Subaru was tied to a log. The ropes were thick and coarse, biting into her wrists and ankles, holding her in place against the wooden beam. Her shoulders ached from the position, her arms stretched behind her, her back pressed against the rough surface. The room was cold, damp, the walls made of stone that had been carved into the earth. Faint torchlight flickered from sconces mounted on the walls, casting long, dancing shadows across the floor.
Lernen sat in a chair before her. He had removed his white robe, revealing the navy-blue uniform beneath, and his staff rested against the armrest. He looked comfortable, relaxed, as if he had all the time in the world. His blue eyes studied her with a calm, analytical gaze, the kind of gaze that belonged to someone who had seen many things and was rarely surprised.
"It is incredible," he said, his voice smooth, almost conversational, "how successful you are at mimicking humans. The way you walk, the way you talk, the way you smile and wave at crowds. If I did not know what to look for, I might have been fooled myself."
Subaru's jaw tightened. The ropes were cutting into her skin, and her mana was still blocked, still trapped somewhere she could not reach. But she forced herself to meet his eyes, to keep her voice steady.
"I am a human," she said. "A human stuck in a demon body. I just want a way to go home."
The words came out raw, unfiltered.
Lernen stared at her. His expression did not change, but something flickered in his eyes, a brief moment of hesitation. Then he shook his head, a small, almost imperceptible movement.
"Impressive," he said. "You seem incredibly skilled at lying too. My heart tells me you are speaking the truth. I can feel it, the sincerity in your voice, the desperation in your eyes. But I know it is a deception. Demons are masters of mimicry. They have had centuries to perfect their craft."
Subaru's voice cracked. "I am not lying."
Lernen stood up from his chair. He walked toward her, his steps slow, deliberate, his staff tapping against the stone floor. He reached up and pulled at her turban, unwinding the cloth with practiced ease.
The fabric fell away, exposing her horns. They were small, curved, the kind of horns that belonged to a young demon, an adolescent, barely past the earliest stages of growth. The torchlight caught them, casting faint shadows across her face.
"You are not even an adult demon yet," Lernen said, his voice flat, almost disappointed. "And you claim to have defeated the strongest demon of war? Rivale, the Bloody God of War, who had terrorized the northern lands for centuries? A demon who had fought and killed warriors who were legends in their own time?"
Subaru's voice was steady, despite everything. "I did."
Lernen leaned closer. His face was inches from hers, his blue eyes boring into hers. "Let us consider, for a moment, that you did. But why? Why would you kill your own kind? Why would you turn against the creatures that share your blood, your horns, your nature?"
Subaru met his gaze. "Because I am not one of them. I am human. A human who woke up one day in a demon's body and has been trying to survive ever since."
Lernen pulled back. His expression was unreadable, a mask that revealed nothing. "I cannot trust you," he said. "You are quite unusual. More unusual than the demon of El Dorado. Macht."
The name hit Subaru like a physical blow. Macht. She remembered Rivale mentioning that name, along with Solitär and Schlacht. The pieces of the puzzle were still scattered, but she was beginning to see how they fit together.
"You know Macht?" she asked.
Lernen paused. His eyes narrowed, and something shifted in his posture, a subtle tension that had not been there before. "I do. I was one of the people who sealed him in the city of gold. Why? Do you know him?"
Subaru shook her head. "No. I just know the name."
Lernen studied her for a long moment. Then he turned and walked back to his chair, settling into it with a sigh. "I see. Well, I suppose you will not be telling me what your goal is. What is the role of this human, Übel, in your plans? Do you have more companions, more accomplices?"
Subaru's mind raced. She thought of Übel, lying unconscious somewhere in this tower, her strange smile and her stranger questions. She thought of the soldiers she had fought beside, the villagers she had saved, the people who had trusted her despite everything.
"Übel is complicated," she said. "I do not have any accomplices."
Lernen nodded slowly. "We will see about that."
He raised his hand. The two golems, massive and silent, stepped forward from the shadows. Their stone bodies loomed over her, their glowing runes pulsing with a cold, steady light. They reached down and grabbed her arms, their grips like iron bands, cold and unyielding.
Then they pressed. Harder and harder, their fingers digging into her flesh, squeezing her bones. The pain exploded through her, white-hot and blinding. She screamed, the sound tearing from her throat, raw and ragged, echoing off the stone walls.
"Just the answer I want," Lernen said, his voice calm, measured, "and they will stop."
The golems pressed harder. Subaru's vision blurred. Her thoughts scattered. The pain was overwhelming, consuming, drowning out everything else. She could not think. She could not speak. She could only scream.
The pain was unlike anything Subaru had ever experienced. It was not the sharp, clean pain of a blade cutting through flesh, nor the dull, throbbing ache of a wound healing. It was deeper, more intimate, a pain that seemed to reach into the very core of her being and twist. The golems' fingers were cold and hard, like stone, but they pressed with a force that felt almost alive, as if they were savoring her suffering. Each squeeze sent waves of agony through her arms, her shoulders, her chest. She could feel her bones grinding against each other, the joints straining, the muscles screaming in protest. It was not just physical. It was something else, something that clawed at her mind and made her thoughts scatter like leaves in a storm.
She tried to focus on something, anything, to anchor herself against the tide of pain. The torchlight flickered on the walls, casting long, dancing shadows. The stone floor was cold beneath her bare feet. The ropes that bound her were rough, cutting into her skin. But none of it was enough. The pain consumed everything, drowning out the world until there was nothing left but the golems' grip and the sound of her own screaming.
This is it, she thought, the words fragmented, barely coherent. This is how I die. Not in a battle. Not in a loop. Just... here. In a basement. Tied to a log. Broken by stone hands.
But even as the thought formed, another part of her rebelled. The part that had survived the loops, the part that had died a hundred times and come back a hundred times. The part that refused to give up, no matter how hopeless things seemed.
No, she told herself. Not like this. I will not die like this.
Her head snapped forward, slamming against the golem's stone arm. The impact sent a shock of pain through her skull, white and blinding, but the golem did not even flinch. It did not loosen its grip. It did not react at all. It just kept pressing, its fingers digging deeper, its cold stone face expressionless.
Subaru's vision blurred. Her ears rang. She could taste blood in her mouth, metallic and warm. She had hoped the blow would knock her unconscious, or maybe even kill her, if it came to that. Anything to escape the pain. But the golem was too solid, too unyielding. Her skull was no match for its stone.
Lernen watched from his chair, his expression unchanged. He looked like a scholar observing a particularly interesting experiment, noting each reaction with calm detachment. When he spoke, his voice was smooth, almost gentle.
"Perhaps I should interrogate Übel instead," he said. "She might be more cooperative. Humans are usually more willing to talk when they see their companions suffering."
The words cut through the haze of pain. Subaru's eyes snapped open, and she tried to speak, to protest, but the golems' grip tightened, and the words died in her throat. She could feel something crack in her arm, a sharp, sickening sensation that sent a fresh wave of agony through her.
No, she thought, the word echoing in her mind. Not Übel. Not her. She had nothing to do with this. She was just... she was just there. She was just curious. She did not deserve this.
But she could not say it. The pain was too much, too overwhelming. Her thoughts scattered again, fragmenting into pieces that she could not hold onto.
The golems finally released her. Their stone fingers uncurled, and she slumped against the log, gasping for breath. Her arms hung limp at her sides, and she could feel the broken bones shifting beneath her skin, grinding against each other with every movement. Her body was shaking, trembling with the aftershocks of the pain, and she could not stop it.
Lernen rose from his chair. He walked toward her, his steps slow, deliberate, his staff tapping against the stone floor. He knelt in front of her, his face inches from hers, his blue eyes studying her with the same calm, analytical gaze.
"Ready to speak now?" he asked.
Subaru's chest heaved. Her breath came in ragged gasps, each one a struggle. She could taste blood in her mouth, and her vision was still blurred, but she forced herself to meet his eyes.
"Fuck you," she said, her voice hoarse, barely a whisper. "Die."
Her words were weak, pathetic, the words of someone who had nothing left to lose. But they were all she had.
Lernen's expression did not change. He looked at her for a long moment, his eyes unreadable. Then he stood up and stepped back.
The golems moved forward again. Their stone hands reached for her, cold and unyielding, ready to resume their work.
Subaru closed her eyes. She braced herself for the pain, for the crushing weight of their grip, for the sound of her own bones breaking.
I will not break, she told herself. I will not break. I will not break.
But even as she thought it, she knew it was a lie.