Chapter 287 

Re​a​d on ​K​atReadi​ngC​afe

Consciousness sank into the inky darkness.

Waving a hand did not dispel it.

Swinging a sword did not erase it.

The elusive darkness obscured the vision.

The moon, hidden beyond the darkness, left only a faint trace.

One sword strike. A flash as cold as a corpse’s chill split the space. A clean, graceful, mesmerizing, and chilling strike. But the strike, meant to cut through anything, faced a physical limit. No matter how magnificent, it could not cut through the formless.

“Hoo…”

The Black Knight, Ereshkigal, exhaled a hot breath.

Beads of sweat trickled down her jawline. 

Drip. Drip. 

They fell like raindrops, soaking into the lush valley of her breasts. Previously, it would have been quite annoying, but now she just let it go. It had already been a long time since she settled into this body. Even if she didn’t want to get used to it, she had no choice. She accepted the uselessly heavy lumps of fat in her chest that jiggled with every movement as part of herself.

“Hmph!”

Once again, she swung the demonic sword.

The inky flash shattered, leaving a lingering trail.

A motion repeated tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times.

The effort bore fruit, completing a flawless strike.

“…Still, it’s no good.”

But Ere wasn’t satisfied.

It was far too inadequate to even touch the periphery of her goal.

What she envisioned in her mind was the Sword Saint’s strike.

An unparalleled sword technique that could cut through anything under the sky.

“Discard selfishness. Discard hesitation. Discard distractions…”

Muttering as if telling herself, Ere gripped the demonic sword.

She had witnessed the realm she sought.

She had experienced it firsthand by clashing swords.

If she had seen it, she could reproduce it.

If she had experienced it, she could embody it.

Ere took her stance again. Her gaze was forward, but what registered in her vision was the afterimage of the past. Empty your mind. To reach the divine realm, the body alone was insufficient. Talent alone was insufficient. What had to be completed was the Mind Sword. A sharply honed sword of the mind.

Flowing water cannot reflect anything.

Only still and clear water can reflect all things.

If the mind is restless, it can only flow.

If it is consumed by greed, it can only be tainted.

Only by emptying distractions like a clear mirror can one reach the state of perfect clarity.

“Haa…”

A frustrated sigh escaped involuntarily.

She knew it in her head, but putting it into action was difficult.

The mind was her own, but control was a separate matter.

How on earth could she get rid of all her desires?

Greed was the driving force of growth.

“Johan, how did you reach that realm?”

The Knight of Light.

The strongest swordsman who introduced himself as the Leader of the Sacred Knights.

While feeling a trace of reverence for the predecessor who had walked the path, an undisguised envy followed.

Normally, even jealousy would be used as fuel to ignite her ambition, but this time the situation was a little different. Even that ambition had to be made transparent to open the way. But how? Was perfect clarity such a distant realm?

The path of the sword was not one, and various realms awaited those who reached them.

The destination Ere sought was the realm of perfect clarity.

Meeting a swordsman who pursued the same realm and actually reached it was truly a stroke of luck.

A signpost had been presented. She understood the way to go. If she only moved forward, she too would reach her destination.

But without achieving peace of mind, everything was futile. It was more vague than when she didn’t know the way. The destination that had been visible became invisible. The darkness obscured the moon.

“That kid…”

Moreover, the cause of her mental chaos was not just one thing.

Recalling the bloody battle that day, her thoughts naturally led to the conclusion. The duel ended ambiguously due to the Noble Prince’s intervention. As she quietly swallowed her disappointment and savored the afterglow, a small girl desperately ran over. The black-eyed girl with flowing purple hair. That fleeting encounter was still unforgettable.

“5th Division Captain.”

Ere moved her pale lips.

“Azazel.”

She didn’t know the girl.

She hadn’t even tried to find out.

Yet she knew.

The name popped into her head.

The girl’s personal information came to mind.

As if she were a familiar person.

“She must have been close to this ‘body’.”

Otherwise, her heart wouldn’t be so stirred.

It was a memory engraved in the body.

It was hers, but not hers.

A fragment of personality that should have been crushed and extinguished by Ere.

But this ‘body’ was such an outstanding talent that it could become a vessel for a Devil God, and Ere had only evolved into a demonic beast after taking over the ‘body’. She had evolved with the ‘body’. Thanks to that, the personality that should have disappeared was absorbed into Ere.

“S-Sis.”

The effect was manifesting. Ere touched her lips. It was unfamiliar and familiar. Contradictory, but she didn’t know how else to express it. The girl’s words echoed in her ears. 

Sariel. 

Whose name was that? Ere asked herself. The answer was obvious. If it was a name that would come out in that situation, there was only one, wasn’t there?

“Tch.”

Clicking her tongue, she shook her head. 

Useless thoughts. They were utterly pointless distractions.

Ere gripped the demonic sword again. She didn’t need contemplation. If she didn’t need it, she would discard it. What she needed now was a transparent mind. A clear mirror to reflect everything. For the upcoming rematch, she absolutely had to reach the realm of the Sword Saint.

A trail of darkness embroidered the air.

A lightning-fast strike that even sound couldn’t catch split the space.

Each time she swung the demonic sword, a sharp gust of wind raged.

The training room shook from the impact. The training room, specially made for supernaturals, creaked loudly from the wind pressure of the strike alone. But Ere didn’t stop. She continued her sword dance as if she would destroy the training room.

“…”

The sword dance, which seemed like it would last forever, stopped when all the lights were broken and dust fell from the ceiling. A sweltering heat rose like steam. Sweat soaked her voluptuous body. Ere brushed the hair sticking to her face. She put down the demonic sword. Not because she was tired. But to show respect.

“Ere!”

The door to the training room burst open as if it would break.

She wasn’t surprised because she had sensed the presence beforehand.

Ere bowed politely and said.

“Welcome back, Master.”

The girl with the red fox mask ran in.

“It’s a disaster! Something terrible has happened!”

“Yes? What do you mean…?”

A disaster? Ere couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Her expression turned cold and her eyes narrowed.

Her master had gone out on the Noble Prince’s orders.

It wasn’t anything special. It was to deliver a message to the Devil God Murmur.

Astaroth had grumbled about being given trivial tasks and left.

But she came back saying something terrible had happened…?

Could it be that what seemed like a simple task was a disguise, and there were actually complicated circumstances involved? Yes, now that she thought about it, it was an order directly issued by that Noble Prince. There was a high probability that it contained some deep meaning. Ere swallowed nervously and looked at Astaroth.

“What is it?”

“R-Regina…”

“Yes? Regina?”

Regina was her master’s toy… no, her ‘friend’. Unlike the other humans who had been completely brainwashed as ‘friends’, she had retained some degree of self-awareness. But why was that girl suddenly being mentioned?

“Regina… has left my hands…!”

“Did she die? That’s unfortunate. Don’t worry. I will revive her as an undead.”

“She’s not dead!”

Ere relaxed her shoulders.

It seemed she had overreacted.

She was just making a fuss over a trivial incident as usual.

“She broke free from the mask’s control! Regina has escaped my control!”

“That girl overcame Lady Astaroth’s mask? Is that even possible?”

“Of course it’s impossible! Regina wouldn’t be able to withstand my mask unless she was a captain-level individual! There must have been outside help!”

Astaroth bit her lip and shouted. Seri had also broken free from the mask’s control. That didn’t really matter. Seri was just someone she had brainwashed for fun in the first place. The important thing was that both of them had broken free from brainwashing. Someone must have noticed and dealt with the mask’s brainwashing.

“Ugh… my ‘friend’… how dare they…”

The mask doesn’t work twice on the same target. The opportunity is only once, and from the moment they break free from brainwashing, they develop resistance. That meant she couldn’t use the mask on Regina anymore. Astaroth pouted. She looked like a child who had her favorite doll stolen.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have cut off her legs a long time ago so she couldn’t go anywhere…”

She should have cut off her limbs and locked her in a doghouse.

She had left her alone because she wanted to be ‘friends’ a little longer, but this unfortunate event had happened.

No, well. Actually, she could do it right now if she wanted to. Kidnapping Regina secretly was nothing. It might be a little annoying, but it wasn’t impossible.

“I can’t make her like me without the mask… Seri is free too, so I can’t hypnotize her… If I cut off her limbs now, she’ll hate me, right?”

“She’ll hate you a lot.”

“Right, isn’t it?”

Astaroth groaned. What should she do now? Should she just kill her? If she couldn’t have her, should she break her and decorate her corpse? But she didn’t like corpses because they didn’t move. If she turned her into an undead like Ere said… no, low-level undead don’t have egos, so they’re boring. Ugh, what should she do…?

Looking at Astaroth, who was lost in thought, Ere chuckled.

It seemed she had no intention of giving up.

Regina, that child is really unlucky.

She had barely escaped from brainwashing, but her nightmare didn’t seem to be over yet.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
After a long time, the black knight with the ultra-sensitive body is finally back!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
What a dumb noob.