Stardust_Breaker
tbh i would've done the same. after all he has done to him, you wouldn't expect him not to hurt that little girl. this is the side that you dont see in movies that has an evil character in it. or maybe you have seen it but dont really care about it as you root for the protagonists. sometimes id rather side with the antagonist rather than the protagonist because the protagonist would never understand how and why the antagonist feels the way they do.
I think it is a shame that there was sympathy only for the sadist and not for the MC at the end of the flashback sequence. Kinda makes you feel like the tears shed by the little girl are a farce...like how the rich only care for each other with compassion while the poor end up like the MC. Now that the MC is a rich royal, does that mean he will discard what he was? Is that the point of this heart demon business? Kinda seems like he is becoming more like his torturer though...dog eat dog.
This mini arc was good until that ending. "Wait I didn't do that" punch and that's it? All it took to defeat his heart demon? Should've been some more struggle at the end, maybe being confused "did I do that?" while trying and failing to stop it and having some moment of clarity to break through it or something. Anything better than what actually happened. A punch and a "hah thought you could defeat me?" just away from this trial