Ch.36The Last Memory (5)

*Thud.*

Olivia collapsed.

She wasn’t dead yet. The witch’s tenacious life force hadn’t permitted death.

The moment Yekaterina was frozen was merely an instant, but to her, it felt like an eternity.

‘M-monster…’

She was no match.

Olivia had attained the position of Grandmaster only 4 years ago. A brief time, barely enough to adapt to the new realm. Meanwhile, Yekaterina was a high-ranking witch who had long since harnessed the magic power of a great demon.

Although Yekaterina had been granted only a portion of that power, she thought that portion would be more than enough to dispose of a single Grandmaster.

After all, she had previously defeated Tower Master-level White Mages.

What witch wouldn’t know that fighting White Mages puts one at a disadvantage?

Of course, they weren’t Grandmasters. But there were many of them.

Three in total.

Each one had been called the future of the White Tower.

But the overwhelming magic power she received from Belphegor was powerful enough to overcome both compatibility disadvantages and numerical differences.

However…

“Hey.”

Yekaterina’s body trembled. She was experiencing the emotion of fear for the first time.

It wasn’t this bad even when she met the great demon Belphegor.

This was a different level entirely.

‘H-how can a human…’

Yekaterina couldn’t bring herself to meet those eyes.

Being a killer herself, she knew. The look in the eyes of someone who has killed one or two people differs from that of someone who has slaughtered dozens or hundreds.

It was hard to believe, but Olivia’s eyes were colder than those of a great demon.

Incomparably so.

*Gulp.*

She was terrified.

More frightening than facing death was the realization that the Order, which she thought all-knowing, hadn’t even detected the existence of such a monster.

“Hey.”

“…Yes.”

“If I have to say ‘hey’ one more time, you’re dead.”

“I-I understand.”

Olivia wiggled her finger as she spoke.

“Hand over the artifact while I’m asking nicely. I’ll count to five. Five, four, three…”

“I-it’s not something that can be easily…”

“Two, one…”

“H-here it is!”

Yekaterina reached into the darkness and pulled out a sphere with a red pentagram drawn on it.

*Drip.*

Black liquid flowed from the fist-sized sphere and repeatedly dripped down.

“Hmm.”

Olivia reached out her hand. She turned the sphere this way and that, checking if it was indeed what she was looking for.

“How nice it would have been if you’d been this cooperative from the start.”

Olivia raised the corner of her mouth.

[Belphegor’s Eye]

– An eye created by sacrificing a thousand souls. Can summon the great demon Belphegor.

– Time remaining until summoning: 15 hours

– Summoning time can be adjusted by infusing magic power.

Fifteen hours from now would be 2 PM tomorrow.

And by then, the Olivia from the massacre loop would not yet have awakened.

Therefore…

‘I should delay the summoning time by about a day.’

It was truly regrettable, but she had decided to pass on the 20 favorability points to the massacre loop.

Honestly, a favorability of 68 was much more than she had expected. At this level, at least Kiel wouldn’t attack her outright.

Still, what’s regrettable is regrettable.

‘Should I just close my eyes and take it myself? I shouldn’t, right? That’s right, isn’t it?’

If she could just get 20 more favorability points, life would become so much easier!

If she and Kiel formed a party together, they could probably take down three or four Returners!

Olivia licked her lips.

This was poison.

Eating it would cause trouble.

“…”

But wait, isn’t pufferfish also poisonous? If prepared properly, it’s fucking delicious…

*Tremble, tremble, tremble.*

Olivia stopped her train of thought and lowered her head. At her feet, Yekaterina was trembling in terror.

Olivia’s expression hardened again.

She felt no sympathy.

Rather, anger welled up inside her. It was the first proper anger she had felt since falling into this world.

That’s what witches were.

‘…Should I kill her?’

Killing someone in a dream isn’t considered murder. It’s merely fiction. Wouldn’t the same apply to memories?

‘I’ll hold off for now.’

For now, there were things that needed to be done.

*Thud.*

The sphere dropped in front of Yekaterina.

“Change it.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Belphegor’s summoning time. Change it to the day after tomorrow.”

Yekaterina’s expression went blank for a moment. Then, realizing her place, she hurriedly reached for the sphere.

“…Y-yes, I understand.”

What kind of mage would leave an artifact that summons demons intact instead of destroying it?

She wanted to ask why delay it by only one day, but Yekaterina instinctively kept her mouth shut. Those eyes were the eyes of someone contemplating whether to kill someone or not.

“W-what time on the day after tomorrow?”

“Two o’clock.”

Yekaterina couldn’t understand what Olivia was thinking. But one thing was certain: Olivia’s thoughts were far beyond the bounds of common sense.

In other words, she was crazy.

*Click, click, click.*

The sound of magic power writhing could be heard from the sphere.

“I-it’s done!”

Yekaterina’s hands, extended forward respectfully, trembled like aspen leaves.

[Belphegor’s Eye]

– An eye created by sacrificing a thousand souls. Can summon the great demon Belphegor.

– Time remaining until summoning: 39 hours

– Summoning time can be adjusted by infusing magic power.

Olivia took the artifact and nodded with satisfaction.

“Well done.”

“T-then!”

Yekaterina looked up at Olivia.

“Will you spare my…”

…life?

The words wouldn’t come out. The next moment, her vision slowly inverted.

‘…Huh?’

The ground came closer and closer. Her forehead hurt. Her vision spun round and round. Yekaterina continued to spin several more times until she stopped.

Just her head.

At the edge of Yekaterina’s vision, she could see her own headless body collapsed. Black blood didn’t gush out. It had already frozen before it could burst forth.

‘…Huh?’

Even at that moment, Yekaterina couldn’t accept reality. Her pupils slowly moved upward, following a gaze she felt from somewhere.

Olivia had only turned her head, looking down with a cold gaze. Even as her consciousness grew dim, Yekaterina couldn’t tear her eyes away from those blue glowing pupils.

That was the extent of Yekaterina’s memory.

*****

After defeating Yekaterina, Olivia immediately moved to a deserted park.

It was to bury ‘Belphegor’s Eye’.

She would have preferred to bury it in a secluded mountain and minimize the damage, but if she did that, Belphegor wouldn’t be summoned.

As mentioned before, the reason this mere artifact could summon Belphegor was because this was a pristine academy without a single specter.

What about Yekaterina, you ask?

When a witch dies, her soul becomes the property of the demon she contracted with. Yekaterina would have already been dragged to the demon realm, so there was no need to worry about her.

‘This is a first, even for me.’

There had been times when she eliminated Yekaterina before Belphegor was summoned, but on those occasions, she immediately destroyed Belphegor’s Eye.

‘I mean, who in their right mind would do something like this? It’s completely insane.’

It’s just pathetic that she had to do this insane thing to survive.

Olivia buried Belphegor’s Eye deep enough that no one would find it, then set an alarm spell to alert her if anyone approached, only then feeling at ease.

“Hmm!”

Olivia looked satisfied.

She couldn’t sense anyone nearby. Well, it would be strange for anyone to be wandering around the park at this hour, long after curfew.

Anyway, she had done everything she could, so it was time to head back…

-Rumble.

Suddenly, Olivia spun around.

She felt dense magic power from underground. Specifically, from where she had buried Belphegor’s Eye.

-RUMBLE.

The surrounding soil transformed into dark mud. Grass blades instantly crumbled, and trees withered and twisted to death.

The surroundings were steeped in deep darkness. It was incomparably blacker than Yekaterina’s darkness.

*Crack!*

In an instant, Belphegor’s Eye shot up through the ground. The eye trembled in midair, then split open with a grating noise that was uncomfortable just to hear.

*WHOOSH!*

The eye absorbed all the surrounding darkness. The darkness grew increasingly massive. Olivia watched the scene with a dumbfounded expression.

– @%&@%@…

The ‘darkness’ spoke.

– You. You dared to kill my contractor.

It was no longer a mere artifact.

[Great Demon Belphegor]

– Level: 90

– Title: Lord of Western Abyss, Ruler of Specters.

It was a demon itself.

– Pay for that sin with your life.

Belphegor growled.

Simultaneously, a message window appeared before Olivia’s eyes.

[Unstoreable Item – HIDDEN]

– Activation Condition: Triggered when ‘Belphegor’s Eye’ is left unattended for more than 30 minutes after defeating Yekaterina.

– Reward: Same as the ‘Defeat the Demon’ quest.

“…Oh fuck.”

This is such bullshit.