Chapter 310

R̈​êâd̂ ̂​ón̈ ́K̂​át̃Ŕë​ä​d̂ïn̈g̀C̈​áf́é​

The scales tip.

Creaking with a groan.

With each movement of his fingers, the scales vibrated.

Lingering on his fingertips was a residue of magic difficult to fathom.

The authority embroidered in the void hung on the right side of the scales. 

Squeak. 

The scales vibrated again. They tilted minutely. Yet, the weight still leaned to the left. The girl pursed her lips. She added more weight to the right again. Still, the scales did not level out.

The weight placed on the left side of the scales was too great.

No matter how much weight the girl added to the right, it remained far from level.

If the scales were not level, they held no meaning.

Astaroth chuckled softly.

“I guess it’s not working.”

It was a result she had anticipated, but it stung a little.

A dim light shone upon her.

Her bare face was revealed, having discarded the red fox mask that was her symbol.

Jet-black hair like pure obsidian and clear blue eyes like a serene lake.

A deep worry was etched on her rather youthful and delicate appearance.

“The balance isn’t right. The cost is too high. I can’t meet the conditions.”

Astaroth’s power reshaped reality.

Among the devil gods, she possessed the rare ability to manipulate reality.

She engraved the laws she desired upon the world.

She established her own laws and enforced them.

In theory, it was a power infinitely close to omnipotence.

However, Astaroth’s power had a fatal weakness: the scales. Her ability was a balance that had to be level.

When she placed the law she desired on the left side of the scales, she had to place an equivalent weight of conditions on the right.

If the conditions were met, the weight would be equal, and the scales would level.

If the conditions were not met, the weight would be light, and the scales would tip to the left.

If the scales tipped, the power could not be activated.

In theory, it was an invincible ability, but the theory remained just that. Unrealized theories were merely dreams.

“I expected it, but still, my ability is too picky. Just be satisfied and level out.”

Even if she expressed her dissatisfaction to the scales, nothing changed.

Despite setting many conditions and paying many prices, it was still not enough.

Astaroth bit her lip. She had met most of the elements to realize her plan. Only the final puzzle piece remained. The last piece to complete the picture. But she couldn’t complete it. The price she paid was too insignificant compared to what she wanted.

“Hmph, it’s a shame Regina escaped after all. She was a precious ‘friend’ I had diligently raised for this moment.”

The feelings Astaroth held for Regina were genuine.

She sincerely regarded Regina as a precious friend.

Therefore, if paid as a price, it would have been of considerable weight.

However, Regina had broken free from the mask’s brainwashing. She no longer regarded Astaroth as a ‘friend’ or liked her. Instead, she would genuinely hate her. Paying with Regina, who hated her, would have a weak effect. It would be nice to have, but not a big deal if she didn’t.

“Well, it’s better this way. Thanks to that, I don’t have to sacrifice her, right?”

Whatever the reason, she genuinely regarded her as a ‘friend.’

Regina would be disgusted, but she was truly a ‘precious person.’

It would be much better to keep her alive rather than kill her if possible.

“Murmur has recovered, and Agares’s distorted timeline will soon be restored…”

The hands of the clock moved without stopping.

The future that had not yet come was steadily approaching.

The moment Agares descended into the world.

The grand plan would stain the world with blood.

It was an unwelcome situation for Astaroth.

If possible, she wanted to realize her own plan before Agares’s grand plan was completed.

“Ahaha, is it unavoidable?”

A little too much.

She had no choice but to push herself.

It was something she had been prepared for from the start.

She had merely saved it as much as possible.

She had tried to conserve it for emergencies.

Her ability required appropriate conditions.

It was only natural to stockpile the price to be paid for emergencies.

Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if she couldn’t manifest her ability because she couldn’t meet the conditions in a necessary situation?

“Alrighty~ Economy mode is over~”

Astaroth lightly snapped her fingers.

The phenomenon that resulted from it was not light at all.

The space around her split apart. It was a space manipulation that mimicked Murmur’s power. A subspace isolated from time and dimensions. Opening it consumed a considerable amount of energy, so she usually didn’t use it. She only connected it to her parasol and indirectly used it through the parasol as a medium.

But now she opened the subspace directly.

Considering the existential strength of the contents she needed to take out, the parasol wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Astaroth hummed a tune and reached into the subspace.

She stirred her hand around and took out whatever she could grab without discrimination.

“The remnants of a giant god… eternally unmelting snow blight… the trident of the sea god… the wrath of the sun… the seed of the world tree… the remnants of the four seasons… Vassago’s tears… Amon’s right arm… the traces of Bael’s delusion… and…”

A cold smile appeared on Astaroth’s lips.

“…Me from the previous iterations. I will offer 665 Astaroths collected in subspace as a price.”

Wow, I don’t remember, but the me from the previous iterations. You were really diligent, weren’t you? To mummify yourself and seal yourself in subspace for the next iteration. What price did you pay to avoid being swept away by the regression? Judging by the empty shells with no souls left, it wasn’t hard to guess.

The scales tilted.

Balance was finally found on the scales that had been leaning only to the left.

But not yet. It was still not enough to complete the level.

“Lucia’s flesh and blood.”

A lump of blood was placed on the scales.

She had kept many pieces of flesh while kidnapping and dissecting Lucia.

“The needle of causality.”

The needle of causality, which had been analyzed and reproduced, was placed on the scales.

It was much lacking compared to the original, but if Lucia’s flesh fragments were added, it could mimic the original.

“…It’s roughly complete.”

The scales were almost level.

Now all that remained was to add conditions.

The payment of the price was for the purpose of easing the conditions.

It alone would never be level.

In the end, only by setting appropriate conditions could the power be completed.

“…”

Astaroth’s lips moved.

She presented the conditions, and the scales finally became level.

Astaroth dusted off her hands as she looked at the scales shining with light. She had exhausted most of the valuables she had been saving. As a collector, it was quite regrettable, but what could she do? After all, Astaroth didn’t care about what came after. If there was no next iteration, this was the last chance. It would be laughable to ruin things by saving what she had in hand.

“I’ve finally come this far.”

Ah, it was tough.

It was so difficult preparing while avoiding Agares’s eyes.

If Agares hadn’t been isolated due to the distortion of the timeline, she wouldn’t have even been able to attempt it.

“Then when do I execute it…”

Completing the scales wasn’t the end.

She had only met the conditions to execute the plan, but there was still a long way to go.

A single step. It was the longest and furthest step in the world.

“Hmm.”

Astaroth crossed her arms and tilted her head. She could start right away if she wanted to, but that wouldn’t be cool. Wasn’t this a plan she had been preparing diligently for? She would be disappointed if it wasn’t accompanied by a special production and script. After pondering for a moment, Astaroth soon wore a playful smile. It was the face of a mischievous child who had come up with a wicked prank.

“Three days from now.”

Let’s make it that day.

Of course.

Because that day is very special.

In many ways.

◈

It was a bolt from the blue.

Eugene dragged his tired body back to the dormitory.

Even if his body recovered with Super Regeneration, his mind was a separate matter.

Rather, his mental strength was overworked to activate Super Regeneration.

“Why was Alice (Frey) so angry…?”

He still didn’t know why Alice (Frey) was angry. 

‘Did I say something strange? Not really? I just honestly confessed my feelings, so what was the problem? Eugene groaned.’

Alice, who had reached the captain level, was a god of destruction.

The indiscriminately fired heat rays seemed to embody the word ‘destruction’.

He was confident in his firepower, but he was overwhelmed by that firepower. Even though he combined Pyrokinesis, Heat ray, and Acceleration to increase the power, he couldn’t handle Alice’s firepower. Eugene trembled all over as chills ran down his spine. That level was comparable to the 7th Division captain.

It was a force not inferior to Kaen, who had countered Belial’s Torrent of Life.

‘The problem was that the overwhelming power was directed at me.’

He didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if the God of War hadn’t intervened.

“What did I do wrong…?”

‘That’s why you got hit because you don’t know!!’

That was what Frey had shouted.

He was dumbfounded when he asked for the reason and got that answer.

In the end, Eugene returned to the dormitory without knowing the cause. He was tired. He just wanted to wash up and sleep. As Eugene sighed, taking off his dusty school uniform, a calendar hanging on the wall suddenly caught his eye. A red circle was drawn in the center of the calendar.

“…”

His already bad mood sank even further.

Eugene, who was standing as if nailed to the spot, moved his heavy legs and walked to the calendar. To be more precise, he headed to the table under the calendar. There was a small frame on the table piled with notebooks and textbooks. A photo of a boy and a girl with black hair and blue eyes smiling happily. They were making V-signs at the camera with expressions like naive children who didn’t know the ways of the world. It was one of Eugene’s few family photos.

“Has it already been five years…”

That day that comes every year.

In three days, it will be the 5th anniversary of the tragedy of the great disaster.

In other words.

It was Yui’s memorial day.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Eugene still doesn’t know what he did wrong.

Dumb Child.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Rooting for Astaroth to win!