I'm Actually Not Overpowered!

With a heavy thud, Lucy collapsed to the ground.

Her blood pooled beneath her, causing all the warriors and Adventurers around her to tremble and scream in shock and fear.

"Hehe... I guess I'll handle the rest. You must want to toy with the girl." They heard the Orc-Tortoise demon speak.

He was talking to the Violet-clothed one.

"Ah, yes. I don't care for the other dregs. I'll have my fun with this one."

With this response, her bat-like wings flapped and she descended in Lucy's direction.

The young girl was spasming as her body writhed in pain. Her bloodshot eyes glared in hatred, and her paralyzed body squirmed in agony.

"S-stay away!" The brave Adventurers and the denizens of Lucy's settlement screamed out at the demon, drawing their blades and whatever weapons they had in stock.

"I thought I told you I didn't want to handle these dregs..." Her eyes sharply went to the demon still standing overhead--completely ignoring the brave, yet pathetic, humans who challenged her.

"Aye, aye." The demon sighed.

Suddenly, the spikes on his body began to quiver. Clearly, he was about to make his move.

The humans were petrified for a moment, but they eventually regained their will to fight--to resist with all their might.

"A-Atta--!"

Before their resolution morphed into action, the demon's spike lunged at the humans in the vicinity--faster than a porcupine's, larger and more deadlier.

The spikes pierced the humans in various parts of their bodies, causing blood to splash in all directions. Screams of pain and despair rent the air as the battle quickly turned into a bloodbath.

Experiencing this extreme bloodshed while being unable to lift a finger was Lucy. Her body was still throbbing due to the pain, but the major reason she shivered so immensely was due to watching her comrades die one by one.

Their gruesome deaths scarred her mind as she was unable to do nothing, except watch their blood and innards gush out.

"Hahaha! Now that's the expression I want to see! Pure despair! I love it. You should have just taken the deal instead of stubbornly choosing to fight. This is all your fault, you know?" The pale demon grabbed Lucy by her hair and pulled her up.

"Your stubbornness led these people to their deaths." Her words were sharp and cutting, and her eyes gleamed with amusement.

She was obviously enjoying herself.

"N-no... it didn't. You would have killed them anyway." Lucy managed to murmur despite her pain.

She had lost a lot of blood and energy due to using her Taboo Skill and being wounded so deeply.

Paralysis also rendered her incapable of using any of her abilities--not that they would work on the devious monster before her.

"Oh, you can't be very sure, can yo--"

"I am sure. Monsters like you... don't care about human life. You'd just play your little game and let your partner handle all the dirty work. You never promised that he wouldn't hurt anyone if I won, did you?" Lucy was straining to speak, but her hateful glare never diminished.

After she spoke, there was silence.

The Mid-Demon General didn't say a thing. Her expression fell a little, and she began trembling slightly.

"You..." Her voice was shaky, but it was clear.

Lucy could sense depravity in every syllable, and it sickened her.

"You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!" The demon stared at her with a malevolent grin. Her smile was so wide that her curled lips curved to the edges of her face.

It was an expression of utter evil.

"I was going to torture you in the most agonizing way possible. Dismember your hands, then legs, I'll even kill one of your companions right in front of you... all to inflict pain on you."

Not many would be able to endure such ruthlessness.

"If you lost, I would have slaughtered everyone mercilessly, saving you for last. But, it makes no difference if you won too. My partner here would simply kill you all. Ahh, too bad things didn't turn out that way."

The more the Demon General laughed, the greater Lucy's anger grew. Unfortunately, it only led to frustration.

All her comrades were dead, and she was powerless in they presence of such overwhelming evil.

'How frustrating. I feel so frustrated...' Lucy thought sadly.

Even with her endless training and determination, she was still incapable of doing anything when it came to fighting a Mid-Demon.

Not only had she reached her limits, but even her Taboo Skill wasn't enough to defeat her opponent.

'I was never able to get revenge for my parents... I wasn't strong enough...' Lucy found herself breaking down.

Her tough look and mental walls crumbled, and she gave in to her sorrow.

"Keuk... how frustrating..." Tears dropped down her eyes and regret seeped in.

She was going to die here, no doubt. After being tortured by the demon who was now screaming in delight, she would be defiled and killed in the most brutal way.

That was simply how demons were.

'S-Sam... I'm so sorry....'

In the end, she failed the Hero. She wasn't able to buy enough time for him to return. He must have put so much faith in her, yet she failed miserably.

Lucy's heart ached at the disappointment she wrought on herself... And the Hero.

It truly was the end, there was no doubt about that.

'I... I'm so sorry...'

And so, the last of her tears fell. What followed afterwards consisted of nothing but pure despair and agony.

A tale that would be better left unsaid.

*

*

*

"Hey! Jez, Bulik, did you spare any humans from your side?" A cheerful demon approached the duo, only to meet an area riddled with blood and gore.

"Ah... never mind. You killed everyone too?" The pink-haired demon sighed in annoyance... though her grin remained.

Two horns proceeded from her long hair, like cat's ears, and her face was utterly adorable. With her round glasses, and princess-like outfit, she walked closer to the two demons in charge of the East.

She had been looking for a human specie to serve as a pet. Unfortunately, even this area was devoid of any.

'This sucks...'