Tilea's Worries

"Guaaahh!"

Miless let out a scream of agony.

"Fufu, we're not done yet. You humiliated me, the greatest vassal of the Demon Lord and the strongest of the Six Demon Generals. I need to punish you thoroughly♪"

Luxembourg licked the blood flowing from her eyelids and smiled innocently.

Then came punches and kicks. Flesh was gouged, bones were crushed.

Miless was lynched mercilessly.

With each assault, I screamed in agony.

Of course, it wasn't because of Luxembourg's attacks. It was from the excruciating pain of pressing the switches.

The switches that I had only managed to press after enduring Ebeanz's torture and nearly dying.

After becoming a high-ranking human, my mental and physical strength had grown incomparably stronger than before.

I possess a steel-like body and mental fortitude that wouldn't flinch at ordinary special forces torture.

However, even for a high-ranking human like me, pressing the switches is different.

That soul-searing pain.

One or two switches might be manageable, but to press a large number of them, I definitely need help beyond my own strength.

Pain must be countered with pain.

I really should thank this person.

Luxembourg, due to her cruel nature, is skilled at making people cry out in pain. She knows exactly which parts of the body cause the most suffering when damaged.

Now too, she mercilessly drives her fist into my stomach.

I vomit blood.

It's an attack that feels like it's gouging my internal organs.

It reaches all the way to the bone.

Haa, haa, haa.

Luxembourg sticks her hand into the wound and twists it around inside.

A wicked action like rubbing salt in a wound.

A disgusting act with no warrior's pride.

But that's good.

Thanks to that, look, I could press two switches at once.

My mouth curves slightly upward.

"What are you smiling at?!"

Luxembourg kicks me flying. The impact tears off my right leg.

Haha, again.

I get torn apart a lot.

I repaired my right leg with dark clothing.

As the intense pain shot through me, I pressed another switch.

Haa, haa, haa.

W-with this, I've... p-pressed... t-ten switches.

Wh-what's the result?

There was almost no change in my body.

No need for investigation magic.

I can tell.

It's not useless, but the growth is minimal.

Well, I need to press more then.

I pretend to attack and receive counterattacks from Luxembourg.

I press a switch with the pain from each counterattack.

I repeat this.

Over and over, it's a test of endurance.

"Hey? Are you having fun trying so hard? Even though you have absolutely no chance of winning. Well, I'm having fun, so that's fine by me♪"

Luxembourg seems happy.

She can torment a lively prey.

It must be exhilarating.

She breaks my ribs and snaps my fingers one by one, letting out squeals of delight.

Each time I feel the pain, I press a switch.

"Hey, don't die, okay? We still have so~ much to do♪"

Luxembourg laughs.

A hatefully beautiful smile.

That face annoyed me, so I press!

Gufuu!

The pain is like a blood vessel bursting in my brain.

It's agonizing.

Every time I cough, I spit blood. But I managed to press it.

"Kyaha♪ What's this? Did your internal organs just give out?"

That hatefully cheerful laugh.

That high-pitched voice annoyed me, so I press!

Guhaa!

The impact feels like my internal organs have burst.

It's excruciating.

Blood spurts from my entire body. But I managed to press it.

Haa, haa, haa, this is good.

That person's words and actions are more stimulating than the mind-numbing pain.

More than the pain, the rage that makes my head boil is increasing.

That attitude of trying to defile my most precious existence, this person's very existence, is unforgivable!

......

............

..................

How much torture have I endured?

The number of switches pressed has already exceeded one hundred.

To be precise, I've pressed one hundred and thirty-one switches. I kept pressing them.

But the result is the same. Tiny changes.

This is bad.

Luxembourg is holding back.

She doesn't want me to die easily.

But I'm reaching my limit soon.

Even though she's holding back, I've been continuously taking attacks from one of the strongest among the demon people, one of the Six Demon Generals.

The accumulated damage is telling me I'm nearing my limit.

My life will end before I evolve.

"Haah~ I'm getting bored. Maybe I should just kill you, kyaha♪"

Luxembourg's interest is waning.

Somehow. Somehow.

I can't die yet!

"Haa, haa, w-what, i-is that all you've got?"

"...You're persistent. But I'm already bored. I'll kill you."

"W-weren't you going to, haa, haa, make me taste despair?"

With my lungs crushed, even talking is painful.

Though my speech is broken, I provoke Luxembourg.

"Haah~ That was the plan, but you're too persistent. I'm not free, you know."

"Fu, fuh, ahaha, haa, haa. A-as expected of the Demon Lord's subordinate. Can't even kill one human as you please. I, I haven't felt an ounce of despair yet. Haa, haa, you're a perfect subordinate for a Demon Lord who couldn't conquer the world."

"...Say that again."

Luxembourg's expression changed.

Too much provocation can make the opponent lose their cool and overdo things.

That would be counterproductive.

I can't afford to be killed out of desperation.

I need to guide the conversation.

"Haa, haa. H-hey, if you're such an excellent subordinate, if the Demon Lord is that amazing, haa, haa, try to make me submit. Aren't you the Demon Lord's top subordinate?"

"That's strange. What are you planning?"

Luxembourg's eyes narrow.

Was I a bit too obvious?

Being beaten too much and losing too much blood is affecting my ability to think clearly.

Luxembourg is suspicious. She walks around me and suddenly grabs my face.

"Haa, haa, what are you..."

"Your abilities have increased a little, haven't they? It's such a small change that it's hard to notice without careful examination."

Cold sweat runs down my face.

Luxembourg is getting to the heart of the matter.

"Haa, haa, so what? M-more importantly, a-answer my question. Haa, haa, I'm asking if you can't make me submit!"

"Y-you! No... I see, ku-hahahahaha! So that's it? It's that evolution calculation device, right? That's something Camilla-chan would do."

Luxembourg bursts into laughter.

It seems she's figured out about the switches.

"No wonder you kept engaging me. It's hard to press them alone, isn't it? You were using my attacks."

"Y-yes, you just f-figured that out? Haa, haa, h-how stupid."

"You bastard! Oops, I almost made you press another switch with pain. That was close."

Luxembourg stopped her foot that was about to kick out.

After hesitating for a moment, she grinned with a sadistic smile.

"Should I just kill you?"

"Ugh"

My face instantly turned pale.

That was what I feared most. This evil woman would gleefully do what I most dread.

I can feel my teeth chattering and my body trembling.

It's not death that I fear.

If I die, I can't stop her.

She will definitely kill the person most precious to me. She'll destroy them and display them cruelly.

I can say this with certainty. That's why it's terrifying.

"Kyaha♪ That's it, that's it. That's the face I wanted to see. You've finally shown the color of despair. If you die, all your efforts so far will be wasted♪"

"Haa, haa, d-die."

"Huh? You're the one who's going to die."

Luxembourg launches a kick with lightning speed.

I can't see it.

I can't avoid it.

More than anything, I'm too badly injured to move my body.

"--!"

I instinctively close my eyes.

The kick charged at me in the blink of an eye. If I take that, my body will be shattered to pieces.

"Actually, no."

Luxembourg stopped her kick just before it hit me.

"Yeah, for me, death is mercy. Killing you quickly after you've insulted the Demon Lord so many times would be too lenient. But tormenting you is going according to your plan, which is annoying... what should I do?"

Luxembourg thought for a while, and then a vile, evil grin appeared on her face.

"I just thought of something good♪"

Luxembourg laughs.

When she laughs, it's never for a good reason.

"I've pretty much figured out your personality. You're the type who feels others' pain more than your own, right? So I won't torture you. How-e-ver, I'll kill other people."

"Guh!?"

"Kyaha♪ Maybe women and children would be best? I'll cut off those slender necks and pile them up in a pyramid in front of you. Hey, wouldn't that be fun?"

"Haa, haa, I, I will absolutely not, l-let you do such a thing."

The aftereffects of pressing the switches are ravaging my entire body.

Blood spurts from all over my body, and even as blood flows from my eyes, I glare at Luxembourg.

Luxembourg shows an expression of pleasure at the sight.

"Kukku, this definitely hits hardest. While you watch helplessly~ I'll pile them in a pyramid shape, and put that woman's severed head on top. I'll tear that presumptuous woman who's misusing the Demon Lord's power into pieces and display her."

That woman... does she mean Tilea-san!

My body feels like it's burning with hatred.

I won't let her do such a thing to Tilea-san.

To allow such hell to my deity, such shadows to fall upon my sun—never!

Press, press, kill, press, I'll kill you!

I create switches and press them, press them, press them.

What do I care about pain and suffering!

Can't press them alone?

Use the opponent's attacks?

What kind of weak excuses was I making!

I don't care if I break.

Press, press, press...

I do nothing else.

Don't think.

I create tens, hundreds of switches and press them.

Pain, intense pain, the sensation of my soul being torn apart, occurs intermittently, continuously.

Intense pain races throughout my body.

"Ugh, ughuaaaaaaaa!"

I writhe and thrash on the ground, enduring it.

"Fufu, you're trying hard. That's your only way to beat me. But, let me tell you something good?"

Luxembourg crouches down beside me lying on the ground and whispers.

What is she going to say?

Whatever she says, my resolve won't change.

"You know, that evolution calculation device thing. It was researched at the Demon Lord's army's laboratory in ancient times. Using captured humans and demi-humans. Initially, Camilla-chan was also involved in the research, but she seems to have gotten bored and quit halfway. But the remaining staff continued the research."

Luxembourg talks about the Demon Lord's army's research laboratory at that time.

Apparently, they forcibly evolved captured humans, fused them with other creatures to create chimeras, basically conducting human experimentation.

"And the conclusion reached by the laboratory was that humans cannot evolve beyond high-ranking humans. They had a robust test subject, a hero-class human. They used drugs and high-level magic to force him to press the switch more than ten thousand times. An experiment that was only possible in the highest standard environment of that time. Kukku, but the experiment failed. In the end, that person went insane and turned to dust. Kyaha♪ How about that? How many times have you pressed so far? A hundred? Two hundred? Pfft, your efforts have been in vain. But you won't give up, right? You can't kill me as you are now~ Good luck."

Luxembourg knows the research results.

That's why she's so confident.

The laboratory at that time declared that one cannot reach a level capable of killing her. Evolution beyond high-ranking human is impossible.

That's what Lady Camilla also said.

Currently, I've pressed the switch eight hundred and twenty-three times.

The result is only a minimal change.

I see... so even pressing it ten thousand times is useless.

"...times did they try?"

"Ahah, you're too dazed to hear? Then I'll tell you as many times as you want. Even pressing the switch more than ten thousand times was useless. Fufu, are you in despair? Do you want to commit suicide? But that's not allowed. I've decided to make you experience a living hell."

"...times did they try?"

"Huh, are you broken? I need you to stay sane to taste the ultimate despair. Maybe I should give you a potion."

"I'm asking how many times they tried ten thousand presses!!"

I shout with all my soul.

There's a place called the Netherworld, they say.

It's where all kinds of pain are inflicted continuously for ten thousand years, and that's repeated ten thousand times.

I really have to thank you.

The researchers at that time made someone press the switch ten thousand times.

How many times did they repeat that?

Once? Twice? Maybe about ten times at most?

Then I'll press the switch ten thousand times, and repeat that ten thousand times.

If I need to go to the Netherworld to evolve, then that's what I must do.

More than death, more than suffering, I have something I must do.

I weave a spell.

"I am the bone of my switch. My whole life was 'ten thousand of switch works'"

There lies the graveyard of switches.

Thousands, tens of thousands of switches stand in rows.

The corpses of switches.

"What!? A-are you serious about this?"

Luxembourg is astonished.

She's probably never seen this many switches before.

She's looking at me like I'm a madwoman.

Of course I'm serious.

If I don't save my deity here, my life has no meaning.

This body is made of ten thousand switches.

Now, press them. Press them.

The ten thousand switches installed in my body all activated at once.

My body is being remade at a speed I've never experienced before.

......

............

..................

Switch switch switch.

Press, press, press, can't press, press, can't press, press? What am I, ahahahahaha, gyahahahahahaha, abababababababa.

Uhyauauauauaua.

Can't press, can't press, can't press. Drooling, I collapse unsteadily.

I don't understand anything anymore.

"Kyaha♪ Just as I thought! You're such an idiot! Pressing that many calculation devices, it wouldn't have been strange if your soul had been completely annihilated. Well, but it seems your mind couldn't handle it. You've finally broken. But I won't forgive you. Don't worry. I'll forcibly return you to normal."

My mind is insane.

I can't even recognize language anymore.

And yet, there's a part of me that calmly observes myself.

That part keeps telling me to "Press!" the switch.

I follow those instructions.

I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even know who I am anymore. I simply receive electrical signals from my brain and move accordingly.

Switch, press.

Switch, press.

I don't understand the meaning.

The intense pain that occurs from time to time is just an electrical signal from my brain. I encompass various electrical signals and release them.

Switch, press.

Switch, press.

However, amid this routine work, ripples spread.

It's a woman's voice.

A vulgar and hideous voice.

As soon as I heard it, hot emotions spread within my chest.

It's definitely a foreign element.

Vicious, despicable, and must be removed promptly.

Y-yes, that's right.

T-Tile-a-sa-n, p-protect, must, absolutely protect.

M-my sun, g-god.

My fading sense of self returns.

Press, switch, press, switch, press.

Can't press, press. Can't press. Press, can't press.

"Ah, I want to hurry. At this rate, the Demon Lord is too pitiful. Having the soul of a shitty human coexisting is too terrible. I want to drag out that damn bug and break it thoroughly. Kyaha, don't worry. I'll let you watch that from the best seat."

W-what did that woman just say?

She said she would destroy m-my precious, my deity, my sun.

She insulted them to the maximum!

U-unforgivable.

That, Tilea-sama's, smile, protect. I won't, let anyone, destroy it.

From evil, things, from malice, I will, I will protect, them.

My head boils like never before.

Rage like magma fills me completely.

Can't press, can't press, can't press, can't press?

Reason is setting a limit, saying "It's the limit, don't press!"

My body's defense reactions keep complaining.

Don't press, don't press. Don't press.

N-no way, my patience has reached its limit too.

I'll press it!

I can't count anymore.

In the midst of the disappearance of the concept of numbers, I pressed an extra-large switch.

Ignoring my body's defense reactions, I press. I pushed it in.

Pain greater than ever before.

All the blood in my body boils, pulsing biku-biku.

My body convulses violently.

I can't help but scream.

Uguaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Agu, guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Gya, guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Ageeeaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Aaaaaaaa!

Aaaaa!

A!

A!

A!

A.

A.

A.

Ah, it's almost fitting.

Just a little more.

A discomfort like a buttoned shirt with misaligned buttons.

Something that humanity forgot in the process of evolution.

Something warm and precious that only humans have, which neither beast-men, elves, nor even demon people possess.

And then...

A tiny ripple spreads through my cells.

The pieces fit together with a click.

Each cell governing my body tells me.

The history that humanity has walked, the livelihood they have nurtured.

We don't have the arm strength of beast-men.

We don't have the magical power of elves.

Naturally, we don't have any of the fighting power of the demon race.

Weak humans who can only show strength in groups.

Yet, humans never give up.

They learn, reflect, and connect to the future.

They pass it down from parent to child, from child to grandchild.

That knowledge, wisdom, thoughts, beliefs, malice, conflicts, everything is a great inheritance passed down from ancestors.

Tears stream down my cheeks.

I, I understand. I understand now.

Humans are this wonderful.

I, somewhere, looked down on them.

Thinking that humans can't match demons in battle.

That humans are fragile beings who can barely face beasts even with weapons.

No. That's wrong.

My premise was wrong.

It doesn't matter if the opponent is a demon, one of the Six Demon Generals, or even the Demon Lord.

Enemies that stand in our way will be defeated.

No matter how difficult or challenging the problem is, we will clear it.

Because humans are beings that continue to grow infinitely!

Before I knew it, all my wounds and missing parts had been restored.

Infinite courage is being poured into that heart.

I stand up and chant.

Circuit expansion OK

Magic release OK

......

............

..................

The conditions have been met.

A keyword appears in my mind.

[You can evolve into a Human Queen. Do you want to evolve?]

Beep→Yes No

I selected Yes.