Chapter 144

Яε​ａđ оṅ​ КａţȒеаԁıոģĊαϝҽ

The events of that day left a deep impression on Murmur.

A seemingly insignificant girl who only knew how to scheme.

A supernatural, but only at the level of a student.

At best, she could handle mid rank monsters, let alone higher rank ones.

To Murmur, she was like a leaf lying on the street.

She could ignore it and walk past, or suddenly step on it on a whim.

She could pay no attention to it, or she could crush it for fun.

That’s what Lucia was to Murmur.

A momentary whim. A fleeting interest.

Why did that faint interest gradually become so sticky?

Murmur looked at the girl before her.

Lucia, trembling nervously, hesitating.

Unable to decide what to do.

How would she react this time?

Would she desperately try to stop her like before?

Or would she run away without looking back?

The child with the white cloud mask was genuinely curious.

“…My answer is the same as last time.”

After a brief silence.

Lucia spoke as if she had made up her mind.

“I’ll stop you. I won’t let you kill people.”

“You? Stop me? How?”

“Somehow!”

Murmur nodded as if she had expected this.

It’s too predictable to be interesting.

It would have been more intriguing if she had run away.

If she had, Murmur would have laughed at her pathetic retreat and completely lost interest…

‘Should I kill her?’

Unlike last time, she hadn’t declared she would spare her.

Killing or sparing was entirely up to her.

Regeneration? There’s no way such a trivial skill could save her from a Devil God like her

If she were to be disintegrated at the atomic level, even regeneration would be useless.

It would be a hassle if she clung to her hem again.

It’s better to cleanly cut her down now to avoid the trouble.

‘But it feels like losing, and that’s annoying.’

She had already surrendered to Lucia’s tenacity once.

Killing her now would just feel like venting.

Murmur realized why she had hoped Lucia would run away.

She wanted to resolve the discomfort she felt that day.

‘And that ring.’

Murmur’s gaze shifted to Lucia’s finger.

A silver ring adorned her index finger.

It was engraved with geometric patterns, giving it an antique look.

‘That’s Astaroth’s doing.’

The time and place for opening rifts were predetermined.

She informed the other Devils first, gathered their opinions, and then acted.

If it was Astaroth, she likely knew Murmur would visit this place today, so she probably orchestrated this situation.

It’s more plausible that this was Astaroth’s sinister prank than a coincidence of meeting Lucia in the vast human territory. And that ring. It’s Astaroth’s. The fact that it’s on Lucia’s finger means she’s already in Astaroth’s grasp. Whether Lucia is aware of it or not.

‘What’s her scheme this time…? Well, whatever.’

Honestly, she didn’t really care.

If it’s Astaroth, it’s probably for some trivial reason.

Murmur decided to ignore it.

Instead, it was more productive to think about how to deal with Lucia.

“The difference in power is clear, and I have countless ways to kill you. You must realize that, right?”

“Even if that’s true… even if I know I can’t win… even if it’s a meaningless, futile action… there are moments when I can’t back down. I’m a student of the academy. I have a duty to protect people.”

“That’s admirable. Brave. But as you said, it’s meaningless.”

Murmur folded her thumb. Then her index finger, then her middle finger.

It was a long-standing habit of the child with the white cloud mask, and a signal.

With each finger she folded, Murmur’s thoughts became clearer.

Finally, her ring finger and pinky were folded. Murmur had made her decision.

“And I hate troublesome things.”

Since Astaroth had marked her, killing her was out of the question.

But if she let her live, Lucia would just prance around in front of her again.

So, what should she do?

◈

The pressure made her spine damp with cold sweat.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and trickled down her cheeks.

Though she spoke bravely, she was honestly quite nervous.

After all, Murmur could really kill her.

Super regeneration isn’t omnipotent. She’s not an immortal.

A Devil could kill Lucia.

If I were to be vaporized without a trace, I would die like anyone else.

Unless I awakened and became ‘one close to a god’, but that’s unlikely.

In my current state, I would die without even attempting to regenerate.

Yet, I didn’t back down because, as I said, I had a duty to fulfill.

I’m not as overflowing with a sense of justice as Eugene.

But I’ll do what I can.

I have to protect Anna, who’s in the bathroom, and if possible, I want to protect the others too.

Even if it’s a futile struggle, I have to try.

My body trembled. My heart raced. I felt like prey staring down a predator. If Murmur decided to, my life could end in an instant.

Was I afraid? Yeah, probably. Lucia wasn’t someone who didn’t know fear.

But was this fear of ‘Lucia’s death’ ruining the ‘story’?

Or was it simply the fear of death itself?

Even I don’t know my own heart.

Is this pounding in my chest fear, or excitement?

Is Lucia trembling right now? Or is she smiling?

Ah, perhaps.

It’s both.

The desire to be shattered into pieces.

Lucia is truly an uncontrollable pervert.

“…”

Tensing my body, I focused on Murmur’s movements.

If Murmur seriously attacked,I wouldn’t even realize it.

But I couldn’t just stand there and take it. With the mindset of making a last-ditch effort, I focused on every movement Murmur made. A few seconds felt like hours. The child with the white cloud mask folded her fingers one by one in silence. 

I know. 

The moment all those fingers are folded, the attack will begin.

“And I hate troublesome things.”

Murmur said.

I prepared to throw my body at any moment.

And to counter the impending surprise attack, I slightly lowered my stance.

“Huh?”

That was the end of my resistance.

I let out a questioning sound as the floor rushed toward me.

With a thud, a searing pain shot through my head.

I fell to the floor and flailed my limbs to get up.

But something was strange. I couldn’t get up.

I was clearly pressing my hands against the floor.

Yet, my body remained immobile.

“Gone…?”

Her cherry blossom-colored eyes trembled helplessly.

My gaze turned to where my arm should have been.

Nothing. Empty. There was nothing there.

Where my arm should have been, there was nothing.

Not just my arm. I flailed my legs like a drowning person. No change occurred. My legs were gone. I could still feel them, still perceive them as intact, but both my arms and legs had disappeared. Now, only my head and torso remained.

“What, how…?”

There was no pain. It didn’t hurt. Strange. If my limbs had been severed, it should have been excruciating. Why wasn’t there even a drop of blood?

“With your ability, even if I cut off your limbs, you’d just regenerate, right? If that happens, you’ll just come back and attack again, and that’s annoying.”

Murmur bent her knees and lowered her body.

Since she was a child, she was naturally much shorter than me.

But now, I was looking up at Murmur, and she was looking down at me.

“So, I sent your limbs away.”

Tap. 

She poked the spot where my arm should have been.

Something was attached to the severed ends of my arms and legs.

Only then could I notice the subtle distortion in the twisted space.

“It looks like they’ve been cut off, but they’re actually fine. I just connected them to another space.”

…Right, that’s how it is.

I looked up at Murmur with trembling eyes.

Murmur can open rifts that connect to other dimensions.

In other words, she can control space.

Not just bending space like Si-ul, but literally manipulating it freely.

So, with just a little application, she could create this result.

Who would have thought she’d create a gate to another space and send only my limbs away?

That’s why there was no pain. My arms and legs were still attached to my body.

“Just killing you would be boring.”

Murmur slowly stood up.

Was it an illusion that I felt a condescending gaze from behind her mask?

She looked down at me, flailing helplessly like a bug with only part of my limbs left.

Then, she raised her foot and stomped on my head.

“Ugh?!”

A shrill scream escaped me. My head felt like it was going to shatter. My always glossy golden hair was now dirty with dust.

“If you want to protect humans so badly, just lie here helplessly and watch.”

She ground her foot into my head as she spoke mockingly.

“Watch as the humans die.”

Murmur rubbed her foot a few times, then, as if she had lost interest, turned away.

Without looking back, she left abruptly.

I could only stare blankly at her retreating figure.

I couldn’t do anything even when I was intact, so what could I do now without my limbs?

Ugh, what is this?

If you’re going to do it, just cut off my limbs for real.

Using such a trick is so unfair!

It’s even worse because it’s so effective!

My body is intact, so my regeneration is useless.

My limbs are still attached to my body, so I can’t regenerate.

What do I do now? What do I do?

I struggled with all my might.

But all I could do was twitch and convulse.

I can’t get up. I can’t walk.

Like this, I really… really feel like a pretty little ornamental doll…

Sob, Lucia is no longer a person but an object now.

Even if someone picks me up, I can’t resist.

Even if someone does something weird to me, I’ll have to endure it.

Yes, even if someone touches or hits Lucia’s body.

Lucia will have to whimper and accept it.

Like an object. Like a doll. Like a punching bag. Like a love doll.

…No, this isn’t the time to enjoy it.

What are you going to do now, really?

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Tag: Amputation (fake).

It cannot be recovered even through super regeneration.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Will we see character growth and Lucia learning how to launch her limbs like weapons?

Or… we will see the good ol boring way of having someone else cut her limbs…

Smh!