World’s Strongest Became the Game’s Weakest Villain

CW: Gore/Self Harm

One's brain was a resource hog. Being knocked helped not just release fatigue, but also made it easier to heal, so it was pretty difficult for me to handle myself as I was being dragged away by the goons of the demon king. These bastards looked rather similar to humans but had the heads of rams with long horns curving to the back.

I was pulled up on the shoulder of two of them as they moved me from wherever I was in the castle to the lower floors.

The dry, heated air and its stench stung me with each gust in this place. The castle made of stones didn't need any lights either as the blood-red sky of hell never changed, leaving all the walls dark and musty.

It was trash.

I would have preferred fainting and then kicking into action with a lighter head.

Heck, even now, the plan of action I had in mind was pretty tame.

But I had someone to return to.

I had to go back to the lady, and I had to find a way to make sure that I change her fate.

For that, I needed to be well.

Soon, the goons of the demon king brought me to an underground dungeon below the castle. Blood covered the ground of the ragged dungeon as cells lines up on both sides. Inside them, unrecognizable monsters were turned into works of modern art by some severe sicko.

I raised my hazy gaze and watched as another ram head wearing a hefty helm appeared from the sides. This one had fur growing on its body and its legs were curved like that of an animal's. Dragging along a long barbed whip, the helmed demon greeted the other two.

"Quack Quack Quack!"

"Quaaack!"

The demons spoke in a language I didn't understand, and then dragged me further into a cell.

I could guess the contents of their conversation from the circumstances. I was probably going to be treated as a special criminal, a VIP. The other demon's visible gloominess could also probably mean that he was disappointed he couldn't perform his art on me.

The demons brought a set of special chains into the cell. The place with bloodied walls had hooks tied up on a height where they started tying the chains. Lumps of rotting flesh, nourished with blood and spit were splayed over the ground, likely the remains of the previous inhabitants.

I looked to the top to see innards of god knows what stuck to the ceiling. Eyeballs and tongues merged with intestines all over the walls while a dozen or so hearts were stabbed with different bones right across the spot of the chains.

The wet, slimy taste of blood and flesh was carried along with the air and filled my tongue while my nose was constantly assaulted by the stench of rotting flesh.

My eyes stung from the presence of blood in the air, but I didn't mind it much.

Eventually, the monsters heaved me up again.

I was still too injured to leave.

Three were too many to face with my skills being suppressed.

Just a little. I would have to wait and rest just a little.

They tied my hands and legs with the special chains dangling from the walls.

All the remaining feelings of Ki and Mana left me.

Then, the helm-clad monster started pulling on the chains. I was slowly pulled by my limbs as my binds tightened. They started pulling my limbs apart as I was lifted up in the air and stuck to the wall behind me.

The demons laughed at my state.

Blood from the punch was still pouring out of my head and cooling it down.

The pain from the battering I had received was fresh as well.

I could hold on easily. No, I was almost feeling quite free.

Things had only just begun.

***

The first day like that slowly moved away. I wasn't tortured, thankfully, which gave me a great time to recover. I was afraid I might fall asleep, but the helm-clad ram demon would frequently enter my cell and shoot me a longing gaze before going out and pummeling some other prisoner.

Those screams kept me up.

I had started to feel my injuries close up.

***

I kept a strong track of time.

The second day in the place had begun.

My throat was parched, but the pain had started to go away.

On the second day, the demon guard came a lot closer.

In its hands was a pile of what I could only guess to be fresh demon meat.

"Quack quack!" the demon laughed as it raised its hands.

The smell was too fresh. When I noticed dabs of blood on the demon's clothes with bits of flesh similar to what it was bringing to me, I realized.

This fucker was trying to feed me the other prisoners in here.

I kept my mouth closed, I get the lacking contents of my stomach ready to pour out.

But that demon was probably not willing to understand.

With a wretched laugh, it pulled my jaw open and shoved the meat in my mouth.

My eyelids were growing heavy.

***

The pain began completely subsiding. That bastard had done a number on me.

It would have been faster with mana and ki, but I couldn't use them even a bit and had to rely on my natural recovery.

The demon came in again, with more of my fellow prisoners' flesh. It seemed they were running out of it, though, as bones had started to be mixed in with the flesh.

I tried to throw the bones out, but the demon would then shove them in my mouth and hit me until I swallowed even those.

Five days had already passed.

I hoped the lady didn't think I had left her behind.

***

Just like that, six days passed.

The demon would come in front of me and dangle the keys to my chains in front of my eyes. As if teasing me.

Then seven.

All the time, I bit my tongue until it was coursed with blood to hydrate myself.

Eight days.

My mind had gotten largely used to my wounds.

Nine days.

Despite being in what was probably a worse state than before, I was feeling much sharper and more collected.

The walls around my heart had slowly started to break, and my mind was getting filled with the thoughts I had tried to cast away. The thoughts and emotions I had suppressed from my time as Yuujin were spilling out.

Then came the tenth day.

A while before the demon returned to feed me, I removed a sharp piece of bone that I had been forced to eat from under my tongue. I had tried before, but this time, the bone was sharper than ever after having chewed it so. Discover what's next on m-vl-em,py-r

I twisted my head and spat the bone out, grabbing it with my palms.

With a great struggle I had been repeating over the past few days, I barely managed to point the sharp bit of the bone at my wrist.

Then, I curled my fingers in.

I pressed against the bone with the tip of my fingers. The sharp edge tore through my skin, excruciatingly slowly.

It started wedging into my wrist. From the epidermis to the muscles.

I kept driving my fingers lower.

A setting pain shot up my hand as the bone invaded my wrist. I could feel my muscles ripping apart from the bone.

Blood filled my wrist around the cuff.

Without making a sound, I continued the slow work. Eventually, I couldn't push the bone with my fingers any deeper.

I took in a sharp breath.

A pop sounded, and my finger dislocated. Now at a steeper against the bone, I curled my hand and the bone went further in.

"Gah..." a gasp left me as blood continually poured out of my hand, yet my eyes remained focused. I twisted my wrist all over the cuff and smeared the insides with blood.

Human blood.

It was a great lubricant as long as it was pouring out. I pushed my hand ahead and yanked it back. The bone sticking out of my wrist was knocked away and a great stream of blood flowed out of my hand.

Carefully, I started sliding my hand out of the cuffs, just enough to break free.

The blood coursed down my wrist to my hand and then toward my shoulders, slowly dripping to the ground, but that didn't matter.

Soon enough, the bastard demon with a helm entered the cell.

He first pulled out the keys to my chains and hopped in place. The keys jingled as he jumped.

Keeping an act of a broken soul, I lowered my head helplessly and watched him as he performed his antics.

The demon laughed to himself. Then, it walked over to me and pulled up a handful of flesh.

I meekly let my mouth agape.

The demon cackled and shoved the flesh in my mouth.

Slowly, it pushed the raw innards in with its fingers.

Just as the demon pushed the flesh inside, I opened wide and clenched down with all my might.

"KAAA!!"

Human jaws were surprisingly strong.

In a go, I completely bit off the bastard's fingers, chopping them off of his hands.

The demon screamed and tried push me back. Right then, I pulled out my free hands from the cuffs.

I drove my thumb inside the demon's eye. My nails passed through his eyelids and then drove deep into his skull.

The demon screamed again as it left my mouth away. No time to waste, I spat out its fingers. My thumb curled around the inside of its skull while my other fingers grasped it from the outside.

I held the demon in my grip.

And lifted it.

It screamed again as I dug through its flesh and nerves.

Its helm was annoying, but it didn't cover its neck.

"You sure loved to see me eat flesh, bitch."

I muttered, my voice cracking.

Lifting the demon closer, I opened my jaws again and bit its neck.

Blood spurted out as my teeth dug into its neck. I chomped on it tight enough to keep him in place. The demon gurgled as blood started to spill from its mouth, but I didn't loosen my teeth.

I lowered my hand and yanked the keys that bastard kept on his waist.

At last, bit off the demon's neck as well and it fell to the ground.

I spat away the flesh and looked down at the spasming demon.

"Prepare, demons..." I said.

"Your father is here."