The Exterimination

When I looked in again, Liora was diligently hunting goblins.

[Player ZEPHYR has reached level 10!]

Since I have surpassed level 10, I can acquire a new skill.

Moreover, Liora can also learn a new skill. It's especially beneficial for Liora, as she currently only has the spell [Flash], so an additional spell will increase our combat power.

"Do you have any preferences, Liora?"

"Whatever the gods will is, that... will be my will too~"

"Understood. We will strive for the best."

For Liora's new spell, I choose the dark magic [Dark Regen]. Given that she is a cleric, I want her to learn healing magic, and I aim to synergize this with [HP Auto-Recovery].

Surprisingly, they can coexist.

Well, learning the standard [Heal] for immediate recovery was also attractive, but if we're going to learn one, I thought aiming for a higher level of skill would be ideal.

[Dark Regen] in that way seems a really good skill.

Liora's scythe techniques have also surpassed level 10, allowing us to acquire another art for her combat.

I selected [Life Stealing Blade]. This is a drain-type art that, when used with the scythe, grants the effect of "stealing HP from the target it slashes."

Since I have chosen HP as my contract enhancement, eventually, Liora might become an unsinkable battleship. The regeneration type is percentage-based, so its effect increases.

"Next is me..."

"I'm excited, my lord. You'll regain more of your power, right?"

Although Liora is quite a gloomy young girl, she always smiles brightly when she expresses her expectations of me.

I cannot betray her expectations...

"I can add one dark magic art, one [Create Dark], and since I've reached level ten, I can learn one production skill."

I've decided.

For dark magic art, I'll choose [Gift Of Venom], a spell that poisons the target. Given that I am developing Liora to be a sustained tank type, this poison will pair excellently.

I learned this from a game where you send monsters into battle from balls.

Additionally, I will obtain the skill [Resist Dispel] in the remaining skill slot. Since poison is powerful, it's likely to be countered, and this selection anticipates that.

Then there is the acquisition of combat art resulting from [Darkness Creation] reaching level 10. This skill, it seems, solidifies the shape of the material it creates.

[Darkness Materialization I]

A bit unclear?

Let's give it a try.

The shape I chose—a shield.

[You have added "Shield" mode to Darkness Creation.]

The MP consumption is also reduced when creating the shield. Convenient.

"I'll hold off on production skills for now... Now, Liora."

I adopt a serious tone to question Liora's resolve.

"Are you sure about this? I am a god. I will respect your free will. I will guide you, but the path you choose is—yours alone."

"P-please, my lord... My parents, who tried to sell me, are my enemies."

Liora reportedly entered the mountains to find medicinal herbs for her sick mother.

This dedication wasn't out of love.

She was forced, and it seemed like she also attempted to deceive me by saying, "I want to save my mother."

In the end, she couldn't deceive me.

"I am sorry, my god."

Snow-white hair, crimson eyes, astonishingly pale skin.

To the ignorant villagers, these were signs of poison. They perceived Liora as something to fear, to shun, and believed it was acceptable to mistreat her.

Liora is broken.

Even in such conditions, she made efforts to be loved—knowing it was futile.

But her efforts were never rewarded.

Even if she risked her life to bring back medicinal herbs, she wouldn't be loved.

Merely existing was enough to be hated, and it seemed her fate was already sealed to be sold to a brothel.

Remarkably, she survived to her current age; she was raised only because a girl with such rare looks could be sold for a high price.

'I am an adult. Normally, it would be right to stop Liora. But that's only in societies with structures similar to ours. At least in this game, stopping Liora would be cruel to her.'

Well, I'm not a normal person myself.

I don't intend to live rightly. Moreover, this is a game. There's no need to think too deeply about it.

The game's high realism makes me overthink, doesn't it?

"Then tonight—we will proceed. Of course, if you want to stop, just say so at any time. What's important is you, Liora."

"Thank you, my saviour..."

Liora smiled happily, joyfully.

She surely won't stop. If I forcibly stop her now, Liora might never move forward or completely break.

Then.

Rather than letting young Liora break—

"Let's kill them then."

"Yes, my god~!!"

Our battle is about to begin.

▽

Late at night.

Naturally, there are no streetlights, so the village is enveloped in silence. Though insects chirp from the mountains, their sounds blend into the world, oddly not feeling noisy.

After a preparatory nap of about three hours, Liora was fully prepared.

Liora strides through the village, as I blend with pitch darkness partially giving me a stealth advantage.

Breaking into her house is no challenge for her. Naturally, she knows exactly where everyone is.

"First, it's my father... I'll kill him with the scythe while he's sleeping."

"Yes, my child..."

As soon as we intrude into her father's room, the man wakes up with a startle. His body, honed by farm work, is slender but toned—a type that would make you think "scary" if you met him in real life.

"Tch, so you're still alive, Liora. I'd be troubled if you died since I raised you to sell."

"Die!"

"Huh?"

One swift strike.

However, unlike the blow against the goblin, this one lacked sharpness. It wasn't out of fear.

It was due to overwhelming hatred.

Excitement.

Barely escaping the diverted strike, her father grabs an axe near his bed and stands up.

"You damn brat!"

He swings down without hesitation.

Liora, unable to dodge, seems about to take the blow head-on. But I would never let that happen.

"[Darkness Materialization I]."

I intercept the axe with a dark shield, reducing its force.

The axe breaks through but only manages to bruise Liora's shoulder. Bleeding, Liora shows no sign of giving up, gripping her scythe so tightly her hands turn white.

Stopping now would be uncouth.

More importantly, seeing Liora's father in person seems to have strengthened her resolve as well.

"Liora. Use [Flash]!"

"Yes, my god!"

Whizzz-!

Clutching his eyes, Liora's father crouches, shouting.

"I raised you! Have you forgotten your debt, you ungrateful brat!"

"...The village's law prevented killing children. You are all considered as children of God and can't be harmed by their parents. After that, I kept you only to sell you at a high price to a brothel."

"I gave you food! A bed! Are you going to kill your father!?"

"I'm a child of a monster. Right?"

Liora's scythe decapitates her father.

Liora, who had preemptively enhanced her scythe with [Life Stealing Blade], heals her shoulder wound instantly. She trembles, hugging herself tightly.

"All along..."

The happy sigh of a little girl. A strange night allure.

"All along, I've wanted to do this!"

Tears streaming, the ecstatic little girl rejoices.

"Thank you... you, god of darkness."

Shouting like she's breaking free from chains, Liora leaps. The remnants of her father's flesh forgotten as if they never existed, she moves to her next target—on this night, Liora's entire family was wiped out.

Leaving behind Liora, the cursed child.

[Zephyr has acquired the title 'Ruler of Tragic Plays.']

[Liora has acquired the title 'Deadly Sinner.']