Chapter 77

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The girl in the red fox mask.

Astaroth.

Eugene had never forgotten her—not for a single moment.

The years of effort, the hatred for monsters, the resolve forged through endless trials—all of it had been shattered in an instant when he’d faced her. How could he possibly forget that experience?

He had always known they would cross paths again someday.

But never had he imagined it would be like this.

The massacre at the research facility.

The Celestial Corps had thoroughly suppressed the information, keeping it out of the public eye, and as a result, the media barely reported on it. But Eugene, having been directly involved, was privy to more details than most. Though instructed to remain silent, even within A-Class, he and his peers rarely discussed it in detail.

The public knew only the basics: a spatial rift had opened at the research facility, and monsters had attacked.

The truth, however, was far more sinister.

It was an intentional act of destruction—a deliberate crime.

Though the incident had been kept under wraps to prevent widespread panic, Astaroth had become one of the most wanted criminals in the eyes of the Celestial Corps. Her threat level was, at the very least, on par with the terrorist group Family. It was certain that high-ranking supers with extraordinary abilities were actively hunting her.

And yet, here she was, casually revealing herself in broad daylight.

I was too careless.

Eugene’s hand instinctively moved to his waist, only to find it empty. He clenched his jaw as he berated himself.

Angelica had warned him: “Always carry your weapon. You never know what might happen.”

But he’d dismissed her advice. Caught up in the illusion of a peaceful outing—a date, even—he’d left his weapon behind. Now, the realization of his foolishness made his blood boil.

Still, he wasn’t entirely unarmed.

He reached into the inner pocket of his uniform, fingers brushing against the hilt of a small dagger he’d stashed there as a precaution.

“Aha, relax.”

Astaroth tilted her parasol slightly, glancing leisurely around the area.

“No need to be so tense. I’m not here to fight today.”

Her voice was light, casual, as if she were chatting with an old acquaintance.

“I’m just out for a stroll—here to enjoy the flowers. Running into you is purely coincidental. Even I was surprised!”

“You really expect me to believe that?”

“You should. I mean, who wants to get their hands bloody on a day like this?”

Her words carried no overt malice, yet their weight was suffocating. The unspoken threat lingered: I could kill you anytime I wanted.

Eugene’s expression darkened.

“Don’t underestimate me. I won’t go down easily.”

“Oh, not you, big brother,” she replied with a sly grin.

“Are you sure this is okay? Look around—there are so many people here,” Astaroth added, her smile widening.

Eugene’s fists tightened as he realized her implication.

The cherry blossom festival was in full swing, drawing crowds of tourists to admire the blooming trees. If a fight broke out here…

And then there was her power.

Astaroth, the monster even Angelica couldn’t handle.

Though Eugene had grown stronger through countless trials, he was still nowhere near Angelica’s level. And here, amidst the crowd, how could he possibly protect everyone?

“Well, since we’ve run into each other, why don’t we take a walk together?”

Astaroth sauntered past Eugene, her back turned, the sound of her heels clicking against the ground.

What should he do?

Eugene hesitated, staring at her retreating figure.

An ambush? No, it wouldn’t work. She’d see it coming.

For now…

Eugene exchanged a glance with Alice.

No words were needed; the tension in their eyes conveyed everything.

There was no choice.

The entire park was her hostage.

All it would take was a flick of her finger for her to claim the life of an innocent bystander.

“You’re Alice, aren’t you?”

Eugene and Alice followed at a distance, reluctant but with no other option. Astaroth’s voice cut through the silence.

Alice flinched, her trembling hands gripping her skirt. She bit her lip before stammering a reply.

“Y-you… k-know… me?”

“Of course I do. You put on quite the show, didn’t you? Thermal rays, wasn’t it? Very impressive. I almost wanted to keep you for myself.”

Alice turned pale. She didn’t remember much from that day—she’d passed out before seeing the aftermath—but her power had been crucial. The devastating heat beams she unleashed had incinerated dozens of monsters, saving her classmates from certain death.

“So, what brings the two of you here? On a date?”

“…There’s no reason for you to know that.” Eugene answered curtly.

“Oh? Doesn’t that person over there look burdened?”

Astaroth lazily gestured with her parasol at a passing citizen.

The implication was clear.

Eugene’s face flushed with anger. His hands itched to lash out, but he forced himself to take a deep breath.

“We’re just here to see the flowers.” he said, his voice steady. “Nothing more.”

As he spoke, his hand slipped into his pocket, fingers hovering over his phone.

If he could just send a distress signal—

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Astaroth interrupted.

She turned suddenly, her body leaning forward, the red fox mask catching the light.

Though the mask obscured her face, Eugene felt as though their eyes met, freezing him in place.

“I told you, I’m just out for a stroll. I won’t do anything. But if you provoke me…”

Her tone darkened, her smile sharpening.

“Well, I can’t make any promises, can I?”

“…”

It was, of course, impossible to believe.

There was zero trust in the words of a criminal who had killed the researchers and unleashed monsters.

But there was no choice for them other than to comply. Everyone within sight was effectively a hostage.

When Eugene withdrew his hand from his pocket, Astaroth let out a giggle.

“I promise. I won’t do anything bad. I won’t kill anyone, and I won’t harm either of you.”

As if to follow up on her words, Astaroth took another step forward.

With each step she took, the wind stirred.

Branches swayed, scattering cherry blossom petals in dazzling flurries.

“Let’s take a walk and enjoy the cherry blossoms.”

◈

I, Lucia, am currently in deep trouble.

I have no idea what to do.

One hand was full of cotton candy, while the other held the hand of a child wearing a white cloud mask.

To an outsider, we must have looked like a close family enjoying the cherry blossom festival together.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Right now, I’m holding onto a ticking time bomb with my entire body. If it explodes, we’ll all die together. 

Boom! Bye bye world.

She might look like a ten-year-old child, but in reality, she’s a walking nuclear weapon.

This isn’t an exaggeration or a figure of speech—devils are equivalent to natural disasters.

If the captains stand at the pinnacle of supernaturals, then devils are at the peak of the monsters from the otherworld.

Supernaturals are humans.
Monsters are stronger than humans.
And the peak of monsters surpasses the pinnacle of humans.

It takes three to face one.

To deal with a single devil, you need three captains.

In other words, one devil is as powerful as three captains combined.

So, even though she may look harmless, she was, in truth, an uncontrollable monster. And unless an army of leaders shows up to provide backup, requesting help would only lead to meaningless sacrifices. Not that I could even request help—I don’t have a phone to do it with.

This is no time to worry about Eugene and Alice’s date.

The park is already teeming with people, packed with festival-goers celebrating the cherry blossoms and the holiday.

If Murmur begins a slaughter, the casualties will spiral out of control.

On top of that, Murmur is dangerous in a different way from Astaroth.

Murmur can open ‘doors’.

Doors that connect dimensions.

In other words, she can artificially create rifts.

Even Astaroth can’t do that.

That’s why she had to use the monsters from the research facility.

“…”

After finishing the cotton candy, Murmur extended a hand to me.

It meant she wanted more.

I kept my smile as natural as possible and handed over the cotton candy I was holding.

“Is it good?”

“…”

No response. I hadn’t expected one anyway.

With the white cloud mask pulled up to the bridge of their nose, she focused entirely on eating the cotton candy.

What should I do…?

For now, I was walking in the opposite direction of where Eugene and Alice were waiting.

I didn’t want the two of them to be in danger.

But I had no solution. I couldn’t drive Murmur away with force, nor did I have the strength to fight her and hold out. Even Angelica had been no match for Astaroth, so I was out of the question.

Ah, seriously.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

I had planned and prepared everything for Eugene and Alice.

But to think the plan would be derailed so absurdly.

How could I have known a devil would suddenly appear?

“…”

Murmur slowly chewed on the cotton candy. At her slow but steady pace, the cotton candy in my hand was soon entirely gone, disappearing into Murmur’s stomach. Even after buying more than ten, it didn’t seem to satisfy her, as Murmur rubbed her stomach.

At least her obsession with food was a good thing. As long as she was eating, she wouldn’t be causing trouble. I scanned the area. Given that it was a festival, there were plenty of food stalls. I spotted a food truck and pointed toward it.

“Still hungry? Then how about over there…?”

“…”

Murmur looked up at me.

Her eyes were hidden by the mask, but I could guess where she was looking based on the angle of her face.

My left hip.

She was staring at the handbag slung over my shoulder.

…Had she figured out what was inside?

Well, for a devil, that wouldn’t be difficult.

I sighed inwardly but kept my composure outwardly as I spoke.

“Are you interested in my bag?”

“…”

Still no response, but I acted as though I’d heard one. Taking Murmur’s hand, I led her along.

To a quiet corner on the outskirts of the park.

On the green grass, I spread out a picnic mat.

What I took out of the handbag was a packed lunch.

I had woken up early in the morning to make it with Alice.

I had put my heart into preparing it for Eugene and Alice, but… well, worrying about that in this situation would be foolish.

“Here, have a seat.”

“…”

I patted the mat and spoke. Murmur just stared at me silently. Even with a friendly smile, she remained unresponsive. Eventually, I sat down first, and only then did they sit down next to me.

“Hehe, I can’t promise it’s amazing, but… I tried my best. I hope you like it.”

“…”

There wasn’t much, and it wasn’t fancy.

I had only prepared a small amount since it was more for a light snack than a proper meal. The lunchbox was small, and the contents were modest.

Rolled omelets. Gimbap. Grilled sausages.

A failed rolled omelet that I’d salvaged into scrambled eggs.

Even with an insulated lunchbox, the food had gone cold.

But it still smelled pretty good.

“…”

Murmur clumsily picked up a pair of chopsticks.

She then picked up a piece of rolled omelet and brought it to their mouth.

Her small lips closed as she began chewing.

“How is it?”

“…”

It must have been fine.

Murmur stuffed all the rolled omelets into her mouth, then moved on to the gimbap, followed by the sausages, and finally polished off the scrambled eggs. 

The lunchbox was emptied in an instant. I felt a mix of emotions. I hadn’t made this for a devil to eat… 

Watching her enjoy the food did give me a sense of pride, but seeing the meal I had carefully prepared for my friends completely devoured by my enemy left me feeling oddly melancholic.

Since the lunchbox was small, the meal ended quickly. It would’ve been plenty for a regular child, but for a devil, it was another story. 

Her appetite was likely still intact. In that case, I should keep offering snacks to distract her from other things. It wouldn’t achieve much beyond buying time, and I wasn’t sure what meaningful outcome I could expect… but it was better than doing nothing.

“Did you enjoy the meal? Then how about I get you a drink? Or maybe some ice cream?”

“…”

Murmur stared at me for a moment, then nodded.

For the first time, she expressed a reaction. Up until now, she had responded to everything I said with silence. It seemed that the cotton candy and the lunchbox had earned me some goodwill from her. Feeling a bit proud of myself, I stood up. Then, I extended a hand toward Murmur, who was still seated.

“Here, take my hand.”

“…”

I gently pulled up her small, soft hand, helping them to their feet.

Alright, let’s use food as bait to lure her out of the park.

The goal was to head toward a less crowded area.

I couldn’t completely prevent casualties, but I could try to minimize them…

“It’s decided.”

Yes, I’ve made up my mind.

Once we exit the park and turn right, there’s a much quieter area further ahead—

…Wait, what?

Murmur lowered the mask that had been pulled up to the bridge of her nose.

The child’s face was now fully hidden behind the mask.

After fiddling with the mask for a moment, Murmur spoke in a flat, emotionless voice devoid of any sentiment.

“I’ll spare you.”

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Murmur is a gluttonous kid who loves to eat.

She said she liked Lucia’s lunch box.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Spending all that money just to hear those sentiments,

Not a very pay to win game it seems, heh.