—Nejire's and Hizumi's curses have vanished...
One by one, the curses of her servants were snuffed out. The first to go had been Kernel. Then, almost simultaneously, the curses tied to Nejire and Hizumi disappeared. Normally, the King of Curses could share her senses with the curses she had birthed. Yet now, it was as if she were trapped at the bottom of an ocean where not a single ray of light could reach; nothing came through. She could only register the cold fact that the curses she had forged were gone. And what was more—
—Are they attempting to seize my Territory?
Of all things, someone was daring to interfere with her domain of absolute control—an inviolable sanctuary. Of course, the grand network of curses she had woven throughout the entire mansion remained intact and unbroken, so it was ultimately a trivial, petty disruption.
Even so, the fact remained that an intruder had committed the blasphemous sacrilege of setting foot inside her divine, inviolable realm. Such an affront was—
—Unforgivable...
It was an indignity the King of Curses could never abide. Boiling with incandescent rage,
—Who is this insolent wretch?!
She unleashed a telepathic shriek of raw malice.
Was the trespasser the legendary Hero whispered of in rumors? Was it that cowardly, pathetic rabble of the human race known as the Hunter Guild? Or perhaps that supreme elf who had founded Babel? Or could it be some anomalous mutant among humankind?
Regardless, in the eyes of the King of Curses, they were nothing more than insects. How dare such a worthless bug trample heedlessly across the Territory of the one who stood closest to the gods? Such insolence was utterly intolerable. She would make the fool who dared defile her domain savor eternal agony through the most exquisite of curses.
—Yugami, bring the trespassing vermin before me alive!
"Understood, kuma!"
Giving a small bow to the King of Curses, the bear plushie balanced on one foot and spun around. With every twirl, miniature plushies with sewn-shut eyes spilled forth in droves.
"The moment you find the scoundrels, drag them straight here, kuma! As long as they're breathing, feel free to rip off a limb or two, kuma!"
"Roger!"
Just as the tiny plushies snapped their heels together in salute, the massive stone doors burst open with violent force. The skinless, patchwork giant assigned to guard the chamber's entrance on the second basement floor came tumbling inside.
"M-M-M—"
His legs had given out entirely. Pointing frantically out into the corridor, his eyes and mouth flapped open and shut like a dying, terrified fish.
"Keep it down, kuma! You stand in the presence of the King, kuma!"
Ignoring Yugami's scolding,
"M-M-Monsteeeer!"
The patchwork giant wailed at the top of his lungs. In that split second—
"Guh?"
A massive blade impaled him through the mouth, slicing clean upward to cleave his skull in two.
Before the patchwork giant's collapsing corpse, a black-haired human stood quietly, casually holding an impossibly long sword in one hand before anyone had even realized he had arrived.