It wasn't just Charlie and Wang Jian who had to face countless monster onslaughts; Elena found herself in the same situation, trapped in an endless vortex of battle.
In Paris, France, the night sky was adorned with stars shimmering like jewels, creating a beautiful canvas that contrasted sharply with the chaos below.
Unfortunately, the only person present there didn't have the luxury of enjoying the night's beauty.
"This is so annoying. No matter how many I defeat, their numbers don't decrease at all!"
Elena grumbled in annoyance, her voice echoing softly in the cold night wind.
Hovering in the air with black bat wings on her back—a characteristic trait of Devils—she observed the ongoing slaughter in the streets of Paris below.
The monsters moved like an unstoppable black wave, preying on anything that moved.
Using her Sacred Gear, Absolute Demise, which allowed her to manipulate ice, Elena easily replicated Esdeath's second trump card: Ice Cavalry.
With a flick of her hand, she summoned an artificial blizzard, forming ten thousand valiant ice warriors, each armed with glittering crystal spears and shields.
Her magical power capacity as an above-average Mid-Class Devil enabled her to create such an army all at once without excessive fatigue.
The ice warriors immediately charged, piercing and freezing the monsters one by one, leaving a trail of cracked ice on the ruined Champs-Élysées pavement.
"I knew this Quest wouldn't be easy, but I didn't expect the difficulty to be many times greater than a regular Quest."
Her eyes narrowed as she saw new waves of monsters emerging from the darkness, as if invisible portals continuously spewed them forth.
"If the number of these damned monsters doesn't decrease, I'll have to retreat immediately once my magic power is down to a tenth."
"In Paris alone, there are hundreds of thousands of these monsters; I'm afraid there might be several hundred million worldwide, right? No wonder humanity went extinct."
Although her ice warriors were capable of holding the front line, the continuously arriving monsters exerted constant pressure. Elena knew the abilities of Absolute Demise depended on her magic power.
"Even with the cooperation of the other two Saviors, it will take a long time to cleanse this planet of monsters. Not to mention, we also have to destroy the portals connected to the monsters' original dimension. Otherwise, this cleansing will be futile."
Thinking of how much had to be done in the future, from eradicating monsters to finding and destroying portals, Elena could only sigh in resignation.
Their task was no longer to save civilization, but merely to eliminate the remaining threats to complete a half-failed Quest.
Below her, the screams of monsters and the cracking of ice echoed, a reminder that the night was still long.
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The place reeked of death. The pungent smell of sweat and grime from people who hadn't bathed in days; the smell of feces coming from the bucket in the corner of the room that served as a toilet; and the smell of mold thriving due to the lack of ventilation in the windowless room.
The bad air shortened one's lifespan. Indeed, many criminals imprisoned here suffered from lung diseases and eventually coughed and withered in misery. Rio had been living in the dungeon where serious offenders of the Beltrum Kingdom were held for several months.
Rio was oblivious to the terrible conditions. He was used to the smells from his childhood in the slums.
His life had changed drastically since then, and now he was living a normal life, a life full of hope and a bright future. Thanks to a mentor he met as a child, Rio learned the knowledge needed to survive in this world.
"Rio."
The silver-haired girl said with a smile. With her small body that made her seem younger than her age, the way she looked at him aroused a desire to protect her, but not many men could protect her, a talented mage girl who skipped grades and graduated from the Royal Academy high school division at 12 years old, and now she was 22.
Even so, Rio thought he could do it. But now he thought he was the man who could protect Celia Claire.
How ridiculous.
Rio remembered the day he returned to the royal capital after several years.
That day, he heard that Celia had married Charles, Duke Arbor.
After honing his learning abilities and growing rapidly during a long journey to his parents' birthplace, Rio visited Celia, his former teacher at the Royal Academy elementary school, to show how much he had improved.
However, Celia's laboratory, which should have been at the academy, was empty.
After a few inquiries, he found that Celia and Charles had married a year before Rio returned home, and they had become husband and wife.
In the Beltrum Kingdom, the royal family's power had waned, and the Arbor family held the real power. The Claire family was in a difficult position in aristocratic society and could not refuse the Arbor family's demands. In exchange for their protection, they offered Celia to Charles as his seventh wife.
The marriage was entirely political.
Angry, Rio sneaked into the Arbor mansion where Celia supposedly lived. After evading strict security, Rio was reunited with Celia. However, there he realized it was too late.
Celia was pregnant. Of course, it was Charles's child.
"Rio... Rio, Rio, Rio--!"
Celia cried out loudly as she hugged Rio. Her swollen belly, disproportionate to her small body, pressed against Rio's stomach.
It was a mother's body, filled with amniotic fluid and transformed to carry a child.
"Rio! It's really Rio!"
Celia reached out and touched the face of her beloved student—her lover, whom she had never forgotten.
Rio had grown considerably, surpassing her height and looking almost like an adult man, but his body still held traces of his childhood. Touching him brought back fond memories.
"Teacher Celia."
His breath hitched, as if there was a lump in his throat, and Rio struggled to speak it out.
"Your belly..."
Only then did Celia seem to realize her situation.
"Don't look!"
Celia hugged herself, hiding from him. She was also ashamed of her appearance.
As a pregnant woman, she had to be extra careful with her health. Allowing her pregnant body to get cold was impossible. Yet, at this moment, she was only wearing a babydoll, exposing her bare skin.
Simply put, it was a sheer nightgown meant to entice a man. This was characteristic of a newlywed's night, meant to inspire her husband.
However, even Rio, who was unfamiliar with aristocratic customs and intimate conversations, could realize that this was not appropriate attire for a pregnant woman who had been married for a year and was soon to give birth.
"I... I wish I had come to see Teacher Celia sooner."
Celia tried to offer words of comfort to Rio, but she sensed someone outside the door.
"This way." She pushed him into the waiting room. "Okay? You mustn't come out of here, no matter what happens."
Then, Celia remained calm and greeted the guest with an indifferent expression on her face.
"I have been waiting for you, Lord."
Rio peeked into the bedroom through the slightly ajar door. Two people stood there.
One was Celia. The other was a tall, blond man, Charles!
When Rio was still living in the slums, he was mistakenly thought to be one of the princess's kidnappers and tortured, which was no more than an interrogation. It was Charles who beat Rio's body at that time.
At that time, Charles was a member of the Royal Guard. It was a grave mistake when the Royal Guard, who were supposed to protect the royal family, instead kidnapped the princess. To clear his name, Charles acted on his own initiative, torturing Rio with the assumption that he was a naughty boy living in the slums who had helped kidnap the princess for pocket money.
"When it's just the two of us, don't call me by that strange title."
Charles gripped Celia's hand and brought his face closer to hers.
Due to their height difference, Rio felt Charles intimidating from above.
"Welcome, darling."
Charles nodded with satisfaction at her response.
"You look beautiful tonight, Celia. Your beauty hasn't changed even after pregnancy. In fact, it only adds to your charm."
"I am very flattered by your praise. I will do my best to serve you tonight as well."
Celia was no longer the girl who enjoyed tea parties alone, blushing simply at the mention of what made an ideal lover. She was a mature woman who knew what pleased a man.
Next, Rio, hiding in the closet, watched the husband and wife engage in their nightly activities. He suppressed the urge to attack Charles.
(Should I do it? I'll kill Charles and escape with Teacher Celia. But that would cause an uproar, and escaping with a pregnant Teacher Celia would be a gamble. But that's the only way to break ties with Charles and free her...)
Rio knew Charles's prowess as a knight. Now, with Charles so engrossed in sex that he wouldn't consider the possibility of an attack, he could win with greater certainty. He had no choice but to kill him.
Steeling himself, Rio reached for his sword. Yet, no matter how many times he replayed the simulation, the outcome was never satisfactory.
"Lord Charles, Lord Charles, I love you."
Moaning in pain and almost torn apart, Celia kept shouting her love for Charles.
Celia's lustful cries echoed throughout the room. The clever girl Rio knew was nowhere to be seen.
After Charles embraced her in front of Rio and reaffirmed her love for her husband, it felt as though Celia had finally put an end to the vague feelings she had as a girl.
Rio felt that in Celia's mind, he had become a thing of the past. A figure emerging from a past that would never return.
"Don't be shy, just do it! The night has just begun. Celia knows I won't stop after just one time, right?"
It was then that Celia let out a sharp cry. A gush of fluid spurted from their coupling, flying right to the door where Rio was hiding.
There was a pungent feminine scent. Without prior sexual experience, it was a smell Rio had never encountered before. However, he understood it with knowledge from his previous life. This fluid was the fluid of lust a woman released when she orgasmed.
Charles's statement that it wouldn't end with one climax was true. Celia showed no signs of resistance. The couple continued to make love throughout the night.
Feeling the scent of lust filling the room, Rio couldn't move an inch from his hiding place, and it was revealed that Celia's body had fully matured.
He didn't even remember where they walked after that. The couple fell into a deep sleep, enveloped in a languid exhaustion from their pleasure. Rio passed them in silence.
He went out and wandered aimlessly through the city before dawn. Without purpose. He kept moving, without thinking.
A suspicious man was lurking in the aristocratic neighborhood while it was still dark. Reports of this must have reached the Soldiers.
Rio was surrounded by several soldiers. He had the combat power to escape if he wished. But he had no intention of doing so.
"I don't care anymore." He accepted his restraint without resistance.
The castle soldiers were surprised when they caught him. Among the soldiers, one noticed that the boy resembled the boy who had been sought several years earlier on suspicion of the princess's murder but was never found, and who had been forgotten amidst the chaos of the country's internal affairs. His age and appearance also matched.
Rio refused to dispute the accusations, and he was chained in the dungeon where serious criminals were held. Of course, Charles, who disliked him, also played a role in this.
In despair, Rio accepted his unchanging life in the dungeon, slowly weakening and making peace with his own demise.
Today, there was a slight change in his life. A glass of wine was served for the guards' dinner, and they chatted to pass the time.
"By the way, is there a happy occasion today?"
"Apparently, the young lord of the Arbor family just had a child."
"Ah, as expected of a great noble. And he offered free drinks."
"Young Lord Charles has several wives, doesn't he?"
"It seems his seventh wife is pregnant this time."
"The Arbor family practically controls this country now, so it's not surprising they'd buy a glass of wine for the common folk."
Rio turned over in his sleep and watched them. His bones showed in several places on his emaciated body, and he felt pain when he hit the hard stone floor.
"Lady Celia just gave birth to her first child, but Young Lord Charles has already planted his seed in her for a second."
"She may be the Seventh Wife, but in terms of family status, Lady Celia is the daughter of an Earl, so she is the highest ranked. Apparently, she's also a great mage, so she might be a good candidate to continue the lineage. But I don't know what a noble thinks."
After that, the guard changed the topic. Losing interest, Rio turned his back on them again.
In the dark dungeon, he closed his eyes. Celia's pale, naked body floated behind his eyelids. It was no longer the Celia Claire he knew.
"Teacher Celia."
A tear, which he thought had dried, flowed down Rio's cheek.
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"UWAAAAH!!!"
Opening his eyes, Charlie sat up in a terrible state.
His forehead and back were drenched in sweat, his face pale, his heart pounding as if it would leap out of his chest, his breathing ragged, and his mind chaotic, as if the scene he had just experienced was real.
"Charlie? Thank goodness you're awake. What's wrong with you? Are you so scared? Did you have a nightmare? Are you feeling better?"
Aishia's gentle voice greeted him, full of concern.
Noticing Charlie's unusual anomaly, Aishia quickly brought the man's head to the soft embrace of her breasts, stroking his hair lovingly.
Her warmth and scent slowly calmed the turmoil within Charlie.
"Nightmare...?" Charlie mumbled softly, his gaze still not fully focused.
His panic gradually subsided, and he noticed Est and Kei also looking at him with concern from the other side of the bed.
"So it was all just a dream? Phew... That was traumatic."
Charlie took a deep breath, trying to return his heartbeat to a normal rhythm. He pinched his own hand hard; the sharp pain confirmed he wasn't dreaming anymore. An overwhelming sense of relief filled his aching chest, flooding every cell of his body.
"It's the first time I've seen Onii-chan have a nightmare. What kind of dream was it?"
With her innocent, big eyes, Est held the edge of Charlie's shirt and asked, her voice filled with curiosity and a hint of anxiety.
Kei: "..."
She remained silent, not uttering a word, but her sharp gaze and curious expression showed that she, too, was eager to know what kind of dream could shake someone of Charlie's caliber so profoundly, even after facing countless monsters and dangers.
"It was... I dreamed I got NTR'd."
Charlie confessed openly, although his tone was somewhat uncomfortable and his face showed disgust.