Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

Page 284

"...As long as you're happy."

Tus slowly closed the door.

Otta slowly withdrew his gaze from the window, his eyes falling on the desk, looking at his face reflected in the acrylic sign:

"Ota, Ota, what's wrong with you?"

Even without Tus reminding him, he knew that something was wrong with his situation.

His chest was burning, his mind was wandering; even a trivial rumor had stirred a feeling of joy in this king.

These days, the image of Astrid with a cute filter would occasionally pop into his mind, but it would quickly transform into a more refined image that truly belonged to her.

However, the lingering afterglow did not diminish in the slightest, and my heart was still beating more violently than usual.

Ota pressed his hand slowly against his chest.

"No, we can't look at Scholar Astrid with that kind of perspective! She not only has a strong loyalty to the kingdom, but she has also provided me with tremendous help on many occasions. Although her hobbies are somewhat strange, in every respect she is a woman who shares my ideals?"

His words trailed off, and Ota was startled, then shook his head violently.

"No, no, no! Even so, it shouldn't make me waver like this!"

"I just saw a shadow of Suine in Astrid... Yes, that's right, that's it."

Clenching his fists, Ota finally found a reasonable explanation, and a deep longing welled up in his eyes.

For some reason, the aura emanating from Astrid was very similar to that of Suine: it wasn't just similar, but exactly the same, captivating!

Add to that the occasional glimpse of breathtakingly beautiful art style—Ota's heart pounded. That Astrid... was even more stunning than Tsurugi?!

Snapped!

A stinging slap landed on his face, forcing himself back to his senses. He cursed under his breath:

"Ota, Ota! You haven't been away from Cuiyin for long, and you've already set your sights on Scholar Aistri again?"

"Are you really the kind of fickle, two-dimensional waifu-chasing person who has no morals or bottom line?!"

Her breathing was still a little erratic. Otta slowly raised her head from her seat, recalling the moments she had spent with Astrid, and suddenly felt a little uncertain:

"Unless... I was wrong from the very beginning."

"It's not that I fell in love with Cuiyin and then extended that love to her... It's that I didn't even realize it myself, but my obsession with Cuiyin actually stemmed from a template already etched in my heart..."

Startled, Ota began to seriously compare the differences between Estri and Cuiyin.

Cuiyin's appearance is impeccable; Aistri's appearance is plain and unremarkable.

Cuiyin's voice was sweet and charming; Aiscu's voice was trembling.

Cuiyin's smile is radiant and captivating; Aistri's smile is utterly infatuated.

Cuiyin is cheerful and outgoing; Aistri is timid and hesitant...

After biting his lip and pondering for a long time, Ota's eyes suddenly lit up, and he finally found the common ground between the two:

Both Astrid and Sui-on have green hair!

—Yes, they look alike! Very alike!

"As expected." Ota clenched his fist.

"Cuiyin and Aistri, you are both my wings!!!"

After a long period of excitement, Ota suddenly seemed to remember something, and his expression quickly turned somber again.

“But… I already owe Scholar Astrid too much, I can’t, absolutely cannot, cause her any more trouble—”

Looking at the green-haired beauty standee on the table, Ota murmured, "The throne is the greatest reward I can offer, but it's not enough. I must protect the safety of Scholar Astrid from the clutches of the demons! I will never again give the demons any chance to contact or harm her!!!"

"As for those rumors, let them be. It doesn't matter to me even if they become the truth... If they reach the ears of Scholar Astrid, it might even..."

Inside the study, the sound suddenly stopped.

Ota stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.

"Ota, Ota, you've become despicable too..."

……

at the same time.

The Kingdom Library, deep within.

"Hehehe...hehehehe..." The eerie laughter of a madwoman echoed through the deep, quiet library.

Astrid paused, gazing at the flowing words on the page, a smile of immense satisfaction spreading across her face.

"Writing about Prince Ota, who was taken advantage of after losing his white moonlight, is surprisingly engaging... that feeling of being immersed in heartbreak yet unable to resist falling for him... hehe, hehehehe..."

"Astrid, you are so despicable..."

Chapter 409 Proton Balance: Mino and Astrid!

"That despicable king!!!"

Demon City.

As Freer listened to the intelligence Swell summarized, his face gradually twisted: "They actually insulted Astrid as a great queen who made countless contributions to humanity?"

"This is the greatest blasphemy against a great demon! Unforgivable! He's already captured Astrid, yet he's still not satisfied and has spread such absurd rumors! Shameless human! I will tear his bones and flesh to shreds!!!"

The roar of anger reverberated through the air.

The halo above his head exuded a suffocating aura. Freer could no longer control his anger, and even the plague virus was spreading out of control!

"Calm down, Your Excellency!"

Fortunately, those present were the most powerful demons. The plague spread in the darkness of the hall, but it could not shake the figures with rich magical power sitting in the seats.

The pages of the book, bathed in the light of knowledge, expelled the toxins and patiently offered solace:

"Of course we know that Lady Astrid is the most loyal and steadfast great demon, and the things the kingdom has spread are just fabricated lies."

"After all, she is the sixth demon with corrupting desires: her desire to corrupt humanity has long since seeped into every bone in her body, and her desires affect humanity more constantly than any of the demons present here."

Swell analyzes it from the perspective of "knowledge". Among all the great demons, Astrid is also the most orthodox demon. Her desires are born from humans, but they are also directed at and affect humans.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for them to coexist peacefully with humanity, let alone turn against them and help them:

"To say that the Corrupted Demon Astrid is the strategist of the human kingdom is like saying that the Hero of Light is the number one accomplice of the demon race—this doesn't fool us: the idea that Lady Astrid would save humanity is an absolutely impossible fallacy!"

"Even so! Are we just going to stand by and watch Astrid be humiliated?!"

Freer was somewhat agitated.

After all, the torment that Astrid suffered should have been borne by him!

"That despicable and shameless human king actually wanted to make Astrid his queen, to pour his bottomless, filthy desires onto her... Astrid, she... she's just a two-hundred-and-sixty-year-old child!!!"

Freer said with great distress.

"Do not be deceived by superficial knowledge, Your Excellency Freer," Swell said calmly.

"You must understand, we are facing that iron-blooded, cold, and aloof king, who has repeatedly caused us obstacles and heavy losses."

"What we need to consider is... the will that Prince Ota was trying to convey behind his actions."

Swell's perspective was clearly more far-sighted and clear: "It's impossible that he really only coveted Lady Astrid's body and beauty, is it?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but from a human aesthetic point of view, Lady Astrid is not yet capable of bewitching a human king, let alone the extremely cunning Prince Ota."

After hearing these words, tinged with a hint of knowledge, Freer finally calmed down and nodded:

"Hmm...you're right, Swell, I was a little flustered."

"Thinking about it carefully, neither Mog's charm nor her disguise has yet reached the point where Prince Otto would take notice of her."

Wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes, Freer said with some relief:

"It's so good that he's such an ordinary and mediocre demon, Astrid!"

“You should be glad Astrid isn’t sitting at the table right now,” Migo said, squinting at the long table. “Otherwise, you’d probably be completely corrupted by now, not even a feather left.”

"Svir, just say what you're thinking," the Demon Sword Apophis said at the opportune moment.

"Astrid becoming a queen was undoubtedly a choice she couldn't make herself. The key is Prince Otta, who was behind it all. He must have some ulterior motive."

“I think it’s quite obvious.” Swell nodded slightly.

"That despicable human king is trying to provoke us! He will repay Lady Astrid a thousandfold with the same methods we used on Mino!"

"At this point, if we take the bait and send demons to the capital to rescue Lady Astrid, it will be a certain death situation... That human king probably wants to see this the most, but he also knows that we will not fall for it no matter what."

"Therefore, I believe that his decision to make Lady Astrid his princess was partly to facilitate his oversight and control over her, but also for a more important reason: a warning!"

"warn?"

“That’s right.” Swail was quite certain: “Think about it carefully and you’ll understand. It’s a kind of demonstrative revenge.”

"Although Ota doesn't know how much he has feelings for that Cuiyin, since he can even use his own queen as a trap, then to Ota, there is no difference between a 'queen' and a 'hostage'."

"Putting Lady Astrid forward as the Queen is both to avenge her for using her corrupt power to destroy Tsuiyin's hatred and to demonstrate to us: Didn't you want to assassinate the Queen? Now that your companion has been made Queen, if you have the guts... then come and assassinate her!"

“What a chillingly perverse sense of humor…” Apophis commented from his seat.

As a holy sword, it ultimately cannot comprehend the human heart, only understood through Swell's ingenious analysis:

"However, what I don't understand is, if Astrid occupies the position of Queen, how will Prince Otta then choose a Queen and ascend the throne?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Apophis noticed that not only Svir, but even Kletina, the head of the long table, had become more aura-deep.

"Lord Apophis, your thinking is still a bit too old-fashioned. Haven't you realized it yet...?"

Swell said with a tone of both fear and admiration, "This is precisely the will that human king wanted to convey to us: he captured his best friend, offended his kingdom, and assassinated his queen. Now, he and we are at a point of no return!"

"Before completely annihilating the demon race and rescuing the hero Mino from the Demon King's castle, he will never indulge in personal feelings again... Even if he lives a lonely life, he will do everything in his power to destroy us!"

"Prince Ota, terrifying indeed—"

Swell let out a sigh of relief: "We underestimated him too much before."

"Looking back now, although our assassination of the princess was successful, this time... we may have unleashed an invincible lion."

The pages of the book gradually outlined the majestic figure of the King of Kur, as if one could see an unstoppable wheel rolling in, carrying a glory that inspired both fear and admiration!