HNSW - Chapter 4 - Hell (Patreon)

Lilussees was in hell. Figuratively, and soon to be literally.

Every inch of her body ached. A wave of chills wracked her as she was drenched in sweat. Her body lost what little strength it had and she collapsed upon the ground. She could not even stir up her mana, for she could not focus through the pain well enough to grab hold of it. Her familiar could no longer help her.

A shadow crossed over her body as her doom approached, the relentless steps that heralded the end of her life…

***

Let’s turn the clock back a bit. Lilussees soon got used to the presence of her guards, and, as they had proved to be quite competent at their role, soon turned back to blissfully enjoying her life. She experimented with her mana and eventually improved her range with her skills. She found she could reach out to spiders beyond her immediate surroundings. The maids would clean them up if they entered her room, but she could at least keep an eye out from within the walls. She could, if she wished, even spread them out, get the lay of the land, and memorize the interior of the structure.

But she did not, as that would have been entirely too much, and she apologized to herself for even thinking the horrid word, effort.

Eventually, she gained some mobility. She didn’t particularly want to go anywhere, but even Lilussees wasn’t comfortable with a body completely incapable of moving, so she crawled and eventually walked about as the humans encouraged her to. It…was a process. Crawling about on a mere four legs was already difficult. Balancing on a mere two was…more e-word than Lilussees thought it worth. At least the maids would carry her if she let herself fall and then cried a bit. Crying also required a lot of e-word, but it was remarkably effective at motivating the humans around her, so Lilussees considered it worth the expense. She could put in a little e-word if it would avoid a great deal more.

But she did, eventually, learn to walk and talk. She even received praise for the speed at which she did so, which told Lilussees that she had exerted too much e-word, but at least it was over.

But that…that was when the horrors began.

***

Lilussees yawned as she walked through the halls. She was overdue for her post-breakfast nap, but apparently her mother had called for her. And, like, humans seemed to consider their parents as important, or something. It was kind of like a dungeon master and their monsters, she supposed, though the relationship seemed to lack the magical contract to actually enforce it. Still, her parents were far stronger than she, and appeared to be in command of most of the humans around her, so she obviously couldn’t force the issue, magical contract or no.

She entered into a small living room. It had large windows which let in the sun and the breeze. It was adorned with white and pink wallpaper, pristine vases, and display shelves filled with fine porcelain. At the center of the room was a small table. Her mother sat there, sipping from a cup of tea. An older woman sat across from her.

“Hello Mother, you, like, called for me, or something?”

Her mother took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes.

“As you can see, she speaks beyond her years. I cannot for the life of me determine where that particular tic came from, however. I have ensured, quite thoroughly, that none of her caretakers have lapsed in their speech.”

The older woman made a small smile.

“Not to worry, Lady Atreis. The details shall be refined with time, and discipline. What matters is the base material, and your daughter is indeed capable for one of her years. I normally would think her a bit young, but as you say her speech is already quite pronounced. I believe there is merit to your suggestion that we begin early.”

Lilussees froze and a chill went down her spine. She didn’t yet understand the situation, but she had a very bad feeling about this.

“Mother, like, who is this?”

Her mother finally turned to face her.

“Dearest Lilussees, nice of you to join us. Come and greet your tutor.”

She started to sweat.

“Tutor? Like, what’s that?”

Her mother narrowed her eyes, but the older woman across from her simply smiled.

“Hello, Lady Lilussees. I am Lady Einilda Baillairgé of the Order of the Mystic Star.”

“Um, like, hello?”

Lilussees’s mother, Lady Atreis, heaved a small sigh.

“Lilussees, dear, please address Lady Baillairgé politely. She will be instructing you going forward.”

Lady Baillairgé smiled at Lilussees.

“It shall be my honor to do so. I must admit, from what I am told of you, Lady Lilussees, I greatly look forward to seeing what you can do. I guarantee that I will mold you into a lady that shall stand tall wherever she may go.”

Lilussees still didn’t understand, but her senses were tingling. And they warned her…a huge amount of e-word was coming if she didn’t act.

“T-That’s, like, ok. I, like, don’t think that will be necessary. If that is it, I’ll, like, be in my room, or something…”

Lilussees attempted to retreat but her back bumped against a leg. She turned and found that the maid attending her had blocked the door. She realized in that moment that she had made a terrible mistake. She had grown complacent and entrusted her safety to her human guards. But they ultimately answered to her parents, not to her. It now turned out that they could not be trusted after all.

Lady Baillairgé’s smile grew, but her eyes narrowed.

“Interesting response. I must admit, I grow more and more curious. Would you mind if we began immediately, Lady Atreis?”

Lilussees turned to her mother…and her heart sank as her mother chuckled from behind a fan.

“Not at all, I would be pleased if you did so.”

***

Lilussees crept into her room later that night, her entire body trembling. A demon. She was a demon. That demon forced Lilussees to apply unholy amounts of e-word. First…that monster had told her she needed to straighten her spine or something stupid like that. Like, why would she put in e-word just to stand?! Standing was already more e-word than it was worth!

And that was only the beginning.

The demon had then shown Lilussees some dumb paper filled with letters. She had wanted to go through and pronounce each and every one over and over! She was, like, trying to teach Lilussees how to read, or something! Which was, like, an absolute waste of e-word since Lilussees could already read!

The demon, unfortunately, had then realized this, and forced Lilussees to put in even more e-word. She had been forced to begin reading books to the demon! And then she was forced to write things out!

And it went without saying the constant demands for her to, like, watch her words, or something!

She, like, attempted to refuse, but with the betrayal of her guards she had no choice but to comply. Couldn’t they see she was being tortured to death?!

And when she had run out of steam and attempted to rest…the demon had woken her up. She was only permitted to sleep for a mere hour before resuming the horror! She had been forced to stay awake for hoursat a time!

Lilussees needed to get rid of the demon. She had barely survived one day of this torment and, from what she could gather, this demon was planning to return. If she did not act, she would die a slow and torturous death, having e-word squeezed from her body until her life was utterly spent. And she would not be permitted even half the sleep she needed! She had only been able to use the Rest skill once today!

But, fortunately, Lilussees had an idea. She already had the skills she needed. She just needed to figure out how to apply them safely. Her guards could apparently sense when she used her mana, so she would need to be cautious. But she was once a dungeon master. Outwitting humans was what she was born to do.

***

Lilussees activated the Rest skill and ensured she would fall asleep immediately. And then she, against the very desires of her heart, woke up early, and then actually stirred to full consciousness. It felt like a knife through her chest to do such a thing when she had so little sleep the day before, but it was necessary to protect her future rest.

It was around this time that the maids watching over her during the night swapped out for those who would guard her during the day. There would always be someone present, but the night maid would be reporting on her shift to the day maid, so for a brief moment they would not be paying close attention to her. She took the handkerchief she had stowed away the night before and flared her mana. She issued some commands her locked-up spider familiar so that, if the maids did notice her mana in motion, it would hopefully appear the same as normal.

But instead, she activated a different skill, Poison Magic I, to be precise.

A purple liquid appeared in her hand and she soaked the handkerchief with it and stowed it away within her pocket. She then got up and the maids turned to her.

“Oh, Lady Lilussees, you’re up early today. How may I help you?”

“I, like, need to use the washroom, or something.”

“I understand.”

Fortunately, Lilussees was allowed to go in there herself. She hid the handkerchief in a small hole in the wall her spiders had scouted before conducting her business. She then returned to her bed and went back to sleep, trying to make full use of every last moment she had left…

Later, after the maids had dressed her for the day, she requested to go to the washroom once again. She retrieved the handkerchief, which was fortunately still soaked, and stowed it within the sleeves of her dress. The maids then led her to her execution.

The demon greeted her with a smile.

“Greetings, Lady Lilussees. It is nice to see you.”

“Like, nice to see you too, or something.”

It pained her to even lie like that, but she couldn’t afford raising any suspicion.

“My lady, please recall that a lady should state her words clearly, and without qualifiers.”

“Li…ok.”

Lilussees wanted to grit her teeth but she bided her time. A spider and a dungeon master both understood the value of patience.

The demon lead her to a brightly lit room and sat her at a table, and then she underwent hell once more, but she endured it. If she just put in a little e-word now, it would all be over soon. Then she could return to her rest…maybe. The question was had this demon forced her way into the house, or had her mother specifically invited her in? If the latter…Lilussees might need to deal with her too.

But first things first.

Finally, an opportunity arose. Lilussees was granted a small break from the torment, the insult of a mere one hour nap. The demon rose from the table after giving her leave. Lilussees then turned to the maid.

“Could you, like, get some cookies for me, or something?”

The maid raised an eyebrow but bowed her head.

“Right away, young lady.”

And as the maid turned to instruct another with Lilussees’s request, Lilussees quickly climbed up on top of her chair. She reached across the table and moved the handkerchief out of her sleeve. She dipped it into the demon’s cup and then squeezed some of the purple liquid out of it. She then stirred the cup so that the liquid would dissolved and sat back down. She then yawned and climbed over to her maid, and pulled on her dress.

“I’m, like, tired. Can you, like, carry me to the room?”

The maid raised an eyebrow.

“What about your cookies, young lady?”

“Eh, like, save them for later, or something.”

“…as you wish.”

Lilussees yawned and leaned into the maid’s embrace as she was lifted up. That was, like, so much e-word, but it was fine now. The demon would be slain, and then she’d once again have all day to sleep…

***

“Young lady, please wake up. It is time to resume your lessons.”

Lilussees rolled about and tried to hide under the covers but the maid was relentless. Soon, against her will, she was standing and dressed once more. And then she frowned.

If the lessons were continuing, had her plan failed? Well, the poison was probably pretty weak, so maybe it would take some time to work. She might need to be patient.

She returned to the room and froze for a moment. There, sitting at the table, was the demon. Sipping her tea with seemingly no reaction or ill-effect. She smiled at Lilussees…but something in her eyes caused the girl to shiver.

“Hello, Lady Lilussees. I trust you had a pleasant nap?”

“Um, like…I guess?”

She nodded and then motioned.

“I am glad to hear it. Please, have a seat. The cookies you requested have been prepared, as well as a new cup of tea. You may wish to parch your throat before we begin our speech lessons.”

Lilussees frowned. Something…was wrong. But…if the demon was not dead yet, she would need to keep playing it safe. She did not wish to reveal her hand if her plan had failed. So, she sat down, and took a sip as the demon recommended…

She immediately fell out of her seat. Fire shot through her throat and spread through every inch of her body, which started to ache. Waves of chills wracked her body, which lost all strength and collapsed upon the ground. She couldn’t even focus enough to gather her mana. The demon took another sip of her tea.

“Ohohoho, I am quite impressed. Normally, it takes a year or two for even a child much older than you to attempt a poisoning. And much stricter lessons than this, I might add. You also displayed quite a bit of care in your execution, and even attempted to distract your own attendants. I must admit that even my most optimistic expectations did not anticipate a scheme of such sophistication. Unfortunately, my lady, the lessons on poisons are a bit later in my normal curriculum. I shall give you a bit of preview, however. The first rule is this: never use a poison you are not immune to or else in possession of an antidote for. It may prove surprisingly easy to lose track of your poison’s location, you see.”

Lilussees, obviously, could not respond. The demon then put her cup down and rose to her feet, slowly approaching Lilussees. She still had a smile on her face but her eyes…her eyes were something else. Something that Lilussees instinctually recognized.

The eyes of a predator, watching cornered prey.

Lilussees’s mind raced but came up with little. Her body and mana were beyond her control, her familiar was locked in her room, and there were no spiders within striking distance. She desperately turned her gaze to the maids, the ones charged to defend her. Surely, they would not allow her to be poisoned?

But the maids simply stood there, without responding whatsoever. The demon chuckled once more.

“Most importantly, I see you possess intelligence and will far beyond your apparent years, my lady. I imagine my curriculum yesterday was quite the chore for you, in that regard. But I see now you are ready for far more than I anticipated. I will endeavor to ensure the lessons are adequately challenging, from now on.”

Lilussees tried to scream, but only a hoarse whisper came out.

And so, the days of Lilussees’s torment began.

Author’s Note:

…oh no. Is this…is this a horror novel? One where the MC is subjected to unspeakable tortures in a deluge of sadistic terror? What have I gotten myself into? Where is the OP MC terminating all opposition?

A-Anyways...

Has Lilussees’s life come to an end? Is there any way for her to escape her current predicament? What horrors will she suffer until then? Tune in next time, to find out…