Ch. 185 Heroine – Chapter 185
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 185
How should I define that chilling sensation?
It was like standing in the middle of a mass graveyard filled with countless remains—a creeping, eerie feeling.
It was like watching a corpse slowly lose its warmth and vitality—a discomfort that made my skin crawl.
Alice shuddered briefly from the déjà vu. Her instincts were screaming at her. They told her what lay ahead, what was approaching.
Her eyes, now devoid of their usual blue hue, pierced through the corridor. A light but unmistakable sound of footsteps echoed.
The hospital, now devoid of both patients and medical staff, felt desolate.
It was still midday, with the sun hanging high in the sky.
Beyond the corridor windows, a crimson hue rippled.
Yet, inside the hospital, it was as if light couldn’t penetrate—darkness reigned.
The perfectly functional lights began to flicker.
Brightness and darkness alternated repeatedly.
Click, click.
The sound of heels broke the silence of the quiet corridor.
“…Ah, can everyone hear me?”
Isabella held her hand to her ear. Her voice was transmitted to all members of the 3rd Division through the radio. After a brief pause, she spoke in a monotone voice.
“It’s Plan B. Cease all operations immediately and retreat swiftly.”
Suppressing the family and gathering intel.
That was the role of the 3rd Division—Plan A.
But if certain circumstances arose, the operation would shift to Plan B.
The appearance of a Devil.
From that moment on, supernatural users, including the captains, were reduced to mere obstacles.
Frantic footsteps could be heard throughout the hospital.
Leave the scene by any means necessary.
Even if there’s valuable data, prioritize survival.
That was Plan B.
And the fact that Isabella had invoked Plan B meant that a Devil had appeared here.
“…This is a bit confusing.”
Isabella took a step forward.
She glared into the darkness at the end of the corridor, which even rejected sunlight.
A red gleam flickered within the darkness.
With each flicker of the light, a human silhouette appeared and disappeared.
“Are you a Devil too, Fox Mask?”
The darkness approached.
A darkness that rejected and devoured light.
With each step, the light retreated, losing its place.
Angelica furrowed her brow. The mask was familiar. It was the mask that symbolized the nightmare of that day—a mask she could never forget. The red fox mask she had replayed in her mind dozens, if not hundreds, of times.
But even though the mask was the same, the person wearing it was different. Astaroth had been a girl. Though her face wasn’t visible, her voice and build were unmistakably youthful.
But the woman before her was different.
A white blouse and a high-waisted skirt that accentuated her waist like a corset.
Over it, she wore a black coat, but it couldn’t hide her voluptuous figure.
This wasn’t Astaroth. The aura she exuded was entirely different. The girl with the red fox mask had been a living, breathing force of violence. An incomprehensible crystallization of power.
A symbol of absurdity, overwhelming force. She was like the embodiment of the word “destruction”. If one had to compare her to something, it would be a god of destruction.
But the woman with the red fox mask was…
‘Death.’
It was as if the word “death” had taken on a human form.
Just facing her made it feel like life itself was being chipped away.
It was like the scythe of a reaper slowly scraping against the back of your neck.
The darkness advanced, swallowing the light. Life lost its meaning. Death had arrived.
“…”
The sound of teeth grinding echoed.
Angelica glanced back.
The blue-haired girl was glaring at the woman with bloodshot eyes.
“…Alice, do you remember what I told you?”
It was still uncertain whether this entity of death was a Devil like Astaroth.
But one thing was clear: she was incomparable to ordinary monsters.
Even the Named Monsters, the highest-ranking among monsters, couldn’t match her presence.
“If a Devil, or a situation of equivalent danger, arises, you will retreat without hesitation.”
That was the condition Angelica had set to allow Alice to accompany her.
Alice had agreed, and that’s why Angelica had allowed her to stay by her side.
“Fall back. It’s too dangerous from here.”
“…”
Alice didn’t respond. She clenched her lips and stared at the woman with the red fox mask. Her blazing red eyes seemed ready to unleash a searing heat at any moment.
As expected, Angelica shook her head slightly. She had anticipated this, but Alice showed no intention of retreating. She must have only agreed to the condition to get through the situation.
And that look in her eyes—it was clear she had no intention of giving up. Angelica decided to set aside the matter of Alice for now and turned her attention back to the woman before her.
‘If I combine the information I’ve heard from Eugene and Alice…’
A red fox mask, like Astaroth’s.
Lilac-like hair that reached her waist.
White on the outside, but black as ink on the inside.
An overwhelming presence emanating from her chest.
A longsword that emitted a haze-like smoke.
‘This is the one. The one who kidnapped Lucia.’
In other words, if they could capture her, they could find out where Lucia was.
Angelica felt her palms grow damp. Her heartbeat quickened.
Death.
Death was right before her. It had been so long since she had felt such a sense of crisis. She could confidently say that the only time she had felt this way was when she had faced Astaroth that day, in that place.
Even if she gave it her all, she wasn’t sure if she could defeat this woman. Even though she had surpassed the captain’s level.
But she wasn’t alone here.
The captain of the 3rd Division, her superior and mentor, was with her. If they combined their strength, they might be able to take her down. But whether they could do so without killing her was another matter.
“Is that the girl from back then?”
The woman with the red fox mask, Ere, spoke.
Isabella, Angelica, and then Alice.
After looking at each of them in turn, her gaze lingered on Alice.
“You’ve grown since I last saw you. Truly remarkable. I’m quite impressed.”
“Shut… shut up. Where? Where is Lucia?!”
Alice interrupted, barely managing to form a sentence.
She stuttered, but for a completely different reason than before.
Her voice faltered as she struggled to suppress her rising anger.
“Lucia? Ah, that child.”
Ere fell silent for a moment.
As if organizing her thoughts, she paused.
Then, casually, she spoke.
“Poor thing. Quite a lot, actually.”
“…What?”
“She was dissected alive, over and over, for days on end. Eventually, she couldn’t even scream anymore. Pitiful, really.”
“You, what, are you, you… you…”
Alice couldn’t immediately process Ere’s words.
She blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of what she had just heard.
It wasn’t a complicated statement, but her mind refused to accept it.
“The room was filled with her blood, flesh, and pieces of her organs. Even I couldn’t help but feel pity. She had some kind of rapid regeneration, didn’t she?
Even after being reduced to that state, she wouldn’t die. It was truly heartbreaking. If it were up to me, I would have ended her suffering with a single stroke of my blade.”
She meant it.
She was a warrior. A knight of death with immense pride. Even in this form, that fact hadn’t changed. She had no interest in inflicting unnecessary pain.
If it hadn’t been something my lord had directly done, I would have surely ended it.
It was a sight that made one’s brows furrow, but if it was her doing, there must have been some meaning to it.
A mere subordinate like me couldn’t possibly judge the noble intentions of a Devil God.
“But in the end, she was broken. She was still breathing, but… at that point, it was no different from being dead.”
The last image Ere had of Lucia was her staring blankly, drooling, her eyes unfocused like those of a drug addict. She wasn’t dead. But soon, as a human, she would be. Whether becoming one with a great being was a blessing or a curse, Ere couldn’t easily decide.
“St-stop lying…”
“Denying it won’t change reality.”
“You’re lying…”
“Do I have any reason to lie?”
“Stop it, shut up, you’re lying. Don’t say anything more, not another word!!”
“…Alice, calm down. Don’t get worked up. Stay cool, like I always taught you.”
Angelica held Alice back, who was about to lunge forward.
Even Angelica’s lips were bleeding, torn from biting down too hard.
Drip. Drip.
Drops of blood fell from her chin to the floor.
She glared at Ere with bloodshot eyes.
Unrestrained emotions overflowed.
Angelica’s fingertips trembled violently.
“It’s a provocation. She’s deliberately trying to get under your skin.”
The only one maintaining any semblance of calmness was Isabella.
She brushed her bangs aside with her fingers, her gray eyes half-lidded.
“So, stop with the unnecessary comments and tell us, where is she now?”
“Hmm. Where could she be?”
Ere sneered.
She knew. She knew exactly where Lucia was.
But did they really think she’d just tell them?
“If you want to know, then try to defeat me.”
“Okay. Now we’re speaking the same language.”
In an instant, all warmth vanished from the hospital corridor.
Starting from Isabella, everything began to freeze over.
The season of summer disappeared. A harsh winter had arrived.
Behind her mask, Ere’s lips curled into a deep smile.
A strong opponent. It was rare to find someone this strong.
And not just one, but two.
Even that little girl seemed to have grown stronger.
Three delicious prey right before her.
But if she tried to devour them carelessly, she might end up being torn apart instead.
‘…Heh, this is perfect.’
It seemed like she was in for a truly enjoyable fight after so long.
Author Note
A/N (Translator’s note):
Ere used provocation!It was super-duper effective!
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Let’s see how the evil side wins~
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