Aina felt as though all the wind had been knocked out of her. The faint light of hope she thought she could grasp on to suddenly went up in smoke, disappearing like a fleeting fragrance in the wind.
After a moment, the male Invalid finally recovered from his shock.
That last struggle of Aina's, especially the shout, had actually put a dent in its stamina. Though it wasn't as exaggerated as him being on his last legs, at least a third of his reserves had been sapped up.
In truth, Aina's breakthrough wouldn't have made a difference. It was the final act of defiance that truly impacted him.
But, it seemed that this final push had truly taken whatever she had left out.
When the Puppet Master recovered, its gaze narrowed, a slight hint of ferocity hidden within their depths.
"It seems that you don't understand how to be grateful, what a shame."
The male Invalid reached up from Aina's cheek, ripping the crown from her head.
"Oh?"
At that moment, the control the male Invalid had on Aina increased by more than tenfold. Whereas Aina could at least struggle and resist before, right now, she couldn't even breathe without the Invalid's permission.
"So that's how it is. Clever, clever. You diverted some of your mental strength into hiding the grade of this treasure from me so that you could struggle in secret. I thought that your mental strength was nothing compared to me to begin with, but to think it was even worse than I originally believed."
The Invalid examined the headpiece closer. After a moment, it began to laugh again.
"A Quasi Bronze Treasure? An one that boosts mental strength as well? You are truly my guardian angel!"
The Invalid's laughter seemed even more uproarious than before. But, it only made sense. Such a treasure to a mental strength expert like him would be like giving wings to a tiger.
It already allowed someone with such poor Soul Force like Aina to struggle against a near Fifth Dimensional entity like it. What kind of amplification effects would it have on him?
Without hesitation, the Invalid slipped the headpiece onto its head. Though it was somewhat feminine, it was already clear that appearances were something it could care less about.
Whereas the benefits of using Aina like a sow would take decades, even centuries to begin to bear fruit, the benefit of a Quasi Bronze treasure would give its coming plans an almost 100% chance of succeeding.
If the Invalid was certain that the Heavens were smiling down on it before, it was convinced without a shadow of a doubt now.
"AH! YES! YES! YES!"
The Invalid felt as though the whole world had opened up to it. The restrictions on Aina became even sturdier. It was to the point it could even manipulate Aina's senses to make her see what it wanted her to see.
The male Invalid looked down at Aina. By now, its erection had calmed. It looked toward the girl before it like a prime steak on a cutting board.
"It's a shame that you aren't obedient. But this is fine, I will teach you obedience."
The Invalid picked up the knife on the table and spun it in the air, allowing to fall as it pleased.
The sound of a blade embedding itself into wood sounded again. But this time, it had severed the fingers from Aina's other hand.
Aina couldn't even flinch. Pain wracked her body, threatening to throw her into the pits of hell. It felt as though everything revolved around the torture she was experiencing.
The Invalid forced Aina's head to turn toward it as it picked up one of her fingers, sniffing at the dripping blood as an intoxicated look surfaced across its face.
Its tongue swept across the crimson liquid falling from its hand.
"Oh my!"
The rested erection of the Invalid came back, soaring to towering heights even past where it had been before.
"Magnificent! Wonderful! Unbelievable!"
The Invalid could no longer hold itself back. Its teeth shone beneath the crimson lights as it bit down.
The sound of crunching bones shook Aina to her soul. She sat there and watched as her finger was eaten before her.
The fear, the helplessness, the despair… It swarmed around her like inner devils looking to devour all sense of pride and hope she had left.
'I can't die here! I can't die!'
Aina continued to roar these words in her mind, the tears of blood continuously streaming down her face. But, it simply didn't seem to matter what she thought at all.
"How could there be such a delicacy in this world! Magnifique!"
Aina sat immobile, the haunting thoughts eating at her mind.
Would she really die here? But what about her mother? What about her revenge? What about the Brazinger family?
A bitterness took root in her chest.
The flash of a young man's smile suddenly occupied her mind. Though it was less charming than that of the Invalid's, to Aina, it was several times better. She didn't know how much effort the young man put into that smile, but just by gazing upon it, it felt as though she could see through all its sincerity, all its meaning.
Other than the smile, though, she couldn't quite see the rest of the young man's face. Her mind was tired, her heart was tired…
'I can't die here…'
"Hm?"
At that moment, the male Invalid suddenly frowned. Before he realized what was happening, he had already swallowed four of Aina's fingers, each tasting better than the last.
"There's Fifth Dimensional blood within your veins?" The male Invalid shook his head. "How impressive. It will be a bit troublesome to get rid of it, but with my strength, it won't be a problem. In fact, it will only strengthen my body in the end…"
Compared to Aina, the Puppet Master was much closer to the Fifth Dimension. It of course wouldn't be a problem for him to deal with such a faint trace of the Abyssal Panther blood. After all, Aina had already absorbed most of it.
But, in that instant, the male Invalid suddenly grabbed his stomach and coughed.
"Hm?"
A cough? He had no reason to be coughing.
A heat suddenly spread throughout the Invalids body. The more seconds ticked by, the hotter its body seemed to become.
The Invalid's eyes suddenly widened, its vision blurring.
"A curse?!"
Shackles lashed out at the Invalid, spreading through its body like a virus. At that moment, Aina finally felt the restrictions on her loosen…
~A year later~
Aina slowly rose up from her position, her hand reaching out toward the curved package by her side.
It trembled and opened, revealing the form of a massive golden-red ax, pulsing with a blinding red light.
"… Blood."
Her soft voice traveled to the ears of everyone on the battlefield once again…