Chapter 79

R̂ê​ä​d̈​ ̀​õ​n̈ ̈​K̃ât́​R̀êád̈ĩńǵC̀â​f́ë​

“You’ll spare me…?”

Feigning ignorance, I repeated her words with a puzzled expression.

However, Murmur didn’t seem interested in answering and began walking past me.

She was heading back in the direction we had just come from.

Murmur was returning to the park.

“Wait, hold on!”

I hastily reached out to stop her.

Spare me? Those words implied that she had no intention of sparing anyone else.

I had no idea why Murmur had come here, but devils always acted in ways that brought harm to human society.

Just like Astaroth, who had wiped out the researchers and cornered Class A.

Even though she looked like an innocent ten-year-old girl, Murmur was still a devil.

One of the pinnacle beings of the otherworld’s monsters and an enemy of humanity.

A singular existence capable of massacring hundreds of thousands, even millions.

She wouldn’t even need to kill people one by one.

By simply creating rifts in space and releasing monsters, the damage would spiral out of control.

“Ugh…!”

“…”

I grabbed her small, fragile-looking shoulder, but her steps didn’t falter.

Instead, I was the one being dragged along.

Even as I dug my heels in, it was no use—I was helplessly pulled forward.

“Hey, there’s still plenty of delicious things around, you know? Don’t you like sweet stuff? Like cotton candy!”

“…”

“So how about spending more time with me? I’ll buy you anything you want!”

I couldn’t just let Murmur leave like this. If I did, a massacre would surely follow.

Her appearance at the cherry blossom festival, of all times, when the park was packed with visitors, was downright malicious.

And Eugene and Alice were here too.

We were lucky everyone survived during the Astaroth incident, but there was no guarantee this time.

No matter what, I had to protect those two.

“…”

Murmur stopped in her tracks.

The white cloud mask she wore tilted upward, her gaze fixed on me.

I had no way of opposing her.

The bare minimum strength required to fight a devil was captain-level.

With that out of reach, my only option was to appeal to her—food seemed like the most promising bait.

But was it working?

“You.”

The words she finally spoke were far from what I had hoped for.

“You already know, don’t you?”

“Know what…?”

“I’ll spare you regardless.”

As if that was all she had to say, Murmur resumed walking.

The strength left my fingers, and my hand slipped weakly from her shoulder.

Her response felt disjointed, but it wasn’t hard to understand.

…So that’s how it is.

Murmur had known all along.

She realized I had approached her on purpose.

She knew I had drawn attention to myself and lured her to a less crowded area.

She had figured it all out.

Her question about whether I knew was really asking if I understood her true nature.

And ultimately, her offer to spare me meant this:

“I’ll give you a chance to escape.”

If I ran away now, she would pretend not to see me.

From her perspective, this was an act of mercy.

She must have found my little charade amusing enough to spare my life.

But the thing is—

That kindness was utterly useless to me.

“No.”

I moved past Murmur, blocking her path.

Spreading my arms wide, I made it clear she couldn’t pass.

“You can’t go any further.”

“…”

Murmur stopped again.

This was the second time I had brought her to a halt.

Think about it.

If an ant crawled up and blocked your path, how would you respond?

Maybe the first time, you’d find it cute.

You might ignore it and walk past or not even pay it any mind.

But if that same ant scurried back to block you again after you’d spared it…

How would Murmur react?

“…”

She lightly touched her white cloud mask, tracing the edge with her index finger as though pondering.

Tilting her head, she seemed to struggle to comprehend the situation, maintaining an ominous silence.

“Ah, I see.”

Opening her left hand, she tapped it lightly with her right fist, as if she’d reached a satisfactory conclusion.

“I said I’d spare you. I didn’t say you could get in my way.”

“Even so, I can’t let you pass.”

“…”

Though the mask obscured her face, I could imagine Murmur’s expression.

It must have been one of utter disbelief.

Offering me a chance to escape, only for me to reject it of my own accord—it must have been incomprehensible to her.

And Murmur wasn’t the kind of person—no, the kind of being—to try and understand the thoughts of others.

Children are inherently impatient, and even if she only looked like one, her patience was nonexistent like a child’s.

Even if it wasn’t directed at another devil, was there any reason for her to be considerate toward a human?

“Alright.”

Murmur nodded her head.

But that didn’t mean she agreed not to proceed.

What it meant was that she intended to step on the bothersome ant and keep going.

Her short legs moved as she trudged toward me.

With just a few steps, the distance between us disappeared.

Even when she was so close I could feel her breath, I didn’t budge.

I remained rooted in place, arms spread wide, as if nailed there.

A faint sound came from Murmur—probably a sigh.

“I don’t get it. Sparing you and not hurting others are two separate things, aren’t they?”

“…Even so, I can’t let you.”

I spoke with an awkward smile.

“How about just hanging out with me instead? Look around—the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, aren’t they beautiful? We could stroll through the falling petals, eating cotton candy. Wouldn’t that be nice? I’ll keep you company as much as you want, so there’s no need to kill anyo—”

Thud!

The sound of tearing flesh echoed.

My vision spun.

The scenery around me blurred into a chaotic smear of colors.

The last thing I saw was Murmur raising her tiny hand.

It felt like my stomach had been pierced. My body tumbled across the ground.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, and a wave of nausea surged up my throat, making it hard to breathe.

“Aaaaah!”

A shrill scream rang out.

But it wasn’t mine—Lucia’s screams are much more endearing.

Not that I could scream anyway, with my abdomen caved in.

Even though I had chosen a quiet spot to lure Murmur, this was still a park bustling with visitors for the cherry blossom festival.

It was a weekend, the busiest time of all.

Even the outskirts of the park weren’t devoid of people.

Some had wandered here while on a walk, others came seeking privacy with their partners. Whatever the reason, it meant there were still festival goers here.

When I crashed to the ground a few meters away, startled screams erupted around me.

If only they used that time to run instead.

I tried to lift an arm that felt like dead weight.

The skin of my abdomen was completely torn, and my internal organs were spilling out.

She said she wouldn’t kill me, but her control was sloppy. A human would die from this, you know.

Still, if she had been serious about killing me, my body would’ve been torn in half.

Cough.

I spat blood as I struggled to prop myself up.

Using super regeneration, I restored the peritoneum to keep my guts from spilling further.

Murmur continued to approach with steady, deliberate steps.

“…”

She must’ve assumed I wouldn’t block her again after that blow.

She tried to walk past me without hesitation, her movement casual.

She could’ve killed me easily, but having declared she wouldn’t, perhaps she was determined to keep that promise.

Lucky for me.

Even with super regeneration, I wasn’t immortal.

If a devil seriously wanted me dead, I’d stand no chance.

“You… can’t… pass…”

“…”

I stretched out my arms and blocked her path again.

Murmur showed no noticeable reaction.

Without a word, she raised her hand.

Tension surged through me as I braced for the next attack.

Since I couldn’t dodge or block it, I might as well endure it as best I could.

Murmur slapped my cheek with an air of irritation.

The way she stood on tiptoe to reach me was oddly cute, but the result was far from endearing.

Smack!

I must’ve taken the hit poorly—my legs and back gave out entirely.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, I crumpled to the ground.

My head slammed against the earth, and I spat blood through split lips.

Red, sticky blood mixed with bits of something hard and white.

Heh, this reminds me of Frey. I miss her…

“Hah…”

Murmur dusted off her hands. As I barely managed to lift my head, I saw her white cloud mask.

She looked at me briefly before losing interest and turning away.

This time, for sure, she intended to leave.

But I grabbed her leg with all the strength I could muster.

“You… can’t… go…”

“…You’re so annoying.”

Ah, her voice was tinged with irritation.

Until now, she had treated me like an ant crawling on the ground, but now I must’ve become like a mosquito buzzing by her ear.

The murmurs of the crowd around us grew louder. Gasping for breath, I glanced at the onlookers.

Why… are there more people now? Aren’t they going to run?

If they saw a ten-year-old sending people flying, wouldn’t that make them think that the kid was a supernatural?

If a rogue supernatural was wreaking havoc, running away should be the first reaction.

Yet here they were, standing around with zero sense of self-preservation.

I could understand the urge to stop and watch a street fight, but this wasn’t a spectacle.

Leave already. Stop murmuring and gawking. No, seriously, run.

Some people at least had the sense to pull out their phones and call for help.

Not that it would do much good. Unless a captain came directly, there’d only be more unnecessary casualties.

“Whoa, did you see that girl fly?”

“Isn’t this getting really dangerous…?”

Ah, so they weren’t calling for help—they were recording.

Filming someone getting beaten to a pulp? That’s an invasion of privacy, you know.

If they uploaded this to the internet, would everyone get to see Lucia getting her face smashed in? 

…Heh.

Now that I think about it, I hadn’t fully grasped the situation due to how dire it was.

Was I just getting beat up in front of complete strangers?

“…”

I remembered how I hadn’t been able to vent my frustrations lately because of Alice.

Wiping the blood from my lips with my sleeve, I glared at Murmur.

“You’re not getting past me. No way. Not until you kill me. Not even a single step.”

“……I won’t kill you. Once I say something, I always keep my word.”

Murmur didn’t spare a glance at the people staring at us. Understandable, I suppose. Do humans care if insects are looking at them?

“I could just ignore you and walk away…” Murmur muttered as her dainty hand grabbed a fistful of my hair.

Her voice was cold and detached.

“But now, I’m curious. What’s your name?”

“…Lucia.”

“I’m Murmur. Lucia, I’ve got a question for you.”

“…What?”

“Your left arm. Left leg. Right arm. Right hand. Left eye. Right eye. Nose. Ears. Teeth. Spine. Heart. Lungs. Liver. Muscles. Tendons. Blood vessels.”

“…”

“How many of those do I need to take before you give up?”

…It’s a success.

I’ve triggered her competitive streak.

Honestly, it wasn’t that hard. Devils are all deeply driven by their desires. And above all else, they hate losing. 

With Murmur, who carries the temperament of a child, it’s even more pronounced. If some insignificant creature clings to her stubbornly, she’d feel compelled to crush it just to get rid of the irritation.

So now, all I need to do is hold out until her “active time” runs out.

The greatest limitation of devils.

They only have a finite amount of time to manifest in this world.

Feigning mockery, I stuck out my tongue.

“Bleh! I’m a regeneration-user, so I won’t give up no matter what I lose!”

“…Is that so? Then there’s no need to hold back.” Murmur said flatly.

Fortunately, forcing a defiant smile wasn’t hard.

My heart was pounding in terror, making it easier to keep grinning.

This effort is all for the sake of protecting people.

As a student of the Academy.

And if I can indulge in a little personal satisfaction along the way, there’s no harm in that, is there?

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Murmur learned a lot of bad things from Astaroth.

Look at her. Look at her imitating bad things.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Oh no, Murmur flipped the wrong switch!

Worst mistake ever done, heh.