Chapter 21: The retribution

Corey has discarded all of his dignity as a hero, or even as a person as he prostrated himself in front of Kibadios, begging for forgiveness. He was crying a river, not that there was any droplet of tears left to roll down his cheek, for the heat resulting from HaoS evaporated everything within the barrier. Corey could feel his skin dried up, all the water in his body abandoned him. After just a few seconds in the heated barrier that felt like an overheating oven, Corey collapsed as his strength vanished. Fortunately for him, for some strange reason, the heat subsided. Before he could let out a sigh of relief, though, his body froze up. In front of him, Kibadios stood. The hybrid has just fused with the primordial spirit, a feat that would kill any creature. For you see, not every summoner could fuse with their spirits. Only the strongest summoners could, since the act of fusion could easily take the summoners' life, or at least their minds. When a spirit fused with one person, they were sharing both mind and body so any small mistake, the mind of the person could easily be destroyed by the spirits. Corey only had to deal with such a scenario once before, it was tough, but he came out triumphant. Yet, he knew there was no hope for him now. There was not much difference about Kibadios appearance in his fusion form: Only his hair seemed to have transformed into bright flames of many colors. A few flickers of embers could be seen wrapping around his two hands and feet. Yet… Yet… The power he possessed far exceeded that of the Great Demon Lord Gilga that Corey had once witnessed during his time acting as Kingdom of Maeg's representative in Uruk. From outside the barrier, although Kibadios' three slaves could not feel the heat, their eyes were also wide open after they witnessed their master's transformation. The most knowledgeable about the Primordial Spirit among them, Ryan, was shaking in excitement. His master, who he decided to dedicate his life to, had just transformed into his God. He always knew Kibadios was hiding something, but he never would have guessed it was HaoS.

「Well, what are you kneeling on the ground for? Let's end this」Kibadios leapt forward.

「Please… NOOOOOO」

The fight was over in an instant. Once Kibadios transformed back from his fusion form and signaled for Rowan to dismiss the barrier, Corey was already defeated, laid down in agony with each one of his arms and legs were chopped off. He was surprised that he was left alive though. He struggled to lift his head from the ground, trying to find out where Kibadios had gone. There the hybrid sat, on a small boulder not too far from where Corey was.

「Now, about the information about Desmond...」

「He's living in one of my guesthouse!」screamed out Corey. With his life on the line, he would betray anyone if it meant he would be left alive. 「Please, spare me!」He coughed out some blood, then continued. 「Please spare me and i'll take you to him.」

「No need. Didn't you just say he's living in your guesthouse? I'm pretty sure you don't own more than 4 different guesthouses from what Ryan told me...」

「5」Ryan corrected his master.

「5! Yes, 5. We can just search them, one by one. I'm sure we will find him sooner or later. Knowing that he is your associate, finding him would be easy.」

「No… no...」Corey internally cursed his stupidity. 「What about money? I can give you lots and lots of money!」He finally changed his begging strategy. 「I'll serve you! Please! Anything!」

「Serve me?」Kibadios laughed. 「There's no need for that. I already have three perfectly obedient slaves, all eager to serve me… all eager to offer me even their own bodies.」The hybrid pulled Ryan down into his laps. His hands slipped under the hero's shirt and teased his nipples, causing Ryan to use his hands to cover his soft moans. 「You see? They're not just my retainers. They're my precious slaves. I have no need for you.」

「But… please….」Corey could not believe his own eyes. In front of him, a full fledged hero was willingly letting a demihuman molest him. This Kibadios, he finally realized, was no mere demihuman… He was something much worse. Before Corey could think of anything to convince the hybrid, he noticed Maia walked toward him, holding a small bottle in her hand. Once she reached him, the girl poured a strange liquid stored inside on top of his body, then quickly rinsed her hand in the pond closeby.

「He's been fully coated with it, Master.」reported the girl to the hybrid.

「Good!」

「In less than a few minutes, he will be suffering something worse than death.」Maia glared at the defeated Corey in disgust. Although it did not really happened, she was sick that in his fantasy, he had dared to mercilessly kill her beloved master and then tried to rape her.

「What… what did you do?」screamed out Corey. From his pain and his fears, he was oblivious to the rusting noise from the surrounding woods.

「I heard of rumors that you kidnapped, drugged, and raped many girls, then transforming them into whores working in your brothels.」

「... So what?? I am a hero! I protect this world! Those girls are only my rewards for doing it! My justified rewards!」argued Corey.

「... You treated them less than animals, left them to die after you're done with them. And so, you will soon experience what they have experienced. The liquid that Maia poured on you is a strong aphrodisiac, though it does not work in humans… I specifically told her to make it so that it only works in monsters and beasts.」

「Wait… you ...don't... mean...」His voice shakened.

「Yes, I do. Hear those rustling sounds? Soon enough, you will know what it feels like to have some disgusted creatures pin you down and fuck you hard.」

「YOU HYPOCRITE! 」Corey finally lost it. 「Acting all high and might but I'm sure you also fucked and broke those three fucking shits you call slaves! YOU...」

「Ah...Yes… 」Kibadios face turned grim. 「Yes… and I dont expect to meet a happy ending either… In fact, I did not have my happy ending. One day, I will again suffer. But one thing I know for sure: it is not this day. On this day, it is you who will suffer… and I intend to watch every second of it.」

「You mad, filthy demi!」Corey turned around onto his stomach, trying his best to crawl away from the hybrid. But he was not able to move much further when he stumbled upon a pair of furry legs. As he looked up, he realized he was surrounded by several apes-like creatures. Further away were several deformed monsters, all salivating and staring at the defenseless hero. The beasts and monsters paid no attention to Kibadios' group, who stood only a small distance away, for their minds have all clouded with a strong sexual frenzy induced by the drug coated on Corey.

「No! Get away from me!」The hero frantically shook his arm and leg, hoping somehow he could disperse the crowd. But it was to no avail. The apes-like creature took hold of his body and shrieked loudly before ripping away what's left of his clothes. 「Noooo!! Pleaseeee! NOOOOO!」

…

Ryan and Maia had decided to take a walk to get away from the scene. Although she was on board with the idea, for a girl like Maia, seeing such a scene in person was too much. For Ryan's part, he was still a hero. He wholeheartedly agreed with his master's action, he still could not bear to witness such obscenity. Only Kibadios and Rowan remained where they were, next to a pathetic man that was Corey the hero. Kibadios did not care much for beastility in front of him, but he had promised to himself to witness Corey's fall, since he knew in his heart, such pain and depravity that Corey experienced was nothing compared to how his own life might end. Rowan did not care one bit about the scene unfolding in front of him either, but he stayed with his master to heal his injured hand.

「...Kibadios sama」Still healing the hybrid's hand, Rowan finally spoke after a long pause. 「I know there are a lot of things about you that we don't know. You are an enigma. But one thing for sure, you're not Corey Wesley.」

「Huh? Where did this come from?」Kibadios smiled.

「Before, when you were telling how you're just like him and you will be meeting a fate similar to his.」Rowan frowned as he remembered his master's words. 「You're nothing like that piece of garbage there! You saved us, you protected our village! We promise our bodies to you and you were just claiming what we owe you! There's nothing stopping you from taking Maia chan and I away and raped us… broke us, without having to rescue our village, but you didn't! For Ryan chan, what we did to him might be questionable… but he owes you his life! It just pains me when you think you're just like Corey. We stay with you, we serve you because we love you… I'm sure that's how Ryan chan felt too… I'm sure of it.」

「I told you before, don't confuse what you feel with love. It's just merely Stockholm Syndrome.」dismissed Kibadios.

「Is that a term coming from your original world, Kibadios sama? This 'Stockholm Syndrome'...」asked Rowan. 「When we were outside the barrier, Ryan explained to us about "World traveller". I don't care if you're one. I don't care about your past, or your plan for the future… I dont care if what I feel is this 'Stockholm Syndrome' you keep talking about. All I know is that I will serve you until the end.」Rowan has finished healing Kibadios, his hand now held tightly onto his master's hand.

「... Thanks, Rowan chan...」Kibadios did not say anything more. The hybrid just patted the healer's head, then pulled him into his embrace. Rowan was surprised at his master's tenderness but he just stayed there, enjoyed the warm hug the hybrid gave him. For Kibadios, the hybrid was conflicted. He did not think three slaves he obtained, those he once dismissed as his mere toys, would cause him to feel 'loved'. Whether their love for him were genuine, he did not know, but he knew he did not deserve it. The path he chose to walk would undoubtedly lead him to his doom and somehow, for the first time ever, he did not want to continue on the path… If it was just him, he would be totally content with it, but now, he did not want to bring pain and suffering to Rowan, Maia, and Ryan. Somehow, they have become something much more special to the hybrid.