Chapter 366

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Discombobulation.

Even Ereshkigal, who never lost her composure even when facing a Devil God, was shaken this time.

A cute face. Clear, black eyes. Violet hair. A small girl she had only encountered fleetingly once before.

But Ereshkigal knew. She knew the girl’s name. Her affiliation and position. The name and effect of her supernatural ability. Without hearing it from anyone, without investigating it herself, it surfaced in her mind as if it were obvious. Her heart fluttered. Like a drop of ink falling onto a clear surface of water, an indescribable emotion colored her heart.

‘No thoughts.’

She forcibly severed those emotions.

She had been prepared for this. She had been preparing for this. From the moment she first saw the girl, she had guessed that such a moment would come someday. She was a swordswoman pursuing the ultimate state. 

Swordsmanship is not just about training the body. The mind must also be honed like a blade. The state of perfect clarity she sought could only be reached by maintaining constant composure.

“Riel…”

Azazel wiped away her glistening tears with the back of her hand.

She barely made it here, really barely.

The Commander was sealed, the Demonic Beasts were rampaging, and the border was a mess.

There was nothing but chaotic news, but she decided to forget it for now.

“No…”

The look in Azazel’s eyes, after wiping away the tears, became sharp.

As if cutting something off, the affection disappeared, and her gaze was filled with a viscous hostility.

“Ereshkigal. I heard that’s your name, right?”

“…”

“How dare you steal my sister’s body? Are you out of your mind?”

Her voice was seething. Her violet hair trembled. Her missing younger sister had returned as a monster. Azazel had secretly thought that insisting she wasn’t dead, that she was alive, was just stubbornness. 

She was forcing herself because she didn’t want to admit her death. It was a missing person case. No body was found. So, she was missing. But being missing at the site where the rifts opened was just a different way of expressing the word ‘death.’

But the truth was even more cruel.

Riel hadn’t died.

She just hadn’t died.

Would it have been better if she had died?

……No, that’s not true.

As long as she’s alive, there’s still a chance.

There’s still a chance to save her.

[Oh dear, she’s done it.]

Michael rubbed his forehead. Strictly speaking, he couldn’t take such action because he didn’t have a physical body, but if his body were intact, he would have acted that way. Azazel’s sudden intrusion was a rash act. According to the original plan, she was supposed to wait outside the Underworld until the outcome was decided.

A Devil God and a Demonic Beast.

Both were enemies that Michael had to defeat.

If the two were fighting each other, it would be wise to take advantage of the situation.

If the enemies fought each other and reduced their strength, he could achieve great results with little damage.

That was why he was reluctant to intervene in the battle at first. Michael and Ereshkigal were extremely incompatible. Light drives out darkness. Just Michael’s presence alone would weaken Ereshkigal’s power. Now that he had used up most of his light, Ereshkigal wouldn’t be weakened… but fighting together was another matter.

[The enemy of my enemy is my friend, but sometimes the enemy of my enemy can also be our enemy.]

Michael moved on the premise that Ereshkigal was the enemy. Like the Devil God Amon, who had sided with humans in the past, Ereshkigal might also be friendly to humans. However, since nothing was certain, he couldn’t blindly trust her. 

The reason why Ereshkigal was at odds with the Devil God was unknown. 

There might have been a dispute with the Devil God, or she might have been following the orders of another Devil God, or there might be another reason. 

So, Michael moved in the direction that would be most beneficial, whatever the reason.

[Didn’t we agree to wait until both sides had exhausted their strength?]

“…Sorry, I just can’t stand it.”

Azazel also agreed to Michael’s plan. She was willing to wait. But how could she stand it? That monster had stolen Riel’s body. Fighting with Riel’s body, hurting it, and laughing about it.

If that was all, Azazel would have endured it.

Although it was a position she didn’t want, she was also the captain of the Celestial Corps.

She had the judgment to prioritize the latter between personal feelings and public considerations.

“That damn thing is trying to destroy Riel’s body. How can I stand it?”

But this exceeded the limit that Azazel could bear.

Ereshkigal absorbed the death energy contained within Lucia’s body part by consuming it.

A power that even the Demonic Beast Ereshkigal couldn’t handle. The vessel was breaking in real time. Ereshkigal’s body was falling apart.

“If you want to die, die alone. Give her back. That body isn’t something you can treat carelessly.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to, fine. I’ll take it back by force.”

It would have been difficult normally, but there was a way now.

Michael’s ‘light’ could purify only Ereshkigal contained in Riel’s body.

Of course, Riel would inevitably suffer damage in the process…

Azazel steeled her heart.

It would be nice if only the best results could be obtained, but reality was not so easy.

‘…What is it? What is it this time?’

Murmur’s brow furrowed deeply.

A girl who suddenly intruded.

She seemed to be hostile to Ereshkigal…

‘Something strange is possessing her.’

She was not alone. There was only one body, but it contained two. It was similar to a Devil-Human. Just as a Devil was when a Devil God possessed a human body, this girl was also possessed by something else. 

The power she possessed was not great. Whether she had already consumed a lot of it, or whether she had always been like that, she was not at a level that Murmur needed to be wary of. The problem was that the girl herself was a top-tier supernatural.

‘She’s not my match. I can beat her easily if I fight her. It’ll be a little annoying, though.’

But she felt uneasy.

Murmur bit her lip at the sense of déjà vu.

It was similar. The soul possessing the girl and the strongest supernatural she had personally sealed.

It was like that back then too.

She judged that it was worth a try, but she had a hard time.

If Agares hadn’t taken the burden and intervened, she would have surely died.

She was similar to that monster. That fact alone was enough to stimulate Murmur’s vigilance to the maximum. No, it couldn’t be. There was no way that another God of War would appear. 

Unless she was chosen, there was no way that such a monster would appear again. But what if it wasn’t? What if she was hiding her power, and in reality, she was an irregular existence like the God of War?

‘…It’s become troublesome.’

Murmur tried to deny her feelings.

She forcibly turned away from the thought that suddenly came to mind.

No way. It’s just because it’s troublesome. Troublesome. Annoying. Unpleasant.

Ereshkigal was already troublesome, and now something even more troublesome had appeared.

At the same time, she calmly analyzed the feelings she had.

How do I view the God of War? Of course, it’s revenge. He made me look pathetic when I was just a devil. I almost got killed. I was grinding my teeth, saying that I would take revenge when I met him again. And I achieved some revenge by sealing him.

I took revenge, so I don’t care anymore. Is that really true? 

Murmur saw the God of War fighting Astaroth. Astaroth won as a result, but that was the result of various factors. 

In terms of pure force alone, the God of War was far superior to Astaroth. If he had avoided the last blow in the first place, the result might have been different. He was hit because he recklessly fought back to protect the humans.

That power. That force. Even that was actually weakened, and he was once a figure who fought against our king. The heyday of the God of War. The feelings Murmur felt when she saw that fragment. That was…

‘Troublesome.’

…Fear.

Murmur clenched her fist tightly as her thoughts reached that point.

It couldn’t be, but. It really couldn’t be, but. Maybe. Just in case. One in a thousand. One in ten thousand. A probability of finding a needle in the desert. If the being possessing that kid was a being like the God of War…

“…Haa, that’s it. The excitement has worn off.”

Murmur crossed her arms and turned around. The mission was over anyway. She had finished everything she had to do when she sealed the God of War. 

After that, it was just a kind of amusement. She had no intention of risking her life for that amusement. Even if her thoughts were excessive, and the girl was actually weaker than she thought, the problem still existed. 

If she joined hands with Ereshkigal and attacked together, it would be troublesome. If the swordsman who was acting as a bystander there also joined in, it wouldn’t just end with being troublesome.

It was a rational decision.

Yeah, that’s right.

“Wait…!”

“Let’s meet again. If there’s a chance. I hope you’ve changed your mind by then.”

The Underworld that Ereshkigal had opened collapsed completely with Azazel’s intrusion. There were no more elements interfering with Murmur’s authority. And among the Devil Gods, few were as good at moving around as Murmur. 

Without a sound, without a sign. The figure of the child with the white cloud mask disappeared. 

Space Warp. 

Ereshkigal belatedly tried to open the gates of the Underworld again, but it was too late. Murmur had already disappeared.

“She’s more perceptive than I thought. The nuisance disappeared on her own.”

[Wouldn’t it be better to just let her go… no, it’s impossible. She has spatial abilities. If she’s determined to run away, we can’t catch her with our current strength.]

“I read it in the data, so I know. It’s hard to catch her without the Commander.”

He didn’t expect her to run away without regret.

Azazel glanced at the place where Murmur had been for a moment, then lost interest and glared at Ereshkigal again.

“Well, the nuisance is gone, so don’t we have a lot to talk about? Huh? Ereshkigal.”

Riel’s body that you’re using.

I’ll take it back.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
For Murmur, Yoo-seong was her trauma.

If only he had been a devil god, it might have been bearable.

But because he was absurdly strong despite not being a devil god, it caused complete cognitive dissonance.

That’s why when Michael appeared with his aura similar to that of the original Yoo-seong, Murmur’s trauma instantly triggered.

She immediately ran away, as they say.

Of course, it was a situation where running was acceptable. Had she absolutely needed to face it, she would’ve fought while lamenting her life… no, her devil life… no, her god life…? Whatever, she would’ve fought while complaining bitterly.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Make a new masochist out of her.

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