Rebellious Grey: The Demon Girl Rises from Slavery
In the city of Granveld, where human greed turns flesh into currency, demons are born already condemned. Gurei—thirteen years old, horned, hungry, and utterly alone—has known nothing but the stinking gutters of the Ash Bottom slum. When a bounty hunter's iron grip drags her from the rain-soaked streets into the slave market's cold machinery, she is stripped of her name, her rags, and what little freedom she had left, reduced to nothing more than "property" to be priced and sold.
But something b
Rebellious Grey: The Demon Girl Rises from Slavery - A scream—cut open the whereabouts of freedom
Yuuto's blood spread across the cold stone floor.
A pale blue light illuminated the dark red stain. The air in the chapel clung to the back of the lungs—a mixture of mold, old wax, and the smell of blood. The taste of iron lingered at the root of her tongue.
Gurei felt Yuuto's body heat against her back as she readied the greatsword.
A hundred and fifty centimeters of blade. The weight of that woman herself, left behind by the Queen of Cruel Blades. The grip she held with both hands was slick with her own sweat and Yuuto's blood. The leather wrapping slid, wet and slippery.
(That sensation)
The feeling from that day came back to her fingertips.
Three years ago. In the underground dungeon of the arena, she had stabbed Kain. The warm, living resistance of piercing flesh. The sensation of blood running down her wrist, dripping. And the moment the light faded in her own hands. The warmth that still remained on the pads of her fingers.
(I don't like it)
Deep in her chest, a mud-like emotion pulsed. Behind her heart, something thick and heavy slowly changed shape.
"Kukuku... What's wrong, monster?"
A damp voice echoed from beyond the altar. The Elder Lich. Pale blue light flickered at the tips of its skeletal fingers. Each time the light wavered, the shadows of the altar twisted and warped across the chapel walls.
"Does that boy's blood weigh on you so heavily? Your sword is a sword for taking. Not a sword for protecting. What is there to hesitate over now?"
The Lich's words carved into Gurei's heart. The ends of its words rasped, as though laughing from deep within bone.
(No)
(I—)
"Undead, to me."
A chant.
The clattering of bone against bone. From all four corners of the chapel, white skeletal soldiers surged forth once more. Bony fingers thrust up through the gaps in the stone paving.
Gurei gritted her teeth. Her molars ground together with a creak.
"...Come."
The swarm of skeletons pressed forward like a wave.
Gurei swept the greatsword horizontally.
GA-GINN!!
Three skulls shattered simultaneously. White fragments danced in the moonlight. One shard grazed Gurei's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.
(One, two, three—)
On the backswing, she cut through the ribs of two more approaching skeletons in a single stroke. Bone dust filled the back of her nasal passages with a dry scent.
(Four, five—)
But the edge of her blade wavered, just slightly.
Yuuto's blood made the grip slip. That sensation crept from her fingertips to her arm, from her arm to her shoulder, spreading slowly. The muscles in her shoulder stiffened; her finger joints wouldn't obey.
(Master)
(I stabbed you)
(With these hands)
CRUNCH.
She failed to cleanly sever one skeleton's neck. The blade bit into its shoulder, crushing bone—but it wasn't a fatal blow. The fractured cross-section of bone tilted, and the blade caught.
(Damn it)
Gurei clicked her tongue. The taste of blood spread through her mouth. At some point, she'd bitten her lip.
(Every time I cut, that sensation throws off my hands)
(I'm cutting to protect, and yet my sword is still a sword for taking)
"Gurei..."
A faint voice from behind her. Each time the voice's owner breathed, the air against her back trembled.
"I'll... watch your back..."
"Don't move! Just stay there and don't move!"
Gurei shouted without turning around. The back of her throat stung.
(I'll)
(I'll handle this)
(So why)
(Why are my hands shaking)
Gurei regripped the greatsword. Her knuckles went white. The leather wrapped around the grip creaked.
"Kuhahahaha!!"
The Lich's laughter echoed through the chapel. The ceiling beams groaned in response.
"Yes, monster! That face! Suffer! Doubt! Your sword is, in the end, a sword for taking. Not a sword for protecting! Can you protect that boy with your sword? Can you?!"
Gurei didn't answer.
She simply swung the greatsword.
GA-GINN!! CLATTER CLATTER!! CRUNCH!!
The sound of bone shattering. White fragments. Chunks of rotting flesh. Bone dust and sweat mingled and ran down Gurei's cheek.
Gurei's body was already wounded in countless places. Blood flowed from her shoulder, sweat dripped from her forehead. Her breath came in gasps, and the edges of her vision blurred white. Her knees trembled as if laughing at her.
(There's no end to this)
(At this rate, I'll be worn down)
(But—)
Gurei glanced at Yuuto behind her.
Yuuto, enduring the pain, was staring at Gurei's back. Those eyes pierced straight through Gurei's back.
(I'll handle this)
Gurei leveled the greatsword before her. Strength flooded into the hands gripping the hilt.
"Come."
The swarm of skeletons pressed forward once more.
Gurei didn't retreat a single step as she swung the greatsword.
But then—
"Why, when you're so strong..."
Yuuto's voice was trembling. It reached her back, seeping in.
"...you don't understand freedom..."
Gurei's hand stopped.
A single instant of opening.
A skeleton's claws tore through Gurei's shoulder.
ZUSHA.
Flesh split, blood sprayed. Something warm ran down her arm.
(It hurts)
(But more than that—)
"Gurei..."
Yuuto's voice was so faint it seemed about to vanish. Gurei's ear twitched, straining not to miss it.
"You're strong..."
Those words pierced deep, deep into Gurei's chest. Behind her breastbone, something ground dully.
(Strong)
(I'm strong)
(Then why don't I understand freedom)
Gurei's hand stopped for the first time.
The hand gripping the greatsword trembled.
(What am I swinging this sword for)
(Not for freedom, not for protection)
(Only to cut down whatever present I don't like)
(But what does that change)
(Nothing changes)
(I just keep cutting)
Deep in her chest, voices overlapped.
'Become free.'
Kain's voice.
'And once you're free, what will you do?'
Serafina's voice.
(Once I'm free, what will I do)
(What do I want to do, once I'm free)
(What do I want)
(I don't know)
(I don't know, I don't know, I don't know)
Gurei's vision blurred. The back of her eyes burned. Light bled through behind her eyelids.
(But)
(Even so)
Gurei regripped the greatsword. Pain from her wounds shot through her palm. That pain, somehow, became a support.
(What is it?)
(This thing called freedom—)
(What the hell is it?!)
Gurei stepped toward the swarm of skeletons. The sound of crushing stone paving echoed through the chapel.
"UOOOOOOOOOH!!!"
A battle cry.
The greatsword howled.
GA-GINN!!
She smashed a skeleton clean in two. Bone fragments rained down like rain.
"What is freedom?!"
Screaming, she swept the greatsword horizontally. The sound of cutting air reached her ears a moment later.
CRUNCH!!
Three skeletons blew apart at once. They slammed into the wall and shattered to pieces.
"I want to know!!"
A thrust.
CRUSH!!
The greatsword pierced a skeleton's chest. The blade ran through the empty darkness beyond the bone.
"I'm the one who wants to know!!"
Gurei screamed with all her strength. As if her throat might tear.
That scream reverberated off the chapel's stone walls. Dust trickled down from the cracks.
It leaked out through the broken windows.
But—
It didn't reach the villagers outside the chapel. The wind carried her voice away.
It didn't reach the missing people trapped deeper within. The stone walls blocked her voice.
Only Yuuto, far away, heard it.
Yuuto said nothing.
He simply gazed at Gurei's back. Whether tears welled in those eyes or not—the moonlight wavered on his cheek.
Gurei didn't know.
(But)
(That's fine)
(My scream doesn't need to reach anyone)
(I screamed)
(That alone is enough)
Gurei kept swinging the greatsword.
Screaming, she cut down skeletons and pressed toward the Lich. One step, then another. Crushing bone fragments underfoot, she drew closer to the altar. With each step, the hard feel of bone transmitted through the soles of her feet.
"What...?!"
The Lich's voice was tinged with shock. It cracked, just slightly.
"I-Impossible... What could the likes of you possibly do..."
The Lich retreated. The altar candles flickered softly at the movement.
"Arrows of the dead, fly!!"
A chant.
Pale blue light gathered at the Lich's fingertips, taking the form of a thick arrow. The air shuddered.
HYUN!!
The arrow of light shot toward Gurei.
Gurei didn't dodge.
She leveled the greatsword before her. Power surged into the hands gripping the hilt.
(My promise to Kain)
(Serafina's question)
(Yuuto's words)
(Holding all of it)
(I cut)
Gurei swung the greatsword down.
"There's no reason left why I can't cut you!!"
ZASHU!!
The greatsword split the pale blue arrow of light clean in two.
Fragments of light scattered in the moonlight. They sparkled like stardust, dancing through the air.
"W-What...?!"
The Lich's voice trembled with terror. Its skeletal jaw clattered.
"You cut... magic...?!"
Gurei didn't answer.
She simply thrust the greatsword toward the Lich. The tip pierced the pale blue light at a single point.
"You end here."
Gurei's voice was quiet.
But her eyes held a burning light deep within their dark purple. At the bottom of her pupils, a flame wavered.
Gurei raised the greatsword overhead.
"S-Stop...! I am undead...! There should be no one who can defeat me...!"
The Lich raised both hands, attempting a final resistance. Pale blue light swirled around it. The air vibrated with a buzzing tension.
But—
Gurei's greatsword cut through the light and the Lich together.
ZUBAAAAAN!!!
The pale blue light dispersed into mist. The impact extinguished every candle on the altar at once.
The Lich's body crumbled into bone fragments. With a dry clatter, they piled up on the floor.
"I-Impossible... I... I... vanishing...?"
The Lich's voice faded. Its owner seemed to dissolve into the air.
"No... No...! Not until I reach... the abyss of sorcery..."
With those words, the Elder Lich dispersed completely.
Silence.
Stillness returned to the chapel. A thin thread of candle smoke rose.
The swarm of skeletons collapsed along with the Lich's destruction, becoming nothing more than a pile of bones. The last bone rolled across the floor with a clatter.
Gurei slowly lowered the greatsword.
THUD.
The blade struck the stone floor with a heavy sound, embedding itself. The vibration traveling up the hilt numbed her palms.
(It's over)
Gurei's knees nearly gave out. The muscles in her thighs trembled.
(Not yet)
(It's not over yet)
Gurei gritted her teeth and scolded her knees. She drove strength into her toes.
"...Yuuto."
Gurei called out to Yuuto behind her. Her voice came out more hoarse than she'd expected.
"Stand up. It's over."
Yuuto slowly raised his face. He put a hand on the floor and staggered to his feet.
"...Yeah."
Yuuto, enduring the pain, managed a smile. The corners of his mouth softened.
"Thank you, Gurei."
That smile floated white in the moonlight. The wound on his cheek pulled slightly with the expression.
Gurei looked away from that smile. Her gaze fled to the pile of bones on the floor.
(I don't like it)
(Why does he smile)
(I couldn't protect you completely)
(You took a deep wound)
(And yet, why do you smile)
Deep in Gurei's chest, that mud-like emotion churned again. The back of her throat grew hot.
Then it happened.
Gurei's collar faintly emitted light.
The black iron collar. The mark of a slave. The cold metal bit into the nape of her neck.
Across its surface, a faint pale blue light ran. The light traced the rim of the collar, flowing along it.
(...What?)
Gurei touched the collar. A faint heat met her fingertips.
The light vanished at once.
But that single instant of light pressed upon her the existence of the thing that continued to bind her neck. The coldness of the collar suddenly revived against her skin, raw and vivid.
(I am not yet free)
(The collar still binds me)
Gurei gripped the collar tightly. The cold of the metal bit into the pads of her fingers.
(But)
(I screamed that I want to know)
(What freedom is)
(For the first tim
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