The room remained unchanged — dim lighting, cold stone walls, and a silence that seemed deliberately crafted to swallow all sound.
But Hana was no longer afraid.
She no longer curled up in the corner of the bed like she had in the early days. She sat upright, composed, her hair neatly brushed, hands gently resting on her stomach — as if guarding something sacred.
Fear had long since died.
Reason had crumbled.
The only thing left within Hana… was function.
One morning, the door opened.
Not a guard, not a demon soldier.
It was Saryx.
Unlike every time before — this time he sat down in front of her. No pressure. No threats.
Only a gaze — as still as a lake before a storm.
Hana bowed her head without waiting for a command.
> "My lord… I've thought it through."
"This child… belongs to you. And if that is the reason I was born — then I accept it."
No trembling voice.
No tears.
No reluctance.
Only the vow of someone who no longer had a path of return.
Saryx said nothing. He merely looked at her for a long while, then stood and turned to leave. As he reached the threshold, a whisper drifted back like a breath:
> "Good. You finally understand your place."
From that day on, Hana began cleaning her room by herself, caring for her health, obeying her dietary regimen.
Each morning, she sat waiting at the door — like a perfectly tamed beast.
She never asked about the future.
She never mentioned the past.
The child within her was the only living proof of her existence.
And she had to protect it — not out of love, not out of duty.
But because it was the only thing keeping Saryx from discarding her.
If life was a privilege,
Then obedience — was the price to pay.
---
That night.
The door burst open.
Not him.
Just a demon soldier — face pale and veiled in smoke and dust, walking with the dazed steps of someone trembling under the weight of his own decision.
Hana looked up, eyes devoid of light — only the empty stillness of a tranquil surface.
The soldier stepped closer, crouched as if afraid of being watched, and secretly slipped a small pill into her hand.
> "I've come to save you."
"I… I can't bear to see you like this."
He didn't dare meet her eyes — as if her gaze was proof of a sin he could never wash away.
Beneath him, a teleportation circle was hastily drawn, its lines shaking, the blood not yet fully dried.
> "An abortion pill. Humans use it to break the chains of fate."
"Just take it… and you'll be free. I'll take you away from here."
Hana looked at the pill.
Then at the man before her.
No anger. No gratitude.
Only one question floated through her mind:
> "Freedom?"
"What is freedom… if no one waits for you on the other side?"
---
The next morning.
The stone pillar in the square stood in silence, like the tomb of hope.
At its top, the head of last night's soldier dangled in the wind, eyes wide open — never to close.
No one said a word.
No one dared to look too long.
---
The door opened.
Saryx entered, each step carving cold echoes into the floor.
Hana was already kneeling.
> "Did what I did… please you, Lord Saryx?"
Her voice was calm, hands clenched tightly, pulse steady — as if this were merely part of a daily ritual, like eating, sleeping, breathing.
Saryx remained silent.
He stepped closer, bent down, and placed a hand on her head.
A gentle stroke — neither warm nor affectionate — but recognition.
The blessing of a master to the chosen one.
> "You've done well."
Just those three words — yet something inside Hana shattered.
Not out of pain… but relief.
---
The next day.
She stood before the open door.
Saryx stood there, his shadow casting over the sky behind her.
> "You are free."
"Go. I won't stop you."
Hana froze.
> "Have I… disappointed you somehow?"
"Or… does the child within me no longer hold value?"
Saryx smiled.
Not cruelly. Not kindly.
> "No. I just want you to leave… because I've done terrible things to you."
"And now… I want to make amends."
Words that sounded almost kind.
But in Hana's mind, the concept of mercy had long been distorted.
> "I… I don't want to leave you."
The answer came out like a reflex — without thought.
Saryx looked at her.
In his eyes, there was no surprise: he had known this would happen.
> (The brainwashing is complete.)
(The human mind… so fragile, so easily broken.)
But he said nothing.
He only nodded — and shut the door.
---
Hana sat in the corner of the room.
Hand on her stomach.
A faint smile.
> "He has forgiven me."
"I… have been chosen."
---
In the Demon Lord's Office
The pale violet glow from a mana crystal above faintly lit the two shadows facing each other in the room — a space as deep as hell itself.
The Demon Lord set his black wine down on the table, voice calm and low:
"You seem pleased, Sary. Is it… because of that girl?"
Saryx — unable to hide a faint smile.
"Yes. I used to wonder… why humans could tame wild beasts so easily — with just food, a bit of pity."
He rose, strolling slowly through the room, as if wandering a maze built in his own mind.
"So what if I wanted to tame a human? Not with magic. Not by force. But by… breaking."
"Shattering the will, crushing the freedom, making the victim believe they chose this path — when in truth… they're only living in the cage I built."
The Demon Lord frowned slightly but didn't refute him.
"You didn't use control magic?"
Saryx shook his head.
"No need. She forged the chains herself. I merely cleared the way…"
He paused before a stone wall etched with ancient scripts.
"And the life inside her — that is the final anchor between existence and meaninglessness."
The Demon Lord let out a low laugh, his gaze laced with dark amusement.
"You really are something pure. A true demon."
Saryx tilted his head humbly:
"You flatter me."
He turned to leave, then paused and reminded:
> "Starting tomorrow… everything returns to normal. No succubi, no chatty demon soldiers. The last ten days — must vanish from the memories of all under your command."
Saryx:
"And don't drag me into any more battles in the coming years."
The Demon Lord gave a soft nod.
"Tired of it, are you?"