Chapter 260

R​ead ​on KatRe​adingCafe

There is no second chance.

This is the last opportunity.

Belial glanced at the chains that bound her and groaned inwardly.

If she was at full strength, it would have been an easy seal to escape, but for her now, it was a distant dream.

Despite exhausting most of her remaining power, she had only managed to create a small gap.

Originally, she would have slowly corroded the chains over a long period of time. Even if she couldn’t break them all at once, she could have broken the seal as long as time allowed her to do so.

However, Belial didn’t have much time.

If she suppressed herself and plotted for the future, she would lose everything.

In desperation, she recklessly did something. She spread the power of a devil god through the gap in the seal that she had barely created.

Mental corruption.

The primordial power of monsters that contaminates the human mind.

Of course, the devil god’s ability to erode was on a different level from other monsters. Even though her soul was shattered and weakened, she instantly stained Lucia’s mental world with fire.

But that was it.

She couldn’t steal Lucia’s body.

She couldn’t completely take control of the mental world.

And she no longer had the power to contaminate the mind any further.

At best, all she had done was inflict physical and mental damage.

But Belial wasn’t disappointed.

Because she had guessed it would be like this from the beginning.

If it was a problem that could be solved with just this, she would have tried it long ago.

“Hello, Belial. Your invitation was extravagant, wasn’t it~?”

Belial silently glared at Lucia, who was waving her hand leisurely and approaching. This was all according to plan. She had succeeded in summoning Lucia to the mental world. Her mouth was dry with tension. She felt the muscles in her whole body contract.

It wasn’t even funny. She was getting nervous about a girl she could have crushed with just her fingers.

Belial shook her head slightly to clear away unnecessary thoughts. She mustn’t be careless.

She was the owner of this body. The queen who reigned inside her mental world.

Hadn’t she experienced it five years ago? The tremendous explosive power that humans possess. The potential of humans who had achieved miraculous feats.

In the first place, the weak one now was clearly herself.

Letting the past glory cloud her vision was no different from suicide.

“Did you want to meet me that much?”

“…Hmph, isn’t that obvious?”

She pretends to be composed. Belial smiled faintly, pretending to be nonchalant. Just doing that seemed to drain her energy. If it wasn’t the mental world where she could control some physiological phenomena, her whole body would have been soaked with cold sweat.

“Since you dared to inflict such humiliation on me, shouldn’t you pay a proper price?”

“Humiliation? Ah, you mean that? Patting your butt?”

Lucia clapped her hands and smiled brightly, as if she was reminded of that time. Belial felt a chill run down her spine at that sight. Electricity starting from her pelvis traveled up her spine and pierced her brain. She unconsciously twitched her thighs.

“It’d be disappointing if you acted like that now. Belial enjoyed it too, didn’t she~?”

“What kind of nonsense are you…”

She tried to deny it outright, but for some reason, her mouth wouldn’t move. Her voice became smaller and smaller as she stuttered. Why was she like this? Belial’s pupils trembled finely in bewilderment.

“You can’t deny it, can you~?”

“…”

“Devil gods can’t lie, right~?”

To be precise, they could if they set their mind to it. However, for transcendent beings like devil gods, language was will, and will was power. Power was the most important foundation that constituted a devil god. Telling a lie was no different from denying oneself. That’s why even Astaroth, who was an unpredictable prankster, never lied.

“Shall I ask you more directly?”

“…”

“Did it feel good?”

There’s no way that could feel good!

The words only circulated in her mouth.

No voice came out of her slightly parted lips.

Only a faint sound like air escaping flowed out.

“Oh? Why can’t you answer? It wasn’t a difficult question, was it?”

“…Shut up. I’m just not answering because it’s not worth answering.”

“Ehehe, okay. I’ll take it that way.”

As if doing a favor, Lucia said triumphantly.

Belial was disgusted by the humiliation, but at the same time, she felt relieved.

If she had stubbornly dug deeper, I, who can’t lie, would have definitely…

“…”

She bit her lip tightly. Don’t waver. This is just a deliberate provocation. Don’t fall for it.

Footsteps gradually approached.

Lucia got closer and closer, cutting through the scattering ashes.

Belial narrowed her eyes and watched the scene.

As she took control of Lucia’s mental world, the surrounding environment changed greatly.

The place that was most impressive to Belial.

The scene from 5 years ago when she fought Jin to the death.

The place where Belial was sitting now was the place where Jin’s breath last touched. Jin cut her down here. A strike that even the devil god was shocked by.

At that time, Belial was weakened because she had only recently possessed a human body, but she wouldn’t have been able to avoid that strike even if she was at full strength.

It was truly the ultimate slash that a hero had completed by consuming his entire life.

‘Just a little more…’

Belial tried not to show her impatience. She was getting closer. If she walked a little further, Lucia would arrive at that place. The place where Belial, who was cut down by Jin, had fallen. A place where she had prepared a trap. It was virtually Belial’s last resort. If she succeeded, she could reverse the situation.

‘All I can do now is mental corruption.’

She would contaminate Lucia’s ego in an instant.

If she fell into madness and lost her judgment, then everything else would be easy.

Belial couldn’t break the seal, but the story would be different if Lucia broke it herself.

“You know, Belial.”

Lucia said in a languid voice. But she didn’t slow down her pace. Belial listened to her words with one ear and let them out with the other, waiting for the moment.

Just a little more. Just a few more steps. Her figure was slightly obscured by the acrid smoke, but her silhouette was clearly visible.

The sound of footsteps gradually increased. And finally, she stepped into that place. The place where her past self had fallen.

Although it was a false place recreated from memory, the heart that was pounding was beating fiercely like it did back then.

‘Now!’

Ink gushed out like a flood.

She physically manifested the power of ‘Mental Corruption’.

It was a convenient method that was possible because it was a mental world.

It would be impossible in reality, but it was a trump card that was possible because it was here.

It was the devil god’s mental corruption. Even a Captain-level Supernatural would have a hard time enduring if they were to be completely covered in mental corruption within their own mental world. No matter how weakened she was due to soul damage, it wasn’t a level that a Supernatural like Lucia could withstand.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Lucia couldn’t react and was covered in ink. Belial instinctively clenched her fist tightly.

‘Success! But not yet. It was too early to rejoice. She was the owner of this crazy body, wasn’t she? Her mind must be far from ordinary. If I don’t thoroughly destroy her mind with contamination, she’ll definitely…’

“Hey~ Belial~”

“Do you know what psychological warfare is~?”

Belial shuddered.

The voice came from right behind her.

A hot hand touched her shoulder and stroked it gently.

“It means exactly what it sounds like. It’s similar to a game of wits. It refers to understanding the other party’s psychology and using it appropriately.”

“Wh-what…?”

Belial’s head turned with a creak. It was like a rusty hinge. An unbelievable sight came into her eyes. Hair the color of honey dipped in syrup. Pink eyes full of life like cherry blossoms. A girl with the same appearance as the current Belial. It was Lucia.

“Surely, you were swallowed… by the corruption, right…?”

She saw it directly.

She saw Lucia being covered in the manifestation of mental corruption.

Then what was the girl in front of her?

“Ah, that? Of course, it’s fake, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“This isn’t reality. It’s my mental world. You took away a bit of my territory, but it’s still my world. I can change the environment as I please, so how could I not create a mere illusion? I’m not Anastasia, so I can’t make a clone, but a mirror-like illusion isn’t that difficult. It’s easier than changing the environment.”

Belial doubted her ears.

That just now was fake?

Since when did she switch?

No, the fact that she switched means… she was aware of the trap?

Perhaps her questions were all revealed in her expression.

Lucia burst into a mischievous laugh.

“Belial is an idiot~? Since you’re a devil god, you couldn’t originally be an idiot… ehehe, is this my fault after all~? It must be my fault, right~? I know that feeling too. When my body gets hot, my brain doesn’t work very well. I can’t think straight because I only want to relieve the heat. I become like a monkey blinded by lust~”

As if comforting a child, Lucia patted Belial’s head.

The chains were in the way, but she stretched out both hands and hugged Belial.

“I couldn’t help but notice when you kept glancing at the same place, right? I immediately realized, ‘Ah, she set a trap there’, right~?”

That can’t be.

There’s no way I would have made such a basic mistake.

Belial belatedly looked back at her actions. And she stiffened. It was as Lucia said. She had checked the place where the trap was several times. It was just a casual glance, but it was enough to raise questions for a suspicious opponent. No way. I made such a ridiculous mistake?

“Besides, Belial, you haven’t even broken the seal yet. If you summoned me in that state… isn’t your intention too obvious? It’s more strange if I didn’t know.”

“…”

It was obvious.

It was so obvious that there was no point in mentioning it.

Belial, who had lost her words, blankly lowered her head.

She couldn’t believe that she had made such a mistake.

On the other hand, she also felt that she could have.

Wasn’t she pushed by the churning impulses and the insane impatience to commit it? She didn’t even come up with a specific and systematic plan in the first place. She had bet everything on the last remaining hope and attempted the final gamble. And now, if that gamble had failed, what was left was…

“Then, it’s time to settle the score, right~?”

Lucia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“If you did something so bad, you should definitely…”

A hot breath touched her ear.

Belial twitched her waist at the ticklishness and chill.

“Be punished, right~?”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Lucia’s imitation of Frey.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Let’s thoroughly break a prideful battle junkie~