Chapter 214 – Lucille (5)

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“I oppose the war.”

She wasn’t unaware of her kin’s resentment.

The resentment and anger inherited from the ‘Ancient One’.

The injustice and sorrow of having their paradise stolen and being driven out.

All of this, Amon and the other Devil Gods carried in their hearts.

Original sin.

Humans living under the rule of the Four Seasons are born with sin.

The land they live on belongs to the monsters, and humans are the usurpers who stole the paradise.

The invasion of the otherworldly monsters is, at its core, a counterattack by the defeated to reclaim their homeland.

The monsters hate humans.

The final cry of the Ancient One was imprinted on all monsters.

Even though it has become a distant past, the hatred has been passed down through blood.

Amon, the 7th-ranked Devil God.

She, too, harbors hatred.

Yet, she opposes the war.

“The ones who committed the sin are the Four Seasons, not the humans.”

Killing humans who know nothing would only be venting frustration.

The hardliners seem to want to vent their frustration, but Amon wasn’t keen on it.

“And if we clash head-on with the Four Seasons… at best, it’ll be mutual destruction.”

Even if one side wins, the damage will be immense.

Whether the Four Seasons die, or the Devil Gods die.

Or if both sides perish.

In the end, it would only be a victory filled with scars.

“We lost our paradise, but we’ve settled in another world and are living well. The Demon Realm. Our new paradise. It’s harsher than here, but… we can still live without much difficulty. If a full-scale war breaks out with the Four Seasons, even the Demon Realm won’t be safe.”

Can’t we forget the past and live peacefully in the present?

Is revenge worth shattering the peace we’ve finally achieved?

Everyone has different values, and even the Devil Gods, born from the same origin, have different thoughts.

Amon understands their anger but cannot agree with it.

Because she cannot agree, she decided to act to stop them.

“I will stop the war before everything is destroyed.”

For now, it’s just a skirmish.

If we stop now, there’s still a chance to turn things around.

“To do that, I need your help.”

“…I’ll hear you out. What kind of help do you need?”

“As I said, the leader of the hardliners is Agares. If we stop him, that’s enough. If he’s gone, the rest can be dealt with somehow.”

“You said the moderates and neutrals combined are only about equal to the hardliners. Will taking out their leader really solve the problem?”

“Hehe, good question.”

At Yoo-seong’s question, Amon sprang up from her seat.

She elegantly swept her blue hair back and smiled confidently.

Her crimson eyes, glowing faintly, were filled with deep pride.

“The Devil Gods are equal. The rankings are mostly for show. There’s not much difference in strength among most of us.”

But, she continued with a bright smile.

“There are always exceptions.”

Among the 72 Devil Gods, there are four exceptions.

“Rank 1, Bael. Our king. A monstrous being beyond comprehension. On par with our progenitor, the ‘Ancient One’… perhaps even stronger.”

A case of the student surpassing the master.

Amon shivered as she spoke.

The king of the Devil Gods.

The lord of purgatory.

Rank 1.

The beginning and the end.

The origin and the pinnacle.

One and infinite.

The Absolute.

Though categorized as a Devil God, he is a being who transcends even the Devil Gods.

“But Bael is an observer. He’s always sleeping, a lazy king.”

Neither a hardliner, moderate, nor neutral.

He has no interest in any side, just sleeping soundly on his throne.

So, there’s no need to worry about him.

“Rank 2, Agares. The second-in-command of the Devil Gods. A being close to Bael. As I mentioned earlier, he’s my target. If we take him down, we can crush the hardliners.”

“So, if we defeat him, how does that solve the problem with the hardliners…?”

“Ah, I’m not done explaining!”

Amon stretched out her finger and pressed it against Yoo-seong’s lips.

Yoo-seong, who almost bit her finger, stopped talking in surprise, and Amon smirked.

Lucille flinched and glared at Amon’s finger. 

‘That definitely went into his mouth, right? Right? I’ve never done that before!’

“Rank 3, Vassago. The leader of the neutrals. He doesn’t advocate for war or peace. He just goes with the flow.”

“Ah, I get it now. Rank 4 is the leader of the moderates, right? So, if Agares is gone, things will work out somehow?”

“No? Rank 4 is a hardliner.”

Amon waved her hand as if to say, “What are you talking about?”

“The leader of the moderates is me. The 7th-ranked Devil God, Lady Amon.”

“…You said there are only four exceptions among the equal Devil Gods?”

“I’m one of those four.”

“You’re rank 7, though?”

“I stay at rank 7 because I like the number 7. If I wanted, I could climb up to rank 3.”

…Ah, that might be a bit tough.

Vassago is pretty strong too…

Hehe, maybe I’ll settle for rank 4?

“Anyway, if Agares is gone, there’s no one among the hardliners who can stand against me.”

In short, what I’m asking for is simple.

Join forces with me to defeat Agares.

The other Devil Gods don’t want to fight Agares.

There’s a reason he’s considered close to Bael. If we fight, we’ll lose, right?

If I team up with Vassago, we might win, but… Vassago is neutral.

Always neutral. Completely neutral. No backbone.

Anyway, if I can’t get help from my kin, I can get help from outsiders, right?

“Your goal is to stop the invasion too, right? If our goals align, can’t we cooperate despite being different races? How about it? Shall we shout ‘Down with Agares!’ together?”

“…I can’t take your claims at face value. Even if you mix truth and lies skillfully, we have no way of distinguishing them.”

Michael, who had been silently listening, finally spoke.

As someone who sincerely worshipped the Four Seasons, Amon’s story was deeply unpleasant to him.

She claimed that their gods had attacked innocent natives, driven them out, and taken over their paradise.

To Michael, this was nothing short of blasphemy.

But as always, Michael approached the matter with an open mind.

Well, sure. That could be the case.

It’s blasphemous and insulting, but what can you do?

If Michael had responded to every blasphemy like this, the church would have been buried underground long ago.

Nothing insults the gods more than the corrupt church of the Four Seasons.

Nothing in the world is perfect. Everything is ultimately flawed. 

Even the gods. If the gods were truly omnipotent and omniscient, there would be no evil in this world, and it would be a flawless, sinless paradise. 

There wouldn’t even be monster invasions. The very fact that otherworldly creatures are invading the human world proves the imperfection of the gods.

Michael doesn’t believe in the gods because they are omnipotent.

Nor does he believe they are flawlessly good.

He believes in them because he is deeply grateful for the blessings the Four Seasons have bestowed.

The fact that the gods bless humans means they love humans.

And if you are loved, shouldn’t you return that love?

That’s why Michael was able to quickly steady his heart, even after hearing Amon’s story.

So, what he said next wasn’t out of indignation at the blasphemy but pure caution.

“How can you prove you’re not leading us into a trap?”

It was a natural response.

Amon’s claims were just that—claims.

There was no tangible evidence.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t provide any concrete proof.

There was no way to prove the atrocities of the Four Seasons.

Instead, Amon proved her sincerity in another way.

“Alright, let’s all make a contract with me.”

A Devil God’s contract.

An unbreakable shackle once formed.

Not even the Devil God can be freed until the contract is fulfilled.

“I’ll swear on my soul and Iris’.”

“Huh? What? Why my soul?!”

“Iris and I are one. My soul is your soul, and your soul is my soul!”

“Get out of my body right now, you crazy woman!”

Amon shackled herself with the contract.

To gain the trust of the hero, the saintess, and the saint.

“I will never betray you. I won’t deceive you. Not until our shared goal is achieved. Not until the war is over.”

Though the ones making the contract weren’t Devil Gods, their status was no less significant.

The chosen one, Yoo-seong.

The blessed saintess, Lucille.

The godlike one, Michael.

And the human body Amon possessed.

A human carefully chosen to entrust her soul to.

The pinnacle of humanity, Iris.

After making contracts with all of them, Amon spoke brightly.

“So, can you trust me now?”

◆

“Huh?!”

I was thrown out of the raging torrent of memories.

Returning to the realm of consciousness under the leaves of the World Tree.

I barely managed to reclaim “myself” and gasped for breath.

Crap, that was close…

I almost lost myself and became Lucille.

At least until a moment ago, I wasn’t “Lucia” but “Lucille”.

I had completely forgotten that I was Lucia and had become Lucille.

The memories clawed at me like thorns.

Each time, my sense of self was chipped away.

Resistance was futile. I couldn’t even try; I was just trampled over.

“Ugh…”

I shivered.

The feeling of no longer being myself.

It was more terrifying than I had imagined.

I guess you can’t truly understand it without experiencing it yourself.

“Really, really…”

I knelt down and hugged myself.

I tried to calm my trembling body, which was convulsing as if from the cold.

The sensation of my identity fading in real-time… it was really, really…

“Amazing…!”

Ah, I’m drooling~♡

I wiped the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand and smiled brightly.

This was a first. 

While being eroded by Lucille’s emotions was just unpleasant, being submerged in her memories was horrifyingly unpleasant. 

I disappeared. My identity as “Lucia” was treated like trash and thrown into the garbage bin. 

I was treated like garbage. Like a stain that needed to be erased. My existence was smeared away like an eraser rubbing out pencil marks.

“Heh, hehe, huu…”

I shouldn’t be doing this.

This isn’t right.

No. Please don’t erase me.

I don’t want to disappear.

I don’t want to die like this.

Please, I’m begging you.

Don’t erase me.

…I begged and begged.

Every time I pleaded, my heart raced.

“Hic, huu, uhehe…”

So this is why people like addictive substances.

Even though they know it’s bad for them, once they’re hooked, they can’t stop.

It’s completely different from self-harm. It’s a different kind of catharsis. You can’t compare the two because they’re so different, but they’re equally amazing.

For a while, I trembled, lost in pleasure.

I savored the lingering sensations and soaked in the afterglow.

It took a long time before I could finally regain my senses.

“…So, what was it again?”

As I retraced Lucille’s memories, I tilted my head in confusion.

A flood of information I didn’t know, even though I’ve read the “original work”, came pouring in.

There are only about 20 supernaturals in the entire world? Why? There are at least tens of thousands of supernaturals, right? How can just 20 protect humanity from the monsters?

The human world originally belonged to the monsters? The gods of the Four Seasons killed the monsters’ god and took it? So, is that why the commander doesn’t think highly of the Four Seasons…?

Who exactly was Lucille? I get that she was Yoo-seong’s companion during their journey, but…

Michael and Iris? They weren’t mentioned in the “novel”. Michael aside, Iris… honestly, yeah, she’s similar.

If Lucia resembles Lucille, Iris reminds me of Alice.

Her deep-sea-like hair. Ruby-red eyes. They’re practically identical.

Of course, it’s not like Lucia and Lucille, who look like twins, but they’re definitely similar. Enough to mistake them for sisters.

“I’m curious. I’m curious, but…”

Peeking into her memories again is dangerous.

This time, I was lucky to return as “Lucia”.

But if I try again, I might become “Lucille”.

No matter how good it feels, you shouldn’t commit suicide, right? Especially not personality suicide.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

I shook off my hesitation and made up my mind.

Even though I didn’t figure out Lucille’s true identity.

I did manage to uncover a lot of valuable information.

It’s hard to judge its authenticity… but I’ll worry about that later.

Now, let’s wake up from this dream.

I energetically pinched my cheek to escape the dream.

“…Huh?”

I tried to pinch it, but…?

Huh? Something’s holding my hand.

My fingers couldn’t reach my cheek and just flailed in the air.

“Who…?”

I turned my head. My gaze followed my arm.

And then I jumped like a cat that had seen a cucumber.

I landed awkwardly on my butt and stammered in a trembling voice.

“Lu, Lucille…?”

“…”

Lucille from the memories was holding my arm outside the memories.

Why?! How?!

Ah, wait. Don’t pull.

What are you, hey, what are you doing?

Eek, w-wait a second!

Don’t drag me like a water ghost!

I, I don’t want to see your memories anymore… eek!?

I’m being pulled. Grabbed by Lucille’s hand, I’m being dragged back into her memories.

She’s so strong…! What the heck, she’s ridiculously strong?!

I struggled, but it was useless. I felt like a child grabbed by an adult. All my resistance was ignored, and I was pulled back into the torrent of memories I had barely escaped. As I looked at Lucille’s back, I thought.

Forceful…

This is kind of romantic…

No, this isn’t the time for such thoughts. I need to resist somehow, ugh!?

Ah, I’m done for.

I’m already back in the memories.

…What do I do?

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Actually, I’ve always wanted to write about Lucille.

However, I think the build-up would be too long to get to the part I actually wanted to write about.

To summarize, Lucille’s story is where the story’s important secrets are revealed.

And it’s the story of Lucille going through such an agonizing hardship that even Lucia’s invincible maso shield is pierced.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
You know, this is really a far stretch, but…

Amon’s personality really resembles our ‘Lucia’ doesn’t she?

What if…