"Munch… Munch."
"Ms. Ferloche, what were you chewing on so intensely for the past few days?"
"Well, anyway, when did you start following us? You were supposed to be lying in the hospital bed..."
While I was chewing on Frey’s soul bead, Kania and Irina asked.
But that wasn't all.
"..."
The Four main heroines, excluding .
Even Isolet and Lulu.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on .
This was quite awkward.
"I didn't know!!"
"Hmm."
"Hahh. What did I expect?"
Indeed, when things got awkward, acting dumb always worked.
See, everyone was already sighing and giving up.
Isn't that right?
Lord Frey, who is currently getting chewed?
"Nom nom nom..."
- Bzzzz...
I couldn't believe that the reason you asked to let you stay in your body for a while and help you regain your mories was to accept the 'Corruption' quest.
Even I hadn't anticipated that.
"Hmm..."
Could it be related to the Fourth Ordeal?
The one where it recreated a world where you were corrupted?
That made sense.
Originally, it was an ‘Ordeal’ by the system that replayed past retry records to inflict suffering.
But there was no cycle of you becoming corrupted.
So, the system opted for an alternative.
The Fourth Ordeal always occurred in a completely fictional world, with an AI mimicking you.
But now, a never-before-seen event has unfolded where you voluntarily accepted corruption.
Though your soul had escaped back into my mouth just before the Ordeal began, your body truly beca corrupted.
And the mont your body corrupted.
The Fourth Ordeal began.
Yes.
The Fourth Ordeal was happening in reality, not in a virtual world like previous Ordeals.
I was surprised, too. I never knew sothing like this was possible, let alone considered it happening.
Of course, just because the Ordeal was happening in reality didn't an there would be any significant difference.
The world had already begun to be interfered with by the system, and once the Ordeal was over, everything should return to normal...
Would it?
I didn't know.
This was the first ti an Ordeal had occurred in reality.
Even if the Ordeal ended, whether everything would return to normal...
Will it return to normal?
How did you know that?
Hmm.
Co to think of it, there was sothing I was curious about.
I didn't understand your actions this ti.
Why on earth did you take this risk?
Wasn't your plan to ensure everyone except Ruby passed the Ordeal?
Was there a reason to make the Ordeal happen in the real world instead of a virtual one?
"..."
Huh?
In the first place, what if the Fourth Ordeal has always been executed incorrectly?
Didn't it an that you had to truly accept corruption for the Fourth Ordeal to run properly?
So, were all the previous instances of the Fourth Ordeal rely errors because you never truly beca corrupted?
It was odd.
How would you know about those things? I didn't know about this either.
- Bzzzz...
There was a sudden quest a few days ago?
Looking at the contents of that quest, you felt like you had to do it like this?
Hmm...
So, what is the content of that quest then?
"..."
You won't tell , huh? Do you want to be raped?
No, you already disobeyed and fallen into corruption, so I will definitely rape you.
_Each ti you refused to tell , I will rape you for an additional hour. _
So behave yourself.
- Crunch… Crunch…
"Ms. Ferloche, I think your jaw is getting stiff–"
- Swish...!
"...Hmm?"
Ah, you finally arrived.
You, who beca the Demon King, had arrived before us.
"Hello, everyone."
When you were killed by soone, the Ordeal would end.
At the sa ti, those who sacrificed themselves for you would undergo a demonification.
What a cruel Ordeal.
An Ordeal where sacrificing yourself for the person you love the most is the wrong answer, and killing the corrupted you is the right answer.
Moreover, except for Serena and , no one even suspected that this was an Ordeal.
That made it even more cruel.
"W-Who are you...?"
"F-Frey?"
So, how did I manage to clear it until now?
I cleared it by trying to kill you as quickly as possible, of course.
The orthodox thod was for Aria, who could bear the fate of a hero, to beco the Hero instead of you.
And there were tis when your little guardian angel finished it instead.
But both were too difficult, so most of the ti, I ended up finishing it mysel-
What?
There was a variable in this Ordeal, you say? Were you talking about that ruby-colored bitch?
"...Crunch crunch crunch."
_As expected, I need to listen to the new quest details. _
Hurry up and tell .
Before I fuck you until you fainted.
- Bzzz… Bzzz…!
_You want to hide you from your body? _
Because when you’re near your body, your soul becos unstable, and you’re afraid of being exposed by the system...
That sounds like an excuse to . Well, I guess I have no choice.
I’ll hide you.
I'm your Saintess, after all.
_You’re asking if there is really a way to hide? _
It's simple.
“Gulp...!”
_You’re tasty, Frey. _
Hid in there for now.
- Gurgle, gurgle...!
I’ll trust you for now. Since you seem to have a plan.
Anyway, everything will be revealed when we reach the end of the Ordeal.
Well then. See you after the Ordeal ends.
And prepare yourself to be devoured.
.
.
.
.
.
"W-What?"
"..."
anwhile, at the temporary residence of the ruined Hero Party.
"Ru-Ruby? Ms. Ruby?"
"Hero...?"
Aria and Vener opened their mouths with blank expressions.
"Th-this appearance... what happened?"
"W-Why do you look so grotesque?"
"Sob, ugh... sob sob..."
Ruby revealed her true appearance as the Demon King.
No, she revealed her true appearance when she was still the Demon King.
"Could it be... my brother did this to you?"
"It's definitely Frey's doing."
It was clearly the appearance of a demon race, but Aria and Vener were muttering such words with serious expressions.
It was, in a way, to be expected.
The misunderstandings and truths about Frey and Ruby couldn't be imdiately changed with just a word.
"I-I'll explain..."
Then, Ruby began to explain with puffy eyes.
"I was a demon king with the ‘Pretender System'. And Frey was a hero with the ‘False Evil System'."
"I grew stronger the more I acted hypocritically and pretended to be good, whereas Frey grew stronger the more he committed false evil."
"That was the mission Frey had. A mission he couldn't tell anyone, a burden that was solely carried by him.”
She was telling the truth she never imagined she would have to speak herself.
"I deliberately did good deeds and appeared as the Hero in the world to isolate him."
"The reason I got close to all of you was... all to pretend. So that I can destroy the world."
"Frey, on the other hand, tried to stop . He committed evil acts outwardly, but diligently worked behind the scenes to stop ."
The Hero Party and other first-year students, who had been caught up in the fight between herself and Frey and were in tatters, slowly began to approach her.
Then, like Aria and Vener, they began to listen to Ruby's explanation.
"I'm sorry... The reason I was always nice to you in front of Frey, the sandwich parties, the incident during the last Erosion Incident, it was all a strategy to tornt him..."
"Wait a minute."
As their expressions began to sour, Aria urgently interrupted Ruby's speech.
"Sothing… sothing's off, isn't it?"
Then, squatting down in front of Ruby with a forced smile, Aria said,
"If that's true, why are you telling us this now?"
"..."
"If, according to you, there's sothing like a 'penalty', then why are you still okay?"
As Aria spoke, she reached out her hand to Ruby.
"Did… did my brother threaten you? That must be it right? That must be…”
However, as Ruby looked at her with hollow eyes, Aria soon shut her mouth.
- Drip...
As she watched Aria, cold sweat began to roll down her face.
"...It's all over, so I can tell you the truth."
Soon, Ruby’s face was filled with terror, she buried her face in the ground and continued.
"I was... a piece of trash who tornted him without realizing he was soone precious to ."
For the next several minutes, Ruby's earnest story continued.
Frey, who had been grabbing her and beating her up for the past few days.
Yet, sotis she sensed a sad expression and a guilt-ridden look on him.
After the so-called 'Love's Escape' incident, she and Frey destroyed the Church together.
And then ca the most enjoyable dates of her life.
And at the end of those dates, the choice she would regret for the rest of her life, and the truth she realized while reading Frey's soul.
"Frey had been... always, always, always regressing to save , all of you... and this world..."
By the ti Ruby said that while lying face down on the ground with tears streaming down from her eyes, the children's expressions began to beco increasingly pale and distorted.
But still, Ruby kept talking.
From the day she wept profusely, trying to revive Frey using treasures from around the world.
She managed to temporarily restore him, but in a mont of distraction, he was kidnapped.
And before she could fully restore his soul, he chose to fall into corruption.
"Frey... chose to fall into corruption… to save this world."
Despite her forehead bleeding profusely from banging it on the ground several tis, Ruby forcefully banged her head on the ground again.
"That's why he, the Hero, has beco the Demon King..."
With that, Ruby, who had been talking for tens of minutes, buried her face in the ground and began to sob.
There was more to be told about Frey's current state with his mories and soul reset, and about the Demon God, but Ruby's heart could no longer endure to continue explaining.
And what unfolded after the unexpected end of the explanation was…
"..."
Silence.
"Is... is that all real?"
"It can't be..."
"But... that appearance...?"
"Could it really be true?"
Confusion.
"Ha, haha. That can't be right."
"Ms. Vener?"
"Sothing is wrong. This must be a trap, a trap set by Frey. This unbelievable explanation can't possibly be true, right? You aren't really believing all this...? There's still no evidence other than Ms. Ruby's words..."
Denial.
"But what if this is all true... what happens to us then?"
"That ans..."
"So, what have we been doing all this ti?"
Fear.
And then…
"B-Brother?"
Despair.
"Ms. Aria? Where are you going?"
"Ms. Aria!!"
.
.
.
.
.
"Ugh, ugh..."
Aria, with a pale and exhausted expression, had been desperately running sowhere for several minutes.
"Ms. Aria! Stop!!"
"Fir-first, let's talk..."
The Hero Party and the first-year students were chasing after her.
"Haa, haa..."
However, it was a matter of no concern to Aria, as she kept running.
If, if that's all true... if it's true...!
The strange things and doubts she had felt while looking at her brother.
Even the uneasy feeling she sotis got when watching him do bad things.
All of it, combined with Ruby's recent words, instilled a terrifying fear in Aria.
I, I need to make sure. I need to confirm this...
So Aria, with only the thought of directly verifying the truth in her mind, was chasing after traces of stellar mana.
It can't be true. It can't be... if it's really true... if all of that is true...
During the battle earlier, she had left a trace of stellar mana on Frey. Judging by its proximity, he wasn't too far away.
"B-Brother... Ugh."
After running for a while, Aria stumbled and collapsed to the ground.
"Ugh, ugh... ah."
Groaning in agony from her throbbing legs, she suddenly widened her eyes and reached out her hand.
"B-Brotherrrr!!!"
Right in front of her was Frey.
If Ruby's words were true, She has no idea what she should say or how she would pay for her sins, her own flesh and blood...
Wait, I... last ti...
"Excuse ..."
"B-Brother..."
She suddenly rembered the mont a few months ago when she had disowned Frey from the family, her face turning white.
"Who are you?"
"W-What?"
As Frey approached her with a curious expression, Aria, with a trembling voice, asked.
"I don't know you."
"..."
And behind him, the five main heroines, plus Isolet and Lulu, were kneeling with dark expressions.
"Am I your brother?"
"Ah..."
Aria's eyes began to tremble uncontrollably.
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