—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The vegetation in Mystic Island’s 4th district, the Valley of Death, was extremely poor.
Barren land where even a single blade of grass struggled to grow. In this place, believable as a part of Pandemonium itself, dawn began to break, splitting the pre-dawn air, and the dazzling sun began to illuminate the pitch-black sky.
Unfortunately, unsettling premonitions tend to be accurate more often than not.
As if to reinforce this, only Marcosias’s laughter echoed through the Valley of Death for a while.
A rather creepy, demonic, grotesque sound that would be repulsive to humans.
Then, Aria walked towards where Yeriel and Edwin were.
“Aria…?”
“Aria! Are you alright?!”
Aria was alone.
In her hand was the rosary she had given to Lev.
She was trembling precariously, as if about to shatter.
And bloodstains, seemingly someone else’s, remained on Aria’s shoulder and hand.
“…Aria? Are you okay? Can you move…?”
Yeriel approached and tried to comfort her, but
the light had long since left Aria’s eyes.
“Sorry, sorry… I’m sorry. I’m… sorry. Sorry…”
“Aria?! What’s wrong?”
For some reason, she only repeated the same words like a doll.
A strange aura flowed around Aria.
The scent of strong divinity and the intense surge of black magic coexisted.
“This is driving me crazy, crazy!”
Marcosias’s laughter grew louder as he watched.
-Zoom!
He began to recover, feeding on Aria’s screams and guilt.
‘That pesky supporting fire has stopped, hasn’t it?’
The insect-like bastard’s attacks had ceased, so now it was completely his turn.
‘By the way, once the barrier breaks, those Guardian bastards will barge in… It’ll be troublesome.’
Marcosias began to ponder.
‘Still, they are the ones who truly angered me, I can’t just kill them easily.’
He thought about how to break them to the point where they couldn’t even beg for death.
.
.
.
“Uh… Where’s Lev? Weren’t you supposed to bring Lev?”
Edwin mumbled, looking at Aria amidst the silence.
“Sorry… I’m sorry… I… I should be punished… I’m sorry…”
“Edwin, calming Aria down is the priority right now.”
“Oh, right.”
Just as Yeriel was about to cover the trembling girl with her robe,
-Slap!
Aria roughly pushed Edwin and Yeriel away.
“Aria?”
“Keuk, Khahaha! This is truly pathetic, isn’t it?”
“?!”
“Are you all in collective denial? That ashen-haired creature is already dead. And this girl has become my subordinate.”
It was true. Aria was still Marcosias’s subordinate.
“To think she would carry out the order so cleanly…! She’s more useful than I expected. When we return to Pandemonium, I’ll personally take care of her. Keuk.”
“Shut up! There’s no way Aria would do such a thing…!”
“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”
“What…?”
At Edwin’s rebuttal, Marcosias sneered.
‘To think that one girl would play such a key role!’
Marcosias couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the situation.
First, Aria Bluebell. She was in a half-awakened state as a Saintess.
Since Psyche probably wasn’t dead yet, not all of her power would have transferred over.
But the trigger for that awakening was just one man.
That one guy, less than an insect, died, and it caused a change in her heart.
Moreover, the interesting thing was that Authorities didn’t work on Saintesses.
However, perhaps due to the order of events, the Authority placed on her hadn’t been lifted.
In other words, Marcosias had gained control over the Saintess’s power as well.
Angels, demons, and even the Saintess worshipped by humans.
“Khahahaha!”
Laughing madly as if he had conquered the world, Marcosias immediately gave Aria a command.
I’ll stir up your divine power, so kill them all. Prove your worth!
It was a corruption similar to that of a Fallen Angel.
But a Saintess’s body was human, so if the divine power and black magic continued to clash, it would put a great strain on her.
Of course, given the situation, Marcosias didn’t care.
Soon, Aria’s body began to move involuntarily.
“Ugh…! Get away, get away from me… Ugh! Sorry, I’m sorry…”
“…!”
“Kik kik. This is the worst. You’re supposed to be a priest who saves and heals those creatures, yet you commit murder?”
“N… No… I’m sorry… Ugh!”
“Perhaps you have a talent for it? Since I’ve enjoyed this entertaining spectacle, I’ll personally teach you everything, from how to peel the flesh off human bones, Khahaha!”
-Thump! Thump!
Yeriel’s heart began to pound as she took in the situation.
-It’s quiet and nice. It reminds me of Grandma’s house.
Their first meeting.
-Sorry, but I don’t plan on losing either.
His first duel.
-Yeriel, close your eyes.
Dungeon investigation training.
-Yeriel… has a richer imagination than I thought.
The Imperial City.
-Don’t forget our promise today.
The Clarice festival.
-I wonder what our dorm supervisor likes…
Back at the Seraphim dormitory.
-It might be the same as how Yeriel thinks of me.
Lev’s room.
And just the other day.
-I like you, Yeriel.
She had always been worried.
He often acted recklessly alone to stop the demons appearing at the academy.
But he always came back in the end.
When she scolded him for worrying her, he would laugh and try to gloss over it, evading her questions.
He would even play mischievous pranks instead.
‘Huh?’
Now, she wouldn’t be able to experience those things… ever again?
Yeriel’s mind went blank.
-Crack…
Something within her heart began to crack.
It was the same for Edwin.
“No way…? There’s no way Lev would suddenly die. Haha. He always…”
As if struggling to accept the situation, he even let out a hollow laugh.
“Sorry, ugh… I… should be punished… No! Get away from me…! Sorry… punished… Sorry, sorry…”
“Aria…?”
I can’t cause any more trouble.
Aria, whose reason had been consumed, repeated this single phrase, resisting Marcosias with all her might.
‘Disgusting, she’s really persistent…’
He thought she would quickly break down and become obedient, but her resistance was stronger than he expected.
Pouring more black magic into her, Marcosias commanded,
Kill! How much pain do I have to inflict before you listen to me? I am your master. Now kill those two!
“N-No, leave Aria alone! Stop it!”
“Everyone…! Come to your…! Senses…!”
Edwin screamed, and Violet, barely regaining her composure, stepped forward and grabbed Aria.
And…
“Lev…”
-Crack…!
Like a mirror shattering, something within Yeriel’s heart broke into pieces.
Lev was dead?
“Yes, yes. Lev is dead.”
-Rumble!
Suddenly, the scattered black magic in the surrounding area began to rapidly converge around Yeriel.
‘Hmm…?’
Just as Marcosias wondered…
Yeriel’s inner self, and her outer appearance, were changing from white to black, like in Othello.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
.
.
.
“If you wait for me, I’ll come back…”
-Ding!
Huh?… What?
-Ding!
He had been setting the mood and talking to Aria, but his body was already being reconstructed in Pandemonium.
Like entering a monster’s stomach, this world was entirely crimson and alien.
Unidentified eggs, covered in blood vessels, were scattered around.
‘A hatchery?’
Pandemonium.
Marcosias’s territory, where the Well of Souls resided.
Here, he would resurrect.
-Ding.
Thanks to the timely Aggro reduction from [Hell’s Balance], he could remain hidden here.
‘Let’s see this through to the end.’
All preparations were complete.
He calmly waited for the status window.
-Ding.
The status window for Dawn of Resurrection, the reward he received for defeating [Crimson Ash], popped up.
-Ding.
‘According to the effect, it’s random, but…’
He had Dice of Fate, the hidden skill acquired by maximizing his Luck stat.
-Ding!
“Of course, yes.”
-Ding!
The one who killed him…
was his favorite heroine, Aria Bluebell.
As he repeated her name and waited,
Aria’s skills began to appear one after another.
-Ding.
.
.
.
Starting with passive skills,
.
.
.
Healing magic,
.
.
.
Enchant magic.
.
.
.
Even her Surveillance magic that she used on him.
Among the numerous skills, there was only one he needed to steal.
The very last one…
.
.
.
‘This is it.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
