Ch. 215 The Last Time She Could Love (1)
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 215 – The Last Time She Could Love (1)
First, let’s clarify one thing.
Who am I?
What is the correct answer to that question?
I could answer without hesitation.
Lucia.
Even though that wasn’t my original name, I’ve become “Lucia” now. So, the name that refers to me is Lucia.
Yes, not “Lucille”, but “Lucia”. I am Lucia. A first-year student in Class A at the academy. Eugene’s best friend (more than that). Alice’s guardian(self-proclaimed). Yeah, that’s a perfect answer.
When I was first swept into Lucille’s memories.
I was swallowed by the memories and forgot who I was.
I forgot that I was Lucia and became assimilated into Lucille.
If I hadn’t been thrown out of the memories, I’d still be Lucille.
And now, I’ve entered Lucille’s memories for the second time.
Not by choice, but because Lucille from the memories dragged me in by force.
I was tense, wondering if I’d be assimilated into Lucille again.
But no matter how much time passed, the erosion of my sense of self didn’t happen.
Well, strictly speaking, her emotions were gnawing at my heart.
But compared to when I completely forgot who I was, this was nothing.
“What exactly are you trying to show me?”
I muttered as I looked at Lucille in the memories.
There was only one difference between the first and second times.
Whether I entered voluntarily or was forced in.
The first time, I tried to peek into her memories and ended up being swept away.
The second time, Lucille herself dragged me into her memories.
If she allowed me to see her memories directly, and that’s why I wasn’t being eroded… then it’s reasonable to assume she had some intention. She wouldn’t show her memories to someone else without a reason. There must be a purpose.
I recalled the scene before I was thrown out of the memories.
The last thing I saw was the four of them gathered at the World Tree.
Yoo-seong. Lucille. Michael. Iris (Amon).
Yoo-seong, the future commander, goes without saying, but the other three were also incredibly powerful.
Lucille was the saintess. The blessed saintess.
In a different sense from the Chosen One, she was favored by the Four Seasons.
Her “blessing” was truly a versatile ability. Healing, foresight, purification, attack, buffs… she could replicate most supernatural abilities.
Michael was a saint who had surpassed the limits of supernatural abilities.
Someone who not only approached godhood but resembled a god. A powerhouse who far surpassed the current generation’s captains.
He was strong enough to take on a Devil God alone.
Iris. The pinnacle of humanity.
She had reached the limits of what a human could achieve. A girl who had reached the peak in a different direction from Michael.
Considering that the Devil God Amon possessed her and allowed her to use a Devil God’s authority, she was undoubtedly stronger than Michael.
Amon, the Devil God, proposed that they defeat Agares, the leader of the hardliners.
The Devil God, Agares.
The final boss of “The Dawn of the Sword”.
He was a monster that defied common sense.
He was already absurdly strong, but in the final battle, he became even more terrifying.
He shed his human body, absorbed the powers of the Devil Gods who had fallen before him, absorbed spiritual energy by connecting with the spiritual veins, and even stole souls by slaughtering supernaturals and humans.
He was a monster beyond comprehension, defying the laws of the world. Although he was ultimately defeated by Eugene, who had fully awakened, and that was because Eugene was extraordinary, not because Agares was lacking.
If it weren’t for Eugene, he would have single-handedly brought about the collapse of the world.
Still, I think those four could have defeated Agares.
There’s not just one transcendent powerhouse, but four of them, right?
Even the Agares from the final battle could have been defeated.
‘But they must have failed.’
Because in the original story, Agares was still alive.
If Agares had died here, he wouldn’t have been the final boss of the novel.
Thinking that, I couldn’t help but wonder.
Wait, they formed the strongest party in human history, didn’t they?
How did they fail? What caused them to fail?
If they had the power to defeat Agares but still failed, there must have been a reason.
What exactly held them back and caused them to fall?
To solve that question, I looked around carefully. I paid close attention to the flowing memories. The answer must be in the memories, so if I keep my eyes wide open, I’ll figure it out.
Then, I realized belatedly that the location had changed. The World Tree, where the four had first gathered, was nowhere to be seen.
What came into view was the backs of the four.
They were facing off against something.
“…What is that?”
I muttered without thinking.
A thick white fog covered the ground.
It was as if the ground was claiming to be a cloud.
At the end of the endlessly stretching, swaying fog, there was an old chair.
No, calling it just a chair would be a mistake.
That was a throne.
A seat reserved only for the king.
So, the one sitting there must be the king.
“I can’t see…”
Someone sitting on the throne.
It was as if they were shrouded in fog.
Or as if multiple forms were overlapping.
Or as if they were distorted like a mosaic.
Their form wasn’t clearly visible.
It was as if I wasn’t worthy of seeing them.
I could only guess that they were there.
“Reign but do not rule.”
Using Iris’s body, Amon spoke.
She glared at the throne and spoke in a trembling voice.
“Wasn’t that your way, Bael? So why are you siding with Agares? You, taking sides…? That’s not like you. Don’t tell me you’re… agreeing with the invasion?”
…Bael.
The 1st-ranked Devil God.
A Devil God whose existence was only hinted at in the “novel”.
So, he was an unknown figure to me as well.
Most of what I knew about Bael came from Lucille’s memories.
Didn’t they say he always remained an observer…?
Why is Yoo-seong’s group confronting the King of Devil Gods?
The moment that question crossed my mind.
Several memories flashed through my mind.
They accepted Amon’s proposal under the shade of the World Tree.
They had no other choice.The frequency of the rifts opening was increasing.
At this rate, the next rift would open in less than 10 years. The one after that would open even sooner. The worst-case scenario, where rifts open every few days, might unfold.
If that happened, the extinction of humanity would be inevitable. They had to pull out the root of the problem while they still had time.
That’s why they joined hands with Amon.
The fifth rift, which opened half a year later.
A gateway connecting to another dimension.
They used the passage through which the monsters came in reverse.
They infiltrated the world of the Devil Gods through the rift.
Their target was Agares, the leader of the hardliners.
But before they could even find Agares, their plan was thwarted.
Because the King stood in their way.
A flood of memories flashed through my mind, making me dizzy.
I held my forehead and focused on the scene before me.
At Amon’s resentful question, the King answered dryly.
“It is right to do so, and thus I must fulfill my duty.”
“…The protection of the second paradise. I know, I understand that’s your duty. But these are my friends. They came to stop the war, not to invade.”
Bael rested his chin on the armrest of the throne.
His face was not visible.
But I could tell.
That his eyes were deeply sunken.
“36. 22. 13.”
“What?”
“Hardliners. Moderates. Neutrals. Even if you combine the devils who desire peace and those who remain neutral, there are still more devils crying out for war.”
“That’s… well, it’s only a difference of one person…”
“If it were just devils, perhaps.”
“…”
“Behind my duty as the king of devil gods, I am the king of monsters, Amon.”
…So that’s how it was.
No matter how much of a bystander the king may seem.
If more than half of the devils.
If countless monsters speak with one voice.
As the ruler, he cannot help but respond.
“80 years. Was that not enough of a reprieve?”
…In the era I live in, the invasion of monsters began 300 years ago.
But in that era, it was 80 years ago.
Bael, in his own way, waited until everyone’s will was united.
And after 80 years of waiting, he finally made a decision.
To grant the wishes of the majority of devils.
“Bael, you…”
Amon’s pupils trembled like a small boat caught in a storm.
Her legs shook violently, and her teeth chattered.
She was terrified.
Yes, she had no choice but to be.
At this very moment.
The leader of the hardliners had changed.
To none other than the King of Purgatory himself.
◈
“I still remember it vividly. Even after so much time has passed.”
Leaning against the wall, Yoo-seong muttered suddenly.
Late at night, in Lucia’s hospital room, which he had secretly visited.
There were two other visitors who had arrived earlier, but now they were only breathing softly.
Alice, who had fallen asleep holding Lucia, and Eugene, sitting in a chair, nodding off.
Glancing at them, Yoo-seong suddenly recalled a memory that had resurfaced.
The day they headed to the demon realm.
The day they clashed with Bael.
The time when the battle with Bael took place.
The seven-day-long battle, fought without rest, was deeply etched into Yoo-seong’s soul.
It was more of an imprint than a memory. A struggle that could never be erased or forgotten.
Was it because he met a girl who resembled Lucille and Iris? Memories of the past suddenly flickered before his eyes.
Yoo-seong, who had never felt fear in his entire life.
When faced with a situation beyond one’s control, people feel fear.
Yoo-seong had never experienced that. He had always been strong, able to remain composed in any situation.
Yet, for the first time in his life, he was reduced to a weakling. Before an omnipotent god, even Yoo-seong was nothing more than a mere human.
Bael. The Devil King, Yoo-seong’s nemesis, and the turning point in his life.
“If only I could have defeated Bael back then…”
Yoo-seong forced a bitter smile.
It was a painfully forced, bitter smile.
Adding “what if” to the past that has already passed won’t change anything.
Even though he knew that, he sometimes imagined a future that might have been within reach.
“If the war with the monsters had ended…”
The future we would have faced would have been very different from now, right?
If only.
If that had happened.
Lucille.
My saintess.
You wouldn’t have had to make that choice.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
I was planning to upload this before midnight…Anyways, it’s okay since it’s still uploaded, right?
I’m tired since it’s Monday.
I have to wake up early tomorrow too, so I’m going to bed!
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
You have to feel bad for Amon here more than anybody, heh.
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