Lilith actually had no intention of leaving her alive. She was simply curious to see how low this girl was willing to stoop to survive, or what absurd reason she would invent in the face of death.
A weak Heroine proposing a deal to a powerful Demon King? It sounded like the start of a bad joke.
Elina, however, did not stop, speaking faster and faster as if the words themselves could build a wall between her and the succubus's talons:
"Mistress, I was caught and imprisoned here by Verial, so we actually had a common enemy! Even if the system says we are in different camps, do we really have to be at this moment?"
As she spoke, she felt her thought processes clarify, and her desperation turned into cold calculation.
"Think about it... the only reason you would want to kill me is for the rewards. But look at me! I am weak. My existence is worth next to nothing to you; it's practically not worth mentioning compared to what you have already gained today. Is that really a reward that satisfies you?"
Lilith loosened her grip slightly, allowing the rabbit girl to catch more of her breath. Elina immediately seized the chance:
"If you let me go and agree to cooperate, I can do many things that are impossible for you. My Hero status is the key! I can gather information from others, infiltrate their gatherings, and most importantly... help spread misinformation. I can lure other Heroes straight into your hands by telling them what they want to hear. Wouldn't it be much more profitable to kill them all instead of wasting time on me alone?"
When Elina finished, silence fell over the village. It was the most convincing argument she had managed to muster in those few seconds. If it wasn't enough to redeem her life, then indeed, she had nothing left to do but wait for the sentence.
Lilith looked at the rabbit girl and, for the first time, truly began to analyze her from an angle other than just prey.
This girl might not be strong... but she has a head on her shoulders.
This idea... actually isn't stupid.
"Hm. Your words indeed sound interesting," Lilith murmured, her wings twitching with curiosity.
Who said Heroes and Demon Kings had to play by the system's rigid rules? Elina was pathetically weak - her death would bring at most two or three skill points. What could such leftovers give her at a time when she needed hundreds of points to unlock further talents?
If, however, this "bait" helped her lure higher-level Heroes like Verial, killing any one of them would be dozens of times more profitable than executing Elina here and now. It was a long-term investment.
Of course, Lilith was not naive. She couldn't trust Elina after a few pretty words. Regardless of the circumstances, this girl was still a Heroine, and her survival instinct could turn into a desire for betrayal at any moment if she felt she had a chance to escape.
Hero and Demon King were two sides of the same coin, created by the system to drive each other in a cycle of hatred. For any Hero, a being with a bloodline as pure as Lilith's was a priceless treasure - a "ticket" to the very top and a guarantee of unimaginable power.
A single well-placed blow to the Succubus's heart could make Elina a legend.
Lilith loosened her grip and let the rabbit girl fall to the ground. Elina took a deep, wheezing breath, massaging her sore neck.
"We're taking her with us," Lilith said curtly, glancing at Lysandra, who was immediately by her side.
The ice succubus smiled coldly, nodding. "Understood, Mistress. I will handle her."
The plan was simple: first, drag her to the castle and temporarily imprison her. Lilith needed time to calmly analyze the risks and gains. Cooperation with a Hero was tempting, but it required an intricately woven plan - one that would leave Elina no room for betrayal.
At that moment, the silence of the encampment was broken by the patter of small feet and an excited squeal.
"Look! Look what I found! Bunnies! Lots of bunnies!"
Mina ran into the center of the square, and behind her, led almost as if in a trance, came a group of a dozen terrified girls from the rabbit folk.
Mina, now in her innocent human form, ran up to one of them and buried herself in the girl's fluffy ears with momentum. "So soft! I want one!" she cried, squeezing the startled girl, who stood stiff as a statue, not knowing whether she should run or beg for mercy in the face of such strange closeness from a demonic being.
The small succubus suddenly jumped back, looked at Lilith with big, pleading eyes, and folded her hands as if in prayer.
"Can we take them with us? Pleeaaaase! They'll be the perfect maids in the castle! They're so quiet and... and sweet! And they have nowhere to go anyway, right?"
Lilith looked at the group of trembling rabbit women, and then at Mina. The prospect of having staff in the castle that didn't consist entirely of bones and grinding teeth was quite attractive, especially since the rabbit folk were famous for obedience and diligence.
"Maids, you say?" Lilith swept her gaze over Elina, who was looking at her kinswomen in disbelief. "Fine, Mina. Since you want them so much, we'll take them. But you are responsible for making sure they don't escape."
Mina, hearing Lilith's agreement, squealed with joy and jumped, throwing herself into her arms. She hugged her tightly, thanking her with the enthusiasm worthy of the child she appeared to be at first glance.
Then, she snapped her fingers.
In an instant, the gigantic, thorny vines that had imprisoned the settlement retracted back underground with a dull squelch. The villagers flinched, brutally reminded that this small, sweet creature had just created a living cage of death moments ago.
Mina paid them no attention. She walked up to a startled rabbit girl and reached her hands up. The rabbit girl froze, blinking uncertainly.
"Pick me up!" Mina commanded with a pout.
The girl, trembling, slowly lifted the small demon. Mina, performing an agile acrobatic move, landed on her shoulders, and for balance, instinctively grabbed the long, fluffy rabbit ears.
"Eeeek!" The rabbit girl squeaked so loudly she actually jumped, and tears immediately welled in her eyes.
Mina blinked in surprise, feeling the girl tremble under her weight. "Please Mistress... they... they are very sensitive," the rabbit girl sobbed, cowering into herself.
Mina let go of the ears and scratched her head with a silly expression. "Oh, sorry! I didn't know. I'll try to be more gentle," she murmured, this time grabbing the girl's shoulders.
Lilith watched this spectacle, shaking her head in disbelief. She looked at Lysandra, who silently created ice shackles on Elina's wrists and ankles. The rabbit heroine winced in pain, feeling the stinging cold of the ice biting into her skin, but she grit her teeth without making a sound. She knew that any resistance now was a death sentence.
Next, Lilith turned to Varg. "I leave the rest to you, Varg. See to it that everyone reaches the new village before dawn."
Varg immediately fell to his knees, striking his chest with his fist. "You can count on me, My Lady! I will not fail you!" he cried with desperate zeal.
Varg knew he was walking on thin ice. If Lilith deemed him useless, she would replace him with anyone else in a fraction of a second. However, these last few hours, when his kinsmen had listened to his orders in fear instead of mocking him, gave him a sense of power he wouldn't trade for anything in the world.
As Lilith and Lysandra soared into the air, taking the bound Elina with them, Varg looked at Mina, who was still sitting on the rabbit girl's shoulders.
"And... and what about Mistress?" he asked timidly.
Mina snorted, settling more comfortably on her "mount's" back and burying her face in her soft fur.
"I'll stay with you. Someone has to protect you during the move so you don't end up in some monster's stomach on the way," she said, yawning. "Well, what are you waiting for? Move it, doggies!"
Varg nodded and turned to the pack with new confidence. "You heard her?! Pack what you can and let's go! Whoever is left behind is on their own!" he roared at the werewolves, beginning to efficiently manage the tribe's exodus toward the Monarch's estate.
A new dawn was beginning for the Blood Fang Tribe - under the rule of demons and a leader they had previously considered a nobody.