Chapter 80

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Rank 54.

Murmur.

Among devils, rankings are not particularly meaningful.

A hierarchy determined purely by strength.

A higher rank suggests a stronger devil, but for the majority, the difference in power is negligible.

For example, Astaroth, ranked 29th, and Murmur, ranked 54th, are considered equals.

Depending on the circumstances, conditions, environment, or mood of the day, their battles could go either way. Sometimes Astaroth defeated Murmur, and at other times, Murmur overpowered Astaroth.

High-ranked devils hold the authority to command those below them.

However, it’s not absolute. Such commands are more like requests.

Even if force was attempted, oppression by strength doesn’t work between beings of equal standing.

But if—

If there was a significant disparity in power—

And if the higher-ranked devil’s command carried undeniable justification—

Then Murmur would have no choice but to comply.

“Agares…”

The child wearing the white cloud mask thought of the man in the blue rakshasa mask.

A devil who is nearly at the pinnacle, ranked 1st.

Among the four devils who crossed over to this world, he is the highest-ranked and possesses overwhelming power.

Naturally, the devils moved under Agares’ leadership. Murmur, too, followed Agares’ orders and arrived at the park in District 4.

Under normal circumstances, she should have already opened a rift in space and summoned a monster.

This location was saturated with the earth’s energy—

A spiritual vein brimming with power.

A massive gate could undoubtedly be opened here.

While summoning a behemoth-class creature might be too much, a named monster would certainly be feasible.

Murmur had planned to open the rift and then idly watch while eating cotton candy.

“Persistent, aren’t you?”

Murmur sighed.

With her mangled forearm—ripped off haphazardly, the severed edge ragged—she struck Lucia on the head.

Thwack.

A dull sound echoed as Lucia crumpled to the ground.

Murmur had restrained her strength.

Normally, a blow like that would have crushed her skull. This time, it only caused a fracture.

Even so, no human should have been able to get up after that.

Even a supernatural with a tougher body would have been on the brink of death.

But Lucia struggled back to her feet, trembling.

Her sense of balance was completely thrown off from the blow, and she staggered clumsily.

Yet she refused to fall.

Her right arm, torn off moments ago, was missing. As a result, her body kept tilting to the left.

Blood dripped onto the ground in thick streams.

From her mouth, her ears, her nose.

And from the severed stump of her right arm.

Hot blood gushed like an open faucet.

“M-move… Move aside…”

Shaking like a leaf, she blocked Murmur’s path.

Her once-beautiful face was in ruins.

Bruised to a sickly blue, smeared with dark crimson from the blood.

“…”

The bystanders who had initially gathered were already long gone. Though they had lingered earlier, muttering noisily without fleeing, they’d eventually bolted in terror as the situation worsened.

Murmur paid them no mind.

The girl in front of her was far more annoying than the noisy, fleeing insects.

The blonde girl who had approached earlier, seeking favor after recognizing Murmur’s dangerous nature.

The food she had offered wasn’t bad.

Not the flavor—

But the care that went into its preparation.

Cooking reflects the feelings of its maker, and Murmur had consumed that sentiment.

It had been quite the delicacy.

Murmur had even decided to spare her life because of it.

After all, one human life, dead or alive, was inconsequential.

She had planned to let her go without a second thought.

Who would’ve guessed the girl would be this stubborn and foolish?

If she had known, she wouldn’t have bothered sparing her.

“What a nuisance.”

Murmur tossed aside the severed right arm she had been holding.

There was no time to waste.

She had already squandered enough time admiring the cherry blossoms—

And even more thanks to Lucia dragging her into this mess.

Her “active time” wasn’t unlimited.

Even with her essence hidden behind a “shell” and her presence masked by a “mask”, it wasn’t enough to completely escape the gods’ watchful eyes.

Murmur ground her teeth in frustration.

Gods.

Those wretched gods.

The ones who bestowed supernatural abilities upon humans, blocked the interference of otherworldly forces—

And even chose the so-called “Chosen Ones.”

It was all their doing.

Clenching her fist tightly, Murmur channeled her rising irritation.

She couldn’t kill Lucia, so she swung her fist as lightly as she could, aiming for Lucia’s mouth.

“Guh?!”

Lucia’s lips split open.

Blood splattered as something solid shattered audibly.

Her teeth, broken into fragments, scattered as her body jerked violently.

She reflexively bit down on Murmur’s hand—

But gums alone couldn’t even leave a scratch.

Lucia swallowed the blood and broken teeth as she pulled her body forward.

Using her left foot as a pivot, she twisted her waist and kicked Murmur with her right foot.

Of course, it never reached.

Murmur yanked the fist stuck in Lucia’s mouth and sliced her leg off with a swift strike of her hand.

A white flash split Lucia’s thigh.

The blunt edge of her hand cut through the leather-like skin, shattered the bone, and severed the muscle, leaving her leg a cold, mutilated piece of flesh.

In an instant, Lucia lost one leg and staggered.

Murmur grabbed the blonde hair and leapt.

Flowing like water, she drove her knee into Lucia’s solar plexus.

Thwack!

Lucia’s sternum was crushed like a soggy cracker, and bone fragments lodged in her lungs.

Lucia trembled, unable to make a sound.

“Hii… hiiii…”

Her remaining foot slipped, and Lucia collapsed backward, emitting an unintelligible groan.

Is she in pain? It must hurt, it definitely hurts.

Murmur nodded a few times.

No matter how much she hit or broke her, Lucia would keep regenerating and clinging on.

Does she think she can win like this? Relying on her regeneration?

Or maybe she’s trying to hold on until someone comes to help?

Even now, with a face drained of color and completely disfigured from the missing teeth, she’s still struggling to stand with her remaining limbs.

“U… uuuh…”

“Pathetic.”

Murmur lightly stepped on Lucia’s left arm.

As she applied pressure, a sound no human body should make could be heard.

Crack. Crack. 

The bones crushed, the muscles tearing.

“Aah, uh, ah…hiiik?!”

Crack.

Murmur’s foot slammed into the ground.

Unable to withstand the pressure, Lucia’s left arm detached with a dull sound.

Lucia let out a silent scream, rubbing her mangled forearm on the ground, spitting out sticky saliva.

“…!…?!…!”

“You can heal, right?”

Even if she couldn’t, Murmur didn’t care.

As long as she didn’t die, that was enough.

Murmur finally brushed off the annoying distraction and began walking toward the center of the park.

The strongest flow of spiritual energy ran through the center of the park.

She planned to open a rift to the other world from there.

“Do… n’t…”

Murmur glanced down as something tugged at the hem of her pants.

Lucia was biting at Murmur’s pants.

But no, since she had no teeth, it couldn’t exactly be called biting.

It was more of a final desperate attempt to stop Murmur.

“…”

Murmur stared at her silently.

It wasn’t even irritating anymore.

Wouldn’t anyone give up with just one limb left?

Even if she could regenerate, it wouldn’t be painless.

“Should I gouge your eyes out…?”

Should she rip open her belly, pull out her organs, and drape them around her neck to make her give up?

Or was she really planning to hang on until she died?

How truly fascinating, this creature.

“…”

What should she do?

She couldn’t delay any longer.

Yet leaving this woman behind also didn’t sit well with her…

It would feel like losing.

She hadn’t lost.

In fact, she had won.

A devil can never lose to a human.

Murmur instinctively fiddled with her white cloud mask.

Lucia’s bite strength was steadily increasing, and her regenerating teeth were regrowing.

Her severed limbs were healing, and if this continued, she would soon return to her original state.

Regeneration, huh? It was quite a useful ability.

Astaroth would probably like this.

That woman certainly enjoyed breaking things.

But if she regenerated, she’d be a nuisance again, so before that—

“…Hm?”

Murmur frowned at a sudden sensation of something sharp against her skin.

From a distance, a familiar energy reached her.

A fiery, burning presence.

She could recall only one being with this kind of energy.

It was like the saying: “Speak of the devil and he shall appear…”

She had heard that Agares had beaten her up and put her in seclusion. What was she doing here?

‘Astaroth.’

As Murmur’s attention shifted momentarily to the unexpected appearance, Lucia began regenerating.

She restored her severed limbs, regrew her teeth, and realigned her broken ribs.

Her body returned to its original form, but the blood continued to spill.

Lifting her bloodstained face, Lucia’s pinkish eyes gleamed.

“I told you. Murmur. I won’t let you pass here until I die.”

“…”

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but… I can’t let you go. Not ever.”

Murmur silently gazed at Lucia.

The eyes behind the mask had grown cold.

Murmur’s small, delicate hand opened, the blood-soaked palm radiating an unsettling aura unbefitting that of a child’s. Slowly, her fingers curled. The thumb first, then the index, middle, ring, and pinky fingers one by one.

“Hah…”

With a fist now formed, Murmur sighed briefly.

Then she spoke.

“Guess you really won’t stop until you die.”

If that’s your wish, I’ll grant it.

But I already promised that I wouldn’t kill you.

Then.

“I’ll only leave you half-dead.”

At those words, Lucia smiled, perhaps trying not to be intimidated, as if to provoke her.

However, perhaps due to fear,

The corners of her mouth were trembling slightly.

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
???: Left half-dead is scary. (Reading a Korean Textbook).

But you know.

Actually, the content of this chapter was going to be a bit more hardcore.

It was going to be about gouging out Lucia’s eyes, cutting open the stomach, showing off her long legs, and stuff like that.

That wouldn’t be r15 but r19, and above all, it didn’t suit Murmur, so I just scrapped it.

Though, Astaroth would have really done it.

Murmur isn’t the type of person who likes to bully others.

Fortunately, it stopped at the scene where she gouged out the eyes, so there wasn’t much of a waste of time.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Whew, author, leave some space for me! 

Anyways, nice chapter isn’t it? Though, I’m sure some of you are wondering, what the hell are these ‘captain-class’ or ‘devil-class’ thingy all about? 

Truth to be told, I have no idea. Well, I do but just a very very tiny hint of understanding. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t really much of a scale to compare these levels so it’s hard to understand it on a wider scale. Though, one of you can surely compile it all and at least try to make it make sense! 

Not me though, I’m too lazy…