「Emergency Quest ‘Stolen Heart’ Activated!」

「Proceed with the quest to maintain the story’s progression.」

「Failure will result in the main quest becoming unplayable.」

It was as if he had left his body—his perspective had suddenly shifted, showing Lydon, the guard, and the heart of Cadel Lytos held in the guard’s grasp. The sensation was eerily detached from reality, much like when he had seen glimpses of his subordinates’ pasts.

But he couldn’t afford to forget that what unfolded before him wasn’t the past. It was happening right now.

‘Idiot. Stupid, reckless idiot. What were you thinking? Wasn’t it obvious? He was using Lydon as bait to steal my heart. And yet, I walked right into it like a fool. And I call myself a hero trying to save the world? Just die already. The next candidate probably has a better chance of saving the world than I do.’

Self-loathing thoughts consumed him. That’s how foolish his decision had been. He should never have let that bastard get his hands on Lydon’s heart as leverage.

But he had lost control in a moment of blind rage, made a rash judgment, and now Lydon had woken up battered and broken—forced to watch as the very person who should have saved him lay heartless on the ground.

‘Damn it…… This is a nightmare.’

As soon as his perspective shifted, the emergency quest triggered. But what could he do?

As a disembodied observer, Cadel had no power. He could only watch the scene unfold before him, unable to even hear their voices. It was as if he were submerged in water—deafened to everything but his own thoughts.

And the system notifications didn’t stop there.

「Knight ‘Lydon’s’ will is knocking on the wall of fate.」

「A ‘Limit Break Quest’ for Knight ‘Lydon’ has begun.」

「Failure will result in the disappearance of the Limit Break Quest. Knight ‘Lydon’ will die.」

What a joke.

Cadel clenched his nonexistent fists, seething with frustration at whatever god of this world thought this was amusing.

‘So, if I don’t get my heart back, the world ends. And the only hope of retrieving it—Lydon—has suddenly been thrown into a life-or-death breakthrough quest? What the hell am I supposed to do? I’m nothing more than a surveillance camera right now!’

He couldn’t just place all his hopes on Lydon. Not in his current state. His body was a tattered mess, barely clinging to life. He had likely burned through what little energy he had left in the battle against Sellev. To say Lydon had the potential to break through his limits…… Was the system malfunctioning?

‘If I could at least hear them, this wouldn’t be as maddening…… Why does that bastard keep talking to Lydon? And why is he waving my heart around like that?’

Lydon muttered something as he stared at the heart. He was too weak to be speaking at all. He should have been saving every last ounce of energy to increase his survival chances, even by one percent.

‘Come on, Lydon. You’re going to push yourself too hard. But even if you fight back, you can’t win. Killing that guard won’t get my heart back. Caution. That’s what we need. Avoid the fight, reclaim the heart, then find a way to kill that bastard……’

It was a near-impossible task. Maybe it would be better to hope for the other squad members to arrive. Cadel was just about to let that thought settle when—

‘That, that bastard……!’

The guard, who had been taunting Lydon by holding the heart in front of him, suddenly slapped him. Lydon’s head snapped to the side like a ragdoll, and more blood dripped from his already drained body. Cadel felt rage boiling inside him despite having no physical form.

‘Uh……!’

In the next moment, Lydon spat. A glob of blood-tinged saliva hit the guard’s eyelid, trailing down his cheek. The bastard who had been grinning smugly the entire time stiffened, his expression darkening in an instant.

‘No, Lydon!’

Lydon was weak. Cadel was powerless. With no allies nearby, their only option was to avoid provoking their captor. Especially against scum like this. The more you reacted, the more they enjoyed it. Right now, Lydon needed to stay quiet and endure. Wait for an opening.

But unfortunately, Lydon had other plans.

“I’ll give you credit for your guts. Even in this pathetic state, you still struggle……. You’re quite skilled at getting under my skin.”

The High Demon guard, Koda, was both irritated and thrilled by Lydon’s defiance. There was no greater pleasure in the world than watching a prisoner struggle—hearing their screams and witnessing their agony.

The liberation of the Demon Realm? Koda couldn’t care less. His only desire was this dark, damp prison and the toys his master occasionally gifted him.

The strong and the weak, the size of their power didn’t matter. If they were strong, there was the pleasure of making them kneel; if they were weak, there was the joy of watching them wail. The more they resisted, the more enjoyable it was. Watching their sharp gazes gradually dim as they approached death drove him mad with excitement.

Trembling slightly, Koda put away Cadel’s heart, which was still in his hand, and grabbed his whip. There was no place left to strike on that battered body. One wrong move, and he would die. The Demon King had ordered him to keep the fairy alive as bait, but he already had a big fish on the hook. Even if he played too rough and the fairy died, no severe punishment would befall him.

“Hea, heart…… Cadel’s heart……”

“You still have the strength to talk? In that case, I suppose I can have a bit more fun! Kahaha!”

Koda swung his whip without hesitation. His punishment held no sympathy, driven only by a grotesque desire to drag his victim to their lowest point. With each sharp crack of the whip, a brutal impact echoed through the chamber. The chains clattered violently as the battered body swayed.

“If you endure a hundred lashes, I’ll consider giving this human his heart back!”

Offering false hope was one of Koda’s favorite pastimes. Letting them desperately cling to a thread of hope, only for them to realize it was a lie—he lived for the moment their despair swallowed them whole.

“Now, let’s mess up that pretty little face. Once I turn it into a pulp, I’ll rip off one of those wings and put it on display at the city gates. Her Majesty would surely appreciate such a fine trophy.”

Running his palm over the blood-soaked whip, Koda’s lips curled into a sinister grin. Lydon no longer had the strength to resist; he was merely hanging on to the last remnants of breath. Watching him, Koda inhaled deeply and swung his whip once more. The lash struck Lydon’s face precisely, snapping his head to the side.

He had hit his mark. But satisfaction did not show on Koda’s face. The smirk that had been plastered there stiffened, and his hand gripping the whip trembled slightly.

“Heh……! You’re a real tough one, aren’t you?”

The harder he pulled on the whip, the more Lydon’s head lifted. Soon, it became clear—Lydon had clenched the whip between his teeth, biting down so hard that his jaw muscles trembled from the effort.

In the dim prison, his crimson eyes gleamed brightly as he stared straight at Koda. The moment their gazes met, Koda instinctively shuddered. It wasn’t from excitement or pleasure.

It was fear. A foreign emotion he had rarely, if ever, felt before sent sharp chills down his spine.

“……Hmph. Doesn’t matter. Your struggling is meaningless.”

Abandoning the attempt to retrieve the whip, Koda transformed it into demonic energy. Loosening his tense expression, he waved his now-empty hand in front of Lydon’s face.

“If you’re so eager to avoid taking a hundred lashes, your comrade’s heart will remain in my grasp. A pitiful bond, really. That foolish human lost his heart trying to save you for nothing!”

“Really……”

“Hm?”

Lydon, whose face was drenched in blood, gathered his strength and locked eyes with Koda.

“Would it really disappear if I killed you……? How do I get the heart back……?”

His gaze, now void of all hostility, made Koda relax slightly. He hummed a tune mockingly before responding, as if indulging Lydon with the answer.

“Stealing someone’s heart means I now have two lives. Even if I die once, as long as I have this heart, I will revive. Unfortunately, I can only hold one spare heart at a time, but—”

“If I take the heart before you resurrect, then I win, right?”

“Khrrrk! Foolishness. The heart is inside my body. The moment I die, the spare heart fuses with me, reviving me with new life. Do you think anyone in this world has the skill to stop that process, cut me open, and retrieve the heart in time?”

“……I see.”

Muttering under his breath, Lydon’s subdued tone made Koda fall silent. Had he said too much? A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

It didn’t matter. With a body as broken as Lydon’s, he wouldn’t be able to kill Koda or retrieve the heart. The moment Koda summoned his whip again—

“Hh…… hhaha……”

“What are you laughing at?”

It was a chilling sound, like the faint sobbing of a ghost. Had he lost his mind? Koda scowled, annoyed by the eerie laughter. He raised his whip to strike, but before he could land a blow—

“Ahahaha! Hahahahaha!”

Lydon threw his head back, laughing like a madman. The unexpected reaction made Koda freeze. Lydon laughed so loudly it seemed as if the prison walls would crack. Then, at last, he slowly lowered his head.

His blood-soaked face wore a wide, unhinged grin. His crimson eyes gleamed with wild excitement. And, tilting his head lazily, he whispered in a languid voice—

“Alright. Now I’m going to kill you.”