Chapter 375 – The Devil

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The trigger was trivial.

When I was young.

I had a puppy once.

It was a stray dog wandering the streets. A dirty, scruffy puppy followed my sister around. Strangely, one of its eyes was swollen to an odd degree, and it seemed like an abandoned dog, probably due to its illness.

Was it that it still liked humans despite being abandoned by its owner?

Or did it judge that it couldn’t survive without human protection?

The dog wagged its tail and showed all sorts of affections to my sister.

I don’t like dogs now.

What reason is there to like a slobbering, fur-shedding, incomprehensible fur ball?

But back then, I was a little different.

Not as much as my sister, but I liked animals to some extent.

Because I was young. Because I liked cute things. Anyway, I remember helping my sister pester our parents to keep it at our house. 

Eventually, the dog became a member of our family. Its name was Yellowy (누렁이/Nuleong-i) because of its yellowish color. No, it was surprisingly clean after washing it. Maybe it was Whitey (하양이/Hayangi). The memory is useless, so I get confused a lot.

My sister always carried the dog around in her arms like a doll.

It was warm and soft, and it made her feel stable.

Even for a small dog, it would have been quite heavy for a child.

But for my sister, who had already awakened as a Supernatural, it seemed as light as a cotton doll.

Honestly.

A little.

I felt bad.

It’s reversed now, but back then, I was smaller than my sister. My sister always carried me in her arms. That spot was taken by a stray dog that had been rolling around outside. 

But, whatever. It was just a dog. A beast that couldn’t even talk. Its eyes were weird because of the illness, and it would die soon anyway. I was just giving up my spot temporarily.

…In reality, the swelling in its eyes gradually subsided, and it regained its health in a few months.

My sister always held the dog. When eating, when sleeping. She even insisted on taking it to school. I later learned that the dog’s illness had improved thanks to my sister.

At the time, my sister was unaware that she had awakened as a Supernatural. Nevertheless, she was unconsciously using her Supernatural abilities to heal the dog’s illness. She always held it because she intuitively knew that fact.

I was jealous.

A little too much.

I was annoyed.

But still.

It was okay.

Because my sister hugged me too.

She hugged me and spun me around.

It would have been nice if she didn’t do that to the dog too.

But I endured it because my sister liked it. I decided to endure it.

“Huh? What do you mean? Who do I like more, you or ■■■?”

Ah.

I couldn’t endure it.

Because the dirty smell from my sister’s arms wouldn’t go away.

Without thinking.

“That’s a difficult question.”

Is it difficult?

What’s difficult?

“I like both of you. We’re family. Riel is my younger sister, and so is ■■■. Hehe.”

Ha.

But why do you always hug that dog more?

You said you like both of us.

“Riel can be without me, but ■■■ can’t be without me, right?”

I was annoyed.

All the annoyances I had experienced so far felt like phantoms.

I learned from experience that the expression “my stomach is turning” is used in times like these.

I couldn’t bear it.

I didn’t know what to do with this anger that I was experiencing for the first time.

I thought deeply, agonized, pondered, meditated, and after much deliberation.

I decided to kill it.

So I killed it.

It died easily after I stabbed it a few times with an awl.

I put the dog’s corpse in a bag and buried it in the nearby mountain.

Ah.

It was so easy.

I worried for nothing.

My sister cried and searched for the missing ■■■, but there was no way a dead dog would come back to life.

Eventually, after wandering around the neighborhood for days, my sister hugged me and cried. Watching that, I felt all my past grievances being resolved. 

The sight of my sister, who always hugged me, hugging me and crying with tears and snot running down her face. 

That face. It was so cute. I had to bite my lip to suppress the laughter that was involuntarily coming out.

Honestly, I regretted it at first.

I did it in a fit of anger, but I had grown fond of ■■ as well.

I had no choice but to become attached to ■■ after living with it for months.

Our round, fluffy doggy. It wagged its tail like a fan when it saw my sister and me. When I hid the awl behind my back and beckoned with my other hand, it trotted over. 

Even as I was stabbing it, I questioned myself if this was the right thing to do. The day after I killed it, I went to the mountain where I had buried it and cried.

But,

But?

But.

When I saw my sister’s crying face, I felt better.

My soul shouted that this was the answer.

My sister, who was always strong and reliable, was crying.

Lovely.

Unbearably so.

Ah.

If I had known this,

If I had known this.

I would have killed it sooner.

I have no regrets. I didn’t even have time for that. I greedily filled my eyes with my sister’s crying face. Until those tears dried up.

The next day, I went to the mountain again. I squatted in front of Yellowy or Whitey’s grave. I was planning to not come back after today. I just wanted to say a final goodbye, to apologize for not killing it without pain.

“Are you regretting it now? You don’t look like the type.”

Like the cool breeze of dawn.

It was a voice that ran down my spine.

A girl like obsidian.

Hair as black as the night sky and eyes as blue as the sky.

A girl who seemed to hold the universe and the sky within her.

That girl knew that I had killed it.

“Don’t make such a face. It’s scary. What, are you going to kill me too? The dead can’t talk, so it’s a good decision.”

“Or are you curious about how I know?”

“It’s simple. I saw everything. You stabbing a puppy over and over until it was covered in blood. I was surprised you weren’t caught with such sloppy cleanup, weren’t you?”

“If I hadn’t destroyed the evidence for you, you would be in a mental hospital getting counseling right now. How about thanking me?”

“Who am I, you ask? Hehe, good question.”

The girl grinned excitedly.

Her blue eyes curved like crescent moons.

“■■■■■.”

“Huh? Can’t hear me?”

“Well, that’s understandable.”

“Because I’m not from this timeline.”

“I have a connection with you, so I can contact you using that connection as a medium, but…”

“As expected, it’s hard to interfere beyond a certain point.”

Saying that, the girl took out a red fox mask and covered her face.

She shrugged her shoulders and muttered in a complaining, soft voice.

“Ah, I’m bored. Really.”

“What a mess.”

“Noble Prince. That meticulous bastard. He tore my soul to shreds so I couldn’t be resurrected.”

“And to top it off, he scattered the fragments of my soul beyond space and time.”

“Thanks to that, I’m lost in time and can’t do anything.”

“At least you’re going to be my ■■ in the future, so I can interfere to some extent using the connection as a catalyst…”

“But even that is hard beyond just having a conversation like this.”

It was all incomprehensible words.

I couldn’t understand any of it.

But there was one thing I could understand.

“What? A devil? Why do you think that?”

“I’m inciting you? What are you talking about? That’s according to your nature. Don’t blame me.”

“Haa? Haaa? Seriously? Thank you, what is that…”

“No, no, no. I didn’t incite you. Why are you arbitrarily deciding that? The temptation of a devil, what… no, I mean, you just tore that dog apart with your own hands…”

“…Our cute and lewd ■■■■■. Your future ■■ is this kind of human. Honestly, shocking.”

Not human.

A devil.

This girl is a devil.

I felt relieved for some reason.

I see.

It was because of the devil’s temptation that I killed the dog.

It’s because I was possessed by a demon.

Then.

Everything that will happen in the future.

It’s all because of the devil, right?

“…Hee. That face. I like it. So, my future ■■’s ■■. What were you thinking?”

“Hmm. I see. You like your sister. I know that feeling well. I like my brother too.”

“Huh? ‘My brother’? Ah, he looks like this. Isn’t he cool?”

“Thanks for the compliment. But I’m not going to give him to you, so if you set your sights on my brother, I’ll kill you.”

“You’re not interested at all… that’s kind of upsetting.”

Great Devil,

I want to make a deal with you.

“A deal? What kind of deal?”

How can I?

What should I do?

To make my sister cry?

I want my sister to cry.

Sobbing.

Until the tears flow and flow, becoming streams, rivers, and seas.

Why? Because, she’s pretty, you know?

Her crying face.

The way she desperately ran around trying to find whitey.

The way she sobbed after failing to find her.

The way she clung to me and whined.

It’s so lovely that I can’t bear it.

1. I. I.

I think I was born to see this sight.

It’s so lovely.

You think so too, right, Devil?

You like your brother, right?

“No? It’s true that I want to torment my brother, but not to that extent?”

What should I do? Should I hit her? Until her stomach is bruised? Or should I break her bones? Ah, that won’t work. My sister is stronger than me.

“That’s right. She just hasn’t realized it, but she’s already awakened her Supernatural ability. As a non supernatural, you can’t beat her even if you die and come back to life.”

Then I should mentally exhaust her, right?

Great Devil,

Will you kill me in front of my sister?

“Huh?”

If possible, terribly.

Enough to be a lifelong trauma.

But please keep me breathing as long as possible.

I want to see my sister’s despairing face.

I’ll keep watching until my breath is cut off.

“…Could you please not use words that are far from normal understanding? I feel like my brain is going to be paralyzed…

What kind of thought process do you have to go through to come to that conclusion?”

“Eh…?”

“I’m a crazy bitch too, but you’re an even crazier bitch than me.”

Oh…

“You’re the first crazy bitch who says such things with 100% sincerity without even a hint of pretense. 

But that’s why I like you.”

So you’ll grant it, right?

“That’s right, but it’s also a no.”

Yes, I know.

A deal requires conditions.

I heard that a deal with a devil requires a soul.

If you kill me, I’ll give you my soul.

Wouldn’t that work?

“Don’t misunderstand.”

What?

“I’ll grant your wish.”

Then…?

“In a different way.”

Huh?

“If you die, it’s over in one go. Are you going to be satisfied with the ultimate delicacy, just once?”

…I guess that’s true.

Then, after kidnapping both me and my sister.

Torturing me in front of my sister?

Then I can enjoy it for a few days, right?

“Your thought circuits are broken somewhere. Ah, but that’s why I like you even more.”

The devil chuckled and shook her shoulders.

What’s so funny?

I don’t know.

But laughter is contagious, so I was laughing along.

“You know what? Your sister’s ability is a kind of possession.

She summons souls and possesses them.

So, how could I, who can’t interfere in the mortal realm, have destroyed the evidence for you?”

…Can I hit you once?

Hey!

“Slow, but you understand quickly. That’s right, I possessed her. I took advantage of her ability to steal her body. But I was quickly repelled. 

Hahaha, your sister will never know that she concealed the clues to find her pet dog’s corpse with her own hands, right?”

I see.

“I’ll possess your sister’s body for you. Periodically. 

I can read her memories when I possess her. I’ll tell you what your sister is thinking. Everything, down to the smallest detail, and based on that.”

You can train your sister to your liking.

Haa. Haha.. Hahaha…

“Make her a body that can’t live without you.”

Would that be possible?

“It’s possible. It’ll be easy. If I just help you, and when your sister becomes your own doll.

Then, well. Do whatever you want~?”

…!

“Kill you in front of her.

Or keep playing with her as dolls.

The choice is yours.“

Okay.

Yes, I admit it.

I was short-sighted.

To just die.

What a waste.

I was really stupid to just pursue momentary pleasure.

What’s the price? Still my soul?

“I don’t need it. The price has already been paid by your future self.”

I don’t really understand, but it doesn’t matter.

Kill my future self or take my soul, do whatever you want.

“Contract established.”

The devil snapped her fingers and whispered.

“Please take care of me. Vessel of my subordinate.”

I look forward to working with you too. Great Devil who seduced and corrupted me.

“That’s not entirely wrong, so it pisses me off. But I really didn’t do anything to the current you. Don’t blame everything on me and rationalize it for yourself.”

The grumbling devil laughed again.

As if satisfied.

As if the boredom had finally disappeared.

She’s a devil who laughs a lot.

What’s so funny since a while ago?

She looked happy, so I decided to laugh along.

“Ahaha.”

Ehehe.

In the desolate mountains.

Trampling a dog’s grave with their feet.

Two devils were laughing.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Even Astaroth is slightly taken aback by this psychopath.

For Sariel, even her own life is nothing more than a disposable tool—if it means chasing a moment’s pleasure.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Ironically, she is named after the angel while her sister is named after the devil.

What’s with the little sisters of this story and being messed up in their own way?