The Butler of the Villainess Has Returned

Chapter 24

Swung in a nearly horizontal diagonal line.

The force was properly adjusted, so only the house where Kali stayed was precisely cut down.

The slanted cross-section caused the second floor and roof to slide down, collapsing as if leaning on the neighboring house.

"Kaliiiiii!!"

Yuri, who had swung the sword, dashed madly toward the exposed interior.

Is he a crazy bastard?

Adora reattached her scattered body as if piecing together a dream.

"[Tsk, it was a cherished outfit.]"

Her voluptuous figure returned, but the dress she had plundered from a human could not be restored.

Rip!

She tore it apart without hesitation, revealing clothing made of demonic beast leather.

Although it seemed the fabric was insufficient to be called clothing, it didn't matter to her.

"[Rough men are not my type.]"

Adora clicked her tongue.

"[Could he at least be handsome?]"

Black wings, resembling those of a bat, grew large enough to envelop her body.

Flap!

With just a single flap, she instantly positioned herself beside Yuri.

"Kali!! You're not dead, right?!"

Digging through the collapsed debris, he cried out the name of Experiment No. 1.

Adora gave a decadent smile.

"[Should I help you?]"

In that moment, Yuri froze.

"You want to help me?"

"[Of course!]"

"Why?"

"[Because there's something I want?]"

Yuri turned his body to face Adora.

"What can you help me with?"

Adora giggled and covered her mouth.

"[Anything you want.]"

She stretched out both hands and removed Yuri's mask.

"[Of course, you'd better be handsome enough!]"

Click.

Finally, his face was revealed.

"[Oh my....]"

Adora admired.

His black hair, soaked with sweat, his sharp eyes, and his deep pupils glimmering with light.

"[You pass.]"

Hwaak!

Adora drew out all of the demonic energy.

"[Tell me what you want. Whatever it is, I'll give it to you. In return, I'll take your heart.]"

"My heart?"

Adora nodded.

"[It's not a bad deal, is it?]"

"You're saying it's not a loss to have my heart ripped out?"

"[Of course.]"

Adora caressed Yuri's cheek.

"[Even if you didn't say it, I was going to kill you anyway.]"

Adora, the King of Nightmares.

Originally, the Demonic Tribes could only manifest in the Human Realm through special rituals and sacrifices.

However, Nightmares were a bit different.

They could manifest through human dreams, and the stronger the entity, the more they could interfere with the world outside the dream.

Currently reigning as the King of Nightmares, she possessed the power of a Count-Level Demon.

Though her power was limited to less than half due to manifesting through a dream, dealing with a single human was effortless.

It was during the time when she was stuck babysitting ugly ones due to Thanatos' command.

Despite the inherent malice of the Demonic Tribes, she was far more attractive than the rest.

For Nightmares, who lived by consuming fragments of dreams and desires, there was no greater reward.

"[You're going to die anyway, so wouldn't it be less regrettable to gain something before you go?]"

Yuri nodded obediently.

"That does sound logical from a demonic perspective."

"[...?]"

Why does he understand the Demonic Tribes?

Although Adora felt a strange sense of kinship, that wasn't the important matter right now.

The heart.

Now, she truly needed a human heart.

"[What do you want?]"

Yuri pushed her back as she drew closer.

"I don't want anything, but I do have a question."

"[As much as you want.]"

Adora smiled.

Yuri hesitated briefly before asking.

"The Archbishop is backing you, isn't he?"

"[Huh, what?]"

Adora's expression hardened. She avoided his gaze, pretending not to know.

"[Ah, ah~! The Archbishop? You mean the Demon God Cult's Archbishop?]"

That's not what I asked, though.

"[He got utterly crushed by Thanatos and is taking a break.]"

Regardless, the news was quite interesting.

He pretended not to know and asked again.

"Adonis? What's with him?"

"[He ordered his subordinate to tell Thanatos to go screw himself. Humans really don't know the value of their lives, do they?]"

The corner of Yuri's mouth twitched.

That was me, though?

The situation at the time vividly came to mind.

-[So, what did Adonis tell you to convey?]

-He said, go screw yourself.

Until the examiner came to assist, he provoked him as much as possible, teasing him relentlessly. Enraged, he shouted like this:

-[I will never forgive you! You and those who call themselves the Demon God Cult, all of you!]

Ranting and raving, it seemed he really went after them and didn't let it slide.

Yuri covered his mouth and asked.

"So, what happened then?"

"[What do you think happened? He was roasted with Divine Punishment until just before death, and part of the authority bestowed upon him was revoked.]"

It was a tremendous gain.

The reason the Leader of the Demon God Cult was dangerous was that he had been granted Thanatos' authority.

Just as the Goddess had the Hero and Saintess, the Demon God also had his underlings.

With the Demon God's authority, he was stronger than the combined power of the Hero and Saintess.

In his previous life, he used that overwhelming power to clean up the interior and extend his influence outward.

Crushing the entire Demon God Cult's ambition, he gained blind loyalty, and with that united power, he dragged the world into destruction.

But what if part of that authority had been revoked?

Since part of it still remained, he would still be strong, but not as overwhelming as in his previous life.

The ambitious members of the Demon God Cult would aim for his position, and since he couldn't unify the Demon God Cult, even the power to wield externally would weaken.

He had somewhat intended it and used his name, but the result was too good.

As the saying goes, "A single word can pay off a thousand debts," Yuri weakened the Demon God Cult with just a single word.

While admiring the good news, Adora hugged Yuri.

"[Alright? I'll take the heart now?]"

"You have to answer to receive it."

"[I already did.]"

"Not to the Demon God Archbishop, but to the Illina Archbishop."

"[Ah, I don't care! I'm taking the heart!]"

Thud!

Adora's hand pierced Yuri's chest.

However, her expression wasn't good.

"[Damn it....]"

Like a faint dream, it merely passed through Yuri's body and didn't penetrate.

It was because the contract hadn't been fulfilled.

If it were a demon summoned through sacrifice and rituals, it could harm humans without restrictions, but a nightmare summoned through dreams was different.

They could only harm humans within dreams and originally couldn't even leave those dreams.

Since Adora was the Queen of Nightmares, she could leave the dream and, at least verbally, establish a temporary contract to interfere externally.

The proposal she gave Yuri was a question-and-answer exchange, with the price being his heart.

However, she distorted Yuri's question and didn't provide a proper answer.

Thus, the conditions weren't fulfilled, and the contract wasn't executed.

"I'll ask once more."

Yuri asked clearly.

"Douglas, the Illina Archbishop. That bastard is also part of the Demon God Cult, right?"

"[I don't know what you're talking about.]"

"The fact that the Beggar King's daughter is a Saintess Candidate was also told by that bastard, and the upcoming raid on the Academy is also being backed by him, isn't it?"

"[I-I don't know anything about that.]"

Her reaction was too honest.

To think that such a being was the Queen of Nightmares.

It was a moment when he realized why nightmares were used as disposable pawns in his previous life.

There was nothing more to ask.

"[Then disappear.]"

The moment he uttered the Word Spirit.

Crackle....

Adora's body began to blur.

"[Y-you, what is this!!]"

Even as a Demonic Noble, she seemed to endure somehow, but it was futile.

That was not her main body but an illusory body.

Even if Yuri were to face her main body now, he could potentially win.

"[Leave Kali and disappear.]"

The Word Spirit activated once more.

Termination of the contract with Kali.

Return of the illusory body to the Demon Realm.

Since the Word Spirit contained two commands, a massive amount of mana was drained.

"[No!! I'll never go back!!]"

Adora's struggle grew more intense.

"[I absolutely cannot return!!]"

Her determination to maintain the contract, even if it meant defying the Law of Causality, was evident.

Yuri spoke coldly toward her.

"Rose cannot survive in the Demon Realm."

Rose.

A daughter born between Adora and a human, likely being secretly raised in the Demon Realm's underground.

Her refusal to return and her obsession with the heart were probably because of her daughter, Rose.

"Instead of hiding and raising her in the Demon Realm, hide and raise her in the Human Realm. Then everything will be resolved."

Adora's expression hardened.

"[How do you know that...?]"

"You don't need to know that."

Moon Shadow.

Slash!

At the same time as the answer, the sword that had risen high struck the ground in an instant. It was a sword optimized for cutting surfaces rather than lines.

Swoosh....

Adora was split vertically. She dispersed like smoke while glaring at Yuri.

"[Name?]"

"Yuri. No family name."

"[...I'll remember.]"

Yuri blew air to make her disperse faster and scratched his head.

"Is that a trendy phrase these days?"

Why does everyone he meets say they'll remember?

He sighed and sheathed his sword. Then he approached the bed where Kali was lying.

"Is it finally the last stage...."

The plan consisted of three stages.

The first was the raid on the research facility.

Ian went underground to save the living test subjects, while he ran to where Kali was sleeping.

The second was subduing Adora.

Kali had been brought here without resistance because of the contract with Adora.

This was something he had learned in his previous life.

-No matter how you look at it, something feels off.

-What?

-That someone as strong as you was tied up in such a trivial research facility.

-...That?

Kali bit her lip.

-I had a contract with the Queen of Nightmares.

-Was it Yadoran?

-It's Adora, Captain.

-Right, Adora. What did she offer you that made you stay in such a place?

In his previous life, Kali had escaped from there using only her own strength.

He was curious about what had been offered to make her ignore the truth and fall into an illusion.

Kali smiled and answered.

-Happiness.

-Happiness?

-Yes. Endless happiness....

Yuri chuckled.

-There's no such thing, Kali.

Kali also let out a bitter laugh.

-But there's plenty in fairy tales.

-That's why they sell well. Reality can't become a fairy tale.

-...I know.

Although it was a bitter conversation, the smile she had worn held happiness.

Now, it was the opposite.

No conversation could be exchanged, and an expression twisted with anxiety was made.

With such a sorrowful expression, she mumbled in her sleep with a pitiful look.

"For a lifetime... here... I want to live...."

Yuri reached out toward Kali's forehead.

Now, the final, third stage.

Using the divine power obtained from Aurora, the contract document written between Adora and Kali was nullified.

"Wake up, Kali."

Ssss....

The Goddess's Mark engraved on the back of the hand absorbed the false divine power.

Although the situation of breaking falsehood with falsehood was absurd, for Yuri, it was the clear truth.

To achieve this moment, he even coveted and stole the Goddess's power, and finally manifested it.

Yuri generated divine power as he had practiced and directed it toward the mark.

The language of the gods was translated into the text of the present world and began to materialize.

"I told you to wake her up."

Hwaak!

At last, the divine power was activated.

Crack, crackle...!

The contract document engraved by Adora revealed itself from within Kali's body.

If I tear that, it's over. Just as he reached out with his remaining left hand to grab it.

"What?"

He noticed something strange.

"Class Representative...?"

The Nightmare's contract document, which should have been intact, was torn into the class representative. Thinking it might not have fully emerged, he waited, but that was it.

Even though he had imitated the Goddess's power, it was only a half-baked power.

The operation for breaking the contract had been barely mastered, and that was the current situation.

He didn't know what would happen if it was used on something other than a complete contract document.

"Kali!!"

As he was about to reach out toward Kali, wondering what on earth had happened.

Thump.

His arm was grabbed by a black monster, something between a corpse and a mummy.

Crackle, crackle...!

Just by grabbing Yuri, its body began to burn, and it was a low-rank undead.

"What is this―"

The moment Yuri tried to speak.

Crack, crackle!

The vocal organ of the undead, which had been hardened like wax, was forcibly torn apart and began to move.

"...Ka, Ka...li."

As if it didn't care what happened to its own body, it pushed Yuri away.

"Beau...tiful... my... daughter...."

Then, it embraced Kali.

Yuri realized once again.

"Mo...ther... will... surely... wake... you... up...."

Reality could never become a fairy tale.