chapter_0181

“……?”

I turned my head in the direction of the voice with great effort, but I couldn’t see anything. Then, the voice spoke again.

“There’s no need to look. I’m speaking to you through my thoughts……”

It was a cold, aloof, and somewhat androgynous female voice. I followed the advice and kept quiet, taking a breath.

The voice also paused for a moment, as if gathering its thoughts, before continuing.

“I don’t intend to hide my identity, so let’s get straight to the point. I am the Demon God.”

The voice was much clearer than before, with no long pauses between sentences.

“Although my physical body has died, I managed to hide a fragment of my thoughts before completely disappearing. Fortunately, it seems I wasn’t discovered.”

“The Demon God…… Are you the one who set up Aria’s lies?”

“Believe it or not, it’s up to you. I’ll just keep talking to myself. Anyway, she’s the one who destroyed my body. What more could I lose?”

I accepted it, as I was in a similar situation. At first, I thought it might be another trap set by Aria, but even if it was, it wouldn’t have much impact.

Being turned into a living battery and having my power drained for a thousand years is already a terrible enough fate.

“Alright. Continue.”

“We knew that the time of this world was repeating. Although we were created by your hands, we were frozen along with the world when it stopped. However, we became aware that time was repeating.”

“We?”

Upon hearing an unexpected word, I asked again, and this time, a voice I had heard before responded.

“I am also here, human. Thanks to that woman, who killed our physical bodies and then didn’t even bother to pay attention to us.”

“Goddess? How?”

“Why do you believe my sister but not me? This is discrimination.”

The slightly androgynous voice grumbled softly.

“This is the difference in trust. Didn’t you say you would choose light over darkness, sister? Have you already forgotten that you chose to stand with the shadows because darkness is cooler?”

“Shut up. Don’t make unnecessary remarks when a human is listening.”

“Yes, yes. I understand, sister.”

‘You seem to be doing quite well for just a fragment of thoughts……’

If I were to judge by the conversation I had just heard, it seemed hard to believe that Aria had planted a monster that had pierced her heart and left her with only a fragment of thoughts. Or perhaps they had always been on good terms.

“……Anyway, we were like puppets to that woman after she obtained the fragment of the world. It was embarrassing to be called gods. However, just as she did, we saw hope in you. So, let’s make a deal, human.”

The two voices, which had been separate, echoed simultaneously.

“We will help you with your revenge, so help us with ours.”

“I will help you with your revenge, so please help us with ours.”

.

.

.

“Hmm…… you really are Mr. Mira……”

Aria staggered back through the dimensional gate, clutching her shoulder. She groaned for a while, then crawled to the mirror and undid her uniform.

The uniform of a Bellium Academy student fell to the floor, revealing her flawless, snow-white skin and the elegant curves of her collarbone. And her modest breasts as well.

“Am I…… alright?”

I touched the spot where the Holy Lance had pierced her. It was fine. There were no signs of improper healing or abnormal sensations. It meant the healing magic had worked properly.

The reason Aria didn’t leave the mirror was simple. She was still feeling the sensation of the Holy Lance piercing her shoulder.

She had gritted her teeth and pretended to be fine in front of Mr. Mira, but otherwise, she would have been clutching her shoulder and rolling on the floor.

Aria, as Aria April in the novel, had never experienced such a painful attack before, not even when she faced the Demon Lord.

“I should definitely be cautious about that……”

The lance that caused the sensation was probably the same one that had caused the Goddess to disappear and emit divine power. It would operate separately from Mr. Mira’s power.

Aria finally left the mirror and flopped onto the bed, straightening her clothes. The soft mattress felt good. This was the first time she had felt such a refreshing and satisfying feeling.

‘Now, what should I do?’

She lay on the bed, thinking about her next plan. Now that she could do anything, she was instead wondering what to do. She didn’t want to waste this pleasant feeling on trivial matters.

Or she could end the world right now and recreate it, making it a dimension equal to the Creator’s world. But that seemed too boring. It would be a waste to end the world like this.

‘I want to deal with that woman myself……’

At least Laura. She wanted to see Laura despair and slowly die. It was fitting that she was the one who had been hoping for salvation from Mr. Mira, along with the other Possessors.

‘Should I lie and say that Mr. Mira died?’

At first, she would deny it, then get angry, and eventually give in. When Laura’s will was broken, she could show her the 1464th repetition of what she had seen 1463 times.

As for the other three, whatever. They were humans she had brought here as parts to make the world turn again. Now that they were no longer needed, she would just throw them away if they broke.

Aria thought as she left the room, and just a few steps later, she ran into someone unexpected.

“……Aria? Weren’t you supposed to go back to the village?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you. Leona, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the frontlines?”

Leona smiled awkwardly.

“I was, until a while ago. But the monsters suddenly calmed down, and the Archmage said that if I didn’t take a break now, I might never get another chance. So I came back early. But if something happens, I have to go right away.”

‘Oh, that’s right.’

The reason the monsters had disregarded their lives and run wild was because Aria had whispered that she would give the Demon Sword to whoever proved themselves by killing humans. But now that the voice had disappeared, they had regained their sanity.

The damage to the demon race was as great as the human casualties.

Of course, it didn’t matter anymore. Aria had achieved her goal of luring Mr. Mira. The remaining demons were of no concern to her.

‘The Holy Sword…… it’s still there.’

The Holy Sword at Leona’s waist still emitted a faint golden light. If Leona knew that the divinity came from Mr. Mira’s Holy Lance, not the Goddess, how would she react?

She would definitely show a very interesting reaction.

“Well, good job. Get some rest. You never know when something might happen.”

Aria waved casually, hiding her true thoughts.

“Thanks.”

Leona smiled back and entered the room, not bothering to take off her bloodstained clothes. She was comfortable enough with her childhood friend to do so.

The dirty shirt revealed a glimpse of her underwear, which was definitely not designed or sized for combat.

“……”

Maybe it was because she had fought with Mr. Mira before. In any case, it didn’t matter.

Aria didn’t care. After all, she had only kissed her once, and it was just a brief touch of lips, not even involving tongues. She wouldn’t have been conscious of it.

Most of all, the other side was just a fictional character in a novel, with no readers to see them. They were too inferior to be in the same room as the current Aria.

Leona and Aria had both changed too much from the novel.

“Ah. And, um……”

Leona, with a bloody outer garment in one hand and her half-undone shirt, paused before entering the room.

“If Mira asks where I am, tell him I’m fine and he doesn’t need to look for me. Please.”

‘You’re saying pointless things.’

Aria sent a mocking thought. She was indeed inferior.

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely do that.”

But despite her inner thoughts, she smiled and waved casually. After all, she was too superior now to be bothered by such trivial things. Leona thanked her and closed the door.

Aria, left alone, walked down the hallway, deep in thought.

‘Those four probably haven’t returned yet.’

They had gone to the battlefield under the pretext of escorting the Saint. Now that the battle had calmed down, this was the time when the Saint’s role was most needed, so they probably wouldn’t be back for a while.

In fact, if they were to rest, they would go to the Imperial Palace, not Bellium Academy. With the Crown Prince and the Saint both there, the chances of Mr. Mira returning to the Academy, which was practically nonexistent, were slim.

Aria considered whispering to the monsters again, but shook her head. It would be too childish for her current self, and it probably wouldn’t be very interesting anyway.

‘It’s hard to go to the Imperial Palace……’

Unlike Aria April in the novel, who had an influence comparable to or even greater than Leona’s, the current Aria was just an ordinary Academy student and Leona’s longtime childhood friend.

She couldn’t just walk into the frontlines or the Imperial Palace as she pleased.

She could easily manipulate people’s heads if she wanted to, just like she had done before, but she wanted to reveal her true identity to those four as late as possible for later enjoyment. To do that, she had to avoid arousing suspicion.

‘I guess I should.’

Just as Aria was about to start her next plan, she felt a sudden urge to vomit.

“Uuk?!”

Aria reflexively covered her mouth and staggered, leaning against the wall.

-Crunch!

The spot she had touched with her hand crumbled. Aria stared at it in bewilderment. She hadn’t hit it hard or anything, she had just tried to support her body normally. Why was this happening?

“Uuk!”

-Crash!

Retreating due to another wave of nausea, Aria took a step back. She had just taken a step, but the hallway, which could withstand even a direct hit from a high-level magic spell, cracked.

‘This……’

Aria was shocked as she realized the cause. An abnormally large amount of power was flowing into her, just like when she had first tried to absorb power. The seal was trying to break.