—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Shaara Phrygia was a memorable character in Academy’s Devil Slayer, but not for good reasons.
She was a traitor of epic proportions.
During the initial demon attack, two of the Five Pillars perished in the dungeon, plunging the Empire into chaos.
The remaining three were crucial, but Shaara Phrygia swiftly abandoned the Empire, siding with the demons, hastening its downfall.
The Empire might have prevailed if they had remained united, but the Golden Lord’s defection tipped the scales.
She betrayed them without hesitation, convinced it was the more advantageous path.
And she continued to thrive, for a time.
But the demons weren’t interested in human happiness.
The Phrygia family, forced into demonic contracts, became demons themselves.
Already ruthless, they embraced their new nature, hunting humans with terrifying efficiency.
She had justified her betrayal by claiming self-preservation was not a sin.
The Emperor must have been blindsided.
The Phrygia family, once a pillar of the Empire’s economy, built on golden trust, had become corrupted.
They were truly insane, not metaphorically, but clinically.
A family predisposed to psychopathy, incapable of empathy, driven solely by profit and loss.
Their ruthlessness had fueled their rise to power.
I had wondered if she was truly that heartless.
I knew her reputation, but knowing and witnessing were different things.
Would she really attempt to assassinate me, even after being informed of Russell’s protection?
Killing someone under another Pillar’s protection was a declaration of war.
Even Phrygia wouldn’t risk that… would she?
The unfamiliar bird circling overhead suggested otherwise.
I lured the assassin deeper into the forest and killed him.
His body, a single dagger wound piercing his heart, lay cold and lifeless.
“So that’s how it is…”
The assassin’s presence confirmed her ruthlessness.
I had survived because I was stronger.
If I were weaker, or if someone else were the target, the outcome would have been different.
My blood boiled.
She had sent assassins after me the moment she left the bar.
She’s dangerous.
She had resorted to assassination without hesitation, discarding any pretense of negotiation.
I had handled this lone assassin, but what if she targeted others?
Ignoring it was the worst option.
If direct attacks failed, she would target those around me.
Russell’s protection extended to me, not to Amy or River.
And judging by her actions, she wouldn’t hesitate.
I made my decision.
Shaara Phrygia would be dealt with tonight.
I had been wary of her because of her actions in the original story.
This was an opportunity.
She would be reborn tonight.
Objectively, eliminating a Five Pillar wasn’t easy.
She was protected by her family’s wealth, their political influence, and her own cunning mind.
The Academy’s security was second only to the Imperial Palace, and she was rarely alone, always surrounded by her followers.
Her only moments of vulnerability were when entering her dormitory or when seeking solitude to compose herself.
And even then, she was within the Academy’s walls.
Bypassing the security alarms was easy with Polymorph, but that would leave traces.
I needed to extract her from her dormitory without leaving a single trace.
Nobody could know she had left, and there could be no evidence of intrusion.
But I knew how to disable the Academy’s protective magic.
It was revealed in chapter 70 of Academy’s Devil Slayer, when the protective barrier was deactivated, turning the Academy into a battleground.
‘The problem is, the reagent requires two S-rank ingredients and two A-rank ingredients…’
I was glad I had prepared it in advance, just in case.
Using the reagent, I became a ghost, invisible to the Academy’s detection magic.
I infiltrated her dormitory and carried her, limp and unconscious, to the deepest part of the forest.
She smelled sweet, like honey, unlike the other girls at the Academy.
Dressed in a thin nightgown, her face serene in sleep, she looked angelic.
But I knew the demon lurking within.
I felt no remorse.
Killing her would be easy.
I could leave her here, and the monsters, drawn by her sweet scent, would tear her to shreds.
Some monsters even consumed bones, leaving no trace.
But that wasn’t my goal.
Her death would destabilize the Empire, creating an opening for the demons.
I would make her human.
Not a self-serving monster, but a true noble, with manners and respect for others.
A noble with the courage to fight against demons.
I knew her nature.
She had betrayed the Empire when the demons gained the upper hand, succumbing to fear, a fear she had never experienced before.
She hadn’t learned the meaning of fear and pain.
She would learn now.
She would learn about consequences, about the simple truth that attempting to kill someone could result in your own death.
She would become human, not a heartless demon.
——————————————————————————
“A reason… to live?”
A spark of awareness flickered in her eyes.
A reason to live.
It sounded like a negotiation.
“I… I’ll give you… mountains of gold… if you spare me…”
She offered all the gold she could access, a literal mountain of gold, as her ransom.
“I’ve seen mountains of gold.
It doesn’t impress me.”
That wasn’t what I wanted.
“What…? M-mountains of gold… You don’t understand… That’s enough to buy a small kingdom…”
Her face paled as her offer, the most valuable thing she could imagine, was dismissed.
She tried to explain, but my fist, like a battering ram poised before a gate, drew closer.
“I understand.”
-BAM!
My fist, the same fist that punched through a tree trunk, slammed into her soft stomach.
Her abdomen caved inwards, a dull thud echoing through the forest.
It didn’t penetrate, but the force reverberated through her internal organs.
“Ugh…!”
Vomit spewed from her mouth.
She collapsed, a wet stain spreading between her legs.
She had wet herself.
I had held back.
She was in agony, but alive.
Master’s teachings were still ingrained in me.
“Are you a puppy?
Do I need to potty-train you?”
“Hic… ugh…”
I forced her to look down, at the mess between her legs.
Shaara Phrygia, accustomed to privilege, to elegant manners, saw the vomit and the wet stain, the evidence of her humiliation.
The pain made it difficult to stand, but she understood what had happened.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Is this half a chapter or something?