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Chapter 89

The boy, landing with a cloud of dust, smirked.

「It seems you’ve prepared quite the entertaining show for me――」

Speechless, I couldn’t utter a word as the boy glared at me.

「I’ll return it a hundredfold. No need to hold back, just accept it.」

The soldiers who should be protecting me are in a cluster at the exits.
And the elite Twelve Divine Generals were dispatched to the Elven forest and the surrounding plains.

As for me ―― I’m completely exposed.

While I boast S-rank level abilities myself, facing the superhuman power that this boy just displayed would be child’s play for him.
If only even five of the Twelve Divine Generals were here… or even three, the situation would be different.

I grit my teeth at the desperate measure of dispatching all the elite Twelve Divine Generals to counter the Elven resistance.

「Who… wh… who are you?」

「Lute McLane. Just a villager.」

A Villager…? Why would such power be harbored in just a villager?
A sinister fear washes over me as the boy grins.

「I have some questions for you.」

「Questions?」

Ah, the boy nods―― and then utters shocking words.

「If you continue to annoy me in our conversation from now on, I’ll start breaking your fingers one by one.」

Breaking… my fingers?
What on earth is this boy saying?

I’m a king, you know? Such treatment towards a king is unacceptable.

「Why did you lay your hands on Liz?」

「Liz?」

「You don’t even know her name? And yet… you’ve gone this far. Impressive, isn’t it? Oi!!」

With a furious shout, the boy grabs my right hand.
I try to shake it off, but my hand feels as if it’s been gripped by a vice, unmovable.

And then――

――Snap.

A light sound, like snapping dry wood, echoes.

「Aaaah! My, my, my finger! My little finger!」

The boy sighs lightly.

「Well, that’s too bad. Your screams is too unpleasant.」

Snap.

This time, my right middle finger is broken.

「Aaah…」

At that moment, I cover my mouth with my left hand.
If I scream, he might break another finger.

「Once again, too bad. Your face enduring the pain looks indecent and unpleasant.」

「Stop saying absurd things… Ugh… Abyu!」

This time, my right ring finger is broken.

「Oops, if I keep going like this, you’ll lose all your fingers. Now, the next question. Why did you… kill Orto?」

Orto?

What’s that?
Some kind of musical instrument?

「Orto… you say?」

「My family, who was killed by your orders… that’s who Orto was!」

「Abyubba!」

This time, my thumb is broken.

「Your screams are amusing. One more.」

「You… you’re… breaking your promise!」

My index finger is broken, and now my right hand is completely broken.
My voice was almost hoarse from all the screaming.

I glare at the boy.

「Don’t think you can get away with this for free. The only reason you’re able to do as you please is because the strongest force of our country, the Twelve Divine Generals, isn’t here. Once they return, you’re finished. Even if you manage to escape this place, we’ll hunt you down to the ends of hell.」

The boy reaches into his pocket and takes out a small bag.
Then he throws it to me.

「Check the contents.」

As instructed, I open the mouth of the bag with one hand, and then I…

「What…!?」

Inside were more than ten severed fingers.

「I thought they might be useful for negotiation depending on the situation… and about the Twelve Divine Generals of the Royal Guard? I took care of them. Four in the forest and eight wandering around the plains… they’re gone.」

「This is… madness…」

It’s over.
It’s all over.

Completely and utterly―― it’s over.

Yes, I’m finished.

Unbelievable.
No, it’s not just unbelievable, it’s unacceptable.

How did it come to this?
After years of longing, after conquering and destroying the Elven kingdom, reaching the pinnacle of glory… Why? Why is this happening?

「Next question. Why did you try to kill the daughter of the beastmen and the Elven princess?」

「That’s because they became obstacles…」

「Let me rephrase the question. Why did you allow them to have children?」

「The Elven princess is to be ravaged by our royal family… to symbolize the subjugation of the Elven commoners for the victory of war…」

「Basically, it means you made them have children at your convenience and then disposed of them when they became inconvenient, right?」

「Y-yes…」

With that, the boy let out a deep sigh.

「That is extremely unpleasant.」

「Huh?」

「Your upper front teeth… Shall I take them?」

「Eek!」

It felt like gunpowder detonated inside my mouth.
My first instinct was to check if my upper front teeth were still intact.

And then, blood spread rapidly inside my mouth at an alarming pace.

Upon inspection with my tongue, it seemed like two of my upper front teeth had been shattered by the boy’s flick.

「Abbya… Abyata… Just what is your purpose?」

The boy pondered for a moment and shrugged with a melancholic expression.

「It’s just a personal sentiment.」

「Huh…? Here…?」

「Yeah, that’s right. You killed my family―― my pet Orthros.」

Another flick.

「Agghh!」

This time, my lower teeth were taken entirely.
Sweat poured from every pore of my body, and nausea rose with the pain.

Collapsing on the spot, I assumed a posture of prostration, curling up like a turtle, and pleaded tearfully.

「P-please… stop… stop…」

「I won’t show mercy to scoundrels.」

「T-that’s… so…」

「I can’t forgive those who harm what’s precious to me. Especially not those who resort to such despicable methods. I’ll do whatever it takes―― that’s all there is to it.」

Looking up, the boy wore an expression of fury.

And then, he raised his fist high――

「So, you must die right now.」