If anything went wrong, like the Bloodbringer making an appearance, then he could easily take his leave. But… the reality turned out to be much more boring and predictable. Five strong armed men entered the building, too well-equipped to be locals, even if their armaments didn't look like that of knights. Keyaruga waited a few minutes before heading inside. Even though the place looked a bit better on the inside, it stank. Aside from the five soldiers, there was a fat bartender and a couple of drunkards. None, though, concerned the healer as much as the bandaged red-headed "boy". The spitting image of Keyaru was the only one who occupied a chair with his armored legs at the table.
"You're Murta?" The captain scornfully asked. The "deserter" made a wavering nod before sitting down before the murderer. "So, where's that pink-fucking-haired aristocrat girl you were writing about?" Leonard asked, and the healer almost got sick. It was his former voice, slightly different than it sounded for the boy himself, and therefore irritating to the bone. Also, under the bondage, the avenger saw bits of burned skin. I can sympathize with not wanting to look like that weak maggot.
"Ehm, first, I… I want a guarantee that I'll return to the army after that. P-please." Masked Keyaruga attempted to make it look like a normal, double-sided deal. "And… I don't want to be counted as a deserter."
"Tch, fine, you have my word." Which is worth absolute shit… "You won't be hung. If your intel is true, that is." The knight replied loftily. Leaving the battlefield was harshly punished, so even a high-placed officer would have problems with releasing such a perpetrator. Fortunately, Keyaruga was never a soldier; he was an independent god-chosen hero.
"O-okay. So, look, there's that woman. I think it's Flare. She looks a bit different, but she has that hair, a-and she's a mage, so I'm sure."
"And why's that?" Leonard asked, turning out to be too cautious for comfort. Fortunately, the healer took a few lessons from his lover in the erased past. In particular, to prepare for at least a dozen different turns of events. I just failed to grasp all the aspects of the bigger picture. And this is my punishment…
"Ah, well, I did fight with her on the southern frontlines, so I know what she's capable of. And that fire rain that rained near those white furries' dump, that was her, I can tell. P-please, believe me." Even though Keyaruga burned with hatred, he wouldn't risk his feelings ruining the trap he set up. So he assumed the mask of a coward.
"And? Every fucker with the fifth circle could have casted it. Or it could've been a group ritual. How can you prove it?" The captain was slowly losing his patience. Apparently, Norn instructed him well.
"Well, I saw her on a hill. She… had a green glowing stick with her, so…"
"It's a magic staff, moron." Now that's annoying.
"Y-yeah, magic staff. It… I wanted to confirm what I saw, so I followed her track." At this point, Leonard's grin grew uncomfortably wry. Is this how I look when I smile? Oh gods, why?
"Fucking finally! Now take me to her! I wish to know for certain!"
"T-thank you!"
Now, the captain of the royal guard was ready to burst into laughter. He no longer even tried to hide his lust, foretasting his abuse toward Flare. And so were his men, carefully chosen bastards like himself
"Hey, friend. Let's have some fun, shall we?" The voice belonged to Molrett. That fact almost pulled the rug out from under Keyaruga's feet. But, in the end, a wide grin warped "Murta's" mouth.
"Yeah. Follow me."
…
The camouflaged Hero of Healing led his prey to a small house in the depths of the lower city. Its previous owner, apparently, perished by Lorenzo's dead hand. Or was it just bad luck? Ranalitta's borders had at least forty thousand ways to die to offer.
"She must be inside." "Murta" spoke, pointing at the building. It looked completely livable, and yet…
"Does that fucker really keep Her Highness in this hole?" Leonard wouldn't believe Keyaru would lead the princess to such a place.
"Well, you… You'd never look for her here, would you?" Even if she was here, I would never risk my toy this way. Even if she risks herself into her freshly-acquired altruism. At least she has Kureha and Setsuna to protect her. I wonder how is she?..
"Yeah. Makes fucking sense." The captain swore, kicking out the door. The knights wouldn't drop their guard, searching the empty dwelling. "She's not alone, is she?"
"N-no. She lives with that man who trashed our forces. He looks a bit like you, captain, with that red hair, although older. Oh, and he's here only in the evenings. Suppose he has to make a living somehow."
"Fabulous. Just what we need. Hey, trash! I think I heard something there!" Yeah, my wind spell. "That man" is here, and he's out for blood.
"It must be Her Highness!" The "deserter" mused.
"Sure. Let's go save her!" Leonard then kicked open another door. It led to a bedroom. He and his men ran toward the bed, but when the red-headed filth pulled the blanket... "WHAT THE HELL! WHERE IS SHE?!" …and there was nothing but hay. The knight took "Murta" by the neck, but the man didn't even budge. "The heck are you smiling?! Where is she? WHERE IS FLARE?!"
"Shut up." The healer took Leonard's hands and, in a swift move, dislocated both of his wrists.
"A-A-A-A!!! KILL THE BASTARD!!!" The captain yelled, but none fulfilled his order. His men were dazed and barely holding on to their two legs. Keyaru's copy soon joined them, although his high level allowed him to stay awake for a while.
"You like it? You'd be surprised just how easy it is to brew a volatilized neurotoxin with just some nettle and igerna's grass. Although I could use a spiky viper's poison. Too bad I didn't have time to find one. Oh, don't mind me, just thinking out loud." "Murta" mocked his victim by barely paying any attention to him.
"W-who… the fuck… are you?.. Where's… the princess?" Leonard snarled, crawling across the floor.
"He-he-heh! She's doing good deeds at the moment. Exterminating vermin, just like I do at the moment. What, did you think I'd let you approach her even by a kilometer? Man, you're not too smart, are you? To disregard my shapeshifting abilities after witnessing them for yourself? That's just adorable."
"E-eh?.." Even by that point, the knight was barely able to comprehend the juncture. Disappointed, Keyaru revealed his true face.
"You!.. YOU FUCKE-E-E-E-ER!!!"
"I too am glad to see you, Leonard."
"KILL YA-A-A-A!!! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME, COCKSUCKER!!!"
"Maybe I'd be more intimidated if you didn't lie just high enough to lick my boots?" The boy wryly grinned, putting the foot on his doppelgänger's head. "All I had to do was to throw a bone with Flare's name on it, and you took it!"
"I'll… murder you…"
"Oh, how terrifying! I might piss my pants!" The healer chuckled. "Go on. Stand up, grab your sword, and stab me in the heart, like the good knight you are."
"A-a-ah…" Leonard growled, but he couldn't muster the strength to even just move his arm. The red-eyed lad, in turn, drew a weapon from his sleeve before putting it on his victim's neck.
"See? You're powerless, while I can make a little slice and make you bleed to death." Keyaru threatened the dung in human form, making his crimson eyes burst wide open. A near-death experience can do wonders for a human's psyche. "I won't kill you that easily, though." The boy added, sheathing his throwing knife.
"So… you want to bargain? Good, I… I'll pay you! I'll leave that fucking town and tell nobody about you! I promise!"
"Glad you understand the situation, but I'll pass." The hero smirked, crouching near his foe. "I have gods to surpass and the world to claim. Do you think I'd be swayed by some idiotic bribery?"
"But… the money…"
"Sorry, but we have plenty already. Although…" Keyaru's face morphed into a gruesome visage of hatred. "You must pay for what you did with Anna."
"An-?.." He was quickly interrupted. The healer wouldn't allow that degenerate to disgrace his mother's name, so he slammed Leonard to the floor, breaking his jaw and leaving a sizable dent. The captain joined his men in their unconsciousness. Now, all he had to do was drag all five men to the basement, where nobody would ever hear their screams.
…
Leonard opened his eyes in a dark room. With no torch or lantern, only small windows under the ceiling illuminated it. He felt his body, all of it, yet when trying to stand up, neither his arms, nor legs obeyed him. The captain looked around. At least his neck responded. The knight sat with his back leaning against the cold wall.
"Finally, our sleeping beauty has awakened!" Keyaru waved his left hand. He was on the other side of the room. The Hero of Healing held some strange tube with glowing goo inside. At the end of it shone a short needle. "What? Are you interested in my toy? Have you heard of Asantri from the county of Trast?"
"What is this… bullshit?" Leonard snarled, yet the voice from the throat was not his own.
"No? I'm not surprised. So many talented people remain overshadowed by stupid murderers. She's on the verge of a great discovery. This… thing will revolutionize internal treatment in a couple of years. But now, I've crafted one just for you." The avenger finally let his naked hounds near the murderer. Four naked knights, knowing nothing but lust. Foam dripped from their mouths, their broken eyes looked lifeless, and their tense muscles refused to relax. Rabid dogs, now with outlook matching their rotten souls.
"What've you done to my men, fucker?!"
"Made them better. No more exhaustion, no more hypocrisy, no more masks. Only pure, undiluted desire." Keyaru stabbed Molrett's neck, the liquid poured into his body.
"A-A-A-A-A-A!!!" The hellish scream made the captain tremble in fear. Finally, the captain looked at his body. It no longer resembled our rogue hero, but a busty woman with nothing but the matching red underwear as clothes.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!! WHAT'VE YOU DONE?!" Now, with that high-pitched voice, your scream sounds rather funny.
"You like it? I've actually bought it for Fre… Flare, so you should be honored. Oh, don't worry, your pee-pee is intact." Sorry, I can't change your gender completely, even my power has its limits."You, shitheads, think it's fine to cause pain, because you don't taste it yourself. So here I am! I could've killed you for what you've done to my family, but that would be too kind for you." Keyaru let his dogs get closer. None of them were human anymore. The only thing they understood was the word of their master. "Sit!"
"W-what the fuck?.. What do you want?!.." Leonard shriveled, trembling from the foamy saliva that was dripping onto "his" hips.
"You were beating me relentlessly back then, but I'm kind, so I already forgave your twenty-eight punches. What I didn't, though, is you raping my Anna, disgracing her to the point where she killed herself!" Keyaru spoke with his teeth loudly creaking. "You killed my mother, my father, and burned my birthplace! Now you will receive the same treatment for your fucking ass!" The monsters got even closer. With no way of speaking, they growled and roared, just like animals. Animals in heat.
"N-no, please…"
"Please, yes!" Keyaru showed his bloodthirsty grin. "Now they'll rape you, just like they raped all those countless women prior! I won't let them die. I'll heal them as many times as it'll take to break you for good!"
"Please! I beg you! A-A-A-A!!! HAVE MERCY!!!"
"Mercy? Did you show mercy to Anna?" The healer now glanced at the terrified face of a murderer and rapist. The latter had nothing to say, only tears fell down his cheeks. "I thought so… FAS!!!" And so, with nothing to hold them, the four hounds jumped to ravage their prey.
"No! STOP! I'M LEONARD, YOUR FUCKING CAP… A-A-A-A-A!!!" The "knights'' knew no allegiances anymore. No more hierarchy or fear. A beast doesn't care for it. The first ripped his panties and went inside the captain's anus, while the second shoved his penis into the captain's mouth, but because his jaw was closed, the drugged soldier broke his teeth before making the victim suck. The third got Leonard's ass from the back; now it hemorrhaged. And the latter found nothing better than using the condemned's weak hand to rub his genitals. And Keyaru?
All that time, he sat and watched with wicked pleasure. This savage orgy never aroused the healer, yet the red-eyed lad found it somewhat amusing, for the first hour at least. After that, he just stopped caring for it at all. Instead, the man wandered his memories, searching for the best way for Freia to utilize her magic. Something was taken from the best human casters, something the hero witnessed recently, but synthesizing it into something usable was Keyaru's own task. To better visualize his studies in sorcery, the man painted magic circles with his own blood. Even without mana, they radiated power. So this what he meant? My blood worth more than I can imagine, huh? His unseen genius led his hand until he finally finished the masterpiece of his research.
"Dona mini epiphania!" The healer vocalized the incantation, and the power of the fourth circle of fire magic revealed to him everything around two hundred meters or so. Hundreds of sparks, each embodying a life, warmth which every living person, animal and even insect radiated. And this is when he discovered that only four lives remained in the stinky basement.
Leonard was raped, mutilated, and beaten. The drugged hounds cared nothing for their captain's health or pleasure. For the first couple of hours, there was screaming; then, it changed to wheezing. And when the sun had long since set, the tortured captain was no more. Just the numb body remained, still violated by mindless husks of what were once humans. Leonard died either of asphyxia by dried sperm in the throat. Or, I may had been an immense pain, that took his miserable life?
With nothing to do anymore, Keyaru conjured a small fireball. He dropped it on the floor, and soon the blaze would take over the entire building, along with knights' equipment. Monsters in human form were destined to die in flames, eaten by their own depraved lust. The hero never looked back. He walked outside and was met with a warm wind and fresh air. Then, he raised his hand upwards.
"Anna, have you seen that? I killed him! I avenged you! Are you… happier there? Even for a little bit?" But no matter how genuine the prayer was, the night skies remained silent. Only distant swearing and nearby crackling mocked the man.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone