At that time... what kind of thing did she think?

The girl was nameless. She was born without a name because her parents thought she was a Demon spawn. After all, she had black hair and black eyes which were ominous signs for those who lived in Daedalus. Fearing for their lives and disgusted for giving birth to such thing, the poor girl was thrown out of the house and transferred from one hand to another.

For a long time, many people regarded her as a cursed child. There was no day without insults, discriminations or even violence which shattered her innocent heart. It went on until a man who had accepted to take care of her, was in fact a dirty man full of greed and lust.

She recalled the memories she had with him. When she was thrown to the floor and pinned at the hands, she remembered all the disgusting sensation of being touched by him and having her clothes torn off her body.

Fear. Panic. Despair. Hopelessness. Anger. Swirling emotions took control of her body and she did what she thought as the best. The girl kicked the man's groin, escaped from his grasp and then hammered his head with a sharp piece of broken vase. Killing him as a result.

When people found out, she was dragged outside and was thrown with stones. Once again she was helpless against the cruel fate. But that torture did not last long as yet another man, who was a slaver on disguise took her in. Pretending as a priest in pilgrimage to exorcise demons and the Diablo which terrorized the kingdoms.

Ever since then, the girl became a slave. She was disciplined to be a tool. She was treated as something below human. And she received no hospitality for being a lowlife she was.

Unfortunately, even as a slave, she was never bought by anyone. Though her charms developed along her ages, her obscure origin and traits were feared by many who believed curses and the forbidden taboos. In return of never being able to bring profits to the slaver, she would always be gagged and tortured every night. Even more, her portion of meal would decrease significantly.

It went on for three years... a life without pains and sufferings. That was until a Duke who had taken an interest in her appeared. The girl of course knew nothing about the world. But she knew that nobles always did something pass the tolerable lines.

After all, she saw a noble who had bought a slave only to return the next day saying they were too easy to break. And there she was shown what kind of fate would dawn upon her.

That's why she tried. She tried to act docile and not to anger the Duke. Even so, as if he had read her intention... she was beaten up, and then exiled after being branded as a criminal.

In this world... no one was her ally. The girl knew all too well that she was doomed to die a horrible death. She even doubted there was a place that would accept her. And as she resigned herself to the inevitable... This man appeared.

"So... do you want to die right here and now... or do you want to contribute to my cause? Answer me, slave girl."

"............"

There was no option for her to choose.

If she picked death, then everything might have gone easier. There would be no more pain, and there would be no more things to despair for. She would be freed from this accursed world which loathed her existence.

However... Is that all to it? Is taking the shortcut could be considered as the proper way?

She did not do anything wrong, and yet she was punished. She did not do anything to cause inconvenience for other people, and yet everyone shunned her. She did not even wish to be born with this appearance, and yet she was blamed for all the tragedies and plagues that struck others.

The girl has not even lived her life by picking a choice. The girl had never even loved anyone. Would it be alright to die just like that? Would it be alright to simply dying without able to do anything for herself?

No... no!!

"..........ie....."

"Hm...? What did you just say?"

"......Do... ant... die...."

"Speak clearly. Are your tongue only for decoration alone?"

Gritting her teeth, the girl finally shouted out her answer. She spoke her will which she kept down in her entire life time.

"I don't.... want to die.....!!!"

Wide eyed. Her loud voice stupefied the man. Of course, it was expected as her answer did not even count as an answer for his offers. Unlike heroes who fight for others and demanding no compensation, humans... In general, desired for an outcome where they could gain benefits from their deeds.

In fact, there was no option for the girl. Yet she clearly told him what she wanted. Though there should have been no way for her to live a long life. Much less a fulfilling life......

"...hoo...? So that is your answer."

A footstep. The girl trembled as she knew that her answer was a mistake. She knew that she was wrong and yet, it could not be helped for her to say such thing.

"Stand up." –but breaking her anxiety, an order came from above.

She was scared. But the order... or rather, imagining what would happen if she did not obey him frightened her to the point of allowing her body to raise. The girl gradually sat up, and she tried to stand up as ordered by the man.

But before she could even did that... a hand flew under her vision.

"A...gAaaah.....!?"

"No reflex. Well, that isn't a wonder but your eyes did a good job to catch my hand."

Raised above the ground, the girl's body dangled as her neck was being grasped with a hand. The man was prepared to kill her at any time and as a Voyager, even breaking a limb without additional strength was easy to pull off.

Amidst the waves of pain, she exasperated. Struggling to breathe in fresh air. Wanting to live so badly she suffered.

"Hm... are you in pain? Are you hurting now, slave girl?"

"Augh......! Gha.... Aaaaaaaah?!!"

"Excellent. Your scream does sound like a melody. It really wanted me to torture and experiment you more and more."

Licking his lips, the man pulled the girl with his hand. As close as their lips were about to touch each other, he uttered words.

"Well then... you don't want to die... right? Then... you can try your best to not die... but only if you submit yourself to me."

"...........!?"

"Not a bad deal right? You will be mine. In turn... I will guarantee your life."

Many thoughts swirled within her mind. It was very unexpected for she obtained a chance to live.

Under the care of a Voyager, as if anyone would want to lay their hands on her. It was the truth that these Outsiders held immense power to turn the order upside down. However... that meant she would become his.

To be the man's plaything. To be his slave. The girl cried in anguish knowing that she could never become what she desired. She wanted freedom......

"Well? What will you do? Dying here or become mine?"

".......Ah.... ugh..... uuuu......"

"Can't speak anymore? Then--"

Drip... a drop of tear fell to his hand. The tear was wet, and strangely warm for the man to detect.

As he gazed at the girl in front of gim, he saw witness of streams of tears. Wetting her cheeks. Beads of tears rolled down like pearls falling into the ocean. Tainting his hand with uncomfortable warmth.

From her vocal cord, gasps could be heard. Fear and despair overtook her body with unimaginable shivers. Even she already lost the strength to struggle. She lost her will to fight against fate.

And deep within hopelessness, a weak plea reached the Blood Smeared Devil’s ears.

"........I... I... will... become... yours... so... so.... Please...... Please...... Don't kill me...... I don't..... want to... die......"

.......Here was the forbidden forest.

Unnatural beings lived here. The forest would puzzle anyone who had entered without permissions from the Great Spirit. And deep within this forest where one could never escape from unless paying their dues.....

"Hm.... so you have decided. That's good... such a good girl you are.... you know what's the correct decision."

The Devil broadly smiled. With a swift gesture of hand, light emerged. It flew behind him and a flash of crimson dyed the surrounding with flame.

The smell of burnt corpses could be sensed. The smell of rust permeated as the remnants of monsters obscured by the red blazes encroached the girl's consciousness.

"But it's not enough. Your despair isn't enough to satisfy me. Let me hear you wail. Let me hear your cries as you struggled for an empty hope. My lovely slave......"

In the haziness of her consciousness, she remembered nothing. In the end of her last struggle for hope, the Devil laughed at her. And deep, deep within oblivion she had fallen into, she could feel her lips burning as eerie warmth embraced her.

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"Oh, damn. She fainted. This is your fault, Devil."

"...was it not you who enjoyed her suffering?"

"Shaddap. Don't you know that you just kicked her on the get-go? It's not good if the test subject broke even before the experiments."

"Hmph... what about YOU then? Didn't you want to break her when you saw her?"

"Never thought of that. But it's true that damn Duke bought quite a high quality slave for his own uses. Such a waste for her to be thrown out when she was not even used. Even worse, I got interrupted when I simply kissed her. I want more than that you know?'

Yuuya sighed as he carried the girl on his shoulder. It was looking as if a demon was kidnapping a child but the Voyager could never be bothered by it.

"—well... Isn't it better to break her when she is awake? We do want to hear her despaired screams."

"Indeed... a high-quality meal should be savored slowly lest one might never be satisfied by eating it once."

Both the Coward and the Devil divulged a laughter. Though they conversed in a way unrecognized by ordinary people, Yuuya knew that his other self was not a figment of his imagination.

In fact, he had already accepted the Devil as he himself. An alter ego which showed his true face was a very intriguing thing. Yuuya would like to keep this secret in a vague way so that it could deceive the people he would encounter. Then he gradually smiled as he anticipated an entertainment which could assist him in his journey to destroy Daedalus.

"Hm...? Wait a second. If she has no name......."

Yuuya looked at the girl intently. When he used [Identification] on her, there was a blank space where the name was usually located at above the Level. The slave's Level was obviously at clear '1' which looked as if ridiculing the subject. He then decided a name which would fit such an unfortunate person. Although it's not like Yuuya had any conscience for it. He just found it as a bother to call her with 'you' or 'slave girl' everywhere. So... her name should be--

"I'll call you Alice from now on. After all, you will travel (destroy) this wonderland along with me."

"Ha! So you are the White Rabbit then for leading her into the rabbit hole?"

"You've got no taste, Devil. Isn't it obvious that I am the Mad Hatter here?"

"Aah... that's right. You are but a 'Mad' Hatter who likes to gather many blood as collections...... that certainly suits you, Greatest Coward."

Why thank you. The Blood Smeared Devil then vanished into the depth of the forest together with an Exiled Wandering Maiden. Shrouded in mystery, and without traces.

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When she woke up, it had already passed midnight. There was jet black darkness surrounding her and her skin could feel the coldness penetrating the skins and into the marrows.

"...ugh...? Where... am... I...?"

"Would it be correct to call it as the rabbit hole? Hm... that's not too bad of a name."

"..........!!"

Scrambling from the place she was, Alice fell down and gazed frantically at the source of voice. Of course, what she saw was Yuuya with an orb of light floating above his right palm. The dim light shone the surrounding which showed nothing but fibers of aged wood forming hemispherical wall and ceiling.

"Good evening, Alice. Did you have an enjoyable sleep?"

"Uh...! Ah...! Hah! Aaah…!?"

"If you are still there then reply seriously. Lest you want a finger cutoff from your hand."

With the least blood lust emanated, the girl jolted and was taken back to reality. Surges of memories returned, then she finally composed herself as Yuuya did not move after asking. Ensuring her a piece of mind.

".......m…Mas...ter....."

As if vomiting blood, Alice uttered the words she refused to say to anyone else with a slow nod. Not because she was despairing, but because she was frightened by the unknown Voyagers prowess. And she certainly did not want to die.

"Aah. Guess so. Just call me Yuuya but if you want to call me that then do as you wish."

"..............un...derstood......"

A sigh escaped Yuuya's lips. He did not expect his slave to be so docile from the beginning. Even so, for a girl who was nearly killed and demanded to submit herself to a stranger, he guessed it was normal. Or rather, Yuuya could tell how cowardice Alice was for begging him to spare her life. But that wasn't all that he saw in her.

"...Come with me." --he ordered the slave to go outside. A simple command which was obeyed as easily as he urged her to pledge her existence to him before.

The girl hastily followed her 'Master.' Midway through, however, she had a question.

".......umm.... by 'Alice'... Did Master mean.... me...?"

"Yeah. That's your name from now on. Got any problem?"

Alice frantically shook her head. She knew that being curious would spell her doom but she also wondered why she was named despite having no value as a living being. But of course, her vocal cord was choked by fear and she chose to stay silent. Abiding Yuuya's order for the time being as the idea of secretly killing the man from the shadow dissipated in the depth of her mind.

After the tunnel made by hallowed woods, they emerged in a clearing where strange trees surrounded it like tall walls that detached the environment from the outside world.

Scattered within the clearing was various furniture. Made by wood and shaped crudely, each of them seemed to provide: a training dummy, wooden weapons, a crate full of loot, some sort of weird hut, a table with several round chairs, a long couch without proper spot to sit on, and.... a cage...?

What interested Alice the most was at the center of the clearing. A bonfire large enough to throw cattle in it was burning brightly. Above the bonfire, however, was a full body of Rusca which was already skinned and having its organs taken out beforehand. Quickly her nose sniffed the delicious scent drifting in the air. The aroma of a grilled meat which was probably seasoned and was cooked in a very careful way tickled her hungers. Causing Alice to drool and had her stomach making a growling sound.

The girl's cheeks reddened involuntarily the moment her Master glanced at her. It couldn't be helped for she was utterly hungry. Above all else, who wouldn't drool knowing that Rusca was the most popular and expensive meat Daedalus could offer? Be it the nutrition it contained, the juice leaking out once it was grilled correctly, or even the highest class of tender flavor it possessed.

It was no doubt that what was grilled in front of her was a rare meat affordable only by the Royalties. But now it was right in front of her ready for a bite.

"Welcome to my humble abode! Now Alice, would you like to partake in a banquet?"

The Voyager snickered as he invited his slave to join the banquet. In response to it, Alice in turn, nodded down vigorously. Obviously lured by the bait Yuuya had already spread times ago.

A/N: And... there we go. First Half of the Shift. Did you know that this [Shift] meant [Volume]? It's still the First Arc so there will be a long, loooooooooooooonnnggg story to follow up ahead. Haha, can't believe that this kind of story reached hundred of followers! Do you all enjoy a darker style of story or do you all favor OP Anti-Hero MCs? Well, Yuuya is definitely a Last Boss in the making though.