“Stand up.”

Eleanor slowly lifted her eyes as one of the surrounding men spoke to her.

“Follow me. We have somewhere to go.”

“Somewhere?”

“Yes.”

At least, they weren’t indicating that they were moving to serve her the next course of the meal.

In the first place, they had been displaying a threatening gesture by deliberately showing their bladed weapons to her.

“…”

However, instead of immediately responding to their demands, Eleanor simply furrowed her eyebrows.

“I hope that someday, there will be a man who truly understands me. Someone who will accept my everything. When was the last time I had such hope? I can’t even remember anymore.”

As her low-pitched voice resounded within the room, the people around her slowly frowned simultaneously.

It was a natural reaction as no sane person would just start a hopeless monologue while being surrounded by enemies on all sides.

“You know, hope is a dangerous thing. It makes humans blind. I’ve been fooled a lot too.”

“Hey. What are you babbling…”

Eleanor grabbed a wine bottle nearby and gulped down the whole thing in one go.

It was an outrageous act that didn’t fit her status as a noblewoman.

But strangely enough, it didn’t feel out of place.

It was a sign that she had been suppressing something for a long long time.

“But sometimes, there are things that don’t betray you.”

“…I told you to stand up.”

The man, who had spoken to her first, irritatedly strode toward Eleanor.

He was clearly going to force her to stand up.

Eleanor looked several times smaller compared to the man’s giant, well-trained body.

However, in the next moment—

Eleanor grabbed the man’s big arm.

“…!”

Blood gushed out of the spot where she held the man, as his muscles tore and his bones shattered into pieces.

Just as the man’s eyes widened as he was processing the ridiculous situation in shock; without skipping a beat, Eleanor grabbed his head and slammed it onto the table.

The wine bottle she had just been drinking from also fell due to the impact.

Blood sprayed and glass shards scattered everywhere.

“…What!”

As the people around her drew their swords in fear, Eleanor simply smirked and casually threw the completely unconscious man aside.

The sight of the massive man getting leisurely thrown around like a crumpled piece of paper was almost unreal.

“With so many eyes around me, I’ve been holding back a bit lately.”

Her red eyes gleamed menacingly, making her seem more like a beast than a human.

“It’s been rather difficult.”

“You must not kill her, that’s our top priority! We can tolerate some injuries, but you must capture her alive…”

One of the armed men shouted those words in a deep voice.

A second later, he was slammed into the wall by Eleanor’s fist.

“Capture me alive, huh? That’s very interesting.”

The men unconsciously took a step back, as they hadn’t even seen her move.

Her strength and agility were simply beyond their imagination.

“I have no intention of letting you guys do that.”

As Eleanor said those words, the man she had just sent flying picked up his dropped sword on the ground.

Meanwhile, Dowd’s words from earlier echoed in her ears.

‘These guys are devil worshipers.’

‘You’ve been having a hard time lately, haven’t you?’

‘I don’t know about later, but for this situation, holding back would be worse.’

She smirked to herself.

In fact, it was dangerous to trust accusations of devil worshipers without sufficient evidence, unless it was from the empire’s notorious Heresy Inquisitors themselves. Otherwise, one wouldn’t even know they had met a devil worshipper.

However, the one who told her those words was none other than Dowd Campbell. If she didn’t even believe him, who else could she believe?

‘Here.’

She would let everything out.

She just couldn’t hate the man.

Releasing one’s madness like this was one of the time-honored methods of relief in the long history of the Tristan Family.

She had no idea how the man knew about this piece of information.

Nor did she know what he meant by, 'I don’t know about later.'

However…

She had come to realize that she had reached a critical point in suppressing her madness.

In other words…

“In accordance with the imperial law, executing demon worshippers on the spot and reporting it afterward is allowed. Isn’t that right?”

A fierce gleam flashed through her blood-red eyes, and a chilling aura descended upon the entire space. It was as though the air itself had frozen into ice.

Everyone present felt a sense of foreboding.

“…!”

They had heard the rumors.

Among the best swordsmen in the continent, a young lady was famous for her exceptional talent since childhood.

From the beginning, they never thought it would be easy to face her. But they also didn’t think that they wouldn’t be able to handle the situation.

After all, everyone here was a warrior deserving of such confidence.

They were steel-like talents forged in the melting pot of real combat. They were the elites of the elites that Marquis Riverback personally trained to the best of his abilities.

However…

What stood before them right now was…

...Not just any skilled swordsman.

Rather, all the human-like sensations she had just moments ago were wiped away, replaced by an unidentifiable brutality and hostility.

This was… the something that took on the form of Lady Tristian.

It was as black as ink, so much so that it didn’t feel like it was even human at this point!

“So. Be ready to kill.”

Well, anyway…

It was a gift from that man after all.

Her face was still expressionless like usual. But if Dowd saw her right now, he would probably think that Eleanor was genuinely smiling.

As if causing harm without the fear of repercussion was the most fun and enjoyable thing for her.

“That way, you’ll be able to hold out a little longer.”

Subsequently…

Absolute mayhem ensued.

•  

In total, it took 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

That was how long it took Eleanor to reach us.

“…Impossible…”

Looking at the dazed Marquis Riverback muttering like that, I would have probably burst out laughing on a regular day.

But, wasn’t this a bit too much?

“…Are you okay?”

As I asked her in a stiff voice, Eleanor pursed her lips and tossed the two bloodied bodies before her.

Watching her drag them around like they were trophies gave me the chills.

“Well, it was refreshing. I think I’ll be fine for a while now.”

“…”

Eleanor was originally on the first floor at the entrance of the restaurant, while Marquis Riverback and I were in a special room on the top floor.

But right now, this person has managed to single-handedly slice through dozens to hundreds of people who were densely packed together and had made her way up to this place.

An elite force that Marquis Riverback could boast of being comparable to the knights was wiped out by her in one go.

All while wearing a one-piece dress.

And in just a few minutes at that.

‘Isn’t she a real monster…?’

'I can assure you of one thing.'

This was absolutely crazy. Even an EX Grade Desperation wouldn’t be enough to compete.

With the stat boost from an EX Grade Desperation, I should be able to deal with 5 to 10 people at most. But against dozens to hundreds of elite troops?

It would already be considered good if I could hold out for a few seconds.

Even Marquis Riverback, whose confidence had been soaring till now, abruptly blanked out.

After all, the tower that he had built up over many years was destroyed in just a few minutes by one person.

As I was at a loss for words, Eleanor’s brows furrowed as if she suddenly remembered something.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Calmly swatting away two bloodied corpses from before her, she came toward me.

“Come to think of it, it was not a good idea.”

“…Yes?”

“It was hard. I could have been hurt. How could you make me do this?”

“…”

“Shouldn’t you take responsibility?”

She was lying through her teeth without even batting an eye.

She had not one scratch on her body and looked even better than a brand-new porcelain doll.

'Rather, didn’t you get rid of all the stress and even enjoy it somewhat…?'

“It did feel great but this isn’t a date, no, that, anyway, you should make it up to me!”

“…”

“Let’s go out together again next time. Alright?”

“…Should we?”

It didn’t feel like I really had the grounds to refuse right now.

“Um. We should, yes. You’ll have to take responsibility for other things later.”

What was the other thing that I had to take responsibility for?

What should I take responsibility for even?

As I sighed at the incomprehensible words, a window suddenly appeared before me.

System Message

[ Checking the current condition of the target Eleanor. ]

[ Current favorability is Love or higher. The unique debuff Madness has been improved under your influence.! ]

[ Conditions for Exclusive Quest have been met. ]

< Exclusive Quest Triggered! >

[ Eleanor Elinalise La Tristan Exclusive Quest has been added to the Gift Tab. ]

[ Clearing the quest will unlock a higher favorability level than Love. ]

[ Clearing the quest will grant significant benefits to the main scenario. ]

[ Clearing the quest will affect the ending. ]

System Message

[ The target Gideon Galestead La Tristan is interested in you! ]

“…?”

 

'Wait a minute.'

 

'What’s this?'

The Exclusive Quest didn’t exist in the game. Was this a new addition?

However, even though there were many eye-catching prompts lined up, the most noticeable one was definitely…

‘Gideon?’

If it was Gideon, then it could only be that guy.

Duke Tristan. A key figure in the empire, who was said to be the second most powerful person next to the Emperor, and even the strongest knight nicknamed the One-man Army, and also Eleanor’s father.

He was also a villain, who greatly contributed to Eleanor’s corruption into becoming the final boss.

“…”

At least, during the course of Chapter 1, he was not someone I was expecting to take an interest in me and have this message pop up.

What was happening?

‘…Ah, I don’t know.’

I shook my head and closed the window.

I could take a look at this later.

What was more important was this—

System Message

[ You have completed the Main Quest! ]

[ Quest completion time is less than 5 minutes! A record-breaking feat! ]

[ The highest level rewards will be given! ]

“I… all the things I’ve accomplished…”

A quest completion prompt popped up along with the defeated appearance of Marquis Riverback. He was utterly crushed, mentally speaking.

“…”

Well, it was understandable, considering that the thing he’d been proudly building to perfection for years got destroyed in less than 5 minutes.

“Give up, Marquis Riverback.”

Eleanor went on calmly.

“It’ll be your end once it gets out that you are associated with devil worshippers. Given the social stigma, there is no alternative other than immediate execution. You’d better surrender now and face a merciful end.”

“…”

Her voice was calm, but her words were absolutely brutal.

It seemed to me as though sparing him wasn’t even an option for her.

‘If the acquisition event has been derailed, the branch will…’

The branch choice after this point would have been either escape or battle.

But since Eleanor had already taken care of all the enemies, neither option was necessary.

“…Hah.”

Marquis Riverback bitterly laughed.

“I didn’t think I’d have to resort to this.”

I watched as Marquis Riverback pulled something out of his pocket in a daze.

Perhaps, it was a cursed item that allowed a person to borrow corrupted power for a short time.

‘What follows after this is…’

Marquis Riverback awakened as the Purifier and a boss battle followed immediately after.

Since it ended too easily, there was a high chance that a new branch would be added…

System Message

[ A new branch has appeared. ]

[ Branch: Essence Emergence... ]

[ The difficulty level has significantly increased! ]

[ In addition to the reward, Evil Essence, an item related to the ending will be given. ]

[ The target ??? will take even more interest in you! ]

“…”

'What the fuck?'

As I was perplexed by the message that appeared before my eyes, Marquis Riverback finally took something out that wriggled like a living creature’s heart.

There seemed to be an unknown, endlessly sticky darkness oozing at the center of the item.

As soon as I saw this item, a chill ran down my spine.

The feeling that things were seriously going wrong crept up my whole body.

‘Devil’s Essence…!’

'This shit…'

 

'No, stop this fucking shit!'

That was not something that should appear in Chapter 1!!

Simply being able to use some of the corrupted power and becoming a demonic human after consuming that essence were entirely different things!

“Eleanor, cut off his arm! Don’t let him eat that!”

“…?”

At my overwhelming reaction, the shocked Eleanor immediately drew her sword and lunged toward Marquis Riverback.

“Receive the grace of God.”

However, Marquis Riverback had already shoved the essence into his mouth.

And the next moment—

-!

-!!!!

-!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The whole Twilight Iris building was consumed by a surging darkness.