“Vermillion Bird! Why…! Why are you not helping me— AAAAGH!”

Mikoto screamed, unable to summon the flames that could heal him. She looked around in terror.

Her entire life had been filled with her family’s disdain and the cruelty of the Yamato palace, yet she had always been spoiled despite it all. She had lived a privileged life, bonded to the Vermillion Bird since birth. The powerful Grievance granted her immense power and near immortality.

Now she faced a foe she could not overcome—someone who delighted in her suffering and had trapped her in an endless hell.

While trying to heal her brother, she wondered what had gone wrong. The rumors about the Mad Prince had not been that terrible. She had exaggerated them just to attack him. Why had she wanted to see him suffer? Why had she provoked him?

When Louis first appeared, he had only seemed mildly annoyed. She thought he was weak because he stuttered. She believed he would be easy prey. She thought she could manipulate him and his house, make them betray him, and even claim Mirai for herself.

And she had thought it would be funny. It would be hilarious to watch him suffer and despair. It would make her happier to see his pain, because it would make her feel less inferior to the beloved prince of Frostbane.

Did she truly hate his country? Not really. Did she hate him? Not at all. She knew Empress Yudra of Zipangu was very fond of her big sister Benladra and held no ill will toward the slumbering queen either.

But her heart had been tainted by inferiority and jealousy.

“Saizo…! Don’t die! Brother…!”

Beyond the darkness consuming her heart was the only family she truly had. Saizo had been raised as a machine, a bodyguard, and a living weapon. He was her world, even if she had never said it aloud. He had always been there for her. Sometimes he spoke and reminded her that beneath the scars, silence, and trauma, he was still a sensible man.

“Don’t worry.”

“Ah!”

Mikoto’s eyes widened as she heard his voice again. Beside her, a giant white dragon yawned, revealing sharp teeth. His six golden eyes glared at her as the world twisted once more.

“He was already dead inside. A man treated worse than trash his entire life. A human shaped like a machine. As I saw his reaction, I realized this man had died long ago. You have been talking to a walking corpse.”

“…?!”

“The illustrious and benevolent Yamato, known as such an incredible country. You desire my Mirai the most, don’t you? But when she was born and caused a disaster, who were the first to suggest her execution at all costs? When she was merely a baby? Your country. Now you want her back because we have raised her well and she can control her powers, powers you desire for yourself. How selfish. How narcissistic. How flawed. No country is perfect… none are.”

“P-Please…”

“Do you even understand why Mirai stays with me and refuses to go with you? It is a deep secret—one you may never learn. No matter what you do, she will never leave my side. Fate forever binds us, perhaps. Or maybe… Fate is constantly trying to separate us.”

“What?”

“Maybe this is too hard for your little brain to understand. Mikoto, I expected more from you, but you are a superficial woman, a puppet. You only sought to cause me discomfort in hopes of feeling better about yourself, as you admitted while being eaten alive… How pitiful. This only makes me want to kill you more. Unlike others who feel pity for the weak, I feel hatred. I want nothing but for you to disappear.”

“A-Ah…! P-Please forgive me!”

Mikoto, now fully aware of her place, knelt before the immense radiant dragon and begged for forgiveness.

“Oh great dragon god! I-I had no idea your power surpassed even Yudra’s son! I-I…! I was cocky… I didn’t know!”

“Hm. What ensures me that you are being honest?”

“Eh?”

“I will spare your life, Mikoto, because I am such a benevolent prince.”

“R-Really?”

“Yes. After you experience one hundred deaths.”

“…”

Mikoto’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open as Louis’s jaws opened once more.

“Your second death is coming…”

“A-Ah…! AAAAHHHH!”

Mikoto screamed and tried to run.

CRUNCH!

She was eaten again and experienced the agonizing pain of being torn apart slowly. Her skull exploded into pieces and her brain was crushed.

Then she returned once more, gasping for air. Saizo lay beside her in the same position, fully healed but dead inside.

“Saizo…! Brother…”

She crawled toward him while crying, finally realizing how foolish and blind she had been to the suffering he had endured.

“Third death.”

“Aahhh! Wait!!!”

Mikoto screamed as Louis’s lance of radiant light pierced her heart and made her entire body explode.

BOOOM!

She returned again, gasping.

“W-Wait…! Please let me rest—”

“Fourth death.”

She tried to run, but a sword cut her into pieces.

Then came the fifth death.

The sixth.

The seventh.

The tenth.

The twentieth.

The fortieth.

The sixtieth.

Ninety deaths. Ninety-one. Ninety-two. Ninety-three…

Every death brought a new and unique torment.

By the time the ninety-ninth death approached, Mikoto no longer looked at Louis with any secret intention of revenge. There was no longer any will to fight back. She realized it was hopeless before absolute power. This was a deity she had to worship and never dare enrage again.

CRASH!

As she was crushed by his fist and turned into a fleshy paste, Mikoto woke up once more, coughing violently.

“A-Ahh… Please… please forgive me… oh great dragon god…”

“I will never forgive you.”

Louis cursed her. Chains made of shadows, covered in red eyes and blooming dark red roses, manifested around her very being and wrapped around her Fantasy Heart.

“But I will let you live, Mikoto. Your brother too. I have no interest in someone who is already dead inside.”

“…A-Ah.”

“But from now on, we are not fellow students. You are my dog.”

Her face twisted as she stared at the immense dragon. Before such absolute power, what was she but a dog? Indeed, it was only natural.

“I-I… I understand…”

She nodded nervously, afraid, her hands trembling and tears streaming down her face.

“Bark for me if you understand.”

Mikoto fell silent for a moment, her entire body trembling in fear, but she nodded.

“W-Woof… woof… woooh… woof…”

Louis couldn’t contain his laughter, laughing while grabbing his face and pointing at how pathetic she was.

“HAHAHAHAHA! Okay, okay, what’s enough!”

“…”

Mikoto stayed silent, realizing just how humiliated she was.

“And one last time.”

“Eh?”

“This chicken is the Vermillion Bird, right?”

“Aaaahh!”

Mikoto screamed as gigantic dark red wooden claws emerged from the chaos clouds above, holding a half-dead red fiery bird impaled with spears of light and half-frozen.

“V-Vermillion Bird!”

“I will take a fragment of it as repayment.”

“W-Wha…? Ahhh…”

Mikoto wanted to protest, but she could not. Louis’s claws tore off the bird’s wings, leaving it flightless, and ate them. His monstrous soul slowly digested them and transformed their power.

FLUOSH!

His wings now burned with the bright flames of the Vermillion Bird, one of the Four Auspicious Beasts manifested as a ferocious Grievance in Yamato.

“I could steal the entire thing. I could eat it completely… but I will let my dog have her little chewing toy.”

Louis tossed the half-dead Vermillion Bird in front of Mikoto. The bird groaned in pain, vomiting miasma and blood.

“V-Vermillion Bird!”

Mikoto ran to it. The bird slowly cried tears of blood, turned into flames, and was reabsorbed by her.

“Look at this beautiful family—the dying chicken, the stupid bitch, and her dead zombie brother. I clap and applaud you, Mikoto. You have truly outdone yourself. Hahaha…”

Louis clapped and laughed. The entire Domain changed as giant hands rose everywhere, clapping at Mikoto.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

“A-Ahh… P-Please… stop…”

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

CLAP.

“A-Aaahh…”

Mikoto fell to her knees, crying uncontrollably while clutching her face.

Louis smiled warmly. He had never felt so refreshed.

“I am not done.”

“Eh?”

His claws dug into her chest, grabbed her Yin-Yang Heart—the unique organ Zipangians possessed—and cracked it, shattering half of it. At the same time, he seized her face. While Mikoto screamed in agony, he tore out one of her special fiery eyes.

“AAAAAAGGGGHH!”

As she screamed, Louis smiled and swallowed the treasures, letting his soul absorb their powers.

“Do not worry. They will regrow… over time. But the pain will remain, along with the curse of being my dog. So until I die by the whims of Fate, I hope we can continue this relationship we have built, my dear pet. Make sure to be nice and bark when I call you. Alright?”

“A-Ahh… Aaeh…”

Mikoto cried while hugging her brother, nodding fearfully.

With a wave of his hand, the entire Realm disappeared. Louis was back in his seat as if nothing had happened.

Mikoto and her brother were already outside the Frostbane House.

The princess looked back with immense dread—so strong she wet herself. With her brother looking confused and barely remembering anything, she ran away.

“S-Saizo… never provoke the Frostbane House… y-you understand?”

“…? Yes, sister.”

—–

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep