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

Page 26

……

The next day.

Dressed in a simple black robe, Lak strolled through the palace.

He was led by a waiter to a slightly open camp surrounded by layers of buildings.

"Chief Lark!"

At the camp entrance, the Grand Master of the Knights saw Lak, and his face showed respect and surprise.

"The Hero Awakening Ceremony isn't starting for another three hours, why are you here so early?"

Lak nodded in acknowledgment, trying to project a friendly expression: "I want to see these children who have the potential to become heroes, and see which of them is more likely to receive the goddess's favor."

"I see." Erwin believed him and exclaimed, "You are truly a kind-hearted archmage!"

Lak simply smiled and, accompanied by Erwin, quickly entered the Brave Candidate Training Camp.

Young men and women dressed in simple clothes were scattered throughout the land, preparing for the upcoming awakening of the hero. Lak discreetly put on a monocle with a gold rim: it was an extremely precious magical artifact that could reveal a person's past experiences.

He suppressed his voyeuristic urges and calmly surveyed his surroundings, carefully selecting a suitable person to approach.

Snapped!

Nearby, with his attention diverted, he lightly bumped into a figure passing by.

Lak paused, then turned to look at the person he had bumped into. It was a girl with long, red hair that reached past her shoulders and bright, ruby-like eyes. Unlike the others in the training camp, she was wearing a black cloak and a black eyepatch over her right eye.

Her face still retained a touch of childishness, and her adorable face gave off a disdainful look.

"Watch where you're going."

Lark frowned, a hint of coldness rising in his heart. This girl hadn't even considered avoiding him while walking, which was why they bumped into each other; it was somewhat disrespectful.

Seeing the red-haired girl walk away, Erwin, looking somewhat embarrassed, offered an explanation.

"Please don't worry about it."

"Shana's personality is a bit different from others."

Lak nodded nonchalantly, indicating that as the chief of the Round Tower, he wouldn't hold a grudge against children, and gently pushed up his glasses.

He had just used a magical artifact to examine the other person's background; it was just that their origins were slightly impoverished, but he wasn't satisfied... Mediocre, too mediocre!

It has to be someone with a tragic past, someone who's cursed and alone, that makes their transformation into a villain feel more powerful, doesn't it?

Moreover, it's impossible for him to have any emotional connection with such an immature and childish kid.

He chuckled softly to himself, shook his head, and left.

The two figures gradually moved in opposite directions.

In the blind spot, the girl slowly stopped.

Turning back, she lowered her head and murmured:

"The aura of darkness..."

Chapter 35 The Dead... Still Attacking

The red-haired girl, Shana, paused for a second or two without any apparent reason.

She grabbed one side of her cloak, waved it forcefully, and then continued walking forward.

After walking a dozen or so steps...

Shana twisted around abruptly again, her eyes sharp as a hawk's, her tone inexplicably profound, and said once more, "This power, could it be... an apostle of darkness?"

A closer look reveals that although her eyes are fixed on the direction Lark has gone, her pupils are not focused at all; she is simply staring blankly in that direction.

This action lasted for another ten seconds or so.

Shana blinked, rubbed her chin and pondered for a moment, then suddenly struck a JoJo pose!

With a flourish, the cloak billowed high, tracing a dashing arc.

A hand pressed against her blindfolded eyes, and Shana tilted her head back solemnly, her voice carrying an inexplicable tone:

"What is this power?! I never imagined... Darkness... Is this destiny?"

……

A flock of crows flew across the sky.

Shana's expression and movements gradually returned to normal, a hint of contentment appearing on her face. Shana nodded with a satisfied look.

"It's right."

Lak and Erwin, who had gone far away, did not see this scene. Instead, among them, the brave candidates who had passed by huddled in the corners, and faint whispers could be heard:

"That crazy red-eyed girl is at it again..."

"...Although she's kind of cute, she seems a bit unapproachable. That red-eyed girl who looks like she has something wrong with her head..."

"Let's hurry up and go, or that crazy red-eyed girl might..."

Ignoring the whispers, Shana continued walking with composure, her steps light and bouncy...

……

"Your Highness Kalia, why do you say that Lady Shana cannot become a hero?"

In the palace, a maid couldn't help but ask, seemingly quite concerned about the extremely young and talented Shana.

“Because… Brother Mino said,” Kalia said with a hint of embarrassment, “that Shana seems to suffer from a condition called ‘chuunibyou’ (middle school syndrome).

"And goddesses don't accept people with mental illnesses."

……

Lark found a suitable target under the shade of a tree.

The girl with braided pigtails and a somewhat introverted demeanor huddled in the shade of a tree, appearing somewhat out of place with her surroundings.

“That girl…” Lak pushed up his glasses and saw that the girl was surrounded by a thick gray aura, a sign that she had experienced many heavy disasters.

"Child, come here for a second!"

The girl under the tree paused for a moment, and after confirming that the old man next to Commander Erwin was calling her, she hesitated for a while and then jogged over.

"Commander Erwin, good morning, and you too..." The girl looked at Lak cautiously.

Lak didn't answer, but tried to put on a kind expression and asked, "Child, what's your name?"

“Jane…Jane.”

“Don’t be afraid, Jenny.” Lark patted Jenny’s head and said tentatively, “I can feel the sorrow living within you. You must have had a very difficult life. Can you tell me about it?”

“Chief Lark, your insight is truly keen.” Elvin sighed beside him, “Jenny was kidnapped by the capital’s underworld a few years ago and almost… experienced something extremely terrible.”

There is a play.

A subtle smile crept onto Lark's lips as he asked with a touch of melancholy:

"Jenny, where is your father?"

“I don’t have a father…” Jenny shook her head.

"And what about your mother?"

“I don’t have a mother either.” Jenny shook her head again, then, after thinking for a moment, added to avoid Lark cursing her ancestors.

“I am an orphan, old man.”

"That's great!"

Lak was delighted.

""ah?!""

Erwin and Jenny looked at Lark in shock.

“Uh, I mean… thank goodness you didn’t die alone in the disaster.” Lak’s face stiffened slightly, and he quickly corrected himself, wiping away the tears he had forced out.

Deep down, he firmly communicated with the "darkness": "This is definitely a suitable candidate for a dark hero."

"Is that so..." Darkness was somewhat puzzled. As someone born evil, he could not understand the conditions under which people's hearts could fall into depravity.

Lark described with remarkable confidence: "Living without parents for a long time will inevitably subject this girl to a lot of scorn and hardship, like a lotus flower in the mud, with negative emotions accumulating in her heart. From her initial longing for family affection to her despair of humanity, she will no longer trust anyone!"

"Not to mention, she was almost defiled by human traffickers, which will definitely leave her with severe psychological trauma, turning her into a bloodthirsty rose in the darkness after gaining power!"

"It's her!"

"Hmm, that makes sense..."

The two communicated in secret, while outwardly, Erwin was sent away by Lak to a distance.

Lark cast a spell to lower Jenny's guard and open her heart to him: "Jenny, there's no one else here. I know you have some darkness hidden in your heart that no one else knows about. There's no one else here, so you can confide in me."

What is your deepest, most cherished wish?

Jenny's eyes glazed over slightly, as if layers of thoughts were being unraveled from her mind, until finally, her eyes revealed a sharp glint.

Coming soon!

The big one is coming!

Lak was overjoyed.

"I want to become a brave adventurer who helps those in distress and becomes the most righteous partner on the entire continent!" Jenny clenched her fist and said ambitiously.

“Well said! ... Huh?” Lak shouted in approval, then froze.

"What did you say?"

"I want to be a good person!!!"

"Did you pick up the wrong script? Is this the kind of line you should be saying?!" Lark incredulously sensed the magic power within his body, confirming that he hadn't cast the wrong spell.

“You don’t understand, old man.” Jenny smiled innocently. Under the influence of magic, she now regarded Lark as her closest person and spoke without reservation.

"Originally, I did hate this world. Why, why can others have a privileged family background and unrestricted choices... while I can only forage for food in the sewers and wait for the day I die a violent death in the street."

"But one day, I saw a person."