"Hahahaha…!"
Inside the enclosed chamber, the merry laughter of a small group of peoples echoed eerily, filling every corner of the room.
They mocked, sneered, and hurled insults without restraint upon a black-haired boy kneeling atop a pedestal, bound and helpless—treating his misery as though it were the greatest entertainment of their lives.
"Why, Princess…?" the boy asked weakly.
His expression was a complete mess, tears pouring from his eyes like a broken dam. "Why are you doing this to me…?"
The princess stopped laughing.
Then, slowly, she broke into a wide, delighted grin.
"Why, you ask?" she replied sweetly. "This very moment, was the sole purpose of summoning you from another world in the first place." Her eyes glimmered with madness. "Our petty Hero… Mr. Yuu."
After delivering her answer, the elven princess—with her shiny blonde hair flowing down her back to her waist, her long pointy ears and breathtakingly beautiful face— betraying her noble lineage and burst into manic laughter. It was laughter wholly unfitting of an esteemed princess of the Elven Kingdom.
Struck by the shocking revelation, Yuu could only grimace in despair. The betrayal of peoples that he trusted the most since his arrival in this world, carved painfully deep into his heart,
"Why… sob— why… sob— why…"
He lowered his head, whining as he repeated the question to himself over and over again, unable to understand what he had done to deserve such cruelty.
Yuu had been summoned into this world as a Hero without the slightest of his consent. Immediately afterward, his summoner— the Elven Kingdom imposed upon him an unreasonable task, promising that once it was completed, they would helped him found a way to return him to his original world.
With a heavy heart, he worked tirelessly every day—pushing his body to the brink of collapse, fighting relentlessly to raise his power level so that one day, he could defeat the evil dragon that's threatening both the kingdom, and his very own life.
He ventured numerous times into dangerous dungeons, risking death again and again, racing against the time before the said Evil dragon could lay waste on the Elven Kingdom.
The burden he carried was heavy, far too heavy for a boy who had only at his second year of high school.
The prospect of taking lives—monster lives—just to grow stronger wore him down day by day. He knew that they were said to be just a mindless, savage beings, whose existence posed nothing but a threat to people. But even so, Yuu was just a normal high school boy, with nothing to be proud of prior to his arrival into this world.
The sound of bones cracking beneath each of his strikes them.
The blood splattering every time he decapitated them.
The agonized cries of monsters in their final moments.
They haunted him—even in his dream.
Still, he kept killing. For strength. For survival. For the Elven Kingdom— for the sake of going home.
Yuu told himself to endure. To stay strong so that one day, he could return home and be freed from his torturous life in this world.
But in the end, he was still just a normal teenage boy, his mental fortitude has its limit.
And when his mental state stood on the verge of collapse, Princess Lis had been there for him.
She gave him the emotional support that he desperately needed. She hugged his small body during his weakest moments, encouraged him with her gentle voice and dignified speech whenever he faltered, she stayed by his side to ease the loneliness that gnawed at his heart each time he remembers that—he was coming to this world alone. Her presence made him stronger—physically and mentally.
That was why he couldn't understand it.
He just didn't recognize the girl standing before him right now.
"Ugh. As expected, lowly humans are disgusting," Princess Lis said with open contempt. "But that's exactly what makes them so amusing."
She clasped her arms beneath her chest and shuddered in ecstasy, with a twisted smile stretching from one ear to another.
"The despair on their faces right before you killed them—ahh…" She squirmed as if she's… intoxicated. "This… this is the pinnacle of happiness! I'll never tire of this feeling—especially! when the subject is our honorable Hero."
She stepped closer, stopping just short in front of Yuu. Raising her heel, she hooked it beneath his chin and forced his face upward to face her.
"So?" she whispered. "How does it feel to be betrayed by the one you trusted most? Doesn't it hurt? It hurts so much, doesn't it?"
She laughed again, sharp and cruel.
"Not only did we render your magic useless by cutting off your hands, but soon enough, all your Heroic powers will also be stripped away from you to renew the seal of the Epitome of Evil."
She withdrew her foot, letting his head fall limply forward.
Why…? Yuu asked himself desperately.
What did I do to deserve this?
I gave everything I had to save this Kingdom. I tried my best not to upset anyone…
…Who is this maniac of a woman? I didn't recognize her even a tiny bit. Where is the Princess Lis I knew?
Summoning what remaining of his strength, Yuu raised his head to meet her gaze. His obsidian eyes locked onto her deep navy-blue ones.
"Why did you do this to me…?" he asked hoarsely.
"What did I do wrong?" he continued. "I did everything you asked. I nearly died countless of times because of it. I saved your kingdom. I even start to hesitate about returning to my own world because I was starting to—"
His voice broke.
"I-I was starting to love you…"
Tears streamed down his face.
"So why…? Were the affection you showed me all this time… it was all just lies?"
Princess Lis smiles theatrically.
"What did you do wrong?" she mused, tapping her cheek.
"Ah—right. That was because you were born as a human." She smiled coldly. "You see, humans are a disgusting species. They're short-lived, weak, and ugly. The only things they're good at are how quickly they're multiplying…"
She tilted her head. "Oh—and being wonderful entertainment when you tortured them."
Yuu's eyes widened in shock. His mind couldn't comprehend what he was hearing, not even a tiny portion of it.
Princess Lis turned away, took a few steps, then glanced back over her shoulder.
"And that undead dragon you 'saved' us from?" she scoffed. "Our knights could have handled it just fine. We only had you kill it so that your power would be sufficient for this ritual."
She smiled cruelly.
"And about returning you back to your old world? That was nothing but a fabricated, sugar-coated lie to keep you obedient as our puppet."
She stepped closer toward Yuu once again.
"And you said you loved me?" she spat. "Do not get ahead of yourself you lowly worm! Every time I touched you, I scrubbed my hands thoroughly afterward, until there's not even a tiny bit of your trace left. And every piece of clothing that have came into contact with you—I simply burned them all."
Her face twisted in disgust.
"But now that we don't had a need of you any longer, I didn't need to do more of those disgusting task. what a wonderful day to be alive—And just so you know, Being loved by a disgusting human like you would only makes my skin crawl—Ugh how repulsive."
Feeling utterly dejected and betrayed, Yuu's mind was in a tangled mess. His thoughts refused to form, his lips unable to produce even a single word. He hung his head low, as if he had already given up on trying.
Just as the Princess had previously stated, both of Yuu's hands had been severed just below the elbows. Without his palms, he could no longer channel his mana properly, rendering him incapable of using magic.
Thorny vines conjured by the surrounding elven mages wrapped tightly around his arms, pinning them to his sides. The bindings did not stop there—his torso, neck, and feet were also entangled by the same vines, forcing him to his knees, with his body bent low forward in a broken posture.
Wherever they touched his skin, blood seeped out, freed from his skins by the sharp thorns.
Annoyed by Yuu's lack of response, Princess Lis lifted one foot and stomped down on his head—again… and again.
"Hey! Say something, you lowly worm!" she sneered as she stomped harder. "You're making the spectacle less amusing."
Yet, Yuu barely felt any pain. He was a Hero, after all. Even after they had rendered him immobilized, his power level was far surpassed that of the Princess.
As she continued stomping and mocking him, the elven knights joined in, spitting out insults of their own.
"Why so quiet now, you inferior lowlife?" one knight jeered. "Have you forgotten how to speak?"
"He cried so much, he ran out of steam already," another mage knight spat. "Hell, even a baby has more energy than this skunk."
"He's completely broken," another knight laughed. "I'm almost starting to feel bad for him. Just kidding! Hahaha!"
After the barrage of mockery, the audience began to grow bored. Their toy wasn't reacting anymore. Eventually, Princess Lis stepped back, her interest clearly fading.
"He's already broken," she said flatly. "Unfortunately, I can't kill him myself. We still need him alive for the ritual."
Turning her back, she raised her hand and beckoned to her mages.
"Do it."
Yuu's heart was shattered by despair, and his body screamed in agony from countless wounds. Yet deep within him, something began to stir.
Since childhood, Yuu had always bottled up his feelings. He never allowed others to see his uglier side. He tried desperately to please everyone, either it's for his abusive foster parents, or his classmates bullies who mocked and abused him for his small stature. He believed that if he kept showing them his kindness, one day, others would reciprocates with theirs. After all, that was why his birth mother had named him 'Yuu'—a name that meant 'kindness'.
He still remembered his mother's words clearly:
"Be kind to others. That's why I gave you the name 'Yuu'. But most importantly, be kind to yourself."
No matter how cruelly people treated him, he never stopped believing in their goodness.
But today, he finally understood.
He had been naïve. He had misunderstood his mother's words. He had believed that being kind to himself meant to endlessly being kind to others—but that was wrong. Dead wrong. What she truly meant was:
"To be able to show kindness to others, you must first be kind to yourself."
He would never be kind to himself if he kept pouring one sided kindness into people who only trampled on it.
"Most important of all, be kind to yourself."
Those words took root deep within his mind. His sadness, dejection, despair, frustration, spite, hatred—everything formed together into a single emotion.
Anger.
"…u …itch," he muttered.
The Princess halted and turned her head.
"Oh? Do you have something you'd like to say?"
"You bitch!" Yuu roared with everything he had left. "You'll pay a million times over for what you've done to me! I'll tear you apart even after you beg for mercy! You'll regret ever being born, and I—"
Before he could finish his wild lashing, a knight's boot slammed into his face.
"Ugh—!"
"Watch your tongue, imbecile!" the knight barked. "You stand before Her Highness."
This was no ordinary strike. Unlike the Princess', this knight possessed power level even greater than Yuu's. The kick tore into his cheek, leaving a deep wound.
"Thanks, Rudl," the Princess said with a smile. "That face he made was priceless."
"You flatter me, Your Highness," Rudl replied with a bow.
"Rudl, you bastard—" Yuu glared at him.
Another kick crashed into his face.
"Urgh…"
"I said watch your tongue!" Rudl continued, raining kicks down one after another, each blow wrenching a pained grunt from Yuu.
"That's enough, Rudl," the Princess finally ordered after about a minute. "Any more, and you'll kill him."
"My apologies, Your Highness." Rudl bowed and stepped back.
Princess Lis stood before Yuu once more.
"So?" she said mockingly. "How exactly were you planning to make me pay? Oh, right—I forgot. You can't."
She laughed softly.
"You can't move. You can't use magic. And after the ritual, you'll lose all your Heroic power. And then, your body will be sent to a hellhole, where you'll rot away in agony for the rest of your worthless life."
"Y…you'll reg…ret… this…" Yuu muttered, his swollen mouth barely able to form words.
"Hm?" Princess Lis cupped a hand to her ear and leaned closer. "I can't hear you."
"Go… to… hell…" he whispered.
She sighed. "I'd love to watch you suffer more, but if this goes on, you'll die—and we can't have that."
She spat at him, then gestured to the mages once more.
"Begin the ritual."
"As you wish, Your Highness!" the mages replied, stepping forward as the Princess moved away from the pedestal.
They began chanting. The pedestal beneath Yuu erupted in blinding light as multiple layers of magic circles formed beneath him. In the next instant, the boy vanished without a trace.
The ritual was a success.
The Epitome of Evil had been sealed away once more for centuries to come.
…Or so they thought.