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The clamor of war finally came to a stop.

As the silence waged on, the system notification about the completion of the battle appeared, and large amounts of loot flooded the inventories of all the players.
That was finally confirmation that the long and grueling fight was over.

“We…”

Finally someone raised his voice
That finally made everyone realize they had done it, and soon they were all cheering loudly.

“ “ “We wooooon!!!” ” ”

Everyone’s voices joined together as they exclaimed that.

“I’m…beat!”
“I can’t take another step…”
“I guess I’ll be heading to bed early tonight…”

Kasumi, Hinagiku, and Lycoris all sat on the ground, completely exhausted.

“Ughh that’s it, I’m not getting up anymore.”
“Hahah, even I feel like I’m at my limit. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this tired.”

Suzaku and Sorleon also laid down on the burnt ground, no longer having the willpower to stand up again.
Meanwhile, Frey and Shao were like silent corpses, unable to get a word out anymore… And that was the same for the other players as well, everyone was completely worn out.
Still, as they all celebrated their victory…Crim still had something to do.

Crim knew from experience that she still had some time left before she would shrink due to her lack of blood.

She had to finish her work before that happened…so she walked up to the girl in a tattered gothic lolita outfit…Ba‘al Zəbûl Aery, who lay on the ground looking up to the sky in disbelief.

When she noticed Crim approaching, she closed her eyes in resignation.

“…I admit defeat, Spirit of the Night. You can do as you please, as you’re the victor.”

Aery admitted defeat with a placid face, and in response…

“Mhm, then I shall do just that. But I have to hurry lest I shrink too soon.”
“…huh?”

Crim swiftly hoisted her up and carried her under her arm, which happened so suddenly that Aery could only blink startled.

“Crim, are you actually going to do it?”

Freya watched that with a concerned and reproachful look, but Crim replied with a resolute nod.

“Yes, someone has to reprimand her properly. We can’t keep spoiling her.”
“Well, I won’t stop you… Just don’t treat her too harshly, okay?”

That was all Freya had to say in the end.
Aery still looked confused as to what was happening…but Crim paid no attention to that as she found a decently sized stone to sit on and then plopped Aery belly down on her lap.
…It was almost like she was trying to get Aery to stick up her rear.

“Umm, Spirit of the Night? Why am I in this position…”

Aery’s skirt was doing its job, so her cute behind was not visible…but this was still enough to make her cheeks redden, as she turned to Crim with a confused look.

“It should be obvious, there’s one punishment for naughty kids that has remained a staple since times immemorial.”

Aery had to twist her body to see Crim preparing herself by blowing onto her palm, which made Aery shudder.
But Crim remained unbothered.

“…It’s time for a good spank.”
“Wha..?!”

All color drained from the devil girl, showing distress for the first time after taking things at her own pace for so long.

“Are…are you serious? I’m a devil, and a princess? Such a thing is…”

Finally realizing what was happening, she began to look around distressed while trying to wriggle away.
But she had lost most of her strength, so she could not free herself from Crim, who was merely holding her back down.

“That may well be true, yet thou hast committed a wrong. The sole mercy I shall grant thee is to keep the prying eyes of the crowd well away from thee.”
“ “ “But why?!” ” ”

A portion of the players cried in despair hearing Crim’s ruthless words, but Crim did not pay any attention to them, instead activating her Shadow Magic Night Curtain to blind them.

Then, ignoring all the pleas from them, she looked down at Aery with a grin (though her eyes showed no emotion).
Seeing that, the girl realized just how seriously angry Crim was, and tears formed in her eyes as she went ghastly pale.

“Now, let’s get this over with before I become small.”
“Huh, no, please, it can’t be…stop-”

A moment later a painfully loud slapping sound echoed through the burned down forest.

◇◇◇

“*Hic…sniff…* I’ve never…felt this humiliated…”

Aery was still crying and sniffling, constantly looking with resentment to Crim who had become small as a result of using Noble Red.
She also constantly readjusted her sitting position, so her rear was likely still hurting.

…At first, she had tried to keep her usual deadpan, but after the third strike she could no longer do it and loudly apologized and begged for mercy through tears.
On top of that…she had also confessed that after her defeat, the Qliph2i entity within her was momentarily malfunctioning.

That meant that all the buffs and powerups she usually had were gone, so her defenses and regenerative abilities were the same as a regular person, or to be specific, those of a small girl.

And now that everyone had heard her crying so loudly while confessing everything, they just looked at her with compassionate eyes…