Cassino's Ex-Machina

From the depths of a dungeon, a young girl screamed in panic as she faced her fate. Her tearful eyes, trembling with their blue hues, resembled jewels set against the white tone of her sclera.

In front of her, the claws of a giant scorpion, shaped like a pair of scythes, slashed through the air toward her. Razor-sharp, they whistled through the wind with a speed and weight capable of unleashing great misfortune.

The girl, with medium-length black hair as dark as a moonless night and skin as delicate as that of nobility, reminiscent of the sweet and gentle light of the moon, awaited her inevitable death. Her staff lay far away, and the claws drew ever closer, descending in a deadly diagonal motion.

She closed her eyes, expecting her inevitable doom in mere milliseconds. But nothing came. Instead, the sound of clashing metal echoed.

In front of her stood a knight wielding a glaive beautifully adorned with magical crystals and a plume attached to its lower end. He fought the creature with an elegance that seemed almost celestial, like a prince straight out of a fairy tale. Each of his movements produced bursts of light that highlighted his superiority over the monster, his face betraying no effort.

"「Luck Exchange」"

the knight shouted at the monster, his voice hoarse, as if it had been long since he last drank water.

The blue crystals of his glaive shimmered like stars, and from its tip, two energies appeared to exchange places as the blade touched the creature's claws. A murky glow seemed to seep into the scorpion's body, while a golden elixir flowed out of it, traveling along the glaive and growing brighter as it entered the knight's hands.

Suddenly, with a critical thrust, the glaive's tip ceased blocking the creature's claws. Using the creature's own kinetic force, the knight leaped, propelling himself like an arrow. He drove the weapon's blade deep into the creature's mouth, so deeply that three-quarters of the glaive vanished within the carapace. Dust erupted as the massive exoskeleton crashed onto the ancient bricks of the ruin.

In the girl's frightened eyes, the knight exuded the aura of a cold, focused leader—yet one that felt warm and reassuring.

As the knight approached, his glaive, gleaming with the blue of the skies, remained lodged in the monster behind him. The glow reflected on his leather armor, reinforced with lightweight metal plates in strategic places. Yet, rather than the mere presence of a gallant savior, he seemed like a being drenched in divine power.

Looking at his face, she noticed he wore a mask. It was crafted from the skull of a massive bird of prey, covering his features entirely. The beak and bones were sharply refined and polished with wax, giving the mask a noble and powerful air.

Raising his arms, the girl realized her doom was approaching.

Oh, great knight. I surrender myself before you.

She repeated these words in her mind, her thoughts swirling amidst the cascade of emotions the knight evoked within her.

The young girl both feared her savior and felt the purest passion for him. Like a fallen archangel, he embodied both her destruction and salvation from the hell she had entered.

With the sound of cold metal, his steps were so light they could easily be mistaken for the wind. Yet, his gaze never left the noble girl.

Until the wind stopped.

Before her stood a grand soldier. Perhaps he had trained for decades. Perhaps he was even the prince of a ruined kingdom.

The mystery gnawed at her curiosity.

Her savior stood before her, yet he did not speak. He did not ask if she was all right. Instead, he remained still, staring.

That's it! I know what he's waiting for… Oh, what an ingenious knight.

Approaching the masked face, the young girl rose onto her tiptoes. Before her, the darkness behind the mask exuded a sense of danger that thrilled her.

This was the moment she had always dreamed of—the moment she would be saved by an unstoppable force, a perfect knight with steps as soft as cotton, someone who could truly understand her. And so, she would surrender herself to him, offering him her first kiss.

Her hand reached out to touch the mask, its surface so smooth and polished that it sent chills down her spine just to look at it. Slowly, her hands slid to the strap behind his ears, feeling the well-cared-for texture of skin that was treated daily.

But as she removed the mask, her greatest desire became her worst nightmare.

"N-no! What are you doing here? Cassino, you damned bastar—"

The knight pulled her into his arms, holding her in a light yet distant embrace.

Cassino held her tightly, a wicked grin stretching across his face, his malevolent eyes shadowed by dark circles.

And then, the world blurred.

Suddenly, the air turned colder—like a blizzard on a summer day. A strange warmth stirred in the girl's stomach, a feeling she could only describe as love. It was warm and comforting, emanating from the innermost part of her soul, from the very core of her being. Or so she believed.

The reality was much colder than that.

Cassino's arm pierced through the girl's abdomen, emerging on the other side like a crossbow bolt. Even so, he held her close as their blood mingled with the scorpion's still staining his arm.

Finally, his mouth moved, freed from the restraints he had imposed on himself, as he retrieved a tiny trinket from her pocket—a small dove delicately crafted from white wood and fiber. Now bloodied.

"I swore I'd kill you with my own hands."