Chapter 258

&R;ea​d ​o&n; K‍​a​tR&e;​a​dɩn‍ｇḈaf̂e

It was a tangled mess.

Where did it all go wrong?

Thinking about it, it was all my fault.

Why did I try to hang myself as soon as I got back?

Well, I have a lot to say too.

I made preparations in my own way.

I locked the door tight with a locking device…

How was I supposed to know that Arin would break down the door without hesitation?

“…”

Suppressing a sigh, I stroked Alice’s face.

I wiped away the tears welling in her eyes with my fingers and gave a bitter smile.

I could think of a few ways to get out of this situation.

Alice is innocent, so it wouldn’t be difficult to deceive her if I set my mind to it.

Even Frey, who is suspicious by nature, becomes endlessly weak to those she has opened her heart to.

Eugene was the same.

In fact, he would be even easier to deceive than Alice.

Eugene, who is a model student, easily trusts people.

He was a man who seemed to embody the word ‘pushover’.

If I make up some plausible words, he’ll believe me.

Especially if it’s a story he wants to believe.

The problem, of course, is Arin.

A witness who directly saw me trying to hang myself.

As long as the source of all the misunderstandings is still alive and well, persuading Alice (Frey) would only be a temporary solution.

Think about it. Arin is the class president of Class A. She’s a reliable girl with a straightforward personality who is trusted by many.

Moreover, she has the background of being the only daughter of the 2nd Division Captain.

There’s no way Arin would spread the rumor that her friend tried to commit suicide, right? Everyone would think that Arin must have a good reason for making such claims.

Moreover, I recently returned after being kidnapped.

I was in such a bad state that I was in a coma for over a month.

Even if I made an extreme choice, there was a high probability that people would think, ‘That could happen’.

Even if I persuaded Alice (Frey), I could always return to square one if Arin’s misunderstanding wasn’t resolved.

Then, I could persuade Alice first, and then resolve Arin’s misunderstanding…

‘Yeah, let’s not.’

I inadvertently let out a laugh.

Nothing is solved by covering up the truth with lies.

Unless you’re going to live with the lie forever, it only increases the debt.

‘Was there any need to hide it to this extent?’

I hid my true nature to follow the plot of the ‘novel’.

I hid my true self to achieve the original happy ending.

It wasn’t until summer vacation that it was revealed that ‘Lucia’ was a masochist.

I had decided to hide it no matter what until then.

But the contents of the ‘novel’ had long since gone awry.

It meant that there was no need to follow it so desperately.

Even so, I was keeping it a secret with the thought of ‘just in case’…

But now that it’s come to this, continuing to hide it would be foolish, right?

I didn’t want to hide it at the cost of Alice’s tears.

I wasn’t planning on hiding it forever anyway, and I was already considering it as a last resort to clear up the misunderstandings of Arin and Eugene, right?

“Alice.”

I wipe away the tears welling up in her red eyes.

But no matter how much I wiped, the tears didn’t stop.

Without a single sob, Alice just held back her tears.

“Frey.”

Her crying face is cute too, but I like her smiling face more.

How will she react if I reveal Lucia’s true nature, which I’ve been hiding all along?

Will she be flustered? Will she get angry? Will she be disappointed? Maybe Frey will like it? No, she’ll definitely like it.

I smiled brightly and pulled on Alice’s soft, chewy cheeks.

Alice’s eyes widened at the sudden action.

“Lucia…?”

…Huh? I haven’t even started explaining yet, but Alice’s pupils were shaking like a sailboat. She had an expression like she had seen something unbelievable. I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

There’s no way Alice would be flustered by just pinching her cheeks, right? I do it every day without fail as a joke. I felt sorry for her crying silently, so it was meant to calm her down… Oh, wait?

“Eh?”

Something regurgitated from my stomach.

It came up my throat and forced its way out of my lips.

I hurriedly covered my mouth with my hand.

My palm got hot. The area around my lips was hot. My chest was hot.

“Blood…?”

Eh? Hematemesis? Suddenly? Why?

Belatedly, a sharp pain stabbed my mind.

Black, dead blood stained my school uniform jacket.

Staggering back in bewilderment.

That’s strange? Why is my vision so blurry?

“Lucia!”

Frey shouted urgently. She hurriedly hugged me, who had almost tripped and fallen. My vision spun dizzily. It felt like my sense of balance was messed up.

Even as my consciousness was becoming muddled, I focused my awareness on the source of the pain. My organs were damaged. I knew because I had cut open my stomach and rummaged around with my hands countless times. My internal organs were torn. Sudden organ rupture, what the hell is this…

“Wh-what’s wrong? What’s wrong?! Lucia?!”

Frey’s shouts sounded distant. Experience tells me. My consciousness was sinking. This is strange. There’s no way I would lose consciousness just because my organs were damaged and I was bleeding. I was fine even after experiencing worse…

“Ah, uuup, ugh…”

I can’t speak.

The hematemesis keeps blocking my airway.

I couldn’t breathe.

I could only barely let out a dying voice like, “Keh, keeugh”.

My eyelids slowly closed.

At this rate, I’m really going to pass out.

This is bad. If this happens, far from clearing up the misunderstanding…

“Lucia! Lucia! Hey! Wake up! Can you hear me?”

With Alice (Frey)’s desperate cry as the last thing I heard.

I lost consciousness as if I were buried in darkness.

A creepy sensation like being eaten by insects.

It felt strangely familiar.

◈

With a thud.

A dull pain struck my head violently.

Blood started flowing from my torn forehead.

The floor was covered in bloodstains.

Even so, Belial didn’t stop her bizarre behavior.

She shuddered, shaking her shoulders, and lifted her head, which she had slammed into the floor. Because her limbs were bound by chains, she wriggled like a caterpillar and raised her upper body.

Her blood-soaked blonde hair reflected the light of the lamp and sparkled elegantly. When her head soared to the highest position, the direction of her force changed. The body that had been facing upwards was rapidly bounced downwards.

Thud!

Blood splattered again.

Her forehead ached as if it would break.

“Ugh, uh, haa…”

Hot breaths were mixed with her groans.

Belial rubbed her bloody forehead on the floor.

It stung. It burned. It hurt. It was painful.

But it wasn’t enough.

Something, a lot.

Actually, a lot.

Her thirst wasn’t quenched.

“What, goooh…”

I’m going crazy.

My insides were boiling to the point of turning upside down.

Her body was hot, but the heat couldn’t escape.

“It, hurts… isn’t this, enough…?”

She hit her head until her skull was about to crack.

She collided to the point where her head should have exploded a long time ago.

If it wasn’t the mental world, her head wouldn’t have any shape left.

“Please, stop, it… I don’t want to, I don’t want to anymore…”

Her pride creaked.

Her pride as a devil god crumbled.

The pride that had been built up over many years cracked.

“I’m leaving… let me out of this body… I won’t ever show my face again…”

I’m becoming strange.

If I’m in this body, I’m no longer me.

Belial’s eyes stung with fear.

It was more terrifying than when she was cut by Jin five years ago.

It was much more terrifying than when her soul was split.

Even when the shadow of death was approaching, it wasn’t this scary.

But the scariest part was the unbearable pleasure felt in the process of losing herself.

Even though everything about herself was disappearing.

Even though she was being crushed without leaving any shape.

It was elevating her heart more than anything else.

“U, ugh…”

I’m crazy. No matter how I think about it, this body is crazy. It’s not in its right mind.

This is the first time I’ve seen a body that’s been so unbelievably broken. A human swallowing a devil god. What is that? The times we’ve lived are different. The karma we carry is different.

How can a human who’s only lived for a little over ten years swallow a devil god? Does that even make sense? Even if the girl named Lucia had lived for a long time, unlike her appearance, it would still be a drop in the ocean compared to a devil god…

“He, help me…”

Living.

Living through an eternity.

She spat out words she had never uttered.

A word that her pride had never allowed until now.

A request she had never appealed to anyone before, she shouted desperately.

“He, help, help me, please, anyone is fine…”

Ironically, the first person Belial thought of wasn’t a devil god.

Just an existence that was only a brief encounter.

A human with whom she had a relationship of killing and being killed.

An unforgettable nemesis that she had killed with her own hands.

“Save me… Jin…”

Sobbing, she repeated the name of that man.

If it was that man.

If it was that hero who cut down anything.

He would be able to sever the connection with this terrible body.

But he wasn’t in this world. He was dead. She killed him, none other than herself.

To ask for help from someone she killed, Belial let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“If they… saw me now… what would they say…”

Agares would click his tongue.

Murmur would be dumbfounded.

Astaroth would openly laugh.

Then, what about Jin?

He was a proud swordsman.

He was a hero who had overcome fear.

He was an ephemeral but valiant man.

Would even Jin look down on me?

She started to think.

That man who slaughtered the monster army with a single sword. The captain of the 7th Division, who stubbornly approached, covered in blood until his black hair turned red. The eyes that glared with a gaze filled with a trace of fear, reverence, and resolve.

She began to imagine.

That gaze turning to contempt.

Not a nemesis that must be defeated, but an expression that looked at a pathetic piece of filth.

“That’s, no…”

For some reason, she didn’t want that.

Belial bit her lip.

A bitter smell of blood filled her mouth.

The heat that was still pooling inside her body surged.

But it felt a little cooler, as if cold water had been poured over her.

“While I still have the energy left…”

Before I’m completely eaten by this crazy body.

When I’m still clearly aware that I’m ‘me’.

While maintaining the self-awareness of the devil god Belial.

“…I have to do something.”

Because it might be the last chance.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Unlike Lucia who instantly corrupted upon possessing the body, Belial is holding on tenaciously.

Truly, a devil god.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Break her even more~