Daisuke shifted his gaze from the pervert’s undignified sprawl at the far side of the room, to the broken girl at his feet. His desire for vengeance against her wavered as he examined her critical state.
“R-Reeza!” Petula cried out in devastation as she threw herself down beside the tattered and torn Florian. “This is horrible! How could anyone do such a thing!”
Daisuke observed as the girl’s lips slightly curled at the call of her name, a single finger twitching as she tried in vain to summon her strength. Her blood-coated hair was plastered across her forehead, casting her eyes in shadow.
She was utterly and hopelessly defeated, and Daisuke could entirely relate, so much so that it stirred his anger, as if the girl’s heartache was his own. Without a word, he stalked toward Casimir who was frantically rummaging through several furniture.
“Potion! Potion! I need a potion!” he chanted mindlessly, finally coming into possession of what he sought. “I-I need to restore my precious teeth; I won’t be able to convince a single noble if I look like this! I’m a member of the Mhaledictus, goddammit!”
“Maybe they would take you more seriously if you weren’t such an insufferable pig,” were the only words Daisuke offered, his calm demeanor betraying the monstrous storm that raged within.
Just as Casimir brought the vial to his face and was about to consume the potion, Daisuke mercilessly planted his foot, shattering the glass against the bastard’s face.
He knew the man’s intention was to bribe or threaten him in an attempt to stall for time until his loyal dogs arrived, but Daisuke wasn’t interested in his vile words, nor was he afraid of reinforcements. In this moment, he wasn’t a morally astute saint, a patient hero, or a diplomatic vigilante, but a primal force fueled purely by a desire for vengeance.
“You ignorant brat!” Casimir barked, blood spilling from his wounds. “The Mhaledictus—”
Daisuke stuffed his boot into the pig’s mouth, stifling the rest of his words and uprooting several more teeth in the process. Knowing his fury wouldn’t allow him to launch a proper interrogation, he opened the floodgates and allowed his inner demon to let loose.
Casimir let out a series of broken screams and gasps as Daisuke’s boot found his face over and over again. The sickening sound of violence and retribution reverberated through the room, stirring the Florian attendant from her stupor to witness what she perceived as divine providence.
“Let’s see how you feel being the one at the bottom,” Daisuke said ominously before kicking the pervert into one of the building’s many vacant rooms and sliding the door shut.
Casimir ungracefully stumbled and fell on his face inside. With a snarl, he snatched up a sword from a nearby sword stand and scrambled to his feet. “You bastard!” he bellowed, barreling toward the door. “I’ll find and kill everyone you’ve ever known and—”
The final set of words didn’t manage to escape Casimir’s lips. The outrage that once twisted his countenance and fueled his purposeful strides had now morphed into terror as he laid eyes upon the large beast that suddenly materialized before him.
“You. Chunky human,” panted a familiar Orc who was clearly still under the effects of the aphrodisiac, thick saliva drooling from its wagging tongue. “You accept dinkidoo!”
Casimir had an inkling of what that command entailed, and he squealed like a pig as he took a step back. The reaction stirred the Orc’s predatory instincts, and it began stalking toward its prey, ravenous eyes raking over the man’s flabby frame.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Casimir attacked with the ornamental long sword. The Orc effortlessly deflected the blade with its forearm, shattering the flimsy steel. Casimir stood in horror as he was gradually enveloped in the shadow of a creature whose hunger clearly outweighed his own.
In the next instant, he found himself prostrated, his fingernails peeling the wooden floor as he attempted to claw his way to freedom. But it was futile. Suddenly, his body jerked forward violently, his eyes bulging, a pained cry ripping from his lungs as his body was forcefully breached. His folds rippled as the Orc found what it sought, over and again over again.
As the man’s blood-curdling screams erupted from the room, Daisuke made his way toward Reeza. Petula glanced up at him with worrisome eyes as he approached, then shifted her gaze to the motionless girl whose head she had carefully rested upon her lap. She had also covered her body with a layer of her own garment.
“Her breathing’s very shallow,” Petula informed dejectedly. “At this rate…”
Silently, Daisuke crouched down and effortlessly summoned a potion in his hand, the shimmering red liquid catching Petula’s gaze.
“That’s…”
DING!
[Medium HP Recovery Potion]
[A potion brewed by combining Celestia flowers, Vitaberries, and Bloomwhisper Herbs. Its restorative potency varies depending on the concentration grade.
Item Effect: Replenishes 1,500 health
Cooldown: 20 Seconds]
“T-That’s a very expensive potion,” Petula exclaimed in a hushed tone, feeling a tad guilty on Reeza’s behalf. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
“…There’s nothing in this world that can be compared to the worth of a person’s life,” Daisuke murmured as he gently raised the girl’s head to feed her two vials’ worth of the remedy.
As the cool, rejuvenating effects of the serum quickly spread throughout her body, healing bones and skin, Reeza’s eyes slowly blinked open. For a moment, her vision was blurry, which seemed to heighten the faint echoes of Daisuke’s words that reverberated in her mind. In addition to no longer being in excruciating pain, she could vividly hear Casimir’s muffled screams and knew that Daisuke had not only saved her from a grim fate, but had also avenged her.
But why?
Even if he held all life in such high regard, surely her own would weigh less on his scale after all the wrongs she had done him. She was grateful her life was spared, but now, whether she liked it or not, she was greatly indebted to him.
“…The potions,” she said beneath her breath, keeping her gaze averted.
Daisuke frowned. “Did you say something?”
“The potions!” Reeza repeated in a higher pitch, a flush staining her cheeks as she pouted. “I’ll pay you back for them.”
Daisuke stood and turned away, his thoughts unsettled.
Petula smiled warmly as she observed the awkward exchange.
“…By the way,” Reeza said to the woman as she gingerly pushed to her feet and properly secured the loose garment around her small frame. “Did you… happen to see my mother on your way here?”
Petula pursed her lips as the image of a particular chamber floated in her mind. “I… may have an idea.”
Reeza’s face lit up. For a moment, she resembled the innocent little girl who had brought Daisuke a kebab while he was struggling to make ends meet. But that was just a persona to deceive him… wasn’t it?
“Take her and go,” Daisuke said, a telling undercurrent saturating his words, his butterscotch eyes transitioning to gold as they veered to the side. “I’ll find you once I’m done wrapping up things here.”
Petula didn’t need to be psychic to understand the warning behind his tone. With an urgency borne of caution, she took Reeza’s hand who was still groggy on her feet from blood loss, beckoned to the other young Florian girl who was meekly observing the scene, and quickly departed through the front door.
“Why don’t you go ahead and come out now,” Daisuke said without a trace of hospitality. “You can hide your presence all you want, but I’d be able to pick up on that bloodlust from a mile away.”
“How very perceptive of you,” Ranger said by means of greeting as he entered the room from a side door. “You even cleverly used the tunnels to out-maneuver me on your way here.”
DING!
[Ranger | Lvl 54 | Shinobi]
Daisuke frowned at the tall and imposing man dressed in black. He wore a stoic yet condescending expression.
“…What did you do to the man who was in this room?” asked Ranger, a silent rage simmering to a boil beneath his calm veneer.
“Let’s just say he’s getting a hard dose of his own medicine,” Daisuke replied with the same nonchalance and condescension.