The blade of my hatchet buried itself in that arrogant face.
Few situations could have been more satisfying. At least, that was true when I looked back on my life thus far. It ranked among the most gratifying sensations I had ever experienced.
It was only that today, I could not enjoy it.
It was not my mistake. I had already practiced throwing techniques countless times. There was no possibility that I would blunder at a crucial moment like this. One had only to look at the scene unfolding before me.
Crunch.
The sound of a face being crushed rang out. In a mere instant, the devil’s skull snapped backward from its leisurely pose, blood and brain matter scattering like fireworks.
The fall followed immediately.
The headless body could no longer escape gravity’s guidance. It slammed into the earth with a wet splat, the death cry of a lump of meat.
Yet there was only one reason I could not smile.
Nothing had changed.
Not the mud covering the area in a hemisphere, nor my flesh and blood, lying facedown and trembling while endlessly repeating the repentance of a madwoman.
Not even the voice tickling my ear.
“……That hurts, my dear husband.”
At the sensation of breath brushing my eardrum, my hand instinctively gripped the hilt of my sword.
I should have drawn it next.
Yet my sword never revealed its silver form. At some point, a pale hand had come…