A groan escaped him from the pain.

Then the man’s foot came down on his right hand.

"It seems I was too lenient. Unlike demons, humans are fragile creatures, so I thought chains would be enough. Apparently, I was mistaken. Am I wrong?"

The man ground his foot down, putting more and more weight on it.

Qiong Xing endured the pain and struggled desperately to pull his hand free, but the difference in their physiques was too great.

No matter how hard he fought, he could not force the man’s foot away.

Then, deciding resistance was pointless, he glared at the man instead.

As if offended by his defiance, the man blasted him across the room.

Qiong Xing slammed into the wall.

His head struck hard and his vision swayed violently.

Even so, he felt that if he lost consciousness here, it would all be over, so he desperately forced his eyelids open.

"You may possess mana, but in the end, you’re only human. Did you truly believe you could defeat me?"

"Urgh..."

The man grabbed Qiong Xing by the hair and roughly forced his head up.

"I told you, did I not? I am not a particularly patient man."

A terrible feeling settled in Qiong Xing’s chest.

He tried to struggle.

But...

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Something like a stake suddenly appeared in the man’s hand and was driven straight through Qiong Xing’s right hand.

"Tch... haa... haa... haa..."

The shock felt as though it pierced his entire body.

Blood poured from the wound and his consciousness began to fade.

"Now you won’t be able to run, will you? No, it’s better not to take chances. Your left hand and both legs are still untouched. So then, where should I start next?"

The man smiled as though he found the entire situation amusing.

Tears gathered in Qiong Xing’s eyes.

"...Everyone... help me..."

"Sorry we’re late."

Just as it felt like his heart was about to break, a familiar voice reached his ears.

Qiong Xing forced strength back into his aching body and lifted his head.

"...Nu... ra...?"

Standing there was not the cute form he usually knew.

Instead, it was the powerful and majestic figure from when they had first met.

Wondering if he was dreaming, Qiong Xing called his name to confirm it.

Before he could, however, Fenrisulfr lunged at the man as though intending to tear him apart.

"Qiong Xing!"

"Qiong Xing!"

"Qiong Xing!"

"Qiong Xing!"

"L... Leander?... Elias... Joa... Fenrir..."

Through eyes blurred with tears, he saw the men he had longed for.

The men he loved.

Ah.

They had come for him.

Relief and happiness drained all strength from his body.

In exchange, the pain he had momentarily forgotten came rushing back, twisting his expression.

"Leander, Elias! Take care of Qiong Xing! I’ll handle him! Fenrir, support me!"

At Joa’s command, Leander and Elias rushed to his side and carefully lifted him up.

"Sorry we’re late. We’ll get you out of this now."

"...Leander..."

"It hurts, doesn’t it? We’ll remove it now."

"Elias, slowly."

"...Elias..."

The tears Qiong Xing had been desperately holding back finally overflowed.

Leander carefully pulled the stake from his right hand.

When Qiong Xing groaned in pain, Elias wrapped him in his strong arms and held him close.

"How bad are his injuries!?"

"I’ll stop the bleeding right away! Lian, come here!"

"Mama!"

"Mama!"

"Mama!"

As soon as they carried him over to where Katarina and the others were waiting, the treatment began immediately.

The sight of Qiong Xing covered in blood made Lian burst into tears, but encouraged by Katarina, she slowly began healing him with magic despite her sobs.

Qiong Xing worried that showing such a horrifying sight to children so young might leave them traumatized.

Yet seeing them tremble while telling him, "Mama, do your best," gave him strength.

"Everyone... thank you... for coming..."

He truly felt glad that he had never given up.

With that thought, Qiong Xing finally lost consciousness.

...

"Lian, you’re the one who’s going to save Mama. Isn’t that what you said?"

"Mama is doing his best too. We should do everything we can."

Seeing the children crying as they desperately worked to heal Qiong Xing made Albe feel ashamed of himself.

He felt guilty toward Qiong Xing who had endured so much and waited for them to come.

According to Katarina and the others, a stake had been driven through his hand, and several bones had been broken from the beating he had received.

Knowing that the one responsible was his own father filled Albe’s chest with guilt, even though he had not committed the acts himself.

"Caribert... let’s go."

"Yeah."

After seeing Qiong Xing reduced to such a state, there was no possibility of forgiveness.

He had already prepared himself for this outcome, but now his resolve was absolute.

With sword in hand, Albe stormed into the castle alongside Caribert.

"To think it would come to this... It seems even I underestimated you."

"You simply chose the wrong opponents."

Their father lay collapsed on the floor, blood spilling from his mouth, his right hand severed.

Albe felt no desire whatsoever to help him up.

From the beginning, they had possessed the advantage. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

There were the dragons Iseul and Roan.

There were the beastmen Leander, Elias, and Joa.

There was Fenrisulfr, Qiong Xing’s contracted beast.

When it learned of Qiong Xing’s danger, even Mayo, the great serpent, had joined the battle.

And on top of all that, Albe and his brother themselves were demons.

More importantly, the weapons Joa and the others wielded were dangerous artifacts imbued with countless blessings.

Even demons like Albe and Caribert would be at risk if they touched them carelessly.

Originally, those weapons had been intended for Qiong Xing by the gods themselves.

So many blessings had been layered onto them that it was almost excessive.

The only unexpected part was that the person who had received them had been unable to use them properly.

Even so, they had fulfilled their purpose indirectly.