Ch.151Turning Point (2)

# Turning Point (2)

The battle for rank began suddenly.

The Second Commander’s nails instantly carved out the place where Third had been.

“Ugh!”

If she allowed even a single attack, Third would die.

This was a fact that she, as Second’s childhood friend, knew better than anyone.

And faced with the reality that Second had launched such an attack, Third could only respond with tears in her eyes.

She knew. Second was serious. He was attacking with the genuine intention of driving her out of the Demon Lord’s army.

But she also knew. She knew that Second wasn’t truly serious.

She knew he didn’t despise her, nor was he trying to exclude her for the sake of the Demon Lord’s army.

The Second she knew was someone who pretended to be indifferent while being attentive, who seemed to look down on others while actually respecting them.

An overprotective guardian who constantly risked challenging the monster known as First in order to protect her.

Someone who trusted his instincts and fearlessly moved forward into danger.

Such a person wouldn’t exclude her simply because he was in a bad mood.

“In that case…!”

She just needed to prove herself.

Second might say harsh things, but he never lied.

If she could demonstrate enough strength to make him stop worrying, he would take back his words.

She had worked hard too. She couldn’t always remain under Second’s protection. That’s why she had strived while looking at Second’s back, and managed to claim the position of Third.

“I’ll show you that I’m not who I used to be!”

Third avoided Second’s attack by a paper-thin margin.

Because she admired Second, she had tried to emulate his movements.

That’s why she could keep up despite her relatively inferior physical abilities.

And from here on was her unique strength. A way of utilizing weapons that stronger beings didn’t bother with.

Swish!

With a flick of her wrist, various throwing weapons hidden in her sleeves emerged. Tools to utilize her ability.

Hidden weapons of all shapes scattered into the air in an instant.

Weapons that multiplied as they tangled, bent, and flew through the air.

Real ones hidden among illusions.

And with her ability, even those illusions could all become real.

‘Even if Second can distinguish between real and fake!’

She had scattered too many weapons to count. It would be impossible to distinguish and avoid them all.

Second’s decision was predictable.

“Hmph!”

With just a casual wave of his hand, he sent all of Third’s scattered weapons flying into the air.

This was Second’s way—disliking troublesome things and preferring simple methods.

During this sequence, she created a doppelganger and concealed herself.

Of course, Second would be able to find her real body.

But what if she confused his vision so that even knowing wouldn’t help him respond?

Dazzlingly, brilliantly, painfully bright.

With the mindset of deceiving not just the eyes, but all senses completely.

“…”

His eyes hurt and his ears were ringing.

Second realized anew how much stronger Third had become.

Yes, he had become stronger to protect Third. He had worked tirelessly to reach the position of the strongest.

And the same was true for Third. While Second frequently looked back and reached out his hand, Third had been diligently moving forward while looking at his back.

This was the result.

And…

“Unfortunately.”

Second had failed to become the strongest.

He had struggled and strived, unable to defeat even First, let alone the Demon Lord.

Some things just couldn’t be done, no matter how hard one tried.

“Your ability isn’t enough.”

“Kuhek?!”

No matter how hard she tried, Third couldn’t defeat Second.

Her ability was fundamentally about deceiving opponents, and she was certainly a born liar with natural talent.

But Second knew Third. He could proudly say he knew her better than anyone else.

The sadness hidden behind her playful jester’s act.

The tears concealed behind her laughter.

“Because I’ve been watching you all along.”

He had seen that much.

When everyone else despised her, he alone had seen her tears (lácrĭma).

“Hup?!”

His nails dug into Third’s body as if to carve out her heart.

Not a function, but a palm strike.

Second’s self-imposed handicap to avoid piercing her heart.

But the impact was still powerful, and Third coughed up blood.

Her body contracted in pain.

Not missing the opening, Second grabbed both of Third’s hands and lifted her into the air.

“It’s over.”

“Kuhek… Kek…”

Third, much smaller in stature than Second, dangled with both hands captured in one of his.

The pain didn’t subside, and as she continued to cough up blood and tears welled in her eyes, she glared at Second.

“Lacrima.”

“Don’t… laugh at me!”

Thud!

Despite dangling helplessly in the air, Third didn’t stop resisting.

Of course, with her significantly inferior physical abilities, no amount of kicking could inflict meaningful damage on Second.

It was literally just a futile struggle.

Watching Third’s desperate resistance, Second squeezed his eyes shut.

‘Yes, this should be enough.’

She would be fine now even without him. She had changed from the time when she would just blankly endure bullying.

She would be able to survive without him now.

“Don’t ever come near the Demon Lord’s castle again.”

Crash!

Second slammed Third to the ground, knocking her unconscious, then quietly left her tent.

Now it was time for him to pay the price.

***

Demon Lord Belphegor spends most of her day sleeping. It’s not for nothing that she’s called the Demon Lord of Sloth.

She had been lazy since birth and possessed power unbecoming of that nature.

Or perhaps she was paying the price for that power.

A hypothesis that someone as lazy as her couldn’t come up with herself.

That is…

“In essence, one could say you’ve shouldered all the karma that the Manmata clan should have borne. It’s a power too difficult for a single being to handle.”

“Well, what are you trying to say? I’m getting sleepy now.”

It was back when she had ascended to the position of Demon Lord and requested peace from humans.

She remembered the emperor she met then. She remembered that person who, while human, had become a monster, sneering as he shattered her vain dream with logic.

Belphegor’s desired peace treaty was easily destroyed, and having failed the first thing she attempted after becoming Demon Lord, she was in a foul mood.

That’s when the kind-faced old man before her had approached her.

The previous Pope of the Celestial God’s Order.

The appearance of a madman who dared to try to bring down a god.

“Great power comes with great consequences, they say. But those who possess great power often have trouble exercising it easily.”

“I’m perfectly fine, you know?”

“You sleep frequently, don’t you? That’s actually part of it.”

“That’s just twisting things to fit your narrative.”

“Anyway, the point is that even the Celestial God I serve is a being who cannot handle that power.”

A Pope who belittled his god.

Belphegor couldn’t understand this madman’s words at all.

The Celestial God was too weak to fully draw out its inherent power?

That’s why it only answered a few prayers out of many?

Because it was weak?

It was ridiculous.

It was laughable how much expectation he placed in the name “Celestial God,” and how he thought he could bear that power himself.

What reason did he have to think he could handle a god’s power when he was already at death’s door?

It was just greed.

The old man was afraid as death approached and was looking for a way to survive.

And knowing his own ugliness, he tried to justify his actions with all sorts of flowery words.

“Well, it doesn’t matter either way.”

Belphegor was in a bad mood.

She felt humiliated after being scolded and driven away by the emperor.

In that situation, a being had approached her. The proposal offered by the Pope of the Celestial God’s Order.

“So, what exactly did you say I need to do?”

“When I summon the Celestial God, you will defeat it.”

“Me? Do you think that’s possible?”

“Yes, with your power, it’s more than enough. There will be preliminary measures in place, so we just need to usurp that power.”

“Hmm.”

It was suspicious.

But Belphegor, who was starting to find everything bothersome, accepted the proposal and eventually brought down the Celestial God.

The Pope’s preliminary measures had blinded the Celestial God, and the god, possessing power that didn’t suit it, collapsed easily under Belphegor’s single blow.

The whole process was brief, but fatigue washed over her as if she had aged decades in that moment.

But in the end, they succeeded.

If there was one surprising thing…

“You should take all that power. It’s not power that I dare to possess.”

“What…?”

The old man, whom she thought wanted to usurp the god’s power and position, showed no greed for it whatsoever.

Belphegor, who had been inwardly prepared for betrayal, couldn’t understand why the Pope so readily gave up everything.

What on earth was he plotting?

She wanted to ask what his intentions were, but Belphegor couldn’t.

“Over there! Light fell over there!”

“My God, Pope! This terrible demonic energy and divine power… What have you done?!”

She had to escape.

With the Celestial God’s power now within her, destroying the Celestial God’s Order wouldn’t be a problem, but the Pope’s existence bothered her too much.

She got into the prepared carriage and fled the scene.

After that day, she never saw the Pope again. Yes, leaving only questions in a corner of her mind.

That gentle smile.

Those eyes filled with madness.

‘Ah, so that’s what it was.’

Belphegor understood that the scene she was witnessing was a dream.

And the moment she realized this, she could understand the Pope’s intentions.

‘You were just like me.’

The Pope of the Celestial God’s Order.

An old madman whose name she couldn’t even remember.

‘Were you actually a clergyman?’

He had been trying to save the demon realm.