Chapter 374

Rea‍d ​&o;ｎ​ ‌Ｋa&t;R̃e&a;d‍ί​ngC&a;f‌e

Affectionate longing.

Faded memories.

Traces with only faint outlines remaining.

The impulse I had been forcibly suppressing rears its head.

Her.

Before the 5th Division Captain of Celestial Corps.

The first emotion Ere felt was an endless sense of joy.

Followed by an unmeasurable hostility and an unbearable fear.

‘Dangerous.’

She, who didn’t even fear death and challenged even the Devil God with the slightest possibility, harbored an undeniable fear. 

A sense of crisis. The nape of her neck chills with a vigilance that heats her heart. Ere unconsciously gripped her Demonic Sword tightly. It felt like the Demonic Sword would slip from her grasp due to the soaking sweat.

It wasn’t because of Azazel’s powerful strength as a Captain. From the start, Azazel’s power was of no concern to the current Ere. Yet, her very existence is fatal to Ere.

‘This isn’t mine. This feeling… this impulse… it’s not mine…’

Emotions surged. Uncontrollable. 

She is a swordsman who pursues ‘Mirror like Clarity’ (a mind as clear as a mirror and as still as water). She has strived to maintain a clean and calm mind like a clear mirror and a still surface of water. 

Although she has not perfected it like Johan, she has reached a considerable level, and it was not difficult for her to cut off her emotions like a knife.

But she can’t.

No matter how hard she tries to cut off her emotions.

No matter how many times she cuts them off, again and again.

Distracting thoughts and obsessions continue to taint the surface as if mocking her.

‘Sis…’

No.

That woman is not my sister.

Even if this ‘vessel’ has such a relationship, it has nothing to do with me.

‘Sister, my, sister…’

I remember.

The memories that had been buried resurfaced.

The memories of the ‘body’ that had been intentionally ignored.

They invade Ere’s mind as if finding their place.

‘No. Stop. How dare a ghost…!’

Ere gritted her teeth. She had melted and absorbed everything, including the ego and soul. This body is now hers, and the original owner is just a trace left behind. It was definitely like that. It had to be. 

But now she was asserting her presence. The human she had assimilated was trying to assimilate Ere in reverse. There was no way that was possible. Even while asserting that, Ere had to feel a burning anxiety.

‘It’s unlikely, but there’s always one in a thousand, one in ten thousand. If I become more mixed than I am now…’

If that happens.

Can I still call ‘me’ ‘me’?

Can I call myself ‘Demonic Beast Ereshkigal’?

If we mix, I might become a separate being that is neither one nor the other.

Like her master, Astaroth.

Sense of crisis.

The fear of losing myself.

If it’s just dying, it’s okay.

As a martial artist, death is always something she’s prepared for.

But she hated losing ‘me’.

She wants to die fighting.

She doesn’t want to face the death of her ego in this way.

If she ever dies, she wants to end her life by the blade of a strong person.

‘…That is my nemesis.’

Azazel’s very existence stimulates the original owner of the body, and the ‘light’ flowing from her suppresses Ere. 

The light of Michael. The authority of the Godlike One.

In every way, the compatibility with Ere was the worst. A natural enemy aimed solely at Ere. The worst predator. In front of her, Ere was reduced to mere prey.

‘I need to get out of here. Since the Devil God Murmur is gone, there’s no reason for me to be here anymore…’

“I missed you. Riel. You stupid little sister. Really, how long have I been looking for you…”

As if mocking Ere’s thoughts, Azazel approached. Barely suppressing the urge to run to her, she slowly took one step at a time.

“I knew you’d be alive. Yeah, that’s right. There’s no way you’d die that easily. You’re my sister, but you were so capable that you weren’t even human. 

What’s with being more superhuman than most Supernaturals even though you’re not a Supernatural? 

I’ve seriously wondered if you’re even the same person as me. Yeah, if you were a Supernatural, you’d have easily become a Captain, right?”

Longing. Longing. A longing that is not mine.

I know. I definitely know, but it’s not mine.

Ere’s lips twitched with the happiness filling her chest.

“Let’s go back, Riel. There’s so much I want to say. There are so many stories piled up. There are a lot of problems piled up here and there… but it’s okay. Your sister will solve them all.”

I want to go back.

I want to take the hand that’s reaching out.

Don’t be ridiculous.

Don’t mess with my mind.

Not dead?

No. This woman is already dead.

Even before she was deprived of her body by me.

From the moment she was collected as the Devil God Belial’s spare body.

From then on, she was no different from a corpse.

Just a corpse that was barely breathing.

But now. Now.

A ghost. Just a corpse…

“…Noisy.”

A cracked voice came out.

“Your sister is no more. What do you want from me?”

Spitting in my own face.

I’m a corpse too.

My head is about to break.

My sister. Sister.

Sister. Sister. Sister.

My sister. My family.

Stop. Don’t mess with my mind anymore.

“I wasn’t talking to you? Would you mind not spouting off with Riel’s lips? I’m going to drag you out of that body, so be prepared.”

Come closer.

Don’t come closer.

The ‘light’ was dazzling.

Michael, who dwells in Azazel, is now close to a shell.

A fragmented soul. A fragment of its prime.

Even so, most of its power has already been consumed.

But still, there are embers left.

The embers flared up again, using the Captain-level Supernatural Azazel as firewood.

The ‘light’ burns.

Ere was being driven into a corner, both mentally and physically. If Azazel was driving her mentally to the edge of a cliff, Michael’s light was driving Ere physically into a corner. 

The abundant death energy was being purified, and the more it was purified, the more Ere’s mind lost its resistance. The weaker her resistance became, the more the personality of the sleeping body awakened. It was an unfortunate cycle for her.

If Azazel hadn’t possessed Michael’s ‘light’, she wouldn’t have been so helpless. She could have resisted even the purification by ‘light’. Just like resisting Johan’s Holy Sword. But now she couldn’t even resist.

At this rate.

Really, without being able to do anything.

I might lose myself.

With that sense of crisis, Ere acted impulsively.

Swish.

“?!”

Azazel’s eyes widened in shock.

Ere had cut her own wrist with the Demonic Sword.

As if it had been cut deeply, blood gushed out like a fountain, soaking the floor.

“…A little, better.”

It was the first time she was so grateful that she had become sensitive to external stimuli.

She forcibly focused her thoughts with pain.

But it was only a temporary measure.

“Chattering since earlier. It’s so noisy that I can’t focus.”

“You, you! How dare you do that to Riel’s body…!!”

“Riel this. Riel that. Noisy. I said it’s noisy. Shut your mouth, you damn brat.”

My head is dizzy. The awakening due to pain was temporary. I have to eliminate the cause. 

What is the root of all this? Needless to say. The girl in front of me. The 5th Division Captain of the Celestial Corps. I have to eliminate her. 

Yes, maybe this is an opportunity. I guess that Azazel is the mental pillar of the original owner of the body. 

If I kill her with my own hands, she won’t be able to wake up anymore and will be buried for good. Then I won’t have to be swayed by these impulses.

‘But…’

Disadvantageous.

Nemesis. A terrible nemesis.

I can’t win with ordinary methods.

How should I… Is there any way…?

There isn’t. Not now.

Then I have no choice but to make a way.

“So, you wanted to get the owner of this body back that much?”

“Isn’t that obvious? How much I…”

“Even though you didn’t come when she was shouting for help.”

“…Huh?”

The most important thing in battle is not to lose your composure. At least, that’s what Ere judged. 

That was also the reason why she pursued Mirror like Clarity. 

If you get excited and your vision narrows, you will make a wrong judgment. In a battle where every moment is a series of judgments, it was a fatal mistake. Ere thought. If there is no gap, let’s create a gap.

“You looked for her so desperately.”

“What…?”

“Save me, sister.”

Ere moved her lips and forced out a voice.

“Do you know? Originally, this woman was supposed to become the vessel of a Devil God. Vessels to contain Devil Gods are not common. She had to be modified alive. It was quite a painful process. 

Ah, right. She even wanted to bite her tongue and die. Nevertheless, she didn’t lose hope because she believed that her sister would save her someday. But…”

Of course, Ere doesn’t know if that really happened.

But the truth didn’t matter.

“What an incompetent sister.”

It was enough if I could shake Azazel.

※

It feels like I had a long dream.

How long have I been asleep?

Is this a dream? Have I woken up from a dream?

Or am I still wandering in a dream?

What am I?

Who am I?

Ah, my memory is vague. It felt like I was wandering through a dense fog. Like staggering through a fog where I couldn’t see an inch ahead…

“Sister.”

…Ah, I saw a light. The light twinkles like starlight. Should I go there?

But it doesn’t work as I want. It was hard to move as if my legs were buried in mud.

I wriggled and struggled, then sighed.

I got a sense of it. This is not something I can get out of by trying hard. It’s best just not to sink as it is. Ah, this is true. I can see the light, but I can’t approach it. More than that, what is that light?

“My sister.”

Light.

My light.

My own light.

That’s right. That’s right. It was my sister.

As expected, my sister was my lighthouse.

The fog gradually dissipated. I could see more in the gray. 

I, I. My name is. Sariel. My name. My sister called me Riel as a nickname. Good. I remembered. As soon as one thing came to mind, many things came to mind as if they were linked. 

Ugh, that’s right. I remembered everything. So that’s what happened.

The world is really fickle. Or is it fate? No matter what the process, we went around and around and reunited with my sister, right?

Ah, sister.

My own sister.

She’s cute no matter how many times I see her. Lovely. I want to bite her. I want to make her cry. I want to hug her.

…Huh.

Is this perhaps an opportunity?

Um, I’ve been deprived of my body, right?

By a Demonic Beast called Ereshkigal.

This kind of situation doesn’t come easily, you know?

What should I do? What should I do?

What on earth should I do?

…?

Can I see my sister’s despairing face?

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
I tried to come back as soon as possible!

Ehehe, then I’m going now!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Twisted Emotions are like cancer, twist it a bit and affection suddenly becomes unconditional malice.

That’s why you should kill them all!