“Have you heard of the Witch of Lust?”

With the name that slipped from the girl’s lips, everyone inhaled sharply.

It was a name they could not possibly be unaware of.

Long ago, it was said that the ancestors of Dolos led a crusade and, after great sacrifices, barely managed to subdue that witch.

Even with a large hole in her abdomen, she tirelessly ran from the distant west and only took her last breath after announcing to the world that the Witch of Lust had been defeated thanks to the noble sacrifices of the crusaders.

This story of the previous generation’s Dolos was well-known even today.

However, in this situation where the entirety of Dolos seemed to be following someone, people could not help but think of the name the girl had just uttered: the Witch of Lust.

Perhaps the stories they had known thus far were fundamentally erroneous.

“Well, everyone must have heard it at least once, right? The name of a witch who had been hunted by humans.”

And as if to confirm that their thoughts were not wrong, the girl sneered at the crowd and continued.

“But what about this? The witch who was supposedly defeated is actually alive and well. Hahaha, it’s truly ridiculous how none of you doubted that lie.”

Declaring herself as the Witch of Lust who was believed to be defeated, the girl’s words turned the expressions of the people into solid, frozen masks.

Seemingly satisfied with this reaction, the girl began her tale with a broad smile on her face.

“Back when I was rampaging without a clue, a bunch of humans came to try and hunt me down.”

She gazed into the air as if recalling a cherished memory with a dreamy voice.

“Still, there were some strong humans who were supposedly elite, and my powers didn’t quite work on them. Especially that human from Dolos, he was unbelievably strong to the point of being ignorant. I was honestly a bit scared, you know? But.”

Yet, those who were watching her expressions realized something.

“Not all humans were that strong.”

What she was doing was not reminiscing but ridiculing and mocking them.

“Oh, that was truly amusing. The humans I thought were on my side turned into puppets and attacked themselves during the chaos. They ended up smashing each other’s heads, crying out apologies…!”

The girl trembled in delight as she recalled the scene of that day.

Just witnessing that made it evident that she reveled in looking down on others and flaunting her pleasure.

“They went mad, killing each other, and as soon as they lost their sanity, it became harder to resist my powers, so they turned into puppets. That kept repeating until, in the end, only that human from Dolos remained.”

Should one resent that such a forceful being possessed that kind of personality?

Perhaps it was due to such abilities that she had developed that nature, some thought.

“The last man standing was said to be his wife. I don’t know, but love can be terrifying, can’t it? Even that monstrous human became weak in front of the one he loved. If only he hadn’t hesitated to kill me, even with a hole in his abdomen, how could he have possibly fought back? Hahaha.”

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Her ability to manipulate living beings lacked any respect for life.

Before her, any dignity and noble spirit would fade and be buried in the muck.

“What do you think that guy said, crying after killing his wife? He cursed me. Said I would die a miserable death one day. It seemed like he believed until the very end that others would take revenge for him, but isn’t that funny? He ended up boasting that I was dead to those very people who were supposed to take revenge,”

The girl sneered.

The strong spirit of the man did not easily break like others, but it was still a matter of time.

No matter how resilient the mind is against pain, enduring pleasure is several times harder.

What must it have felt like, to see the one he hated as the one he loved?

To resist, the man had to set fire to his hatred while looking at his loved one.

Could one continue to loathe someone who whispers love amidst such horrifying pleasure?

A crack appeared in the once impenetrable heart of the man.

Taking advantage of the minuscule gap created, the girl relentlessly poked and prodded, and the man who had resisted for so long ultimately fell to her.

Thus, the man who wept blood cursing the girl became her loyal servant.

“Moreover, the reason why that family ended up like this due to the monsters I implanted in him is just too humorous, isn’t it? Right?”

The girl chuckled while looking at her own body and at Diakonos and the others from Dolos.

The monsters that the girl had secretly planted in the body of the man once revered as a hero had consumed his family after they took away his corpse to hold a funeral.

The sight of the girl ridiculing and mocking the man for having offered his family to a witch was something where the people could only feel rage.

Dwight, who had been listening to the story under the girl’s feet, murmured while shaking with seething anger.

“…So from that moment, was Dolos nothing but your puppet?”

“Wuhu, that’s right. They became those who blindly obeyed my words.”

Accepting the girl’s hand that patted her head, Diakonos was oddly compliant.

Dwight shook his head vigorously, as if he wanted to deny that sight, and cried out.

“That cannot be, it cannot be… The Dolos I’ve seen so far was a truly respectable family working for the people… They all took pride in working genuinely for the people…! But that was all just a guise, a lie?”

Dwight was a man who believed only what he saw.

What he had witnessed was true, so he observed everything around him in detail.

And the people of Dolos he had seen were individuals who lived with pride in their work.

That’s why he liked and respected that family.

Therefore, Dwight could not believe it.

He could not accept that the pride he had witnessed was nothing but a lie.

In response to Dwight’s words,

“Oh, then you’re right. They don’t particularly enjoy doing what I say.”

The girl replied casually with a grin.

“Honestly, it’s not an easy task for me either. Managing a lot of children from a distance like this. With that annoying barrier in place and them being of entirely different bloodline, if I tried to impose something strange on them, their resistance would be surprisingly fierce. So, I’ve instilled just one thing in them since they were young.”

The girl’s face brightened.

It was a proud expression that emerged when sharing something one could boast about.

“‘Following my words is the happiest thing in the world.’ Just that.”

However, that content was appallingly horrific.

“Isn’t it fascinating? They truly live wishing for the happiness of others, you know? So, the moment I touch just one part of their minds, that’s how it naturally becomes. They’re offering humans to me out of that desire to make people happy, ahaha.”

With her words conveying utter delight, Dwight stared blankly at Diakonos.

He recalled a moment long past.

He was someone who always proclaimed that he worked for the happiness of humanity.

When he spoke those words, the pride evident on his otherwise stoic face brought Dwight admiration for him.

Even Yoon Si-woo, who could distinguish truth from lies, was impressed by Diakonos, believing him to be genuine in his noble efforts.

Diakonos was that kind of man.

“Speaking of which, do you remember that old human who died recently to the monsters? That guy was truly amusing. He struggled his whole life, saying people shouldn’t die until they enjoyed the happiness of following me. He worried to the last moment about whether people would die instead of him, saying he had to die from the monsters to ensure they didn’t suffer.” Oh, sincerely… isn’t that amusing?”

With a laugh, the girl’s question made Dwight think of Telos.

The one who, for more than half a century, sacrificed holidays daily to protect humanity in the front lines, ensuring that people would not lose the happiness they deserved if they died.

How could the one who valued lives more than anyone else be the reason society faced such peril? As the thought surfaced, Dwight felt a sudden wave of nausea.

Something was welling up inside him, and he exhaled harshly.

In that moment, he realized he was shedding tears.

Only then did he recognize his emotions.

This rising feeling akin to vomiting was fury.

Dwight felt rage for the first time in his life, knowing that the sacred belief the noble Telos had dedicated himself to protect humanity, and which Diakonos had upheld for so long, had been sullied by such a wretched girl’s antics.

“You, you vile creature…”

“Huh? What’s this? Is our footstool mad?”

When Dwight glared at the girl with bloodshot eyes, she playfully replied.

“Hey, Dwight… don’t get mad…”

Now, projecting the very innocence of a girl among all, she told him not to be angry.

Looking down at Dwight, who was beneath her feet, the girl—no, Florene—murmured.

“Hey, I don’t know about you, but I want everyone to be happy like me…! If Dwight and Marin feel the happiness of following the Master alongside me, they’ll understand everything too…!”

At her purely sincere wish for her friends’ happiness, Dwight let out a sigh.

This was too much, too much to bear.

If he continued to suppress his anger any longer, he felt like his head would truly go crazy.

And at that moment,

“Dwight, now…!”

With a shout that echoed from somewhere, Dwight unleashed the magic he had secretly prepared from earlier.

Florene’s body was restrained, unable to move due to the activated magic.

“What are you doing, footstool?!”

The girl’s bewildered shout caught the sight of the blurry scenery surrounding her.

In this bewildered new scenario, the people of the house of Dolos were all subdued by the surrounding heroes.

Having risen as well, Dwight spoke to the girl while lifting a heartbroken Marin, who had been unaware of anything.

“…Did you think we’d just stand idly by while you cause a ruckus?”

The operation to subdue her unfolded discreetly behind the hallucination of Eve.

From the beginning, Dwight had been engaging the girl just to draw her attention, feeding her words.

It was all done to rescue the people of the Dolos family safely.

Dwight glared at the girl with keen eyes and asked.

“You said that if you want to reclaim Florene, you have to pour purifying magic down from head to toe, right?”

The reason he needed time was merely to prepare fully for any unforeseen circumstances.

After a gesture from Dwight, Sylvia, who had finished preparing from behind, began to shower radiant starlight toward the girl.

Even if monsters had spread throughout her body, there was no way they could withstand Sylvia’s powers, which were upgraded by the World Tree and opposed demonic magic.

With brilliant starlight flooding the scene, Dwight shot at the witch embedded in Florene’s body.

“Get out of my friend’s body, witch.”

“…Huh? Well, I don’t care.”

Then, amid the swirling brilliance, the girl murmured.

“…No matter what you do, it’s all over for you now.”

With a meaningful smile.