Reborn as a Leader: King's Debauchery, SSS-Yandere Harem and Evolution-Chapter 29- Lilith’s Misery

****

The dusty playground echoed with cruel laughter. A group of demon boys stood in a tight circle, their red eyes gleaming with mischief as they cornered a smaller figure in the center.

The girl, barely reaching their shoulders, stood her ground, her tiny fists clenched tightly by her sides.

"You don’t even have a heart!" one boy sneered, his voice loud and mocking.

"Yeah, you’re not even a full demon!" another added, flicking his forked tail in amusement.

"Half-human! You’re weak!" the tallest boy jeered, stepping forward and giving her a shove.

The girl stumbled back but didn’t fall. Her dark eyes blazed with defiance, and her small horns glinted under the fading sun. She clenched her teeth and shouted, "I am a demon! I’m not a human!"

Her voice, though trembling, rang with determination. The boys exchanged smirks, their laughter growing louder. "Prove it, half-blood!" one of them mocked, his sharp teeth flashing as he moved closer.

Before she could react, the tallest boy shoved her harder this time, and she hit the ground with a thud.

Dust clouded the air as she scrambled to her feet, her knees scraped and bleeding.

Anger burning brighter than her pain, she lunged at him, her small hands clawing at his arm.

"She’s fighting back!" another boy shouted, grabbing her from behind. The group laughed and surrounded her, their blows coming from all sides. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Even as their kicks and punches landed on her small frame, she yelled, "I am a demon! I will prove it!"

Suddenly, a loud, commanding voice cut through the chaos, freezing the boys in their tracks. "LILITH!"

The boys stopped and looked at each other, fear replacing their smug grins. "It’s her mother!" one of them hissed, his voice trembling.

"Run!" another shouted. Without a second thought, the group scattered, their laughter disappearing into the distance.

Lilith lay still for a moment, catching her breath. Slowly, she pushed herself up, wincing as she brushed the dust off her clothes.

Her small hands trembled, but her face remained stubbornly calm.

She looked up to see her mother running toward her, her usually stern face soft with worry and her eyes glistening with tears.

Her long black hair trailed behind her as she knelt beside Lilith, her hands shaking.

"Are you alright, my child?" her mother asked, her voice breaking as she gently touched Lilith’s face.

Lilith nodded, her lips curving into a small, reassuring smile despite the pain. "Yes, I’m fine, Mother. You don’t need to cry. They’re just children."

But her mother couldn’t stop the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I’m sorry, my child," she whispered, her voice heavy with guilt. "I’m so sorry... I’m sorry..."

Lilith reached up with her tiny arms and hugged her mother tightly, patting her back with a soft, comforting touch. "It’s okay, Mother. Don’t cry. One day, I’ll become strong. I’ll prove myself as a demon."

Her mother held her close, her sobs muffled against Lilith’s shoulder. The bruised and battered girl, despite her pain, stood firm in her resolve to prove that she was a demon not a half human!

****

"Ugh, b-bastard, what did you do to me?!" Lilith couldn’t help but yell. Her voice, though not as loud as she anticipated considering the tears brimming in her eyes, was clenched in her jaws as she growled, not understanding why she was recalling these memories, which should have been deeply buried under her resolve.

The memories were of the day when her mother had died shortly after being stoned to death by some demon extremists who blamed her for copulating with a human and giving birth to a half-demon.

And as soon as Lilith had just thought that, another memory flashed through her mind.

****

The icy wind howled across the clearing as the crowd of demons hurled their stones with unrelenting fury. In the center of the mob lay Lilith’s mother, her once-proud horns now marred and cracked.

She knelt on the frozen ground, shielding her daughter beneath her battered body.

The stones struck her back, one after another, the sharp edges tearing through her tattered robes.

Blood soaked the snow around her, but she didn’t move away.

The little girl trembled beneath her, her small voice muffled against her mother’s chest. "Mother, stop... please, let me help you," she whimpered.

"No, Lilith," her mother whispered, her voice breaking but firm. "Stay still. Don’t move. I won’t let them harm you."

"Lilith," her mother whispered weakly, her voice barely audible. "Don’t... don’t cry, my child. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for giving you this cruel life."

The girl clung to her mother tightly, her tears soaking the woman’s tattered clothes. "Don’t say that! You’re my mother! You’re not cruel!"

Tears streamed down the girl’s face, but she obeyed, clutching her mother tightly.

The weight of her mother’s arms around her was both a shield and a cage, protecting her from the onslaught of stones raining down.

The crowd, seeing the unmoving pair, grew louder. "The half-blood will die with her!" someone shouted, and the others cheered cruelly.

But slowly, the frenzy began to die down. The mother’s body had stopped trembling.

Her arms hung limply around the child, and her head rested against Lilith’s small shoulder.

Blood pooled beneath them, soaking the snow, and the mob began to believe their hatred had claimed both lives.

"They’re both dead," someone muttered. "Serves them right."

The demons began to disperse, their voices fading into the cold wind.

Soon, silence returned, broken only by the occasional crunch of retreating footsteps on snow.

Lilith lay still beneath her mother, her small body trembling. "Mother...? Mother, wake up," she whispered, her voice barely audible. She pushed gently, trying to wriggle free, but her mother didn’t move.

Her tiny hands clutched at her mother’s bloodstained clothes as the realization dawned. "Mother, no... please, don’t leave me!" she cried, her voice rising in desperation.

She managed to crawl out from under her mother’s lifeless body, her small frame covered in blood and dirt.

The icy ground numbed her hands and knees, but she didn’t care.

She sat beside her mother, shaking her shoulder as tears streamed down her face.

"Mother, please, don’t go... You said you’d protect me!" she wailed, but no answer came.

Snow began to fall, soft and silent, covering the blood and the stones.

Lilith’s tears dried on her cold cheeks, her cries growing weaker as the chilling wind sapped her strength.

Her vision blurred, exhaustion pulling her toward the darkness, when a shadow loomed over her.

A tall figure appeared, cloaked in a darkness deeper than the night.

The little girl squinted, her tired eyes barely able to focus. The figure bent down slightly, a faint glimmer of pity in her cold, regal gaze.

"What a pity," the figure murmured, her voice echoing like a distant bell.

Lilith’s lips moved, but no sound came as her head dropped forward.

The last thing she heard before unconsciousness took her was a rough, resonating voice calling out to the mysterious woman.

"My queen, she is a half-demon..."

****

"S-st-op, you basta—" Lilith’s mind recalled a moment she had thought was buried. Her eyes streamed with tears, her jaw clenched in anger, and her hands showed hints of blood that seemed to pool near her wrists and ankles as she tried to pull the chains in retaliation to free herself from these memories.