Chapter 218: Punishment

「Touko, are you done?」

It’s the time when the area is completely dominated by darkness and owls are hooting on the tress. Lilyvia appeared from the darkness with her finest quality silver hair fluttering in the night breeze.

「Ah, Lily-shishō. Well, it’s as you can see. I was really motivated because it was Deris-danna’s instructions, but it was a disappointment.」

「Ara, were you expecting something from this trash? You have an adorable side, don’t you? I wonder if your training in the red-light district is starting to pay off?」

「I don’t think so.」

「Fufu, is that so? But don’t worry. You have grown from a wild stray dog to a faithful hunting dog―― hm?」

When Lilyvia was chuckling, she heard a faint sound of breathing coming from her feet. It’s very weak that as if the light of life is about to disappear.

「A… ah….」

Akira is barely alive. If you push him just a bit, his life will disappear. He’s in such a critical condition.

「Hey, Touko. This thing is still alive, you know?」

「Lily-shishō, before departure, didn’t you tell me to let him alive just in case…? That’s why I removed his joints and waited for you.」

「…… Did I?」

When Lily looked at Akira’s body again, she saw that the joints throughout his body has been removed. Not only the joints, but many of his bones are broken as well.

「After you beat him until he can’t move, did you play in your spare time?」

「No. This guy claimed that he had killed his own friends, so I just let him feel the pain of the number of people he had killed. I wasn’t playing with him.」

「Hmm, it looks like his jaw is broken, though?」

「Well, you see, he was noisy, so I couldn’t help it….」

Touko awkwardly turned her gaze away from Lily.

「Your emotion, or maybe your instinct got the better of you…. That habit has become a lot better, but it seems that it still needs correction.」

「Ugh, please stop it, Lily-shishō…. It’s really scary when you smile while cracking your knuckles….」

「If you don’t like it, then use that little reason you have to shut up your instinct. The only time you can expose your instinct is when you sharpen your senses and when in battle.」

「I-I’ll keep that in mind!」

Touko seems to have a lot of respect for Lily, but her honorific is somewhat strange. It’s like the relationship between a senior and junior delinquent female high-schoolers. Lily is the senior, of course.

「Now, what should we do with this thing.」

「Is there any instruction from Deris-danna?」

「He told me to let him be if he has rehabilitated. But I’m sure he knew that it’s not the case by the time he dispatched us. He implanted something in this thing’s body after all.」

「Well, if he’s killing people without caring about anything, he’s completely out of line. Uwaah, this is Enari’s sword, isn’t it…?」

Touko picked up the sword dropped by Akira and was amazed when she found out that it’s a stolen item. Not only murder and stealing, but he seems to have other crimes as well.

「So, back to the topic. What if Akira hasn’t been rehabilitated?」

「He said he will leave the punishment to me. I can kill it easily, but it’s a level 6 hero so I feel like it would be a waste. Should I ask Haruna to make it a zombie just like Gobuo?」

「Well, I don’t need that…. And I think that Deris-danna won’t like that either.」

「Right~. I also don’t want this thing…. Ah, I know. Let’s give this to 『Old Skull』.」

「Skull…? Who’s that?」

「He’s one of the Great Eight Demons just like me. He has a lot of undead in his army, so I think he’ll be pleased with a corpse of a hero. We can recycle this thing and he will make this thing work to the bone. Yes, that’s right, let’s do that!」

Lily claps her hands and seems to be satisfied with the decision. It seems that Akira’s treatment has been decided.

「I want to give it fresh, so let’s bring it alive.」

「Ehh~, we won’t be able to put him in the storage like that, right? I don’t want to carry Akira directly.」

「I also don’t want to. That thing is dirty with those bloodstains, and it seems hard to hold because the joints are removed.」

「Should I put back all of the removed joints?」

「Hmm… On second thought, it’s troublesome, so let’s just kill it. Let’s do it quickly.」

「It comes to that in the end, huh. Then, I’ll do it quickly――」

Touko crouched on the spot and grabbed Akira’s head with both hands.

「――Bye, Akira. I don’t know if you are going to heaven or hell, but you will have to receive a sermon from those who went there earlier.」

With a snapping sound, the head of Akira, who was lying on his back, turned 180 degrees. His life, which he had managed to survive despite repeated defeats and injuries, disappeared here.

「Alright, I’ve finished storing Akira’s corpse.」

After finishing putting Akira in the magic item bag, Touko reported to Lily.

「Ah, I forgot. What about these corpses that Akira killed and this old man? The old man is still alive, though.」

「Take away the corpses as well. As for this guy, well… I will tamper with his memory in his dream and make it like he was attacked by a monster. It will be troublesome if they trace Akira’s appearance back to Adelheit after all.」

「Okay. Let’s put these old men as well.」

The Great Eight Demons and her disciple are trying to destroy the evidence (?). And it’s probably not your imagination that they look get used to it. They can only be seen as having a lot of experience.

「Hmm, I guess it’s more convenient to blame Hund’s army. They are in the middle of a war with him after all. They were attacked while traveling in a carriage, and then――」

「――Wouldn’t it be a good idea to make it that the old man’s companions were protecting him while putting their lives on the line? They were chosen to be heroes, but with the way they died, they won’t be able to rest in peace. I think it’s not a bad idea to give them at least some achievements.」

「Is that so? Well, I’m fine either way.」

Lily uses her power as a succubus to alter Gregor’s memory in his dream. However, her gesture is that she’s just poking his head with her fingertip. This is not the first time Touko has seen Lily’s power before, but she always wonders if it’s something that simple. A little while later, Lily stopped moving her finger.

「Okay, it’s perfect even if I say so myself.」

「No, it’s dangerous if we leave him in the middle of the road. How about hiding him until he wakes up so that no one noticed him?」

「Yes, that’s perfect for my disciple.」

Gregor is cleverly hidden among the trees and plants on the roadside and protected by a barrier from a disposable magic item. Now he will be safe for the time being until he wakes up in the morning.

「Mission completed. Now, let’s go home.」

「Today’s training was strangely easy, so it seemed suspicious…. Did you prepare something on the way home?」

「Who knows~? If you are not sure, then just sharpen your senses.」

Lily and Touko disappeared into the darkness. Then, the scene returned to a quiet forest as if Akira’s attack was a lie.

「Still, Lily-shishō, the way you talk today is softer than usual, huh? Also, your maid (useless) acts are increasing. It’s reassuring for me, though.」

「I’ve been acting longer than I planned after all. To be honest, I’m nearing my limit. I want to be hugged by Goshu―― I mean, by Black.」

「That’s a difficult problem.」