"Waaghhh!" Purple flames engulfed the grotesque-shaped creature as it wiggled and screamed in agony, its twisted limbs thrashing before its body slowly melted into ash. A cold gust of wind swept through the abandoned factory and scattered the remains across the cracked concrete floor.
Before it died, its six eyes locked onto the blond woman opposite it, filled with hatred and fear. This stray Devil had hidden in this remote, abandoned factory for months, occasionally hunting a few humans to savor their sweet, tender flesh, when this bitch suddenly showed up and began asking incomprehensible and stupid questions.
The stray Devil could not understand why the fuck this bitch came after it in the first place. It wanted to know what it had done to deserve this. It wanted to understand why it was being killed like this?!
"Filthy Devil... Why doesn't he know where Yusuke-sama is... Why?!" Asia stared at the spot where the purple flames still burned, her eyes dim and unfocused, her face empty as she muttered under her breath, "I need to find him... he is waiting for me... Yusuke-sama needs me!"
"Yusuke-sama! Wait for me! Your devoted servant will save you!" She clasped her hands together as if in prayer. As she did, a beam of light shone down from the ceiling window and bathed her figure.
After leaving Yusuke's house, Asia had no idea where to begin or how to reach the Underworld. So she started searching at random. Whenever she sensed a trace of something supernatural, especially Devils, she would interrogate them 'gently' with her Holy Flame. Unfortunately, for reasons she could not grasp, none of them seemed capable of holding a proper conversation. No matter how many times she repeated her question, they only screamed and cried.
Once she finished her prayer, Asia turned and walked out of the factory. The moment she stepped outside, she paused and looked ahead in a certain direction before whispering, "Should I go back and make one of those sinners help me search for him?"
Despite being deep in her current frenzy, she could still recognize that she was not particularly good at this task. Instead of wandering around blindly and wasting time, maybe she should return and drag one of those women along to help her.
...
"Yusuke! Yusuke!"
"Yu-kun!"
"Yu-sama!"
"Darling!"
"Yu!"
The panicked, frantic cries of the yanderes echoed through the remote, now devastated area as the women flew toward the site of the explosion before the blast had even faded.
The dark crimson explosion of pure destructive energy still swallowed the surroundings, waves of force tearing through the air, but none of them hesitated. They ignored the raging aftermath and rushed straight into it. Even if they were injured or killed, what did that matter compared to the possibility of Yusuke being hurt?
Swoosh!
With bloodshot eyes and a face pale as a sheet, the first to arrive was Grayfia. The sheer speed at which she moved dispersed much of the lingering shockwaves, yet remnants of destructive energy still grazed her skin, peeling flesh from her left cheek and shoulder, but she did not care.
"Yusuke! Sweetie! Answer me! Answer, Mommy!" She looked around in a frenzy but found nothing. Her panic grew as she searched the surrounding sky, her gaze darting wildly. Suddenly, she sensed something falling. Without identifying what it was, she stretched out her arm to grab it. The moment it settled in her hand, her entire body froze.
It was as if she had been thrown into an icy cellar. Her blood ran cold, her movements turned slow and rigid, her eyes widened as her pupils shrank. Her lips parted, but no words came out, only soft, broken sounds. "Ugh… ah… ah… ah…"
Her gaze remained locked on what she was holding.
It was a hand.
A hand with most of its skin peeled off, the flesh so badly damaged that bone was exposed beneath the torn tissue. "No... no... this can't be..."
"A dream..."
"This must be a nightmare!"
"Agh! Ahh!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
She mumbled in a daze, as if detached from everything around her, ignoring the women who had gathered nearby and were now staring at the hand. Then she cried out, releasing a shrill, heart-rending scream.
How could she not recognize who the owner of this hand is? She knew every inch of Yusuke's body; she knew his body more than he did! But in this moment, she would rather not know; she would rather believe that her Yusuke had somehow escaped the explosion and run away!
"Its all my fault... I killed him... I killed him!" Venelana had never known that something could hurt this much. Even when her father and ancestor tried to get rid of her so she would not compete with her brother for the position of family head, even when they forced her to marry into the Gremory house, she had never felt pain like this.
Her heart felt tightly twisted, as if it were being wrung without mercy. Every inch of her body felt as though it were being cut and pierced at the same time. Her head buzzed violently, as if her brain were about to burst from the pressure. Even so, all of that did not amount to even one percent of the agony her soul endured right now.
She was the one who killed him. It was her attack that took Yusuke's life. It's all her fault! She killed him! He died because of her!
"Aghhhh!" Suddenly, Rias, who stood next to her, clutched her head and let out a sharp, agonized cry before losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground. Bloody tears seeped from her eye sockets.
She was crying blood.
The pain was so overwhelming that she could not accept the reality before her, and her body forcefully shut itself down to protect her. Otherwise, who knew whether she might have died from it.
"Rias!" Venelana did not seem to hear her daughter's cries or notice her condition. She stood frozen in place, her mind locked in its own torment. The one who caught Rias before she could hit the ground was Akeno, who reacted instantly and pulled her into her arms.
Koneko was not in much better shape. Her golden eyes grew dim, and blood flowed from both her eyes and nose, trailing down her pale face as she stood frozen in place, unable to move or speak. Everything around her seemed to fade into nothingness. The only thing she could see was the mangled hand in Grayfia's grasp.
'Why is everyone leaving me? Why?!' Her trauma began to resurface once again. Her mother had died early. Her sister had killed their master and run away. It had taken her years to recover from that wound, and only recently had she found someone she truly loved. And now, once again, the world seemed bent on fucking with her and screwing her over. He had died too!
Xenovia and Irina were still on the ground, staring above them. Both were frozen in place. They did not utter a word or move a single muscle. Even their facial expressions remained locked in the same position, as though their minds had completely shut down, as if they had simply blue-screened.
...
At the same time, in Yusuke's house, a bright light flashed, and Yusuke appeared out of thin air.
"That was scary!" The moment he arrived, Yusuke quickly took a Senzu Bean from his inventory and swallowed it. As soon as he did, his severed hand grew back, flesh and bone reforming as though nothing had happened. The destroyed skin on his body returned to perfect health. He looked completely renewed, every injury erased in an instant.
Although his defense had increased fourfold after receiving the rewards from Rias's quest, and even though he had remained there for less than an instant before teleporting away, Venelana's attack had still managed to injure him. As for the missing hand, he had torn it off himself to give his 'death' a little more seasoning.
[Grayfia Lucifuge's submission + 1!]
[Grayfia Lucifuge's submission + 1!]
[Grayfia Lucifuge's submission + 1!]
[Grayfia Lucifuge's submission: 92 (Devoted)]
[Venelana Gremory's submission + 1!]
[Venelana Gremory's submission: 100 (Devoted)]
[Xenovia Quarta's submission + 1!]
[Xenovia Quarta's submission: 94 (Devoted)]
[Irina Shidou's submission + 1!]
[Irina Shidou's submission: 97 (Devoted)]
[Koneko Toujou's submission: 100 (Devoted)]
[Rias Gremory's submission: 100 (Devoted)]
[Ravel Phenex's submission: 84 (Dependent)]
[Isabela's submission: 88 (Dependent)]
It seemed that the effect of his 'tragic death' was very successful. No, it was terrifyingly successful.
The feeling of losing the person they loved more than even themselves was enough to crush their minds and drown them in pain and regret. That kind of loss could drive anyone insane. It was more than enough to shatter their bottom line and send their submission value soaring through the roof.
Clear evidence of that was Grayfia's submission, which jumped by a whopping 32 points from her previous 60 straight to 92. She had once been so stubborn and paranoid that she was not even willing to listen to Yusuke mention other girls, and would turn violent at the mere mention of them. The effect of his 'death', especially since that death had appeared to be for the sake of saving her life, was devastating to her, to say the least.
Another whose value shot through the roof was Venelana. Although Yusuke had not been present at the scene, the flood of notifications alone allowed him to imagine how broken she must be right now. To be fair, he truly had not wanted to do this to her. She was the easiest yandere he had met so far. Even before he had started his quest with her, she had already reached the Dependent level, which was practically a done deal.
The pain and self-loathing she was likely drowning in for 'killing' Yusuke was probably beyond anything he could picture.
Rias as well. Her submission rose to the limit, and the same went for Koneko.
There were also Xenovia and Irina. The two church girls had joined the rank of Devoted. They were not as extreme as Grayfia, nor as stubborn as Rias and Koneko. Yusuke had already expected their submission to rise this high.
The ones who actually took him somewhat aback were Ravel and Isabelle. How should he put it? Their numbers were not high enough. Compared to the others, their submission seemed lower.
[Congratulation! You hit eight birds with one stone; this is your most brilliant move by far. Do you want to accept your rewards right now?] B2 suddenly spoke.
'Before that, why haven't you issued Eleonora's quest?' Yusuke did not immediately accept the rewards.
[Yeah, I was planning to after giving you the rewards, tsk! Party pooper!] B2 clicked her tongue in disdain before a new notification flashed before Yusuke's eyes.
[New Quest!]
[The Cliché blond drill-haired Queen Pro Max!: Tame the high-class devil Eleonora Stolas!]
[Task: Raise Eleonora Stolas's submission value to at least 80.]
[Reward: 10,000 XP, a random item, 1 skill point.]
[Penalty: None.]
[Eleonora Stolas's submission: 81 (Dependent)]
[Congratulation! You successfully finished the Quest: The Cliché blond drill-haired Queen Pro Max!]
'...' Yusuke's eyes widened as he stared at the notifications in silence. Although this was the natural outcome that should have happened, it still felt a little unreal for a quest to be completed the moment it was issued.
He stared at the list of notifications informing him that he had completed his quests, rubbed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
He had struck rich!
All the scheming and patience he had invested during this period had finally borne fruit!
'B2 distribute the re...' Just as Yusuke was about to tell B2 to give him his rewards, the collar around his neck suddenly glowed with an intense light. The purple glow turned into a deep red and flashed once. In the next instant, a violent pain tore through his body and mind. His vision went black, and he fell heavily to the ground.
**
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...
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