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 - Passing Paths
From the valley floor, the smell of the sea rose up.
Salt, and rotting seaweed, and cold rock. They mingled together and drifted heavily across the mountain path before dawn. Gurei lay flat at the base of a shrub growing from the cliff's midsection, gazing down at the valley bottom without moving.
The wreckage of the prisoner transport she had shoved off yesterday was visible below, smashed apart on the rocks. Its canvas cover was torn, and splinters of wood bobbed up and down in the waves. The bodies of the three Kenpei must be somewhere in that wreckage too.
(The key to the shackles.)
That was what Gurei was thinking about.
Inside that transport, there was a key to the shackles. One of the Kenpei must have stowed it somewhere. To remove the iron rings biting into her wrists, she needed that key.
She searched for an animal trail down the cliff. The footing was fragile, with crumbling sandstone exposed bare. Every step sent pebbles clattering down to the valley floor.
(If I fall, I die.)
But she couldn't afford to die. She hadn't taken anything back yet.
Gurei dug her fingertips into a crack in the rock and lowered herself slowly. The greatsword on her back pressed into her spine. Heavy. But that weight was all Gurei had right now.
———
The wreckage of the transport had held together better than she'd expected.
Both wheels were shattered, the axle bent. The canvas was half torn away, flapping in the sea wind. The bed boards had split, revealing the contents inside.
Gurei approached the wreckage.
Waves wet her feet. Cold. Seawater seeped into her boots.
Beneath the cargo bed, one of the Kenpei lay crushed. His dark navy uniform cloak was soaked black with blood and seawater. The silver chest emblem faintly reflected the morning sun.
(This is the man who grabbed my horn and shook me.)
Gurei reached toward the corpse's waist.
There was a key ring. Three small iron keys. A little large for shackle keys. But one of them should fit the keyhole of the iron rings on her wrists.
Gurei tore the key ring free and inserted a key into her shackle's keyhole.
Click.
The right shackle came off.
Then the left.
Click.
Both hands were free. The marks where the iron rings had bitten into her wrists were swollen red. Blood seeped, and the skin was scraped raw.
(It hurts.)
Gurei stared at her wrists.
(But this pain is mine.)
———
That was when it happened.
"...I'm home."
A voice.
Gurei spun around as if struck.
The Kenpei crushed beneath the cargo bed—no, a different one. In the shadow of the wreckage, another Kenpei lay fallen. Badly wounded, in a pool of blood, barely breathing.
"...I'm home... I've come back..."
His mouth was definitely moving.
"...Elena... Marco... Dad's home..."
Gurei stood rooted to the spot.
The Kenpei's face was smeared with blood and mud. But his expression was unlike any Kenpei face Gurei had ever seen. Not twisted in pain. Not filled with hatred.
It was as if he were seeing something.
Seeing someone.
"...I'm home..."
The Kenpei said that, and then stopped moving.
His breath had ceased.
———
Gurei couldn't move for a long time.
Only the sound of the waves echoed deep in her ears.
(I'm home.)
(I've come back.)
Gurei looked down at the Kenpei's face.
This man had trampled on her. Called her bait. Grabbed her horn and shaken her.
But this man had died calling his family's names.
"I'm home," as if confirming the place he belonged.
"I've come back," as if heading toward the people who were waiting.
(Those words only come from someone who has people waiting for them.)
That was what Gurei thought.
(I've never said them.)
(I've never had anyone to say them to.)
———
Gurei picked up the shackles she'd removed.
The iron rings were cold and wet with blood and seawater.
(This man was trying to go home to his family.)
(With that mouth, he said "I'm home.")
Gurei grabbed the Kenpei's wrist.
Cold. A dead man's hand was hard as rock, heavy.
Gurei fastened the shackle around that wrist.
Click.
(I'm the one putting it on.)
(With my own hands, I bind this man here.)
(This man can never go home again.)
(No one left to say "I'm home" to. No one waiting.)
Gurei dragged the Kenpei's corpse up onto the wreckage of the transport.
Heavy.
But Gurei didn't stop.
She shoved the body onto the cracked bed boards. Stacked the other corpse on top. Found the third body and stacked it the same way.
(This is where it ends.)
(Your place to return to is the bottom of the sea.)
Gurei pushed the wreckage toward the cliff's edge.
The axle caught on rock and groaned.
Gurei pushed with both hands.
She pushed with all the strength in her body.
Creak...
The wreckage moved slowly.
Gurei gritted her teeth.
(Fall.)
(Fall to the bottom of the sea.)
(Fall, along with your families.)
———
DOOOOON!!!
The wreckage of the transport plunged from the cliff into the sea.
A massive column of water shot up, and waves crashed against the rocks.
Gurei stood at the cliff's edge and stared at the water's surface.
Ripples spread outward.
Ring after ring after ring, overlapping, and then gone.
(What did I just do?)
Gurei looked at her hands.
Wrists marked by shackles. Fingertips seeping blood.
(I have no one to say "I'm home" to.)
(No one waiting for me to come back.)
(That man did.)
(So I took it from him.)
Gurei bit her lip.
She tasted blood.
(I don't like it.)
(I don't like this situation.)
———
She began her descent down the mountain path only after the sun had fully risen.
She had to leave this place before pursuers came. The Kenpei corps would be searching for the transport's whereabouts.
Gurei wove her way between the trees.
The greatsword on her back struck branches, making noise.
The collar clinked.
The shackle marks on her wrists stung with sweat.
(It hurts.)
(But this pain drives me forward.)
Gurei didn't stop her feet.
———
"...I'm home."
Deep in her ears, that voice clung to her.
The Kenpei's final voice.
That voice, calling his family's names.
(Someone with people waiting—surely I'm the same.)
That thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Gurei's feet stopped.
(I have no one waiting for me.)
(No one, anywhere, waiting for me.)
(...But.)
Gurei looked ahead down the mountain path.
Through gaps in the trees, she could see the sea.
Blue, vast sea.
(I don't know.)
(I'm going to a place I don't know.)
(To a place where no one knows me.)
Gurei bit down on her lip.
The taste of blood spread again.
(I chose a path where no one needs me.)
(A path where no one can use me.)
(A path where no one can trample on me.)
Gurei started walking again.
This time, she didn't stop.
———
It was when the sun had begun to tilt that she found a cave in the mountainside.
The entrance was covered in vines, hard to see from outside. Peering in, the depths were dark, and cool air flowed out.
Gurei entered the cave.
The smell of earth and moss. The coldness of rock.
(I'll spend the night here.)
Gurei sat down deep in the cave.
She lowered the greatsword from her back and placed it on her knees.
The blade, drawn from its sheath, glimmered faintly in the darkness.
Gurei began to sharpen the greatsword.
Shh. Shh. Shh.
Only the sound of sharpening echoed through the cave.
(No one needs me.)
(So what I need, I take.)
(Strength, freedom, dignity—all of it.)
Gurei looked down at the shackle marks on her wrists.
Swollen red marks. Blood seeping.
(Even when these marks fade, the collar won't.)
(Even when the collar is gone, the brand won't.)
(No matter how far I go, I'm a slave.)
(But even so.)
Gurei gripped the greatsword.
(I belong to no one.)
(I chose my own path.)
———
Around that time, in the port city of Norn.
In a recovery room adjoining the Great Cathedral of the Sun Goddess, Yuuto awoke from a long coma.
His vision was blurry. The ceiling beams looked doubled.
(Where... am I?)
Yuuto moved his head slowly.
White walls. White sheets. The smell of medicinal herbs.
(The cathedral's recovery room.)
"You're awake, Yuusha-sama."
A voice.
Yuuto looked toward the sound.
Standing there was a female knight clad in silver-white armor. Her blonde hair was woven into a braid, and her sharp blue eyes looked down at Yuuto. Her back was straight, her stance like a sword itself.
"I am Leonora. I have been assigned by the Holy Knight Order to serve as your guard, Yuusha-sama."
Yuuto stared vaguely at her face.
(A guard? What about Gurei?)
"How are you feeling? Any pain? Any numbness anywhere?"
This time, a different voice.
A young nun in pure white habit stood at Yuuto's bedside, gripping a golden staff. Her black hair was tied back in a single bundle, and her large brown eyes peered anxiously at Yuuto.
"My name is Marta. I have been charged by the Church of Sunlight to assist with healing."
Yuuto looked at their faces in turn.
(People I don't know.)
(Where is Gurei?)
Yuuto scanned the room.
White walls. White curtains. Afternoon light streaming through the window.
But the gray-haired demon girl was not there.
"...Where's Gurei?"
Yuuto asked in a hoarse voice.
Leonora and Marta exchanged a glance for a moment.
"...This Gurei—you mean that demon slave?"
Leonora's voice dropped slightly.
"She was relieved of her guard duties as a way of taking responsibility for the serious injuries she inflicted on you."
Yuuto's chest lurched.
(Relieved? Gurei? Taking responsibility?)
"...What do you mean?"
"During training with that demon, you suffered serious injuries—broken ribs. The Holy Knight Order and the Church took this incident seriously and decided to dismiss her from her guard duties."
Leonora's tone was businesslike and cold.
"...Where is Gurei now?"
"I don't know. After her dismissal, she caused an assault incident at the cathedral and was detained by the Kenpei, I'm told. After that, she killed Kenpei during transport and fled."
Yuuto's eyes went wide.
(Gurei killed Kenpei?)
(Fled?)
"...That's a lie."
"It's the truth. So, Yuusha-sama. Please forget about that demon. She is not someone worthy of you."
Leonora's words pierced Yuuto's chest like a cold blade.
(Not worthy? Gurei?)
(She taught me the sword.)
(She called me her partner.)
(And yet...)
———
"Yuuto-sama."
A sweet, silken voice.
When Yuuto looked up, a third woman had appeared at his bedside without his noticing.
She wore a deep green robe, red hair flowing over her shoulders. Her long, narrow eyes gazed at Yuuto. A thin smile played on her lips.
"I am Serene. A sorceress. Along with Lady Leonora and Lady Marta, I will be serving as your guard from now on, Yuuto-sama."
Serene said this and held out a piece of parchment toward Yuuto's bedside.
"...This is a note left behind by that demon woman. She asked that it be given to you, Yuuto-sama."
Yuuto took the parchment with trembling hands.
He unfolded it.
On it, in violent handwriting, was written:
——Too weak to be worth my time. I'm disappointed in you.
Yuuto stared at the words as if devouring them.
(Gurei wrote this.)
(She's disappointed in me.)
"...Gurei wrote this?"
"Yes. She left it at the cathedral before the Kenpei detained her. ...Yuuto-sama, I know it's painful, but this is reality. That demon was only using you. She pretended to teach you the sword and trampled on your trust. And when you were no longer useful, she left this note and went away."
Serene's voice was gentle, yet somehow cold.
Yuuto clutched the parchment.
(No.)
(Gurei isn't that kind of person.)
(She taught me the sword seriously.)
(She called my name.)
(...But.)
Yuuto looked at the words on the parchment once more.
——Too weak to be worth my time.
——I'm disappointed in you.
(Because I'm weak.)
(Because I'm the kind of weakling who gets his bones broken in training.)
(Gurei was disappointed in me.)
"...Yuuto-sama. From now on, the three of us will protect you. Please, forget about that demon."
Leonora said quietly.
"Yes, that's right. You have us,
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