Chapter 323

R‍e​a‌d‌ ‍o‍n​​ ‌Ka‌t​R‍e‍a​​di‍n​​g​​C​​af‌e​

“Wh-Why…”

Eugene asked unconsciously.

He couldn’t understand.

Why she would do such a thing.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t make sense of it.

The thin voice coming from his mouth felt foreign. Eugene gripped his neck, staring at Astaroth. The face he saw every time he looked in the mirror. But was it because the contents were different? The impression was completely different from his own. It felt like facing a stranger who only resembled him.

“Why? Big brother already knows, doesn’t he?”

Astaroth shrugged as if asking the obvious.

“‘Your goal is my body, right?’ You said it with such a serious face, didn’t you? Don’t tell me it was just a bluff? That would be a little disappointing.”

“B-But you’re…”

Eugene couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

You’re Yui, aren’t you?

After denying that it was Yui, now, of all times.

After claiming she died five years ago.

Even so, he had secretly thought it was Yui.

He had let his guard down. He had assumed that Yui wouldn’t do such a thing. That the child wouldn’t try to take his body. That all the goodwill she had shown him so far was affection from a sister to her family. He had jumped to conclusions like that. He had loosened the reins of suspicion. Even while being wary, he had held a shred of trust in a corner of his heart. Because it was Yui. Because it had been Yui.

“You know, I’ve been thinking all along. How can I wash away the original sin?”

How to.

How to forgive humanity’s original sin?

How to.

How to save the monsters from original sin?

Just how could I.

Kill them all?

“There were too many mountains to climb. The Noble Prince Agares. The blind old man Vassago. The Apostate Amon. The King of Purgatory Bael… and even the Four Seasons. All of them are stronger than me.”

Not just them.

Even the other Devil Gods were all formidable enemies.

Each and every one of them was a transcendent being on par with Astaroth.

She couldn’t wash away the original sin alone, no matter what she tried.

“But the scariest of all was still the ‘Chosen One’.”

In the end, it was always Eugene who stood in Astaroth’s way.

The blade of the Four Seasons.

A sword to kill Devil Gods.

The strongest. Invincible. Omnipotent.

A monster that mocked providence.

An existence that was like the embodiment of all the world’s absurdities.

“The Four Seasons’ masterpiece to destroy Bael.”

The king of the Devil Gods, Bael, who was comparable to the ‘Ancient One’.

The Four Seasons forged a sword to hunt down that Bael.

That was the ‘Chosen One’.

A mortal sword to destroy gods.

“No matter what I try, no matter what plan I devise, I can never defeat the Chosen One.”

Every iteration.

Over hundreds of millions of times.

Astaroth had never once achieved her goal.

Not only her, but none of the Devil Gods had achieved their aims.

Always, without fail.

Eugene, the absolute being, would come to stop them.

“So I thought.”

That trying to win in the first place was a mistake.

That struggling to defeat an enemy you couldn’t beat was a mistake.

Unless Bael himself came, it was impossible to overcome Eugene.

“A change of perspective.”

If you can’t win.

If you can’t overcome.

If the Chosen One is invincible.

If he is an absolute being that you can’t dare to oppose.

“Then make the Chosen One my ally.”

I will take that power for myself.

He is the scariest when he is an enemy.

But he is more reliable than a million soldiers if he is an ally.

If I wield the sword that kills Devil Gods.

Then wouldn’t all problems be solved from the root?

“But there’s no way the Chosen One would side with me…”

There’s no way to persuade him.

There’s no way to win him over.

Even with the earnest request of his ‘sister’.

There was no way Eugene would bring about the world’s destruction.

“In the end, this was the only way.”

There’s no need to persuade the Chosen One.

No need for enticement.

All I want is his power.

As long as I can seize the invincible power, the process and outcome don’t matter.

“So, Big brother? Does that explain it?”

“I don’t know… I don’t understand… I don’t understand anything you’re saying…”

The Chosen One?

Iterations? Bael?

I’m the Four Seasons’ masterpiece?

Her explanation was full of holes.

It was full of stories that Eugene, lacking prior knowledge, couldn’t understand.

Unable to control his confused mind, Eugene staggered back.

“G-Give it back… my body…!”

“Hehe, no way~ I finally took it, there’s no way I’m giving it back. It’s okay, big brother. A beautiful girl’s life won’t be so bad~”

“It’s… pointless! Doing this is pointless! Supernatural abilities are the power of the mind! Even if you steal my body, you won’t be able to use my abilities!”

“Oh, that’s a good argument. Except for the fact that you think I wouldn’t have considered that.”

Astaroth jumped down from the tombstone. She opened her arms wide and hugged Eugene, who was still staggering, unable to adapt to the body. 

It felt quite unfamiliar. Big brother is smaller than me. He fits in my arms. Interesting. Yeah, really interesting.

“Big brother, you don’t have to worry about anything anymore. You don’t have to do anything either. I’ll take care of everything else.”

Because.

“Now I’m ‘Eugene’.”

Right? ‘Yui’.

“You have to protect your little sister as an older brother. Yeah, isn’t that obvious?”

“Wh-What…?”

“It’s okay, everything’s okay. Everything will be okay when you wake up from a nap.”

Even though the body had changed, the supernatural ability was still working perfectly. Of course. Supernatural abilities are the embodiment of mental strength. A power that resides in the mind, not the body. Eugene’s ears were ringing with the warning of danger sense. It’s dangerous. What’s going to happen is ‘more’ dangerous than just swapping bodies. The supernatural ability was screaming.

“What do you think is the most important element that makes up a person?”

‘I have to resist.’

I can’t let Astaroth have her way.

Eugene struggled to push away the woman who had stolen his body.

But he couldn’t put any strength into his hands. His legs were stiff, and his shoulders drooped.

“I think it’s memory.”

‘Yui’s body’ is refusing to resist ‘Astaroth’.

Even if the ‘mind’ is screaming and fussing in resistance.

The ‘body’ itself is not accepting it and is letting it flow by.

“If I erase all of ‘Eugene’s’ memories and replace them with ‘Yui’s’ memories.”

Would that be Eugene? Or Yui?

Are you an older brother? Or a younger sister?

Isn’t that an interesting topic for speculation?

“What do you think?”

“N-No, st-stop… don’t… don’t do that…!”

“Everything is just a dream. Yes, it’s a dream. Good night, big brother.”

“St-Stop… Yui…!”

His consciousness fades. It disappears futilely like cotton candy melting in water. Eugene bit his tongue, trying to hold on to his mind. But the drowsiness was like a tsunami. Devouring everything greedily, sinking Eugene’s consciousness to the deep bottom. 

‘I can’t fall asleep. If I lose my mind like this… when I wake up, I’ll be… me… I’ll be…’

Tears welled up in his blue eyes and streamed down his cheeks. His heart was pounding madly with despair. His eyelids slowly closed. His will scattered, and his thoughts dulled. 

‘Is this the end? What have I been working so hard for… to end up like this…? I hate it. I hate it. To end so futilely without being able to do anything…! I didn’t work hard for such an ending…! I can’t… I can’t end like this…!’

Eugene desperately gathered his will.

He forcibly pieced together his shattered ego.

He floundered, trying to grab onto something in his fading consciousness.

“How unfortunate. It’s no use even if you try. Shhh, it’s time to sleep.”

“Ah…”

And all attempts ended meaninglessly.

Astaroth’s hand covered Eugene’s eyes. Her firm hand forcibly lowered his eyelids, extinguishing Eugene’s consciousness. The flame went out. The final resistance was extinguished futilely. Thus, Eugene’s ego sank into the deep darkness…

“Eugene!”

…Before disappearing.

A voice stimulated Eugene’s mind.

His closing eyes reopened.

His shattered ego found its place again.

Eugene blankly turned his head in the direction of the voice.

“Lu… Lucia…?”

A girl runs towards him.

Flapping her soft blonde hair.

She was rushing towards Eugene urgently.

“Hehe…”

Astaroth let out a dry laugh.

Again.

It’s that bitch.

That slut who was flirting with my big brother.

I should have ground her up more thoroughly back then.

Annoying. If it weren’t for the Needle of Causality, I would have killed her a long time ago.

Astaroth, who had been lost in thought for a moment, soon smiled bitterly. She forced her twisted lips into shape, adding a false expression like a mask to her face. She spoke naturally with the same expression and voice as Eugene. It was a deliberately anxious and serious tone.

“Lucia! Stay back! I’ve subdued Astaroth, but it’s still dangerous…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Lucia interrupted Astaroth’s words at once and shouted.

“You’re not Eugene, are you? It feels gross, so don’t pretend to be Eugene!”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“That face, that voice, that atmosphere, everything… really everything is Eugene. It’s true, but still, you’re not Eugene! My instincts are telling me that! Tell me, who are you? Who are you pretending to be Eugene? You’re… no, I think I know even if you don’t tell me.”

Lucia looked at the girl in Astaroth’s arms. Obsidian black hair and blue eyes. A girl in a black dress resembling Alice. The girl in the red fox mask. Lucia shouted with a voice filled with doubt and conviction.

“You’re Astaroth, aren’t you?”

“Hehe…”

Astaroth chuckled.

She shrugged her shoulders and narrowed her eyes.

“Annoying. I’m genuinely disgusted. How did you know?”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
I feel like I should address the biggest problem right now.

Sorry for the delay these days.

I can’t afford to write because I’m busy enough to go work in the weekends.

This is no different from my last job, yeah…

But I still get a higher salary from this…

Hehe… At the time, money was the best…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
On the bright side, if Eugene stays a woman, now it’s a full yuri route!

Oh the straight romance ppl suffer I guess?

Not that I care for either sides.