The Price of Trust (2)

High-ranking demon Saleos-nim.
Her mind had long since been torn to shreds.
It had only been three days since Lee Hyun-nim began his remote conditioning.

-Bu-deul-bu-deul.

'I can't take any more...♡ Just imagining when he might come, my body trembles...♡'

In the end, after only a few days, she pathetically admitted her defeat.
It was a reaction unbecoming of a high-ranking demon, but in truth, it couldn't be helped.
After all, it was something impossible to endure from the start.
She had been continuously receiving pleasure intense enough to subjugate the 9-intelligence Luna-nim, even if that pleasure was halved through the resonance.
Pleasure torture is far harder to withstand than torture through pain.
As someone who used the 'Curse of Heat' herself, Saleos-nim knew this fact better than anyone.

'At this rate, I'm going to become a total piece of junk demon for the rest of my life...♡'

Eventually, she was driven into a corner.
Like an addict hooked on drugs.
She had become a body that could no longer live without the pleasure Lee Hyun-nim provided.
No, it was more horrific than a mere drug addict.
Receiving only pleasure without any physical contact was true torture in itself.
No matter how much she masturbated, she couldn't grasp even a sliver of that peak sensation.
Furthermore, seeing Clara-nim made it clear that real sex, with their flesh actually pressed together, would be many times more blissful.
That was the reason she broke through the front lines and began to charge.

-Sya-sak.

'Please, even just a day sooner...♡'

She ran wildly.
For the Master... who had already subjugated her.
She was desperate to offer herself as quickly as possible, but-

-Pu-syu-syut!!

"Hieeeung...♡"

'No, not again...♡'

It was something Lee Hyun-nim didn't know even in his dreams.
Rather, he was so startled that he spent every day plowing Clara-nim.
Because of the resonance, Saleos-nim was simultaneously drenched in pleasure.
Since that cycle had repeated for nearly a full week, it was only natural that she was a total wreck.

'N-Now it's enough...♡'

"Please have sex with me too!!"

But such hardships ended today.
Saleos-nim's heart pounded at the sound of a voice coming from the distance, but...

"Don't lie to me!!!"

Unfortunately, Lee Hyun-nim judged the situation 'rationally.'
There was no way a high-ranking demon would be brought down this easily.
This was nothing more than a lure to kill him.
Sex isn't a cure-all-or so he thought.
Saleos-nim's insides turned upside down.

"No, I'm serious..."

'After you're the one who made me like this...♡ You're so mean...♡'

It was an unfair situation in many ways.
In the end, she had no choice but to make a drastic decision.

Seureuk-she secretly pulled open the front of her cloak.

"C-Can you see this...?♡"

'I'm declaring myself a slave to a mere human...♡ I'm a failure as a demon...♡'

The engraving on her lower abdomen that read 'Female Prisoner,' which she had carved in advance for just such an occasion.
She was certain that if Lee Hyun-nim saw this, even he would understand.
She was convinced of it.
And Lee Hyun-nim...

'I almost fell for it for a second. If her tits were just a little bigger, it would've been dangerous.'

"You wicked bitch!!! You've made every possible preparation just to hook me, haven't you!!!!"

Refusal of delivery.
Far from believing her, the veins in his neck bulged.
His voice, infused with magic power, echoed across the plains.

"W-What...!? Wait, this is a slave seal."

"A slave seal? Minerva-nim, does this ring a bell? She says she carved a slave seal on her own body."

"Wait a moment. Hmm, I can't identify it with a Blessing, but it's probably a trick. A disguised engraving or something?"

"This damned bitch tried to deceive me again!!! Maybe you could fool Hilde-nim, but you're nowhere near fooling me!!!!"

"I'm telling you, it's not like that...!!!!♡"

Saleos-nim also trembled with frustration.
No, had she, a high-ranking demon, not personally offered to be bedded by him?
Since it was obvious he would be anxious if she just went to him, had she not even made full preparations so he could take her as a slave?

'How can I make him believe me? Ah, what should I do...'

She had no idea why he wouldn't believe her.
She stomped her feet in frustration, but...

"......Hmm?"

'What is this? Could this actually be real?'

Fortunately, her frustration didn't last long.
Lee Hyun-nim's intelligence was 1.8. A value that wasn't extremely low, but wasn't average either.
This mysterious level of intelligence was starting to be swayed.

Ttok-ttok-Lee Hyun-nim poked Minerva-nim's shoulder.

"Minerva-nim, she's right now..."

"...Is that true? A high-ranking demon ran here naked and is asking to be taken as a slave?"

"She's even shedding big fat tears because she's so upset that I won't believe her."

"What on earth... Phew."

Sage Minerva-nim was also stunned after hearing the situation.
Of course, unlike Lee Hyun-nim, she didn't just dismiss this as a mere guess.

'Thinking simply, it would be a lure... but what if Lee Hyun-nim actually broke her, just like he did with Lumi?'

She recalled Lumine-nim, her friend and the Saintess who would squirt vaginal fluid like a fountain just from a bit of anal sex.
She hadn't realized how perfectly optimized her friend was for conditioning.
So she conjectured that Lee Hyun-nim was simply incredible.
She put forward the hypothesis that Saleos-nim might have suffered something similar.
Even if the premise was a bit off, the conclusion was correct; the name of the Sage was not for nothing.

"Hyun, what exactly was that attack you said you sent through the stigma?"

"I just sent a 'greeting' through Clara-nim. And I took care of her heat while I was at it."

"Sseu-eup, that's not it."

'That's not exactly a lewd act.'

...Even a Sage couldn't help but stumble in the face of common sense transformation.
It was truly unavoidable.
In the end, Minerva-nim decided to offer a compromise.

"So we're in a situation where we can't trust her words, right?"

"How can I trust a high-ranking demon?"

"That's true. But, isn't it possible it's real? It's worth checking out."

"Should I make her do something?"

"No, if it's real, this is a massive opportunity. I don't want to make it public if possible."

"Then..."

"Let's send a messenger."

Seureuk-a piece of parchment emerged from her robes again.
And sa-gak-sa-gak, a quill moved across it.
Elegant Imperial script was written upon it.
Lee Hyun-nim, who was watching, was greatly impressed.

"This is...!!"

"Isn't this a fair price for trust?"

"As expected of the Sage-nim!! This is awesome!!"

"Hehe~ Then, is there someone you want to send as a messenger? It'll be dangerous, so pick the worst person possible."

"Hmm, a bad person..."

And then he looked around with a troubled expression.
It was because he felt uneasy about sending someone to their certain death, but-

-Mom-chit.

"Ah, that person over there."

In the end, he pointed someone out.
It was a female bandit dressed in leather armor.

"Oh? I just said that in passing, but you actually picked her. What did she do?"

"Back when I didn't know how the world worked, I asked her to tell me about the black market and she almost kidnapped me. Hilde-nim was watching and saved me, though."

"...How is she still alive?"

"It wasn't worth killing her over. I was the one being an idiot. Anyway, you there! Female bandit-nim, come over here for a second!!"

He then summoned the female bandit and thrust the parchment into her hand.
The command to deliver it to Saleos-nim followed.
Naturally, the bandit tried to refuse, but-

-Jjaeng-geurang.

"Two gold coins."

"I-I'll die. It's over."

"Four."

"Money can't buy a l-life."

"Eight."

"Dammit, I'll take a gamble just this once!!!"

It was too much money to refuse.
With a determined expression, the bandit crossed the plains.
By some stroke of heavenly luck, nothing happened to her.

"This is..."

"I-I am Lee Hyun-nim's messenger! If you touch even a single hair on my head-"

"You're noisy, so get lost."

"Yes, ma'am!!"

Hu-da-dak-the sound of footsteps faded at high speed as she fled before the demon could change her mind.
Saleos-nim didn't even give her a glance.
Her pupils were fixed on the parchment scroll she had just unfurled.

『If you wish to repent and side with humanity, help humanity exterminate the high-ranking demons from now on. First, as a price for trust...』

"......"

'Betrayal.'

Sacrifice her kin, the demons.
And high-ranking demons equal to herself at that.
No matter how much she had cast aside her pride, betrayal was absolutely...

"Hieeeung...♡"

'To think he'd believe me for just this, he's so merciful...♡'

Saleos-nim didn't hesitate for even a second.
High-ranking demons were a race whose default setting was a rotten personality.
They were the type who would naturally mock her rather than help her as she squirted love juice.
She didn't have a single shred of hesitation about betraying them.

"Yes...♡ I'll bring them to you...♡"

"...Really!?!?"

"I don't want my future Master's achievement to end with just a single bitch like Sitri-nim...♡"

"Wait a minute!!! Minerva-nim, she says she'll do it!"

"Puhaha, this just got interesting. Then send her back for now~ Along with the message that the next time we meet, it won't end until someone is dead."

"Yes. Then get lost already!!!"

"Ye-he-het...♡"

She then obediently turned away.
She perfectly understood the role she had been given.

'There's someone who happens to be famous among the humans...'

"......"

'If it was going to turn out like this, why was I so scared? And why did I call all these people together?'

Lee Hyun-nim's expression as he watched her leave was truly a sight to behold.

A few days later.
In a mansion located in the deepest part of the Demonic Mirror, an eerily desolate place.

"Is that true!?"

"Heuk, yes... I went there and begged them to just release that slave, but they told me to get lost... even though I brought gems with me..."

Saleos-nim shed floods of tears.
On the surface, she looked like nothing less than a tragic heroine.

'Hurry up and fall for it, you idiot...♡'

Inside, she was every bit the rotten-hearted high-ranking demon.
The person in front of her had no way of knowing.
A blue light flickered in the eyes of the skeleton knight.

"How could they do such a thing!!"

'Even if she is a demon, she is a lady. Do they intend to keep making her suffer such terrible things!?'

The skeleton knight and high-ranking demon, Balam-nim.
His flesh had long since rotted away into fertilizer, but his chivalry had not yet decayed.
He rose resolutely.

"It cannot be helped. I shall inform the other demons of this fact and launch the 6th Great Invasion-"

"You can't do that."

"And why not? Setting aside someone like me who was originally human, you hold a position equivalent to a ducal young lady..."

"If we were a race capable of acting as a group, we would have ruined this Empire long ago. There's no way we can give our full power in front of bastards and bitches who might stab us in the back at any moment."

"Ah."

Balam-nim sat back down, looking embarrassed.
He had been a demon for quite some time, but the individualistic nature of high-ranking demons was still awkward to him.
In front of him, Saleos-nim let another false tear fall.

"There is no one else I can ask but you. Please help me, Balam-nim."

"...Do you trust that I, at least, will not betray you?"

"If I cannot trust you, who was once a noble hero, then who could I possibly trust?"

"K-Keu-heum. Thank you for trusting me. It is the first time I have heard such words from a lady."

"You'll help me, right?"

"Leave it to me. I, the King of Terror Balam, shall personally lead my legion to strike the Empire."

"Thank you!"

The first offering she decided to sacrifice for humanity was-

"-The former 'Hero'-nim."

It was the one who had been called a Hero in the past.