Chapter 176

Reád́​ &o;n ​KаｔＲe‌a​dìnｇC‍​аfe​

Content Warning

More Content Warnings!  Y’know the drill! Less intense than the last few chapters Part 2

I had to kill my emotions.

I had to empty my heart and stop thinking.

That was the solution Regina had found.

Otherwise, she couldn’t endure it.

The saw blade covered in flesh and the hot blood soaking her hands.

The lingering scent of blood numbed her nose and clouded her mind.

She stopped thinking. She tried not to think. She moved mechanically. 

Snip. Snip. Snip. 

The faint sound of muscles and bones being severed, flesh being torn apart, reached her ears. Regina swallowed hard. She forcibly suppressed the screams echoing in her head. 

Don’t think. Don’t think about anything.

“…Sorry.”

She offered a dry, emotionless apology.

Blood gushed out as skin split open.

The dulled saw blade had lost its sharpness.

It wasn’t cutting anymore—it was more like tearing.

“I’m sorry.”

Her fingers trembled. She grabbed her right hand with her left. The trembling spread to her left hand. She cut into the abdomen crookedly. The white flesh split open, revealing the internal organs. 

Even such a pretty girl could look so grotesque once you peeled back a layer, Regina thought hazily. She reached out, crushed the organs, and activated her supernatural ability. She poured drugs directly into Lucia’s body.

“Ugh…!”

Nausea rose through her esophagus. Regina’s eyes welled up with tears as she covered her mouth with her palm. Her face grew hot. Lucia’s blood clung to her face in sticky patches. The scent of blood was overwhelming. Regina stared at the droplets of blood falling to the floor.

‘What am I even doing?’

Disgust tore at her heart. What had she been doing all this time? How many times had she repeated the act of ‘dismantling’ Lucia alive? Why was she doing this? What was she even doing this for…?

Astaroth had ‘asked’ her to.

Because she was Astaroth’s ‘friend’.

She couldn’t refuse a ‘request’.

‘Why?’

Regina couldn’t shake the question rattling in her head. Her trembling hands. The dull saw in her hand shook along with them. It was the weapon she had just used to tear Lucia apart. 

With it, she had cut Lucia’s fingers, her forearm, her arm, her calf, and sliced open her stomach to pull out her organs.

Even if it was a ‘request’ from a ‘friend’, was there really a need for such horrific acts?

Of course, she knew. The ‘friendship’ was just a facade. Regina was under the control of the mask. She couldn’t refuse Astaroth’s orders. She couldn’t even resist. 

Normally, she wouldn’t even be able to question it. She would have dismantled Lucia without batting an eye.

‘…I don’t want to do this anymore.’

I don’t want to.

I don’t want to do it.

‘Should I run away?’

Regina’s shoulders shook.

Her pupils widened in shock.

The saw slipped from her hand and rolled across the floor.

She couldn’t believe the thought that had crossed her mind.

‘Run away? Me?’

No way.

There’s no way I could think that.

The mask’s control is absolute.

Running away was never even a dream.

It wasn’t a metaphor—she literally couldn’t even ‘think’ of it.

‘Run away? Can I? From Astaroth?’

Regina swallowed hard. The vague sense of dissonance finally took concrete form. The control was weakening. The brainwashing that had fixed her thoughts was fading. 

Regina rummaged through her blood-soaked clothes. She pulled out the red fox mask. Her mask. The mask that had brainwashed her. The mask Astaroth had entrusted to her.

‘If I break this…’

I can escape the brainwashing.

Then I could run away.

Her hand tightened around the mask.

But the mask only shook, not even cracking.

It wasn’t because she lacked strength—it was because Regina was unconsciously holding back.

“Lucia…”

Lucia’s figure filled her trembling purple eyes.

Lucia looked unnaturally lively, likely due to her super regeneration.

But that was just the surface. Inside, she was completely broken, beyond recovery.

If I break the mask and run away with Lucia…

Just imagining it made her heart sink with fear.

The moment the mask loses its function, I’m no longer Astaroth’s ‘friend’.

There’s no reason for Astaroth to keep me alive or by her side.

I’ll be killed. By that monster. By a Devil even the Captains of the Celestial Corps couldn’t handle.

“Ah, ah…”

The memory of that day on the rooftop at sunset came back to her.

Click. Clack. 

Her teeth chattered. Her face, pale with fear, was drained of color.

If I stay as her ‘friend’, I won’t be killed. I’ll survive until Astaroth gets bored.

‘But… once she gets bored, it’s over.’

Didn’t Astaroth say it herself?

The moment she gets bored of me as a ‘friend’, she’ll cut off my limbs.

She’ll put a collar on me and keep me as a pet.

“…”

Regina swallowed a bitter laugh.

Her awkward smile slowly twisted.

If that’s how it’s going to be, I’d rather just die.

The deliberation was long, but the decision came in an instant.

She clutched her chest, heavy with fear.

‘Astaroth’s been busy lately. She rarely shows her face.’

Regina was also a student at the academy.

Even Dormitory D had a curfew.

From the time she arrived at the villa to the time she had to return.

It was rare for Astaroth to come back.

‘If I break the mask now and run away with Lucia…’

For some reason, now that the mask’s control is weakened, this might be the only chance to escape Astaroth’s grasp. Regina hesitated no longer. No, she didn’t even have time to hesitate. 

Once the decision was made, she had to act quickly. Regina gripped the red fox mask with both hands.

The mask was sturdy, but not unbreakable.

Regina bit her lip and poured all her strength into it.

“Huh…?”

Her vision went black.

Thud.

Only the faint sound of something collapsing could be heard.

◈

“Ahaha, Regina, really.”

Astaroth crouched down, lowering her body.

Her unmasked face was filled with a mischievous smile.

She poked Regina, who had passed out on the floor, her eyes rolled back, surrounded by blood, guts, and flesh.

“There’s no way I’d give you the mask without any precautions.”

She had weakened the mask’s control because she wanted to see Regina’s tormented expression. But she had also imposed a restriction. 

If Regina tried to break the mask herself, her consciousness would be cut off. She had imitated Seri’s ‘hypnosis’, and the result was decent.

“From the start, breaking the mask would send a signal to me. Did you really think you could escape? Has your judgment become so clouded from mental exhaustion?”

Well, she’s been under a lot of stress lately, so it’s no wonder her thinking has narrowed.

Astaroth let out a sly chuckle.

“It’s really a good thing you couldn’t break the mask, right?”

A mask doesn’t work twice on the same opponent. Just like Lucia, once Regina breaks free from the mask’s control, she can never be brainwashed again. And that’s something Astaroth, who must possess whatever catches her fancy, isn’t too pleased about.

“If that had happened, I would’ve cut off your legs.”

Whispering in a soft voice, she picked Regina up.

Once she wakes up, there will be punishment. Look forward to it, Regina~

“Hmm.”

Astaroth looked down at the operating table. There lay a girl with unfocused cherry-blossom-colored eyes, blood-soaked blonde hair, and completely naked.

“This should be enough.”

The regeneration had progressed sufficiently. More than expected, in fact. She could’ve stopped the torture earlier, but she kept going because she found Regina’s suffering amusing.

“The Celestial Corps is on the move, and the timing is perfect.”

The Family Subjugation War.

The Celestial Corps is determined to uproot the Supernatural Liberation Front.

“All the captains, except for the commander, are participating.”

There’s no reason for six captains to mobilize against a fallen Family. If it was the Family in its prime, maybe, but the current Family is nothing but an empty shell. 

Even one captain would be enough to subdue them without issue. If the goal is complete annihilation to uproot them, three captains would suffice. Yet, if all the captains are mobilizing, there’s only one reason.

“They’re wary of ‘us’.”

The Devils.

A devil god dwelling in a human body.

“Belial, you’ll have to suffer a bit, won’t you?”

Agares won’t intervene.

No, he can’t.

If there’s no price for regression, that would be even stranger.

As the price for reversing the timeline, Agares cannot leave that dark chamber.

Not until the broken clock returns to normal.

At best, all Agares can do is give orders to Murmur and me.

Naturally, I had no intention of helping.

On the contrary, it’s the opposite.

“I’ve told the Celestial Corps about the Family’s bases, that their leader is a Devil, and that they’re abducting people… Ahaha, at this point, aren’t I an honorary member of the Celestial Corps?”

It was quite a hassle to carefully leak information without raising suspicion.

There are six captains. With that level of force, they can stand against Belial and Murmur.

But that’s the limit. If I were to join in, the balance would tip.

“At least one more captain-level supernatural… No, two more would be needed.”

To move the board as I want, I need a few more useful pawns.

But the pinnacle of humanity isn’t common.

That’s why it’s called the pinnacle.

“How about Angelica? Has she grown properly? Has she broken through her limits by now?”

She’s not as dear to me as Regina, but she’s a human I quite liked.

It might be time to harvest her soon.

Stroking her chin in thought, Astaroth chuckled softly and organized her thoughts.

Having more pawns is good, but if there aren’t any, there are still ways.

“Then, shall we go to Belial?”

Astaroth narrowed her blue eyes as she looked at Lucia.

Her half-open eyes were filled with an unmistakable mischief.

“It’s time to become a Devil, Lucia.”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
This is the last chapter of the year.

It feels like 2022 just started yesterday, now it’s almost 2023.

Time really flies.

I wish it could go a little slower.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Yes, I’m 2 years late to the translation.

And yes, I am picking this up after 2 years have passed by.