Rigel carried out the execution of the Queen and Princess Nina.
The rciless guillotine severed both of their heads from their bodies.
"Ah...! Aaaah...!"
A silent scream escaped from Stella's mouth. The mont the two heads thudded onto the ground, she fell to her knees and hung her head.
"Haha! Hahahaha! Look! They're dead! With this, the entire Valenstein royal family is wiped out!!"
"Ugh...! Guh...!"
Stella desperately held back her tears.
But both her mind and body were already reaching their limits.
And then—
Thud.
By so cruel coincidence, one of the severed heads rolled right in front of Stella.
「...」
"Hii, hiiiiiiiii!!!"
The instant her eyes t the lifeless gaze of the two corpses, Stella instinctively scrambled backward.
So books claid that a person executed by guillotine retained consciousness for a few seconds.
But what lay before Stella now was unmistakably just a dead body.
There was no emotion in those eyes — neither joy nor pleasure, nor even anger or resentnt.
Only emptiness.
They felt like nothing more than dolls.
"Ah, ah, ah..."
The sheer horror made Stella tremble violently.
A stream of yellow liquid flowed down between her legs.
She had believed herself a noblewoman with a strong, noble resolve.
Though she had rarely been allowed to participate in real combat, she thought she had prepared herself ntally for the worst.
Yet the grueso scene before her had completely shattered that resolve.
"Oops, it rolled all the way over there."
Rigel approached Stella and picked up the heads of the Queen and Princess Nina that had fallen in front of her.
He then walked over to the headless bodies.
"Fufu… What a beautiful fountain of blood, don't you think?"
Rigel asked with a laugh.
Indeed, depending on how one looked at it, the sight was almost beautiful.
The vivid red liquid spurting out would leave a striking impression on anyone watching.
It could even be called art.
Except for one small detail — the fact that the source was human.
"Ueegh...! Geho…! Goho…!"
Stella vomited.
Ignoring her, Rigel raised the two heads high.
"Now! Everyone, take a good look! This is the end of the Valenstein royal family! I'll burn them until not even dust remains!!"
Rigel called out to the crowd.
At the sa ti, the heads of the Queen and Princess Nina burst into flas in his hands.
"How horrible…"
"Such terrifying fire magic… Why would the heavens grant power to such a demonic monster…?"
"Damn it…! You invaders…!"
The people condemned Rigel.
Seeing their reactions, a twisted grin spread across his face.
"Kukuku… Burned them without leaving even ashes. Next are the bodies."
Rigel tore the two bodies off the guillotine and carelessly laid them on the ground.
There was no emotion in the way he handled them — not even the slightest affection one might feel for a toy they had grown tired of playing with.
It was purely the chanical task of disposing of garbage.
"Filth must be disinfected! —[Fire Pillar]!!!"
Rigel activated his fire magic once more.
It engulfed the torsos of the Queen and Princess Nina, incinerating them down to the bones in an instant.
"Hahahahahaha!! With this, the Valenstein royal house is completely annihilated!!"
Rigel roared.
Hearing those words, the hearts of the people broke.
"Ahh… it's really over…"
"The Kingdom of Valenstein is finished…"
"With a monster like that around, who knows what will happen from now on…"
"I don't want this…! I don't want to die…!"
"God…! Please save us…!"
People wept. So even began praying to the gods.
Amidst them, Stella was the only one who acted differently.
(…Not yet. It's not over yet.)
Stella stood up.
There was no despair on her face.
She steeled herself and raised her sword.
"Go to hell, Rigel!!!"
"Wha—!?"
Caught completely off guard, Rigel couldn't react in ti.
Stella had abandoned all pride as a duke's daughter and launched a desperate surprise attack.
That recklessness paid off.
Her blade descended upon him.
(I got him!!)
She was certain.
No matter how monstrous Rigel's strength and magic power were, no living creature could survive having its neck sliced open.
Claaaang!
"…Huh? Eh? …What?"
However, her strike did not reach him.
Or rather, it did reach him — it just had no effect whatsoever.
"Hey now. Suddenly swinging a sword at ? What's with that attitude?"
Rigel said, sounding exasperated.
It was simple.
Thanks to the cheat skill [Rape] dramatically enhancing his physical abilities and magic power, Stella's sword strike was nothing more than a child hitting him with a toy hamr.
"Kh… Then—!"
Stella swung her sword again.
If the neck wouldn't work, she'd go for another vital point.
She thrust sharply at his eye.
Even Rigel with his cheat skill [Rape] would not escape unscathed if his eye was pierced.
But—
"It's useless."
"Kh…!"
Once Rigel was on guard, there was no way Stella's skill level could reach his eyes.
She was easily caught.
"Hmph… I was planning to spare everyone except the royal family, but if you're going to be this defiant, that's a different story. Kukuku, looks like the guillotine gets to work again."
Rigel grinned wickedly.
Seeing that evil smile, Stella's face turned deathly pale.
---
Having carried out the public execution of the Queen and the Second Princess Nina, Rigel imdiately incinerated their bodies, leaving not even ashes behind.
Now, he turned his attention to Stella and declared that she too would face the guillotine.
"Hehehe… So, you want to taste the guillotine as well? Hmm~?"
"Kh…"
Stella bit her lip in frustration, but she couldn't offer any real resistance.
She had already reached her physical limit, and Rigel was firmly holding her down.
While this was happening, Kaine and the Silver Moon Squad, reading Rigel's intentions, finished preparing the guillotine.
"Alright! It's execution ti!"
"Hii! N-nooo!! Stop it!!!"
Stella was dragged toward the guillotine.
Her neck was placed on the block and securely fastened.
"Kukuku. What a lovely view."
"Uuu…"
Rigel looked down at Stella as she glared up at him with resentnt.
She could no longer put up any aningful resistance.
With her neck fixed in place, escape was impossible.
"Do you know what this string is?"
"A string…?"
"This is your lifeline. If it gets cut, the guillotine blade above your head will co crashing down with full force. And then—your head will be separated from your body."
Rigel casually touched the string while explaining it to Stella.
Hearing his explanation, all the color drained from her face.
"Now then, I'm holding a sword in my right hand. That ans I can cut this string whenever I want."
"Ugh…!"
"…Haha! Scary, right? Of course it's scary. Your head is about to fly off any second now!"
"N-no… Please stop…"
Hearing Rigel's words, Stella broke down into loud sobs.
Any trace of dignity as a duke's daughter had completely vanished.
All that remained was a single girl desperately begging for her life.
"Kukuku… That's good. Be more afraid. Scream and cry for ."
"Hii…"
"Yes, just like that… Keep crying and screaming."
Rigel wore a sadistic smile.
His goal was to see Stella's tear-stained face.
"Now! The guillotine is going to fall! Hurry up and feel true terror! Despair! Your death is right before you!!"
"Hii…! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!"
Stella let out a blood-curdling scream.
Her terror had reached its absolute limit.
"Perfect! That's it! Fall deeper into the abyss of fear! Hahahahahaha!!"
Rigel laughed loudly.
At the sa ti, he raised his sword.
"W-wait!! I'll do anything! I'll do anything, so please!!!"
"Idiot! I'm not waiting!!"
Rigel swung his sword down.
In the next instant, the guillotine blade above Stella's head ca plumting down.
"Ah…"
Stella let out a silent scream.
Feeling the blade falling toward her from above, she resigned herself to death.
However—
"Just kidding~"
Rigel spoke in a playful tone.
The guillotine blade had stopped just a hair's breadth away from severing Stella's neck.
He had grabbed the string—which had been cut—with his left hand and held it in place.
"Haa…! Haa…! Hyu…!"
Realizing her neck was still attached, Stella fell into intense confusion.
Her breathing grew ragged and her heart pounded violently.
"Haha! How was that? Did you think you were dead?"
"Ah…! Aah…!"
"Well, I was planning to kill you. But I figured it wouldn't be too late to see your resolve one last ti."
"M-my… resolve?"
"That's right."
Rigel gently stroked Stella's cheek with his right hand.
His touch was calm and almost tender.
However, his left hand was still holding the string that supported the heavy, sharp blade.
If he relaxed his grip even slightly, the blade would co crashing down on her again.
Just thinking about it gave Stella no peace of mind.
"You said it yourself, didn't you? 'I'll do anything.'"
"Eh…? …Ah."
"So, I'll give you a chance."
Rigel smiled at Stella.
His smile was full of benevolence.
It was like the smile of a goddess.
Except his eyes were not smiling at all…
"First, declare your complete surrender. Now that the royal family has been wiped out, a public declaration of surrender from you, a duke's daughter, carries great weight."
"B-but that's…"
"If you refuse, I'll just drop the guillotine right now. I don't even need to cut the string this ti. All I have to do is loosen my left hand."
"!!"
"Co on, let the people hear your pathetic surrender. Everyone is watching you very closely, you know? From the front and from behind."
The guillotine was set up in the center of Tosh's main plaza.
Positioned slightly higher up, it was clearly visible from all directions.
"…Hii!?"
Following Rigel's words, Stella looked toward the crowd.
Countless eyes were staring at her.
Every single gaze was lifeless.
Anyone with the will to resist Rigel had already been captured by sterica and the others during the execution of the Queen and Princess, so this was only natural.
"So, what will it be? Will you say it? Or not? Which is it?"
"…"
"Haha! No answer? Well, that makes sense. After all, you're the proud daughter of a duke. Dying would be better than declaring complete surrender, right? I understand completely. In that case, let's resu the execution. Die nobly together with your pride."
"…No."
"Hm? What was that?"
"I don't want to diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!!!"
Stella scread at the top of her lungs.
She threw away all her pride and cried out shalessly.
"I don't want to die!! I still want to live!!!"
"Haha! Excellent! Truly wonderful! This is exactly what I wanted from the proud duke's daughter!!"
Rigel shouted with great delight.
To him, the sight of Stella desperately clinging to life in the face of death was the ultimate feast.
Wearing a sadistic smile, he continued to savor her pitiful appearance for a while.
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