Clatter.
The trust I had, even if small, in humanity shattered like a glass marble, leaving no pieces behind.
Jagged shards seemed to pulse in my chest. They swiftly turned into arrows piercing my heart, tearing it to shreds.
It hurts.
It hurts so much.
The cost of betrayal was as painful as the weight of the trust I had given, heavy with the blood of the child.
I forcefully swallow the impulse to go wild like a madman.
After all, they had debts to pay.
I absolutely could not kill them easily.
“Get away! What the hell…!! Gyaaaaaah—!!!”
“—Do you think you can escape?”
A man with a blood-stained staff waved it wildly, fleeing alone towards the village.
His frantic escape, as if afraid of the countless eyes on him, looked ridiculous, like a clown.
And the clown’s staff was smeared with dark bloodstains.
Blood.
Blood streaming down from the child’s head.
Is that so?
Did you hit the child with that stick?
You, was it?
That.
“—Devour him.”
Of course, the familiars waiting nearby wouldn’t miss it, and that rude human was soon swallowed by a mass of crows, wolves, and hyenas.
Eat long, tear apart.
Dig out that filthy heart.
Leave no corpse to even reach heaven, bury it all.
Ah.
And first, crush that unpleasant mouth and throat.
“—Don’t wake the child.”
…Krhrhrhr…
Crack, crunch, squeeak.
The scream that shook the forest was quickly silenced by my command.
In the woods, the only sounds that emerged, barely audible if you didn’t listen closely, were small bubbles boiling and animals having their little meals.
Seeing this, the terrified humans either sat down in despair or tried to flee in panic.
Worried that the child might hear those sounds, I gently covered her precious ears with my hands.
Don’t listen.
You don’t need to hear the worthless words of filthy humans.
Leave this to me, and I hope you can sleep peacefully.
Even treating that filthy existence like a life was excessive, and it ended by coloring the soil red with its last breath.
It was a repulsive being, one I never wanted to see again.
“—Run away!!”
“The witch… the witch has summoned her comrades—!!”
Some humans, noticing the crows’ diversion due to the recent man, began to flee in the opposite direction, seizing the chance.
Really.
If only they had stayed put, they might have lived a little longer.
Was it because their life was short, or just because they were foolish?
Humans often forget the past.
Unaware that it drives them towards death.
Wielding torches, they desperately hoped the approaching beasts would be mere run-of-the-mill predators afraid of fire.
But humans’ wishes would never come true.
“—What the hell?!”
“Tch… Farewell, Hutein!”
Upon realizing it was futile, they began tripping the person beside them to use him as bait while they fled in another direction.
But in retaliation, the fallen human clung to the fleeing man’s pants, refusing to let go.
A desperate struggle between a man clinging like a leech and the one trying to push him off.
I could feel the disgusting emotions being expressed from the bound familiars.
Quickly, order me!
I don’t want that vile life to survive anymore.
It was such a disgraceful scene that I began to doubt if that really was a ‘human’ like Alice.
Filthy.
“—Demi, you little bastard!? U…U-ugh!!”
“Damn it, don’t cling to me!! Get away!!”
“Hehehe…! You can’t go alone, can you!!!”
The fight between the two beasts who had given up their humanity ultimately ended with them becoming prey to the crows swooping down from the sky.
Even as they were being devoured, their hatred for each other ran rampant, forcing me to question my own decision.
They say birds sing sadly when they die, and humans say beautiful words.
But the words of those who seemed undoubtedly human only felt unpleasant.
“Ha… Haha…!!”
I just feel hatred.
I can’t believe I entrusted my child to such things.
My face, cradling Alice, twisted without mercy.
I could see the humans, who had been watching me from a distance, scream and step back when our eyes met.
“………”
“………”
In the meantime, there was something watching me, tied up alone, with complex feelings akin to fear, but I ignored it since it was irrelevant to me.
A momentary curiosity passed, but that was all.
“……….”
Previously.
Though now it was an embarrassing memory, there was a time when I kept the child solely for myself, practically locking her away.
At that time, I was such a fool, thinking that if I made her delicious meals, sang to her, and maintained a clean living environment, she would be happy.
But no matter how big the cage, if a bird can’t spread its wings to fly, it only grows weak.
No matter how interesting a book I read to her, or how beautiful a flower I offered, or how dazzling a gem I showed, the bird’s cries only grew sadder day by day.
Alice was a child who wanted nothing more than affection.
And I was an existence, a monster through and through, who couldn’t understand a human’s heart.
So, I deliberated.
What should I do?
What can I do for the child?
A question I tried to resolve through sleepless nights.
But shamefully, due to my lack of ability, I ultimately failed to resolve that issue.
As time passed, on a day when dew gathered on the leaves and frost began to fall, I reluctantly allowed Alice to go outside the mountain.
People must live by interacting with people.
I wished for her to find something to soothe her loneliness.
Honestly, I was half in doubt, but I was shocked to see her meet a girl with black hair on the very first day and become friends the next day.
However, I knew that it was a miracle brought on by the pure heart and kindness of the child which moved others, so I had no time to feel jealousy; I could only praise Alice’s courageous actions.
Alice, who made friends, began to regain her vitality.
I enjoyed watching her chatter about the fun stories of that day by the fireplace.
Going out for hunts to suppress my impulses, believing firmly that if anything happened, the crow I had placed beside her would ensure her safety.
I was satisfied.
I became complacent in reality.
And that was the problem.
“W… Who are you…”
“—I take no pleasure in talking to corpses.”
An old man with a long beard approached me, but I had no intention to converse.
Isn’t conversation the exchange between beings with intellect?
To me, they were just that kind of existence.
After all, they would only put forth fancy names for negotiation, apologies, and whatnot while ultimately showcasing their disgusting schemes to preserve their own lives that humans take pride in.
I had no reason to spare a single life of theirs, not an ounce, not even a hint of one.
Little by little.
Slowly, being careful not to irritate the wounds, I licked Alice’s blood-soaked face.
With each passing touch of my tongue, thick, dark red blood stained my mouth.
Sadly, the taste of Alice’s blood was too bitter.
From within that, slowly and gradually, her long torn wounds began to reveal themselves.
Deeply buried within the pure and smooth skin of the child were sharp wooden thorns and stones, making me unable to even fathom the suffering she must have felt.
Beneath wounds that made me want to look away was an uncountable array of bruises as blue as the sea.
“…Ah…. Aah…”
“—It’s me, Alice.”
Was it because she was exposed to the malice of humans?
Or was it because of the pain from being deceived and betrayed?
The pain was said to never return, yet the child trembled as if in agony.
Gently stroking her back to avoid hurting her wounds, I spoke softly in her ear, and I could see her unfocused eyes struggling to open.
Her mouth opened slightly.
“U…U…Un…ni…?”
“…Yes, it’s Saelli. I’m sorry for being late.”
“Hi…Hehe…heh…cough,”
“…I’m really sorry.”
It was only when Alice heard my voice that she realized I had come, and even as she seemed unaware of her own dire condition, she smiled brightly while coughing blood.
Even amidst the trickle of blood flowing from her mouth, I was so overwhelmed by Alice’s smile that I forgot the thought of needing to wipe it away.
That scene, deserving to be called a work of art, struck me painfully.
Because it was so dazzlingly beautiful.
The anger towards those who had tricked me into bringing her here to be ruthlessly killed.
The betrayal against those who, despite being humans, heaped the sin of witchcraft upon her simply by their presumptions.
None of those negative feelings mattered.
But to me, that appearance looked like someone forcefully pushing down pain and sorrow, stacking it all up.
As if she were afraid of hurting others, unable to even properly get angry.
“—Wipe them out.”
Thus, it was inevitable that a cold command fell from my lips.
I sought to punish their sins by devouring those who fled to escape and awakening their fear of death, but now, none of it mattered anymore.
I raised my hand high to the sky.
In response, countless crimson eyes rose in the once dark sky.
I merely wanted to swiftly sort out this filthy situation, the humans.
But—
“No…! Please, don’t…”
“D…Don’t do that…!!”
But lowering my hand was not allowed for me.
A small hand encircled my raised hand.
I couldn’t resist as that hand, with just a slight push, could crumble away.
“I don’t want… because of me… to cause people to die…!!”
