Ch.159159. Helena Valerinus (6)

Helena Valerius stared weakly at the Red King who appeared before her.

The Red King who revealed that her entire life had been a lie.

A god who handed her the red pill of truth, awakening Helena from falsehood.

From an objective and rational perspective, he would be Helena’s benefactor, but….

“What am I supposed to do now…?”

Having fallen into great shock from the truths she learned after taking the red pill, Helena was beyond frightened—she had completely lost her will to live.

And for good reason. By taking this red pill, Helena realized that everything that constituted her being was a lie.

The memories that made up her life, her past, her personality, even her aptitudes and achievements, and beyond that, her emotions.

Everything had been predetermined even before she was born, and even her current thought patterns were all fabricated.

The pressure of realizing that one’s entire self is a false existence was an overwhelmingly profound issue, beyond what ordinary people could comprehend.

She, Helena, collapsed to the floor.

She would burst into tears, then compose herself upon realizing even this emotional response might be manipulated. She attempted to laugh in despair or express anger, only to stop herself dozens of times.

“…..”

Finally, she sat on the floor with a grief-stricken expression, staring blankly into space. The king in red approached her and spoke.

《What do you want to do?》

“……..?”

《I asked what you want to do, Helena Valerius.》

He maintained the demeanor of a majestic king or strict parent, yet simultaneously showed a somewhat compassionate attitude as he questioned Helena….

“I don’t want to do anything…. I don’t want to see anything…. I don’t want to hear anything…. I don’t want to say anything…. I just, just…. I don’t know.”

Having received such a tremendous shock, feeling as if her world had collapsed, Helena merely mumbled weakly, having lost all will to do anything.

Even if she tried to do something now, it would ultimately be following her implanted personality, so Helena would rather meet her end right here.

What amplified this mindset even further was that Helena couldn’t feel even the slightest urge to rebel.

The realization that she had been created to be thoroughly obedient and easy to use, with rebellion or resistance against the gods inhibited at the instinctual level.

This was what made Helena Valerius even more miserable.

The king in red observed Helena, who displayed such a resigned appearance, with what seemed to be a bitter expression.

And soon, the king in red opened his mouth once more….

As anyone could tell, this was essentially her last chance.

《Helena Valerius. Your life was a lie, and you were a tool of the gods. But now that the god is dead and the empire has fallen, nothing constrains you anymore. So I ask you again. What do you want to do? How do you want to proceed?》

“….want to.”

《What did you say?》

“I want to live! I just want to live without caring about others!! I don’t care about gods or anything! Just, just let me do as I please!!”

And with that, Helena brilliantly seized her final opportunity.

As if confessing to a transcendent being, Helena Valerius poured out all her inner thoughts.

Under the miraculous logic that there was no point in hiding what was already known, she confessed and revealed everything in her heart, dissolving the knots in her mind while—

“You, no. God of Vengeance. I will take revenge on the fate that made me like this. So, if you truly are the God of Vengeance…. lend me… your power.”

Scraping together what little motivation she had left to make such a declaration, Helena secretly thought the king in red would naturally reject her proposal.

To propose a deal to a god who should be revered and worshipped—this was tantamount to considering herself equal to a deity.

Moreover, Helena Valerius had been an apostle of the god who was his enemy, and decisively, her attitude wasn’t particularly good due to her resignation.

《Very well. I, the God of Vengeance, shall gladly lend my power to a new avenger.》

“……Huh?”

However, precisely because of this, Helena—seeing the God of Vengeance readily accept her proposal—could only utter a dumbfounded sound as her mind failed to keep up—

But the deal had already been sealed long ago.

※ ※ ※

When Helena Valerius awoke from her sleep.

“……..”

She opened her eyes inside a special carriage designed for the confinement of important figures.

Thanks to the ancient suspension system created with a panel spring structure, it didn’t rattle, and the floor of the adequately decorated interior was covered with soft cushions.

And Helena Valerius, who opened her eyes in the middle of those cushions….

“Ah, so this is what freedom feels like.”

She murmured softly, intoxicated by the overwhelming sense of liberation, as if a cool breeze was rushing through a hole punched in the corner of her heart.

As she was now, she felt like she could do anything.

The connection with the hideous false goddess—Juno-Shala—whom she had served in the past no longer existed, but instead, her body was filled with mysterious unknown energy.

She could no longer draw infinite magical power from a deity as before, but thanks to this energy, Helena could feel that her physical body had completely changed.

Her pure strength had increased by at least several times compared to before, and the wings on her back seemed to have completely integrated with her body.

Helena Valerius’s senses had also dramatically amplified, unlike before, allowing her to detect the outside even from within the sealed interior using magical means.

Thanks to this, recognizing that the carriage was now separated from the main formation, she twisted her lips into a grotesquely distorted smile and then—

KWAAAAAAANG———!!!

She swung what had newly grown above her tailbone with all her might, smashing the carriage wall and simultaneously flying out to land on top of the carriage.

“……..?!!”

Meanwhile, the mid-level female warrior who was driving the carriage—once Helena’s adjutant—was startled by the sudden destructive sound and hurriedly looked back.

“……..He…lena-nim?”

The warrior, who had been Helena’s adjutant, stared at her with an expression of shock at the completely transformed and distorted appearance of Helena who had climbed onto the carriage.

Helena had been completely transformed, retaining only the minimum of her original form.

Her pure white mythril armor decorated with orichalcum (divine metal) had somehow turned black, and the orichalcum had been dyed blood-red.

Her gauntlets had changed as if fused with her skin, becoming beast-like hands with red light seeping through the cracks….

Decisively, things that were clearly not human had grown on Helena’s body.

The first thing that caught the eye was the pair of wings that had grown from her back.

The wings that once would have drawn people’s admiration with their snow-white angelic glow had become grotesque and twisted—resembling the wings of a dragon or bat.

The skeletal structure of the wings covered in dark red scales and the distinctive membrane made of reddened leather.

The appearance of these distorted wings undoubtedly resembled those of a demon.

Additionally, the pair of red horns growing from her head, horns growing upward toward the sky, were also enough to draw attention.

Segmented and curved horns resembling those of a mountain goat, yet growing strangely from above her ears and pointing skyward.

And decisively, between Helena’s legs grew a long and beautiful tail covered in dark red scales like her wings, with spikes at the tip.

Rather than beautiful, it evoked thoughts of the grotesque and terrible, instinctively causing fear and discomfort unlike before.

Even amid all this, her face remained largely unchanged from before, and the halo shining behind her head evoked a subtle sense of revulsion.

If the adjutant had been a modern person, she might have used the term “uncanny valley.”

The being before her—the grotesquely transformed Helena Valerius—was emitting a distinctive aura.

Demon. She was a demon.

The aura Helena exuded was undoubtedly that of a demon.

“Hee, heeek!!”

Therefore, feeling the terribly chilling sensation and some sort of discomfort emanating from that distorted appearance, she attempted to flee.

Flap, thud!!

“Where do you think you’re going?”

However, naturally, Helena, who was higher-ranked and winged, was faster than the mid-level warrior. With one flap of her wings, Helena landed behind the warrior, embracing her from behind—

“Hmm? Cute friend?”

“Ah….ahah…ah…..ahahah……”

Helena grabbed the female warrior’s head with her hand and began injecting energy from her body.

And some time later, when soldiers came to check on the carriage that had lost contact, there was nothing left at the site.