The Wizard who had been all but guaranteed a place in the twelfth round, only to be killed in an instant, was much the same. He might once have possessed a strong, resilient mind, but that was in the past. Now he was a Wizard driven half-mad by primordial elemental forces.
"Huh? It has a child?"
Annan noticed that the message on the rat-skin paper said the Heart-Eater Demon had a Little Heart-Eater with it.
"Isn't this a bit too low?" He couldn't help hesitating.
"Should we let it go, then?"
"I'm kidding. Not exploiting a weakness this obvious would be a terrible waste!"
Right now, he was the Succubus Exactly Orrme, not Annan Reeves, Lord of Free City. He didn't need to burden himself with scruples. Besides, there was no point talking about honor with a Heart-Eater Demon. Victory was justice!
A young Heart-Eater Demon was still a Heart-Eater Demon,
but it was also a child.
Annan and Beludona disguised themselves as two Heart-Eater Demons and, with little effort, led the Little Heart-Eater away from the stands. "We're friends of your father's," they told it. "We've come to take you for some sweet Heart Cake."
Before long, the Heart-Eater Demon at the contestants' camp received a message delivered by a Ratfolk: "We have your child. If you want it to live, bring your valuables and come alone to the first level."
Riiip—
The rat-skin paper was shredded. The Heart-Eater Demon seized the messenger and roared, "Who sent you?!"
Not far away, Rus, who had been carefully studying the Rat King's muscles and how he exerted force, glanced over in confusion.
The Heart-Eater Demon could do nothing to the messenger, and it didn't trust the McKennan Ratfolk either. It could only follow the kidnappers' instructions: gather all its valuables